Do you want to think differently about the strength of vulnerability?Brene Brown is the most interesting, straight forward, great, humourous woman to do the job.
http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
“Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.”- Theodore Roethke
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
A study of light and shadow
What is luminous and shadowy? A new moon.
This was pointed out to me by Anne Lamott while I drove looking at the new moon. I was in Santa Cruz at the time and there was some midnight haze fog making the edges of the moon softer less definite. You could see the dark side of the moon, the rest of the circumference not highlighted by the sun, and then there was the luminous side hanging like a smile in the sky.
Master of stage design, Joseph Svoboda's genius was in his innovation, artistry and use of light. He said, "Darkness is my raw material. Just as the sculptor needs his clay, the carver needs his wood; I carve my theatre out of darkness."
Reminds me of life living forward, always into the darkness, into the unknown, our flashlight created from the beam of our attention.
Also, noteworthy... you can only see shadow if there is sun. And it is not the other way around, you do not see dark because there is light. Think about it, if there is no light, there is no shadow; even though, shadow is the absence of light, without the light there is no shadow. Huh? What else functions in this way? To know hunger you must too know the feeling of being full. But how many paradoxes exist together at the same moment, and because of their presence make the other paradox exist? (Excited and scared, happy and sad, not paradoxes, but opposites existing in tandom. It is the event that can bring on two emotions at once. But this is not about emotions. This is two circumstances... Because there is light through film a projection is made. Is it a simple cause and effect? But the effect is the absence of the cause....That seems unique. Hydochloric acid and a change agent, alters both substances into something different. Maybe this is closer to the magic of alchemy. You need some light to see the shadow. In the dead of night there is no shadow because everything is black.
John O'Donohue says, "Even light which enables us to see everything , cannot see itself. Light is blind." (p.119) This feels like the other half of the jigsaw. Shadow can see itself because it can see the light, and its presence in the light. The dark of night has the stars to shine bright so the dark can see where it ends and where it begins. But the sun, the stars, get in their own way not able to see the dark, not able to see what they can't see. And in turn not able to distinguish who they are, for everywhere they go, there they are, lighting the way, and so changing the landscape, they don't know what it looks like without them.
And what did John O'Donohue say? That the living by the direction of the soul is like living by candle light instead of the false light of certainty.
This was pointed out to me by Anne Lamott while I drove looking at the new moon. I was in Santa Cruz at the time and there was some midnight haze fog making the edges of the moon softer less definite. You could see the dark side of the moon, the rest of the circumference not highlighted by the sun, and then there was the luminous side hanging like a smile in the sky.
Master of stage design, Joseph Svoboda's genius was in his innovation, artistry and use of light. He said, "Darkness is my raw material. Just as the sculptor needs his clay, the carver needs his wood; I carve my theatre out of darkness."
Reminds me of life living forward, always into the darkness, into the unknown, our flashlight created from the beam of our attention.
Also, noteworthy... you can only see shadow if there is sun. And it is not the other way around, you do not see dark because there is light. Think about it, if there is no light, there is no shadow; even though, shadow is the absence of light, without the light there is no shadow. Huh? What else functions in this way? To know hunger you must too know the feeling of being full. But how many paradoxes exist together at the same moment, and because of their presence make the other paradox exist? (Excited and scared, happy and sad, not paradoxes, but opposites existing in tandom. It is the event that can bring on two emotions at once. But this is not about emotions. This is two circumstances... Because there is light through film a projection is made. Is it a simple cause and effect? But the effect is the absence of the cause....That seems unique. Hydochloric acid and a change agent, alters both substances into something different. Maybe this is closer to the magic of alchemy. You need some light to see the shadow. In the dead of night there is no shadow because everything is black.
John O'Donohue says, "Even light which enables us to see everything , cannot see itself. Light is blind." (p.119) This feels like the other half of the jigsaw. Shadow can see itself because it can see the light, and its presence in the light. The dark of night has the stars to shine bright so the dark can see where it ends and where it begins. But the sun, the stars, get in their own way not able to see the dark, not able to see what they can't see. And in turn not able to distinguish who they are, for everywhere they go, there they are, lighting the way, and so changing the landscape, they don't know what it looks like without them.
And what did John O'Donohue say? That the living by the direction of the soul is like living by candle light instead of the false light of certainty.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Voice of John O'Donohue
Who needs new thought when you can refer to John O'Donohue? ( In love and twirling under the starlight of his insight.)
"In a culture preoccupied with fixities and definites and correspondingly impatient of mystery, it is difficult to step out from the transparency of false light into the more candlelit world of the soul." - Anam Cara p.24
"A noble friend, complements your vision in a kind and critical way. Such friendship is creative and critical; it is willing to negotiate awkward and uneven territories of contradiction and woundedness." -Anam Cara p.24
"The soul did not invent itself. It is a presence from the divine world where intimacy has no limit or barrier."
"In a culture preoccupied with fixities and definites and correspondingly impatient of mystery, it is difficult to step out from the transparency of false light into the more candlelit world of the soul." - Anam Cara p.24
"A noble friend, complements your vision in a kind and critical way. Such friendship is creative and critical; it is willing to negotiate awkward and uneven territories of contradiction and woundedness." -Anam Cara p.24
"The soul did not invent itself. It is a presence from the divine world where intimacy has no limit or barrier."
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Rhythm and Pace
I've done an informal study on rhythm and timing, here's what I've found. As far as timing is concerned it is important to live at the speed of intuition. What I mean is, you shouldn't live at a pace faster than you can intuit what the next right action is.
Rhythm: for me I've decided it is important to live in accord with my internal rhythms. This means I like to wake up slowly over a two hour period before I'm forced out of myself and into the tasks of the day. These hours are spent drinking tea, feeling the warm mug against me, sitting by the fire, and just generally coming into my body. Best case scenario, wake, take 30 min. to write down my dreams. Put the tea kettle on, sit by the fire while it gets going. Steep the tea, sit while the tea cools, drink the tea. Now an hour is passed. Whatever happens next can differ, but I usually choose semi-conscious activities that take very little effort from me. My priority is to live to this inner rhythm.
I just discovered John O'Donaohue's perspective on Rhythm in his book Anam Cara, page 150 and it was new to me and interesting. "Rapidity is another force causing massive stress in the work place.... A native of Africa rushed because the Western Explorer told him to rush there was a date they needed to hit. After three days of rushing the man sat down and would not move. He said, "We have moved too quickly to reach here; now we need to wait to give our spirits a chance to catch up with us." John encourages, "Let the neglected presence of your soul come to meet and engage you again. It can be a lovely reacquaintance with your forgotten mystery."
Ann Lamott in the book Plan B, quoted another saying, if the devil can't make you sin he'll keep you busy. Why? Because breath connects us with all of life, including God, so if the devil can keep you from breathing he doesn't need to force you to sin, his goal is complete, you are separated from God.
John also illuminated this point, "The quality of our experience always determines the actual rhythm of time. When you are in pain, every moment slows down until it resembles a week. When you are happy and really enjoying your life time flies." (p.178) The Celtic stories suggest that time as the rhythm of soul has an eternal dimension where everything is gathered and minded. Here nothing is lost. This is the great consolation....everything is stored in your soul in the temple of memory."
Rhythm: for me I've decided it is important to live in accord with my internal rhythms. This means I like to wake up slowly over a two hour period before I'm forced out of myself and into the tasks of the day. These hours are spent drinking tea, feeling the warm mug against me, sitting by the fire, and just generally coming into my body. Best case scenario, wake, take 30 min. to write down my dreams. Put the tea kettle on, sit by the fire while it gets going. Steep the tea, sit while the tea cools, drink the tea. Now an hour is passed. Whatever happens next can differ, but I usually choose semi-conscious activities that take very little effort from me. My priority is to live to this inner rhythm.
I just discovered John O'Donaohue's perspective on Rhythm in his book Anam Cara, page 150 and it was new to me and interesting. "Rapidity is another force causing massive stress in the work place.... A native of Africa rushed because the Western Explorer told him to rush there was a date they needed to hit. After three days of rushing the man sat down and would not move. He said, "We have moved too quickly to reach here; now we need to wait to give our spirits a chance to catch up with us." John encourages, "Let the neglected presence of your soul come to meet and engage you again. It can be a lovely reacquaintance with your forgotten mystery."
Ann Lamott in the book Plan B, quoted another saying, if the devil can't make you sin he'll keep you busy. Why? Because breath connects us with all of life, including God, so if the devil can keep you from breathing he doesn't need to force you to sin, his goal is complete, you are separated from God.
John also illuminated this point, "The quality of our experience always determines the actual rhythm of time. When you are in pain, every moment slows down until it resembles a week. When you are happy and really enjoying your life time flies." (p.178) The Celtic stories suggest that time as the rhythm of soul has an eternal dimension where everything is gathered and minded. Here nothing is lost. This is the great consolation....everything is stored in your soul in the temple of memory."
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Biology of Being Human
Pssst.......I am going to tell you a secret, something no one is talking about. We are Biological Beings. What this means is we are complex organisms with millions of potentials in every cell that can be expressed in millions of ways. These differences will make us unique and confirm the miracle of being alive and being human at all. Have we forgotten the miracle of life that somehow infuses us? We are distracted with thighs that are too big, skin that is too dark, moods that swing too much. It's as if we've decided it's better to be neutral in every category, and or to regain our youth in every category than to accept getting older, and our unique biological possibilities. I just want to state it here as one small reminder. Health isn't an absence of any condition we deem not good enough. We know too much, and we've forgotten how to talk to our bodies. Why do I hurt here? Why am I forced to slow down? What is my body trying to communicate to me?
There is a tinge of anger in my energy. I am angry because health insurance can be denied to healthy people because they aren't perfect people. I just want to remind us we are biological people, perfect was never the plan. So put down your stethascopes, your meds, your paperwork, and spend a moment taking in the awe. Even our science doesn't understand how it all works. We can not recreate such an intelligent design aritificially. It's magic! Appreciate the miracle, step away from the nagging concerns of media and society, and embrace Briliant Biological You!
There is a tinge of anger in my energy. I am angry because health insurance can be denied to healthy people because they aren't perfect people. I just want to remind us we are biological people, perfect was never the plan. So put down your stethascopes, your meds, your paperwork, and spend a moment taking in the awe. Even our science doesn't understand how it all works. We can not recreate such an intelligent design aritificially. It's magic! Appreciate the miracle, step away from the nagging concerns of media and society, and embrace Briliant Biological You!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Ask the Universe (e.v.)
Ask the Universe a question and you will get an answer. I started by asking for the time a few years back because I refused to wear a watch. I'd ask, be open, receptive, look, and within a few moments I'd pass a bank, or over hear it in a conversation, or see it on a walgreens sign, or glimpse a clock above a bar in a restaurant. It's not magic, but it works. If you are asking a complex question like should I get a divorce? You will likely not get a yes or no answer, but if you put it to the universe in the morning and listen you will gather more data about your situation. An amazing example of this happened to me just now. Yesterday, I was watching, "Brian Cox on a tv show called "The Wonders of the Universe". He was talking about the eventual death of our star some billions of years from now. We know there is a gap in time from when we see a shooting star and when it actually shot because the speed of light is only so fast. I wondered, "How long will it take us to know our sun has died?" One day later, I went to see the film "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close". In the openning scene the boy Oscar says, "It will take us 8 minutes to know our sun has died." That's the magic I'm talking about. Ask a question, get an answer. Start asking the universe for the time. Then be open, receptive, and it will come within a few moments. For big questions, I like to give it 24 hours. It's fun to start with a theme or a question in the morning, and see what you learn about it over the course of a day, or a week. See what themes the Universe is suggesting you notice when you see a concept given to you three times in one day in various examples.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Time passes: what will you choose to make constant? (ev)extended version
We live in an era of stars. It's the Stelliferous [ste-lif-er-uh
s] era. This too will change.
There is a direction to the passing of time. Things tend to go from order to disorder (ex. past to future; decay). When we bring order to the situation (building a sand castle from sand potential) it is not natural to stay in this state of order. The sand will scatter in time. What fundamental values are the grains of sand with which you order your life? In time the order will shift, change, reshape, but a grain of sand is always a grain of sand. What is it you are using for the foundation of your life? When the wind comes will you be able to say, "Be what it may, there was love, integrity, honesty, authenticity?" What elements are most important to you?
How can we live in alignment with and support those most important elements?
s] era. This too will change.There is a direction to the passing of time. Things tend to go from order to disorder (ex. past to future; decay). When we bring order to the situation (building a sand castle from sand potential) it is not natural to stay in this state of order. The sand will scatter in time. What fundamental values are the grains of sand with which you order your life? In time the order will shift, change, reshape, but a grain of sand is always a grain of sand. What is it you are using for the foundation of your life? When the wind comes will you be able to say, "Be what it may, there was love, integrity, honesty, authenticity?" What elements are most important to you?
How can we live in alignment with and support those most important elements?
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