Quick! Name three things you're happy about right now.
Ugh. It's Monday and it's a pretty typical one, which can mean that it might be just a little difficult to tap into that happy place. It's times like these that I revive myself with this little technique. You see, there once was a time that I would fall into deep inconsolable depression and despair practically every Sunday evening, just before bedtime. I knew that Monday was just around the corner, which meant the beginning of another week of working in a world that didn't understand me, being with friends who didn't support me (not really), and living a life that didn't feel like it fit me at all. Thank God I'm past that painful phase! I've learned so much since then. Yet occasionally, when something big in my life shifts or I become overly exhausted, those feelings of desperate isolation and deep sadness burrow their parasitic little heads into my skin to feed. This immediately brings me back to the bleakness of those Sundays, which I thank for the depth of their lesson. Next I acknowledge my ability to be resilient and open to possibility, then shift my attention toward the present moment. Here's where I ask myself to play along for just a few minutes. Ready? Okay...
Close your eyes and breathe slowly, inhaling deeply into your belly. Allow your exhales to soften your shoulders, your neck. Feel the surface of the chair that's beneath you -- feel it holding you. Sense the floor beneath the chair, uncross your legs and plant your feet solidly there. Breathe. Now allow yourself to scan your internal landscape. Notice how you feel in your body as you move your attention to your different parts. Breathe. Just notice. Take another deep breath.
Quick! Name three things you're happy about right now. Ah! Okay, I think I can do this...
I'm happy about my home. I love that I've managed to make this place pretty much just the way I want it. I'm comfortable here and it really feels just right. Ah...
I'm happy about my personal freedom. Wow! This is a big one. So often I see and hear people complaining and feeling victimized by their circumstances. I'm so affected by this that it feeds my own ability to choose to remain in a state of personal growth. This ability to choose is the personal freedom that I'm talking about here. Good stuff.
Petra, my younger dog. She's my daily reminder that there's boundless possibility for adventure, joyful excitement and soul-feeding surprises in each new day.
So, how about you? What 3 things are making you happy right now?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
It's what I do!
So, I've been spending ALOT of time lately working to come up with ordinary words to describe just what it is that I do and just how it is that I am. This is really important stuff! I mean, I'm "coming out" as a coach who provides a really amazing service. ...the service of helping people to find ease while they're busily working to save the world! It's no small feat, this business of saving the world. It can be so overwhelming and full of uncertainty and struggle. Yet, this is the work that my clients simply MUST do -- they are taking responsibility for an actual portion of the change that's happening right now -- they are being the change they wish to see in the world. ...and I grant them ease.
Yes, it's kind of magical and pragmatic all at once, this service that I provide. Granting ease. So how do I say that this is what I do? How do I describe myself in simple terms that bodes well with both the magical powers I possess that allow me to actually bestow this quality on others and my matter-of-fact, no bullshit style that doesn't tolerate alot of intangible blither.
One thing that I'm going to do is play with metaphor a bit to see what comes. There's this awesome teacher and inspirer named Havi Brooks that I've recently learned about who specializes in what she calls destuckification. Her blog post I am metaphor mouse! Zapping the Tickler. provides a wonderful example that will allow me to brainstorm from both sides of my brain. Yippee! What fun! I can already feel it going in alot of directions all at once (there goes my own saving-the-world nature considering the sheer magnitude of the ripple effect of our collective efforts) and see myself working to stay focused on developing the metaphor at hand while simultaneously honoring emerging metaphors as they materialize.
My situation:
I want you to understand just what it is that I do. Even more, I want to give myself a title that says something about who I am that serves what what I do. I want to be able to say it in a way that doesn't sound woo-woo or esoteric, yet imparts a feeling of magic. I want it to be in ordinary language (says the matter-of-fact, no bullshit me) that anyone with a college education and at least 27 years of life experience can understand, yet despite its ordinary-ness, it will evoke sheer relief and a sense of wanting to hear lots more in a good number of them. Oh, and I want to boil it down to two words or less.
I'm going to spend the next day or so donning the cape and mask of Metaphor Mouse (read with a big announcer voice and echo effect with Black Sabbath playing in the background) and look forward to seeing what is unleashed! (did I mention that there's also a certain wildness to the quality of who I am?) If you're like me and feeling stuck on a word or words that just aren't fitting the use you have in mind for them, I'd love it if you'd join me in the adventure. See you on the other side!
Yes, it's kind of magical and pragmatic all at once, this service that I provide. Granting ease. So how do I say that this is what I do? How do I describe myself in simple terms that bodes well with both the magical powers I possess that allow me to actually bestow this quality on others and my matter-of-fact, no bullshit style that doesn't tolerate alot of intangible blither.
One thing that I'm going to do is play with metaphor a bit to see what comes. There's this awesome teacher and inspirer named Havi Brooks that I've recently learned about who specializes in what she calls destuckification. Her blog post I am metaphor mouse! Zapping the Tickler. provides a wonderful example that will allow me to brainstorm from both sides of my brain. Yippee! What fun! I can already feel it going in alot of directions all at once (there goes my own saving-the-world nature considering the sheer magnitude of the ripple effect of our collective efforts) and see myself working to stay focused on developing the metaphor at hand while simultaneously honoring emerging metaphors as they materialize.
My situation:
I want you to understand just what it is that I do. Even more, I want to give myself a title that says something about who I am that serves what what I do. I want to be able to say it in a way that doesn't sound woo-woo or esoteric, yet imparts a feeling of magic. I want it to be in ordinary language (says the matter-of-fact, no bullshit me) that anyone with a college education and at least 27 years of life experience can understand, yet despite its ordinary-ness, it will evoke sheer relief and a sense of wanting to hear lots more in a good number of them. Oh, and I want to boil it down to two words or less.
I'm going to spend the next day or so donning the cape and mask of Metaphor Mouse (read with a big announcer voice and echo effect with Black Sabbath playing in the background) and look forward to seeing what is unleashed! (did I mention that there's also a certain wildness to the quality of who I am?) If you're like me and feeling stuck on a word or words that just aren't fitting the use you have in mind for them, I'd love it if you'd join me in the adventure. See you on the other side!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Smoke, Seeds and Shadows
A fierce wind blew out the moon late last night and brought in a morning so cloudless that everything was broadly lit by a rich, gorgeously golden sunlight. The crisp robin's egg blue sky provided such a contrast to the edges of the leaves and the hills and the birds and the wires that the word perspective didn't sufficiently describe the depth and aliveness of the scene.
It's midseason and also Groundhog Day, with a blown out moon, to boot, so I conjured up a bit of ceremony to call in spring by honoring its approach, lighting a bonfire and planting a few seeds, both those of intention and the vegetable kind, all under the supervision and guidance of my two dogs, three goats, several ravens and a red shouldered hawk. ...while chirpily serenaded by a chorus of frogs. It really was quite lovely!
Meanwhile, across the continent, Punxsutawney Phil, the prognosticator of prognosticators, has predicted that spring will come early this year, which makes me feel far less guilty for enjoying this beautiful day as I have been knowing that many, many others are suffering subzero temperatures and more snow than they'd like. Spring is on its way!
This day is a good day for grounding activities -- there's been so much expansive, sometimes creative, even destructive energy in the air that it's left many exhausted and overwhelmed, and others a bit confused or disoriented. Take good care, be close to the earth, light a candle (or a bonfire!) and take a good long soak in a beautifully scented, salted bath. The steps that you've taken and the cycles you have set in motion are about to reveal something big! Best that you are ready.
It's midseason and also Groundhog Day, with a blown out moon, to boot, so I conjured up a bit of ceremony to call in spring by honoring its approach, lighting a bonfire and planting a few seeds, both those of intention and the vegetable kind, all under the supervision and guidance of my two dogs, three goats, several ravens and a red shouldered hawk. ...while chirpily serenaded by a chorus of frogs. It really was quite lovely!Meanwhile, across the continent, Punxsutawney Phil, the prognosticator of prognosticators, has predicted that spring will come early this year, which makes me feel far less guilty for enjoying this beautiful day as I have been knowing that many, many others are suffering subzero temperatures and more snow than they'd like. Spring is on its way!
This day is a good day for grounding activities -- there's been so much expansive, sometimes creative, even destructive energy in the air that it's left many exhausted and overwhelmed, and others a bit confused or disoriented. Take good care, be close to the earth, light a candle (or a bonfire!) and take a good long soak in a beautifully scented, salted bath. The steps that you've taken and the cycles you have set in motion are about to reveal something big! Best that you are ready.
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