Connected and Committed

wag more, bark less

It doesn't surprise me in the least that an old friend of mine who has been on my mind of late found me today on Facebook (not that I really do anything on Facebook, I just have a very basic presence there) and contacted me to get reacquainted. 

Not in the least.

afterthought

These striped beads were an afterthought, after I'd spent a few hours combining colors and trying different things, there was a clump of clay I put into the pasta machine, and viola - these stripes came out. Gotta pay attention to that.......

flow

I  just woke up from a trance, a clay induced trance. I've been experimenting with canes and jellyrolls and layering, and nearly two hours whizzed by without moving from my chair, so engrossing is this new passion of mine. I'm finding my way to infusing who I am in the beads that I create, and it's great fun, very satisfying, once I got past trying to be perfect, No one invited her to the party, and I felt her knocking on the door. We ignored her, and cranked up the stereo.

I'll try baking again tomorrow, supervising a tad more closely this time, and post the results in a photo. Can't wait to see how it turns out, and what I'll learn next. Like, one can never have too much or too many colors of clay, and how cool is it that Michael's has it on sale this week?

nudges 07.28.08

I am so happy and very grateful for:

1) Rhubarb, which called to me at the grocery store today and ended up in some cake that just came out of the oven. Haven't had rhubarb since I was six or seven, pulled out of the ground and sprinkled with sugar.Yu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-m-yum;

2) The guidance I choose to listen to that brings me ideas and vehicles of expression that make my heart sing;

3) Remembering that something that bothers me is ultimately boring at bottom;

4) The opportunity to practice what making my own schedule would be like with sneak peeks into extended freedom from the safety of organized living;

5) Recognizing that I have gifts to give, and they must come forth if I am to feel fulfilled;

6) Confidence borne of experience is very sweet;

7) Relaxing into traffic and construction delays;

8) Knowing that such awesome stuff is on its way.

How-To for Life

I Can Make a Career of Living Happily Every After. . .

A very good career choice would be to gravitate toward those activities and to embrace those desires that harmonize with your core intentions, which are freedom and growth—and joy. Make a "career" of living a happy life rather than trying to find work that will produce enough income that you can do things with your money that will then make you happy. When feeling happy is of paramount importance to you—and what you do "for a living" makes you happy—you have found the best of all combinations.

-- Abraham

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The great trifecta - freedom, growth and joy.

I can do that.

Oops.

I scorched my first go-round of polymer beads.

So I learned something.

I will be learning a lot in this process. Which is great, because it reminds me of how others feel when they are learning something new. We all can feel stupid, if we allow ourselves to think we need to have achieved perfection before we even started. Pretty ridiculous, but we do it all the time.

So I'm observing that, as I learn the various ways to compile the clay into the shapes and designs that those who have gone before are gracious enough to share with me. And I find myself wanting to break out of the prescribed and try other ways of doing things that maybe haven't been documented, or at least I haven't run into them yet.

I'll be practicing for awhile, and getting better, and as time goes on, I'll feel more comfortable and probably not even remember not knowing how to do any of this stuff. We are adaptable, we are.

Thank goodness.

doing it differently

Taking it all in, looking at it from all sides, wanting to do things differently, and get different outcomes.

Not so easy,or so it seems. It's probably much easier than we make it out to be. I've proven that to myself many times over, and learn anew each time.

Went to see The Police last night. I tend to do concerts in stages, like every twenty years or so, and this was a nice reunion. I saw them last in Rome, Italy,in 1983. It was probably more fun this time around, although my memories of that earlier time are sketchy. Here we were in open air, on the grass, and then standing for the duration when the band came on stage. I was wearing a jacket to ward off the chill of the night air, but after dancing for a few minutes didn't need it anymore. Of course the songs were renditioned differently, and I didn't get any intense satisfaction from hearing that, but it was inspiring to witness the fun Sting was having interacting with us. The other two seemed to just kind of be there in comparison.

And the best part was being five miles from home when it was over, going in the opposite direction of all the traffic.

first clay stuff

Messed around with polymer clay and a pasta machine for the first time last night, and these are the results. I'm more excited about this than I was the day before.

are you listening?

I have been receiving messages from my authentic self through very interesting dreams lately. One involved it reaching me through a wall that it pushed out like a membrane, holding out a finger to touch mine like in the Sistine Chapel with Adam and God. The other involved my getting a mohawk haircut, and coloring the remaining hair red. Bring it on, Self. I want to be ready.

silverman

Taken by MFowler.

what do you want?

I sat next to a conversation taking place yesterday that fascinated me. Here were two healers of various energetic modalities, and the question came up, "How do I know what I want?" The first fascinating part was that I thought it an odd question, and the second fascinating part was that they apparently couldn't answer their question.

I am so steeped in Abraham lore that not knowing what one wants can strike me as very strange. I like that, and I like that I know that I know what I want. And I felt some momentary twinge of disappointment for these folks, and then wished that my blissmonger stuff was ready so I could point them in that direction. Soon enough, soon enough.

My teacher reminded me this weekend on the index card method of organizing thoughts for projects. Using them to write down and rearrange my Resistance, Overhwhelm and Misinformation material was awesome, so I now have a new set of the things to initiate inspired action. Look out...

skullduggery

let someone else do your thinking

There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.

-- Alfred Korzybski

the injustice of it all

Since you have control over what thoughts you offer, what could be more just than the powerful Law of Attraction responding equally to everyone who offers a vibration? Once you gain control over the thoughts you think, your sense of injustice will subside and will be replaced with the exuberance for life and the zest to create that you were born with. Let everything in the Universe be an example to you of the way the Laws of the Universe work.

-- Abraham

************

Ah, this is enticing. This is refreshing. This is brilliant.

 

nudges - 07.16.08

I am so happy and very grateful for:

 1) A significant other who articulates what's on his mind and his appreciation of me (very smart guy :-);
 2) The increasing capacity to recognize nudges from my casting director and enjoy the services of a toaster over/food dehydrator, a case to transport jewelry to prospective merchants, and a package of metallic stuff to make my own beads with;
 3) The ability to see that's it's never about me, and that I can raise my vibration to keep it from happening in the first place;
 4) All those who have gone before and quit their day job;
 5) Air conditioning
 6) Being a strong wanter;
 7) Witnessing a genuine interest in law of attraction in my son;
 8) Inhabiting my body as a full participant and not just a reluctant observer;
 9) The scab is gone from my biopsy point-of-entry and I refrained from picking at it before it could fall off by itself - I know, too much information;
10) The opportunity to take a yoga class at work from an excellent instructor;
11) The simple allure of a free weekend;
12) Closure, and the space it creates for the new.

look mom, cirrus clouds

gq dude

blissmonger, blissmonger, make me a match

I don't know why it's taken this long to figure it out.

There are so many things about it that make so much sense.

I suppose it doesn't really matter, as long as I finally found it.

You see, I've fallen head over heels in love with polymer clay.

I was thinking about how I would get my hands on some more beads like the ones I bought on my trip to visit my aunt before she died, and yesterday morning I stumbled upon a few YouTube tutorials on how to make them myself! This concept brings together so many facets of what jazzes me that it almost takes my breath away, and I can't wait to get to the craft store to jump in head first.

Life is very, very good.

smoke and mirrors

and it was good

So I sold 5 bracelets today, and there is the possibility of at least three more on Monday.

And I got lots of great feedback about doing craft fairs and how to get my stuff out there.

One young woman sent me a spreadsheet from Etsy to keep track of what I sell.

I sat in my VP’s office listening to him tell a story about a huge bead store he remembered visiting in the 70s when visiting friends in college, while he looked at my stuff and said to keep bringing it in and he’d eventually get some for Christmas gifts.

And I got ideas for how to better display the bracelets and design biz cards.

And maybe think about adding some necklaces and earrings. Maybe.

Then my boss let us go home early. And Sam asked about switching weekends, this and next, which actually works out better for some things Monte and I would like to do together.

So I had a ton of fun today.

Of course

I’m going to celebrate by schmoozing with a bead catalog I’ve been highlighting with what-to-buy-next-time notes and dream about the next level, or where this takes me from here. Cuz this is a new platform now from which to launch desires and attract experience, and then a new platform, and so it goes.

Off to watch Walking the Dinosaurs with Little Man.

technical difficulties

Interesting valley of technical difficulties lately. Yesterday morning my internet was wonky, after being fine the night before. Luckily a technician could come out that same day; he said that there was too MUCH juice coming in via my service - evidence of blissmongering goin' on, I would think :-) - and that he would request the maintenance visit that would be required to fix it. I wouldn't need to be home. So I come from work and verify that I do have service now, and get home to no internet, still. Turns out there's a Microsoft update that doesn't mesh with Zone Alarm, my new defender of cyber safety. So I learn how to uninstall updates by number, and viola! I am back in business.

At work, I received a new 24-inch flat panel monitor today. The tech tried synching it up with my IBM laptop, but he was having trouble finding a compatible video card driver, and everything was stretched out funny. So I got my new desktop tower (well, it's more like a pizza box) a little sooner than was scheduled, and they talk to each other just fine.

Major construction is commencing on the interstate I use to get to and from civilization. It will provide some considerable discomfort for some months to come.

Not sure what's going on, but one of the keys on my laptop keyboard that wasn't working for several weeks has now set itself free for typing goodness again.

I'd like to think that the universe is lining things up for me to work from home, and leave it at that.

So tomorrow I am bringing in some of my wares to see if anyone is interested in buying them. And a corworker friend and I decided we are going to bring back the craft fair idea that our company had sponsored a decade or so back. Here's what I'll be offering:

Want something pretty and shiny, little girl? :-)

one of those weekends

This was one of those weekends where you get transported to a different place, so different from the day-to-day. You realize it when you're in the middle of it, and you don't know when exactly you crossed the line from there to here, but you do know you don't want to leave.

froggie

for the want of a chair

I've been sitting on an exercise ball chair at my day job for a while now, and quite a few folks have made comment as they walk by and notice something different from the usual cubicle farm norm. They ask if it is comfortable, if it's expensive, and once in awhile they take me up on my offer to try it out for a second.

One coworker was overjoyed when she saw it, because she had one at home, and relished the idea of bringing it in to sit on all day at work too. She is a certified yoga instructor, and she gets what that can do to your body over time.

So today, she brought her chair in, and I went over to where she sits to admire and compare and bask in how well we are treating ourselves. What struck me most about her was how secretive she felt she must be for doing something out of the norm. She didn't want to draw attention to herself.

This not wanting to rock the boat sort of sent me reeling for a second. All I could think of for a moment were the boxes that we put ourselves in and the amount of energy it takes to keep ourselves there. Here was a healing professional who felt the need to hide herself in spite of what she knows to be true. It was a truly epiphanous moment, and I was grateful for the revelation.

Keep doing what you're doing. Keep putting yourself out there to teach through living your example. Keep raising the bar on what needs permission and what might require forgiveness. Keep being who you are.

Cuz there are going to be others who want to bring in their chairs. And they need support to cross that line in their heads about breaking rules and rediscovering who they are outside of those rules. When "I can't," comes out of someone's mouth now, I think to myself, "I know. That's what you've been thinking for a very long time. It could change."

waist bracelet

This is the beginnings of a waist bracelet I made for myself. I chose the orange family for the sacral chakra vibe and my intentions for the healing work it will help invoke for my fibroids. It's fun having something on under my clothes that nobody else knows is there. Well, almost nobody.