Connected and Committed

The Alchemist

A friend who is going of on an adventure partly inspired by this book, put a copy of the cd version into my hands this week. Jeremy Irons reads the words, and breathes life into the characters so effortlessly. The story weaves in and out of your consciousness so that you don't even realize when you're done with one part or another. It's a soul-satisfying telling, and I can see why it's such a pivotal experience for some who listen. I hear shades of Abraham on it, and that makes me smile. Haven't quite reached the end yet, sort of wanting it to last as long as possible. I'm assuming it ends happily, but I supposed here could be a twist in there somewhere.

Nah. 

ancestral baggage

You are the fulfillment of your ancestors' true intentions.

-- Alan Cohen

~*~*~*~*~

This SO explains ancestral baggage.

what else is there to do

There was a time when my aggravation with the system focused on Casper Weinberger, secretary of defense. I'm sure he was no worse than many others, but there was something about his cold arrogance and apparent lack of wisdom that infuriated me. So I got a picture of Caspar and placed it on my puja (prayer) table with all my spiritual heroes. Then, each morning when I lit my incense and honored the beings represented on the puja table, I'd feel waves of love and appreciation toward my guru, Buddha, Christ, Anandamayi Ma, Ramana Maharshi, and Hanuman. I'd wish them each a good morning and with such tenderness. Then I'd come to Caspar's picture, and I'd feel my heart constrict, and I'd hear the coldness in my voice as I said, "Good morning, Caspar." Each morning I'd see what a long way I still had to go.

But wasn't Caspar just another face of God? Couldn't I oppose his actions and still keep my heart open to him? Wouldn't it be harder for him to become free from the role he was obviously trapped in if I, with my mind, just kept reinforcing the traps by identifying him with his acts?...

The Indian poet Kabir said..."Do what you do to another person, but never put them out of your heart." It's a tall order. But what else is there to do?

Ram Dass - Compassion in Action

intoxication of freedom

A friend of mine is about to embark on an adventure, the kind about which movies are made and novels are written. The kind where you follow your dream to the point that it's led you on a journey of knowing, to the point that you cross the line in your head and decide, "This is what I'm going to do now."

He said he got to the place where he saw and smelled and felt like he was where he wanted to be, even when he was physically in another locale. That, my friends, is manifesting and allowing at its finest.

I've talked with him over the last year off and on, listening and prodding him in this direction of being who he really is. Obviously he didn't need much help in that department.

So in a few weeks, my friend will be packing up some of his belongings and heading out on the road, out to meet his future self. He's become a photographer, and he's going to prove that to himself. No job lined up, no security net other than a relative to stay with and a network to tap into.

The intoxication of freedom simply exudes from him.

And I can't wait to hear what transpires on his path.

Bravo, my brother.

batmen

you know

Nobody else knows your reason for being. You do. Your bliss guides you to it. When you follow your bliss, when you follow your path to joy, your conversation is of joy, your feelings are of joy -- you're right on the path of that which you intended when you came forth into this physical body.

-- Abraham

*~*~*~*~*~*

The daily quotes are back on the Abraham-Hicks site. I did enjoy reading snippets from their new book, but for some reason these older quotes resonate with me so much more. And this one is so right on with what I've been thinking about/vibrating this morning.

What a coincidence, eh?

such artistry

Early in the trip I asked for vegetarian food. At every meal I have been offered a bowl of rice and cabbage cooked in Northern Chinese style. Sometimes a dish of peanuts has livened the cuisine. I expect no change in the fare, and wait patiently for my food. The others begin to eat. They finish their meal. I am still waiting. I wonder if my dinner has been forgotten.

I am ready to fill my bowl with plain rice when the waiter walks into the dining room carrying an array of dishes which he arranges before me. He returns with more until there are almost a dozen dishes on the table. This is no meal. It’s an offering.

Everyone becomes silent before such artistry. Wild black mushrooms shimmer in a glossy red sweet-and-sour sauce, leafy greens are bright and fresh and warmed with ginger. Spicy bean curd is flecked with fiery red peppers. Tiny slivers of carrots, fresh-sliced bamboo shoots, and deep-fried gluten puffs float in golden sesame sauce.

I stare at the food in awe, my mind blank. The only sound comes from the ceiling fan rhythmically stirring the humid air. Then the cook enters and approaches our table. He bows low before me. He is grateful to me, he explains, because since his years as a cook in a Buddhist monastery, he had little opportunity to cook vegetarian food for anyone who appreciates it.

The wild mushrooms, he tells me, were picked in a nearby forest. The greens are from gardens known for the quality of their vegetables. He bows slowly, and thanks me once again. I stumble over my own words of gratitude as he quietly disappears into the kitchen. I never see him again.

I didn’t sleep that night. The cook’s reverence and humility sliced through years of protective hardness and caught me without warning. His food was saturated with love, and its nurturance was almost too much to bear.

Anne Scott - Serving Fire

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

It's been about a week or so since I read these words for the first time. Their initial power has worn off, but another quieter, gentler fortitude lingers. I have experienced meals like this that overwhelmed me with their energy and love, not to mention incredible taste and texture. I keep coming back to this section in a book I'm reading, and savor the idea of coming upon a slice of life so sweet, so gracious, that I can't speak. At least once a day would be good.

bliss beads

These images qualify under the gratitude category, as they are the result of much time and effort and conjuring and blissmongering. They are what I want them to look like, and I love it. I made the focal point beads and strung the rest of them along for the yummy ride.

what's in it for me?

I've been doing a lot of driving lately, and while I was doing some more of it this morning, I got a nudge from the universe about what I'm getting out of it, besides fatigue and bad food and perceived loss of mobility. "You're getting the countryside that makes your heart sing, remember? The back roads that lead who knows where, the light that makes the fences and the grass and the leaves on the trees so amazing, that sense of well-being that sweeps over you when you see a 20s or 30s house that was built with love and a squatty, bulldog lookin' porch with columns that taper from the the bottom up--that's what you're getting out of this."

Oh.

Yeah.

Thanks for the reminder.

Rampage of appreciation from Abraham

I transcribed this for another forum from a few Abraham videos on YouTube:

I understand that I am living in a vibrational universe and I am exhilarated about the idea of that.
I am understanding that what I am thinking and what I am feeling and what I am getting are always a vibrational match.
I am understanding that as the creator of my experience,
I’ve identified so many things that I want and the universe is yielding in every case, to every one of those. And I am exhilarated to know that my work is to practice the art of allowing. I understand that allowing means, basking, it means frolicking, it means acknowledging the positive aspects, it means acknowledging well-being, it means praising. I am recognizing that as I am moving through the days of my experience that nothing is more important than that I look for that which I am wanting to see.

It is so wonderful that I live in an environment with so much variety. It is so delicious to be a part of a planet where there are so many objects of attention that are so easy for me to find a place of well-being. I am loving being a part of this spinning earth…I love knowing that the manager is taking care of all of that. I am appreciating the energy that is flowing through me. I am thrilled in knowing that that which I am about physically is operating in perfection. I am exhilarated to know that the life force will eternally flow, and I can participate in it as fully or as not fully in any moment as I so choose. And I love knowing that the way I feel is the indicator of what I’m doing about that. I am exhilerated as I move through this beautiful time space reality and I am coming more and more in every day to understand that all things are appropriate. I love the buffet or the variety of life that I have about. I love the idea of Yessing my way through life experience. It is exhilierating to be physically focused in this glorious time space reality. I am beginning to get a sense of the perfection in the place that I stand. The timing of my birth and the timing of my exposure to others is perfect in all ways. I am understanding that whatever is unfolding now is just exactly right for me.

As I’m standing here now I will look for things to appreciate, and I am happy to know that there are so many things to appreciate. I know that all is well, that it always has been, that it always will be.

I’m doing very well in my life. I’m happy to be in this body. I’m
glad I came. I like life on planet earth at this time. I’m appreciative of the
environment in which I live. I like the abundance that surrounds me. I like the
platform of wellbeing from which I get to choose. I’m sorting all of this out.
I’m realizing that there’s not a rightness or a wrongness in having money or not
having money, it’s just a preference that people are aligning with or not. And I
like coming into vibrational alignment with my preferences about money.

What is it about having money that I like? I like the freedom that it
allows me. I like the context of choices that it provides. I like the arenas
that it opens to me. I like the feeling of expansiveness that it gives me. I
like having all of those choices. And I adore the idea of having the flexibility
to be and do and have more of those things.

I love this planet. I love the idea of exploring it. I love tasting
the finest aspects of it and I love getting to choose what those are. I love this
benevolent universe. I can feel that my source is calling me toward
this abundance. And I can feel when I go, and I can feel when I don’t. And
all of that’s alright. It’s not wrong to have dollars or right to have
dollars. It just feels one way to align with my own desires, and it feels another way
not to align with my own desires. It’s only about that.

I’m not making a statement to the world about what they should do
about dollars. I’m not condemning people who have them, or criticizing people
that don’t have them. This is only about ME and my gap relative to this subject.
And I can feel that my life has caused me to put some things in vibrational
escrow that I’ve been holding myself apart from. But now I know what I’m doing.
And things  are coming in. And I’m getting the hang of this and I’m doing rather
well at it. And I can feel the influx of energy. I can feel that my stream is
calling and I can feel that I’m more willingly going with it. And I can feel
that on many subjects I’ve let go of the oars. I can feel that I’m coming into
alignment. I have seen the evidence of my improved vibration in many
different aspects of my life. I have seen the improved vibration of my being in
the aspect of money in my life. I know I’m understanding this. And I think I’m
making too much of all of this. I’m happy that I understand it. I’m going to
look for more reasons to feel good. And I’m going to enjoy watching the abundance
flow to me.

I’m hoping to see more evidence of the abundance flowing, and I’m
believing that I will. In fact I have already seen some of it. This is going to be fun.
Nothing’s gone wrong here.

Everything’s right on track. I’m doing just fine. I’m happy where I
am. I’m pleased with what I know. I’m happy to apply what I know. I can’t get
it wrong. I never get it done. Isn’t life fun?! Don’t you love money?! Don’t
you love money flowing?! Isn’t this a wonderful world?!

Orbiting the Hairball

I thought I was a little bit early for a meeting last night, so I started reading Orbiting the Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace while I sat in my car, and my depleted energy levels from a long commute started replenishing themselves from this guy’s words and energy. He used to work at Hallmark in Kansas City, so I had a resonating tie in from having lived there myself, and his renegade creative personality was just such a drawing in. I’ll be buying a copy of this for myself, I’m sure.

"When you come into an organization, you bring with you an arcane potency, which stems, in part, from your uniqueness. That, in turn, is rooted in a complex mosaic of personal history that is original, unfathomable, inimitable. There has never been anyone quite like you, and there never will be. Consequently, you can contribute something to an endeavor that nobody else can. There is a power in your uniqueness--an inexplicable, unmeasurable power...

But if you are hypnotized by an orginazation's culture, you become separated from your personal magic and cannot tap it to help achieve the goals of the organization. In losing connection with your one-of-a-kind magic, you are reduced to nothing more than part of the headcount. Deep inside the Hairball.

So, whenever you feel your head being pushed down onto an organization's cultural chalk line, remember that challenge is to move out of the way, to choose not to be mesmerized by the culture of the company. Instead, fine the goals of the organization that touch your heart and release your passion to follow those goals.

It is a delicate balance, resisting the hypnotic spell of an organization's culture and, at the same time, remaining committed from the heart to the personally relevant goals of the organization. But if you can achieve that balance and manitain it, you will be out of the Hairball and into the Orbit, the only place where you can tap your one-of-a-kind magic, your genius, your limitless creativity."

The possibility to live into shining eyes

I watched this video today , another stellar TED lecture by Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Benjamin Zander. What a wonderful man. I could listen to his stories forever. His ability to allow resistance to step aside on the subject of classical music is amazing, and so powerful, given the authenticity of his work. I thought it was interesting that most comments about this lecture were about the music, or the leadership, and not the heart of the matter - what he calls living into the possibility.

"A leader's power depends on his ability to make other people powerful."

"My job is to awaken possibility in other people."

"How do you find out if you've done that? If their eyes are shining, you know you're doing it. If they're not, you ask yourself, "Who am I being that their eyes are not shining?"

"Who are we being as we go into the world? Success is not wealth and fame and power - how many shining eyes do I have around me?"

Rock on, Ben.

iheart75.com

You want appreciation. Even though you like what's happening now, it doesn't mean that you still don't want appreciation or greater stimulation. It just means you're not using something in your now as your excuse to not let in all those things that you've been wanting. The perfect creative stance is satisfaction where I am, and eagerness for more.

-- Abraham

***********

Amen. I'm all for not using anything as my excuse not to let in the good stuff. Cuz any reason just ain't good enough anymore.

the isthmus factor

This morning I have a visceral sensation of separation, like I was an isthmus that finally pulled away from the mainland, or like when a piece of baked goodness pulls apart, when that final separation happens - that’s what I felt, around caring what other people think, or automatically ratcheting back on my opinion because someone else has another one. So close to not doing that anymore. Can’t wait to see what kind of resistance toy shows up for that one.

I stayed late tonight to orchestrate better traffic conditions for myself, and had the satisfying experience of speaking Italian with one of the cleaning crew. He used to be a classical ballet dancer in Albania - not sure how he ended up there and speaks Italian, or how he ended up here, but perhaps I'll find out in the coming months. I have to admit I had created in my mind some transcendent repartee with this man, illuminating my soul and my life, but I don't think it's going to happen that way. He seems to be oriented a tad bit too much upstream, but who knows - getting practice in speaking the language may still be fun.

grey swirls

I'm getting very close to what it is I want to express with these beads. The texture and color speak volumes from my soul, and that's what I want to put out there in the world. When someone looks at a piece that I've made, I want it to make their heart sing.

bowl

As long as you keep reaching for your center, eventually it builds inside you
until one day you discover that you do indeed have a fortress within.

birds

I heart 75

So my elated mood from last night and this morning has devolved into my first evening hanging around the office on purpose because it's just not worth the effort to leave for another, oh, two hours? But typing this will help.

I started out yesterday with an idea to turn this construction challenge into an opportunity. So I thought about starting a blog called "Iheart75.com", which means I love the highway with all the construction. I envisioned having an initial post to the state department of transportation telling them about my idea and why I was doing it: to selfishly make the whole thing a better experience for me. I wanted all the people around me to be in alignment with it as much as they could be, and I wanted traveling this route to be fun.

I envisioned stickers on all the orange barrels and highway signs, and plastic bracelets with "Iheart75" on them, both of which could be purchased at central locations, like a coffee shop that would entertain the idea. I envisioned construction workers and department of transportation workers posting on the blog. I envisioned stories about what kinds of conversations people are having because of the alternatives they've worked out about, like hanging out at restaurants or coffee shops late because they were avoiding traffic, or if they were carpooling because of it.

I envisioned lists of music and books on cd that people would recommend. I envisioned stickers on people's cars and lots of recognition honking going on between drivers. I envisioned people hooking up through the blog in those coffee shops where they were hanging out and meeting new friends. I envisioned thousands of people turning lemons into lemonade, rather than be sour pusses when they got to work and home.

I asked M to buy the domain name for me and host it on his server, and he did.

So now I just have to see if I create it, if they'll come.

shoes

presentation

This is what I wrapped my first sale/set of jewelry in.

me 2

 

the music has it, again

Rhythm and blues bands that play in outdoor venues. Small downtowns that have revitalized themselves. And gatherings that honor friendship, love, heartbreak, good food and rainbows. These are a few of my joy pullers I was reunited with this weekend.

How about you?

boxed set

Handing this boxed set off to its gift-giving owner. I've had to rethink my packaging, since before this everything was in-person or through the mail. Good practice. SO much fun.

of course

Ah ha! It's the PGA tournament that added so many more travel minutes to my commute last night. And that's over in a few more days, so there is relief in sight. That was easy.

Lately I've noticed that I'm sleeping more soundly than usual, and it takes a few seconds for me to know where I am when I wake up. Very bizarre experience for a usually light sleeper. In a good way. If this is the trend, I'm all for it.

those orange barrels

It took me an hour and a half to get home this evening.

More contrast to pump up my desire for flexibility and freedom in how I live my days. I feel strangely at peace with this phenomenon, like it's a precursor to something shifting soon. I'll stay tuned and utilize my joy pullers as much as possible, and we'll see what happens next.

While I was moving 15 miles an hour, I was reacquainting myself with the Asheville, NC, Abraham cd from last year, the track about the truck driver who wanted to drive and play golf in particular grabbed me again as the connection between a desire and its fulfillment was captured digitally for all the world to hear. I was moved to tears, again, engaging with that joy. I would love to know how things are going now with that relationship, a year later.

More beads, more practice with wet and dry sand paper. Not so fond of that step. I think a Dremel buffer is next on the list of purchases.

relax more, clench less

More clarity around what kind of marketing I want to be involved with lately. And we are looking for a chief marketing officer, something we haven’t had in several years. For awhile we had the guy who got Gogurt on the dairy case shelf, but he didn’t do much with us and moved on.

So this situation reminds me of when I was in my last teaching gig, working for a principal who was just not up to the task. Morale had deteriorated so badly that the district appointed a new one, called us all together to announce the change in command, walked the old one out, and introduced the new one, all in the same meeting.

And he was a godsend. He was into reform and so was I, he knew how to treat people, and he led us as a group through the process of being the district’s guinea pig for a huge reform initiative. I got to teach four classes and spend two other class periods supporting that transformation on the staff side. I didn’t get to participate in the final product as that’s when I had Little Man and acquiesced to moving to Detroit with my ex, but those were heady times.

So I’m feeling like there are parallels here with a new marketing leader coming on board. I, and many others who have wanted positive change, have been sitting tight, and it just feels like the same possibilities for doing so much more are on the horizon. There’s a vision out there that’s gathering momentum in someone’s vibrational escrow, maybe mine, I don’t know, but if not, someone else’s, and it’s scanning for the vibes that match it and we’ll hook up in that stream at some point down the road. Just like there’s been this critical mass of people inviting me to be their friend on Facebook the past few days. I’m fairly certain that I have a page only because M does, otherwise I haven’t done much with it, but now there are three social circles that have Venn diagrammed into me, and it’s fascinating to watch.

Recognizing more and more these days where I can choose to relax more and worry/clench less. Or more like the bumper sticker I saw on a car the other day - Wag more, bark less. And I have such great teachers around me to help me accept what is and focus on what I’d rather have.

oh, the baby steps it took to get here, and blissmonger beads

Oh, the baby steps it took to get here. He even wanted to take her for a walk - can you imagine?

And here, again, baby steps. I can't wait to get home every night to try something new.