Connected and Committed

nudges 04.16.07

I am so happy and very grateful for:

1) Returning from a spring break jaunt with sanity/body/mind/soul intact;

2) Music that continuously amazes me with its transportive powers;

3) Higher highs on the emotional scale, and higher lows;

4) New friends who are open-minded and willing to try new things;

5) Discovering interests in common with people I have known for quite awhile;

6) Feeling comfortable in my own skin;

7) Fresh-cut flowers;

8) Easing back into the workaday world;

9) Being paid to do something I love to do.

nudges 03.28.07

I am so happy and very grateful for:

1) Warm weather days to remind me of what's to come - it's like sitting down to a bowl of tomato soup and a plate of grilled cheese sandwich;

2) Finding a physician/healer who is somewhere in the same wavelength as I am in terms of body/mind/spirit connections;

3) Knowing - it gets stronger every day;

4) Discipline to exercise and repair body function;

5) The ability to pull back and not get swept up in power struggles or perceived slights - it's so much more fun;

6) Technology that makes a folding bike possible.

the architecture of happiness

"The more beautiful something is, the sadder we risk feeling, so that standing in front of a painting by Pieter de Hooch of a grave-faced little boy diligently bringing his mother some loaves of bread, or of John Wood the Younger's Royal Crescent in Bath, we may find ourselves not so far from tears.

Our sadness [will be]...a blend of joy and MELANCHOLY: joy at the perfection we see before us, melancholy at an awareness of how seldom  we are sufficiently blessed to encounter anything of its kind...Christian philosophers have been singularly alive to the sadness which beauty may provoke. The religious explanation put forward, as rationally implausible as it is psychologically intriguing, is that we recognize beautiful things as symbols of the unblemished life we once enjoyed in the Garden of Eden...Beauty, then, is a fragment of the divine, and the sight of it saddens us by evoking our sense of loss and our YEARNING for the life denied us. The qualities written into beautiful objects are those of a God from whom we live far removed, in a world mired in sin."

~Alain de Botton - The Architecture of Happiness, 2006

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I stumbled upon this snippet in an interior design magazine. Still shaking my head at it. Amazed at the copyright date - expected 1910,or something. How opposite this person and I are in our approaches to life. How limited their view, how unexamined their beliefs. And how grateful I am that I see perfection all around me every day, that I feel the divine coursing through my psyche whenever I choose to, and that I think the garden is really here on earth, now. Alain and I would have an interesting time being shipwrecked on a desert island together, would we not? 

nudges 03.08.07

This day I was honored to witness the fruition of so many of my dreams. This day I was humbled by the process I've been riding so hard. This day I received material evidence of what is possible.

I am so happy and very grateful for:

1) The powers that be who orchestrated my being offered the job of my dreams, and all the mechanizations that led up to it;

2) The people who said such nice things about me and who have the faith in me to bring me on board their endeavor;

3) This bloody wonderful feeling in my gut that everything is just as it should be;

4) Confidence in my abilities to learn and to act and to grow and to shine;

5) Awesome people to share this news with;

6) More incentive than I can say to keep living and speaking and walking my truth.

for this

There is a gift in everything, when we are able to see it. Soon I will have the opportunity to say, for the first time in my life while it's happening, "This doesn't work for me," without blame, without animosity, without expectation. That is huge for me on many levels.

For one, the "while it's happening" part, instead of waiting until an issue expands and multiplies and breeds into a pack of ice weasels. For another, not pointing a finger while speaking my truth, except maybe back at myself because I own what I am saying. For another, the no expectations part, because I have no idea where this will take me, and that is okay. More than okay. It is freeing.

Doesn't mean it won't affect me, won't tear me up on some level, won't rock my world. But I know that I will be OK with it all.

nudges 03.01.07

I am so happy and very grateful for:

1) Sparkly things that express my feminine energy, like the bracelets that are flowing out of me lately;

2) Being open and ready for information that comes to me at the perfect time;

3) How jazzed I get when I problem-solve an issue into resolution or equilibrium;

4) Remembering to ground myself in who I am, remembering who I am;

5)  Symbols that represent me: Aries and Fire and swirling energy and light;

6)  Rededication to balance;

7) Being appreciated, and remembering to appreciate;

8) Discovering new layers to the concept of Love with a Capital L;

9) Forgiving and letting go of the contrasting experiences that catapulted me into existence;

10) Laughing at all this jargon that represents something to me and nothing to others;

11) Divine energy that never shakes loose, that never gives up, that never disappoints, that never ends;

12) Bravery and courage and resolve and tenacity, over and over and over again.

AWAITING THE MYSTERY ~ BOUNDARIES DISAPPEAR ~ FEARLESS

nudges 02.23.07

I am so happy and grateful for:

1) Only three minutes a day. That's the difference in having the sun up while I drive to work versus total darkness. Three minutes a day for several weeks for the earth's tilt to accommodate giving me a smile. Three minutes. Baby steps to the max;

2) Following through with the nudge to ask someone I've never met in person but have had a satisfying relationship with via email for the past five years at work if she would like to get together in person and do artsy-fartsy stuff once in awhile cuz I'm going through withdrawal from my creativity weekend. And she said yes! and already has invited several people she works with to join us next Monday evening. How cool is that. How very extroverted of me;

3) When I got to the airport last week, I didn't know about the 3 ounce rule for gels and liquids in my toiletry collection, so I needed to replace the bottle of jojoba oil the was confiscated that I didn't feel like being escorted to the ticketing counter to check in, in order to keep on my person. So yesterday, as well as appreciating my proximity to and reveling in the store that is Lush and becoming the proud owner of several bath bombs,  I found a bottle of oil infused with tangerine, patchouli and nutmeg at Whole Foods. Yum;

4) The company I work for during the day is undergoing massive change, and even though I know a goodly portion of the employee base doesn't appreciate that fact, I do. And I appreciate the fact that the people I work for embrace change, possibly more than I do, if that's possible. Perhaps just on a different scale;

5) Having something to look forward to, like attending a theatrical performance, or watching a movie, or the next time energies are exchanged;

6) Really getting the fact that we are all here to help each other be the best that we can be.

nudgings 02.08.07

I am so very happy and grateful for:

*the expression of gratitude from the unlikeliest of places;

*not one, but TWO parking spots at the library the other day, so I could pull through and park nose-out;

*the little nuggets of abundance that keep getting put in my path so I can fortify that vibe while diminishing its opposite;

*a job that surrounds me with the kind of people who think toys are good, toys are necessary, toys RULE!;

*the opportunity to reorient everyday, every moment, if I so choose (well, it's really when I remember);

*another gut shot of a Joy Puller - the other day I was walking by the cubicle of a newer employee, and I noticed that he had placed several small plastic figures along the top of the bulletin board facing the aisle. I backed up to stop and ask him what they were, and then realized they were caricatures of the most recent Star Wars characters, done in clever thumb mitten form. The man said that he had brought them in because he saw my computer toys at my cube - which are prominently displayed along the top of one wall - and he was inspired to do something similar.

My gut and my heart were basting in love and gratitude and amazement - I want to do exactly that - inspire by my example, whatever the avenue or outlet.

nudges 01.30.07

I am so happy and very grateful for:

*the awesome gloves that keep my hands warm and dry as I clean off the snow and ice from my car windows each morning;

*opportunities to try things out without actually having to commit to them blind, long-term;

*fuchsia - I wore this today and not one person made a comment either way on how bright it was:

*lemon ginger tea;

*my new mug;

*my new drinking glasses, made in Turkey, hefty in my hand;

 

*gratitude, and keeping an open heart so that, like a whale that is feeding, all the good stuff can get filtered in when swathing wide through the universe;

*making love with the divine.What I mean by that is captured very well by Sera Beak: "Andrew Newberg, scientist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and author of Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief, has found that spiritual experiences are interwoven with human biology. ..Newberg theorizes that the capacity for mystical experience is actually a by-product of sexual development. Which leads The Red Book to hypothesize that the more sexually aware you are, the higher your potential for divine connection."

More evidence of where ancient wisdom and science meet.

nudges 1.19.07

I am so happy and grateful for:

*the luxury of paid time off to use as I see fit, like when little man isn't feeling well and needs to stay home from school, and not having to leave lessons plans for a substitute;

*trust, on many levels;

*men who are secure in their masculinity and therefore willing to try new things;

*friends who help me bounce ideas around and narrow down viable/resonating options;

*the knowledge that spring is coming.

nudges 1.16.07

I am happy and so grateful for:

*finally noticing someone's kindness and generosity in gifting me with a donation on my website - how cool is that?! -  and through the magic of paypal I was able to turn it around immediately and gift it to someone who could use it right now;

*the breathtaking dazzlement that was the sun reflecting and refracting off the ice that covers every blade of grass and every tree branch today;

*remembering I have options (sometimes I forget);

*people in my life who get me and what I am about; it's not necessary for planetary survival, but man, does it make a difference;

*a mattress for my son's loft bed;

*cable internet;

*the soothing sensation of fresh-from-the-dryer sheets;

*the opportunity to learn and practice how to facilitate a really good teleclass - thank you, K!

nudges 1.14.07

I am so happy and grateful for:

*the contact to join an art swap that is opening my mind up to the possibilities of getting my art (what I create, how I think, my world view) out in the world in ways that are fun and satisfying to me, as well as connecting with the people who are looking for what I do;

*the opportunity to watch the quantum, rabbit-hole version of What the Bleep Do We Know (thank you, T) and feel another cha-ching, a lowering of the floor another notch, another few puzzle pieces in a wooden puzzle snapping into place;

*36 continuous hours to myself, to follow my bliss in whatever form or direction that may take me, to recharge my batteries, to rest, to not even go out to the mailbox if I don't feel compelled to;

*computers and cell phones and the internet, making the world a very small, navigable place indeed, with possibilities for communication on many levels;

*music that opens up my heart and soul and plays me like a violin, strings vibrating to high heaven;

*my ability to grasp an idea and run with it, rather than hold back, or not even acknowledge it. This propensity can also be annoying as hell (man, can we just take a break here, universe?), but not very often.

nudges 1.12.07

I am so happy and very grateful for.........

*the modified emotional perception in the crude oil world that allows the price to fluctuate, this time in the consumer's favor;

*the latest Abraham-Hicks CD, recorded in Buffalo NY - holy smokes does the material resonate with me;

*how truly sublime my life is these days. Events, circumstances, conversations, material things and emotional states are just flying off the shelf to me like the huge-magnet-encased -in-skin that I am;

*the absolutely fabulous librarian who took it upon her or himself to cancel out an overdue status on an item I still have, and delete the fines along with it, and renew the item - WITHOUT MY EVEN BEING AROUND TO ASK;

*much as I can find to take exception to in this culture, I appreciate the opportunity to move about at my whim, without personal identification restriction, without gender restriction, without material means restriction;

*the fact that Typepad just saved my post even though the session had timed out and I had to login again, assuming my unsaved text would be lost;

*people who carry joy in their hearts and share it with me.

nudges 01.10.07

A new category of blog post.

I've often read of the value in writing down at the end of the day a predetermined number of things for which one is grateful. Conjuring gratitude then becomes a tool with which to harness the power of abundance, joy, and all that good stuff, and funnel it into your life.

So I'm going to do that here. Maintaining this blog is an inspiration to me, and it seems quite fitting to use it as the repository of my gratitude.

I have to say that my gratitude abilities have only blossomed in recent years.

I used to suck at being grateful.

But now that I get it at a level I never thought I would attain, so I want to practice and embed it in my psyche.

Another facet of this challenge is the desire to document examples of synchronicity in my life. Or nudges from the universe that say here, try that. They happen so often now I'd like to follow the trail of where they come from and where they lead, after the fact.

I'm not going to force myself to adhere to an ironclad rule to write a certain number each day. My hackles seem to get raised by mandates like that, so I'm not going to do it.

Here we go.

*I am grateful for the kindness of the person I bought my son's loft bed from on craigslist, who drove it to my house for me rather than my arranging for another way to haul it on a later date.

*I am grateful for the nudge to stop by the Salvation Army in the part of town where I buy my organic meat so I could take home the perfect piece of furniture at 50% off.

*I am grateful for the nudge to stop at the bookstore near the Salvation Army. I was looking for a hard copy of the Chopra book I've been listening to on cd. The clerk looked in the database and it said they had a copy, but it was nowhere to be seen on the shelf. The clerk left me to look around. After a few minutes I was on my way out the door, when he came back with the book in his hand, saying that it had just come in today.

*I am grateful for friends in my life who are open to, nay, perhaps as driven as I, to apply insights they learn about themselves in their day-to-day lives, and grow from the new experience. These people inspire awe in me, for how powerful we all are when we want to be.