Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sanctuary
I had to build a sanctuary within myself when I was a kid. It started out as a safe place, a place that could insulate me against a very loud, chaotic, overwhelming world. I built it stone by stone, a place of quiet, a place to recharge. As I got older and my coping mechanisms became more ingrained, my sanctuary slowly shifted to a place to contemplate, it became the silence I needed to contemplate and worship the divine. It also became the place where my memories were stored, where all my life experiences were kept as works of art, as an old library.
It took several mental exercises, imagination and necessity to create this place. Before I would go to bed I would build my sanctuary a little bit more, add a little more detail, add another memory to my collection.
I later found out that this process had been done before. If you are curious about memory and internal sanctuaries (or palaces). The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci by Spence is a good place to start.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Reality
We each have our own filters and blinders on. We, as a people, used to believe that we were the center of the universe, that was our reality, now we don't believe that, we have a new reality.
Since reality is defined by perception, you are in control of your reality. You are creating and redefining it constantly. You are in control and with work and focus you can effect conscious change.
Quests
I was limited in my thinking, I know. During high school I realized that there were quests and hero(ine)s, there were people who faced life bravely. There were people who questioned their world, questioned everything. There were people who had to be brave everyday to battle illness, to battle poverty, to battle corruption. Our battles are with different kinds of monsters that is all.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Paths and Path Finding (An Exercise in Awareness)
I can walk through crowds of people, trees, animals, etc. without causing much of a disturbance. I don't know how to describe it other than I am a pathfinder. I can find the path of least resistance. It is an odd feeling, an extra awareness, as if I can see 360° at all times and the paths between are marked clearly. It's not special, it is something that everyone can do with practice.
Start small. Start with a room that you are mostly familiar with. Walk around the room and use all of your senses to experience it. Imagine that your awareness extends around you in a sphere. Take a deep breath and push that awareness out further. Feel the ground beneath your feet, what is the material that makes it up? Are there any subtle shifts or marks? See, smell, touch and listen to the room. Do this everyday. Keep your awareness around you like a bubble. It is tiring at first but with practice your mental muscles will become stronger.
Start experimenting in different spaces. Each space you are in will feel different, notice those differences with not just your sight, but with your other senses. Notice the differences with your bubble of awareness. Once you get practiced at that you can start trying to path find.
This part of the process is going to be different for everyone. I have tried to analyze how I do it but all I can say is that I see the possible openings in a crowd or in a natural setting and change and adapt my path forward with each change in opening. I use my awareness to adapt and change with whatever environment I am in.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Open-minded, Open-hearted
When I was a kid, my family moved around a lot. I ended up not going to the same school for more than two years at a time. I was very shy and quiet as a kid, I preferred the company of grown ups to that of my peers. Despite these parts of my nature, I made friends. I wasn't popular in that stereotypical way but no one ostracized me for being shy. I usually made one best friend, these friends have been friends no matter where I have moved and no matter how long it has been since we have seen each other or talked to each other. There were times though, where I was pressured to change my friends because they were "weird" or "uncool". I'll admit that it was a bit much for my young self (I was 12ish). I didn't have the confidence to stand up to others and say "Hey, these people are wonderful, they have been nice to me and helpful and great." I am ashamed that I didn't stand up.
When I moved to South America I learned an even more valuable lesson. I went to Chilean school in Copiapo. It was daunting for many different reasons. I didn't speak the language, I was shy, it was a culture shock. I was stuck in a class with about 10 other American/New Zealander students where we completed courses through correspondence and was also put into electives with my Chilean peers to learn the language and get out of the "fishbowl" as we liked to call it. Before I go on, let me say this, I love my friends that I made in Chile, expat and Chilean. That being said, if I had been in a normal high school situation, I don't think I would have been friends with any of them, not because there was anything wrong with them, but we would have had different friends, we were all different ages and from different backgrounds (it was kind of like The Breakfast Club). We were all incredibly different, with different experiences, different likes, different beliefs. I think back on it and I feel so privileged to have been given the experience. The experience taught me to live with an open-heart and open-mind. It also taught me to be confident in myself and my decisions. It is how I live my life now.
Having an open-heart/open-mind approach to life has led me to some of the greatest friendships and discussions. Having an open-heart/open-mind doesn't mean letting people walk all over you or changing your beliefs every time someone comes along with a different opinion, it just means seeing people as people, seeing everyone as worth knowing and talking too. It doesn't mean that you have to be everyone's friend, it is just seeing the value in a person, in a moment.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Nap Time
So I run full tilt pretty much all the time, even when I am sleeping I am busy, active and running around constantly. I have incredible amounts of energy, get lots accomplished until it all catches up with me. My body tells me that if I don't make the decision to lay down and rest then it is going to make that decision for me, usually at inconvenient times.
Today was one of those days. I have been going, going, going this week and my body finally sad take a break, so today was interspersed with short naps. I love naps, I usually wake up refreshed after about 45 minutes.
Wish I had something more profound but that is the N word that occupied my day, that and NO but that post will have to wait for another day.
Friday, April 15, 2011
My Mother (Warning Sentimental Feelings Ahead)
My mother put up with me when I was a little sheisskopfe when I was just starting my teens (which I am eternally grateful for) and helped me through the dark times that were the years of early adulthood. She has let my fly unfettered and figure out life on my own even though she misses me in the nest. She has loved me no matter what I have done or said.
Even though she is going to be farther away now (South America), I know that we will still have time to sit on the patio, talk and enjoy a glass or two of wine together (even if it just over the phone). I will miss having you here but I know that we are never really far apart.
I love you mama.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Love, Like and Lust
Our language is so limited in what it means to love and we get so wrapped up in what we think love is supposed to be that we forget that we are living it. We have mistreated the word love and made it less than it is. Love is not like, love is not lust. Love (not like or lust) is without reservations, it holds no grudges, it accepts and holds dear those faults and foibles that we are all capable of. Love is strong, like and lust not so much.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Kelly (That's Me!)
My name is Kelly, it is of Irish origin and can mean strife, war or bright headed. I was actually supposed to be named Lindsay Marie, don't ask, I don't know what my mom was thinking (no offense to all the Lindsay Maries out there, I like the name Lindsay but it doesn't suit me at all). Right after I was born, when they asked what I was to be named my mother said "Kelly Suzanne". I believe it was fate (or kismet if you would like another K word thrown in) that my mother changed her mind. Kelly definitely suits me better than Lindsay ever would have.
I know that strife and war are not particularly positive words and they definitely are not ones that one would want to describe their child with, but I like to look at the meanings in a different light. Strife usually means discord or angry/violent struggle, but its archaic definition is striving and I am striving constantly. I am striving to be the best me I can be. War can mean so many things, but it basically boils down to conflict. Conflict is what drives us, for good or for ill.
I have made my name my own, it is a part of me and I guess it was meant to be.
How do you feel about your own name?
Jester
This was important in a time when saying the wrong thing could either end in a political/social death or even literal death. The jester, the licensed fool, could. The jester's role was very complicated. Often he was seen as a mere buffoon but as he had no official place or rank in the court he had to walk a fine line. While the lack of court standing allowed the jester to be more free with their opinions but if they crossed the line they could be punished. Often they could use jokes to chide the behavior of nobles and the monarch.
It is the nature of jesters to speak their minds, regardless of the consequences. Maybe we need to invoke the jester in ourselves sometimes, sometimes we need to be the fool.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
J is Just Going to Have to Wait
Monday, April 11, 2011
Intuition
Intuition is all of your accumulated knowledge and experience accessed by your subconscious, this information is always on hand and if you learn to listen to what your subconscious is saying it can be a valuable tool. For me, intuition is something that subtly runs in the background, if I hear that little whisper in the back of my head I take a moment to listen. It wasn't always so, I would ignore it or shove it back into my deepest subconscious. I learned early on that that was not a good idea. Every bad thing that has happened to me has been a product of me not listening, also that little whisper that I buried or shoved back would come screaming through in my dreams (not always a pleasant experience). Now, I listen to my intuition constantly, it is a part and parcel of my life experience (I'm not saying this is how everyone does it, it just works for me and you will have to find what works for you).
I have never been much of a traditional meditation-type, my hands have to be busy, but I have always been caught up in my head, even as a kid, so I usually use knitting or cooking or anything that keeps my hands busy, as time to listen. I analyze my initial feelings about something, those initial feelings are my gut reaction to the situation at hand. I ask myself questions like:
"Why was I so uncomfortable in that situation? What bothered me about (Insert Name)? Why did that house feel bad?"
And I wait for my deeper self to reply. As I started doing this more often the easier the answers came, now it is automatic and kind of runs in the background of my conscious mind. I learned to trust myself and my now-not-so-quiet whisper in my head.
So, the trick is to find that way that works for you to access your subconscious, start with traditional meditation and if you are like me and truly cannot stay still there is an excellent book out there called Meditation Secrets for Women by Camille Maurin and Lorin Roche, don't be mislead by the title, the exercises in there are useful for men too but it is not your traditional mediation book.
Learn to listen and trust yourself.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Hands-Helping, Harming and Everything Inbetween
Because hands are our tools they are a way of accomplishing our needs and desires. They have the potential to harm or help, to heal or hurt. Our hands can help us achieve our dreams and help others achieve theirs. Our hands can offer comfort and affection. Or they can destroy, they can hit and lash out at others, they can take and not give. What are you going to do with your hands today?
Take a day to watch people's hands. What can you figure out about them that they may not seem. Hands can tell a lot of secrets, they can tell of hobbies, of emotion, of physical state. Hands come in a variety of shapes, is there an observable trend in how people with a certain hand shape behave? What do you notice about a persons hands?
The first thing I tend to notice is movement. I have often been surprised by what someone's hands are telling me as opposed to their voice. I was talking with a friend, his voice was sounded happy and his eyes were bright, but the tension in his hands told otherwise. He was angry. After noticing his hands clench and whiten several times, I gathered up the courage to ask him what was wrong. After a moment he told me that I had said something to hurt his feelings, I apologized and we moved on. It was an enlightening experience.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Grasping
I have been grasping for an idea all morning long. I even pulled out the dictionary. There were many words that I was thinking of: generosity, growth, gratitude, generations, gods. All great words, but for some reason I am not feeling the letter G. So hopefully, H will provide the inspiration I need. See you tomorrow.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Friends and Family
I have been blessed with a wonderful family and a small selection of great friends. I know that I am lucky. Which brings me to today's post.
Gather those you love around you. Create family, create community. Family doesn't have to be blood, it can be solely of the heart and soul. Gather them around and remember to tell them that you love them.
Have a good day everyone and give your friends and family lots of love.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Eschatology or the End of the World
Eschatology is the theological belief that concerns the end of the world. Many different religious systems believe in the end times or the end of days. The end of the world has fascinated and horrified civilization for thousands of years. We see the end of the world around every corner, it has been prophesied and anticipated, even Jesus believed that he or his followers would live to see the end of the world. Jesus, through John the Baptist, was part of Apocalyptic Judaism and believed that the end of the world and the coming of the Kingdom of God was imminent.
Many religions or philosophies have views on eschatology; for some it is a transition from an old cycle to a new one, for some it is truly the end or just the end of life as we know it. Our current fixation is on the Mayan calendar and the end of the world predicted by some to be this coming year in 2012. An interesting fact about the Mayan calendar is that it has ended 12 times, this will just be the thirteenth. Does it mean the world is going to end, or that there is going to be a cosmic shift? Probably not. Is the world or civilization as we know it going to end? Most likely, unless we take responsibility and transition to become resilient communities (there is that word again). I'm not saying to go back to homesteading times, because that is not for everyone, but to be conscious of the effect that you have on the world and what you can do to minimize the harmful effects and maximize the positive ones.
I'm participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Tomorrow is F for....
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Discipline, Distraction and Determination
I have had to work on acknowledging and moving past distraction my whole life. Unless I am working on something I really enjoy (it's not work then actually), I am easily distracted. I was living in my own little world, daydreaming when I should be listening to the teacher, doodling during lectures, reading ahead in the text book. It is something that I will never be rid of, and I wouldn't want to be rid of it. I have just learned to work with it, through determination and a convoluted sort of discipline.
Instead of becoming discouraged at my inability to escape being distracted, I let everything that distracts me to run in the background, the simple acknowledgement of my distraction allows me to get past it. I work on it everyday and I find that even if I am not 100% focused according to others, I am as efficient and focused as I can be. I don't see being easily distracted as a limitation, some of my best ideas are from the path that distraction takes me, but I do understand the need for discipline and have worked to make it a major part of my life.
I'm participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Tomorrow is E for....
Monday, April 4, 2011
Community
We yearn for connection but have you said hi to your neighbor, have you made the effort to build a relationship with the people in your community? Connect with someone, gather your community around you. Togther you are strong and resilient.
I'm participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Bravery...Being Bold
So when you find yourself in a situation where you feel uncomfortable because it goes against what you believe but you feel fear, really look at those questions. What can you live with?
Be Brave.
I'm participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Sunday is a day off...Monday will continue with C.
Friday, April 1, 2011
An Adaptable Animal
Can we become adaptable animals? I would like to think so and I know that there are movements out there that are aiming to do just that, but are we too late?
I'm participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Tomorrow will be B for.....