tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18882124475422747602024-02-06T18:24:09.388-08:00Chrysalis WhispererAn exploration of personal growth and transformation drawing on wisdom of philosophers, poets, and dreamers as well as from Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, the Feldenkrais Method, and other random sources. Drawing on a belief that each one of us has vast, untapped wells of potential, this is a discussion of what extraordinary things are possible for us. By exploring ourselves, our habits, and our compulsions, we can make big breakthroughslizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-1764661142656249682020-09-25T11:43:00.004-07:002020-09-25T11:54:21.681-07:00Eight Universal Cultural Principles<style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Candara;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: underline;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwX1ahgVMNUpklaUTk2rhPo5yZVw2hPknlkZGvcKsyWih8mRzTwjeeBJniTnVQ197uedctwLWK9b_hWjml5f92eY7I9wlwBli3bAmTJG6j75taubhg5bnRmVzrxsZpWSCCOQRk1uRZEweY/s2048/B0000417.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwX1ahgVMNUpklaUTk2rhPo5yZVw2hPknlkZGvcKsyWih8mRzTwjeeBJniTnVQ197uedctwLWK9b_hWjml5f92eY7I9wlwBli3bAmTJG6j75taubhg5bnRmVzrxsZpWSCCOQRk1uRZEweY/w625-h612/B0000417.JPG" width="625" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">The deep woods awaken that which is deeply spiritual in all of us</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Candara;"><br /><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: bold;"><u><br /></u></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Candara; font-size: 12pt;">Angeles Arrien was a cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant. She lectured and conducted workshops worldwide, bridging cultural anthropology, psychology, and comparative religions. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages. </span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Candara; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Candara; font-size: 12pt;">She</span><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 12pt;"> cited </span><span style="font-family: Candara;">eight principles which are present in over 85% of the world’s cultures. It has been said that the first step in creating agreement is finding common ground. Recently, I discovered my notes from hearing her speak in Portland in March, 1998. I offer these principles as food for thought for us as we strive for peace, and away from devolving into bigoted, violent and dehumanizing culture wars. It's good to know that there is a lot that most of us have in common when it comes to what we value, what heals us, and our sources of inspiration. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Candara;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Candara;">In her introduction to her lecture, she cited three things we could do every day for our spiritual well being (in whatever spiritual form makes sense to your understanding of spirit)</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Candara;"><b><i>Pray</i></b>. (Set a sacred intention - something you hold as a sincere vow)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Candara;"><b><i>Give sincere gratitude every day.</i></b> It is one of the arms of love.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Candara;"><b><i>Take a life-affirming action every day.</i></b> (life calling, heartfelt, fostering integrity, an anonymous act of kindness).</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Candara;">And now on to the eight universal principles which the vast majority of humanoid cultures hold in common:</span></div></div><div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 14pt;">Diet</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> – A healthy diet sustains our good health and well being. In order for us to feel healthy and to enjoy a sense of well being, we must take care of putting ourselves in order. A healthy diet is four fold in nature and we must not starve ourselves in any one of the four:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Candara;">Physical</span></i></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> – exercise, grooming, bathing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Candara;">Mental</span></i></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> – What are we creating in our minds with our thoughts, with our daydreams? Where do we choose to put our awareness? Daydreams set up the matrix for self-fulfilling prophecies. What we think about we bring about. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Candara;">Emotional </span></i></b><span style="font-family: Candara;">– How do we tend to our emotional health? Playing or listening to music which can induce a mood, bubble baths, gardening, painting, creating, getting lost in time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Candara;">Spiritual </span></i></b><span style="font-family: Candara;">– How do I feed my soul? Through meditation, prayer, cultivating practices that focus on the breath and connecting to that which is greater than ourselves (Nature, God, Earth, Energy).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Candara;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 14pt;">Music</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> – Music that we love provides us with a kinesthetic – visceral experience. Some people experience synesthesia.<br />We all have power songs that can help us to feel better. Playing instruments or listening to music.<br />Music ignites memories – connections to people, places, special events.<br />If you sing, you can tell the truth. When we sing together, we feel a sense of unity. The sound of our own voices singing or chanting can have a positive effect on our immune systems. Rhythmic drumming can also strengthen our immune systems.<br />- In many shamanic societies, if you came to a shaman or medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions:<br /><b><i>When did you stop dancing?<br />When did you stop singing?<br />When did you stop being enchanted by stories?<br />When did you stop finding comfort in the sweet territory of silence?</i></b><br />Where we have stopped dancing, singing, being enchanted by stories, or finding comfort in silence is where we have experienced the loss of soul. Dancing, singing, storytelling, and silence are the four universal healing salves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Candara;">W</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Candara;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16pt;">Play, laughter, humor, fun</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> - Norman Cousins wrote a book about his experience using laughter as therapy for his illness.<br />“Beware of the man who laughs and his belly does not jiggle. <br />That is a dangerous person.” ~ Confucious.<br />Patch Adams, as a doctor, has taught physicians the importance of connection, humor, and play with patients. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Candara;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16pt;">Love, touch, support systems</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> – The healing power of love is underestimated. We need people in our lives who will acknowledge us and value us as we value them. These are support systems which can be personal and professional. In order to maintain a sense of emotional well being, we need a circle of healing agents in our lives. <br />As humans, we are driven to connect. Connection, it has been said, is the opposite of addiction. Infants fail to thrive when they do not establish healthy connections with caregivers who provide us with love, acknowledgment, soothing, a sense of safety and well being.<br />In western culture we have more pets and stuffed animals providing us with love, touch, support.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Candara;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16pt;">Creativity</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Candara;">- Feeling needed and valued for creative contribution: Gardening, sewing, painting, sculpting, woodwork. Getting into transcendent time is a sweet comfort.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara;"> </span></u></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16pt;">A belief in the supernatural</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> – Outside or within one’s nature there remains a mystery, a faith.<br />- Four places in nature where we can go to remember the mystery: <br /> Mountain, Desert, Deep woods, Ocean.<br /><br /><b><i>Oceans</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Candara;"> <i>I have a feeling that my boat<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: Candara;"> has struck, down there in the depths,<br /> against a great thing<br /> And nothing happens! <br /> Nothing...Silence...Waves<br /> --Nothing happens? <br /> Or has everything happened,<br /> and are we standing now, quietly, in the new life? ~</span></i><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #494949; font-family: Candara; font-size: 11pt; padding: 0in;">Juan</span></b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #494949; font-family: Candara; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #494949; font-family: Candara; font-size: 11pt; padding: 0in;">Ramón</span></b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #494949; font-family: Candara; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #494949; font-family: Candara; font-size: 11pt; padding: 0in;">Jiménez</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0.25in;"><i><span style="font-family: Candara;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: Candara;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Candara;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16pt;">Environment</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> – Three environments:<br />Nature - Being in nature supports our health and well-being. We need at least one hour outdoors every day.<br />Created environments (feng shui) Equal proportions of straight and curved lines, color, textures, smells, sounds<br />Inner World – Our own senses of ourselves. Self <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Candara;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">8.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16pt;">Exercise</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Candara;"> – It is mood lifting, necessary, and a vital component of cultivating a healthy and well functioning immune system. <br /><br />What type of exercise calls for you to do it?<br /><br />Exercise provides us with a sense of well being. It releases endorphins.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Movement is life! ~ Moshe Feldenkrais</span> </p></div>lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-76643969527851622182019-08-18T13:44:00.000-07:002019-08-18T13:44:05.359-07:00Do What We Can Do to Be Greener Series #1: You Can Stop Using Plastic Utensils<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl92vAuJfCgDCpJVx_spvoaj5MlAEvWfidPvM5LdbuBpNrTWjcPqLtJcSdBZKYQQLdCicFDJ8Nj8LztPQoRUiGSBL0GFt5Fu74_y1byELrmJQVCAnio9pOPZQwe0MUIHOUuq3Chb7E7CnR/s1600/IMG_0892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl92vAuJfCgDCpJVx_spvoaj5MlAEvWfidPvM5LdbuBpNrTWjcPqLtJcSdBZKYQQLdCicFDJ8Nj8LztPQoRUiGSBL0GFt5Fu74_y1byELrmJQVCAnio9pOPZQwe0MUIHOUuq3Chb7E7CnR/s640/IMG_0892.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Eight days ago, on a day when I was feeling particularly doomed by the negativity of the political atmosphere, and when I was beginning to feel like shutting down, I decided that maybe I needed to figure out what <b><i><u>I</u></i></b> needed to do in order to create change. Waiting for our politicians to work it out is a recipe for misery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here's my change for today: No more accepting plastic disposable utensils when eating out. I already take my fancy-schmancy drink thermos with me - why not take my own fork?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If this would catch on, we could work wonders. I did some rudimentary math using my shitty Social Worker math skills and here's what I came up with: There are 300 million of us in this country. If half of us started to say no to plastic utensils and straws because we keep our own with us, and let's say we did that once a week for a year, that's 7.8 billion fewer sets of utensils in our environment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Inspired by a high school classmate who told me she carries a set of utensils in her bag, I decided to make a cloth bag for my mother and myself to take with us when we are out and about. She has been keeping chopsticks in her purse and is totally on board after getting an 'atta girl yesterday, for walking a drink carrier back to the counter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This cloth kit has room for knife, fork, spoon, chopsticks, straw, straw cleaner, and toothbrush. There's a pocket on the end. Cloth napkin? Floss? toothpaste? Wine bottle opener? Hey, I like that last one. (Note to self).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here's how I made it:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1. Get 1/2 yard of 44/45" material.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp49fPJkGgM2cqDxu6F3nRKtBZ-NjxZiXHf5ttDUZPosqPO24vO8DmG0ZNz_sVaHpwicO3zRHgsqByatwML48CZ3ZgaRygNjTKx8TjQdHt_HtTH4pIkJ9OHHUnrU0z1QsyUQYsBKhnjG4G/s1600/IMG_0895+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp49fPJkGgM2cqDxu6F3nRKtBZ-NjxZiXHf5ttDUZPosqPO24vO8DmG0ZNz_sVaHpwicO3zRHgsqByatwML48CZ3ZgaRygNjTKx8TjQdHt_HtTH4pIkJ9OHHUnrU0z1QsyUQYsBKhnjG4G/s320/IMG_0895+2.JPG" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">2. Cut a strip of the material that's 1 1/4" wide</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3QfihbCu-NuyzdDBjCug-giuHnklBvTW-m7Pk1yLWYFvUTxeg7ZLj7jnrt9b2INUxBa0I4Ww4_1UW-bCaa3d7kiG7-HZD_jtTNzJGT70Qqrp4J_d5aCBcn6y3OjTie0055NKMotVJ6el/s1600/IMG_0893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3QfihbCu-NuyzdDBjCug-giuHnklBvTW-m7Pk1yLWYFvUTxeg7ZLj7jnrt9b2INUxBa0I4Ww4_1UW-bCaa3d7kiG7-HZD_jtTNzJGT70Qqrp4J_d5aCBcn6y3OjTie0055NKMotVJ6el/s320/IMG_0893.JPG" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. Fold the strip in half lengthwise and sew a 1/4" seam around the edges, leaving an opening so you can turn it inside-out.<br /></span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPX9C0m5PZhKqHEGe4wbgiW7xh4Jq-P3IYcGQRIoPb2VG4wytulx9d9pbmfP-9KKbpuaWyBngY-T_MBRDo8EUbJAscCTD5k0hZgzyrd8-oFdIyqUZF2p0gxL_aFy3ATmNQgOD9UwDo2K-8/s1600/IMG_0897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPX9C0m5PZhKqHEGe4wbgiW7xh4Jq-P3IYcGQRIoPb2VG4wytulx9d9pbmfP-9KKbpuaWyBngY-T_MBRDo8EUbJAscCTD5k0hZgzyrd8-oFdIyqUZF2p0gxL_aFy3ATmNQgOD9UwDo2K-8/s320/IMG_0897.JPG" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4. Turn the strip inside-out to make a tie for your bag.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdyEPSvz3lJRu6YQKwCQ9G1O67UDpT6DfnzpSX02x52rRvzsUodcOfUiVKGVXtHYdm_TebZs4ZcChMNZA7RT2fpsrRWwHEa1eoVni7tv6FBgrQy-rU13FKx162Slofrftibu7tYQk9boj/s1600/IMG_0898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdyEPSvz3lJRu6YQKwCQ9G1O67UDpT6DfnzpSX02x52rRvzsUodcOfUiVKGVXtHYdm_TebZs4ZcChMNZA7RT2fpsrRWwHEa1eoVni7tv6FBgrQy-rU13FKx162Slofrftibu7tYQk9boj/s320/IMG_0898.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">5. Sew the opening shut</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrlwMMlChUsyf2EZE0eqS3ah0sAwK28D_p05KLAbpCNfo2lPY_mYcabtCvbbUbcFuKc34OPboqgVTZ8j6ZvzJh7Uz4NzsBgHJ_fUAlCD1o9Vh6mOK83qyMjozpJ7AZWM5D3qxsnnIua2i/s1600/IMG_0899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrlwMMlChUsyf2EZE0eqS3ah0sAwK28D_p05KLAbpCNfo2lPY_mYcabtCvbbUbcFuKc34OPboqgVTZ8j6ZvzJh7Uz4NzsBgHJ_fUAlCD1o9Vh6mOK83qyMjozpJ7AZWM5D3qxsnnIua2i/s320/IMG_0899.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6. With right sides together, sew edges together, leaving an opening to turn it inside-out</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShG4-dx2xSNh994F1XQJiYxyMW51KT0qLwObMkvOasbiSzpqxqYvVcQpB-JUQFkNGFs2iv22d15Pixq_sRIE-77N-IrtOZHWSOxHSDPsIr1P0UD838Hsa6YA98QNExtCDPzS7GN9v6mwa/s1600/IMG_0900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShG4-dx2xSNh994F1XQJiYxyMW51KT0qLwObMkvOasbiSzpqxqYvVcQpB-JUQFkNGFs2iv22d15Pixq_sRIE-77N-IrtOZHWSOxHSDPsIr1P0UD838Hsa6YA98QNExtCDPzS7GN9v6mwa/s320/IMG_0900.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7, Turn it inside-out</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4JiiCHPZWhxQMr1zVAdkro4v9OkjXK-EQns-zasaR9gnetCHft9d-r-l9R0jF7tCS9pH_nZ0scc5USTQNVdeEScA-Fy-Hy3JKjSVfZ2LMH4RYOoPCpAWwGDo_1sBxvfGKXekC7ZUbT9B/s1600/IMG_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4JiiCHPZWhxQMr1zVAdkro4v9OkjXK-EQns-zasaR9gnetCHft9d-r-l9R0jF7tCS9pH_nZ0scc5USTQNVdeEScA-Fy-Hy3JKjSVfZ2LMH4RYOoPCpAWwGDo_1sBxvfGKXekC7ZUbT9B/s320/IMG_0901.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8. Press seams flat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhSngahS_1TlQeamp5KyFxW5GhYwS1hNalVegJ9gAQ_GHajyuS5jodYWv-0GgUJxgehyphenhyphenf0vqRnp7J_MJDBQ787F7RiSXQOnGKuBjfwfT-acCZdcOYrYTzu7Ug57bnmwkP7_mODjJ5BELR/s1600/IMG_0902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhSngahS_1TlQeamp5KyFxW5GhYwS1hNalVegJ9gAQ_GHajyuS5jodYWv-0GgUJxgehyphenhyphenf0vqRnp7J_MJDBQ787F7RiSXQOnGKuBjfwfT-acCZdcOYrYTzu7Ug57bnmwkP7_mODjJ5BELR/s320/IMG_0902.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9. Sew opening shut<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKc1jgb2LdJLpKHgBB0gb9PPMPFdyF-36720DKSdPv3TXjwnJCIHy0mSR4yZ8RVWdzcsUa-TGbPk_b1NqcspJf1DdQFPnswRKEmmIAVoGGsN3Glrpk3p_14PExIIfjmBsBkcPpqd9h9mym/s1600/IMG_0903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKc1jgb2LdJLpKHgBB0gb9PPMPFdyF-36720DKSdPv3TXjwnJCIHy0mSR4yZ8RVWdzcsUa-TGbPk_b1NqcspJf1DdQFPnswRKEmmIAVoGGsN3Glrpk3p_14PExIIfjmBsBkcPpqd9h9mym/s320/IMG_0903.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10. fold cloth over 1/4 to 1/3 from bottom and pin where you want to sew channels</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY7TkMvp7WZzB_gFGxlSaCu1tBuYMDhIMjVx14kjAzGdFBOFej-guOiW25mOqufuPY26l9W7WCKyBvXQq2foFjrDCYqNY_1WpyGO0VQb73ZZu4FEYb4Ua1gBBnAgEJwCCJ_z5nlqsqfMqt/s1600/IMG_0904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY7TkMvp7WZzB_gFGxlSaCu1tBuYMDhIMjVx14kjAzGdFBOFej-guOiW25mOqufuPY26l9W7WCKyBvXQq2foFjrDCYqNY_1WpyGO0VQb73ZZu4FEYb4Ua1gBBnAgEJwCCJ_z5nlqsqfMqt/s320/IMG_0904.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11. Sew channels, fold middle of tie and tuck it into the seam on the far right outside edge.<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61yq5mHBAeLd57QQQeol8hjJhaZccSCOmmvBIMcS9njE_YVac5c2rHUr6AOfgqpOeRsHFmy-KJUf3WMNn9yNKUZom7t_LXNVmkiPD7KU17lW6PhTD-CAQW5XoMWZIzZh6YJ-EAsXECwaY/s1600/IMG_0907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61yq5mHBAeLd57QQQeol8hjJhaZccSCOmmvBIMcS9njE_YVac5c2rHUr6AOfgqpOeRsHFmy-KJUf3WMNn9yNKUZom7t_LXNVmkiPD7KU17lW6PhTD-CAQW5XoMWZIzZh6YJ-EAsXECwaY/s320/IMG_0907.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12. Fold top edge down, place your utensils in the channels, and roll it up.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5I7U06XL9eMPyAYEIUgo_9Uld9BOCEQ5QjOrAmHHbgCM6X98lE7GDTtiCripa5kg5EkBl5u6-3Fg1g46ymljmNV_wKPgeLwxDWrF-RvWiw6_ghU3H-s1kuypQI0Wfvolir3P_MgqOT_6/s1600/IMG_0908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5I7U06XL9eMPyAYEIUgo_9Uld9BOCEQ5QjOrAmHHbgCM6X98lE7GDTtiCripa5kg5EkBl5u6-3Fg1g46ymljmNV_wKPgeLwxDWrF-RvWiw6_ghU3H-s1kuypQI0Wfvolir3P_MgqOT_6/s320/IMG_0908.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">13. Tie a bow and you are done.</td></tr>
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Congratulations on your completed portable reusable utensil kit. Now, let's get out there and reduce our disposable usage, one spork at a time!!</div>
lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-988218397353566062019-03-01T16:46:00.001-08:002019-03-01T16:49:44.126-08:00Mmmm! Peach Orange Blueberry Cobbler, or is it a Crumble?<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Is it a political statement or a dessert?</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPfy9bflXZFGY4xOulxErTKCLDIN2ndf2Cmu5ZDmElU6EGt7MEv4qY04UTJH9FZp8IEa3IywIA37rpZ9B024eekKuK-ZQqgWIBiPYvSpCGohPAEQCLrpiojIZ9tfwvH5SpqpSJpb27_aP/s1600/IMG_0547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPfy9bflXZFGY4xOulxErTKCLDIN2ndf2Cmu5ZDmElU6EGt7MEv4qY04UTJH9FZp8IEa3IywIA37rpZ9B024eekKuK-ZQqgWIBiPYvSpCGohPAEQCLrpiojIZ9tfwvH5SpqpSJpb27_aP/s640/IMG_0547.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Cobbler or Crumble?</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">...Celebration, or Consolation? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Who knows. All I know is that with all the talk on the news these past two <b><i>years</i></b>, I find myself wanting some tasty hot fruit dessert with peaches in it. Gosh, I miss Emily Litella, don't you? If you don't know who that is, look her up on the youtube. You can laugh with Gilda Radner while your delicious fruit dessert is baking. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Alternatively, you can watch <u>Bullet</u> with Steve McQueen, and see if you can do so without having that Sheryl Crow song going through your head. My poor mother can't take it any more because sadly, I'm unable to even carry a tune in a bucket.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Originally, I thought about making a crumble. The thing is that a good crumble requires the use of an obscene amount of butter and brown sugar. So I decided to go Full British Bake-off and tinker with a "heart healthy" blueberry cobbler recipe. While I probably wouldn't have been star baker, hey. You can't go wrong with cobbler. Especially when you add Grand Marnier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I digress.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here's what I did:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I made two. a small one in a 1 quart dish, and a smaller one in one of those little rectangular pyrex baking dishes. Grease them up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">4 peaches</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 cup blueberries</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">a little knob of ginger, peeled</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">an orange</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 oz Grand Marnier</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 tbsp corn starch.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Cobbler/crumble:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 cup flour</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1/4 cup oats</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3 tsp baking powder</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 tsp vanilla</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1/2 tsp nutmeg</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1/2 tsp cardamom</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1/2 tsp salt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 cup milk (it's between you and your conscience or preference from nonfat to whole..)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">graham cracker crumbs from one rectangle.. the kind that breaks into 4</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Remove the pits from 4 peaches, slice them 1/4" thick, then in half. Arrange them artfully in the baking dish. Then put some blueberries, artfully on top of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Use about 1/2 cup juice from the orange, the grand mariner, and the knuckle of ginger. Peel & grate the ginger, and mix it in with about 1 tbsp sugar. Or just put everything in a blender and whip it until the ginger gets whacked all up, then strain and Pour it over the fruit, evenly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Mix together the ingredients for the cobbler/crumble and pour over the fruit. Then sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the top. That way the dessert won't know if it is a cobbler or a crumble. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By now the oven should be warm enough. Put them in there and set the timer for 40 minutes. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bake them until they are golden and bubbling with hot delicious burst blueberry deliciousness. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If it's not golden after 40 minutes, keep it in there, checking every 5 minutes. If you leave it in there long enough, it will taste of carbon... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you're an anglophile, you can serve it with hot custard. You could just serve it out of the baking dish plain, or you could use whipped cream or ice cream. I leave that ENTIRELY up to you. My mom ate some with ice cream. She likes the mixture of hot cobbler and cold ice cream. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Irrespective of your perspective on current events, a nice sweet dessert makes a nice break from all the news, does it not? And isn't it nice that there are still some things we can all appreciate?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Have a lovely weekend everyone - my blog is done, and I am on track with my blog a week goal. Plus, I made a yummy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'll leave you with some profound wisdom and an ear worm courtesy of Sheryl Crow:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">We got rock stars in the White House</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">All our pop stars look like porn</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">All my heroes hit the highway</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">They don't hang out here no more</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: DroidSansRegular, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.67963981628418px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">You can try me on my cell phone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">You can page me all night long</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">But you won't catch this free bird</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">I'll already be long gone</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: DroidSansRegular, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.67963981628418px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">Like Steve McQueen</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">All we need's a fast machine</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">And we're gonna make it all right</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">Like Steve McQueen</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">Underneath your radar screen</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droidsansregular" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.747001647949219px;">You'll never catch us tonight!"</span><br />
<pre class="lyric-body wselect-cnt" data-lang="en" dir="ltr" id="lyric-body-text" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; cursor: alias !important; font-family: "Droid Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: auto; padding: 9.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="wselect" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #830c66; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/American" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/gotta" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/Steve" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/gonna" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/Steve" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/radar" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/never" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a></pre>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<pre class="lyric-body wselect-cnt" data-lang="en" dir="ltr" id="lyric-body-text" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; cursor: alias !important; font-family: "Droid Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: auto; padding: 9.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="wselect" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #830c66; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/American" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/gotta" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/Steve" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/gonna" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/Steve" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/radar" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a><a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/never" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none;"></a></pre>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-77084200984297894732019-02-22T15:40:00.001-08:002019-02-22T16:48:45.148-08:00Captology<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I picked up a new word for my vocabulary last week. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyQO0JXlp2MqgMn5yC_oUYodhz7MTAQsSXlTHXLy1ilMQTPEV5uG4PbZcRCh9LvH6UF_TZ6LuuYyvljrU-E1eZMEnHLj7-HJICBJKebRibZZGMOpdW1k6dpa8eBi-6e0e5kuNKb65s1JC7/s1600/yinyang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyQO0JXlp2MqgMn5yC_oUYodhz7MTAQsSXlTHXLy1ilMQTPEV5uG4PbZcRCh9LvH6UF_TZ6LuuYyvljrU-E1eZMEnHLj7-HJICBJKebRibZZGMOpdW1k6dpa8eBi-6e0e5kuNKb65s1JC7/s400/yinyang.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i style="background-color: black;">Any technological innovation carries the seeds for good and not-sah-good.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">New to me. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I heard this word for the first time at a gathering of Social Workers celebrating the 20</span><sup style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">anniversary of a distance learning program made possible through innovations in technology. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Apparently it has been around for a while.It is the brainchild of a man named BJ Fogg who created the word in 1996. He used the acronym CAPT (Computers As Persuasive Technology) to create a field of study which he conducts at the Stanford Design Lab. Since 1993, he has been studying how computers can be used to persuade people to change their attitudes and behaviors. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); color: red; text-align: center;">"Why should we care?" you say.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Most of us carry a little computer around with us wherever we go. They track us, they inform us, they help us. They also hold the potential to lead us down some dark collective rabbit holes, even though we may be all by ourselves in the process, and we may feel utterly safe and completely confident. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is an important word to learn and understand because there is a wealth of behavioral psychology driving it. As it turns out, BJ Fogg is well versed in behavioral psychology. As he has</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> been studying how computers can be used to persuade people to change their attitudes and behaviors, he has discovered the potentials as well as the pitfalls. He and his students have applied what they have learned about human behavior to apply it to how your behavior and your mindset can be manipulated as you use social media. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Understanding these concepts is what one of my teachers used to describe as “consumer protection for your mind.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The more technology advances, the more we can advance. Unfortunately, the same technology that leads us toward positive gains can be used for more nefarious purposes. Here's an example I read recently as I was driving along:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jPdk_MzXFyMeQZ-wxxVcRe-e62aGIjynF-wqxw8cZElqulRpsOB9_loIQNosXDrWE_gidDC8BtpPKiYR3qa-uwZL07uCAZZbckR8A-xLIqhgPfNy6RbM6HiHm6ziC3nZjhax0Uc3quxs/s1600/cell+phones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="959" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jPdk_MzXFyMeQZ-wxxVcRe-e62aGIjynF-wqxw8cZElqulRpsOB9_loIQNosXDrWE_gidDC8BtpPKiYR3qa-uwZL07uCAZZbckR8A-xLIqhgPfNy6RbM6HiHm6ziC3nZjhax0Uc3quxs/s640/cell+phones.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Car accidents are one thing. We can do other dark deeds as we click, share, text, and snap. We may feel virtuous, but we as humanoids have blind spots. We all want to be good people, but sometimes our best intentions can be deadly. Nobel prize winning author of the Gulag Archipelago and survivor of said Soviet Socialist gulags Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"> “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another metaphor for this concept comes from the Cherokee story of the old man who told his grandson that two wolves live inside each of us: one that is evil. It is filled with anger, jealousy, revenge, hatefulness, prejudice, false pride, guilt, arrogance, and malice. The other is good. It is filled with love, joy, kindness, compassion, serenity, and generosity. The old man told his grandson that these two wolves battle with one another. The grandson thought about it and asked, “which wolf wins?” The old man replied, “the one we feed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In his first inaugural address, President Lincoln spoke to the impending civil war. His final words were, “I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Steven Pinker chose that beautiful last phrase as the title for a whole book on the subject. In his book, he spoke to our human drive to violence, and that we must be mindul of our innate capacity for violence. In his book, he described five inner demons that Motivate us toward violence. They are as follows:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Predation</u>:</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> Our genetically inherited urge to compete for survival. The innate drive to “kill or be killed.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Dominance</u>:</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> An internal drive to gain power or position. We compete for access to resources, and have a drive to Again, this is an innate drive to attain resources: food, water, shelter, desirable mates for reproduction.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Revenge</u>:</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">We have within us a pleasure response to meting out revenge upon those whom we have come to dislike.. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Sadism</u>:</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Sadly, human beings derive pleasure in causing pain for others. It explains why many of us love to watch horror movies as a form of entertainment. Here's a word you may have seen recently. Schadenfreude. (It's German).</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Ideology</u>:</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> We formulate ingroups who hold a commonly held collection of ideas of right and wrong. We are right. They are wrong. We hold the moral high ground and they have been corrupted by evil. We justify the slaughter of those who stand in the way of our ideological beliefs as a necessary sacrifice in the name of all that we see as holy. THEY are being duped by ‘Fake News.’</span></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Since I mentioned all that is holy, let us turn then, to the Countering the four Better Angels of our nature that move us away from violence. They are:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Empathy</u>:</b> A concern for the well-being of others which stops us from harming people and perhaps offer support and understanding. We identify with the plight of the other. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Self-Control</u>:</b> Our capacity to refrain from acting impulsively. This capacity is one that shows up in greater and lesser amounts, and is a capacity that we strengthen with practice. I am reminded of an Aikido practitioner commenting that the world would be a safer place if everyone practiced Aikido, which involves self-control and the ability to protect oneself without harming another.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Moral Sense</u>:</b> the difference between what’s generally accepted as “right” and “wrong” can provide us with a compass that can help us navigate our way out of violence. Some people derive this from their spiritual beliefs. Some derive it from ideology or philosophy. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Reason</u>:</b>Fortunately, with the innovation of our cerebral cortexes, we developed the power of reason. Some of us were taught the art of critical thinking in school</span><span style="font-family: "cambria";">. Critical thinking calls upon us to analyze objective facts to form judgments. </span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At this point, you may be thinking, “But wait a minute Liz, aren’t some of those better angels seeming very similar to that fifth demon? That's what makes this whole thing so complicated, and it's why I would redirect you once again to that quote from Solzhenitsyn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is where life gets messy, and why our current newsfeeds are awash with items that trigger our emotions, and which beg us to click “Like” “Love” or “share.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It's what gets the tables flipped at Thanksgiving dinners, and what caused all sorts of people to cull their friends lists on the morning of November 9, 2016. Or thereabout.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">People have joked that there is no HATE option. That’s part of the psychology. You feel virtuous in your small click of the mouse because it’s a positive action. It’s funny. You love it. It makes you think, “Wow.” Or you want to share that the whole darn subject has you steaming between your ear bones, and rightly so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Confirmation Bias:</b> We tend to favor posts, articles, and blogs that align with our pre-existing beliefs. We hold certain biases and naturally we are attracted to items that confirm our beliefs, and we shy away from posts, articles, or people who would disconfirm our beliefs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We don't wish to have our mind palaces disrupted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How many times do we share something impulsively because it fills us with revulsion? We become outraged and want everyone to know that such and such a thing has happened. We add lines to emphasize how despicable it is, or what we wouldn’t want to do to that person if we could catch up with them. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And then a few days or weeks later, we come to the realization that there was more to the story. We may be quite loathe to acknowledge it because of our confirmation bias, but there it is. It all happened with a tiny, innocent click of the mouse, or tap on your phone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Let's get back to professor Fogg again for a moment. He has a formula to explain human behavior. It may be grossly simple, but it's worth taking a look. Here is the formula. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">B=MAT.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here is how to understand the formula:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Your Behavior can be a result of your motivation, your ability, and a trigger. <b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: red;">Trigger warning:</span></b> A trigger is something that stimulates us to consider an action. Here's how it works. If you are triggered to do 20 pushups because you read it's good for your health, you may have high motivation. If, however, you are overweight and out of shape as I am currently, your ability is low. Even if your motivation is high, your low ability will keep you from the behavior that would lead to being able to do 20 pushups. You WILL fail. If, however, You need to find an intermediary activity you can do that would lead you, with improvement over time, to those pushups, you will carry out the behavior and you will, in time, succeed. Yay, you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How does this apply to social media? It's so easy to click a button or tap your phone screen. If you're highly inflamed, inspired, etc., they got you. Click bait. That's how posts go viral. The more you can't wait to share it, the more you'll give in to the impulse. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The reason why it's good to come out of your bubble and have a look around is that if you don't, you run the risk of developing a blind spot. Your group may suffer from Groupthink. You might share something that is hurtful, wrong, or that might incite violence. I just watched a video today where person A punched person B over an idea. Suddenly a nice person has become hateful. While I describe a physical manifestation, raise your hand if you've ever gotten into a heated exchange over the inter webs? It can be addicting, and it can bring out things in us that we'd best leave as just inside-our-own-mind ideas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What happens when people begin to fear that if they have a thought which does not align with the narrative of the group, they may be shunned or punched? They fall silent. Or they attack the group to find another one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ultimately there is a reason why we have thrived through the healthy debates between people with differing ideas. Our ideas can only be strong if they can hold up to opposing arguments. When we talk to someone who questions us, our ideas get smarter. If we aren't willing to do this, we may develop some bad ideas and not know it because if nobody is going to disagree with you, you may think you're brilliant. Imagine what a nice world it would be if we could discuss something, admit disagreements, find agreements, and share a nice sandwich and a lemonade?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">We are smarter Together. Jack Johnson sang about Better Together. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Both are nice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's what John Stuart Mill wrote, and is something to consider embracing (please insert whatever pronouns work for thou. He was a cisgender white male of privilege who lived before such ideas were constructificated):</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion... Nor is it enough that he should hear the opinions of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them...he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.” </i></span></h1>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i> ~John Stuart Mill</i></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How do we decide what to share or not to share? I’ll leave you with a beautiful and succinct, easily memorizable quote:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">“Is it true; is it kind, or is it necessary?” </span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"> ~The So Crates Dude.</span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(And how many of you will remember it because I said, "The So Crates Dude instead of just Socrates?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Okay, well that about wraps 'er up. Be kind, check for truthfulness, and know that you can't even always count on Snopes because confirmation bias abounds everywhere. Stick to cute puppies and kitties, rainbows and unicorns, and memes that uplift. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Think before you interact on social media, and practice Schadenfreude avoidance. People will think you're smart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Also, please like or share if you found this to be interesting or of use, and then feel free to laugh uproariously at the irony of it all… And if you're not motivated by these ideas, here's a cute puppy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The better angels in me see the better angels in you. Thank you for reading. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AWW. A cute puppy with a heart on her forehead. What's not to like?</td></tr>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-82237616723843555032019-02-15T14:29:00.002-08:002019-02-15T14:29:43.582-08:00How We Respond to Others (and versa vicey)<h3>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i style="font-weight: normal;">Is a reflection of how we are in our own hearts.</i></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I've been haunted lately by a story I heard once as we sat around the fire telling stories. It's one of those stories that have been told around campfires for hundreds and thousands of years. So what that tells me is that the subject is not unique to our modern times and our modern problems. It's a story for EVERY one of us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">O</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">nce, long ago (but really it could have been last week), two monks walked a long and dusty road to the next village on their pilgrimage. They passed the time trading stories and reflecting on the message and merit of each of the stories they told. One was young and full of ideas and energy. The other was older, and was full of odd stories and mostly questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At a certain point, as they deliberated on the nature of good and evil, and whether people could be divided into categories of good and evil, or whether each human being was a mixture of both, they heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching at a rapid pace. As the hoofbeats grew closer and closer, they could feel the ground begin to shake. Then they heard the sound of a whip cracking and a man Yelling, “Hyaah!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The horse and cart approached so quickly that the monks were very nearly knocked off their feet! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As they dusted themselves, the young monk muttered to himself.and shook his fist at the rude person who was now not much more than a cloud of dust. The other monk raised his hand in the direction of the horse and cart now thundering off down the road. “Peace be with you, and may you know happiness and joy wherever you may be headed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“How can you say that?” cried the young monk, “He nearly trampled us to death!! He's evil, and should be brought to justice!!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The older monk, still in a trance of loving best wishes, said, "If that man felt peace, and knew joy and love in his heart, he would not have treated us in such a manner."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The young monk walked along in silence for quite some time before he spoke again. </span>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-51746858502219622142019-02-08T12:28:00.000-08:002019-02-08T12:35:28.740-08:00Self Care is Not Getting a Mani-Pedi.<div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Self care is about upgrading your self image.</span> </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Self care is about believing in yourself and your purpose in life, even when you are 'surfing the suck.' When your work is piled up and everyone else has called in sick, and you are hours from sleep. Being connected with the nobility of your mission in life will keep you going. It will give you the resolve to ask for the help you need when you need it. People will hear you because nobody wants to stop someone who is on a serious mission. We want to support you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Always, always as you do this, take some nice slow, deep breaths. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3cXdrN5D4-2rDtOFECjkAsVh617TMCpVbYRsu676VO1tN_CCZRNBpBMudJewkwFe_Rh-H9fvBaE3aNtoJJGzn8mDRTPDck_wcPYGGLxDQCPVeNw57PKTNjszACyb-aEhMwRQwEa_KE8P/s1600/mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1181" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3cXdrN5D4-2rDtOFECjkAsVh617TMCpVbYRsu676VO1tN_CCZRNBpBMudJewkwFe_Rh-H9fvBaE3aNtoJJGzn8mDRTPDck_wcPYGGLxDQCPVeNw57PKTNjszACyb-aEhMwRQwEa_KE8P/s400/mirror.jpg" width="295" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The first step is to connect with yourself and to love that person you're connecting with. This month, Ive been doing a daily practice of doing some mirror work. Louise Hay wrote extensively about it. It’s a powerful exercise to be able to look yourself in the eyes and tell yourself, “I love you. I respect you. Please forgive me. Thank you.” Try it for 5 minutes a day. I triple dog dare you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One thing I have come to know for certain is that into each life, some terrible things will inevitably happen. None of us are immune. Some people get a lot more accumulation than others, but we are none of us immune. Some people can go through true hell and back and they're still very lovely people. Others can break a nail and they feel doomed. What seems to make a huge difference is attitude.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In his book on Man's Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl wrote that "Everything can be taken away from you but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When I was in college, I had a very dear friend. She was one of those people who could light up a room with a wry comment and a puff of her clove cigarette. She passed away about 15 years ago and I often wonder what she would be doing with her many talents if she were still walking amongst us. What brought us to our friendship was that she had kind and mischievous eyes. She was a talented poet and writer. She had a keen sense of humor and a truly kind heart. She was a hard worker, and she was inspiring. While we were in college, she and a group of friends put up poetry and pieces of writing about women all over campus. For years, those pieces of paper could be found on faculty bulletin boards. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">During our senior year, she attempted suicide after suffering an assault that led to memories of abuses she suffered as a child. Her world came crashing in on her from every direction and she lost hope. She lost a sense of her own brilliance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">She sought help, and it arrived in the form of a therapist who encouraged her to journal about what had happened. She joined a group of survivors. It became her identity. She ate, slept, dreamed, wrote, and thought about every horrific thing that had happened to her and her siblings. Moshe Feldenkrais taught that we act in accordance with our self image. Her self image had shattered, and was replaced with the identity of hopeless victim. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There were suicide attempts, and there was addiction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There was the painful day that she confessed having been caught trying to pass a forged script for opioids. She spent the night in jail with a prostitute on the bench next to her placing her head in her lap, sobbing. She lost her medical transcriptionist job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The most current literature on addiction is teaching us that the opposite of addiction is connection. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fortunately, my dear friend managed to connect with that part of her that was strong. She got a better therapist. We talked at length about how what she really needed when all of those horrible memories came to haunt her. She needed to be connected to her strong, authentic self. She needed to be connected to her mission in life. She resolved to become that kind of therapist. We made a pact that we would bring hope to people who saw themselves as broken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sadly, her body was not strong enough to weather the storm and she passed away before she could enter graduate school. Her experience lit a fire in me, however, and she strengthened my resolve to be a therapist who would help people to shine a light on their gifts, heal the scars, and suck the marrow out of life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Everything I have learned in the intervening years points to the same urgent issue: We need meaning in our lives. We need to have a reason why we get out of bed every morning. This notion is what helped Victor Frankl survive a Nazi concentration camp and live on to write several books including <u>Man’s Search for Meaning</u>. In that book he described falling to his knees with a racking cough and a soldier beating him with a rifle butt. He rose to his feet by imagining the reception of a standing ovation as he concluded a speech about his ideas about the importance of having a purpose in life and for taking responsibility for one's own life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are four things we need to thrive:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><u>We need an individual sense of purpose</u>. </b> We need to know our “why.” Why am I here? What am I willing to be a stand for? What matters to me so much that I’m willing to defend it? What's your raison d'être (reason for existing?). Peace Pilgrim said it well when she said, “If only you could see the whole picture, if you knew the whole story, you would realize that no problem ever comes to you that does not have a purpose in your life, that cannot contribute to your inner growth. When you perceive this, you will recognize that problems are opportunities in disguise. If you did not face problems, you would just drift through life. It is through solving problems in accordance with the highest light we have that inner growth is attained.” Sometimes your purpose in life was the seed germinated in some problem you have faced in your life. Milton Erickson recognized it as the solution being inside the problem.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u>We need an individual sense of capacity</u>. </b>Once we’ve unearthed our mission in life, we need to harness a belief in our ability to do it. I love Ralph Waldo Emerson’s call to belief when he said, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” I also like what Eleanor Roosevelt said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><b><u>We need to connect with a group with a shared common purpose</u>.</b> Once we’ve made a healthy connection with ourselves, or as we endeavor to do so, we also need to be a part of a group with a common cause. The best groups are those who are working <b><u><i>for</i></u></b> something. They are working to create something, or lift people up, or teach. Eckhart Tolle wisely advised that causes succeed when they are working toward something positive. Causes that are named to fight something or someone are doomed to failure. If you choose a group, choose one that has a constructive common cause. Be discerning. If a cause has words like Anti, or Against, or wants to put an end to a thing, group or individual, beware. It means this group has failed to take the time to agree upon a common cause. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When you have only identified what you are fighting against as a group, it is inevitable that the group will become splintered, fractured, and ineffectual.</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><b><u>We need a sense of belonging to a group that has capacity</u></b>. Your group needs to have a belief in what you are doing, as well as the belief that you can succeed. The group has a common, positive vision that is so clear and compelling that everyone is working from the same blueprint. You're all paddling in the same direction. Even if it's in shit creek, you all have agreed upon the way through to better waters. Herein lies the importance of knowing what you are for. When you have only identified what you are fighting against as a group, it is inevitable that the group will become splintered, fractured, and ineffectual. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">So what is your why? What is your raison </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">d'être? The good news is that we all have one. The good news is that at the core of each of our beings is an indestructible source that knows our why. Our values. That thing we hold dearest. Now is a good time to connect with it, know it, and nurture it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Can you define it? Did you have a why when you were shorter than you are now? What lights you up?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Next question: Who are your people? Find the people who have the same hallucinations you have. You can rally each other when the going gets tough. Maybe you can get that mani/pedi together and have a good long chat about what you hope to accomplish in this lifetime of yours. </span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Every action we take is a vote for the person we want to become.” ~ </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">James Clear </span></i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>There are no victims. Only Volunteers.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sadly, we're living in an era where people are quick to criticize, call out, criticize, blame, shame, and vilify. A friend admonished me recently that I needed to choose sides and that if I didn't choose sides, I was colluding with evil. We rally together around things or people we despise. What's the word? Schadenfreude. It's German. Look it up. While we may experience a moment of fleeting virtue, quite often we'll regret having jumped on a bandwagon when the rest of the story is revealed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Recently, I was told that a student graduating the Social Work program I attended had remarked that she had no idea how oppressed she was until she had attended the program. Contrastingly, I recently participated in an intenSati session where the leader, a woman of color, said, "I see you, fear! And you know what? I don't have time for you, Boo-boo, I have things to do!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Who would you rather hang out with as you planned your future?</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>An Important Daily Practice</i></span></td></tr>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-19086440352263482192019-02-01T08:19:00.000-08:002019-02-01T12:47:11.388-08:00Twenty Full Push-ups Done With Proper Form- That's the Goal!<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Right now, I don't have the strength to do one.</i></b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>How I Plan to Celebrate the New Year</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I also have a rather old familiar habit of not seeing this as being at all possible for me. All previous attempts to change this got abandoned almost immediately. </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In this photo to your left, you can see a graphic I worked on and did not finish last year, with all the various strength training exercises that can help someone who really wants to learn how to do a proper full military pushup, with good form. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I couldn't even bring myself to complete the illustration, much less get started with actually doing the work.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Not For Fat Kids</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What stops me? Well, I carry around this rather shameful memory of when I was 8 or 9 years old and we all got tested for the Presidential Fitness Challenge. We ran a mile and did curl-ups. Those were okay. What knocked me out of the running were pull-ups and push-ups. I failed miserably. While legions of my classmates all got their pretty patches and awards signed by President Nixon, I took on the label of <b>"Fat Kid."</b> I don't think the intention was to discourage me, but that's what I chose to do with the experience. Over time, it has become a fixed identity and a habit that I'd like to upgrade. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I know I'm not as alone as I felt in the third grade. In researching the program and finding a picture of the award I never got, I found out that this program was ended a few months ago. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oh well. I've decided that when I succeed with my goal of 20 pushups, I'm going to photoshop a copy of this award and hang it in my office. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Back to my dilemma: If I can't do <b><i><u>one</u></i></b> pushup, how do I get to <b><i><u>twenty??</u></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What I need to do is figure out what I <u>CAN</u> do and come up with a program that will allow me to get a little stronger every day.. The good news is that I have already done the research, and I know all the steps that can lead me there. There are things I can do today: Wall pushups, planks, using weights, reducing my weight, and building up strength. A little at a time. If I do ONE Percent more each day, I'll be ringing in the new year in my own nerdy way, and will give myself my own fitness challenge award. I wonder if you, like me, have trouble visualizing our current POTUS dropping and giving us all 20. ((!!!))</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: cyan; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><i>Implementing the GOYA FACTOR!</i></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'm once again adding push-ups to my new year vision board. The difference is that this </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">year, I'm also committing to the </span><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u>GOYA</u></i></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> factor. This is a concept that my supervisor Brad Pendergraft taught me years ago. </span><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">GOYA= Get Off Your... Assets.</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Yes, get moving. I can't get strong enough to do pushups through visualizing. I actually have to lift my carcass off the couch and do some strength training.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What do I do once I get up off the couch? Start small.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Moshe Feldenkrais, a movement educator, encouraged students to go really slowly in the process of successfully achieving a movement. I'm starting by imagining myself doing 20 full warrior pushups. What is the posture? how do I position my arms and fingers? What are the muscles being recruited? Where does the movement start? Does it start in my triceps, or in my core as I begin to exhale? What do I do with my breath? How do I know that I'm maintaining a straight line? Do I have a very clear and embodied felt sense of what a proper pushup feels like?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Once I'm there, I can go to the wall. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I can do a wall push-up. For the past four days, I've been doing three sets of 30 wall push-ups. This may seem like small potatoes, but I know that toward the end of each set, it gets a little more challenging, and I can definitely feel that something is going on in my muscles because they're talking to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">During the first set, I pay attention to form. Hand placement. What muscles are firing? What other muscles could I recruit that would make this even easier? I experiment with my hand angle and how much my fingers are spread apart. I put my attention on my shoulder blades and the muscles in my upper back. I experiment with what it's like to start the movement from my core. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Suddenly, I've gone from feeling like a weenie for doing wall pushups to feeling like a total badass. My form is impeccable, and I'll keep that form as I get stronger. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What's also great about this is I can reduce my risk of injury which would really throw a wrench in the system. If I stressed and strained and huffed and puffed to do a pushup today, I'd get frustrated, and I might end up pulling a muscle or a tendon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Each day, I'm writing down exactly what exercises I did that helped me gain the strength I need to do those pushups. E</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ach day I'll be adding a little more of a challenge to the daily challenge. Every day I'll see what small addition I can make that will lead me to my first complete pushup. It's a surprisingly powerful concept behind the Weber-Fechner law of physics. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Bear in mind, I got a D in physics in high school. My explanation will not be sciencey. If you want sciencey, I invite you to google it. Basically, it's about human perception. Imagine being in a dark room and lighting a candle. You notice that the candle has been lit because one candle in the darkness makes a big difference. But now imagine that the lights are on in a room and you light a candle. It's hard to notice the increase in light because the amount of light added by the candle is so slight in comparison to the amount of light already in the room. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How does this apply to my project of doing a pushup?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'll share an experience I had in a yoga class several years back. Toward the end of class, we were instructed to exhale, take our hands and grasp opposite elbows, bend from the waist, and hang there. My elbows were hanging somewhere just below my knees and about a foot from the floor. The instructor had us close our eyes and just focus on our breathing, staying just at the edge of flexibility. No stressing or straining. Just breathing, and with each breath, letting go a little more, with ease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I can't tell you how many minutes this went on or how many breaths we took. I will tell you that on one exhale, the instructor pressed on the spot between my shoulder blades and gently pushed me down maybe less than half an inch. As she did, I felt my forearms touching the floor. I was SO surprised and delighted! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Just Noticeable Difference</i></span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The weight of a feather, barely noticeable, <br />can add up when multiplied</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What happened in that yoga class was that I got to the floor gradually. By adding a just noticeable difference, it was within a range that seemed easily possible. I didn't perceive any change because the change was so small. In weight training, if you add weight equivalent to the weight of a feather to someone's barbells, they won't notice the difference. Over time, that just noticeable difference adds up and compounds itself. Someone who was bench pressing 100 pounds with these slight additions could go from 100 to 150 in this way without even noticing the increase. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><i>Success is contagious!</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The benefits of my project go way beyond the idea that by the new year I'll be doing pushups. The other cool thing is that I'll have company! I was telling my mom about it the day before yesterday. She's 30 years older than I am and now she's doing wall pushups and feeling proud. I told my next door neighbor about it a couple of days ago, and now every time I see her, she's updating me on her wall pushups. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How about you? Are you with me? If you already do pushups, what is your equivalent challenge? How can you break it down and find a project small enough that you can practice every day? If so, I would LOVE to hear about it!!</span>lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-14974137483085368492019-01-24T16:47:00.001-08:002019-01-24T19:01:39.573-08:00The Mariposa Metamorphosis Metaphor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>(Say <b><u>that</u></b> three times fast!!)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizkdW4nsvMiPFjZZf99oyZq-cUF4DE-zpMA0asbEDsEdTIZIjQ2gurwSqyN_AvnN8EgLEyAyFXFcKKu7bsZgZwEM2mALavQET9wGSck97MA90wkatwgmcAarq3bveuINlmvS8TsfZ9ngU/s1600/imagine.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizkdW4nsvMiPFjZZf99oyZq-cUF4DE-zpMA0asbEDsEdTIZIjQ2gurwSqyN_AvnN8EgLEyAyFXFcKKu7bsZgZwEM2mALavQET9wGSck97MA90wkatwgmcAarq3bveuINlmvS8TsfZ9ngU/s1600/imagine.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I never metaphor I didn’t like. Metaphors awaken our imagination. They provide models and patterns that can inspire us, give us insight, and hope. They can provide symbols that can lead us through dark times on the long journey to a faraway destination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One of my favorites is that of the mariposa, or butterfly. It has returned to my attention lately since my daily practice with SATI365 this month utilizes the butterfly metamorphosis as part of the morning guided meditation. It's such a fabulous pattern of creative imagining that helps us envision the exquisite beauty of our heart's desire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The story of the butterfly's metamorphosis has long been used to help people have hope when undertaking a huge new goal, or heal from a serious illness or injury. The more outlandish or impossible the dream, the more this metaphor works. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i> "We can become what we dream of if fat, furry worms can fly." ~Jana Stanfield</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The basic story we all know is that a butterfly lays eggs on milkweed plants. When the larvae emerge, they begin to eat. During this caterpillar phase, it will eat so much that it will outgrow and shed its skin three times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hmm... that sounds like my last three years....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As humanoids, we go through similar changes. As infants, we eat, grow, sleep, learn, and will outgrow all sorts of shoes and clothing. We also develop numerous identities which we outgrow as we continue to upgrade our self concept. Our bodies change over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In my time, I’ve eaten and outgrown any number of outfits. First in childhood and then, alas, in adulthood as I’ve struggled with my capacity to maintain a healthy body that allows me to do all the things I want to do. I've also struggled with maintaining the identity of being a healthy person.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But I digress…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTTqdTBHSW6Rw_59EW6sYkrDSUdp9BKi3csEhyCd8snnttuYFehLYbcIdiYkX8koYvB3PiKLZJMW3JfPpduuTWNUmKU6KQXPYgVPf4PFevGGwqrjBP0T12Nu1bgzP8zDsSLDryb8frG2f/s1600/caterpillar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTTqdTBHSW6Rw_59EW6sYkrDSUdp9BKi3csEhyCd8snnttuYFehLYbcIdiYkX8koYvB3PiKLZJMW3JfPpduuTWNUmKU6KQXPYgVPf4PFevGGwqrjBP0T12Nu1bgzP8zDsSLDryb8frG2f/s320/caterpillar.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">…Back to the caterpillar… When it has almost outgrown itself the fourth time, it develops a hard outer casing we all know as a chrysalis. What happens inside that chrysalis is absolutely amazing. While the hard outer shell will protect what goes on within, the inner world of the chrysalis completely liquefies into a nutrient-dense soup. Among the cells in the caterpillar soup are cells that biologists have called <b><i>imaginal discs</i></b>. These are cells that will form the various parts of the butterfly. They are new, and the caterpillar’s immune system which is represented by other cells in that soup do not recognize these new shapes. The immune system begins to attack these seemingly foreign invaders. The imaginal cells that are working to grow into the various parts of the caterpillar have to ward off attacks by this immune system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Seem familiar? It’s like when we set new goals for growth that challenge us. There is some part of us that wants to resist the change. A life coach named Brooke Castillo has referred to this inner resistance as “obstacle thoughts.” These obstacle thoughts can be like the caterpillar's immune system, attacking our vision of a desired outcome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sometimes when we set a goal that will require us to change, there are certain things that we need to do differently. We may need to wake up earlier, or eat different foods or actually use that gym membership. We want to introduce these elements into our lives, but some part of us doesn’t welcome the change. We have had a set way of doing things and have held a set idea of who we are. If our goal requires us to act or think differently, some part of us will throw up roadblocks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We think up all the reasons why we should just give up, or not do a thing. “Why stretch or grow?” “Am I not supposed to be able to love myself as I am?” “It’s too hard to give up my pizza or my Netflix binge, or my (fill in the blank with your favorite indulgence..)” “I’m bound to fail and I don’t want to disappoint myself.” Chances are if you have a goal in mind right now, you can begin to identify your own obstacle thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">These obstacle thoughts are strongly biased. In a desperate attempt to save us from having to change, our unconscious mind will produce all the evidence to support the reasons for just staying the same. For not attempting and failing yet again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It seems so frustrating, yet it is something we all do. It's hardwired in all of us to consider all the possible dangers and setbacks. It's something in our very DNA that wants to save us from doing foolish and hazardous things. It's good to discern what are legitimate concerns, and which thoughts are roadblocks to our success. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When these obstacle thoughts arise, we need to investigate them and determine whether they are warning signs or challenges. Riddles to be solved. As we overcome each obstacle, the goal moves closer to us. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The best way to help us to overcome these obstacles and solve the riddles is a robust, fertile imagination. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBKohBHrlu7_LaUaHHqTGpDwMduIhmFdSQSQV_3hHcutdDCXvVgLK6xK_R4pziPyz2n87mkmAinl6l0F5zwttBwpwiur0GuTTfi1v37dpwOvNeblE1CUzL2Pf4g1xYzoShF4Ybrb_MwXP/s1600/chrysalis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="181" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBKohBHrlu7_LaUaHHqTGpDwMduIhmFdSQSQV_3hHcutdDCXvVgLK6xK_R4pziPyz2n87mkmAinl6l0F5zwttBwpwiur0GuTTfi1v37dpwOvNeblE1CUzL2Pf4g1xYzoShF4Ybrb_MwXP/s400/chrysalis.jpg" width="281" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Meanwhile, back inside the chrysalis, the imaginal cells persevere the assaults on their creativity from the caterpillar's well-intended immune system. Eventually those imaginal cells join forces and produce a fully formed butterfly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The hard shell casing becomes increasingly translucent as the butterfly transforms itself from soup into a beautiful winged creature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Similarly, think about a time you’ve taken on a lofty goal. The way may have seemed totally unclear to you at first, and you may have had absolutely no idea how you were going to possibly see your way through high school, or college, or graduate school, or a 45 minute exercise class three times a week. You had to start small. Whatever you accomplished, you may have noticed that the more you could see yourself actually accomplishing it in rich sensory detail, the more possible the end result seemed. The more progress you made, the more the way seemed clearer. There have been numerous studies that have shown that successful people achieve big things by really focusing on having a felt sense of what it will be like to already have the desired achievement. Using all five senses, creating a picture of what they will see, hear, feel, smell, and taste when it is done.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wayne Dyer often spoke of this when he described his own experiences. He never questioned that he would earn his doctorate. in his mind's eye it was already done and he just went about taking all of the many steps it took to get him to the ultimate goal. It's something we can all learn to do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Let's get back to that butterfly now as it gets ready to emerge from its chrysalis. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DMLpdZ_8NFP-r4aJQpKKg2LDlgeUYIxGU4hdf9CYJPgH2HxRm4dzYEWYfh937NvOg4ilTs2IaU-A-xsfnCs6vh6KJby9JHynfrlBpORkXhC6a88047BVv73Kl2pDRen9FpuMcR800vcG/s1600/comingout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="415" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DMLpdZ_8NFP-r4aJQpKKg2LDlgeUYIxGU4hdf9CYJPgH2HxRm4dzYEWYfh937NvOg4ilTs2IaU-A-xsfnCs6vh6KJby9JHynfrlBpORkXhC6a88047BVv73Kl2pDRen9FpuMcR800vcG/s320/comingout.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As the butterfly emerges from the now translucent chrysalis, it pulses. It looks as though it is breathing. What is really happening is that those pulsing movements are pumping fluid from the thorax into the structure of the buttterfly’s wings. As this happens, the wings steadily take shape. Once, the wings take shape, they become solar panels. They will remain stationery, opening and closing their wings, gaining heat and energy from the sun and when the moment is right , they will take flight.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Similarly, we gather resources and elicit help and support from our environments, we experience setbacks and perhaps criticisms from without and within. We breathe our way through all of those moments, put one foot in front of the other and when the moment is right, we step out into the world and celebrate our accomplishments.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtas5AdLlAGSHvmU5s1PLcqjBfMZ8K81ksQtr-AT0YpXeQ_LC7RXi4giWfRo31Wqw26i5qVz28e2Yev7IftqidPAYnEapQ567WbJfk3I7DsemNfgufvKxsOJbfdf-Vao6AoInF4xHpqyJ/s1600/butterflies+drinking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtas5AdLlAGSHvmU5s1PLcqjBfMZ8K81ksQtr-AT0YpXeQ_LC7RXi4giWfRo31Wqw26i5qVz28e2Yev7IftqidPAYnEapQ567WbJfk3I7DsemNfgufvKxsOJbfdf-Vao6AoInF4xHpqyJ/s1600/butterflies+drinking.jpg" title="butterflies drinking" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Butterflies drinking from wet, sandy soil at the river's edge</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ah, but there's more to the story.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsY55nVS93o3lpSmysKfdGYn0OkF90COFqfRhbxF6Uo7Fdg_8qRdKD6tes4rqXT0RhI_4EvmH44llrzIt1sggIz7Y8E3Dz6N34UQ4YdVuI-RU3F-HXTl5oF8S3AkgU7dfnbtYBQD4rxf3J/s1600/michoacanmariposas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="505" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsY55nVS93o3lpSmysKfdGYn0OkF90COFqfRhbxF6Uo7Fdg_8qRdKD6tes4rqXT0RhI_4EvmH44llrzIt1sggIz7Y8E3Dz6N34UQ4YdVuI-RU3F-HXTl5oF8S3AkgU7dfnbtYBQD4rxf3J/s640/michoacanmariposas.jpg" width="433" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The part that is truly inspiring happens after metamorphosis. That beautiful, graceful Monarch butterfly that emerges from a monarch caterpillar in North America will set out on an incredible journey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Those delicate whisper-thin wings will make their way over snow-capped mountains, great lakes, deserts, and encounter all manner of birds who will want to consume them as food. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In one generation, these monarchs will make their way from wherever their eggs were laid in North America to a place of convergence in Mexico where they will spend the winter together. It will take the following two or three generations to make their way back to where the Michoacan Monarch Mariposas found their winter resting place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So it often is with us that as we make our individual journeys, may we find like-minded people of similar purpose who join forces with us. Together, may we be strong, and may we encourage one another. Butterflies may look delicate, but they are not fragile. Neither should we be. Be strong. Believe in yourself. Create a powerful vision of yourself in rich sensory detail. and get support from people who want the best for you!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">May this metaphor inspire you to see your way through the darkness that will lead you to the clarity of your own goals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Until then, and, as I’ve heard it said by my particularly nerdy and punny friends, “Metaphors be with you.”</span><span style="font-family: "cambria";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-18398767091417312362019-01-16T11:55:00.000-08:002019-01-16T11:55:49.693-08:00If You Want to Grow PEONIES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtZc7RruGLyMYI3lH62cOIXcdSP7A74lIdAl-pT0H7bYPNG5uUXlaIeONWdCft7ZpFSUhIgtUrLIqSseSCEU1je0vYcqayvuGlQclgmdG1urNXz2-xBI2fmBDgPQmoaeCmlRTns9vI-by/s1600/iu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtZc7RruGLyMYI3lH62cOIXcdSP7A74lIdAl-pT0H7bYPNG5uUXlaIeONWdCft7ZpFSUhIgtUrLIqSseSCEU1je0vYcqayvuGlQclgmdG1urNXz2-xBI2fmBDgPQmoaeCmlRTns9vI-by/s320/iu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">...Let's talk about ANTS</span>.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It was long believed that ants were required to help the peonies to bloom. Ants are attracted by the sweet resin exuding from those fist-like buds. Gardeners are a romantic lot-- generally, and will tell you that the ants are essential to carry off the excess resins, "tickling" the buds to blossom. Others will tell you to leave the ants in place because of their vital role in the ecology of your peony garden. They know that the ants farm aphids and caterpillars, and keep other noxious insects in check. Luckily, by the time the peonies are blooming and you're gathering a fragrant bouquet to take into your house, the ants have lost interest, having carried most of the sugary goodness away. You can shake off the blooms and the ants will plop themselves into the greenery and soil, off to tickle another bud into blooming.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You might have already guessed, though, that I'm after a different sort of Peony. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, ladies and germs, I'm here to write to you today about the peonies in the garden of your mind.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Positive Energizing Open New Ideas Evoking Success. (PEONIES).</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If you want to have positive, energizing, open, new ideas evoking success (PEONIES), you're going to have to tackle your automatic negative thoughts (ANTS).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Automatic Negative Thoughts.</b> They're soul-killing, dream-killing patterns of thought that have an evolutionary basis. You may have already read about how the vast majority of our subconscious thoughts run toward the negative. You may already have guessed that I will now reference the early days of humanoids and their need to outrun or outwit the saber toothed tiger for survival. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">These days, fortunately, dealing with saber-toothed tigers seldom make our daily to-do lists. Our modern-day "duties to do" include things like "buy more broccoli," finish the report due on Wednesday, or "Meet with Becky" (Becky being our modern-day equivalent of said saber-toothed tiger). She has an axe to grind with you about just how that report is being written, and you need to go in there and clear the air of a three week misunderstanding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You've been brooding all morning and glaring at her over the top of your computer screen. Whenever you turn to start on the report, thoughts of how Sarah is out to get you and ruin your chances completely overtake you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Three weeks ago, when you told her you had convinced the boss to review some ideas you had about reducing waste in the office, she had sniffed, said, "Hmmph!" and walked away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Because you are a mind reader, and because you know in your heart of hearts that Becky secretly wishes you were dead, and the boss always sides with her, and that you know you shouldn't finish the report anyway because it was a stupid idea anyway, and why bother because even if it was a good idea, Becky is coming for you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Last night, as you brooded about it with your buddy BOB, and you told him you were thinking of resigning, he told you that it might just be automatic negative thoughts and sent you a link to this article. In this article, you found a list of Automatic Negative Thoughts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey look, here they are now:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span style="font-family: "candara";"><b>1. “Always/Never” Thinking - </b>when you think in absolutes. This is digital yes/no, on/off thinking. There is no grey area. There is no nuance. In this case, Becky always gets the better of you because she's never liked you</span></span><span style="font-family: "candara";">.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "candara";">2. Focusing On The Negative - </span></b><span style="font-family: "candara";">This occurs when your thoughts reflect only the bad in a situation and ignore any of the good things. Its getting 100 reviews back and all you can focus on are the 4 bad ones, forgetting about the 96 positive ones.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "candara";">3. Fortune-telling - </span></b><span style="font-family: "candara";">This is where you predict the worst possible outcome to any situation. When you go into a conversation assuming that the other person won’t like what you have to say, you change the way you communicate to usually make it come true.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "candara";">4. Mind Reading -</span></b><span style="font-family: "candara";">This happens when you believe that you know what other people are thinking, even though they haven’t told you directly. Taking someone’s silence as “They’re mad at me” is a perfect example of mind reading. They may just be thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "candara";">5. Thinking With Your Feelings</span></b><span style="font-family: "candara";">- This occurs when you believe your negative feelings without ever questioning them. Feelings are very complex and often based upon our past stories. Feelings are not always about truth. Feelings are your perception of certain situations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "candara";">6. Guilt Beating</span></b><span style="font-family: "candara";">- Also called shoulding on yourself, guilt beating is when you think words like should, must, ought, or have to to most situations. It’s healthier to say, “I’d like to be able to help them out” instead of “I should help them out”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "candara";">7. Labeling </span></b><span style="font-family: "candara";">- Whenever you attach a negative label like jerk, arrogant, irresponsible, or stupid to yourself or to someone else, you stop your ability to take a clear look at the situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "candara";">8. Personalizing</span></b><span style="font-family: "candara";">- This happens when you invest innocuous events with personal meaning. “My boss didn’t talk to me, so I must have done something wrong.” There are lots of reasons people do things. You never fully know why people do what they do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "candara";">9. Blaming -</span></b><span style="font-family: "candara";">When you blame something or someone else for the problems in your life, you become a passive victim of circumstances and you make it very difficult to do anything to change your situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara";">So you carefully reviewed what happened with Becky and how you may well have gotten yourself off the track. You're now bracing yourself to approach Becky and clear the air. In fact you're about to get up out of your chair when she slips into your cubicle and sits in the empty chair by your desk and says, "Can we talk for a minute?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "candara";">It turns out Becky has been harboring some Automatic Negative Thoughts of her own because it slipped your mind that the original idea had been a conversation she started with you, and she has been taken aback at your willingness to steal your thunder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "candara";">Having recognized all of the automatic negative thoughts the two of you have had, you decide to work on the report together. It ends up being three times as good and the two of you turn it in three days early.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "candara";">The boss is so taken with the ideas in your ideas that will save time money and resources that you both get raises and a beautiful bouquet of ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "candara";">Petunias.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "candara";">My apologies to anyone named Becky, and my hope is that you can find the pattern in your own life and keep those ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) from doing damage to your PEONIES (</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">positive, energizing, open, new ideas evoking success).</span></div>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-80065742006583042722019-01-11T17:37:00.000-08:002019-01-15T10:04:58.448-08:00Footprints<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBmdYRDesvvWnjzQlVucz-TgifwUeD-NooH9QwNRB7YeO41A4IUnHNhKrQ6_xdeKhf-ea3MiLANVs9JCuji42phHLTQt8xL8vjOebOIQjkcvsaZc6Xdmg7lc0lSbKf8dEFdfhcFzPAKEz4/s1600/footsteps1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1600" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBmdYRDesvvWnjzQlVucz-TgifwUeD-NooH9QwNRB7YeO41A4IUnHNhKrQ6_xdeKhf-ea3MiLANVs9JCuji42phHLTQt8xL8vjOebOIQjkcvsaZc6Xdmg7lc0lSbKf8dEFdfhcFzPAKEz4/s400/footsteps1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Imagine calculating how many steps you have taken in your life so far...</b></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Math is <b><i>hard</i></b>, but if we take the 12,000 per day average according to fitbit expectations, at my age, that's somewhere over a quarter of a BILLION steps. Each one of the steps we take are leading us somewhere. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Maybe lots of circles, but still, somewhere.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For me, that puts things into perspective when I think about taking one small step in the direction of my goals. It makes it seem simpler and less daunting.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Going to the beach or walking in the snow is fun because the sand and the snow record all the footprints. When it snows here in Bend and I go out into the yard, it's a delight to find records of all the footprints left by people, dogs, ducks, wild birds, cotton-tail bunnies, deer, and a host of other four-legged whose footprints I can't (or should I say daren't) discern. We all were going somewhere in pursuit of something. It's interesting to guess what those pursuits might have been.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This morning, as I got out to my studio at 5am to do a livestream workout, I heard Patricia Moreno say that there’s nothing in your future except what you are thinking about.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That's a good piece of advice for those of us who still have goals eleven days into the new year. How are we doing? We start out feeling bold and courageous, sure of success. About now, life has happened. Many goals may have been abandoned, and left for dead. Maybe to be picked up again when the Chinese New Year gets recognized. I laugh at myself that I've chosen to improve my healthy eating habits in the year of the Pig. (If not now, when)?</span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In her book <u>Dare to Lead</u>, Brene Brown shares the idea that we should write what we need to read. Right now, really I need to read about keeping dedicated to a practice.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Somewhere in the last three or four years, I abandoned my early morning practice. I can't tell you exactly when or why. All I know is that it eroded, and all kinds of old, familiar, sleeping late and comfort food eating practices quickly filled the void. In November, I got the flu. It knocked me off my feet for about two weeks, and then the coughing commenced. Racking, relentless coughs that I had gotten all the time before April 22, 2012.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For me, it was the wake up call that got my attention. I needed to do something about my health. I scheduled an appointment with a primary care physician, and finally got to see them last week (I'll save you my opinion about what health care has become in this country, and where I fear it's going. Suffice it to say I'm choosing to take responsibility for my own health by getting back on track with a healthy lifestyle.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The lab results came in the mail today. They tell a story of the consequences of poor dietary choices. My cholesterol level is off the charts, and the letter I received informed me that the physician was wanting to put me on a cholesterol reducing medication because I'm at risk for coronary artery disease. I met with her yesterday and told her I had actively changed my diet. I have been drinking vegetable smoothies, and on Monday, I plan to start the Whole30 diet which is useful for reducing inflammation. She agreed to meet with me again in three months, get lab work, and see how I'm doing. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So far, I've resumed my old healthy practice for 11 days. The practice is to do the following every day:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1. Get up at 5am</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2. At 5, do an hourlong intenSati workout</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3.write out my top three goals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">4. Drink at least one vegetable smoothie each day and eat whole foods, no ruffles potato chips which are my number one trigger food.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5. Write a love note to my mom and leave it on her chair in a book we got for that purpose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6. Learn something.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What I learned most recently from Brene Brown's book <u>Dare to Lead,</u> is that I should write what I need to read. Since one of my top goals is to publish one blog a day, that is what I plan to do, as it will support this goal, and my other two (restoring my health, and creating a vibrant intenSati community here in Bend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Today, I want to read everything I can about how to stay in the game and stay motivated to keep going. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm speaking directly now to anyone reading this who set some goals a week and a half or so ago: It’s about now that we’ve been gobsmacked by life challenges that have us questioning our goals.. One thing or a mother (sic) can lead to some dark thoughts. Anger. Frustration. The desire to just give it all up and binge watch an entire Netflix series and eat an extra large pizza, solo. Forget the book, the play, the painting, the health program. Just wallow.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But here’s the thing. Life is about how we meet these roadblocks. If you really, really want that thing, you have to be willing to deal effectively the setbacks and stay in the game. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Good knitters come to know their craft so well that they can pick up dropped stitches without having to give up, rip out everything, and start all over. Sometimes they do, but they understand it’s all a part of the process of making that sweater. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Part of my practice will be about picking up stitches. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I have committed to publish a blog entry at least once a week this year. In order to do this, I have to be willing to make mistakes. Oh yes, there will be grammatical errors. It’s all part of the process of practicing. Oh yes, I will be judgmental about what I write. I will fear offending, or being ridiculous, confusing, or ignored. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m cultivating my practice of writing. That means I must be purposeful and be willing to show up consistently. I need to practice the art of putting it out there. I need to want to do it badly enough that I'm willing to be ignored, laughed at, or judged harshly.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Since I made the decision to do what Elizabeth Gilbert advised, I'm writing for myself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Last week, I mentioned that in order to get good at something, we have to be willing to perform badly at it and over time, with hope, we improve.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Steven Gilligan really emphasizes the importance of having a practice. Having had a practice regularly, then having abandoned it, and now resuming that practice, I understand that he really means it when he says that you are only as good as your practice. What we do every day is practice at who we want to be. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s very much a theme in the hero’s journey. Joseph Campbell's work refers to how we hear the call, then ignore the call, or run from the call, or reject the call. Or try and get someone else to do it. In folk tales, the hero/heroine typically makes a mistake or several mistakes before the foe is vanquished, the heart is won, Rumplestiltskin explodes in a fiery orange flame, or the farm flourishes with bountiful crops. Prior to the ultimate achievement, the stars of these fables must face their fears, outsmart monsters, and endure hardships. They do so in order to return home victorious with their gifts.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4Gzc5uowq3hJ9wJu-RiQkhrHLarofzO-YeLdiE7a4hy3qf2wVKzz-Z7z6LKVsdbcwx1NgF5Vq7l36PJdPxhHb1V7DTorOCafplXnkmg-7fvZ8Qj7fgDvl4z3kWpSprWQH8Y9Q1ObmWPn/s1600/IMG_2204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4Gzc5uowq3hJ9wJu-RiQkhrHLarofzO-YeLdiE7a4hy3qf2wVKzz-Z7z6LKVsdbcwx1NgF5Vq7l36PJdPxhHb1V7DTorOCafplXnkmg-7fvZ8Qj7fgDvl4z3kWpSprWQH8Y9Q1ObmWPn/s640/IMG_2204.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Carlsbad Caverns. It's a long way down and contains a vast array of extaordinary treasures..</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." - Joseph Campbell.</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Think about your goal. What calls for you’re attention so powerfully that you’re willing to swim the shark infested moat of old fears and habits? What are you wanting so badly that you're willing to screw up big time? Imagine it with rich, full sensory details. What do you see, what do you hear? What do you smell? What do you taste? How does it feel in your body? The more fully embodied your imagination becomes, the more compelling the goal becomes. If we start each day reminding ourselves of this, we're more likely to go on to live our days in a manner that is congruent with what we want to achieve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s the first step that seems the most daunting. The step you take that seems to have led us nowhere. It's too soon to expect progress, and the goal seems daunting.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The poet, David Whyte wrote a poem about this first step. He describes it as your step. The one you don’t want to take.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wait, what?? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How is it that we get so freaked out about getting started? Quite often it's our crushing fear that we will fail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are the things that have kept us from having the goal already. Fears, doubts, old coping strategies, old messages. Stress. Sick kids. Critics. Exhaustions. Accidents. Injuries. They show up and warn us off from starting. It is inevitable. How we approach these first steps is crucial. Do we approach them from our present self state of mind, or from our future self state of mind? Can we decide that it's all working out and we can handle the challenge<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The only thing between us and our goals is our unwillingness to deal with the discomfort of doing the work to get there. On the other hand, if we decide that we fear the pain and sorrow of never getting there... Maybe that will have us willing to keep skin in the game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This takes me back to what Patricia Moreno said to us all this morning who were there at 5am Pacific Time to do her live workout: "There's nothing in your future except what you're thinking." If you're interested in Patricia Moreno and what she has to teach, I highly encourage you to visit her website, <a href="http://patriciamoreno.com/" target="_blank">patriciamoreno.com</a></span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">May we all think well of our collective future, and may our authentic future selves be there to walk alongside each of us to point out the way and encourage us when it gets a little scary. May those footsteps lead us in the direction of health, success, and connection.</span></span><br />
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</span></span>lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-7838704318855334162019-01-04T15:09:00.003-08:002019-01-04T15:09:26.174-08:00How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do I have to say it? Okay, okay, I'll say it. Practice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rumi gave us the instruction some time ago. "</span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(73, 73, 73); color: #494949; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Segoe UI", "Nimbus Sans L", "Liberation Sans", "Open Sans", FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif;">Start a huge, </span><span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Segoe UI", "Nimbus Sans L", "Liberation Sans", "Open Sans", FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">foolish</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(73, 73, 73); color: #494949; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Segoe UI", "Nimbus Sans L", "Liberation Sans", "Open Sans", FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Segoe UI", "Nimbus Sans L", "Liberation Sans", "Open Sans", FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">project</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(73, 73, 73); color: #494949; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Segoe UI", "Nimbus Sans L", "Liberation Sans", "Open Sans", FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif;">, like Noah…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(73, 73, 73); color: #494949; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Segoe UI", "Nimbus Sans L", "Liberation Sans", "Open Sans", FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif;">it makes absolutely no difference what people think of you." </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(73, 73, 73); color: #494949; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Segoe UI", "Nimbus Sans L", "Liberation Sans", "Open Sans", FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #494949; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, Proxima Nova, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Segoe UI, Nimbus Sans L, Liberation Sans, Open Sans, FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(73, 73, 73);">Here's hoping he was right. This year, I'm challenging myself to be consistent and post at least one blog entry per week. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s January 2019. You know what that means. Tis the season of the almighty noble and lofty resolutions. Those of us (ever the optimists) who take time with goal-setting are busily hatching plans to make this the year. Some have already given up on going to the gym and will maybe get around to cancelling the membership in October, or will go on paying the fee in perpetuity because it’s too humiliating to quit and admit defeat to the smug receptionist with her bouncy ponytail and thigh gap, who will look at you and say, "Awwww."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Others of us are busily making vision boards, cutting out inspirational words and images, </span></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41);">gluing them to pieces of cardboard and hanging them somewhere to remind us of our best hopes and brightest dreams.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41);"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Some of us will find within themselves the elusive </span><b>GOYA</b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> factor* and meet with success. Others of us will opt for evening after evening on the sofa, binge-watching the latest show on Netflix, eating flaming hot cheetos, and washing it down with a nice Michelob Ultra, right out of the bottle. Still others will inevitably hang laundry on the Peloton and order pizza.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In a talk he gave about death, the poet John O’Donohue told a story of when he was still a priest, performing last rites for an old Irishman who had been a bit of a rogue… a bandito, he called him. Not a sinister, man, just... wild. After he applied the ointments and sent the man's sins whistling, he asked the man, now that he was on his way out, what he had thought of his life, and the man said, “By Jaysus, I gave ‘er a good squeeze.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I don’t know about you, but that sounds enticing to me. It’s why I’ve been digging into thinking about what I need to do in order to arrive at this type of an end to my time here on earth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We got a little fun and adventure in this year, traveling, hiking, and cycling in a fly-over state. We discovered lots of people who were anything but deplorable, which is good to know. I did finally finish turning that box of PVC bones into a functional skeleton. I improved my design on my deer-proof duck feeder. We went to THE Oktoberfest... I hear tell we missed the Clintons by a day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>We tried on traditional costumes and drank beer at Oktoberfest.</i></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This year, I want to spend more time doing things like planting trees, reducing our plastic use, improving my writing skills, exercising more, eating better, and learning interesting things, and less time in a trauma trance. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It has been nearly two years since I have written a blog entry. While it was something I wanted to do, I got to the point of where I got so overwhelmingly wrapped up in anxiety about being judged that I just gave up. So my new thing will be to please myself. Elizabeth Gilbert suggested that in her book on Big Magic. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One of my other goals is to learn something new every day, so I may sometimes write about that. Today I learned about purposeful practice, and that if you want to get good at something, you need to be willing to do it repeatedly and purposefully. I learned that failing is part of the process. So if I write at least one blog entry a week, maybe I might improve as a writer. How does that story go about the monkeys in the room with typewriters? Maybe it won’t be Shakespeare. Most likely it won't be Shakespeare.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other evidence that practice leads to improvement can be found in any grade school band concert. Have you been to one of these things as an unattached adult? I know you love your kids and all, but JIMINY CHRISTMAS!! Alas, amid the cacophony, sour notes, and missed beats, there lurks the occasional dirt-stained </span></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41);">impresario who will one day, years from now, and with hours of practice, astound with his/her/xis/zer musical brilliance at a Tuba concert at Pioneer Square. Beyond that, such concerts are best enjoyed with ear plugs.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What else? Maybe sometimes I’ll write about life with my mom now that she has moved in, and what I'm learning that makes it all a heartwarming experience or an unfortunate tragicomedy. I know there's a book in this experience somewhere.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My friend and Jackie once said that she loved hearing me tell jokes because I laughed so hard at the joke, way before I even got to the punchline. It amused her to watch me amusing myself. My friend Jen said the same thing observing me watching a Spike and Mike Cartoon. This one:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: x-small;">There may be entries that will entertain. You could get lucky. We won't know until we get there. Let's hope you don't end up wanting to write me an angry screed about the four <span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41);">minutes and 27 seconds of your life that you will never get back again. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So that’s my plan. I’m going to write what I want to read and enjoy the process of putting my ideas into a written form on a consistent basis, and hopefully without getting banned from the platform. If anything amuses or edifies, so much the better. At the very, very least, my writing might get a wee bit better, or less than that, I'll be able to cross this challenge off my bucket list. Until next week</span></span></div>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-2416548411940804502017-02-10T15:42:00.000-08:002017-02-10T15:47:32.393-08:00The Practice is Going LIVE this Monday!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Coming to a computer screen near you!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh my golly, everyone... I've been waiting YEARS for this to happen, and it's about to go live.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is really, really, really, really good news!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I just was informed that The Practice is going live on Monday, February 13, 2017!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>(Can you sense the excitement?)</i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Mindset expert Patricia Moreno has been in my life since 2008</u></b> when a dear friend </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>forced</u></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> me to do her cardio kickboxing cd because she wanted me to be more active. I was pushing 200 pounds, and my friend was worried about my health. </span>It was a hard workout, and the video really helped me get motivated to push myself. I gave it my all. At the very end of the video, while I felt sweat pouring out of me, Patricia looked right into the camera and said:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>"Nod your head, if you did your best."</i></b></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My friend and I both nodded vigorously and high-fives each other. I felt fantastic because I had done my best. I got my own copy of the video, then searched on line for other videos and discovered intenSati. At the beginning of <b><i><u>that</u></i></b> video, she said,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This made me cry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because I couldn't <b><u>DO</u></b> it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I couldn't imagine it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Something <b><u>stopped</u></b> me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>I</u></b> was stopping myself. Until...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In 2012, I decided to upgrade my self image. I committed to doing that intenSati video every day. The goal was 30 days. I did that, then another 30. On my 3rd month, a <b><i>MIRACLE</i></b> happened. Patricia released a new 13-month program called <u>Sati Life Warrior Training</u>. Every month, a new full workout with new declarations. There was a monthly challenge, a book to study, a monthly call, and an interactive online community. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>That year, I improved my health, </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>lost 50 pounds, left a soul-killing job, </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>and started a private practice.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The following year, I went to New York to attend intenSati Leader training. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I joined the training on an invitation I received from Satilife, even though at first, it was so out of character for me, I thought it was a mistake, <b><u>Surely</u></b> they hadn't meant to send it to <b><u>me</u></b>. I was<b> assured</b> that I could do it. And then I believed I could.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>This Program CHANGED MY LIFE.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Here's what I know:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Repetition is the Mother of Skill. </span><span style="font-family: "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif;">Here's my confession: I fell out of regular practice for a couple of years.. I allowed myself to return to old, habitual responses to stress. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif;">Slowly but surely,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wasn't practicing every day. I found excuses and said I was too busy. From 2014 to now, I have not felt as healthy, and I have noticed a dip in my energy level. I wasn't practicing my own practice. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's the good news: I know what to do. I also know that getting into practice means I don't have to wait to feel better. I just need to engage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The good news is that THE PRACTICE is an upgrade from Sati Life Warrior Training, and it starts very soon! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've already gone back to doing the current series daily, and every day I feel a little more energy and vitality. With only a week of daily practice, I'm already seeing my stamina improving. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-color: black;">WHAT YOU GET</b></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;">For $999/year you receive:</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> 12 Months of engaged Training & practice</span></h3>
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The Practice kicks off with a <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: 700;">four-week online course</span>. Patricia will lead you through four weekly webinars to help prime you for the journey ahead. The webinars will help you develop goals that get you excited, and motivated into action. You'll work on developing ways of learning how to respond effectively to stressful situations where you may have reacted in habitual ways in the past. If you have a goal, chances are that achieving it will require that you will need to be different from the person you've been in the past. This will help you develop the tools and the confidence necessary to bring those dreams into reality.<br />
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From there, The Practice continues with a <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: 700;">monthly focus </span>on making progress and developing your character, opening your heart, and strengthening your body. You’ll learn change-work strategies that will help you build your personal development tool kit<br />
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You will be able to keep yourself in a high-performance state of mind and body, one day at time.</div>
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<span style="color: #dd9aa3; font-family: "century gothic" , "centurygothic" , "geneva" , "applegothic" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-transform: uppercase;"><b>RISE & SHINE TO A STRONGER, MORE CENTERED YOU</b></span></div>
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One of the primary aspects of The Practice is the wake-up morning program. What time do you wake up now? What if you could wake up just a few minutes earlier and practice moving and thinking in ways that will shift your experience as you enter into the day?</div>
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<span style="color: #4b4b4b; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><b>Get engaged in the Game!</b></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>EVERY MONTH YOU'LL RECEIVE:</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;">A guided morning meditation that combines mindfulness, guided visualization, intention setting and a gratitude ritual.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">A 7-minute quick fix workout that will include cardio and strength training</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">A 5-minute yoga/stretch routine to do anytime to increase flexibility and peace of mind</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">An hour live-recorded intenSati workout</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">An audio workout to use for walking, running, biking or hiking (with intenSati affirmations!)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">A 30-day challenge intended to help you develop yourself mentally, physically or spiritually</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">A lesson for the month delivered as a podcast to open your mind and heart to new solutions</span></li>
<li>Access to a community of people who are committed to engaging in this process</li>
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<span style="font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;"><b><u>ACCESS TO RESOURCES</u>: </b> A yearlong access to information that will keep you going when the going gets tough. Stay inspired, stay in the practice, and create a sustainable, fun daily practice. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Well, are you in? Will you join me? Are you willing to say <b><u>YES</u></b> to living a life you love in a body you love and <b><u>YES</u></b> to doing what it takes?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Great! Click on the button below, and you'll be ready to join me, and a community of encouraging enthusiastic people around the world. Say Yes to your goals and Yes to a commitment to doing what it takes, in a state of love and gratitude, NO MATTER WHAT.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Remember, it goes live THIS COMING MONDAY, February 13, 2017!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Join Me! It will be a great investment in yourself.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #bf9000; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.satilife.com/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=133" target="_blank"> SIGN UP for The Practice HERE </a></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And if you're in Bend, come be my guest in class!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://liztowill.com/bendclasses.html" target="_blank">(Click here for info on when and where!)</a></span></span></div>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-76196707903363135582016-08-26T11:56:00.003-07:002016-08-26T11:56:56.215-07:00SHOCKING NEW STUDY: Even You Can Train Yourself to Change Your Mood, but Only if You Really Want to.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fF6M9Tl-RpktT5a-lq10SiwyxyWJM1KKvppGczmLUESLSc6g3-S11vy7LM9ewvpo0VPbj2jRoyMynXjM203Z9niHt2VK9xBr0_FgGKE_3XDOtgPS6R9K6xUNkEyps25woG_y-Euhr_sp/s1600/gumby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fF6M9Tl-RpktT5a-lq10SiwyxyWJM1KKvppGczmLUESLSc6g3-S11vy7LM9ewvpo0VPbj2jRoyMynXjM203Z9niHt2VK9xBr0_FgGKE_3XDOtgPS6R9K6xUNkEyps25woG_y-Euhr_sp/s640/gumby.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What's in YOUR Self Image?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Just for today, I'm hopping on the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">SHOCKING NEW STUDY</span></u></i></b> bandwagon.
<b><i><u>Spoiler alert</u></i></b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The short version of my
message here is twofold: 1) It’s a great idea to use your common sense before quickly believing what you find on the inter webs and 2) Yes,
positive affirmations absolutely do work if you really want to believe them and you know how to use them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I suppose I should also offer a <b><i><u>trigger alert</u></i></b>. If you have
low self esteem, you may expose yourself to some discomfort because you will be unfairly compared to people with high self esteem. It may put you in touch with the idea that life isn't fair.. Just reading that last paragraph, did you find yourself saying, I don't believe you... you're full of baloney! Positive affirmations are for Faker McFake faces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And the good news. If you're still reading, you <b>WANT</b> to know the (<i>dare I say it?</i>) <b><u>secret</u></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Don't believe me. Get curious, use your brain, and Decide for yourself. You don't have to read another word of this article.. <span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><b><i>unless you're <u>kind of</u> curious...</i></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What happens when you read a headline describing a “Shocking
New Study?” Does that give you the idea that you’re about to learn a startling new truth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Maybe.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As Harvard Professor, Dr. Ellen Langer will tell you, Research, at best, presents you with a probability. Studies are based on
the beliefs, biases, and monetary incentives of the people doing the research. They usually have a desired result in mind, and will delete, distort, and generalize to prove a point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So now I come to my inspiration for writing this blog post. Recently, someone sent me a video about Positive
Affirmations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The video referred to <b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A SHOCKING NEW STUDY</span></b> revealing that <span style="color: red;"><b><u><i>positive affirmations don’t work, and can actually
increase your stress levels</i></u></b></span>. Out of curiosity, I followed the rabbit all the
way down the hole and to the end of the video promo designed to put you in a
horribly depressed and deprived state. Then, and only then do they offer their
easy to use, miracle video, because without it, you’re doomed to a life of
failure and misery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes folks, for </span><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>only
a one time </u></i></b></span><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u>payment of a measly $47</u></i></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">, you’ll be sent their sure fire EASY and EFFORTLESS way to happiness.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;">“There is no way to happiness. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;">Happiness is the way.” </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;">~Dr. Wayne Dyer</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This company is using an old study, targeting people with low self esteem in
order to sell something. That's evil and wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'll diverge for a moment. In the early days of space travel the USA and the Russian Cosmonaut program used pencils because pens clogged in zero gravity. Then one day, a guy named Price spent millions of dollars developing a zero gravity space pen which he sold to NASA for just under 3 bucks a piece. The man who did this has made back his millions and more over the past fifty years, selling his zero gravity pens. He did all that research to sell you a gimmick, and they're still for sale all over the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Let’s go back to that <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>SHOCKING</b></span> study referenced in that
video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found the Article entitled, “<a href="https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/psyifp/aeechterhoff/sommersemester2012/schluesselstudiendersozialpsychologiejens/03_wood_etal_selfstatements_psychscience2009.pdf" target="_blank">PositiveSelf-Statements: Power for Some, Peril for Others.</a>” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Let’s stop there. What a title!! Wow. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Peril</span></i></b>. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(No bias there). (!!!). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This dour band of scientists set out to prove
that positive affirmations are a waste of time if you don’t already believe
them, and your poor limbic system will fire like it's the fourth of July, and that's not good. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Your Brain on Positive Affirmations..</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here's what they wanted to prove:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“If the positive statement falls outside one’s latitude of
acceptance, one will reject the statement and perhaps hang on more fervently to
their negative convictions.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Wood,
Perunovic, & Lee, 2009).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">No surprises there. I have met a lot of people who cling
desperately to some truly <b><u>heinous</u></b> self-perceptions. It’s not until they want
something new that will require them to let go of these perceptions that they will
loosen their vice-like grip. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So here is what they did in the study. The researchers chose
the affirmation, “I am a lovable person.” They tested participants to determine
their levels of self esteem. The participants were instructed to say the
affirmation every time they were cued by a ring tone, (about every 15 seconds).
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For FOUR minutes. After a period of 4
minutes, the participants were asked to report their moods. Unsurprisingly, the
people who had higher self esteem reported an improvement in mood. The people
with lower self esteem reported a worsened mood, and brain scans reported
increased limbic activity in their brains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">SHOCKING. People with low self esteem did not “get happy” in
4 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My amazing skills of calculation lead me to the number 16.
People repeated the phrase “I am a lovable person" 16 times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">If that did it, there would be no self help section in your book store. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That’s
only slightly a few more repetitions than Bob Wiley mutters in the opening
credits of What about Bob, and you see where that was getting him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="color: red; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u> POOR BOB!!</u></b></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That’s like asking someone who hasn't exercised in years to do four minutes of cardio. One time won't do it. If they did four minutes of cardio for the next four months, however, that person would be starting to notice changes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The truth is that getting fitter, or improving your self
concept is going to require a little practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question is whether you have a reason to motivate you. Chances are you are the way you are because nothing is tugging at you enough to make a change. It also may well be that changing would make you feel vulnerable or uncomfortable. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana", sans-serif;">It's so unfortunate that these researchers condemned positive affirmations for people with low self esteem after 4 minutes. It's what Michael Phelps does. It's not too good for you, no matter how sad you are, or how many tragedies have befallen you. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Have a compelling reason to motivate you. </span><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ON my way to finding the study, I found another study
conducted by the very same University of Waterloo measuring the effectiveness of positive
affirmations with cancer patients. In that study, positive affirmations were
proven to be effective. Of course, these people were faced with life or death. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">Life is a pretty
compelling reason</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75;"> to think healthier thoughts, especially when you consider the alternative...</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How to Improve Your Self Concept </span></u></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="color: red; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Using Positive Affirmations</span></u></i></b></h3>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">Here’s how you get into a state. It is a combination of your physicality, your focus, and your language.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">How you hold your body, what thoughts you focus on, and how you describe what you’re focusing on will put you in a state of depression, grief, sorrow, joy, anxiety… Change one thing and your state can shift. Change all three, and you can change your state. Practice changing your state, and you can get yourself out of a funk without faking it. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMf1tm1FT5WJ274e-Be7n_ks3qz_2SSFzvM5BOlsJjGp5DOkefEvE1OyKm8wAQCSbjdMAs9DPGp5d-qCnFm7SmyVkySv4fLEIE7QXJQMWjdDTKZMLO1jxkGqaKhk1EggYlIf_zPCsCXjWb/s1600/states.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMf1tm1FT5WJ274e-Be7n_ks3qz_2SSFzvM5BOlsJjGp5DOkefEvE1OyKm8wAQCSbjdMAs9DPGp5d-qCnFm7SmyVkySv4fLEIE7QXJQMWjdDTKZMLO1jxkGqaKhk1EggYlIf_zPCsCXjWb/s640/states.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you want to change your state, change one of these. If you really want to change your state, change all three.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are the steps to making affirmations work.</span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Know your why</u></b>. What is your
compelling reason for wanting to believe that pesky and elusive positive
concept? Do you want to improve your relationships? Get a better job? Get
healthier? Make a blockbuster major motion picture? What?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Imagine who you will have to be to
accomplish this</u></b>. See yourself, feel yourself, hear the sounds associated with
that moment of </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">mission accomplished</span></i>. </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will you need a different self concept?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Decide to take responsibility for your life</u>.</b> Start choosing for yourself. Stop relying on people, things, food, and other things outside of yourself. Unless it's ducks or dogs. Ducks and dogs are wonderful.</span></li>
<li><b><u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Check your pose.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Are you slouching? Is your chest caved in?
Are your shoulders touching your ears? Try this instead. Stand tall. Feet
should be right under your pelvis, slightly bent. Chest forward, shoulder back,
chin tucked slightly. Feel your spine getting lengthened. Place your hands on
your hips, pull your elbows back behind you. Feel vulnerable and silly?</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bonus points for you!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Move</u>!</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Take your affirmations for a walk. If you
have the energy, skip!!</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Tony Robbins
calls his affirmations “InCANtations.” He will tell you that you absolutely
need to get your body involved.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Take a few deep breaths</u>.</b> Feel the
breath filling your lungs in all directions, filling your rib case, pushing
down to your diaphragm, and up into your shoulders. Imagine the oxygen
travelling to every cell of your being.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Speak with conviction.</b> Even if you
disagree with it, there’s a part of you that wants to believe it. Say out loud,
“I am a lovable person.” </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Notice your response. If it’s a
good feeling, move to step 13. If it is <i><u>no bueno</u></i>, see step 8.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome the discomfort. Tell
yourself, “I’m sure this makes sense. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Ask some questions of the discomfort, and notice the answers without judging them:</span></li>
<ol><ol>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">What is your objection?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Is it true?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">How is this helping me?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">How old is the objection?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Does it belong to me?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Does the objection still hold?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Am I ready for an upgrade of my self concept</span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">? </span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">If the answer to this last question is no, then this is a good time for you to stop.</span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Until you decide you want to adopt a different way of viewing yourself, all the affirmations in the world won't help.</span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> Keep repeating that positive affirmation, with conviction, as best you can, even if you feel uncomfortable.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Be willing to upgrade your self
concepts. Keep repeating the line, with conviction. “I am a lovable person.”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Allow yourself to cry and sob as
you keep repeating the affirmation. Do your best to say it with conviction.
That’s your healthy self concept helping your negative self concept to heal,
much as a mother gives soothing reassuring comfort to her sobbing infant. Good
mothers don’t give up on their crying children. Be your own good mother and
don’t give up on yourself.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Bring to mind moments when you
experienced love. If you can’t think of any, think of movies you’ve watched, or
television commercials, for chrissake, when someone was loved and being
lovable. If you can’t think of anything else, watch this video of these
adorable ducks and put yourself right in that pool with them. (Unless, of
course, this upsets you.).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Understand that this is a
practice. You are teaching yourself to change your state.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> You will improve with practice. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You’ve been doing this several times a day
since you were born. If you begin noticing this, you will be amazed!</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Get good at it through
practice.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Pretty soon, you’ll be right
up there with Pollyanna and Little Miss Sunshine!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Know that things will happen and
you’ll have bad days, and that the good news is you won’t have to spend nearly
as long staying in a funk.</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: '"verdana"', sans-serif;">My conclusion?</span><span style="font-family: '"verdana"', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: '"verdana"', sans-serif;">You are a lovable person. You always have been (even when you weren’t).</span><span style="font-family: '"verdana"', sans-serif;"> It's your birth right, and my wish for you is that you begin to believe it, and let go of those erroneous messages from childhood. You do not need to wallow in the pain and sorrow of the past.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: '"verdana"', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana", sans-serif;">My other conclusion? Be discerning of what you come across in life, and ask if it's true or useful. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana", sans-serif;">That, and, get curious about those SHOCKING STUDIES on the inter webs.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">AND LAST, (In Keeping with the SHOCKING STUDY bandwagon, here's a shameless plug. Try intenSAti for 30 days. Find an instructor near you. If you're in Bend, it's me. You can try it for free. If you live elsewhere, visit </span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "verdana", sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1200047318">sati life</a></span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://.com/">.com</a> </span></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">See what's there, and find a leader near you! They are lovely people, and you just might like it. It helped me to understand how powerful positive declarations can be. Through this practice, I went from hating my job and my life to getting healthier and happier. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKD4rTAy9qHtdo8QFvtL3u3482MGJ0vUnghQuTbKC9z_s7lqlcd5a2YECesTEVPfYINFO9_EQ88b7spFxHxuS25GpAwFaMJNSSHnP1h6MDioka_hAolnNXli3J_QyTd9AzbgLTeWscXbj/s1600/IMG_1247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKD4rTAy9qHtdo8QFvtL3u3482MGJ0vUnghQuTbKC9z_s7lqlcd5a2YECesTEVPfYINFO9_EQ88b7spFxHxuS25GpAwFaMJNSSHnP1h6MDioka_hAolnNXli3J_QyTd9AzbgLTeWscXbj/s640/IMG_1247.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Try intenSati for 30 days. (First one's free..)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-75183078097053644282014-10-03T16:58:00.000-07:002014-10-03T16:58:06.069-07:00The Power of Habit - This month's intenSati Workout theme<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkW2_40Gl7rssXWnRT0pppZAD0qAwq21tmWgRsVRY0UzHl-1PGlTdURXO0WA5IKDXjxStY17yWbYvbP435HRjYrdCit5_Kt5XlXh4znN669FBcmvp6dShflF1y1siH2tiNFNeV_nGwily/s1600/dancing-nuns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkW2_40Gl7rssXWnRT0pppZAD0qAwq21tmWgRsVRY0UzHl-1PGlTdURXO0WA5IKDXjxStY17yWbYvbP435HRjYrdCit5_Kt5XlXh4znN669FBcmvp6dShflF1y1siH2tiNFNeV_nGwily/s1600/dancing-nuns.jpg" height="362" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Ah, The Power of Habit!!</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Yeah, not that kind of habit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I'm talking the gazillion habits we have which keep us from having to make a ton of decisions every time we do things. A lot of habits are ones we don't even think about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Habits happen in a three step process (mostly without our thinking about it).</span></div>
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Here's an example. When I am feeling bad, that can be a cue. My routine unconscious habit? Binge watch some inane or great television show on Netflix. The result? I am rewarded by not having to feel anything. I enter a trance-like zombie state and find relief.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPO9qemMVOB1PxeArhCDH42dbJ3d5h2VWTdslKKYwxMj8zuXg0jLhkbzfoUCILhyphenhyphennhu2GZT73V1gFu2RIXSA0Qk71Ebqi_T42WspJFhrEcarU91O9IetBw0gl_T-VCZohs-PeacG7_bsnB/s1600/netflix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPO9qemMVOB1PxeArhCDH42dbJ3d5h2VWTdslKKYwxMj8zuXg0jLhkbzfoUCILhyphenhyphennhu2GZT73V1gFu2RIXSA0Qk71Ebqi_T42WspJFhrEcarU91O9IetBw0gl_T-VCZohs-PeacG7_bsnB/s1600/netflix.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The problem is that as soon as I stop watching Netflix, the bad feelings will return, and may be worse because now I'll feel that I have wasted several hours of life.</span></div>
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<br /> <span color="#0c0c0c" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3">If I want more long lasting and satisfying rewards for </span><span color="#0c0c0c" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">having</span><span color="#0c0c0c" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"> a routine cue for sadness, I'll need to find something new that is equally as enticing. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c0c0c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hmmm....</span></div>
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<span color="#0c0c0c" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3" style="color: #0c0c0c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How about this?</span></div>
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<span color="#0c0c0c" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3" style="color: #0c0c0c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel sad. I decide to do an intenSati workout. I feel great while I'm doing it, and I get to keep feeling great afterwards, thanks to the power of endorphins.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrea95kqWRvO-e4WFnt2Xo_w7BALZUCR5o6LigrYODjcuIxmP8mVvIzdSdTFbfXvG7dY9ZulIvuyoUGSlGOsNFyS8cPzvjCfqN9a2B-wnAH_Wk7CQ-iRAbcGa_TrbSSxDWUhhxCRfPY78L/s1600/satihabit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrea95kqWRvO-e4WFnt2Xo_w7BALZUCR5o6LigrYODjcuIxmP8mVvIzdSdTFbfXvG7dY9ZulIvuyoUGSlGOsNFyS8cPzvjCfqN9a2B-wnAH_Wk7CQ-iRAbcGa_TrbSSxDWUhhxCRfPY78L/s1600/satihabit.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span color="#0c0c0c" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3" style="color: #0c0c0c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is there a habit you want to change?</span></div>
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<span color="#0c0c0c" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3" style="color: #0c0c0c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Come work it out! This month's series is inspired by the book, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Power of Habit </span>by Charles Duhigg.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKk1ztmY_kuKPuWOLDQNbEFC-SpneCPrZUfxvwu-4Y-luBqlH7FAL2OHJr4GoLvLb-yvrk1GZGZ5FKMXWKO9ipmbKaOcSsPIpoEshQ7rRlxp1i1UQh-NPoST22H09ta9dvS9SQ7w-Eolhd/s1600/The+Power+of+Habit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKk1ztmY_kuKPuWOLDQNbEFC-SpneCPrZUfxvwu-4Y-luBqlH7FAL2OHJr4GoLvLb-yvrk1GZGZ5FKMXWKO9ipmbKaOcSsPIpoEshQ7rRlxp1i1UQh-NPoST22H09ta9dvS9SQ7w-Eolhd/s1600/The+Power+of+Habit.jpg" height="640" width="498" /></a></div>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-51761142737805080332014-07-05T19:38:00.000-07:002014-07-05T19:38:27.743-07:00intenSati: The Magic of Loving the Skin You're In!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4UABkQ4ZXexy1T2cZ6gXi0l4VDbsdLKbf_utQV8Q0e3Ssd3ziJKzR3wwOxHWg_zcYcSwH7RFO3qegJouNtSg-Wj33OspeZqLVSYJYB1HP4Vj0XsQsovthFdUtxomaOmJ_7eIMaAv-BZg/s1600/sunset+dancers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4UABkQ4ZXexy1T2cZ6gXi0l4VDbsdLKbf_utQV8Q0e3Ssd3ziJKzR3wwOxHWg_zcYcSwH7RFO3qegJouNtSg-Wj33OspeZqLVSYJYB1HP4Vj0XsQsovthFdUtxomaOmJ_7eIMaAv-BZg/s1600/sunset+dancers.jpg" height="213" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Dance Like Nobody's Watching...</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When is the last time you allowed yourself to dance full out, for the sheer pleasure of it? How many times have you had the urge to dance, but stopped out of fear of looking foolish or being judged?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The truth is that there is nothing more amazing and inspiring than someone dancing with pure joy. It's amazing to watch someone feeling comfortable being in their body. It's even better for us to feel that way ourselves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This month, the theme for intenSati is about breaking the chain of criticizing your body. Your body is a gift and when you shift from dislike to love, you will experience your body as holy. Come join us saturdays at Get A Move On Studio in Bend and find out how much fun you can have doing the Sexier Living Series. You'll leave with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. <a href="http://liztowill.com/bendclasses.html" target="_blank">Click here for updates on schedule and upcoming classes.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can also do the workout at home by purchasing it at <a href="http://www.satilife.com/store/products/sexier-living-course/" target="_blank">Satilife.com</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So you may have already seen the following video. I'm including it here because it's a great example of someone taking pleasure in movement. The guy in the Speedo is so much more inspiring and happy than the instructor. If we could all be that comfortable in our bodies, there would be a lot more dancing, and a lot less need for health care..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-67651589614656720492014-05-23T12:34:00.000-07:002014-05-23T12:34:17.438-07:00Meteor Shower Tonight!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fq9tbkDEQ1fvV-Pkc5Cv8Bq1I1qiB7yoZcXxue8GGH5XniTt2wf7g2l0ajq_sgpHTKa1IxZhaDjGmgsmXbauIf-1Zbu2F6DIm9MZQu2wXHEO4oZpll9tt4k4q61JshcOukyln4iBrs8k/s1600/meteors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fq9tbkDEQ1fvV-Pkc5Cv8Bq1I1qiB7yoZcXxue8GGH5XniTt2wf7g2l0ajq_sgpHTKa1IxZhaDjGmgsmXbauIf-1Zbu2F6DIm9MZQu2wXHEO4oZpll9tt4k4q61JshcOukyln4iBrs8k/s1600/meteors.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"OOOOH! AHHH!"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Camelopardalids will be putting on a show for us tonight. It's a new one, and an obscure one (And more than a mouthful to say).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to predictions, there should be enough "Ohh, Ahhh," factor to rival the Perseids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So the peak time is tonight between 11pm and 1pm Pacific time (Between 2am and 4am Eastern time).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm very excited to observe them and enjoy the feeling of safety that our Earth's Atmosphere provides us, sparing us from an attack from the Vermicious Knids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The "K" is not silent. K'NIDS.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For those of you who did not read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, here's the D.L.:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vermicious Knids (about as many syllables as Camelopardalids) are huge, dark, egg-shaped beings who do not have any teeth, but swallow their victims whole. They are at home in the vacuum of space, originating on the planet Vermes, a fictional planet located 184,270,000,000 miles from Earth (52 times Pluto's distance).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxg1CUZe7d8Lm9frrVMr-LNDcH2l_J3rqUS0eRVkIPP7_TnP2fV5vGiAuupYe-fF7cpnjsA6FFosBFNKGE7mlW6Tos6JPN5wbUHsSMljjZOTW1Q8-r7JgHhT6EmsaIkD4kHCINnC4qsze/s1600/vermicious+knids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxg1CUZe7d8Lm9frrVMr-LNDcH2l_J3rqUS0eRVkIPP7_TnP2fV5vGiAuupYe-fF7cpnjsA6FFosBFNKGE7mlW6Tos6JPN5wbUHsSMljjZOTW1Q8-r7JgHhT6EmsaIkD4kHCINnC4qsze/s1600/vermicious+knids.jpg" height="268" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vermicious Knids spelling out the word SCRAM</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their weak points: 1) They are show-offs. They cannot resist shaping themselves into letters formulating the word, "SCRAM" (the only word they know) before attacking. 2) They are not heat-proof and do not own retro-rockets and therefore cannot enter Earth's atmosphere without being burned up by friction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to Willy Wonka, what we silly human beings think to be shooting stars are actually legions of Knids burning up in the atmosphere. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So my advice? Grab a lawn chair and a buddy or two, and go watch the night sky, knowing that the earth is safe from the wrath of the Vermicious Knids.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Or </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">you can visit the </span><a href="http://earthsky.org/tonight" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Earth Sky</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> article on tonight's sky and allow science to triumph over your wondrous imagination,</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #252525; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">OR…. YOU CAN DO BOTH!!!</span></span></span></div>
lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-22603951461443841782014-03-17T16:07:00.001-07:002014-03-17T16:07:16.845-07:00What's With the Shamrocks, You Say?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtEA_ORDC5SPy3j6Tkl-QsVnZ_TXORq-53TmDRSGgA65mFAzYOeuf0ON6omuAyxTvmoeIZRGYfXdaOzNSDhaPlF9UZUGhQEivvPRYa20Ec7KxTDgQSYFg7Tn5Stg2gyY88JdAmQJGKhm2/s1600/shamrock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtEA_ORDC5SPy3j6Tkl-QsVnZ_TXORq-53TmDRSGgA65mFAzYOeuf0ON6omuAyxTvmoeIZRGYfXdaOzNSDhaPlF9UZUGhQEivvPRYa20Ec7KxTDgQSYFg7Tn5Stg2gyY88JdAmQJGKhm2/s1600/shamrock.jpg" height="178" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shamrocks - a great visual for the holy trinity<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy St. Patrick's Day to you. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About those Shamrocks…. St. Patrick brought Catholicism to many a Pagan in Ireland. Being such lovely, nature-loving folk, it made sense that he gave lovely explanations of the holy trinity using a shamrock, which is pretty neat, I think.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So as you're drinking your green beer, or munching on cabbage, or whatever you'll do to celebrate the holiday, it might be nice to think of Old St. Patrick and whatever your holy trinity might be. Mind-Body-Spirit? Inhale-exhale-repeat? Think-Act-Feel?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And Did you ever wonder how the<b> Death Date</b> of the<b> Patron Saint of Ireland </b>has become a drinking holiday?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, think of what time of year it is. Did you or any of your pals give up something for Lent? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">St. Patrick's day is, I believe, a very clever PR ploy. It's an excuse to set aside, for a day, the Lenten restrictions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Enjoy!!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-74819595012777785202014-03-11T14:50:00.000-07:002014-03-11T14:50:32.110-07:00Defining Aloha<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QqQEEcNoWC99z-Iq4PFaxM-4kk_fR8YNaObhTOmYGEa1t0DLPix5nZICms_UDukjkHyb_Od2gRIUL8O6kN81oseFrOhhKRDFioo_1UhSRCjzyBrMZGcJbKe0mP7bvw0tzkPZrVaykOia/s1600/Aloha6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QqQEEcNoWC99z-Iq4PFaxM-4kk_fR8YNaObhTOmYGEa1t0DLPix5nZICms_UDukjkHyb_Od2gRIUL8O6kN81oseFrOhhKRDFioo_1UhSRCjzyBrMZGcJbKe0mP7bvw0tzkPZrVaykOia/s1600/Aloha6.jpg" height="194" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Aloha</span></i></b><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> - a·lo·ha ∂'lõhä<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Expression and greeting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">[alo=presence, front, face] + [ha = breath]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">‘The presence of divine breath’<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Hello, greetings<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Farewell<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">(adjective) friendly, hospitable, welcoming: <i>The aloha spirit prevails throughout the islands</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">“Aloha” has numerous meanings. The most common uses are as a greeting, farewell, or salutation. Aloha is also commonly used to mean love. It can also be used to express compassion, regret, or sympathy. People who have made a study of the Hawaiian language will say that words like “Aloha” and “Mahalo” (farewell) are ineffable, indescribable. One cannot define these terms with words alone. They are sacred invocations of the divine, and must be experienced to be truly understood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Divine breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">As you breathe today, know that you are breathing in life, love, vitality. That breath will flow in to your lungs, to your heart, and out to all of you through your arteries and capillaries. It’s really quite miraculous!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Add love to the mixture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Here is some of what the Reverend Abraham Akaka had to say about aloha:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><i><b>Aloha consists of this attitude of heart; the unconditional desire to promote the true good of other people in a friendly spirit, out of a sense of kinship. Aloha seeks to do good, with no conditions attached. We do not do good only to those who do good to us. One of the sweetest things about the love of God (the Great Spirit), about Aloha, is that it welcomes the stranger and seeks his and her good. A person, who has the spirit of Aloha loves even when the love is not returned. And such is the love of God (the Great Spirit).</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>The spirit of aloha conveys the notion that we are <u>all</u> connected.</i></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">What happens when we come under attack, or feel stressed? Usually, without thinking about it, our breathing becomes shallow. Sometimes we hold our breath. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">With this reduced supply of the divine, we can lose our compassion. We can disconnect ourselves from those around us. We can become so caught up in our own discomfort that we can lose all sense of how we affect those in our presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">During my last trip home, I discussed this notion with a friend of mine who noted that the word “haole” (foreigner) is made up of two words: “Ha” (breath)” and “ole,” meaning without.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Sometimes when people are not familiar to us, we might not see the divinity in them. Like that person who cut you off in traffic, or cut in front of you as you patiently stood in line.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">These are the times when we need to stop for a moment to breathe. To reconnect with the divine presence within ourselves. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">As the flight attendants tell us on every flight, we have to get our breathing apparatus in place before we can help others. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">As we breathe, we will be better able to connect with our compassion. Perhaps we might better remember that we are all connected, and this can bring compassion and understanding. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><b><i>And less finger-slinging.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Even and perhaps especially when it’s not returned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s like the story of the two monks travelling on a dusty road. They heard a noise that sounded like thunder. A cloud of dust rose up from behind them as a cart with four horses went crashing by. The two monks jumped out of the way just in time. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the man with the horses shot out ahead of them, the elder monk dusted himself off and waved, saying, “May God bless you, and may you feel that blessing!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The younger monk was puzzled. “How can you say such a thing? That man nearly killed us!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The older monk smiled and said, “That man is in need of our best wishes. If he had felt God’s blessing already, he would have been unable to treat us in such a manner.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It also reminds me of that poem by Mary Oliver, and the wonderful line:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmbr9wx0XE5ESHBJG5LsblOb0yVK1ndLZ5Rt7vK8VdFhLJ3GnZ5TB03cnFNSw-d-VpBc1WkoQif3qoiASeC9ON7cbToCUh-9E5ohjw37JMTzjkfp3yD4fxH-aCbB7C8_I7rjErZTDBkba/s1600/oliver.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmbr9wx0XE5ESHBJG5LsblOb0yVK1ndLZ5Rt7vK8VdFhLJ3GnZ5TB03cnFNSw-d-VpBc1WkoQif3qoiASeC9ON7cbToCUh-9E5ohjw37JMTzjkfp3yD4fxH-aCbB7C8_I7rjErZTDBkba/s1600/oliver.png" height="340" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May you breathe deeply today. Feel your divinity. Be loving, and enjoy a deep sense of connection with all beings.</span></div>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-64990685282842097902014-02-27T11:50:00.000-08:002014-02-27T11:56:55.713-08:00Love What You Do, No Matter What!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRhIiTkmnuG_qHWnMCdLGSOsgSelViAJp5Tfi1VOaODqGzfIGKTGmc5aBOwv81USIL8WEX6udlBrcGdbW1IbO1sTKAfWFAMPzZ9RcIKAQ-BKKobGVYKcBnFv_Qan5ofXZL_oTMSJbPzvE/s1600/shipping-clerk+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRhIiTkmnuG_qHWnMCdLGSOsgSelViAJp5Tfi1VOaODqGzfIGKTGmc5aBOwv81USIL8WEX6udlBrcGdbW1IbO1sTKAfWFAMPzZ9RcIKAQ-BKKobGVYKcBnFv_Qan5ofXZL_oTMSJbPzvE/s1600/shipping-clerk+copy.jpg" height="312" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Awesome Shipping Clerk at RedBubble.com</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mary Poppins advised the Banks children with the following advice:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"In every job that's to be done, there is an element of fun. Find the fun, and…Snap! The job's a game!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's a lovely example of making ordinary tasks extraordinary:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I received a confirmation email regarding some greeting cards I had ordered. Usually, they're all the same. Bland, boring, "have a nice day" with no twinkle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What I read made me glad to have done business with the company, and I'm very likely to order from them again, based on the email which read:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>"<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">Hello again </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">,</span></i></b></span><br />
<div style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Exciting news! Your order has been completed and the shipping company will no doubt be waking up their postmen and pointing them in your general direction this very instant……</i></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>This completes your order - all items have now been shipped.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>If in the unlikely event you're not absolutely in love with your hand-crafted goodies, you can request an easy exchange.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Until next time, </i></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Mr. Baxter - Assistant Deputy Director of Parcel Tape</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe it's just me, because I'm a geek like that, but this delighted me. It makes me want to do business with this company</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't know whether Mr. Baxter is real, or something the company made up. Whether this guy in his dream job, or merely taking what he's doing to an art form. Either way, I want to do business with them again.</span></div>
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-3517748328034152042014-01-12T16:03:00.000-08:002014-01-31T15:51:39.463-08:00The Killer Kale Monsters<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMii9RjqcI4kvURNZcE4OX40nb9yI89IgUeH07vKonik5YDVPSo0LVno_5ASJGHSbxzfCOpqk65kxySHlhfcUS-jQSlljfOz7BqB_ZxlFaU8RMWukPZgeeTHc15Wfh6yyngm928b2eTjOw/s1600/kalemonsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMii9RjqcI4kvURNZcE4OX40nb9yI89IgUeH07vKonik5YDVPSo0LVno_5ASJGHSbxzfCOpqk65kxySHlhfcUS-jQSlljfOz7BqB_ZxlFaU8RMWukPZgeeTHc15Wfh6yyngm928b2eTjOw/s1600/kalemonsters.jpg" height="277" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This Should Scare You..</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I'm reading this article about how this woman now has hypothyroidism because she ate a boatload of kale. And I thought to myself, "This takes the cake!!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And I started thinking about how nice it would be to have a piece of cake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I type this, I occasionally stop to take a sip from either a glass filled with a kale smoothie, or from a cup of COFFEE. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wonder if I'm slowly killing myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">According to this article, I probably only have minutes to live. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's a fascinating read! The writer goes on to tell of a visit to her dentist who told her that she was ruining her teeth by drinking her vegetable juices and that she would be better off eating chocolate and drinking soda. It reminded me of that riddle that went around when I was in grad school:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Q: What do you call the guy who finished last in his class in Medical School?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>A: Doctor.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have I been brainwashed? Have I been sold a bill of goods by a shifty-eyed Australian and a truck driver from Winslow, Arizona?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.... or could it possibly be that I feel a lot healthier since I started eating more vegetables and stopped bingeing on hot dogs????</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kale agrees with me. In addition to other vegetables, fruits, nuts, proteins, and whole grains. And MEAT. And coffee. And sometimes chocolate, and sometimes alcohol....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">IN MODERATION!!!!</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's another favorite of mine. How is it that now cane sugar has become so gosh-darned sexy?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I grew up in Hawaii, land of pure cane sugar. Way back then, some idiots went around telling us not to eat too much of it because it wasn't good for you. I'm now finding products which pride themselves on using pure cane sugar, no corn syrup.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like it's all cool and groovy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Okay, I know that corn syrup is not good for us. As Americans, we swill it down by the gallon every year, and I read somewhere that most of the calories in this country come from sugary drinks and the monster cups of sweet creamy macchiato sweetness, with the cute mermaid on the side. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We get sold a bunch of really stupid ideas about food... Like, oh, Agave Nectar. I'll not even go there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyways, back to the subject at hand. Thank GOD I read that article, and now I know that Twinkies are safe again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Did you know this? Now you can bake 6 twinkies in the luxury of your own home.. So now I have a choice. I can stay here with my cup of coffee and my killer kale smoothie, or I can go to Toys "R" Us and buy this life-saving kitchen gadget:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uIRgV8xwKvRq4LSCeCXR6CV1U5bO70LkDHaCoN_Z0h9cfdV-FnpRS5zcBFhZG-JiHPpmZzTRcOVuXt3-mO617485cXFI098Q4hd7JQLsqU9-5uNHZFwanLDrRtk_Y0lWc-VYeuMUdIdy/s1600/Life-Saving+Device.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uIRgV8xwKvRq4LSCeCXR6CV1U5bO70LkDHaCoN_Z0h9cfdV-FnpRS5zcBFhZG-JiHPpmZzTRcOVuXt3-mO617485cXFI098Q4hd7JQLsqU9-5uNHZFwanLDrRtk_Y0lWc-VYeuMUdIdy/s1600/Life-Saving+Device.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Handy Life-Saving Healthful Kitchen Gadget on Sale Now!!!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Remember that movie <u><b>Super Size Me</b></u>, and the guy who ate MacDougall's food every day for a month? What made him ill was the fact that he was exceeding the recommended caloric amount of food every day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There's another documentary where a guy ate the same diet, but at the recommended daily caloric limit. He lost weight. And yes, his lab tests showed an improvement in his overall health. Because he didn't Binge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes, if I ate nothing but binge on Kale for the next 30 days, I GET that I'd probably feel pretty sick. I'm guessing I'd be even sicker if I ate nothing but Twinkies. Both of these plans receive the grade of "F" because too much of anything ain't pretty. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm pretty sure that's probably even true of too much Richard Armitage. Hmm....</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLD6r82bQAabLOg9rNeReBMW6V1ELbKG3uKMJdtCuJO_wBAC14d9nD887sCDKTnGlfy4OG8j6wv1_AWL3-Qg7bUy2KEJwj_hFBmRYOol3EqoELpgZNufhJGWIN1Bb27a1Fqd_-HeFZ5JPt/s1600/armitage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLD6r82bQAabLOg9rNeReBMW6V1ELbKG3uKMJdtCuJO_wBAC14d9nD887sCDKTnGlfy4OG8j6wv1_AWL3-Qg7bUy2KEJwj_hFBmRYOol3EqoELpgZNufhJGWIN1Bb27a1Fqd_-HeFZ5JPt/s1600/armitage.jpg" height="320" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">AND a cute cat!!!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Okay, quit ogling the handsome British actor and the lovely cat. Back to my rant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm reminded of the story of the man who had a horse who ran away. The neighbors expressed their concern for his loss. He said, "Could be good, could be bad. We'll see."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The horse came back with a mate and his neighbors extolled his good fortune. He said, "Could be good, could be bad. We'll see."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then his so</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">n breaks his leg when he attempts to ride the new horse. The neighbors are aghast and comment on how awful this accident had been. The man said, "Could be good, could be bad. We'll see."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then the army recruiters passed his son up because he was lame. The neighbors rejoiced and said, "how wonderful, your son has been spared!" The man said, ...well, you KNOW what he said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">the same applies to food. One day it's great, the next day, it's out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm going to stick to what seems to settle in my tummy nicely, and that gives me energy. I'm going to finish my coffee and have a piece of chocolate, and tonight we're having chicken. I will picture my grandmother waving her wooden spoon in the air and saying, "eat your vegetables!!!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And I will. </span>lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-74752312860460071932013-12-02T20:46:00.000-08:002013-12-03T09:19:44.245-08:00Shame and Vulnerability<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwN8_bNvLjtQdmV9gYP_4ivIHvALQYxfj1ot27WU4qay25C1bTt2L7JIW9EDvmIyuN7wIAHYNZu7sXOSeBVtp920WECVNUIgWJKL4oOV0kgtkwV61tyCI57t-aSqcpBmGZpD7Nt780uQJH/s1600/shamedog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwN8_bNvLjtQdmV9gYP_4ivIHvALQYxfj1ot27WU4qay25C1bTt2L7JIW9EDvmIyuN7wIAHYNZu7sXOSeBVtp920WECVNUIgWJKL4oOV0kgtkwV61tyCI57t-aSqcpBmGZpD7Nt780uQJH/s320/shamedog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We all secretly fear the Box of Shame</span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shame. It's disquieting. It's pernicious. It can make a grown humanoid shrivel and wilt in a moment.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you relate to the terror in this little dog's eyes? What lengths would you go to in order to avoid that Box of Shame?? And the picture suggests that little Fido has multiple shame days, each with its "raison du jour." Can you imagine what life would be like if you got put in this box every time you made a mistake?</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We don't talk about the shame we experience because we don't want anyone to know. Since nobody else mentions anything about their shame and their fears of being exposed as worthless miserable heaps of fraud, we can think we're the only ones.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shame. We'll do anything to avoid it. Hide. Procrastinate. Chicken out on a big opportunity. Play it safe. Some people seek to avoid shame through numbing. Addictive behaviors. Drinking. Smoking. Using drugs. Video games. Sex. Television. Facebook. Food. Bingeing. Bingeing and purging. Avoiding food altogether.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shame points the spotlight on our imperfections. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, here's the news flash/cosmic joke:</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nobody is perfect. We have all experienced shame. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shame requires that we worry about how others perceive us. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unchecked, it will lead to anxiety, depression, and misery. We leave our lives in the hands of other people. The Buddha put it this way:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."</i></span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This isn't cynicism. This is the truth. It's foolish to count on someone else for your safety and reassurance. Sooner or later, there will be a problem. First and foremost, you need to be there for yourself. That's not self indulgence. That's good solid self care. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, we sometimes encounter people who point out our flaws. They criticize, analyze, and judge your life, and then will tell you how they think you should handle your affairs. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wasted some good months this year procrastinating because I worried about what someone else might think about what I was doing. I didn't want to fail, or look stupid. Or be judged.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...Then I realized, wow. I've failed a lot, and I've looked stupid more than a few times. And there are people out there who have judged me negatively. Yes, I have my fair share of haters. That used to make me squirm, feel worthless, and toss and turn at night. I used to shiver in the dark at the idea that there are people out there who don't even know me yet who will dislike me in the future. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the reality though. I'm still here! There are a handful of people who DO like me and what I do. And I've learned from MOST of my mistakes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The antidote to shame paralysis? </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let go! You might find that those risks you're so afraid of will lead to some of the most amazing and rewarding moments of your life. It takes practice, but once you experience the freedom, you'll do it again, and again! As long as you are considerate of others, who cares what people think of you and your foolish notions? Chances are someone will think you're brilliant!!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quit benching yourself because some jerk doesn't think you should be doing this. Or wearing that. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did Einstein waste time combing his hair? No! Did the person who put the little dog in a square plastic tub stop to think about what they were doing? Heck no!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trust me. It will be okay. Let your freak fly!! Chances are you aren't nearly as freakish as you think. Even if you are, you'll probably make someone's day!!! </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take a good look in the mirror and start trusting the person you see there. That's the person you need to worry about. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Choose to believe that you can trust your intuition Don't let anyone talk you out of the beauty of your dreams.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As long as you're acting with integrity, and working on pursuits that you believe in, you'll be all right. As long as your inner voice and your conscience are in line. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It involves sticking your neck out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read in a blog just yesterday that successful people are that way because they act with confidence. It's more important than having a high iq.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think I'm kidding? I offer you no finer example than the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. He got his brain, but he completely screws up his recitation of the Pythagorean theorem. Since he does it with confidence, most people don't really even notice. Did you notice?? I didn't... Probably because the Pythagorean Theory has not had any bearing on my life since my sophomore year in college. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let shame take a holiday... </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take a risk. Let yourself be vulnerable. As Brene Brown tells us, "Vulnerability is the birthplace of creativity!"</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be like the scarecrow and remember that you were born to twist in the wind a little.</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take action. It's better than remaining in the shadows, as Stephen Gilligan says, "Putting your mind on numb and running out the clock."</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember the 20-40-60 rule. In our 20's we worry about what other people think. In our 40's we don't care what other people think. In our 60's we realize nobody has been thinking about us (they're worried about how they look through YOUR eyes!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Monotype corsica, papyrus, Apple Chancery; font-size: x-large;"></span><span style="font-family: Monotype corsica, papyrus, Apple Chancery; font-size: x-large;">"You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm!" -Colette. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And one last tidbit from Eleanor Roosevelt (or Nancy Reagan depending on your political druthers:</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My question to you is, would you rather be in the game, or on the sidelines?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take your place in the arena, or the Box of Shame? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ready, Set, Choose!!</span></div>
lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-59199976604612341072013-11-30T20:33:00.003-08:002013-11-30T20:33:33.174-08:00What Have You Done Today to Make You Feel Proud??<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBzE_G18vJh_uJ0plzm7pK_W8b5jHDfmDke0nQfjZ-AHOnPhSSuD4TKOCDMejtDTtBJ598Bn88RuZr8ULGI9IIOOxroR3dxGF61my-lGiyS1SCnWWaI1k49Kapm-8tzGmJzMleUh1SKkD/s1600/Peacock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBzE_G18vJh_uJ0plzm7pK_W8b5jHDfmDke0nQfjZ-AHOnPhSSuD4TKOCDMejtDTtBJ598Bn88RuZr8ULGI9IIOOxroR3dxGF61my-lGiyS1SCnWWaI1k49Kapm-8tzGmJzMleUh1SKkD/s640/Peacock.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peacock Pride - Go on and strut your stuff!!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had an extraordinary moment this morning that I've been savoring all day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One little line of a song. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we were to ask and answer this question with our loved ones each day, what a great world it would be. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning, I taught an intenSati class, with my intention being to bring what I love about intenSati into the hearts of the people who showed up for class today. At the heart of every class is the idea that we hold an intention. A dream. Something we're moving toward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My intention today? To bring my best game forward to other people in the room so that they will fall in love with intenSati, and more importantly, <i><b>themselves.</b></i> Their radiant, amazing, authentic selves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there was this moment I had which my friend Maria would describe as a "yummy."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the background, Heather Small is singing Proud, And the line is, "What have you done today to make you feel proud?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I was doing in that moment made me feel proud. What the students were doing was filling them with pride. My heart opened up completely, and I was filled with the radiant beauty of that moment, and each person in that room radiated authentic pride, and they glowed with a radiance I can't begin to describe..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are two kinds of proud. Ego Proud, and Authentic Proud. This was the latter.. It was palpable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be honest, I made several mistakes.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The students got <b><i><u>me</u></i></b> on track and that made <b><i><u>them</u></i></b> feel powerful!. We don't have to be perfect. We can certainly strive for perfection. We can do our best and learn from our blunders and mis-steps. We just can't wait until we're perfect to get in the game. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's your intention? What do you long for? It's time to get in the game. It starts with a vision. If you dare, bring it to mind. Imagine seeing it, hearing it, sensing it both inside and outside your being. Smell the smells. Stand up, and say out loud, I am THAT. Feel what it's like to ACTIVELY Have It NOW..... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now continue to hold that vision and decide on what small actions you will need to take in this small day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you think about, you bring about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't believe me??? Take it for a test drive. Still holding that vision? Still standing? Imagine your intention and listen to this song. All the way through. And say it out loud, "I AM THAT!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And imagine, at the end of the day, being able to provide an answer to this simple, beautiful question. </span><br />
<br />lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-13527240038691145392013-11-28T13:01:00.002-08:002013-11-28T13:01:39.715-08:00Attitude is Everything - A Thanksgiving Memory Filled with Love, Life, and Laughter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wherever she is right now, she's probably dancing!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a tag line on an email message that Larry read to me last night. It got me thinking about Marguerite Brodie, and I'd like to share a little bit about her on this day of Thanksgiving. She embodied the spirit of this day. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time spent with Marguerite was all about adventure. She loved life, even though hers had to have been an ordeal sometimes. She never let it show.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her wish was that she be remembered. Since she was the kind of person who squeezed all the juice out of life, remembering her is a pleasure. This one's for you, Marguerite. Oh to have an ounce of your plucky spirit!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marguerite Ann Brodie taught me a lot about life. Not the schmaltzy, sugar-coated Robert Fulghum "Take a nap and eat cookies" lessons, either. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm talking about how to hold your head up and breathe when life gives you a swift kick to the groin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marguerite could have been bitter and angry and depressed. She could have viewed life as an ordeal, but she didn't have time for that. When life handed her a shit sandwich, she tossed out the unsavory bits, slathered a healthy layer of butter on the bread, and took a big healthy bite. And gave you a shit eating grin while she did it. Pun intended. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I met Marguerite one evening when I was working at the Portland Women's Crisis Line. The last line of my job description had that sentence... You probably know it..... "Other duties as assigned." </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On this particular occasion, I was assigned to go with one of our volunteers to pick up our newest board member for the monthly meeting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marguerite had been in a wheelchair for a few years. She had Friedreich's ataxia, a genetically inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system, resulting in symptoms ranging from gait disturbance to speech problems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marguerite dealt with both. She couldn't walk... however, she was very strong. Her speech was halting and sometimes difficult to comprehend, but her mind was sharp as a razor. She was funny, insightful, kind, and INCREDIBLY resilient.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marguerite endured our inelegant attempts to get her out of her wheelchair, into the car, back into the wheelchair, and up a flight of stairs to the board meeting. What made me completely fall in love with her was her laughter. That made it all easy and rewarding, and perfect!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That laugh... How do I describe it? She laughed with every <b><i>ounce</i></b> of her being. Her entire body rocked, and her laugh was perhaps louder on the in breath than the out breath. She was a delight, and she could find humor in the most awkward situations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">....Like one of the first times I tried to lift her by myself. We ended up in a dog pile on the sidewalk and had to be rescued by a kind bystander. Of course, we laughed about it for the rest of the afternoon, and I was teased about it for months. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moshe Feldenkrais taught that we act in accordance with our self image. If that's true, Marguerite saw herself as a dancer. A powerful, organizing, unapologetic dancer with a heart as big as the planet. I know that wherever she is now, she's probably dancing. Naked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When she left us all in 1997, there was one hell of a memorial service. Hundreds of people showed up to remember her remarkable life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some rules for living that Marguerite exemplified:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Care.</b> Ask people about their lives. Marguerite totally cared about people. No matter what her personal situation was, she couldn't wait to ask people about whatever they were doing, and she listened. She not only listened, but she heard. She wasn't just waiting you out long enough to be able to get her next words into the conversation. She would remember whatever people told her and asked about it. She made us all feel like we were the most important people in the world. She volunteered and did a lot of work for the community.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Recruit.</b> Marguerite demonstrated that it's okay to ask for help. She had a cadre of us who happily helped her get out of bed every morning, get breakfast, get through the day, and get to bed at night. It never felt like work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Be Organized</b>. It was amazing to see how well she could use an hour of a person's time. From the moment of arrival until the moment of departure, there were a million little tasks. She had a list of honey-do's prepared in a very systematic and efficient order. In an hour and a half, you could get her on and off the commode, dressed, fed, laundry done, and recycling sorted. And sometimes there were tasks like planting bulbs. We were handsomely paid by her uncanny ability to let us know she really appreciated what we did for her. She wrote us cards, baked treats, and smiled. If you took Marguerite out in the evening, the final task would be getting her to bed: tucking her in with a kiss good night on her forehead, turning off the bedside lamp, tiptoeing out in the dark. It was the chance to get to love her back a little.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Get Out and Live Your Life! </b> Marguerite didn't let her wheelchair confine her or define her. She worked around it. There were always enough people to help get her here and there. She loved going to marches and rallies. For several years, I pushed her chair in the Gay Pride parade. She loved to be toward the front so that when we got to Waterfront park, she could sit and watch the parade arriving at the final destination. We went to the movies and sometimes had to struggle with how to navigate entering and exiting places. That led to some wild adventure moments!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Back What You Believe In.</b> Marguerite went to rallies and fund raisers. She was on the Board of Directors for the Portland Women's Crisis Line. She organized the newsletter for the Portland Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. (WILPF). She used the "L" word in the newsletter as often as she could. When Lon Mabon was wreaking havoc on the state of Oregon, she had "NO on 9 buttons made with black triangles. She handed me one, winked, and told me she paid for it with the money she saved on people working for her for free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Laugh. Extra points for snorting!</b> I can't remember a visit with Marguerite that wasn't heaped with dollops of laughter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Don't skimp on the butter.</b> When I made Marguerite's breakfast, she always asked for toast.It needed butter. Real butter. Whenever I was done, she would ask to see, and would inevitably say, "More." When I was at her memorial service, a woman got up to say a few words. She had only known Marguerite a short time. She began by saying, "I didn't know much about Marguerite, but I did learn this. Marguerite loved butter." There were hundreds of people in the room, and we all burst out laughing. I realized that probably all of us who had gathered to remember her had made toast for her at one time or another, and all of us had been given the one word instruction: "More!" A quick calculation led to this conclusion: <i><b>We all made a shitload of toast for that woman!!</b></i> Whenever I make toast, I spread the butter generously and I silently toast Marguerite. Pun intended. It would have made her laugh. Possibly snort.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Be yourself.</b> She had a sign on her door that she had typed on her typewriter in wavy lines... "Dull women have neat houses." She lived life on her terms. When the guy at the March of Dimes home refused to honor her request that she have female attendants, she moved out and found a way to get friends to help her live her life in a manner that suited her and her needs. She didn't fuss. She didn't complain. She got organized. She used the "L" word as many times as she could when editing the WILPF newsletter. And that made her laugh! We also laughed at the people who thought she was stupid because of her speech. And the people who thought she was weak because she was in a wheelchair. She knew who she was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Be Memorable.</b> A few weeks after her memorial service, I received a call from a friend of Marguerite's. She told me that more than anything, Marguerite wanted to be remembered, and she wanted me to have the lamp from her bedside table.. The one that we put out each night after we tucked her in and kissed her good night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marguerite, I hope that you can take a moment from your dancing in heaven to note that today, you are held in loving memory. Not only in the hearts and minds of those who had the honor of knowing and loving you, but also from the people reading this and getting a sense of living life with gusto, and without apology. Maybe they'll hold you in their thoughts today as they butter their rolls. <b><i><u>Generously.</u></i></b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know I will. Happy Thanksgiving, and pass the butter, please!!</span><br />
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lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-43512637926050857152013-11-18T21:01:00.000-08:002013-11-18T21:01:16.559-08:00Unleash Your Amazing Authentic Self<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patricia Moreno, creator of inten<span style="color: magenta;"><b>SATI </b></span>in the Pose of Commitment</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know about you, but this picture inspires in me a sense of how strong I am capable of being. It's a picture of Patricia Moreno, who has inspired thousands of people to think-shout-feel, "I AM STRONG!"</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you had told me two years ago that every Saturday morning I'd be leading a cardio fitness class, getting a room full of people to be smiling and shouting, <b><i>"I want it, I want it, I REALLY REALLY WANT IT!!" </i></b> I'd have accused you of being under the influence of a powerful hallucinogenic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">(Guess what I'm now doing every Saturday morning??)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, I found truth in the following words from Moshe Feldenkrais:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva, apple chancery; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>"We act in accordance with our self-image."</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two years ago, my self image was bad... I was obese, depressed, hated my job, and despised the person I saw in the mirror.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My morning mantra? "I hate my life." I said it every morning religiously as I brushed my teeth. I worked well over 40 hours, then went home and numbed myself every evening with junk food and television. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things got really bad when one of the people in my support system decided to yell and scream at me. I got mad like a four year old, and how did I respond? I GOT EVEN. I said mean things. I unfriended her on Facebook. (Don't ever do that). Well that got me shunned forever. She hated me, and I hated myself four times as viciously. I provided myself with ample evidence of my worthlessness, and a reason for old ghosts to come out and torment me. The depression deepened and turned to thoughts of doom and a fervent wish to suddenly and inexplicably disappear forever. My inner 2-year-old had taken over and was screaming, "That'd teach 'em, huh?" I was being ridiculous. It was miserable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, I heard the words of John O'Donohue who, on a cd borrowed from the library, advised that,<i><b>"Sometimes, in your heart, when you're wounded, one of the best ways that you can heal yourself is to direct a kind gaze inward toward your soul and the kindness of that gaze, and its own beauty can, in the pathos of your own inner loss, transfigure that loss, and bring home to you whatever is missing in your life."</b></i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvJN_3BsReTgWJBgM7l24rd0Tzgodiy4TQc0-9mHIJAJgEzfVHW5ZhofduTQltFYltUUbsGQYjAwHE17Uo9eAt3wV3ChWm0IchCDqB8JWgpYsEAWT7fJRdQI3FANR27L4asORTAbwbDvc/s1600/smallwarrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvJN_3BsReTgWJBgM7l24rd0Tzgodiy4TQc0-9mHIJAJgEzfVHW5ZhofduTQltFYltUUbsGQYjAwHE17Uo9eAt3wV3ChWm0IchCDqB8JWgpYsEAWT7fJRdQI3FANR27L4asORTAbwbDvc/s400/smallwarrior.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Be a Warrior - Willing to Stand for Yourself and Guard Your Thoughts</b></span></td></tr>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those words, spoken softly in a lyric Irish brogue, washed over me like a healing balm. I made the decision to be kind to myself, and my behaviors changed. I started bringing home the things that were missing from my life. Self respect. Exercise. Fun. Good books. Friends. Family. Vegetables. Forgiveness. Of myself. Of Others. My new morning mantra? "With gratitude, I take full responsibility for my life. My thoughts. My feelings. My actions. All I need is within me now." I began doing an intenSati workout every weekday morning, and sometimes on the weekends too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few months later, I got an email message inviting me to inten<span style="color: magenta;"><b>SATI</b></span> Leader training. It was something that had called to me the first time I did a workout... and now the call was getting stronger.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoar6KRlIzV7zu4wjrfEGhUM7egsXm5fDUeMu6ZPmJxkXdzuDa952-NH6Z-fLjGw4LRUtS6OlGqLVJgJfF6WAzJVVYKRVItkcHXzigKcEG4adS6OaYYdyEmAHn7A7d0GaKwMmbS62wxBb/s1600/ready.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoar6KRlIzV7zu4wjrfEGhUM7egsXm5fDUeMu6ZPmJxkXdzuDa952-NH6Z-fLjGw4LRUtS6OlGqLVJgJfF6WAzJVVYKRVItkcHXzigKcEG4adS6OaYYdyEmAHn7A7d0GaKwMmbS62wxBb/s400/ready.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Team Ready - Rutgers Campus, March 2013</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over time, I continued with Sati Life Warrior Training. I started feeling healthier. I began eating a lot more vegetables and ditched the binge eating behavior. I studied for the Group Fitness Instructor Exam. I passed! I shed 50 pounds effortlessly!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It felt as though I were in a dream the day I found myself on the Rutgers campus in New Jersey, in the same room with Patricia Moreno, her head Leader Trainer Betsy Cast, and an amazing group of peers. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went home with my shiny certificate and taught a few classes to friends here and there. I started gaining confidence. I found a studio where I could still teach the class. I set a time for class.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then.... Nobody came.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I was too scared to tell anyone! </span></b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if nobody came?? The old self image was lurking around in my psyche, keeping me from putting up flyers and marketing the class. It was a text book example of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. I felt doomed. Maybe I was a rotten human being after all... What if she-who-no-longer-speaks-to-me was right?? Or.... was that just <i><b>"stinkin' thinkin'?"</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, I gave it another go in August. I organized a meetup. I made flyers. I started believing I would make it happen, even if I only had one student.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had one new student turn up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I gave her my best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next time, I had TWO students. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week, I had seven students, which meant that I more than tripled my numbers. As this trend continues, I'll soon outgrow the venue!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What happened? I truly embodied the role of being an inten<span style="color: magenta;"><b>Sati</b></span> Leader. I jumped into the game with both feet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn't about me any more. It was people feeling better by getting into action! Demonstrating the joy of moving and shouting miracle-causing mantras. I AM a messenger of love. I AM encouraging people to live a life they love, in a body they love.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I overheard the following recently, and I think it's true:</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva, apple chancery; font-size: x-large;"> If this country were to suddenly experience a rampant epidemic of self love, the health care industry would save millions of dollars! </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what's your thing? What's your authentic gift for the world? Who will you dare to allow yourself to be? What will it take for you you to take that risk? Right now!!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember the words of Marianne Williamson as she told us all that we don't serve the world by playing small. Remember Eleanor Roosevelt's words of wisdom when she said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes it begins with forgiveness. Sometimes we need to forgive ourselves, sometimes others. Often, both. Give yourself permission to see yourself with kind eyes. See the world around you with kind eyes. Even the ones who don't seem to GET you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever you have planned today, give yourself permission to be amazing. Don't allow ANYONE to disturb or distort the GREATNESS of who you are, at your core. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There will always be those who don't like us, or who think we're idiots. I know I have my share of people who think I'm a total nut job. That's okay, in the words of the dude, "That's just like, your opinion, man!! "</span><br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/dGyOtU3Es_s/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/dGyOtU3Es_s&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/dGyOtU3Es_s&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This month, I'm taking time out each morning to reflect on the meaning of the Prayer of St. Francis. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, I invite you to listen to Sarah McLachlan singing the words, and see what it might bring for you. </span>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And please, please, please, allow yourself to SHINE!!!!! The world needs your light!</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you ever find yourself in Bend on a Saturday, come to my class! Or, visit Patricia Moreno's web site where you can download a free workout: <a href="http://satilife.com/">Satilife.com</a></span>lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1888212447542274760.post-6568661294986789652013-11-07T11:51:00.000-08:002013-11-07T11:55:29.094-08:00Love to Move!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='650' height='400' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/HSy7h3TPB-M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember when ipods were new and they had those fabulous commercials showing people dancing to some fabulous song? One of my guilty pleasures is dance-walking to Mr. Blue Sky by ELO. And it doesn't matter whether the sky is blue, or whether it's pouring down rain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moshe Feldenkrais taught that "Movement is Life." What challenges us, the older we get, is that we lose our sense of this as our nervous systems are exposed to insults and injuries. The good news is that we can rediscover the joys of movement by noticing how we move and exploring how we might organize ourselves differently to make things easier. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I have gotten out of nearly four years of studying the Method is a newfound appreciation of how movement can be pleasurable! And how lucky we are to be able to move!!! The guy in the video talks about discovering his Happy Place. What's your Happy Place? What movement brings you joy? Swimming? Dancing? Skiing? Gardening? Sweeping the fall leaves? Ohhh... I'm doing that! Gonna turn up the tunes and sweep some leaves! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What will compel you to get up from the computer and really enjoy yourself? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you sitting at a desk right now, and do you have hours of desk work ahead of you? Take a lesson from squirmy kids... use the chair as an opportunity to explore movement! How many ways can you find to move yourself without standing up? Try making teeny circles with your right shoulder, then your left shoulder. Then both shoulders. Try circling in opposite directions. Now do the same thing with your hips. Then, could you do both shoulders and hips? And, how about using your sits bones to walk back and forth from the front to the back of your chair? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you know that if you were to get up out of your chair and start skipping, it would lighten your mood? Don't believe me? Try it! Yes, right now, with everyone watching. I double-dog dare ya!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feeling really ambitious? Have some break time coming? Grab a break buddy, grab an iphone, and plug into this and turn up the volume: </span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Bonus points if you can make it all the way through the song hopping or skipping, or busting a great dance move, and make it look so fun that people join you.... How many people will join the fun?.. It doesn't really matter... just move and see what happens!!!)</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hours of fun, without ever having to stand up! Your spine will thank you!!!</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then tell us all what happened. I look forward to your stories!!!</span>
lizzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229065125769069368noreply@blogger.com0