“…i keep looking for one more teacher,
only to find that fish learn from the
water and birds learn from the sky.”
-mark nepo
Monday, April 28, 2014
c o u r a g e -- as it surrounds me, you, us
courage
i am still building that within myself
learning to not be shy about the things i want, while realizing that i do, have everything that i need
but, lately, i have been so encouraged by the people in my life who live and create from such a centered and pure space
purity is relative, i know
pain is sometimes the source of their courage -- from what i know to be true
and i come from an upbringing that resided in covering up the pain and silencing the hurt
so, i get it
i know why i instinctively want to fix what causes confusion and pain
and i know why i sometimes choose not to deal or see it as a place of refuge, strength or peace
-- but i have received so much power watching my friends create and grow beyond their pain and beyond the limits they place on themselves -- no matter how long it takes and how much it hurts
its beautiful and i commend you :)
this courage i've witnessed has been from past and present friends
who never knew i watched and observed the resilience and perseverance
i value the lessons
and as it continues to surround me, i can't help but see my own reflection
as it stands, i'm in the midst of facing a lot of fears and opportunities at the same time
logically, i know that the outcome has already been determined, and that brings slight pleasure and ease
but emotionally, it's, well, fear
and i know that faith and fear don't work together
so, it's up to me and my choice to endure and confront -- be courageous, or not
left or right?
ego or heart?
intuition or control?
i'm leaning in, as mark nepo always writes in his books
i want to choose faith -- my struggles are unique to me, but i'm not alone
i too have the courage that i admire
we are, of course, of one mind -- many in body
i'm leaning in.
xo, me.
i am still building that within myself
learning to not be shy about the things i want, while realizing that i do, have everything that i need
but, lately, i have been so encouraged by the people in my life who live and create from such a centered and pure space
purity is relative, i know
pain is sometimes the source of their courage -- from what i know to be true
and i come from an upbringing that resided in covering up the pain and silencing the hurt
so, i get it
i know why i instinctively want to fix what causes confusion and pain
and i know why i sometimes choose not to deal or see it as a place of refuge, strength or peace
-- but i have received so much power watching my friends create and grow beyond their pain and beyond the limits they place on themselves -- no matter how long it takes and how much it hurts
its beautiful and i commend you :)
this courage i've witnessed has been from past and present friends
who never knew i watched and observed the resilience and perseverance
i value the lessons
and as it continues to surround me, i can't help but see my own reflection
as it stands, i'm in the midst of facing a lot of fears and opportunities at the same time
logically, i know that the outcome has already been determined, and that brings slight pleasure and ease
but emotionally, it's, well, fear
and i know that faith and fear don't work together
so, it's up to me and my choice to endure and confront -- be courageous, or not
left or right?
ego or heart?
intuition or control?
i'm leaning in, as mark nepo always writes in his books
i want to choose faith -- my struggles are unique to me, but i'm not alone
i too have the courage that i admire
we are, of course, of one mind -- many in body
i'm leaning in.
xo, me.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Nights like this....
I miss Philadelphia.
Because, home is home...be it in my heart or amongst the familiar faces and places that shaped me. :)
Expose Yourself
"...because it is exposing yourself in your utter nudity: your wounds, your ugliness, your insanity - things which everybody wants to hide from the world. It goes against your ego, against your personality."
@wisdom_is_love
Sunday, April 13, 2014
meditative thought for the week
Meditation is an especially powerful practice for growing in self-love. No matter how the monkey mind jumps around, we still remain the observing consciousness. Consciousness operates under the law of grace, levitating our heart and soul higher and higher to the source of love itself: Pure Spirit.
- Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith
who are you? who am i? i am....
morning!
how are you? :)
yesterday i attended a conference presented by Emerging Arts Leaders/LA (EAL/LA) about "curating your career". it was eventful and inspiring -- i met a lot of individuals who were either artists or organizers within the sector that made conversations quite interesting throughout the day.
this is the first time i've ever attended something like this and LA seems to have a lot of professional conferences as this is the city for extreme career advancement! so, i plan to attend more.
however, the basis of this blog entry was inspired by the idea of who we are -- as individuals and as a collective mind set, all having unique experiences of our own.
there were three workshops that we attended and each dealt with some level of whipping our butts into shape when it comes to managing our artistic careers; productivity, personal branding, management, financial development, etc. YES! all of these things were necessary to listen to.
but.
i only had two take away thoughts and woke up this morning and thought i'd share with you....
1) art doesn't always have to be, well, within the arts. let me explain. the keynote speaker, Dan Goods works for NASA. Pretty amazing! He is a graphic designer by trade, attended art school and created this amazing bottle project that he perfected and pitched it to different places as an artist. No one really understood the project -- he essentially heard more "no's" than "yes's" when it was time to look for a job.
so, one day he asked his wife to mail off a resume for him -- the post office had no letter size envelopes and she instead, selected a huge envelope and sent it to a NASA Office in Pasadena, JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). The man who received it, noticed this large envelope and the resume inside and pretty much said, we have to bring this guy in -- who would do this!
so, he went in for an interview -- spoke about his bottle project, graphic design skills and intentions and the interviewer said, though he didn't know anything about how to apply the bottle project to the position being offered -- he wanted to give this artist a chance and after 6 months, they would evaluate whether or not the position was for him. that was ten years ago. Goods spoke on the unexpectedness of applying our creative mind to areas of interest we may have never considered. our "moments" as we experience Life -- should be fulfilling, exciting and with the beauty of possibility that we can be impactful in so many various spaces, careers, locations, etc. he has found a career out of merging science and his love of graphic design and installation art. the projects were truly breathtaking and allowed any viewer to witness the fusion between the beauty of art and the intelligence of science.
my take away from this included expanding my mind as i think about projects and my career in general -- i'm not much for taking the reigns anymore and attempting to lead myself, but i believe in the certainty that listening to Goods about the idea of broadening my own thoughts about myself and where i could apply my creative mind is exciting to me! consider the alternative in your creative process -- who else could you speak to, play in front of and where? who could you teach? where could you apply for a job? go to school? all of those things -- the risk in believing that we are here to not just stay in one lane, but to hop around and gain experience is really the point, right? we are to become as whole as we can -- and wholeness requires movement. so let's move, build, create and thrive!
2) who we are, is not what we do -- the last workshop i attended was based on personal branding and recognizing how others see you. this was fascinating to think about, because very rarely do we concern ourselves with what it is like to encounter ourselves. with seeing ourselves across the room, talking to ourselves, confronting ourselves, pleasing ourselves, etc. we don't know. that mirror would be pretty interesting and probably scary at the same time, but mentally -- we had to go there for this workshop. so we wrote down individuals that we admired and the qualities about those people we admired. at the end, she said, now look at yourself -- see who you are, by what you see in others! YES! YES! though i had a feeling that was exactly the point of the exercise, it was really moving to witness how people stared at this sheet, trying to defend how they were NOT any of those things -- and that made me a bit sad.
see, the people in my workshop equated success as being able to possess those qualities, because everyone they admired or who they listed on the sheet was where they wanted to be, and exactly where they didn't see themselves. "i am not a writer because i have not published" "I am not really a musician, because i have not played in front of crowds of people or sold any albums" -- all of these, i'm not because statements were all based on what they were not doing, that others were.
so, i said, why is it that we define ourselves by what we do? why is it that we will devalue our own process and the work we put in everyday, to claim a title or a moniker? if i write in a journal everyday, or a blog and i aspire to be a writer -- hence i am writing, and enjoy it, aren't i a writer? the problem that i witnessed yesterday, is that in order for us to call ourselves something we MUST excel in in it or be paid for it. i have an issue with that. i believe it trumps any process we could remotely have with the experience of simply enjoying something and recognizing that we do it well and the possibility of its growth into perhaps, a career path.
just because you like to sing, doesn't mean you have to be a singer -- or because i like to cook and bake, doesn't mean i should go to cooking school. no, i enjoy those things and will continue to enjoy those things....
the pressure i noticed with my peers is that we all enjoy and are skilled at many different things -- but society and our industry makes us select one -- and to stick with it. the teacher and I both agreed that you don't have to. we aren't blessed with such unique talents and skills that make us all individually great to just dismiss some and only apply others. no, we should be embracing them all --we are creative and innovative and wise and original and just simple unique. why not embrace it all!!? play music, cook, draw, sing, run, make pottery, write, teach, paint, design, sew, make films -- and enjoy the process of doing them all!
that is Life, that is what is possible -- not staying in one lane and stressing about becoming this one thing when we are so much more!!!
go live, go thrive and experience :)
xo, me.
how are you? :)
yesterday i attended a conference presented by Emerging Arts Leaders/LA (EAL/LA) about "curating your career". it was eventful and inspiring -- i met a lot of individuals who were either artists or organizers within the sector that made conversations quite interesting throughout the day.
this is the first time i've ever attended something like this and LA seems to have a lot of professional conferences as this is the city for extreme career advancement! so, i plan to attend more.
however, the basis of this blog entry was inspired by the idea of who we are -- as individuals and as a collective mind set, all having unique experiences of our own.
there were three workshops that we attended and each dealt with some level of whipping our butts into shape when it comes to managing our artistic careers; productivity, personal branding, management, financial development, etc. YES! all of these things were necessary to listen to.
but.
i only had two take away thoughts and woke up this morning and thought i'd share with you....
1) art doesn't always have to be, well, within the arts. let me explain. the keynote speaker, Dan Goods works for NASA. Pretty amazing! He is a graphic designer by trade, attended art school and created this amazing bottle project that he perfected and pitched it to different places as an artist. No one really understood the project -- he essentially heard more "no's" than "yes's" when it was time to look for a job.
so, one day he asked his wife to mail off a resume for him -- the post office had no letter size envelopes and she instead, selected a huge envelope and sent it to a NASA Office in Pasadena, JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). The man who received it, noticed this large envelope and the resume inside and pretty much said, we have to bring this guy in -- who would do this!
so, he went in for an interview -- spoke about his bottle project, graphic design skills and intentions and the interviewer said, though he didn't know anything about how to apply the bottle project to the position being offered -- he wanted to give this artist a chance and after 6 months, they would evaluate whether or not the position was for him. that was ten years ago. Goods spoke on the unexpectedness of applying our creative mind to areas of interest we may have never considered. our "moments" as we experience Life -- should be fulfilling, exciting and with the beauty of possibility that we can be impactful in so many various spaces, careers, locations, etc. he has found a career out of merging science and his love of graphic design and installation art. the projects were truly breathtaking and allowed any viewer to witness the fusion between the beauty of art and the intelligence of science.
my take away from this included expanding my mind as i think about projects and my career in general -- i'm not much for taking the reigns anymore and attempting to lead myself, but i believe in the certainty that listening to Goods about the idea of broadening my own thoughts about myself and where i could apply my creative mind is exciting to me! consider the alternative in your creative process -- who else could you speak to, play in front of and where? who could you teach? where could you apply for a job? go to school? all of those things -- the risk in believing that we are here to not just stay in one lane, but to hop around and gain experience is really the point, right? we are to become as whole as we can -- and wholeness requires movement. so let's move, build, create and thrive!
2) who we are, is not what we do -- the last workshop i attended was based on personal branding and recognizing how others see you. this was fascinating to think about, because very rarely do we concern ourselves with what it is like to encounter ourselves. with seeing ourselves across the room, talking to ourselves, confronting ourselves, pleasing ourselves, etc. we don't know. that mirror would be pretty interesting and probably scary at the same time, but mentally -- we had to go there for this workshop. so we wrote down individuals that we admired and the qualities about those people we admired. at the end, she said, now look at yourself -- see who you are, by what you see in others! YES! YES! though i had a feeling that was exactly the point of the exercise, it was really moving to witness how people stared at this sheet, trying to defend how they were NOT any of those things -- and that made me a bit sad.
see, the people in my workshop equated success as being able to possess those qualities, because everyone they admired or who they listed on the sheet was where they wanted to be, and exactly where they didn't see themselves. "i am not a writer because i have not published" "I am not really a musician, because i have not played in front of crowds of people or sold any albums" -- all of these, i'm not because statements were all based on what they were not doing, that others were.
so, i said, why is it that we define ourselves by what we do? why is it that we will devalue our own process and the work we put in everyday, to claim a title or a moniker? if i write in a journal everyday, or a blog and i aspire to be a writer -- hence i am writing, and enjoy it, aren't i a writer? the problem that i witnessed yesterday, is that in order for us to call ourselves something we MUST excel in in it or be paid for it. i have an issue with that. i believe it trumps any process we could remotely have with the experience of simply enjoying something and recognizing that we do it well and the possibility of its growth into perhaps, a career path.
just because you like to sing, doesn't mean you have to be a singer -- or because i like to cook and bake, doesn't mean i should go to cooking school. no, i enjoy those things and will continue to enjoy those things....
the pressure i noticed with my peers is that we all enjoy and are skilled at many different things -- but society and our industry makes us select one -- and to stick with it. the teacher and I both agreed that you don't have to. we aren't blessed with such unique talents and skills that make us all individually great to just dismiss some and only apply others. no, we should be embracing them all --we are creative and innovative and wise and original and just simple unique. why not embrace it all!!? play music, cook, draw, sing, run, make pottery, write, teach, paint, design, sew, make films -- and enjoy the process of doing them all!
that is Life, that is what is possible -- not staying in one lane and stressing about becoming this one thing when we are so much more!!!
go live, go thrive and experience :)
xo, me.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Ernest Holmes on Life...and our choosing it
good morning!
it's been such a busy week, i didn't realize a whole week had gone by since i last wrote in this blog! I'd like to post at least three times a week -- so that will be my goal this week. baby steps :)
in addition to working physically here and mentally in NYC as I develop/curate this exhibition -- i have been, on a daily basis, setting my intention to working within a limitless belief system. logically, i know that i am capable and all things are possible -- logically. but when you begin to live within that mindset, challenges come and i found myself having to choose whether or not i was going to stay committed to my intention or not.
yes, there are a lot of challenges in working with an artist across the country :) many. challenges. but, when i started to become really serious about setting this intention, the opportunity to work with them became full circle and i knew that i could not think within the confines of limiting thoughts of doubt, worry or fear. thankfully, we have a budget (and for those that work with artists, know that doesn't come often!), but even having the money to do certain things started to cause limiting thoughts.
so, i went back to what i know, and that's -- if the universe provided this opportunity (literally, in my lap) then there was purpose, promise and benefit in the work. in addition to, knowing that whatever was the will of the Universe, essentially bringing my spirit and the spirit of this artist together -- something great was brewing. we just needed to step back, ease off the aspect to control and make shit happen our way, and watch the alignment happen -- because it was meant to happen this way.
to date -- we have a venue that is remarkable -- talent that we will soon have to choose who to add to the bill and marketing partners that will create amazing extensions for this event. the alignment. our trust. us falling back and letting IT do what IT does. amazing!
it wasn't easy. when you have a clear understanding of Universal law -- when some don't. challenges do arise. but thankfully, we (the artist and i) are on one accord and it feels good to work with someone that accepts the truth of Life as it is -- knowing it's all good in the end.
oh! haven't mentioned Ernest Holmes yet. So, if you aren't familiar -- he is the author of The Science of the Mind. Many study this book, as it is a way of thinking when you approach Life's promise -- the Source of who we are. I enjoy reading works by thinkers who seem to understand the simplicity in Spirituality being a personal thing. This is from a chapter I read this morning:
"because Life is in you, then the Truth is in you, and the Spirit is in you and Power is in you. if you will wait on this Power, this Truth and this Light, they will guide you. one of the greatest things you can do is to learn to wait on the God Power within you...."
love and light beings! have a beautiful day :)
xo, me.
it's been such a busy week, i didn't realize a whole week had gone by since i last wrote in this blog! I'd like to post at least three times a week -- so that will be my goal this week. baby steps :)
in addition to working physically here and mentally in NYC as I develop/curate this exhibition -- i have been, on a daily basis, setting my intention to working within a limitless belief system. logically, i know that i am capable and all things are possible -- logically. but when you begin to live within that mindset, challenges come and i found myself having to choose whether or not i was going to stay committed to my intention or not.
yes, there are a lot of challenges in working with an artist across the country :) many. challenges. but, when i started to become really serious about setting this intention, the opportunity to work with them became full circle and i knew that i could not think within the confines of limiting thoughts of doubt, worry or fear. thankfully, we have a budget (and for those that work with artists, know that doesn't come often!), but even having the money to do certain things started to cause limiting thoughts.
so, i went back to what i know, and that's -- if the universe provided this opportunity (literally, in my lap) then there was purpose, promise and benefit in the work. in addition to, knowing that whatever was the will of the Universe, essentially bringing my spirit and the spirit of this artist together -- something great was brewing. we just needed to step back, ease off the aspect to control and make shit happen our way, and watch the alignment happen -- because it was meant to happen this way.
to date -- we have a venue that is remarkable -- talent that we will soon have to choose who to add to the bill and marketing partners that will create amazing extensions for this event. the alignment. our trust. us falling back and letting IT do what IT does. amazing!
it wasn't easy. when you have a clear understanding of Universal law -- when some don't. challenges do arise. but thankfully, we (the artist and i) are on one accord and it feels good to work with someone that accepts the truth of Life as it is -- knowing it's all good in the end.
oh! haven't mentioned Ernest Holmes yet. So, if you aren't familiar -- he is the author of The Science of the Mind. Many study this book, as it is a way of thinking when you approach Life's promise -- the Source of who we are. I enjoy reading works by thinkers who seem to understand the simplicity in Spirituality being a personal thing. This is from a chapter I read this morning:
"because Life is in you, then the Truth is in you, and the Spirit is in you and Power is in you. if you will wait on this Power, this Truth and this Light, they will guide you. one of the greatest things you can do is to learn to wait on the God Power within you...."
love and light beings! have a beautiful day :)
xo, me.
meditative thought for the week!
One of the most direct ways to create a loving relationship with oneself is through genuinely accepting ourselves just as we are. This doesn't mean we don’t see the ways in which we have yet to grow; what it does mean is that we can look into our own eyes, into our own reality of being and find there our essence, which is pure love, regardless of our human flaws. We contact this essence directly through our spiritual practices.
Rev. Beckwith | Agapelive.com
Rev. Beckwith | Agapelive.com
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