Bring the Nonexistent into View

 

"By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it.  The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired." - Nikos Kazantzakis.

What does not yet exist that you could bring into life today?  

Do you need to stimulate a friendship?  

    Would refreshing lines in a poem or story add to its possibility?    

           

What if you left an encouraging note for the mailman, an office worker, or someone who provides a service you take for granted? 

Think of just one area of life that needs enriching for someone else.  Then add one for yourself.

Make your day one of believing and doing.  Become a magician of what could add energy to our weary world.  

Write the nonexistent into life's view.

A Day of Reconsideration

Have you ever considered:

Ways to zig when others zag.  Or zag and see what happens.

What if you came from another planet. What would you investigate first on the planet earth?

In what ways could you become a hopeful cynic and a cheerful skeptic?

Consider "falling in friendship" with something you dislike?  How would you rearrange your view?

Have a playful day of reconsideration.

Let Wonder Wander

"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." - Bertrand Russell

Shed ambitions and a responsibility and let the playtime flow. 

Permit an interlude of fun. 

Recharge energy with discovery. 

What if FUN conquered the Universe? 

        How would that appear in details? 

                      Just let it flow. 

Energize your wonder to wander.

Discover Nature's Wonders

 

" . . . to see a World in a Grain of Sand and a Heaven in a Wild Flower. Hold infinity in the palm of your hand." - William Blake

Notice the mystery of life and joy in ordinary. 

        Let life shine in all encounters. 

             Discover nature's wonders you have not noticed before. 

                   Share it with others.

The Potential of Magic

"There are two kinds of magic. One comes from the heroic leap, the upward surge of energy, the explosive arc that burns bright across the sky. The other kind is the slow accretion effort: the water-on-stone method, the soft root of the plant that splits the sidewalk, the constant wind that scours the mountain clean." - Scott Williams

Play with the potential of magic. Find your specialty. 

Experiment with all type from the leap and surge to an unhurried effort. 

Enjoy the creativity and energy of dynamic moments. Then relinquish to observations and taking time. Enjoy the languid. 

You will benefit from both for tasks that you wish to accomplish.

Choose Shoes Today

 

Between saying and doing many a pair of shoes is worn out. ~ Italian Proverb

A Tibetan teacher describes practice as the wearing out of a pair of shoes. We need to wear the soles thin. By that time we have worn through ego and delusion. The more time spent in writing practice, the more insights gained.

If we stop too soon because we feel eager to complete a project, we lose the opportunities to delve into connections. Insights arrive with the next flow of sentences.

Revelations result from pushing words into one another and permitting them to fall into a variety of formations. Like a comfortable pair of shoes with mileage, words will begin to energize us to keep moving.

Which shoes will you wear today?

Turtle Tales

Turtle fables abound. A turtle represents creation, endurance, strength, cunning, longevity, and stability. Turtles provide happiness, protection and good fortune.


The turtle’s shell figures in many tales. Zeus invited a turtle to a party. When she declined the invitation and said, "There's no place like home," he put her house on her back. In China a turtle shell formed the vault of the heavens. Vishnu, the Hindu god, changed into a turtle's shape to carry the world on his back. For many Native Americans the world rides on the back of a giant sea turtle.

An African legend tells of the leopard who built a drum that everyone can hear. He will not permit anyone to try the drum, not even the Sky-God. Angered at this behavior, the Sky-God announces that anyone who can bring leopard's drum to him will receive a reward for teaching the leopard a lesson about his greedy, disrespectful ways. Then the Sky-God waits.

The elephant, monkey and tiger try to get the drum but the leopard scares them away. Finally, the tortoise steps up. The animals laugh and tease her because of her size and soft shell.

She proceeds anyway and tricks leopard by telling him his drum looks only middle-sized, but nice. She says that the Sky-God can climb inside his drum and not be seen at all.

The leopard brags that he can climb into his drum and not be seen, too. When he squeezes himself completely into the drum, the tortoise seals it with a cooking pot. She drags the drum to the place where the Sky-God waits. He laughs at the lesson that the little tortoise has taught a big, bragging leopard.

As a reward the Sky-God presents her with the strong, hard shell that the tortoise wears to this day.

In reality, sea turtles have poor eyesight and cannot use visual clues to find their way. Experiments have shown some turtles can detect differences in the angle and intensity of the earth’s magnetic fields. Scientists theorize they follow each region’s magnetic pull to find their way back to birth beaches. They have a built in global positioning system.

The first turtles swam more than 150 million years ago. Seven species of sea turtle survive today: loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, green, olive ridley, Kemp's ridley, and flatback.

Five of the six species that live in the United States appear on the endangered species list.  The sixth, the loggerhead, is listed as threatened. The last species, the flatback sea turtle of Australia, is considered "vulnerable" to extinction. 

Celebrate a turtle in words today.

Welcome Autumn

Autumn leaves don't fall; they fly. They take their time and wander on this, their only chance to soar. Reflecting sunlight, they swirled and sailed and fluttered on the wind drafts. - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen

Autumn arrives in stealth. 
A click crisps the morning air.
Trees replace green with reds, oranges, yellows.
Sparkled by moonlight, harvest time begins.

Does seasonal change signal a need to make your own adaptations? What needs to change color in your life? 

Let the hidden emerge.

Autumnal awareness increases connections to elevate the spirit.

Discover expanded freedom of creativity and choices.

Find a true reverence for life.

Explode in self-expression.

             Explore passions.

Follow nature's examples. Nourish your roots and strengthen your foundation.

Upgrade your self-care.

Add a tingle and hint of humor to situations.

Notice a rose's smile

Invigorate the influences that nurture and support you.

Percolate with smiles.











Be like Snoopy and leaf peep.

"I can smell autumn dancing in the breeze. The sweet chill of pumpkin, and crisp sunburnt leaves." — 𝑨𝒏𝒏 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒆  

Into a View

Before the storm, the sea flaunts its multiple personalities as it builds force. During their flights of defiance against the wind, seagulls ripple on the currents like kites. They evade the force as long as possible, wielding magic in the thrust of wings. Pigeons circle in formations catching the drafts. Subtle changes alert the birds' radar to seek shelter before intensity could whip them from the sky.  

Pelicans and seagulls find protection on the edges of cliffs as winds broil. Cormorants rise into the branches of pine trees and preen. A winter sea and sky toy with the color wheel and capture a view that defies a camera's eye.

In India, darshan means getting a view. The clouds escape to reveal a panorama of the Himalayas from the foothills.  It's said that the Himalayas give up their darshan.  They're letting you have their view.  

The Pacific ocean has provided a darshan on its day of wonder.  It doesn't show itself to you right away.  The tease encourages a search for your own words and imagery of discovery. 

The sky provides an opening.  Where does it lead?

As the storm passes, the sky returns to calm the sea and reflect the blue.  Seagulls ready their feathers for flight.

Capture a view of a moment in nature. Discover a new way to view a familiar scene. 

Imaginate for Change

Do you have a habit you'd like to change?  It could involve nail biting, procrastination or chronic worrying.  On the positive side, you may wish to develop a write habit and spend time with words.

Rather than pointing and shaking a finger at yourself, go for thumbs up.  You can do it.

Writing around, into and through thoughts and feelings about habits may assist you to discover ways to motivate change.

Freewrite to complete these sentences. Let them roll out in a flow to a finish. Respond again and probe for ideas until you run out of new endings before going on to the next one. If you become overwhelmed at any point, just stop and rest. Take several deep breaths. 

You may discover some discomfort in doing these exercises. Don't judge, write to the feelings.

1. Begin writing by feeling the urge to engage in your habit. Imagine a place or time in which you would usually do it. Get in touch with the urge deep within your body. Breathe into the feelings and write to finish the sentence, “I feel like a need to ___________ (name your habit or desire for a habit here) because…” Let the sentence unravel where it will.  Begin again. Keep writing until you can't think of new endings.

When you are finished, write down some of the sentences that had the most power.

2. Continue to explore the urge. Write, “If I never ___________ (name your habit or what you wish to turn into a positive habit) again…” Keep writing until you cannot think of endings.

When you are finished, write down some of the sentences that felt the strongest for you.

3. Let yourself feel the urge to engage in your habit and push the urge to its full intensity. Ask the urge why it needs you? How does it serve you? What is its job?  Then, name and dialogue with the Urge.

Spend some time with this experience before moving on.
Write down what you learn.

4. Imagine going through the day with the urge to engage in a positive habit. What does it feel like to want to accomplish it? How will it help you complete a goal?  

Next, wonder what it would feel like not to have a negative urge and to feel confident you will never engage in your bad habit. Pay careful attention to anything that feels unwelcome about this reality. Spend some time with this experience before moving on. Write down what you learn.

By writing through the four questions you may discover aspects of your personality you have not tapped before. Make friends with this part of you. Rather than trying to change it, accept it. Spend time writing about it each day.  

Imaginate and write to change.

Investigate Distractions

 

I go down to the shore in the morning

and depending on the hour the waves

are rolling in or moving out,

and I say, oh, I am miserable,

what shall —

what should I do? And the sea says

in its lovely voice:

Excuse me, I have work to do.

- Mary Oliver

Investigate distractions and mind clutter without resistance or judgment.

If negative thoughts linger and fluster, think of best case scenarios.

"Scatter joy," encourages Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Discover the work you need to do, encouraged by creativity and playfulness. 

Add humor. 

Breathe as you arrive at a sense of contentment from the cumulative effect.

"Each moment is a chance for us to make peace with the world." - Thich Nhat Hanh

Moodle

Serotonin, the brain's feel-good chemical, interacts with receptors to spread happiness, satisfaction and relaxation. When we wrestle with shades of experience, we have the ability to move from intense moments then glide into realms of ease. At other times we just struggle, stuck in the middle of funk. The complexity of the human endocrine system toys with our balance.

All the advances in medicine and technology cannot provide a life of satisfaction. Individually, we access the center of wisdom in the brain and do what needs doing. We must engage with our highs, lows and middles by discovering ways to dislodge discomfort and energize the interactions in the brain for positive results.

With writing we have the ability to alter our moods or, at least, write about and through them.

Moodle! 

Get several sheets of paper and a pen that flows across the page. Find a location where you can write undisturbed for an hour. Write your current mood across the top of the page. Begin writing and do not cross out or feel concern about the words. Get into a flow. Let one word drop, then another.

See where your mind takes you until the end of the page. Has your mood changed? Write the replacement mood across the top of the next page and begin again. Follow your moods for an hour.

Try writing with a variety of colors. To dislodge crankiness, use green. If tired, write with red or magenta. If restless, try blue for its tranquil qualities.

Try an Elephant Metaphor

What's as unnecessary as an elephant needing a bicycle? Elephant metaphors abound in speech and literature.

Kings of Siam offered a rare white elephant to noblemen who had fallen out of favor. The cost of feeding and caring for the creature destroyed the recipient.  This evolved into using “white elephant” to refer to an expensive and wasteful construction project.

Then a white elephant became an undesirable possession. A white elephant sale attracted individuals who found value in others' discards. In his story, "Hills Like White Elephants," Ernest Hemingway led the reader to decide the value.

An elephant in the room refers to an obvious situation no one wants to acknowledge.  When the elephant changes colors, a pink elephant refers to a drunk person's hallucination.

The elephant test refers to the difficulty describing an elephant. One just knows it when one sees it. In one story, six blind men had the task of describing an elephant. Each felt a different part and described the animal from that reference point: the trunk, a tusk, an ear, a leg, the stomach, and the tail.

Have you heard anyone say that they hope to “see the elephant” ? Individuals traveled miles to view an elephant in a circus parade or under the big top. As a result, any overwhelming experience could result in seeing the elephant.

P. T. Barnum advertised his elephant, Jumbo's size which led to referencing the name as a synonym for colossal. (Elephantine, is another synonym, though it also refers to ponderousness.) Dumbo from Disney fame has discovered its name thrown around in disrespect.

Other elephant attributes include superior intelligence and memory. Since they have poor eyesight, based on observations in zoos and circuses, they are not bothered by mice as some have believed.

Create your own elephant metaphors for a story or poem. Or, try the fox, chicken, frog, snake or donkey.

Football and Life

When asked why I am so into football (Oregon Ducks football), I replied, "It's like life. You evaluate the situation and make a choice; something happens. You make another choice and receive a different response. If you don't move forward, you try a creative approach. Penalties arrive when you make a really bad choice.

I like to keep the ball moving on fourth down and don't kick it away.

Scores come with prestidigitation.

Winning and losing often result from factors beyond your control.

You Win Your Day as a result of choices.

Meet Lao Tzu

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. - Lao Tzu

The named is the mother of the ten thousand things. 

Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. 

Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations. 

These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. 

Darkness within darkness. 

The gate to all mystery. 

          - from Tao Te Ching translated by Gia Fu Feng and Jane English

Lao Tzu (his name is sometimes written Lao Tse or Lao Zi, also known as Li Erand Lao Dan) was born in Honan on March 24th in the year 604 BC. Called the “Old Master,” his name means “old-young.”

Late in life, Lao Tzu rode on a water buffalo to retire in the mountains to a province in the western frontiers. A border official, named Guan Yin Zi, urged the master to write his teachings so that they might be passed on.

In mountain solitude, Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, went westward and was never seen again.

Lao Tzu's messages concern the discovery of the self. He advises to sense the world directly and contemplate impressions of the laws of nature. He says the ways matter and energy function in the universe is the Tao.

Intuition requires cultivating to predict change. Personal power (Te) needs awareness and knowledge of physical laws in the universe and minds of other. That power can direct events without resorting to force.

The practice of simplicity stimulates growth. The balance of contradictory forces (light and dark, positive and negative, male and female, mountains and rivers) creates harmony.

Lao Tzu appreciated the importance of humor. "Without the laugh, there is no Tao," he said.

Stay in the moment. Absorb nature's wonders. 

When you need a change, work on a small area of concern.

Trick Your Emotional Triggers

A monk rattled around in a constant state of upset and depression. When another monk tried to help him out of his gloomy mindset, the first monk said, "Look at the Master. He has outbursts of anger."

"Ah, that is so," replied the other monk. "But, notice that his anger is like lightning. It strikes to the heart of the target and then is gone. The sun shines again."

Often we react with behavior that doesn't reflect what we want to reveal to the world. We carry our emotions around with us instead of setting them free.   

Once we recognize it's impossible to avoid feelings of anger, sadness, frustration or other negative emotions, we can control our relationship to them.  We need to recognize the negative thoughts that accompany them. What positive action can replace the potential for negative behavior?

With awareness, we feel the emotions arrive, pause and learn what they have to teach us.  Then we can choose not to react with negativity.

Everyone has emotional triggers. Here are a few: a hurtful comment from someone, standing in long lines, green lights turning to red just as you arrive, being put on hold during phone calls. 

When situations arise that trigger angst, use your mind to its best advantage. Develop a key phrase or sing a tune before responding. 

Take a few deep breaths to re-center. Open yourself to possibiities.  

Laugh, laugh and laugh again.  

Let lightning strike in the solitude of your mind.  Then let the sunshine out.

Choose three situations that trigger your negative emotions. 

Write three responses for each to show how to react in a more positive way. See what happens if you use your positivity when they arise again.

Trick your emotional triggers.

Meet Triumph and Disaster

 

At age 10, while training to play competitive tennis, I had the opportunity to visit the Wimbledon tennis courts in England. My father pointed to the sign over Center Court which read, “Meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters the same.”

He encouraged me to think beyond any impossible challenge to make I’m Possible my mantra. The words of the sign stuck with me. I did not really understand their meaning until I had to deal with winning and losing in high school tennis tournaments and other interscholastic sports.

Years later I discovered the quotation came from the poem, “If” by Rudyard Kipling. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=175772

One of the most important strategies I developed involved my outward attitude. I began to realize how it affected my opponent. I learned to judge a missed shot with an inner laugh and straight face. Positive body language worked to my advantage.

My efforts to prevent my competition from observing my frustration took a long time to establish. I had to make it authentic from the inside out. As I developed my self-confidence when losing, I realized my power over an opponent. My ability to keep in touch with I’m Possible turned many games around in my favor. I also gained strength from my opponents’ frustrations.

Never permit your opponent - whether disguised as frustration or a cranky mood - to dislodge that belief you have in yourself.

The more you discover about yourself, the more strength you will bring to all of life’s encounters in relationships or competition. Each win or loss will provide more experience for the next level of achievement.

Write your accomplishments.

How do you achieve success?

Write your feelings and frustrations. How will you overcome them?

What does failure mean in each circumstance?

Let humor become your ally. Do not look back but continue writing onward. Record all of your efforts. Writing about your life's opponents will help you learn ways to defeat them. 

Then, on a day when Triumph or Disaster arrive in your feelings and focus, read about the ways you charged beyond challenges. Build upon these skills for the future.