Creatorship

Election musings

"We stand behind an old, but enduring idea, a conservative idea in the best sense, that the American dream of a democracy driven by informed and committed citizens is both an aspiration and a necessity. We believe that we are currently falling short in meeting this end, and that we must think anew about how to achieve it."  Dr. Theodore Sizer (2002)

"The real world is not a series of set, pre-digested answers," he [Dr. Sizer] said in an interview with John Merrow, "the real world is a set of questions."

from The Leverage Points blog by Vicky Schubert

It is election time in Ohio.  Barraged by one liners designed to arouse emotion and sway opinion but not necessarily inform, Dr. Sizer's words seem even more important.  I'm amazed and humbled at how hard it is to determine the facts behind some of the issues on the ballot in this information age.

Indeed, the real world is a set of questions: What values am I seeing here? What are the long term consequences of this choice? What are the systemic issues not being addressed?

It takes courage and determination to research and think through the choices before us; to not mindlessly buy into the propaganda of either side but choose to the best of our ability.  

Here's to the democratic process and to individual freedom and responsibility!  We have no one to blame and only ourselves to give credit to.

Image from the College of Liberal Arts & Science, University of Florida

...the witch is smokin'

 Halloween

the pizza delivery woman
crinkles her eyes and
lets the amusement work
her mouth into a grin

“the witch is smokin’ ”
she says holding the warm pizza
looking at the door

and for a moment
there are only
endless possibilities of

“why not?”

[PLEASE NOTE: I am not advocating smoking. But I acknowledge the value in our opening to what seems unlikely or to what doesn't fit our expectations in life.  Delight so often comes from the unexpected, if only we could open our eyes and see.]

Peace Day, Sept. 21st

Take a moment and consider peace, for our world, for your life: 

        A gift from the heart 

from mine to yours, 

Barbara

Picture taken from "It all comes from the heart" an interview with Howard Martin by Diane M. Cooper

More peace experiment musings

I woke up the day before yesterday to a phone message that my neighbor is being moved to hospice. I felt incredibly sad. Sad that he would not be coming home, sad that the stability he provided to our neighborhood was going to be gone.

Since I'm focusing on peace this week it occurred to me to tune in. And oddly enough, at least it was to me, although I was feeling sad I wasn't feeling un-peaceful. So what is the relationship between peace and emotions?  [Jo started me thinking in a different way with her comment to my last post.]

I don't know.  Feeling peaceful is that calm, centered place that I feel in my body. And I guess for me that comes when I am at rest, in awe of a sunset or watching dragonflies zip around the edge of a pond. The opposite of peaceful then is agitation.

Merriam-Webster defines war  as a state of struggle, hostility, conflict, or antagonism. If so, then peace is a state of care, appreciation, and compassion. If war is about defeating the enemy, peace is about respecting, collaborating and finding common ground.

I started out the week wondering about world peace. Then I decided to focus on  seeing peace but it turned out I didn't know what it looked like. I moved to choosing to feel peaceful. More successful, I could shift my attention to a calm place inside. But now I believe there is even more.

Today, I want to be peace; choosing to appreciate, feel compassion for others and to genuinely care for the world around me. 

And a special gift was given to me through these musings. Today I understand my consulting work is about developing peace as I foster respect, collaboration, finding common ground and shared intention in working with my clients. 

May each of you find your own understanding and embodiment of peace!

Peace photo "paz para todos en el planeta tierra!" by Claudia Zamora from HappyBirthdayPeace.Com

Peace Experiment Results

Well, it turns out I can't see peace as I go through my day. I don't know what it  looks like.

If it is the absence of war or fighting, then it's all around me. Is that what world peace would be? People doing their daily work and interacting uneventfully?  Is peace just the absence of war?

While focusing on seeing peace, I became aware that there were times when I felt peaceful - a quiet calm. I wonder if this is not closer to the core of peace: feeling peaceful vs. feeling agitated, worried, etc. 

So, I think today I will focus my attention differently and see what happens.

Here is Peace Experiment Two:

                Today I choose to feel peaceful!

"oh yeah, and world peace"

I laughed during the beauty pageant in Ms. Congeniality when, in response to the Beauty Pageant question "What is the one most important thing our society needs?," each contestant responded, "World Peace."  That is until it was Gracie Hart's turn, and she says after a pause,  "That would be harsher punishment for parole violators Stan" and than adds, "and world peace."  [If you want to see the clip go here and move the pointer up to about 4 min. for that segment.]

World peace is too often a throw away line, a bumper sticker, or just wishful thinking. I'm committed to trying to make it more of a reality.

How about this as a Peace Experiment?  Since what we focus on tends to grow (if only in our awareness), how about focusing on this for a day:

"I focus my attention on seeing only Peace this day."

I plan to start my day tomorrow with this intention and to return to it as often as I can remember. I may carry it on a card or tape it to my mirror.

If you decide to try it, let me know how it works.

What would peace look like?

Here's something we can all do for peace!

"Envisioning the Peaceful World You Want to Live In...
Creation starts with thought, desire and imagination….the same as desiring a new house, job, etc. Thoughts, desires and imagination create an energetic blueprint for what we want; then taking action steps towards our goal helps to create the building blocks for intentions to manifest."

written by Bruce Cryer from ways to contribute to Peace this month.

International Day of Peace, September 21

Applying Presence

It's clear that I often talk about being present. It's not always easy to describe to someone how you know your are or what you do to get there.

I found an interesting article by Jon Aronstein,  Applying Presence: A Practical Exploration of the Means- Whereby" * that gives you a simple exercise to allow yourself to come into the moment.

I had done a similar exercise a long time ago (I was focusing on my hand at the time), I was amazed that at the end I felt a lightness and joy.  It crept in as the thoughts left and I simply became aware of my hand making the smallest of movements.

As with all things profound, embodying them is a journey, often entailing layers of awareness and understanding.

Try the exercise and see what happens. In its essence it is about slowing down and becoming 'aware of a type of presence, the "mind in the body." '

"Stand up comfortably, in a neutral and grounded position.  Take one shoulder and begin circling it:  Up,  forwards, down, back, etc. Very easy indeed. 

• Is the movement smooth and lubricated, or is it choppy and disconnected?  Stop reading and sense.

Notice that this can be done on "auto pilot."  That is, your intention is to circle your shoulders, your action is to circle your shoulders, done deal.

• Now begin "turning down the volume."  Slow it down.  Sense.
• Become acutely aware of the "quality" of the movement.  Sense.
• Are the circles really circular?  Stop reading and sense.
• Slower now.  Let go of the goal of shoulder circles just be aware that you are making the circles.  Let the circles happen. Don’t analyze them. 
• What parts of the circle are flat? 
• Can you feel why? 
• What tensions prevent the smooth movement? 
• Are you circling your shoulder blade?  Do you feel your waist muscles?  What are your hands and arms doing and feeling?
• What is happening in the rest of the body? 
• What are your thoughts?
• Try to avoid labeling and just sense.
• Feel the special mood of concentration turned inward that shows up.
• Get smaller and smaller, stay in your comfortable range of motion.
• Get more "cortical and new" as you move away from moving "habitually and reflexively."
• Reverse directions of the circle and apply the same type of internal questioning and awareness.
• Continue for as long as you like... get the hang of this and do it without reading this, or find someone to read it to you the first few times until you do it on your own."

When you are through, just pay attention to what you feel, sense, and experience.

The article covers much more in regards to sensory-motor, somatic learning. It is well worth the read.

*published in the Newfield Network Newsletter, July, 2009

Some birthday musings

This is in honor of my friend Deb's musings about this special time in her life.

the wisdom years

I write this on your birthday, an artificial marker
for the event we call “ life,” jarring us
into life’s profound questions

Our experiences are piled up against the door
and old hopes and dreams start to hang
in the air like so much smoke

Anticipated losses can start stealing today’s joy
right out from under us long before
the real pain occurs

We watch our life shape shifting into an unknown
as the familiar and the loved start to slip away
growing up, growing away, passing on

We fear being left behind, left standing alone
in the middle of the empty field named for who
we thought we were

But it is in the midst of this upset that wisdom is born             
surrendering to the mystery we didn’t create
letting grace flow as it wants to do

These are the wisdom years, when we know the least...
because what choice is there but to keep opening
in love to what is coming

bes 8.11.09                                                                                         Sculpture by Jerry Minton


You are special Deb...thanks for sharing!

And then there was that small voice...

This vacation was special. No only was there the experience of being present, there was that small voice....

Now let me be clear, the trip was not perfect, at least not in the traditional sense that many think of it. There were glitches, but they always worked out.  And each time, I heard a small voice inside say "See you are being taken care of. "

The first time was our stay at Foss State Park in OK.  The site was delightful. The birds in the prairie field across from us were active and filled the air with songs. We went to bed under the stars looking up through our mesh roof.

During the night, the wind began blowing. It got to be so vigorous we had to put the tent fly on. We noticed our "front door" pad had blown away. A cursory look with our flashlights didn't find it.

When we got up the next morning, the sky looked ominous. After some discussion, we decided to break camp and eat on the road. We took one last look along the edge of the prairie field and there it was - our blue pad. We packed up and left. It was only after we got on the highway that the storm hit. And then I heard that voice...

The next day, after a long drive, we took a chance on going to a different park then we planned, without a reservation -  Bluewater Lake State Park, NM.  We arrived later then we would have liked but after looking around we found a spot that over looked this wonderful canyon. How perfect! After setting up camp as I was gazing over the canyon, I heard that voice...."you are being taken care of."

I heard the voice again in the Dead Horse Ranch State Park in AZ after we went to talk to our "neighbor" in the truck occupying the site across from us. He was playing music way too loud for quiet time. We felt pretty centered going over to talk with him. As we approached the truck, it became obvious he was a pretty stoned. We were still feeling centered and remarkably nonjudgmental. He roused himself, thanked us for letting him know and turned the radio off. And then there was the voice...

The voice came when the lost briefcase was found by the hotel staff and was retrieved by my sister and her husband. And it came again and again. "See, you are being taken care of, you are not alone."

That sense of being taken care of has stayed with me.  It's not about not having problems, but its knowing that some how it is all perfect and that I will be fine.

3945 miles later something changed.  I think it was me.