Life is Yes, and Can get Better & Better

Valentine's Treat

2012-01-31T11:56:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is

like this:
I love you
and
I hope you love me
and let's show off that we have something pretty nice

And everyone doesn't have something pretty nice
and
some of those showing off
are,
as they say,
"blowing smoke out their asses"
and putting on a public show
while there is plenty of suffering back home

So what to do about
making it better
making love
happen
as a more consistent and ongoing thing?

Ah, me, ah my
it's always the same answer:

be present.

Got a grudge:
come into the present and actually
look at your partner

Your partner is gone
and you have a grudge
:
Look out the window
enjoy the birds
the bees
the sky
the trees
and be glad to be alive

Wish they were kinder:
be kinder to them
and to yourself

Wish they would listen more:
listen to them and
listen to yourself

If they bore you,
be present
be honest
ask for what would make it
work

Don't demand
Be happy

See what happens

there's more,
always more,
its one of life's great
ships
the relationship

and if you are "single"
single out plenty
of time
to really
really
really

love yourself
and your
life
exactly as it is

Good.

And now for an announcement:
I have a class at the UT informal classes
that I "accidentally" scheduled for February
7 and 14.

So instead of going to a movie, or out to dinner,
or,
in addition,
you could come upgrade your relationship
by:
communicating in the present
releasing resentments
creating harmony
moving into the moment

this can be with a mate
or without

couple
or
single

sign up
here:

UT informal class:
The Joy of Divorcing Your Pain/ Suffering/ Old Stuff/ Whatnot

this moment, this love, leaving behind the labels

2012-01-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

if i want to word about it
and call this moment, enlightened,
then
it's not

and if i want to word about it
and call this moment, not enlightened
then
that's true,
but not getting me anywhere

which getting
any
where
comes from being
any where
and that's just good enough
sweet fine kind
amazing
without any wording
to tell me
or
you
or anyone,
except maybe God,
how wonderful it is

and the whisper,
the words that just slip out
uncalled for
unthought,
the "i love you" words,
the more unidirectional
and unspecific
the better

(though God is in the details,
too,
loving every little grain of sand,
or wrinkle
or irritation
or leaf
or star)

that whisper
is on the way
to the enlightened thing
the lighten up
thing
the everything is slipping forth
the way it
is
and isn't that fine
thing

and it can't be told
good

can be experienced
good

now
very good

yeah,
this now

and sometimes that feels so good
we have to write a poem
or a song
and shout I LOVE YOU
to everyone

that's okay
it's necessary to the tides
of life

can't be helped

ask Hafiz,
drunken love maker to
God
in every man woman child moon
and star
and sun

or
ask the self in you
that has no name
and no place
and no words
and feels like it's not there

except it's the only thing
always there

kind
of

who knows
let Adyashanti tell us all the details
that's his job

our job:
to smile
feel our feet on the ground

wake up to a life of love
and
presence

and all the places that
will
take us

good

Relationship Heaven

2012-01-27T01:05:00.000-08:00

Is your relationship heaven?

Is that honeymoon flavor there most of the time?

Are you excited to find out new aspects of each other
every week, if not every day?

Is touch, truth and fun continually improving?

Can you talk about anything and everything, including
the sweetness of sex with its various tangles of desire and obligation,
and money with its seemingly endless ramifications?

Are you present with each other?

Are you deeply in love?

I hope so.

If not, that's my main treat and service for the world now,
helping others to the love that could be, and maybe even "should"
be, at the center of all lives.

Real love, real work, real awakening, real connection to the Earth,
real service.

All good stuff.

Ciao
for
NOW,

Chris

Special Needs Children, lessons to "imitate" the daily action of "normal" children, learning is the aim

2012-01-24T15:44:00.001-08:00

A "normal" child is pushing into the floor, into the chair, into everything, and pulling herself along,
or rolling herself over, or figuring out strategies of moving, and sitting and going up and down and crawling, and doing just about everything.

All day.

Each hour of each day is a lesson for the average child.

For a special needs child, life is full and wonderful, too, but the spasticity, or the limited repertoire of successful motion, or the disabled attention abilities keep the learning less than full time.

This is where lessons come in.

We practitioners create the connections and the pushes and the pulls,
slowly,
gently
with variation,
to mimic
but much more effciently,
the learning all children need about how,
say,
the hand pushing into the floor connects through to the ribs and spine and pelvis.

How the rotation of the pelvis affects the legs and spine and head.

How the chest and ribs affect the back and the pelvis and the head.

It's all the miracle of this body and this brain,
a brain that doesn't start out knowing how to roll over,
or crawl or walk or talk.

What is learning?
It's adding on an ability to perceive new differences.
This is what children's lessons are about, whether it is "normal" children
moving themselves around experimentally,
or the special needs child lucky enough to get our lessons
to simulate and encourage this learning.

Life is amazing, and lessons,
for adults and children,
at all ranges of activity,
can increase the ability of the whole person
to perceive the whole person, the self,
the "me" inside of each of us,
as an independent source of motion,
and intention and action.

Action is us living our own life.
Action is what brings the children in for lessons.
Action is the life expansion for the children,
however small, bit by bit, after each lesson.

This is the little miracles that can add up to such big ones.

Hope to see you and your child soon.

Chris

Early, tired, awake

2012-01-21T05:11:00.000-08:00

when reality brings these tired moments, I could complain.

They won't go away with my complaining.

Further proof that I don't run the Universe.

That's good news. Think how much responsibility that would be.

What's left to me, is that what is now,
this I can experience,
this I can treasure,
even these tired, early morning, up since 2 AM now it's 7 morning.

I'll live

A little nap will go a long way.

Life is good.

Ciao
for
NOW

An essay for a change: Loving God, with or without belief

2012-01-17T17:35:00.000-08:00

GOD:Loving God for the hell of it; oh, wait, the heaven of it

God is good. We’ve heard that. But then again, we don’t have to believe that.
We don’t have to believe in God.
I don’t have to care about or think about God.
And we like to love God, sometimes and those times are in indication of the deeper callings in Life.

Remember when you were small and looked up at the stars and it seems so amazing, that they were so many and so perfect and so brilliant and you were down here and they were up there and it was all just amazing.
That’s what loving God can be like.

Or when you sat by a stream one time, or many, and rested your back against a tree or a rock, and just did “nothing.” Just watched the water flow by and delighted in the sparkling, rippling, reflecting light bouncing from the sun off the water and into your eyes and into your brain and into your heart and your breathing and you and the stream seemed as if they were one.
All is one. All is One.
Some people say things like that. What do you think?
What do you feel?
What do you experience?
What do you love?

Say you love flowers. Is that a way to love God? Sure.
Say you love sunsets and walks on the beach. What if loving that is loving God is loving yourself in your expanding form?
Say God is something like the Whole Tamale, and so anything you love is loving God.

That makes it easy to love God. Later we’ll roam around in the scary world of God is everything, even the “bad stuff,” but let’s start easy.
Loving sunsets and puppies frolicking in the mud and babies laughing and birds singing and rainbows rainbowing these are all easy.
And that’s good, you know. We tend to forget the easy, the simple. We want God to be something fancy we have to pray hard for, or go to India to join the ashram.
We think God is some strict father, and we don’t get the goodies, the love and okay to get into heaven and whatnot, if we don’t toe some line, shape up, be good.
We don’t’ have to be good.
We might want to be kind and loving and useful to others and the Earth, and when you really feel those urges they are from that complicated and simple all at once place of All is One. The being kind to you is being kind to another part of me. The helping the Earth along is being useful to another part of me.

We appear to be apart from others and from Nature. And we appear to be a part of others and a part of Nature.
We are a part of love.
Love is a part of us.

We spend our days often, way often, forgetting that we are love.
That’s okay. God is love, some say, so that God, She or He can but us some slack when we forget to love.
Cutting us slack is called mercy.
Someone once said two things are infinite: human stupidity and God’s mercy. One kind of calls forth the other, and maybe humans are less stupid that confused and cut off from their natural intelligence.
And how do we get back to God, get back to our true selves, get back to days of more and more Love.

Start now, course. We always start now.

The love we want is in us now.
When we come to the Now, everything slows down, and we have this great swoosh of peace. Why? Because all those things lined up ahead of us don’t exist in the present.
Because all those things we remember and have told ourselves about our past, they don’t exist in the Now either.
In the now, the Now, the NOW, not much is left.
Except a peace.
A happiness.
A friend.
A sense of having come home to our true selves.

Is coming home to our true selves, our True Selves, coming home to God?

Maybe.
You don’t have to believe in any God, or anything, to feel very peaceful, happy, free by coming back to your true self, your true Self, in the Now.

And does that make the Now another name for God?

I’m not sure. I don’t think so.

I think God might be the vastness, the beauty, the ALL OF IT, that we can see and feel and merge with from the now.

But that’s just my story.

What’s your feeling when you come to the now, really now?

Does that feel like God, or a path to God, or just a great relief from all the regular ordinary everyday suffering and hurry and worry and contention and bother?

It’s your life.
It’s your feelings.
It’s you now to love and live in or not.

Try loving God, with or without believing in God. And then just coast there, without thoughts, in the Now, and see what happens.
Feel what happens.
Love what happens.
Love yourself.
Love It ALL.

Enjoy.

God is ??, and Loving God anyway

2012-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

You don't have to be good.

You don't have to believe in God.

You don't have to love God.

And sometimes you just want to, as if
as if
as if
compelled by the very life force
within
you

to worship the
Life Force all around you

and it is as if you are worshipping
yourself
but the bigger self
the Self
as they say and it's bigger
than just a big S
it's bigger like the univerSe
that kind of big

and worshipping the univerSe
seems kind of lame,
really,
but what if we are worshipping
the animating force behind it
all
the force that created you and I
and this Life on Earth thing
and this moon around the Earth around the sun thing
and the butterfly ocean sunset sweet kisses and hugs
and rivers and oceans and rainbows and peaches thing

that seems worth worshipping

the worship
and the workshop

what if this world is but
a workshop
for our souls
to deepen their leapin
into the univerSe
of
All is One

and what is All is One
is another name for God

just like some people say
Love
is
another name for God

and other people say
Everything / Reality is another
name
for God

and of course
when you connect with something
too big
really
to have a name
it's just a game
if you are spinning words
about something beyond the words

but the being alive
and experiencing
it

NOW

thing

that's God

maybe

but it feels like love
and it feels like what we are meant to do
and so
maybe that's good

maybe it's just fine to worship
God
and to love God
and leave out the whole "believe in God
or don't believe in God"
argument

who knows?
try it out.
See is loving God
without believing in God
works

for you.

whatever "you" are

Good.

Index of all Postings (432 so far)

2012-01-10T21:07:00.000-08:00

Life is to the living
How can we wake up,
and improve
and be of joyous usefulness?

JANUARY 2012

432. Tuesday, January 31: Valentine's Day treat

431. Friday January 27, two weeks after friday the 13th: love and letting go and the impossibility of telling how great it all is...or something like that

430/ Friday, Jan 27: Relationship Heaven

429. Tuesday, Jan 24: Special Needs Children, lessons to "imitate" the constant learning in "normal" children

428. Saturday, Jan 21: early, tired, awake

427. Tuesday, Jan 17: God is love, maybe, so might as well love back

426. Tuesday January 17: God is ???? And loving God anyway

425. Friday, January 6: Love's possible pathways; love yourself if no one else around; happy new year

424. Friday, January 6: Love is this moment caressing itself

423. Friday, January 6: Letting yesterday be yesterday; doing more then impossible; loving the now and creating beauty from there

DECEMBER 2011

422. Saturday , December 31, la la, so long 2011, you've been grand:
A love poem to the world, of sorts, kind a

421. Tuesday, Dec 27: Loving the X, for your sake and any kids

420. Saturday, Dec 24: Christmas cometh, the star shines and moves, and a birth

419. Tuesday, dec 20: The importance of humor as Mom or anyone "falls apart"

418, Thursday, December 15: The importance of love

417. Wednesday, Dec 14: Special Needs Children, Perhaps compression, certainly learning differences

416. Monday, Dec 12: Love vs entrapment, via Course of Miracles

415. Friday:, Dec 9: You do not have to be good

414. Tuesday cold in Austin, down to 30's, Dec 6: If love is our subject to day

413. Monday Dec 5: piggybacking on evolution

412. Sunday, December 4: It's Sunday night and you've got the chance to feed your soul, hmmmm, will you take it, take a chance on the food of nothingness?

411. December 1: the nature of now surfing along in body and awareness

NOVEMBER 2011

410. November 28: What does love have to do with it?

409. November 27: If posture is slumpy, can mood be far behind?

408. Novem 25: Loving wha tis

407. November 24: Thanks for the ever loving Now

406. November 22: Awake or not awake in computer land?

405. November 21: Life out of the arguing lane, what are we to do when we want to ruin our relationship by "winning" the argument?

404. November 18: Awakened Friendship, hey, let's talk without falling to "sleep"

403. November 17: Life is now, new is the website at 4BrainFitness.com, weather we like it or not, veering into a poem after all

402. November 16: Movement lesson for brain, neck, back and sex (the later not obvious,
and it will help)

401. November 16: It's so simple

400. November 15: Remembrance

399. Now is wow, easy Monday, train in the distance, life is...

398. Nov 11, yeah yeah 11/11 blah blah: True story: not awake while talking

397/ Nov 8: Nature, Now, Love

396. Nov 7: What has Yes done for you today?

395. Nov 7: From today's special needs children blog

394. Nov. 4: What would your / my Mom say if she was dead and you were grieving?

393. Nov. 4: Feeling bad is good for you, if there is another You to watch

392. November 3, Marlie's birthday: Love is catching you by your big toe while you are giggling about something else; or, you are not lost, God is you, and you have you all along

OCTOBER 2011

391. October 31, happy hallow tween life and death is just one breath:
death and life is a chance to remember. remember what? You are alive

390. Oct 28. friday's for love, yes: Now Nature & Love

389. October 26 Prayer to ecological and enlightened abundance

388. October 25: time and the children and the computer bandit

387. October 22: Saturday night and the newness of you

386. Octo 21: Falling in love with the gift: we are alive, wow!

385 october 19: when is enough enough?

384. October 17: Wrists and ankles and learning and waking up, ha he ho hi

383. October 16: Mindful Suffering is Finite; Mindless can be forever

382. October 14: If love is za ansa, what is zee question?

381. October 12: Getting bigger than fear, by coming the Reality

380. October 10: Feeling bad in the context of "hey, I'm alive, wow!"

379. October 7: Love poems from Now: Dancing is good 4

378. October 6, Love Poems from Now: Anger and Sad, not so bad with the Now now juice

377. October 5: Love Poems from Now, the Daily feast begins: What is Today?

376. October 3: Learning as natural vs being forced to do what can't do; mainly special needs children; really, all of us

375. October 1: Commit and move forward, Goethe quote, good

SEPTEMBER 2011

374. Sept 28: learning as transformation not just "better automatic robot"

373. Sept 26: Parents and the lessons, for special needs kids, it's the chance of a lifetime for the parents

372. Sept 23: Relationship and the crunch time: mindful = options, not mindful...suffering usually

371. Sept 21: The Joy of Divorce, the Novel, first scene

370 Sept 19: The Joy of Learning, helping a baby with speaking, via sound play

369. Sept 16: Happiness isn't being good, it's stopping the illusion of control

368. Sept 14 (well past midnight, but still Wed, sort of): Anger with variation

367/ September 12: short and sweet, get enthusiastic the child, about you

366. September 11, oh big deal day: The Joy of 9/11

361. Sept 10: Slowing down to speed up the Joy of Divorce

360. September 7: Out of the Soup, into the Brain, transforming Emotional Pain

359. September 6, Subtlety: the power of less effort, the joy of noticing smaller differences

358. Sept 4, Carlos Casteneda, fun after 30 years

357. September 2: What are Brains For?

AUGUST 2011

356 August 31: Why Paint?

355. August 29: Patience as a key to joy, love and learning

354. August 28: What to do about Heat, Death, taxes and People who aren't nice to you

353. August 26: Awakened Christianity, bathwater vs baby

352. August 24: Four Ways to Do Anything, or: The transformation always starts Now

351. Aug 22: Transformation is a big deal, in special needs children, and ourselves

350. Aug 19: More love, poems and whatnot

349/ Aug 18: Rumi and the fainting of how beautiful we are

348. August 17: New Website: the joy of divorce dot info, crisis = opportunity, thejoyofdivorce.info

347. August 15: Fingers to play, fingers to learn, special needs children, or YOU, or both

346. August 14: Love poems, of sorts

345. August 13: Unified unSuffering = freedom = options = mindful = La la yes

344. August 10, again: the pain of judging, the hell of Mindless when the Sh.. hits the f..

343. August 10: More mystical poems, do you hunger to remember how sweet and easy
it is meant to be: read slowly and feed yourself, your real Self

342. August 9: Toes for adults, toes for children

341. August 6: The Way of Love, one roadblock, the idea of "original sin"

340. August 5: Who is the real You underneath the Meanie and the Victim?

339. August 3: Three love poems to God

338. August 1 Cancer and Love, and Love Making: SEx and touch = good for you

337. August 1: What if the OT/ PT's help hinders the child's learning and transformation?

JULY 2011

336. July 28: The Joy of Wising up/ joy of divorce, 3

335. July 27: Moshe, Osho, Katie, Gurdjieff and the Landmark thing

334. July 27: Anat's second Essential: Turn on the Learning Switch

333. July 20: Moshe and Osho and Gurdjieff and me:, and Katie: Living in the unknown
and the joy of being yourself

332. July 18: Shoulders with a brain and a purpose vs. "Range of Motion," a cool movement lesson in a chair

331. July 18: Rescue Remedy, for special needs children, possibly other "touchy" clients,
or : ourselves

330. July 15: first approximation, my new process, The Joy of Divorce

329. July 13: what to say instead of "how are you?"

328/ July 12: More thoughts on Movement with Attention, thought and feeling as part of it

327. July 11: Essential One from Anat's book: Movement with Attention

326/ July 9: The joy of life, one part: overcoming difficulties, another: sex

325, July 5: love and being present: for special needs parents, all lovers,
any practitioner, you've heard it before, good

324. JULY 1: The purpose of bad days

JUNE 2011

323. June 29: Slowing down to more quickly (and happily) move ahead

322. June 28 6 pieces to an awakened life/ being better parent to special needs child

321. June 23: What is a Life For? 4 you, Now.

320. June 22: Real Health, what feeds us for "real?"

319. June 20: Working with the What Is, not the What Isn't

318. June 17: The Big C, Cancer as a Fine incentive to change...or die

317. June 15: Cat and cow for back and brain pleasure and learning

316. June 13, Parents of Special Needs Children: learn to sense deeply, for your sake and that of your children

315, June 8: Hard luck case and what is a lesson, anyway?

314. June 2, extra: A moving the brain, connecting foot to spine Wonderful lesson

313, June 1: Happy vs unhappy as tool for enlightenment now

MAY 2011

312.May 21: Migraines and Sex, and the Fuller Life

311. May 19; Migraines and taking choice in our attention

310. May 18: Pain... is not everywhere, so let's move forward in life

309. May 18: Tai Chi upgrade

308. May 13: Variations in up and down from the ground

307. May 13: Up and down in a Chair: meditation and healing

305.May 11, Wednesday: Tennis as a chance for Enlightenment, Always this choice: Mindful or Mindless

304. May 4, Wednesday: Chapter 90 from the book: Listening to and loving criticism while we sort out our real from our social/ mask selves

303. May 3: Chapter 76 from the book A soul treat for those who want deep inner peace

302. May 2: Chapter 61 from the book A Movement Lesson Treat for those work at computers

APRIL 2011

301. April 30: Simple, morning lunch dinner approach to 'healthy eating," my take

300. April 29: Moving ten minutes a day, small changes; diet ideas, "big changes"

299. April 27: Chapter 25 from the Tao of Now book: Twisting in Sitting

298, April 20: Feeling and Thinking about Death, dedicated to Marty

297. April 14: Going to the Waters of new impressions to heal and refresh our souls and lives
and be better workers, of any sort, and better lovers, too

296. April 6, Wednesday: "Swiss Army" knife movement for back: arch, twist, side bend and round: and increase clarity in ankles, hips, ribs, backs, necks, knees, feet, breathing, sleep better and MORE

MARCH 2011

295. Mon, march 27: mini movement lesson for shoulders and brains

294. Wed March 23: brains to find the middle, lifting rocks with middle, not having rocks in the head, or ; a simple tune up wake up lesson

293. march 23: options, emotional and learning better movement

292/ Wed. March 16: mention of new blog HTTP://SPECIALNEEDSCHILDREN-CHRISELMS.BLOGSPOT.COM,
plus movement lesson as most effective upgrading the whole system in a little effort, lot's of attention

291. Wed, movement at the computer, looking up and realizing there's now to life

290/ March 8, Tues: Tennis Players: Use your brains to slow down, awake and play much easier, better, sweeter: a Movement Lesson

289. March 3: Thurs , some Moshe Links via comments about going to Landmark Forum intro night

288. March 2, Wed: Moshe's Contribution to Humanity: Wake up to Now, Life, Options

FEBRUARY 2011

287. Feb 27, Sunday: Movement Lesson for F, F, F and F

286. Feb 24, Thursday: Qigong part two, balance is not falling over, lengthening is reaching to heavens above and Earth below

285. Feb 23, Wednesday: Feeing, F...ing, Fighting and Feldenkrais, a beginning exploration

284. FEb 22, Tues: A little made of qigong/ movement lesson, plus utube of Cheng man Ching tai chi beautiful form

283. Feb 16, Wed: Eating and Waking, Hints from the Feldie "work"

282. FEb 14: Valentine's Day is about loving ourselves, mindfulness in the "tired zone."

281, Feb 12: Valentine's Extra: Waking Up While Talking, or Toward Love with Listening, or the non-habitual is what we need if we are going to wake up

280. Feb 9: Cheng Man Ching doing Tai Chi, thoughts on this

279. Feb 2: Side bending lesson, section 41 from Tao of Now, for sale via internet silliness

JANUARY 2011

278. Jan 27: Transformation, not "fixing"

277. Jan 20: Organizing the Shoulders/ plus bonus: Grumpiness as one more Habit

276. Jan. 13: To "mess" around is to be human

275. January 7: The joy of learning: emotions as actions, too. E book for sale

274. Jan 6: First four games/ exercises/ meditations/ activities of 108 "Ways" Book

DECEMBER 2010

273. Dec 31 round and arch, a first lesson at http://waking108.blogspot.com

272. Dec 24: the computer, even here we can wake and learn, or learn and wake

271. Dec, 22: tai chi and potency

270. Dec 21: the gift of learning in the now

269. Dec. 20: Rest and Life Potency, contradiction or living life for real?

268. Dec 16: The Mask of "Fitting in" Why the work is necessary.

267. Dec 14: Ponderings on Anat Baniel

266. Dec 9: pain is...

265. Dec 5: EARing and Hearing and Memory and Attention

264. Dec 3: Warm wet and alive: Do not be good, via Mary Oliver poem

263. December 2: beyond the abs: what a real brain wants: a pelvis that goes all ways (think sex, think bringing an axe up and down, think throwing a baseball, serving a tennis serve)

262. December 2: a hearing, learning and enlightenment lesson

NOVEMBER 2010

261. Nov 25: thanks on the day of which

260. Nov 24: the power of "I don't know" (and a lesson still needs to tie to action,
that'll be another post, and has been past ones, look around, look around)

259. Nov 18: Cure vs Improvement, from the Case of Nora

258. Nov 9: Side to side, head, pelvis and ribs as a sweet happy team

257. Nov 5: Turning and learning again in a chair, sure, why not?

256. Nov. 1The importance of now, the scary thrill of transformation

OCTOBER 2010

255. Oct 16: Crazy, happy, wonderful: moving to Austin for the winter

SEPTMEBER 2010

254. sept 30: the love as we move in the now

253. September 1: How we learn is how we live, or why what we do is so easy

AUGUST 2010

252. Aug 20, How to win or lose an argument, and the feet need to touch the ground to be grounded, duh? And we need to lose arguments with people we love, not so obvious, but elusively WAY true

251. Aug 17: Rolling to sit, some amazing possibilties in using our head (and rear ends)

250. August 17: The Feldenkrais Method, intro via the elusive obvious: learning, whole self, going slowly, "farting around"

249 Aug 16; heading down, pelvising up

248. August 12: Head down in its spiral, butt up in its, and they are all one with our Us, and our spine

247. August 10: Not knowing the next thing

246. August 9: To awake even though yapping, talking, writing

JULY 2010
245. July 29: Babies as our learning teachers. Learning means to learn

244. July 18: Freedom is the other side

243. July 17: Up and down with a slight twist

242. July 10: New Wine in New Skins: or what to do after the surgery

242. July 9: Thinking, walking: the power of variation and awakening

241. July 6, Be not good, there's more variety in doing "it" "wrong"

240. July 3: head and pelvis, two ends of an amazing stick

JUNE 2010

939. June 30Doing it right vs doing it better

938. June 29: "thinking" without words

237. June 25, Awaring our spine: a game for the day

236. JUne 22; Music and Feldie/ Anatie

235. June 14: mini lesson for shoulder and brain

234. June 13: What is the Feldenkrais Method, some variations on a theme

233. June 7: Tango as learning not "Doing it Right"

MAY 2010

232. May 19: anti aging, via improving folding, chair lesson

231. May 15: Easy standing lesson, hop hop on heels

230. May 12: Turning in sitting, some fun and learning

APRIL 2010

229. April 21: Learning and Spine joy

228. April 18: Toes and heels, a start, and meditate all day is a possibility

227. April 9: Loving the learning: toes and back and brain and yes

226. April 1: Anti-Aging and the Discovery gene rediscovered (not really about genes)

MARCH 2010

225. March 30: Rotation to the left in sitting, enjoy

224. March 9: acture, the reality of life = movement, good life = good movement = good acture

223. March 8: round and arch in standing

222. March 4: five lines, the God of learning, forward bend, actually hard/ simple

FEBRUARY 2010

221. feb 22: up and down and five lines

220. feb 20 sitting and side bending

219. Feb 3: twist while rising up from sitting with an arch and a nice meditation to boot

JANUARY 2010

218. Jan 22: head and back, arching and rounding in sitting

217. Jan 18: hopping in a couple of ways

216. jan 14: arch and rounding in a simple way

215, jan 10, belly out , belly in, 2 ways to breathe out

DECEMBER 2009

214: dec 27: down to up

213, dec 26, up to down, 4 points intro

212. dec 23: arch, round, breathing variations, in sitting

211. dec 14: lying on our side, using awareness, pelvis, hip, knee

210. December 1: Indications of activity at the sister/ mother blog, including movement lessons, all in the service of "waking up" to now

OCTOBER 2009

209. October 23: Benefits, of Anat Baniel/ Feldenkrais Method. good.

AUGUST 2009

208. August 15: Moti Nativ interview: Feldenkrais as awareness, real modern martial arts as spiritual and life learning

207. August 13. This is my life

206. August 7: Breathing, sensing, 5 lines

JULY 2009

205. July 15: the call of the heart, listened to, or not

204. july 2 the awakened life

203. july 1, how to get smarter: perceive differences

JUNE 2009

202. June 30: balancing the latest Feldyforum tempest in a teapot

201, June 23 what's the difference?

APRIL 2009

200. April 15, 2009: taxes and death

MARCH 2009

199. March 26 Thursday, How it Works, my take, part one: teamwork, hip bone connected to thigh bone and so on. Beginning lesson for parents of special needs children.

198. March 21: Spring into life, fitness in the world, not just the gym

197. March 18: Flexible Hearts

196. March 16, Mon, 2009: Update, Special Needs Children

195.March 13, Friday the: gravity and dance and sticks

194. March 3, wed, 2009: the Feldenkrais Method

FEBRUARY 2009

193. feb 18: Dancers, Musicians, Actors: get better no matter what level you're at

192. feb 14 sat valie day: Why Not be Happy?

191. feb 11 wed 2009: leaarning is fun, spelling is harder

190. Feb 4 WEd, 2009: new is now is learning if we let it

JANUARY 2009

189. Jan 28 Wednesday, Something like a resume

188. Jan 27 tues: Why came I to this work????

187, Jan 21, wed, 2009: travel learn heal love

186. Jan 15, 2009, wed, why move with awareness and learning?

185. Wednesday January 8, 2009: "Tucking the pelvis....hmmm"

DECEMBER 2008

184.Friday, dec 19: Who am I? Who are we all, really?

183, Wed dec 17, 2008: Sitting and butt elbow moving, fun

182.Dec 10: standing, learning, eyes, brain, feet, breathing easy

181. Dec. 6: What are feelings? What is thinking? The prison of our conditioning.

NOVEMBER 2008

180. Nov. 29 Saturday: Beginnings of an answer for Lynette

179. Nov. 28, friday; letter to Feldie forum, mysticism and whatnot, the Sufis,
Idries Shah, amazing books

178. November 26, Wednesday, 2008, Thanks g tomorrow: Sitting to Standing, a Learning Game, go slow, really discover

177. November 24, Monday: On back, arch, twist, send bend, flex, learn

176.November 22, Saturday: tuck, round then arch and extend and press forward into power and life

175. Nov. 19, Wed, 2008: arch and round, using back to move soil, using attention to build soul

174. November 13: five lines of our us, six shapes for our spines

173. November 7: Awakened Movement

172. skeleton, hallow ween, five lines

OCTOBER 2008

171. Oct 29: discovering movement lessons and learnings

170.Oct. 25, 2008: maximum instability, and what it means to be human

169. Oct. 23, 2008: weird ideas about "stability"

168. Oct 22: what's great, what's limiting about Yoga

167. Monday, October 20, 2008: Chris Movement Lesson #1. arching and chairs and fun

166. Sund,. Oct 12: Moshe, Gurdjieff, fun and learning in the "past"

165. Thurs. Oct 2: Mini cure for depression, and pains in the neck (both kinds)

SEPTEMBER 2008

164. Wed, sept 24: Executive Clarity: a bigger vision in healing and assisting

163. Mon, sept 22: knees please, learning and so on

162. wed, sept 17, 2008: learning to learn, fun and ease and yes

161/ Thurs sept 11, 2008: Sept 11 and the "enemy game"

160. Wed. Sept 3, 2008: Yoga Tai Chi and the Brain vs. ...

AUGUST 2008

159 Wed, aug 27, 2008: you are wonderful, what a wonderful thing, and...

158. Sunday, Aug. 17: stretching brains, not tight muscles

157. Wed. Aug. 13, 2008: Warriors and Poses, and Deeper Yoga possibilities

156. Wed, Aug. 6, 2008: Going Slowly, the gift of exploration

JULY 2008

155. Wed, July 23, 2008: The Seduction of Stretchng

154. Wed, July 16: Learning, Gravity and Rewiring the Brain

153. July 9: Joni Mitchell and the Possibilities of a life

152. July 4: freedom is ????

JUNE 2008

151. June 12: Brain plasticity made immediate and sex, vision, breathing all improved

MAY 2008

150. May 16: Learning and Loving and Sex and Health, a ramble, a short ramble

149. May 6: What is Good, and so on

APRIL 2008

148. April 19: vitality, chi, sex, variation, freedom, learning, and so on

147. April 15: the movement of life and God

146. April 9: Gurdjieff meditation, four of five lines

MARCH 2008

145: March 22: A Simple Start: hips and head

144. March 19: shoulders, the discovery channel

143. March 9: body and soul and neck and self hug and learning and loving ourselves

142. March 5: Shoulders, Yes

FEBRUARY 2008

141. Feb. 23: Organic learning and the Feldenkrais Method®

140. Feb. 19: hello again,
waking up with wake up Feldenkrais, and other stuff

139. Feb.11: Nikhila Mary Ludlow, Hand Lesson and talking about the Feldenkrais Method®

138. Feb. 3: five lines, five ringed circus called: NOW

JANUARY 2008

137. Jan. 8: Norman Doidge on Feldenkrais, or: Miracle, Yes, Yes!

136. Jan.5: Excerpt from Up, a book in progress

DECEMBER 2007

135. Dec. 31: A year of sweetness a year of...

134. Dec. 28: Meaning of Life in Three Layers: A Christmas Present to your Present

133. Dec. 18: 6 awareness days until Christmas

132. Dec. 11: Listening to Ourselves, Now, at the computer

131. Dec. 4: "Resistance" to the Feldenkrais Method (Mainly a post for practitioners) .
NOVEMEBER 2007

130. Nov. 24: What to do about our sleep?

129. Nov. 21: Learning and Becoming a Child again, sort of

128. Nov. 13: Pleasure, Ease and Learning: Group Lessons on Mondays and Wednesday

127. Nov. 12: Yoga in Feldie Land: Triangle

126. Nov. 10: Life is Real only when I am

125. Nov. 6 Moshe's high octane, body/mind/lust powered youth, via Deborah Elizabeth Lotus

124. Nov. 5 Monday Yoga, Feldie feet intro, fun
OCTOBER 2007

123. Oct. 31: Where are the Hip Joints???

122. Oct. 18: Stress, Learning and the Feldenkrais Method®

121. Oct. 16: Walking Again

120. Oct. 12: Walking, a miracle we usually take for granted

119. Oct. 11: Waking Up and Feldenkrais

118. Oct. 10: Weight Loss and Wake Up Feldenkrais

117. Oct. 6: Now Knowing: Food for a good life and a good Functional Integration Lesson
SEPTEMBER 2007

116. Sept. 28: Love, Remembering, Feldie Forum, parenting, whatnot

115. Sept. 19: Feldenkrais Method and therapy

114. Sept. 17: Take a Rest, Learn and Be Human

113, Sept. 12: Learning and Love

112. Sept. 11 The Real Terror

111. Sept. 5 Boring is as Boring Approaches
AUGUST 2007

110. Aug 29: New Life, Choice: Learning or Robot Upgrade

109. Aug 29: Feet on Ground, Eyes glued to Computer

108. Aug. 27: mindfulness, moving, healing

107. Aug. 22: Variety and Learning

106. Aug. 20: Health Backs, and the old choice:
Discovery vs. "Doing it Right"

105. Aug. 18: Happier Backs

104. Aug. 14: What Yoga and "yoga therapy" always misses...

103. Aug. 13 Yoga as if we had a
Brain, Heart and Spirit.

102. Aug. 8: This Moment.
Or: Waking up,
in as well as through Feldenkrais

101. August 7: The Glories of Living and the Feldenkrais so called "Method"
JULY 2007

100. July 27: The Power of Feldenkrais Plus Ananda Yoga

99. July 14: yoga training, more learning, la la

98. July 4: Freedom
JUNE 2007

97. June 28: Letter to a Wonderful Parent of a Special Needs Child

96. June 18: One 11 minute "cure" for depression.

95. June 1: What is Possible? A life full of learning, change and transformation. And happiness.
MAY 2007

94. May 22: Human Beings: Designed to Learn

93. May 16: Learning, Play and Love

92. May 16: Nature, Big and Small, always amazing

91. May 2: Improve Your Brain, Get more Neurons, and Move Better: all in one process
APRIL 2007

90. April 25: Awareness and Attention

89. April 18: Happiness Now? Heresy or Sanity?

88. April 5: A Morning's Feast, an Introduction to Awareness Through Movement®

87. April 3: Rolfing and Feldenkrais

MARCH 2007

86. March 26: An Experiment in Learning and Fun, one rolling to sit lesson.

85. March 16: Slow Down

84. March 11: What is the Feldenkrais Method? And Wake Up Feldenkrais? New Version.

83. March 6: Going from -1 to +3 in ten minutes or less

82. March 2: The Glory of Being Human: Bones, Brains, Learning and Gravity: and, We can Change
FEBRUARY 2007

81. February 26: Learning to Turn, Learning to Learn

80. February 26: Watch the Baby

79. February 25: Waking our Pelvis, Waking our Lives

78. February 21: Thinking and Non-Thinking, and : What Makes a Good Life???

77. Feb. 18: The Enemy Game

76. Feb. 15: The Joy of Improvement

75. February 12: To be Small or to Expand

74. February 9: Life and Love and the Really Good Lessons

73. February 7: The Waking up in Feldenkrais and in the Byron Katie Work, always from within

72. February 5: Porpoise of Life, 2: to Live

71. February 2: A Big Dream: Now and Nature and Love and Learning and Transformation, on the Earth
JANUARY 2007

70. Jan. 30: Lifting Rocks and Having a Good Time

69. Jan. 27: Change and The Anat Baniel Way

68. Jan. 24: Gurdjieff and Feldenkrais

67. Jan. 21: Jesus and Judo

66. Jan. 18: Feldenkrais and Love

65. Jan. 15: Martin Luther King, Racism, Corporatism, some Personal History

64. Jan. 12: Yoga and Feldenkrais

63. Jan. 9: The Feldenkrais Method®, a winter presentation.

62. Jan. 6: Cat and Cow, Yoga 3, Happiness, Mind and Body

61. Jan. 3: Doing "something" (for pelvis, spine, whole self and brain

60. Jan. 2: Doing "Nothing" is more than we might suspect

December 2006

59. Dec. 30: Life is Good. Now is Grand. We are...

58. Dec. 28: Posture and Acture. (Say What?)

57. Dec. 24: Christ-mas, Now Mass

56. Dec. 21: Nature's Flexibility and the Joys of Variation

55. Dec. 21 Sostice, Rain, December, Love...Ah

54. Dec. 18: Yoga as if We Had a Brain, Lesson 2, More Fun Forward Fold.

53. Dec. 15: The Delight of Life

52. Dec. 12: Yoga as if We Had A Brain, Lesson 1, Forward Fold

51. Dec. 9: Moving and Learning, the Miracle Continues

50. Dec. 8: When You Can't Do Any Old Lesson in Life, Options Useful and Less So

49. Dec. 6: Math as a Chance to Use our Brain in a New Way, the way it likes to work

48. Dec. 1: Feet, 2

Novemeber 2006

47. Nov. 22: Feet

46. Nov. 20: Feldie Fun, #5 Eyes and Tongue

45. Nov. 18: Raw Foods and Waking up

44. Nov. 16: Is it Right Yet?

43. Nov.13: Back and Shoulder and Neck Pain

42. Nov. 4: Undo Deficits, Enhance Excellence, Wake Up to the Present

October 2006
41. Oct. 31. Feldenkrais and Breathing and Grape Arbors

40.Oct. 30: Opening Two Habits: Side of Bed, Reading a Novel

39. Oct 25: Tai Chi And Feldenkrais:Two Goods make a Better.

38. Oct 24: Healing by Learning

37. Oct 22: Habits, Compulsions, Addictions

36. Oct 20: Oh shit, I'm alive

35. Oct 18. Feldenkrais and the Big Self in us All

34. Oct 17. Special Needs Children and the Joys of Transformation

33. Oct 14: Slave or Free??

32. Oct 12: Marlie, Yoga Teacher, Wonderful Person and so on

31. Oct 11: Awareness and Saving our Souls and the Earth (Is that all?)

30. Oct 9: Awareness and Unawareness

29. Oct 6: Awareness 3; Thich Nhat Hahn Meditation

28. Oct 5: The Morning Gurdjieff Meditation, Awareness, 2

27. Oct 4: Awareness, Part 1 (and Gurdjieff's "fantastic" idea)

26. Oct 3: The Big Picture, Pain and Beyond

25. Oct. 2: What is the Feldenkrais Method?

September 2006
24. Sept 30: Who's In Charge Here, (20 breaths: can we be aware that long?)

23. Sept 29: Byron Katie, WakeUp Feldenkrais and Happiness.

22. Sept 28: What is WakeUp Feldenkrais?

21. Sept 26: Presence is the End, Presence is the Means

20. Sept 21: Happiness, Slow and Fast

19. Sept 20: Slow Down, Lie Down and Learn

18. Sept 18: Feldenkrais and Happiness

17. Sept 16: Sitting to Standing, Again

16. Sept 14: Sitting to Standing and the Obvious, the Elusive

15. Sept 14: Feldie #3, a hard lesson, sort of

14. Sept 12: Waking Up

13. Sept 11: WakeUp Feldie Thts on 9-11

12. Sept 9: Let's Talk about Babies

11. Sept 8: Feldie Fun #2

10. Sept. 7: Change's Weird Requirement: We Have to Change (OhmyGod)

9. Sept 6: Awareness, Feldenkrais® and WakeUp Feldenkrais

8.5. Oldie but Goodie: Movement, Children, Living a Full Life.

8. Sept 4: Options and Habits

7.5. Another Oldie: Between the Ears, is where the "Problem" is.

7. Sept 1: Little Miss Sunshine and How We Learn from Crisis (sometimes)

August 2006
6. Aug 31: An Amazing Experiment: Happy Face, Happy Thoughts

5. Aug 30: Feldenkrais to Enhance and Deepen Yoga and Pilates

4. Aug. 29: Feldie Fun #1

3. Aug 29: Who was Moshe Feldenkrais?

2. Aug 28: Feldenkrais and Learning

1. Aug 27: The Joy of Feldenkrais

60-135, INDEX OF POSTINGS 2007

1-59 INDEX OF POSTINGS, 2006

Love's possible pathways: happy new year

2012-01-06T11:58:00.001-08:00

If you look at the world around you,
here is what you see:
some nature,
more if you are lucky,
less if the city is your place

you see a lot of buildings
and roads
and that too,
more or less

and then there are people
everywhere people

and sometimes you are lucky
and someone comes along and you share
some nights and days with
you love them
or at least want to be with them

sometimes children
come from this

sometimes
not

and sometimes this "relationship,"
as it's called gets better and better

you are fascinated
the other person is fascinated

you are learning and growing
they are learning and growing

you are on the spot present to them
listening
and hearing what their words say
and what the heart underneath the words
is saying

and they listen,
really listen too

and you laugh
and discover,
my oh my,
you each have quirks and eccentricities
and you find that charming

and sometimes one or the other
will be less than totally thoughtful
and that can be interesting to explore

and you get bored sometimes
and go off and read a good book
or write one
or meditate

there is no rush to be always
together
and
a great delight when you are

.....
this happens sometimes

.......

i hope this is happening to you
right now
this year

and in the meantime:

if no one is around who is a great listener,
get out a friendly journal
and start listening to yourself

if no one is around to laugh and indulge you
when you are less than perfect
my
this is a good habit to develop

and when you want to romp with others,
and don't have a special other,
find a dance group,
find a group hike,
find a sing along crowd
find a reading group

there are people everywhere
some are lonely
and just waiting for a friendly
person
to say hello
how was your day

the world is full
of possibilities

enjoy

January 6. 2012
a very good year

love is this moment caressing itself

2012-01-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

Love is important
and it goes like this:

you are amazing,
alive
and I cherish you just as you are

that's the honeymoon
phase
and why not have it always be the honeymoon

like this:
the Other does something that irriates
us
we see that as our problem
we got irritated

and we see it as a chance to play:
"Hey, I tweeked myself when you
did
so and so

is that weird, that I tweeked myself
or is that some insane notion
that you are supposed to always
do things just the way

I want you to do them?"

the quote means
you say it.
you speak to the other person
about the bother in you
and
you do NOT
blame them for the bother

you both get curious:

them about whether they wanted to tweek you

you get curious about: whether you have program
that the Other "should" do
what you wish the other to do

....
i know
i know
it sounds too simple

aren't we supposed to get in
conflict when we
"don't get our way?"

if we want to be unhappy
we can get into conflict

if we want to be happy
then curiosity
and good old fashioned
letting the other person be
who they are

goes a long way

and la
la
la

here's the deal:
until we wake up
there is no real happiness

what does that mean?

it means
in the present
love is always possible

out of the present
it's just our robot and theirs
either meshing
or not

hard reality
except
so fucking amazing:
we can come free any
now
and
now
is always right now,

no waiting wanting or coniving
it's right here

this one , too, of course

love
and such
to one
and all,
Chris

Today is Friday and....

2012-01-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

image from the past

interesting our pictures and where our attention goes

when we past surf

eh?

Today is Friday and
apparently I have slagged off
my promise of posting three times
a week

gads
and we can always tell ourselves the story:
I should have done more
yesterday

trouble is:
it's never true.

we can never have
done more yesterday
from today
back

yesterday
had we things
like
been different
we could have made different choices

but today
looking back:
yesterday's did dad done dead

and now
it's a beautiful day
and love is good
and sunshine is good
and easing up on the
"you should have done more
yesterday"
voices, the
little
(Well intentioned or not)
liars

this is our life today
I'll post this poem today

this moment is mine
the only "sure' thing
and I'll love it and me
and being alive in
it

and tomorrow
who knows
I may post another poem

but so far
I have spared myself any new year's resolutions

I've got some grand ideas
for the year

but a poem a day
or two pages a day
or three jogs a week
nah

i'll just love this moment
and see what happens
next

hope your day is wonderful

and ps
I am mulling and designing
ways of combining this joy of the present,
love of being present,
and creating a fabulous future for ourselves

stay
tuned

ciao
for
NOW,
Chris

Love is big, and why not?

2011-12-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

Love is easy

          Love is in no hurry

                     Love is kind

                              Love is not demanding

                                      Love expands your mind

And your heart

your heart

your Heart is free in love

             and beats for yourself and the Other and for the whole World

   wishing they two three four six billion (or is it seven?) could

                                         be
                                             so happy

happiness is what we came for

                            and love is the road

                                          Love has no shame

                                                     it shines out to all the world

                  wishing wanting helping everyone to smile forth
                        into the next day
                               into the new year
                                        into the next hour
                                              into the next minute
                                                 into the next....no this very now now.......moment

love is the sweetness of Now
                     loving itself in another Form
                                  over and over and over

happy new years

Loving the X, especially if you have kids

2011-12-27T10:13:00.001-08:00

Back from here, but nice to look at

If you have kids,
and you gave yourself a divorce
or found one snuck up on you,
or even got knocked around by one,
that's done,
and you still have the kids

and the X is still a huge part of
their life

and if you don't love the X,
even the stinky, yucky parts of the X,
then that resentment/ dislike/ hatred/ fear
whatever it comes up as for you
that glunk, let's call it,
is going to sneak into your relationship
to your children

and damage them

and you don't want to do that

so why "forgive"
or let go
and learn to love the gunky X?

one:
for the children's sake

two:
for the sake of your soul

and do get this clear:
"Loving your enemy" does not mean
getting back together with them,
or even condoning actions they still do
that might be harmful to the children

But if their behavior is slightly unappealling to
you
or even hugely unappealling
it's your job to love them anyway

for your soul's sake
and for your children's sake

This is a big subject, and might as well start
plugging and working away on any and all resentments,
because if you have even the tiniest left,
even though you can find a new mate,
you won't find a relationship of unconditional love,
until you've learned to do so
with the parent of your children

their gunkiness
is their business
and it's torturing them every day of their
life,
whether they know it or not

oh, wll

your resentment and lack of forgiveness
is
one
torturing and poisoning your insides
two
making it harder or maybe even impossible
to make as much money as you'd like to make
three
as I keep pointing out:
undermining your children's ability to love themselves

even if they think they are
"doing fine"
and you think they are "Doing fine,"
if they sense your lack of love,
that's going to cripple them not only
with the X,
but with themselves,
because whatever gunk the X has,
they'll pick up part of it,
and if they don't have the ability to forgive
themselves this,
then they are trapped in the old self hatred trap

which isn't a nice place to be

so,
what to do

First and easiest
is the work of Byron Katie (http://thework.com/)

Judge your neighbor
Write it down
Ask 4 questions
Turn it around

"My X shouldn't have ....."

There it's written.

Q1 Is it true that "My X shouldn't have ....."?

Q2: Can I absolutely know that "My X shouldn't have ....."?

Q3 How do I feel, react and live when I believe that "My X shouldn't have ....."?

Q4… Who would I be without attaching to, or without having the thought that "My X shouldn't have ....."?

The turn around requires some explaining, but it's like:

"My X should have loved me more"

turns around to I should have loved my X more

and I should love myself more.

On this screen this doesn't seem like a way to transform your life.

You can work intensive days with my and get huge parts of suffering out of the way, and do great upgrading to the way you enjoy and move your body, and without that, you can go to
thework.com
and find videos and worksheets to guide yourself through it.

It's work, not just lazily wishing you felt better.
But it's working like gardening or building a home
that will radically improve your life.

Good
luck

Chris

christmas in an airport

2011-12-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

leaving Southern California

for love, learning, laughter

and

waking up,

happiness

and usefulness in

Austin

you know
it sounds bad
like it's all hurried and hassled
and that's a bunk way
to do
Christmas

and it's calm
the line for Southwest was zero
you walk right to the counter

and the homeland security
again,
no line

people are waiting for a plane
but calm
i think they all "did"
Christmas yesterday

and what does this have to
do
with a blog called
Poems from Now

well:
life is always now
and airports
and "not being there yet"
are parts of life

and "not being there yet"
is silly
isn't it
because
be
cause we are always
here
now

and when the next place
arrives
it will delightfully
arrive

and then next place

and now
apparently you
and i
are "at" a computer

and your now
doesn't synchronize on
a watch/ clock with
my now

but for you
your experience of
this now
can always be counted
on to bring you
to the best of what life
is
for you

and guess what?
many cell calls being made
and what are they saying?

same as what I'll say:
MErry Christmas.

Chris

Christmas cometh

2011-12-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

a light shines in the sky

a light shines in you

it signals something amazing

it moves

the wise folks in you follow the light

it ends up in a smelly place
a humble place

new birth
helpless baby

and the light of the world
in you
is born
and begins its journey
to the center of the
Universe

happy
birth
to the Son of God
a star
the Sun of God

in you

yes

yes

yes

if your Mom is falling apart and your wonderful advicd

2011-12-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

if your Mom is
falling apart
and your wonderful advice
is sometimes heard
sometimes not

and the sun shines
and her house is too hot
and sisters come and go
and phone calls go on
and on

and the food dance
is sometimes friendly
sometimes iffy

and the weirdness of forgetteries
practicing for alheimers

and the crunched over body
no longer sure in movement

and everyone wants to help
and sometimes to compete
that their way of helping is better

and so what'
it's a dance

learning to love
is
a dance

not the only dance in
town

but one of the sweetest

maybe the sweetest

i dance
listen
sometimes am totally present
sometimes not

and that
s
the dance of loving my moments
each one
new
sweet

divine

life is
good

so are you
no matter how broken
or healed
you are

you are amazing

don't forget
don't forget
don't forget

which is kind of
kin to
remember

yeah
remember yourself
and the glory of
being
a
live

ciao
for
NOW

Chris

the importance of love

2011-12-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

in love we remember
to forget
the usual lie
the lie that it's
"all about me"

that we have to
"get our needs met"

that the you over there
is to balance out
the "me" over here

in love
it's a falling
into
wanting their life
to be good

their life to be stretching
learning
happy

awake

if you are lucky
your love is about wanting
you
and the other
to be awake

and in that awakeness
admiting
examining
giggling over the faults and
flaws
and silly habitual stuck points
in yourself

let them talk about their
flaws
if they want

that's their business

in love we
don't need to improve
we just need to listen

"just" need to be present

don't even need to
but who wouldn't be present
in the company
of another person,
any other person,
really,
because we all are
so amazing

and this is
kin da saying we could profit
big time by loving anyone
near or around us

that's a thought,
eh?

and what of past "lovers"

sure,
they aren't around
but they are still in our hearts

love them,
of course,
how can you not?

it's so painful
to deny the love that we are

and when someone else
can get close to that fire

great
see what ignites

life is good
and can get better and better
and
better

Thursday night
about to take flight to
California
to see a grizzly bear called Mom

great practice in loving
this gal is
and Thanks God
for all the practice you
send my way

Special Needs Children: perhaps compression, for sure: increase perception of differences

2011-12-14T15:48:00.001-08:00

Caveat: this is not official Anat Baniel Method,
and
compression is recommended by my friend,
fellow ABM practitioner, and special needs mom,
Michelle Bensky
(She advised the remarks and writing on the earlier
post called:
On the Spectrum: Fragile X and Autism)

I thought of compression again, after having heard from
Mischelle that she threw out the brushing idea, and kept the
compression from PT, because this weekend I had a number of
very successful sessions with a baby with Prader-Willi Syndrome.
His Mom had just started squeezing this and squeezing that,
and the baby liked it, and it seemed to be useful to his learning.

My addition, of course,
is to always have differences and contrasts and teaming up
in mind.

Which means?

Compress/ squeeze the left knee, say knee.
Do this three or four times with different intensity.

Then compress/ squeeze the right elbow, again
with variations, and saying the word elbow.

The perhaps do the two together.

Or, perhaps work your way up the leg.
Slowly.
Gently.
Saying different parts as you come to them.

Or right left differences,
squeezing back and forth the right hand and the left hand,
right thigh, left thigh.

Go slowly. Let whatever "good" the compression does,
and it certainly wakes a child up to the locations of itself,
can be sweetly increased by having contrasts and the verbal sounds,
and going slowly enough so that each compression/ squeeze can be registered.

Registered where?

The brain, of course.

Special vs Holy Relationship: Course of Miracles via Marianne Williamson

2011-12-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

This quote is in the relationships section
comparing
(recall all the power of the idea
of learning as the increased perception of differences)
"unholy relationship"
and a holy one:

"For an unholy relationship is based of
differences,
where each thinks the other has what
they have not.
They come together, each to rob the other.
They stay until they think that there is nothing
left
to steal, and then
move on.
And so they wander through a world of
strangers,
unlike themselves [actually like themselves, in their weird
pseudo isolation, but thinking everyone is unlike]
living in their bodies perhaps under a common
roof
that shelter neither;
in the same room and yet a world apart.

A holy relationship
starts from a different promise.
EAch one has looked within
and seen no lack.
Accepting their own completion, each would extend
it by
joining
with the other, whole as themselves."

And holy wholey as two/ one.

This is from Marianne Williamson's
A Return to Love.

The quote is from the Course on Miracles
and then she goes on to increase clarity
on this distinction.

Of the wanting to get
vs wanting to share variety:

other has to shape up
vs other is grand

other should "behave" according to our program
vs other should shake us up a little or lot and get us
to expand loving

and so on

Get it and read yourself.

This is a nice quote of hers, though:

"Our ego is merely our fear.
We all have egos, that doesn't make us bad people.
Our egos are not where we are bad,
but where we are wounded."

Lonely, alone ly, making friends, sunday night ramble, maybe "good for you"

2011-12-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

loneliness is one thing
alone ness is another

you know how
people pay big bucks
to go on a retreat
and get all by themselves
away from others,
not talking at mealtimes?

it's to just shut up
and deal with the inner stuff

and alone time can be like that
time to just sit
with or without journal
and let all the crap come up
and watch it
or do the Katie work on
it
or realize you need help with it
and then just
be empty
and enjoy that power of
sweet nothing
to replenish
almost everything

and then again,
it's nice to have friends

how do you make friends

a. be yourself

b. go up to people who
look like they might be able to tolerate you
as yourself

c. find something to like in them

d. don't worry if they like you,
just keep being yourself
and liking them

e. if this doesn't scare them off

you've got a friend

good
enough for this cold
and sweet night

ciao
for NOW
Chris

Best first line of poem, thank z be to Mary Oliver: You do not have to be good

2011-12-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

You do not have to be good

You don't have to finish your breakfast and wash the dishes
before you go to write a poem
or take a walk
or go back to bed and make love to everyone you love

You do not have to say your prayers
Nor do you have to scorn those who pray continuously

You do not have to turn out the lights
and go to sleep at
ten
eleven
twelve
one

You do not have to be fresh and perky the next
day

Nor need you repent of the late night reading
walking under the stars
making love to everyone you love
lying awake in blessed non sleep not dreaming
not thinking
not even meditating

just warm
lying there
wasting time

You do not have to not waste time

You can linger
over
almost anything to good effect
whatever good effect means,
let's say it means: joyful sustanence

and linger away
at the book, the lover, the bed, the walk,
the poem,

even your work

You do not have to begrudge your
work
Nor listen to anyone who is boring you

You do not have to wait until tomorrow
to be
happy
nor even
until this poem is over

Meanwhile
wild geese fly over Mary Oliver's poem
and the heater hums in mine
a rare cold day in Austin
in Texas
where I never thought I'd be
and I'm in love
with so many things
and I could blame it on Austin
or God
or you

but why bother

you do not have to have an excuse
for
happiness
nor
for joy

if love

2011-12-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

if love is our subject to
day
what to say

except the obvious
actually
love is the bloodstream of the universe
or something like that

and let's be more silly slash direct
love
is who we is
when we let go
of the need to be who
we aren't

(which was imposed on us by
the frightened beaten down
ones who had forgotten that they
were love
and wanted rules and regulations
to make the world safe
for the dullness and pain
of the love
less life

and that's what's called an aside)

back to love
is
who we
are
when we aren't who we
aren't

our essence
the flow flood frolic that dances
all the time in us
and comes out in
smiles
and dance
and giggles
and sweet touch
and happy slurp
and cheerful chirp
of bird man woman bee
or flower

for surely the petals
in the sun
blazing in all their easy might
are but a shimmering
ray
of the universe of
love

or
something like that

ciao
for
NOW

chris

ps, if you want more waterfalls and creeks
and wild geese in this poem,
please feel free to go back
and insert
anything and everything
that you love
in this ocean
bathtub
meadow
merry mishmash
of words
beneath which love
can lurk
wishes to lurk
probably is lurking

or
larking
(or giggling)

Piggybacking on Evolution

2011-12-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

Piggybacking on Evolution

What we do, as Feldenkrais and Anat Baniel practitioners, is elusive to many, and extremely effect, often. One way I’ve come to see as one source of our effectiveness is what I call “piggybacking” on evolution.

Many types of bodywork seem interested in “fixing” this problem or that. Many want to balance something. Many wish to release “blocked” energy.

And we just move people slowly and gently in ways related to this famous word “function.” Functional Integration we call what we do when we aren’t being lazy and called it FI. I’m a big fan of keeping that word Function front and center, and this piggybacking phrase of mine could be little more than another way of saying that.

Then again, maybe it hints to a bit more.

Take one of the simplest and most effective Functional Integration lessons. ( Notice I did not say FI). The client lies on their side, both arms forward, one palm on the other. We work with the shoulder via the vertebrae and the ribs and the pelvis and gently moving the hand forward and the usual this and that.

And what are we doing this “working with” the shoulder.

We’re doing what I call piggybacking on evolution, which in this case is a human body evolved with a shoulder very loosely connected to the other bones of our body so that the “function” of reaching forward can be incredibly fluid and accurate and of almost infinite variation.

Evolution helped us create such a shoulder to help the hands reach forward for food, for love, for craft, for cooking, for wrestling, for opening doors and throwing spears.

We have a big batch of vertebrae, all of which can contribute to this reaching forward function.

As practitioners we don’t have to sweat “range of motion” or even “relaxation.” We “just” have to help that amazing product of evolution, the human shoulder, become even better at becoming a shoulder.

We can roll the ribs. We can engage the neck. We can connect the pelvis to the shoulder. Every little thing we do that “wakes up” that shoulder to be a better “functioning” example of the shoulder that evolution spent millions of years creating for human beings, every little bit adds up, because it’s way IMPORTANT to four million years of humanity that this shoulder be a better and better shoulder.

And that’s what I mean by “piggybacking” on evolution.

It's Sunday night, and you are "all alone" and you don't even feel like

2011-12-04T15:17:00.000-08:00

want to escape into a movie
or even a book
and reading a good book
can be such a sweet travel to another world
another mind
another time

and you don't want to escape
but you don't feel so great
and the busy ness of work isn't around
to take your mind off your loneliness

and you have this suspicion that under
neath
the loneliness
is something worthwhile

you have this glimmer of courage that says:
you are enough
you
you
you are enough
without the movie
without the book
without the TV show
without the X there to nag and fight with
and even if it's nagging and fighting at least it's someone Else around

and that doesn't appeal to you

it's kind of quiet

and there's something a little scary about that
quiet
and something wonderful

the wonderful is a bit of a mystery to you
and you have this feeling
this intuition:
letting the the quiet talk to me
is a kind of food

food for my "soul"
whatever my soul is

and if you think about "soul,"
since it's beyond words,
your head kind of hurts
and it's annoying,
like trying to solve a puzzle in
Chinese
and you don't know Chinese

but when you just go with the feeling
that the "soul"
and this quiet ness
fed each other somehow
and you don't have to "know" how

especially since "knowing how"
is usually words
words in the head
doesn't not equal silence

and you are going to just
let this silence
feed something in
you
that you don't need
to name
and don't need to tell anyone about and
that's sweet relief

ah
ah
ah

welcome to self love

feeding yourself the food of solitude
and silence

so inexpensive
and so immensely valuable

rest into it

happy
evening

Chris

the waves of now, for those of us away, temporarily, from the ocean

2011-12-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

I don't live in Nature
here in hurly burly wonderful Austin

and is that true,
that I don't live in Nature?

what about these
body brain miracle carrying around
eyes
that lift to the heavens
and swallow great gobs of the wide open
sky,
even if it's city sky
it's mighty high
mighty free
mighty reminds me of the real me

and what about,
the almost every morning
travel
down the paved road a bit
tree lined calm road
to a small park,
and
there is grass
slopping to the sunrise west
and on that bare feet usually play
at
a waking up tai chi
right thumb sensed all the way to left big toe,
left ring finger filled in hand wrist arms shoulder ribs
spine pelvis right thigh knee lower leg foot out to
right ring toe
that kind of bare foot
on grass
full of the inside body bone miracle me

and that's kind of an inner nature
meets outer nature

moving slowly, when I take time
and remember
slowly enough to feel the "small nature,"
the world I carry around inside

sensing the inner oceans
liquid in us
the bone mountains
the sky in our lungs
the sunshine in our eyes
or is it brain
or is it soul
and the inner sun
glow
peaceful spreading of awareness

of this
moment
and
then riding that wave
the now wave
always another wave coming along

and that game can be played
the now surfing
anywhere
anytime

and with the legs and arms and eyes and chest and pelvis
and spine and breathing
basking in mindful attention
how can nature not nurture our
almost every moment?

awareness is a glow
a light that ripples out
like the pebble in the water,
but in all directions,
into us
and out of us,
and shines and shines,
who knows,
maybe forever

What does love have to do with it?

2011-11-28T09:24:00.000-08:00

SEX AND LOVE
What does love have to do with it?

So sings Tina Turner, and what is she wailing about to such charged and thrilling effect? She is saying, perhaps, that one of life’s possibilities is to just get down, and naked and happy, and “ball” away, and let the animal in your be deeply satisfied.

Not just the warmth of flesh to flesh and the brain and body delight of tongue to tongue and the relief of simple minded, or almost no minded, pleasure in the moment, but the discharge of overloaded and worried and hurried and unfocused nervous systems, coming together to focus on the pleasure of being alive.
Zippie, zowie, eh?

This hints toward that, me thinks, this many people’s favorite poem by Mary Oliver:

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

This poem is, to my ears and heart, a love song to reality. All she needs is some river otters, and tiger cubs and dolphins and children rolling in the mud. And lovers.

This wild warm flesh in us knows how to love

And wants to be and know and live what it knows.

And it is not a thing to rush, and not a thing to force into action with the tom toms of loud music, or the crashing of ecstatic drugs, or the thrill of hidden secretive adulterous “affairs.”

Love, sex, the warm flesh, they know how to met under the sheets and on the meadow, and even, hints of future pleasures, in a slow sweet dance either indoors or out, but it is the natural that leads to the super natural. Supernatural is the norm when we slow into the reality of how amazing life has made the possibilities of joining in the magic and only real NOW.

So, what the heck am I saying?

Read those sentences again. They aren’t meant to be textbook linear. This is not a book for the left brain, nor for the right, nor for the wrong, nor for the correct.

This is a working manual of liberation, and at any moment, even this darn sweet one, Right Now, we can waken to the bliss and sweetness of human/ beyond human existence on this planet, this blue water green plant brown mud, grey cloud, gold leaf, red blood, purple mountain majesty Earth.

And what is our, my, your answer so far to the Tina Turner taunt: What does love have to do with it?

Perhaps, letting the mind slip into old categories, the above ramble seems to imply: love isn’t part of the deal. It’s the geese and the soft warm flesh and the mud river otter and the happy frolicking puppy inside us that sex is satisfying, and what does love have to do with that?

And good old left brain, either/ or land says, nothing. Woopie, just “go for it,” and no brainer is happiness.

And I say: no brainer is non life because you and I can’t stand talk walk crawl live a second without our brain, so in a way (and this will be a whole other chapter), the common and to my mind (and perhaps mine alone) depraved use of the slogan “no brainer,” shows A., the diminished brain of the speaker of this cliché ( add 24/7, and my plate is full, and you’ve got a “full plate” of nonsense behind which to hide from reality), B, how out of touch our present society is with the fundamental characteristic of humanity: our ability to use our brains to learn.

Unfortunately, we can also use our brains to wire ourselves deeper into our ruts, including our clichés, and what does love have to do with THAT?

Everything.

Because love can only be fresh.

To make love to another is to make something out of the given materials, but to lift up to another level, to make as if the make a house or a pair of pants or a shirt or a deck or a garden.

To make love is to construct something beautiful between two people and then the very sweet questions comes round to where it should be: what does sex have to do with it?

Because a mother can make love with her baby bringing it to her nipple, or helping her child up from a fall and smiling and touching the hurt knee and being in sympathy and delight with the child for moving forward enough in their adventure to have a “mistake.” (There are “throw away” phrases as we go along here, that could be an entire essay. Maybe they will be by the time the book/ manual is finished.)

And two people can make love by sitting down and speaking slowly and clearly, looking in each other’s eyes and hearing their own voice and enjoying their own and the other person’s breathing and feeling gratitude for the listening and gratitude for the discovery of what they are saying in this very moment.

And in this very moment, I can ask again, and you can read and hear and perhaps think about this: what does Sex have to do with making love?

Cover up the rest.

Rest the word reader in you.

Take a walk short enough so you don’t do chores and get distracted and long enough so the tall and foot worthy animal in you and the breather in the world of motion can come back to the center of your understanding of who you are. And while you walk in this way, feeling your feet, and feeling your breathing, and delighting in the sounds and sights of the swish of Now, have somewhere in their the wonderment: what does sex have to do with it?

Really: short walk. Plan and succeed to come back to this thought river ramble gift exploration.
Go.

Okay, I walked and my legs were alive.

Do you ever sense your entire leg, from toes, all five toes, up to your hip joint, and then add on the other leg, all five of its toes and all of the whole big amazingness of it up to that hip joint?

Legs are a big part of the real estate of the body. Humans got upright and ran down game, and made the game of life a grand adventure, and when sex gets involved we go below the navel and awaken to the big amazing motion of life.

And that, of course is only part of the answer, if there is any answer.

Sex is motion.

Sex is interaction.

Sex is the lure into the present.

All that helps love: there is another person.

That person is fine wonderful amazing, yes, thank you, thank you.

That person is “in it” with us, back and forth, we have something to say, they have something to say.

Life is good.

In the present, they are what they are. They don’t have to be something tomorrow. They don’t have to have been better yesterday. They are filling up our now with the delight of their now and our now wowing along together.

If we are lucky, we don’t quite know what we are doing, or how it’s going to shift and play and change.

And love is play. Discovery: who are you.

And sex is play. Discovery: who are you. Who am I?

And love and sex are discovery: who are we? What can this we make together?

Sometimes it can make a baby.

Sometimes it can make love, or make a bigger brighter fresher more amazing love.

And isn’t that fine?

The above is the third chapter in a book, Backs, Necks, Sex and Brains, that should be done by March of next year. If you perhaps want each chapter as it rolls out, let me know, and perhaps we can make an arrangement to "buy forward" the book in it's unfolding.

if your posture is slumpy, can your mood be far behind

2011-11-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

when we are present
it's a two edge thing
sort of

cause we notice when we
are slagging out on ourselves

like slumping in
front
of
the
computer

and those darn moments
wonderful moments
"count" too

it's all life
God's blessing
Life's blessing
and
in the slump mode

we can notice the shape
of our spines
and the way that effects breathing
and
feel
sense
notice

is this how we want to live
our lives
right now

and then, maybe,
get up,
take a walk

touch the ground and the sky
do a few push ups
skip a bit, lie down, roll on the bed,
nap

you know
what would you
do right now
if you listen
to this body
you are hanging out in
in the moment

me:
I'm going to leave the fingers
off the keyboard
and go do some things
differently

ciao
for
NOW

Chris

Loving What Is

2011-11-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

here's a short cut
for thanks
giving

love what's in front of you

love what's behind you

look forward to loving what
tom
mor
row
may bring

and then
what's wrong with loving
this computer screen
telling you this suave advise

and if it annoys
you
love and be thanks ful
for that

easy
eh
almost cheating this
weird wonderful aspect of God

all is good
you are good
loving everything is God's game

yours too
when you
i
we all
do it

ciao
for NOW
chris

Thanks

2011-11-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

wild Orcas turk ey

thanks to this now
and this next one too

the now
so like the best parent
could ever be

always there for you

you don't need to do anything to deserve it

it's always yours

no one can take it away

no waiting

no stress

the now, like awareness
is always available

in every moment

and is now
awareness

or does awareness light
up the now

and without words
and a need for a mental scheme

does it mattter

thanks
this present moment

and thanks
for all the moments
this last year
to which we were present

and all the trees birds leaves snails animals
people sunsets music movies books laughter
good food
blah blah

life is good
as good as we let it be
when we stop trying to bully
it into shape

and bully for us
when we try and fail

and then
sometimes
we put the seed in the ground,
mindfully perhaps,
and water the seed,
mindfully perhaps,
and watch the seed grow to fullness,
over many days,
each day
like each now,
different

and then
each day being exactly itself
it is finally the big plant with the beautiful
flower
or the yummy food
and we can pick and eat and savor
that food,
just as today we might savor
some food,

mindfully perhaps

on the machine in the mornng

2011-11-22T06:37:00.000-08:00

Thich Nhat Hahn
confessed to writing
being one of the hardest
times to be present

i'll confess the
same
especially at the computer

in hand
my handwriting is so bad
that luckily
I have to slow down
if I want to read it later

a grand incentive to be
present
while the pen
moves along

maybe I can try typing
on computer land
with attention on one
finger and
its companion toe
(right ring finger, left ring toe, say)
while I write

ah
that "makes" me
slow down

not the worst
tragedy in the world

actually
i breathe
when i sense a finger
and a toe

what was i doing before?

the old silliness:
holding my breath
until
"it's over"

ciao
for NOW
Chris

Beyond the arguing, hey, let's try something else

2011-11-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Most so called conversation
is two people, semi-listening
and mainly
"thinking" what they are going
to say
and waiting for an opening
to sneak, shove, slide or otherwise
to insert
their
very very important words

BAD conversation
aka arguing
aka "fighting" has two generic
forms,
one worse than the other
and both a sad waste of
human life love
and liberty

the normal awful arguing mode
generic style is:
person A, telling person B
this:
I'm right, and you are wrong

person B, sees it just the opposite
and is defending, attacking, interrupting,
yelling,
whatever it takes for this important message:
I'm right and you are wrong

notice the similarity in their messages

the AWFUL style
is both have this message:
I'm good, you are bad

ouch

Now,
what's some alternatives,
non habitual communication
as it were

one is Non Violent Communication
which isn't my training
and it's roughly:
let the other guy talk
+ really listen
and then say:
okay, what it seems to me
is that your feel ......
because you need/ want/ feel you aren't getting.....

It takes the amazing assumption
the other person has real issues, feelings, and order in their
own world

great

A tried and true other way:

person A listens
person B talks, rants, accuses
whatever for awhile
(way way best to set a timer here,
a little ranting goes a long way if
person B has to really listen, can't interrupt,
and had to repeat it back)

and that's the next step
person B says to A,
here's what I heard you say,
and gives it back
without any interpretation
or defending

( tough stuff,
but good,
"You said I was a creep
and never pay enough attention to you,
and I really let you down when...")

And then, B asks: did I miss anything
(another reason for a 2 minute to 3 minute turn each,
it's hard to remember too much stuff,
especially when it's emotional "stuff')

if A says you missed....
then B says, okay, I missed ....

If A says, no you got it,
then B takes a short turn
A listens without interruptin
and repeats it back

Called reflective listening

this practice,
the non habitual listening
and honoring the other person,
can really help
that wounded feeling of
"You don't care about me,
won't listen to me feeling"

which is often true in arguing
when the yelling is about OUR important
stuff,
and precludes listening

there are two more cool non habitual
communication games
I like

and let's make it short

each requires you to
take turns with a timer
it can be a little,
or a lot longer,
since there is no feedback

in the first type:
when it's your turn
you talk about anything
except any feedback, suggestion, etc
about what the other said

so each of you agrees to only talk
about issues that don't involve the other

in the more complicated type,
you can address whatever came
up
but you have to listen when it's your turn
to listen
and the more you can keep it
in the famous "I" statement
response
the better

this is tricky
and can work in a mature
relationship
especially one committed
to full time being present

....
this wasn't really a poem
was it?

who knows

could we both,
you gentle reader
and me sincere writer,
go back to the beginning
and read the whole darn thing
with an attempt to follow our breathing
and sense two arms
and two legs
and one
spine
at the same
time?

I'll give it a go

you'll do what you do

i had to read it several times,
discovering typos along the way

and rereading
and going slowly
is nice

very nice

at a point
the words
didn't matter,
just being present
felt
plenty good
enough

hope your
present
is presenting you
with ease and joy

and if nothing else
that thrill of being
in your life
at the moment you are living
your life

what would Awakened Frienship Look Like

2011-11-18T17:26:00.000-08:00

have you ever tried
to "remember yourself"
all day

attention in
one breathing
or arms and legs
and attention out
on the world of air and light and sound
and actions
we are moving through?

tis hard
even in simple circumstances

and noted when we
"lose it" most can
be delightful realization
of the immensity
of the "sleep" of most of our life

(even as i type this....)

and one of for
sure
hardest
"wake up times"

is talking to another

and I'm in the mood to
have Awakened
Friendships

with as many people as can stand
it

the waking up tribe

it's a kind of love
that leaves the clothes on
and take off the cage
around the heart

want to join me?

ciao
for NOW
chris

Embodied Relationship, Awakened Movement, "Enlightenment in Action" is Business and Visionaries

2011-11-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

Once again
I have revamped my website
and clarified the vision
of how I want to contribute
my gifts and learnings to
the world

this isn't a poem

you are a poem

and when I say that
it occurs to me
that I have to be a poem
to see
say
you as a poem

and i come back to breathing
and gravity

the wonder of a spine
holding up the eyes
in the head
and the air
coming in from up top
and filling the all of me
the now of me

how's all the going
for you

this breathing
is a way of re
membering we are alive
and
this connection
to gravity
the groundedness that isn't wu wu
but part of sweet parcel
of the ongoing

Life on Earth

time to walk
outside
even if it
is
"cold"

which is the skin's story
about the air

and can't we love
all these stories
and then slip back
back
into the experience behind
the stories

well, sometimes I can
sometimes I yammer

me, i like life on its own terms.

how about you.

and the websire
you could look at it if
you wish:

Elms Emerald Alchemy
is says at the top

words
hmmm

Really simple movement lesson because I haven't had one for awhile and they are so GOOD for you. and FUN

2011-11-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

sit in a chair

read each instruction a couple of times

then close your eyes and "do it"

if you flub, so f.... what
read again, try again
life is learning

1. sit in a chair and put both
hands in the belly region,
thumbs near the ribs,
finger down lower

in this position,
bend you head forward toward your
belly button
(sort of, i.e. not towards the knees,
but as curly up as you can)

go slowly

let your hands squeeze in as you do
this

then come back up to more or less upright

rest

do it again

about ten times

read this two more times,
play with it
"do it"

2. Do the same darn
thing
except this time pay attention to
your
PELVIS

roll back a little on your pelvis
as you tuck your head down
and pinch in
with your hands to feel how your stomach is contracting

come back up

rest a breath

do this again, each time resting
each time "sensing" something more
about yourself

3. rest between each number
then put one hand on your lower back
and one on your belly

let your head hang forward,
as close to your chest as possible

there, all relaxed and such
do these three things
at the same time

belly forward and arch your back

sternum/ breast bone up and forward

rolling a bit forward on your pelvis

go slow
read it twice
or have it read to you
print in up
just do it

4. sit "normal"
and figure out how to do this:
turn your head to the left and your eyes to the right
and your head to the right and eyes to the left

go slow
don't move head or eyes
far
take it easy

rest

5. Go back to number two,
the leaning forward and squeezing.
this time when you go down as far as possible,
let your head be even softer,
and add in number four, which means head right as eyes go left,
and the other way

and see how soft it can be

6. rest

go back to number three,
the belly forward, arching with soft limp neck
and at the most arched back position
add on the head and eyes game

take it easy

have fun

...

i've started guiding these over the phone
nutty but interesting

find the events page on
my "mother site"

wait, here's the link: Event and Phone Consults for movement page

ciao for NOW
chris

it's so simple

2011-11-16T08:40:00.001-08:00

you can
I can
we all can
talk about "being present"

and we can
"be
present"

one is words

the other is experience

I like experiencing this
and
I'll bet you do too

Remembering

2011-11-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

this moment
is our life

we can remember that
and be flooded
with grace
gratitude

and the abilities
to move
in new
and interesting ways

not just "move" move
but emotional
and business
and thinking
and "even"
spiritual

when present
the chances are there
chances to be try experience
something new

and we are awake enough
to take them

so,
sounds like a cool
thing
remembering
ourselves
in
the moment

in
the moment

in
the
moment

each one was different
wasn't it

and these words,
not real,
shapes that create white shapes that
the eye
and
brain
put together

they point
somewhere

back at you?

the real you
behind the words???

i (whoever that is)
hope
so

ciao
for
NOW

you in the Chris form tonight, for a few moments

This life

2011-11-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

A train in the distance
pelvis on the chiar
eyes watching the letters appear on the screen

fresh fall air
the roll of wheels on the roadway
a dog barking
my pants on my legs
noticing how my wrists rest
on the table as I type

feet on floor

how could it get any better?

a friend to smile at across the table,
maybe
who knows

speculation isn't present

and can be fun

and
how can I smile across the table at
myself

hey, that's what this poem is:
loving life
in the moment
is loving myself

it's all me
all you
we are one
and as you read this
your life
fills up the exact full wonderful niche
that you have
at this moment
looking at this computer screen

and what else
is filling your awareness
with that sweetest
awareness:

this is me
alive
now?

Good

Chris on Monday morning
in Austin Texas, weather finally divine,
low seventies in November

ciao
for
NOW

true story and what is true? talking while awake... not so easy

2011-11-11T06:22:00.001-08:00

In my Sonoma days,

a nun came to town.

Not the Catholic kind, but Tibetan,
some fearless gal from Canada or Ohio
or something who
had
gone to
Nepal and sat in a cave for
????? a long time
under supervision of the Tibetan Buddhist
path

she'd gotten a lot of
strength wisdom freedom
from
this experience
and her talk was inspiring

after
wards
I joined the line of those
saying, Oh wow, thanks for your
talk, blah blah

And then,
going out to my bike
realized
that the blah balh
blah
had all been said in a state
of
sleep

eggads!
again!

oh, well.

sensing feet and arms and aware of light
and sound
i walked the now not asleep Chris
back into the building
and found the nun
and said,
you know last time I talked
to you about how great your
talk was
I wasn't conscious
now I am
and thanks

She woke up to match me
out of the shaking hands
daze
and we glowed
at each other for a brief
eternal now
moment
and
then I went back out
to my bike

it would be nice to say
i've been awake since
that moment,

but alas,
the learning
and slipping
and re re remembering
(which members?)
happens
over and over

luckily
it's a delight
to come home
each and
ever
y
time

ciao
for
NOW

Chris

ps sign up for newsletter if you wish,
place to right for that

nature, now, love

2011-11-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

the tree smiles down at
you

you are perfect to it
it cares not
whether you love it or like it or want it
or can care less

hey,
and the same for you:
you don't want the tree to gain or lose weight
to laugh at your jokes
to like, love, want, appreciate, respect you more

but you dig the treee
and it
digs
you

and so you feel
good
like beyond like
like love

you just hang in the moment
"just"!

and let the tree be the tree

it just hangs in it's tree moment
happily eating of the dark soul
below
and the sparkling light from
above
and the air all around

and it's fine with being a tree
and you're fine with you being
you
looking at and loving a tree

a sterling way to
waste some time
I'd say

What has yes done for you today?

2011-11-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

what has
yes
done for you
today?

has it kept your heart going?
yes!

and your breathing,
ah
yes
(did you notice, now the breathing
keeps sweeping through
your life?)

and your breathing,

that grand old friend,

so new and fresh each time around,
ah,
the breath,

has it kept your breathing going?

yes

and your smile?
hmm.
well, when you did smile did you
feel good about smiling?

come on, say yes.

and how about saying yes to some no?
huh, like no, I'd rather just sit on this bench
and look at the trees and the sky, then drive
across town to buy something I don't need.

so, that saying no to the rushed life,
is a saying yes to the slow down
and enjoy the trees and the bees and the breeze
and the breathing of you
and the heart of you.

does that make sense?

yes.

and what now,
would you love to say yes
to
and I mean right now,
at this computer screen,
breathing
and having arms and legs and spine
and ribs and pelvis and eyes and ears,
and a room and feet
and fingers
and .....
any of those sound cool sweet kind neat
wonderful
enough to say
yes
to?

sure.
yeah
yes

so, the game is on
if you are

have a yes day night evening morning
and thank yourself for the
kindness of being yes
to the wonderful person

who is you

ciao for
NOW,
Chris

From today's special needs children blog

2011-11-07T10:27:00.001-08:00

The fundamental unit of intelligence is
....
the perception of differences.

Let's list a batch in a recent series of lessons with Baby Joe:

my pants vs his pants
my shirt vs his shirt
his shirt vs his pants

kicking down with both feet
kicking down one at a time

the sound of bob bob bob bob
the sound of mom mom mom mom

the feel of those sounds in my throat

tongue out in the middle
tongue out on the right side
tongue out of the left
(my modelling from a pouting mood he was in for a bit)

standing on the left knee in pre crawling
standing (= putting weight on the be "up") on the right knee

tons of differences in where his weight is place forward back
side side in those standing on one knee positions

right hand with right knee
right hand with left knee
left hand....

these except for the standing on the knee
are somewhat "fillers" in the lesson of shifting
and bearing weight
in inner connections (ribs, pelvis, head, elbows, legs)
which are too complicated to explain in writing

and they have to be doled out slowly enough
so they are really "felt" by the child

but, you get the idea

the world is full of differences
and all
are waiting for explorations
and recognition
and the consequent heightening
of intelligence

what would your mother say, if she were dead and you were grieving?

2011-11-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

so hi,

and hey,

someone has to ask the question,
right,
about the grieving thing
which is
"normal"
and if you don't do it "enough"
all sorts of bad stuff is supposed to happen
and besides
everyone will think you're a creep

and God knows, the purpose of life
is to avoid other people's bad opinions

but,
let's ask the dead Mom's
what they would want

and guess what,
this has not been tested or approved by the FDA

so:
hey Mom,
you're dead,
and my question is:

how much should I grieve

and here's the answer I here:

"As much as you want,
but from the dead side
of things,
you really see how amazing
the life side of things
is,
and don't grieve so much
you forget
even for a second
how amazingly lucky
YOU are
to be in the life boat,
the ship of the living,
RIGHT NOW

so stay present while you grieve
and immensely grateful to be alive

and if you want to feel grateful
to me
go ahead,
that's good for you

but why cry about gratitude
I loved loving you

and if you want to keep loving
me,
go ahead,
that's good for you,

but why cry because we can't hug
or talk

just send me love
all the love you want

it's the best you can
do and
loving yourself
for doing the best you can do

is what I want for you

and the yucky sobering part of
grieving
the part where you have these
chilly realizations that you
could have loved me more

hey, forgive yourself,
i could have loved you more,
too,
and it's just the reminder that's important:

love people while they are alive
call them
up
write them,
have their memorial six months BEFORE
they die
not two weeks after

just learn from what you weren't perfect
in
me,
I wasn't perfect either

forgive me
in case some of your grieving is convoluted
anger that I wasn't better

i was perfect
you weren't perfect

that's perfect

send me all the love you
want
and then
quit grieving
and go out and love so living
people better
and better each day

and here's a hint:
you're a living people

so love yourself better each
day
too

good,
love
Mom

Feeling bad is good for you, if there is another You to watch

2011-11-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

whether we are going
through
a divorce

or a separation
of whether the
weather is not something
we'd like to weather

the real weather is always
inside

and guess what:
we are wired to worry
and concentrate on what could
go wrong

and we are also
"meant" to be happy

which means,
guess what guys?

our life's job is to rewire ourselves
to be happy
and to love

and guess what part two?
the only way to really do
that is to be
able to live in the present

darn,
and we'd so much like to just have
the right pill
or the right programming
or the right set of behaviors
or the right rules
or the right club
or right movies
or ....
but not really: you
can't automatically be awake

and awake is the way
into and out of unhappy
or unloving

and guess what part three?
unhappy and unloving
are really really close

because when you are busy
loving the rose and the sky
and your feet
and the faces of all the people
going by
you are happy

and when you are happy,
you just can't help love yourself
and those around you

so what about feeling bad
is good for you?

it's like pain in the shoulder:
which says:
hey, you are doing something wrong
(I know, I know must body work is
dumb and thinks the pain in the shoulder
means "something's wrong with you",
but ain't so)
find a more integrated and easy and aware way to be

same with the pain in the heart:

it's saying:
your old programming
is dumb
it's not working
and that's good news
because if the big You
that is really you
can watch how the little you
cause this pain
then, both the big and the little You and you
can
get
together and do think feel act sense
differently
and

then, you'll be better smarter more easy
and awake
about how to
be happy
and loving

all this is abstract
in a way
and then again:
it's the overview we need
when feeling bad

who's doing it?
us.

what do we need to change?
well, let's see what we are doing
and try something else out

what else?

ah, that's the game
and just like improving the shoulder:
the slower
and gentler
and more experimental
and sensing the results in the moment
and non judgmental/ curious
we are
the happier
(and more loving )
are the results

so,
there you go

read this again
and then once again tomorrow
and have a wonderful weekend

ciao,
and sign up for the newsletter if ya'll
wish:

Poem from two days ago:

2011-11-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

if you are lost
God
has already found you
relax
release you are not a fish in a net
struggling against your new existence

you are the net, the ocean,
the fisher, the fisher's friends, spouse, children
the waves, the broad blinking bright endless sky
full of stars
we forget to see
in the daylight

and the shifting sands
and the birds flinging themselves up to
lightness from sand
and water

and yes, you of course, are also
that beautiful mystified shimmering
quivering found and fondled and adored
fish

it is done,
God is you having caught you
and all your waiting
for happiness
and deliverance
is over

you are already here
you were always here...

enjoy

the death thing

2011-10-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

Someday we're going to die
me oh my

you and I,
dear,
no matter how much we
love
each other
or any one or two or two hundred people,
or take them for granted
or, Golly Forbid,
resent and dislike/ hate them

whatever we feel
they feel
we do
they do

whoosh

it's all gone one
day
one breath we are
'here'
and the next
'gone'

and what does that
mean?

who knows?

whatever you want it to
mean

and you and I
and any one who wants
to love live
and enjoy the life
we are having
however long we
are having
this moment
followed
by
this moment
followed by this moment

might ponder
that the complaining moments,
the "death isn't fair" moments,
take away
from the joy of now

so,
it's like losing the life
we do have now
over the eventually loss
that we don't even know
what it will be like

and is that our
complaint

the big fat unknowness
of death?

could be

and what better way to
practice
that to love the big fat unknown
of the next moment
when
we are "really now"

wow

preparing for death
by surfing the now

now that's
a fun way
to be

(or at least seems
so
to me)

now, nature, love and you are perfect, enjoy

2011-10-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

now
nature
love

this can take us almost anywhere we want
to go
and guess what?

the easy part is that we are already
there

think of nature,
and how easy it is to love a redwood
tree
or a rose

and what if
what if, a wonderful phrase,
and way to live,
what if
we saw every person we saw
today
(and even Bigger: ever person we "thought about")
as beautiful and perfect and magnificent,
like a rose

who demands the rose
be prettier
or that the redwood tree be
thinner
or that either like love and appreciate
us more

we want nothing from them
and they give us
the everything

of how free full and loved
we feel
when we are just
loving out
loving out
loving out

and not really slogging around
in the "what am I getting back"
trenches

and
now
what's now
got to do with it

ah, the redwood
the rose,
and we forget tomorrow
and yeterday
and don't worry what to say
to them
and just enjoy

does love have to always be
in the present?

no, we can remember love
and imagine love in the future,
but the good feeling

that's always right
now

at least that's my take on
it

but the thrill of this adventure
called
life
is for you to be your own
well loved
"what if" experiment

what if you paid attention
to how and where it felt
to love today?

what would happen?

who knows?

and how wordless and wondrful
could that be
and you don't have to report
it to anyone

you're going to do
just perfectly

wow

now

wow

nature

wow

love

ciao,
Chris

prayer to enlightened and ecological abundance

2011-10-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

life has many ways
to delight us
and allow
help
goad
encourage us
to be
"Who we really are"

that magnificent Self
inside all the conditioning

One way out of the little
self
is love

and that's a big story
and path of being present
to the other person
or yourself
without the
"Story"/ thought/ judgment
that always brings unhappiness

A second way out
is prayer:
some sort of chat,
talk,
plea
demand,
thanks,
song,
dance
to the Divine, Spirit,
God, whatever

down below is a little prayer of
affirmation for the goodness of life,
a modification of something from the Abundance
Book by John Reynolds Price

and then,
but now now,
nor ever really on the computer,
except to point toward it
and hint you
go down to the river,
or out to the garden,
or under the stars
and find "it" yourself,
the third and great "escape"
back into "who we really are"
is to be
in silence
emptiness
stillness

the empty taking to, listening to,
basking in the vast Void/ Immensity
of "it all," The Universe,
God, call it what you will,
but it has no name,
right,
it's the word less ......
underneath
around
behind
....
"it all"

Anyway,
here's the little lover prayer to the possibility
of how wonderful we are and how wonderful life is:

My inner supply
instantly and constantly
takes on experience, form
& mysterious delight

according to my deep and real needs
and desires

And,
as the Principle of Supply in action,
life is sending my way constantly
and easily
fulfillment, delight, bliss &
opportunities of love, awaken &
serve

This service is of ease, delight and learning
for me
and those around me
in each and every
delightful and awakened
moment

Good
Happy prayer,
and some say always pray
and always start your prayer with thanks
(Paul, Ephysians 4)

The children are busy, and we are at the computer

2011-10-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

it's so important
we think, feel, imagine, believe

(and "Is it true?")

so important
to get
"just one more"
email read,
written

one more cool video
watched or
interest tracked down

and then
zoom
two hours are gone,
no time with the child
lots with the computer

alas

what to do

the usual:
slow down at the computer

follow the wonderful breathing

sense your skeleton hold up your head

relax and move your eyes

touch the key pad softly
a little or a lot slower than
usual

think of touching the computer
with eyes and hand
the way you'd touch your child

and think
ponder
compare

hmmm
maybe it is time to go
touch the real child

and if you don't have one
one the wonderful little ones

what is it time
to give my life to
right now

this moment by
miraculous moment
gift
we
have

the good old
I'm alive
right now

thing

Good

Saturday night

2011-10-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday night

is a great night
to
Do the Work

take a walk

write in your journal

do all the usual stuff
but at
slightly different
vibe
tempo
attachment
placement of attention

as usual

what would that mean?

try it
and
"find out"

a change
with
awareness
is always
a portal
into........
the real
you

the one who relishes
and lives in
and thrives
on

the unknown

the new

the now

happy Saturday evening

Chris

falling into the glory of being, BEing, BEING alive

2011-10-21T09:29:00.001-07:00

Some place are getting cold
and maybe they had beautiful days
somewhere between June and October

in Austin we had about
zero
and now it's
beautiful
so maybe that's "fair"

or maybe it's the way the globally
warming Earth is playing
its game this year

for whatever reason
I commend you
all
to take some time
out
doors

today

not rushing to the car

not "getting a lot done"
in your garden

not even doing your "power walk"
or walk and talk walk

and what's left:
just go out
and see where your feet
lead you

is that fair

on a Friday?

when there is
"too much to do"?

yes

why?

someday you will take
your last breath
on this planet Earth

what happens next is belief
superstition, possibility,
who knows

but the last breath comes
and as it approaches

you get to be present
to the immense glory
of being alive
and having been alive

fall
does that to people
somehow

gives the preview to the
looking back
and feeling the immense
glory and wonder of
it all

so fall out of your routine
and into the fresh air

and feel experience see hear
notice enjoy
whatever happens

good

when is enough enough?

2011-10-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

one of life's sweet
resources
is a nagging feeling
of "eggads"
I've done enough

of gardening
or computering
or worrying
or talking
or, God forbid, working

and then
what's it time to do:

something else

Winston Churchill used to
say:
a change is as good as rest

so I'm going outside
now

and even as I write this
have any idea
and inliing
and inclinaion
and motivation
to be present
to the last of the computering

since that change
that inner change
to the nowing
of breath
and gravity
and light
and skeleton
and fingers moving
and cars outside
and the shape of my legs

boring to you
perhaps
except you have legs skeleton
breath and whatnot
that you could fall
back
in
love
with
too,
couldn't you?

if that's your
inclination
and curiosity:

why not?

good,
and now outside for me

what for you?????

ankles and wrists: a movement lesson of the most simple sort

2011-10-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

one of the sweetest paths
to now
is
to move slowly
and with attention
variation
curiosity
and a desire to "feel what we
feel like
in the moment"

this is a game for parents of special needs
children
or anyone with an ankle "glitch"

it's pretty easy,
and if you play with it
slowly enough
deeply satisfying "just"
as a game of learning

say you have a "touchy" ankle.
Let's say it's your right ankle.
Then the game will start with left ankle
and right hand.

If the "touchy" ankle is your left
ankle,
swap things around.

So: sit at a table
and place both feet flat on the floor,
and start with the non-touchy ankle and the opposite
hand.
the hands are on the table.
feet on the floor.

start with the right hand and the left foot,
and gently press the little toe side of the foot
into the floor
and the little finger side of the hand
into the table
then release

go slowly enough a number of times
each time follow something more
your breathing
the bones of your hand
the feel of your wrists and ankle
the bones of your feet
your knee
your elbow
your breathing

make it a nice little meditation

then rest

now the other side:
thumb
and big toe, again right hand and left foot
for "touchy" right ankle.
press, release, sense, listen, learn

rest

Now front of the hand, to wit, press the fingers into the table
and the toes
and release.
Go slow
this is more advanced than we usually would notice
shoulders
hips
back
pelvis
lots comes in
to
this
go slowly many times
aiming for enjoyment pleasure and learning each time

try the difference eyes open
vs closed vs one eye open

try slightly rounding your back
slightly arching

notice your breathing

rest

and then, of course: heel
of hand and heel of foot

rest

now if you feel up to playing the opposites:
go for thumb and little toe
and little finger and big toe
toes and hand heel
foot heel and hand fingers

but only if curiosity and time
and ease of mindful movement call to you

now
stand and walk around a bit,
noticing what all this diagonal work
hath wrought

maybe even lie down
a bit
and enjoy the differences

then go to "touchy"ankle
and the other hand
and do all the above
except:
A LOT LESS
A LOT GENTLER
IF ANY PAIN ONLY IMAGINE THE MOVEMENT

slow and gentle and aware
pay huge dividends

try it
meditate through it
enjoy it
learn and improve

this is you
on awareness
a nice place to live
from

and/ or
a nice place from which
to live

Good.

For a batch more movement lessons:

click the label below,

on in the cloud at the right which says there are 90 some lessons,

or,

what the heck

just click this: Movement Lessons

Mindful Suffering is Finite

2011-10-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Let's say we is
suffering

we feel bad
and it's almost
ALWAYS
the good old:
not getting our way
thing

in one form
or the other

marriage/ relationship
was "supposed" to last

the good feelings were
"supposed" to laugh

someone's appreciation, attention, love
approval
was
"supposed" to
be
MORe

and that's the deal:
this suffering
can be out-thought
as in
impermanence blah blah blah
or
non attachment blah blah blah

but the way in
can be deeper
to the senssation
and the emotion
and the thoughts
and then
the game
of some many freedoms
with awareness and being
present

you figure it
out
or call me
or
?????

and that's the great thing
about life
with mindfulness
suffering has to transform
to the glory wonder gratitude of
knowing the
most important thing:
we ARE
right now

and without
mindfulness,
ah
alas,
suffering can last till
the day we
die
(and maybe more,
who knows)

so have a happy
day
mindful
and whatnot,

or, if suffering
have a mindful day
and let the happiness
sneak up on
you
when you drain the bathtube
of all the weirdness and habit
and illusion
and .....
(you discover)
that glues the suffering
together

ciao
for
NOW

Chris

Love is the answer, what is the question?

2011-10-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

IF LOVE is the ANSWER
what is the question?

And why is the question there?

Because we love to be in suspense

be cause we love to trip fall dance leap
move forward

if we always know
their is no learning
no asking
no wonder

I wonder what love is for

for to clue the planets together?
for the grow the grass?
for to sing song life into action
and keep it rolling and roiling

life from movement
the sexy stuff
that can be love
always hints at love

and then we cling
and demand
and try to control
what we can't
and love

seaps
away
crying

but not dying

love never dies

it just goes into a cave to nourish
itself

into the pearl to become an oyster
or into an oyster to become a pearl

which came first
the answer or the question:

what is love for?

for your delight
and falling out of the cage
of the self that doesn't exist
falling out, and having to fly,
the bird push out of the nest

no you
and yet you have wings
and you could fly
you have to fly

and what flies you
wings you onward?

love

....
this appears to be a mystical answer
me
my
mo
mooo

it's fun to know
not
what we are going t
o
do
or
say
or learn from the word,
pushed out of the nest,
where are they going to go

maybe they will fly

today,
it felt like they did

good

How now can fear be?

2011-10-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

it curls up around us
as if it owns us
a snake
a big wrap around
and squeeze the life out of
you snake

not the happy type
climbing into trees
and coaxing Eve on:
go on
go on
try something new
set the whole adventure in motion

So what if God gets pissed
that's a story in the Bible
God doesn't get pissed
She's chuckling ever second
at the amusing glory and silliness
and tragedy and glory
of love
love everywhere and every how

but wait a minute,
back to the fear snake
squoozing us
and making us feel like
we can't move on

well, hell
stand up
walk around
sense the ground

maybe we can move after all

go outside
touch the ground
reach up for the sky
feel, hey we can move
and it's an up and down
and amazing world

and then let the fear thought
come out
right on out
and write it out

three times:
slow and serious like you "mean" it
fast and frivolous, it's just words
and then you pick, some third way

realize these is just words

look at them like they run you:
sense how that feels

look at them like you wrote them
and they're an opinion
you don't have to believe

sense how that feels

play back and forth:
I believe in the power of the fear statement

I don't believe in it

write the opposite, see if that could be as true

write a tangent

write a dream

write five things you are grateful for

go back outside and skip walk dance a bit

it's you,
alive

that fear is just a game your mind and heart
habit
are trying to trap you in

it's you doing it
you can stop

AND
have a bunch of fun at the same time

good

feeling bad in the context of bigger body, bigger mind, + "now"

2011-10-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

feeling bad isn't the worse
thing in the world

though attacking yourself
or others when you feel bad
is how the world starts to fall apart

but hey, what of feeling bad
and being present
to the bigger picture
of the you
that is breathing
and awaring your feet and legs,
your hands and arms,
your spine and head

aware all that
and be aware that you are aware
and feel bad
at the same time

and what happens?

try it next time
and see.

and whatever you are feeling now,
find the sensations
of that feeling
and concentrate on them

and then bounce out to the arms and legs
and spine
and head

make that the basket for
your feelings

and then add on light
and sound

they are there
anyway,
just notice them
and then:
how are you

who are you,
all this awareness
all this juice in the now

does it really matter what you're feeling
or
more probably:
how can all this awaring of
yourself
in the moment
not get you at least a little giddy
thrilled
with the joy
or being alive

right
now

good

dancing is good 4

2011-10-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

dancing is good for the soul
they say

and one is wise never to
listen too closely to they

and then again "they" may be
occasionally "right"

if "right" exists
and that's leaving the dancing floor

and now
we are on a computer page
and we have feet
and the feet have soles

can we sense our soles of our feet
as we read this

and can we imagine playing with the grass or the
living room floor or the dance floor with
our soles

so dancing surely is good
for our soles

and since they never say that,
or rarely,
it could be worth looking into

the way feet look;
the sensation of you
inside you
sensing you

right now

(and that's neither right nor left
nor right nor wrong,
but just plain old
moving along and changing changing
changing
right now)

bye for now

right now

wow

Sometimes we anger, sometimes we sad

2011-10-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we charge
up and anger our world

sometimes we slump in
and sad-ify the whole joint

Not fun, either one

And we usually gots someone else
to blame

And hey, that's a shame,
play this game:

Go now time
go present

sense the this and that in your body
about the anger or about the sad

where is they live?
how big?
what are they clamping in on?
what would happen if you made them WORSE?

What if you sensed arms and legs
and spine as a basket for them?

And breathed into these sensations?

And looked out at the big beautiful world?

And forget about having or getting rid
of these "feelings"

Just experience them
And light
and breathing
and your whole body
and the smaller place of the anger/ sad oowie inside us constriction

and dig on that

just experience
your life
with some anger some sad sensations
and then all this rest
of you:

breathing
a world to look at
sounds too, by zounds
and the skeleton and your awarness
and pelvis and legs arms
and the head up high
and the Big Knowing:
I AM ALIVE

it's a lot

hey yes
it's you
it's a miracle

enjoy

that's right

enjoy even anger or sad making
because in this bigger now
you've come to
not so big a deal

nah,
not so big a deal

Love poems from Now: The Daily Feast begins

2011-10-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today is not
yesterday

It's not a banana
nor a winter squash

Not even (gasp)
a To Do
list.

What is today?

A skin around the moment,
this moment,
which is either alive and pulsing in
us
as we experience it

or not.

How's your today?

What is in your skin?

learning vs pushing someone/ the child to do what the person/ the child doesn't know how to do

2011-10-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

This is a distinction (the title is:
learning vs pushing someone/ the child to do what the person/ the child doesn't know how to do)

Distinctions
Differences
Getting clear in thinking
Increasing complexity
Understanding subtleties int the world

It's a big wonderful game.
Called learning.
Called being human.

Notice that: it's how we learn:
perceiving differences

It's how the children learn:
any difference
big toe and little
big toe and thumb
arm going forward with the belly in
arm going forward with the belly out

it's all part of getting smarter and smarter
and more able to move
in ways the child intentionally chooses to move

And so the title:
learning vs being demanded / shown to do what you can't do

And it's obviously not a great strategy,
being demanded to do what you can't do,
and so much of traditional "teaching" and "therapy"
is that:
someone has a stroke; stand 'em up and start them walking again
never mind teaching the connection of arm to shoulder, of foot to pelvis,
of back to head,
just: hey, you need to walk, get walking

and again and again with the kids in traditional therapies:
you are "supposed" to sit by now,
so let's crank you into a sitting position

arms don't cross the midline,
hey,
let's crank 'em across

The sadness of all this
is forgetting how fun and amazing learning is
and
anything can be broken down into little enough
pieces so that someone can learn it.

Even us.
Working with kids.
Parents to kids.
If there is some help or teaching we "can't quite do"
YET
it's a chance to slow down and find
a small piece we CAN do,
and Can at least experiment with doing

This being present thing.
And the trying different possibilities thing.
And observing the results from what we tried.
And being honest and backing off
and trying something else just to see if there's
a better way.

This could all make for a good life for us "adults"
and certainly for our
relationships.

Okay. That's our game this week:
think about when we demand of ourselves
or any of our children that we or they instantly
do what they or we don't know how to do yet,
instead of giving ourselves the pleasure and thrill of
discovering for ourselves:
how can this be learned.

Ciao
and happy cooler weather
if you are in Texas,
and around the country
it looks like rain and real fall are coming along.

Good.

Chris

Lovely quote

2011-10-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

Until one is committed,
there is hesitancy,
the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative ( and creation),
there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:
that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favour all manner of
unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance,
which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now".

- J. W. von Goethe

loving the X, loving yourself

2011-09-30T08:29:00.001-07:00

In divorce,
each person almost always feels cheated
of a dream.

And the dream was to be really loved,
loved on their good days
and loved on their bad days.

The trick is,
it's hard to love people on their bad days,
and so that's probably what the divorce is about:
more bad days than good days.

Not enough love.
Not enough appreciation
Not enough fun.

And all that was probably true,
and then the divorcee is all alone
and wishing they'd been treated better.

Oh, well.

Here's a couple of interesting shifts on all that:

One, the past is passed. Gone. Over.
The X is never going to whisk you
back in time
and act perfect the way you wish they'd been.

Two,
they are over whatever place they are
wishing you'd given more love.

Three,
getting someone new
aka "moving along"
while a good aspirin for the pain,
since sex always makes us feel better
about life,
and helps us pretend that
"now we are really loved:,
but "moving along"
without having
"done the work"
is the path to a life of no growth
in our ability to love.

Because this is what we have to do with
the X'
sooner or later:
Love them for their inability to love us enough.

The work of Byron Katie
is the quickest and easiest way to get there.

And just for starters realize this:
if they could have loved more,
they would have.
It's fun to love.
Inability to love is painful.
Their inability to love more is
their pain.
Hope that they get over that pain.

And second, realize: hey,
if I can't love myself every second of
every day,
how could have they.

So, that's the start:
realize they were in pain.

Two, realize you're in pain,
since you don't know how to be a full
time unconditional lover of yourself.

And then, "move on."

Not necessarily to another person,
but the a world brightly aglow
because you are in love with every moment.

Good.

Learning as Transformation vs "Learning" as Dog Training

2011-09-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

piglets fooled/ trained to think they are tiger babies, and same with Mom having a tricked perception
I suspect problems down the road if this is in the wild.
How about you?

Dog training really sounds insulting
doesn't it?

Oh, well.

A huge portion of what passes as
healing
helping
even "transformational" work,
is merely this:

helping us go from low grade automatic (i.e. low functioning robot)
to high grade automatic

Untrained dog
to house trained,
or rolling over and sitting on command

Or:

Like saying thank you, when presented something
rather than grunting,
a nice shift from low to high grade robot

A definite improvement as for keeping the herd
moving affably,

but to actually sense the object being given
and know one is breathing
and look into the eyes of the giver
and say, "thanks" is that's what's really felt,
or "what a surprise," if that's true,
or "how come this for me now" if that's what's up,
or even, Golly forbid
"No thanks," if that's the present truth
about the presented present in this present moment,

this is to be awake and alive
instead of well trained

same with the "lessons" we present in the Feldenkrais and Anat Baniel world

the reason I find Anat so valuable is that she
doesn't let people forget for a day,
that the lessons are about the client
learning something,
not being given something to do,
but learning,
and that learning is based on the increased perception
of differences

and that if this happens,
the system/ person is a new person
new brain
upgraded for their whole self,
even if the "presenting issue"
isn't fixed yet,

the person is a person with more options,
more awareness,
more connections
and a sense of themselves as a more potent
and amazing being

the amazement
is in discovering all the new possibilities,
including many that don't come up in "lessons."

Wow, sounds like good old fashioned
"learning how to learn,"
but it's not an abstract idea,
it's the brain really have millions of new neurological pathways
at it's disposal
so the person leaving the lesson
isn't the same one who came in

So there

Ciao
for NOW,
Chris

Training or Learning// Why parents need to take the lessons

2011-09-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

Parents don't need to take the lessons
with every practitioner,
and I'm going to start requiring at least one
full lesson each month
from parents who want deep and amazing changes in
their children.

Why?

1. To feel in their bones and nervous system how
Small
Slow
Aware
Directed/ connected
Discovery movement

can feel so good
and make such a huge difference.

2. To know when they watch their children's lessons that
this is happening.

3. To resist the temptation to move their children
in too big and too strong of movements in an
attempt to "help" at home

4. To get the "soul" benefit from their children being on
the journey they are.
This sort of ease and transformation is something very
few people get to experience and the stress and demands
of parenting are high enough, even with special needs children.
So, it's like the air / oxygen in the airlines.
When in stress, the parent is supposed to take the oxygen first.
Then they can be of real use.

5. To realize over and over and over
that this isn't about "fixing" the child,
it's about learning,
and that we all can learn,
and the perception of differences is how we
learn,
and to feel this
and experience this in their bodies
how this work is about:
"making the impossible possible,
the possible easy,
and the easy pleasant."

Good.

And getting Anat's back or shoulder or scoliosis DVDs and doing the group
lessons at home is an added treated:
for yourself
and for your improved way of understanding,
touching
and enjoying
your special, special, wonderful child.

Happy Monday.

Relationships and Mindfulness

2011-09-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

As I write this,
and as you read this,
we are either mindful
or not.

Aware can be all sorts of things,
but it seems to need to be at least in part
grounded in the physical reality,
like our breathing, or our arms and legs,
or light coming in our eyes right now.

The good old here and now.

and if we aren't mindful,
then we are on some sort of automatic,
which even Thich Nhat Hahn admitted was hard when writing.

And he's not in relationship.

So, we meet someone.
And they are groovy
and they think we are groovy
and sex is good
and we like a bunch of things in common,
so whoopie,
life is solved.

Feels like that for awhile,
except that once we start to spend enough time
together,
someone is going to fall away from the "perfect" projection
and fall back into normal jerky selfish scared angry whatever.

You know, the stuff happens.

So one person has stress and reacts,
and then the options are:

one or both people realize things are off and become mindful

neither become mindful which means you
by definition
are on automatic (which sounds nicer than mindless,
but that is the opposite of mindful isn't it)

Anyway two people on automatic have to fall
back on what their parents taught mainly
and then any other training
or habits they've developed/ gotten away with
over the years

So we have the couple:
stress
people fallen into not so great patterns
and various automatic responses.

Which means: if you and your partner had perfect unconditionally loving
parents,
who dealt with stress with love and listening and humor,
then you can fall back on some pretty high grade
automatic behavior

without such parents,
things more or less have to disintegrate

or the couple has to get more and more busy
and distant
and businesslike
to stay out of the trouble zone

or the "trouble" can be held inside
and gnashed away at as
it eats somebody's guts out
(and chances are the inner gnashing
if used by one or both,
was a pattern they picked up)

So:
without the mindfulness
to feel what we are feeling
as in us
and the mindfulness to stay
present to the other
and to our words as we "deal"
with a situation,
we are bound to either avoid
or conflict

and what to do about all this?

one is to agree,
in calmer moments,
what the default agreed upon
pattern will be when conflict happens:

say, doing the work of Byron Katie

or listening to each other without interruption
of five minutes at a time

or stopping the talk and touching for awhile

or arguing in gibberish

or non violent communication

or taking a walk and calming down

or writing up gratitude lists

or prefacing each statement with:
I know anything that bothers you
is in me too

or.

well, the world is full of things to do besides the usual painful ones

it's kind of amazing
we take so little advantage of them

oh, well.

See: My Joy of Divorce website, five month course page
if you are by chance interested in a group from yourself
or your friends that could lead out of a LOT of suffering

The Joy of Divorce, the Novel, first scene: Ping Pong balls

2011-09-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

HAPPY ANGER

Ping pong balls

Jennifer is in a rage, that bastard, how dare he? And she’s a little bit joyous, too, how can you not be when six other divorcees are all hurling ping pong balls at photographs of their X, making all sorts of ridiculous grunts along the way, all the while Joey’s voice so cheerfully urging them along.

“Feel za anga, yah,” he almost sings, pretending embellishing clearly enjoying some ridiculous accent. “And feel za breathing, too, yah. You breathe, you anga, you throw the balls. Gut. Make zos grunts bigga. Big noise. Angry noise. A little bit happy, too noise. So fun to throw ball and grunt. Yah! Grunt ze ‘ Yah, yah’ as the throw.”

They grunt the yah, yah, and Jennifer loves this stupid stuff. It feels so good to move. And stop worrying. And stop torturing herself, ‘What went wrong?’ She throws, grunts, “Yah, yah.”

“Gut, gut,” continues crazy wise Joey, “ feel za spine, feel za weight shift, one foot to other. Yah. Feel za breathe. Breathe more. Feel good and gut and yah to za breathe in you. Feel za arm move and let ze throw be soft and anga and delicious all at once.

“Now stop please, pause, stand still, close zee eyes, feel za you inside of you. Feel za ‘I am alive’ on you.

“Feel za you, yah. No name. Just the you experiencing za you, just now. Only now. Now now wow. Feel za two feet and two legs and two arms and how ze body thing all held together. How does that miracle body puzzle you given for a while all fit together?

“Feel feet on za floor, good floor, nice floor, hold you up. Feel za floor holding up feet, feel za feet holding up legs, feel za legs hold up pelvis. Breathe. Breathe down near to pelvis. Ah, gut. Send love up feet legs pelvis and then spine, love up spine, feel pelvis hold up spine, spine hold up head, brain in there. Good brain.

“Awareness in there, or maybe not. Where is aware? Don’t know. Don’t matter. Feel za awareness of feet legs pelvis spine head and spine hold ribs and ribs hold arms and breathing inside ribs, some and down by pelvis some.

“Breathe. Good feel, yah. Feel the in. Feel the out. No need to take care of breathe. Breathe take care of us. And heart, feel if can, it pump. Pump, pump, heart always pump, always love you, always send oxygen all over to your feet and legs and pelvis and spine and ribs and lungs and stomach and liver and brain and tongue.

“Good heart. It loves you. Can you love your heart for taking care of you? Love your feet to hold you up? Love za legs to hold you up? Love za everything to be alive for you now?

“Now. Feel za now of heart, breathe, legs, arms ribs, spine head lungs pelvis. Feel more. Sense the all of you.

“This is gut, no? Yah, this is gut.

“Now open eyes. Look around room. See other people in same room. See them breathe. See their feet holding up their legs holding up their pelvis holding up their spine holding up their heads. Other people alive. See them alive. Feel you alive. Feel the same now you all in. Gut? Yah, feel za gut to be alive just now, wow, all together here. Look at them, see them, see them seeing you, forget a little who is who watching whom in this room, zoom, zoom, zoom.

“Breathe. They breathe. You breathe. Sense your breathe. Notice or imagine their breathe. All alive.

“Gut.

“ Now look at picture of X. Sense feet and look at picture. Feet real, now, picture two dimensions. A story not now. Feel legs and pelvis and spine. And feet. Sense the real. Look for anger in you when look at picture.

“Realize big dumb joke. Picture not sending anga to you. Anga in there, but when sense feet arms spine legs breathing, not so big the anga, is it?

“Sense the little anga, and if not any imagine a tiny bit, and throw za balls again. Throw slow. And feel each throw as delicious movement. Feel the feet and spines and rotation and weight shift and fingers on ball and then letting go. Feel delicious to be you and to be move and feel tiny bit anga, and feel alive.

“This is you, now alive. Feel za miracle of two legger creature throw ball. Feel joy to throw. Watch ball in air. Hear sound when it hits. Love za breathe as you throw. Love za you with za anga and za pleasure of za throw.

“Be happy big, and anga a small part of the big you. Throw za pinger ponger and say, ‘Thank you, God,’ or ‘Thank you, Universe,’ or ‘Thank you, Life’ each throw you go.

“Have fun in this now, now, now. Breathe. Feel all the little parts of the spine, the vertebrae changing and moving as you throw. Feel fingers. Feel toes. Love to be alive.`

“Sing out, thanks, Thanks. Thanks!”

Jennifer, tears streaming down her face, a smile so wide in hurts her jaw, the glorious sensuality of her body as she moves, throws these ping pong balls of anger, ping pong balls of love, ping pong balls of waking back to the magnificence of Jennifer.

And what is that?

She doesn’t know yet and can’t wait to keep discovering, recovering, singing and moving. “Thank you, sweet Life,” she sings forth, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, indeed.”

Sweet life. Alive life. Sweet life, indeed.

Babies love to learn, help them along

2011-09-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

I had a nice talk with a parent on the phone
the other day.

Her daughter does not yet use
much language.

I suggested that she could have a lot of fun
and be of huge use to her child
by playing with differences in the world of sound.

It could be differences
in pitch,
going eeeeee in a high pitch
and eeeee in a low pitch.

It could be differences in long and short:

laaaaaaaaa and la
la and laaaaaaaaaa

It could be differences in sound
ma ma ma ma
ba ba ba ba

It could be differences in fast
and slow
ma////////////////ma//////////////////ma////////////////////ma
and ma ma ma ma

All sort of combinations
could be invented and played with
ba ba baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ba ba
ma ma maaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ma ma
and the ba and ma could be different pitch

When the child hears the difference and begins to play
with them
she is learning the basis of language.

"The dog is in the house" can
wait,
first play with da da da n nnnn nn n nnnn hoooooooooo
huuuuuuuuuuuuu haaaaaaaaaaaa heeeeeeeeeee
ssssssssssssssssss snake salad slippery and so on

the "dog in the house" will come

It's like how I explain our system is so different that the rest
by talking about crawling.

Take a child who doesn't crawl
and do
accupuncture
energy work
spinal adjustment
stretching
and you'll get no results, and probably a lot of
discomfort in most of these,
since babies aren't masochists yet

Take a child who can't crawl
and show her connections of pelvis to shoulder
and to knee and to ribs and to head
little soft
showing of connections

and you've given information
and information
which is the learning of differences
that make a difference
is what the nervous system
lives for

it's called learning

it's great

go out and have a learning day

ciao
Chris

The Happiness option

2011-09-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

You know and
I know
we can at any moment
"chose happiness."

And it's a bunch of fun to let happiness
emerge as
"Who we really are,"
not by "trying" to be happy,
nor by the Pursuit of Happiness,
famous words we've heard someone,
and a sucker's game for a consumerist society, really,

nah, just happy because we run out of
steam in our games that avoid happiness

Like the
"You are wrong game."

play that and be happy.
lots of luck eh.

righteousness feels so good for the first half
second
and then, whether we know it our not,
it's just disguised hatred,
and that poison plays away inside

oh, no,
does that mean we can't be right and happy
at the same time?

No. we can be right about the bird we
see
the sky we watch
the breath we follow
even be right about the yukky sensations we
feel when righteous

but right that another is wrong,
or even better,
right that another should be different
because they could be "factually wrong,"
or behaviorally challenged (always according
to our rules and expectations of how we want
to be treated like kings and queens, and they somehow
just don't
"get it")
and how far do we get being right that they are wrong about
how they proceed in the world

ah, this is either obvious or
not

doesn't matter

I've discovered that the Work of Byron Katie
can greatly be assisted by switching positions:

sit here and believe the story is true
sit here and think it's an opinion
(this is Questions 1 and 2 in a way)

sit here and look at the other person knowing with
sweet righteous conviction: They should be different

How do you react in that seat.

Move to the "my thought is an opinion" chair.
look at them without the thought, empty mind,
just see the present reality
and
ta da...
what's left
who are you?

happiness is probably part of what's left
when the not you of judging falls away

don't believe this
or preach this

try it out

or not

your business
your life
your happiness

nourish your happiness and it will nourish you
and those around
you
and the Earth

be of good Cheer
on this muggy in Austin friday
with Austin City Limits music blasting to me
from several miles away,

good
Chris

Loving What is

Anger with variation

2011-09-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned I believe
I've realized that this mindfulness + variation thing
which is to say
creating options THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT
which is to say
GIVING OURSELVES FREEDOM
is
what transformation is about up and down the line.

Let's take anger.

We can feel the anger in our body.
Then stand and feel the anger in our body.
then shift foot to foot and sense the anger as a smaller part of a bigger body.
Then we can skip and try to start angry

We can babble the words that we are angry about,
especially useful if we turn it into a should and shouldn't statement.

And then babble them sit to the left,
sitting to the right
sitting to the left with a British accent
sitting to the right with another accent

babble them at half speed
half volume
double speed
double volume

say them while standing on one foot
hopping

and then there's the whole Work of Byron Katie game,
that we can play with the should and the shouldn't

and if we are movers of attention and deepeners of awareness
as in Feldenkrais or Anat Baniel people,
we can start some simple complexity
like head one way,
eyes the other,
ribs the same as eyes,
babbling the anger while we rotate head to the left
babble life is wonderful while we rotate head to the right

babble anger on the outbreath
gratitude on the in breath
reverse those two

and this is just beginning

anyone getting the idea of how much fun
this would be
and how hard it might be to stay committed
to the suffering that anger likes
us to get stuck in?

Good
Chris

Shorty but goody, for special needs parents, and....all of us

2011-09-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

This is going to be short.

Find anything
your child is learning,
or enjoys
or does well
or does slightly better than betfor
or is happy about

and be enthusiastic about that

And realize what a miracle a human
body is
and
get enthusiastic about taking lessons yourself.

You know all the reasons.

And if you only know the tiniest smallest littlest
reason,
get enthusiastic about that.

Good.