joy and learning

the day is long our attention can be lost
or found

best yet:
enjoyed,
our own inner light
shining out,
and in,
on what,
and then what
and then what?

and if we are lucky,
we don't "understand" something
or aren't as skilled at something as
we want to be

and we can put attention
on the now
of how

the now
of how
we are going about
whatever it is

and,
guess what:
try something else,
anything else?

see the effect

have fun
learn

notice in the now

wow

what happens

and do nothing
and
notice

what happens

wow


....

have a good day

for love of Now: or Awareness unlocks the door

what door?
what lock?

let's say a shoulder is "stuck"
or a mood, like depressed
or a life, like doing the same job someone doesn't like
or a relationship, where A says xxx and B says yyy and A says zzzz
and they get all huffy angry sad
even how they react is a rut

so, life can be rutted
can be stuck

what is the way out?

well the other day,
my gal was in a funk
and I said, oh good,
you are de pressing yourself,
pressing yourself down

how could you do it more?

she came up with some answers:

talk more harshly to herself

tighten chest and belly more

cut off breathing more

I suggested, make the tone of the inner voice more unpleasant

we came up with, dont' see the blue sky
or remember any joy

and so what?

so, by exploring making things "worse"
she's not only laughing her head off,
but realizing, that this "depression" thing
has parts,
and any part she can make "worse"
she can do less of
or
stop

so  that's an unstuck thing

and with a stuck
shoulder:

ah, so much fun
with a shoulder and our neck
or our ribs
or our spine
or our pelvis

how to get shoulder and these
to know each other,
move in the "easy" way,
the opposite of that way

what sorts of multiple layers of possibilities
can we create


and any old stuck thing:

how to get more stuck

what connections to some other part, way, understanding, approach
might we add on

where will curiosity and discovery take us?

we don't know

can we tolerate the "I don't know"
that sets us free?

I hope so

This is short today,
on a plane back to Austin

the book is pretty good,
link above to the contents

108 ways to play with new actions
toward a more enjoyable
and free
and interesting life

good

The importance of options

Something goes wrong
in our emotional world,
and it's usually a rift on the same darn thing:
we don't get out way,
don't get what we want,
someone disapproves of us,
or doesn't like us,
and the last too are just:
Me no get my way,
once more.

What are our options:
The downhill slide: discouraged, angry, sad, withdrawn

And then real options:
curiosity: what's with the person

Being present: oh, well, they are what they are and I'm in the
now
of my breathing
and sensing gravity
and knowing my arms and legs and spine

the joy of a movement lesson

or taking a walk

or remembering all the things we love

or doing the Katie work and seeing that what the "other" is
"doing wrong"
is something we do, too

All these options
require:
awareness,
stopping/ pausing/ inhibiting the automatic downhill slide
using more of ourselves: attention, thinking, moving

And now we return to the world
of eliminating pain
and refining and making elegant and pleasurable our moving
and our
life

and guess what:
it's the backing off from the way we always do it
and using more attention
and
trying a new action
and
adding on the whole of ourselves to our movement
and
using less effort and more awareness
and
using less speed and more awareness
and
taking rests, being aware of the moment
being
at one with ourselves

This is short and not "enough" if you came here
looking for a deep insight today
and
really:
think of times you turned around an emotional deal
that could have gone bad
and
times you released yourself from physical pain
or used classes or private lessons to
release

an think of times
you created something new and amazing in
your life

and YOU
search for the commonalities

so,
happy hunting

and won't it be fun,
this looking for how we work
when we work well
instead of the "normal" way
of paying gobs of attention on how we "Don't do well."

maybe even apply the principals
you are discovering
to the next
new thing
that is coming into your life?

what is that?

And if you don't know,
aren't you lucky,
you'll get to find out

and I said I'd have an invented lesson for you today:
gads
okay
check back way later in the day
and i'll have one

the gift of now

maybe I've said this before
and
oh well

here goes again

to be present
is to be free to go
in any direction

so much of so-called body work
is like this:
the
"worker" (in and of itself a strong clue about
why "body work" doesn't really respect the whole person)
looks for something that needs to be "worked on"
in the "client"

then, they work away:
and people love it

at least someone is paying attention to them
touching them
waking them up to their skin and flesh and muscles and all
that stuff

good

and to be present
is this:

put a hand somewhere on the student's body,
with the idea of touching
them
as
touching the whole self

make a small movement
and feel
and watch
and notice
what happens

this is a welcome to
who the other person is


the brain is organized around
around movement

how is this person organized

what small little bits
in the present
could be added
to their
repertoire

listen to their responses
go slow
be present

feel what's going on in
you

this advice
scenario
whatever

could work for
a practitioner
for a lover
for a parent of a restless child
for a parent of a special needs child

for any friend of a special
friend

which is to say:
anyone

and guess what,
is a certain way:
we can go inside
and listen to ourselves
this way


good