BlissChick

Miscellaneous Monday Musings

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Beginning with inevitable Weather Talk...

We have been having the most amazing weather recently.

Sunday it got up to at least 64 degrees, and they are calling for a high of 70 today!

Marcy and I did not realize how much we had been missing the Big Ball of Beautiful Light until we got to spend so much time in it. It was cleansing and invigorating.

As one of the characters on a Jeeves & Wooster (BBC) once said, "This fresh air is getting into my lungs!"

Moving onto The Kitchen Sink...

Our sink is clogged.

So what, right? Today, I will be calling the plumber, and as an Introvert, this is not something I look forward to -- a stranger in my space.

But, alas, life as an adult who owns a home.

I do have a point, wait...where did I put it? Oh, here...the cat dragged it under my chair.

We have had a bucket in the sink to Rinse Things Into. This has been a lesson.

We use about a half bucket of water just to rinse out the espresso thingie after we make our morning drinks.

This startled me. So having a clogged sink has made me even more aware of and grateful for the water we use. We are figuring out ways to cut back.

In the meantime, we got to see what it must have been like to live in that Little House on the Prairie!! (giggle...)

And culminating with a Typical Rant...

I do not know why, but during Autumn, I get less...tolerant of people and their grouch. People's grouch seems to grow in the Autumn, and I think it has to do with the Holidays and all the stuff we have attached to them.

I don't know.

But crank, snark, and cynicism, all seem to go through the roof as we approach Thanksgiving.

By Saturday mid-morning, I had read a disproportionate number of negative blog posts in my Reader. Which is saying a lot, because the blogs in my reader make it there due to their general lack of Judgment and Nasty.

This led to me feeling quite grumpy which led to me not dancing enough which led to me feeling even more grumpy.

Let's try a little harder to take care of each other, okay?

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009, Lilly Watching)

MysticBliss: WildWomen of Tribal Fusion Bellydance

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

In the mid-east, where bellydance originated, women, as you know, are often forced to hide every square inch of their beauty and their femininity.

Bellydance can be seen, through this lens, as a form of protest and reclamation.

Here is my beautiful body in all its grace and power, this form of dance says.

Today, I want to share with you some of the amazing Wild Women who perform what has come to be known as Tribal Fusion style bellydance.

MusicBliss: Drumming to Cleanse the Soul

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Inspired and made shiny by the drummers we saw Thursday night, here are a few different drum performances, one of which surely will affect you. Try them out!

Drumming their Bliss

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Last night, Marcy and I went with a friend to our local Brewerie to hear a drum trio from New York City, Raquy and the Cavemen.

From the first hit on the drum, I felt myself being affected. There is nothing like sitting mere feet from powerful drumming. I felt myself being polished, made shiny by the waves of sound. And I was reminded of some things.

The weather here has been gray and I have not been sleeping well. So I've had a couple of my difficult days, yet I push through, continuing to dance and to do what I know is important to me. But still...there has been a weightiness to it all.

The drumming woke me back up.

Watching people do their thing, live their purpose, being witness to this is healing to everyone.

It also reminded me what it looks like when people are working from the top of their game. It reminded me that I am doing the same when I am dancing.

I left there completely inspired and with my own sense of purpose just bursting forth from my heart.

I was renewed and full of ideas and feeling all of my Power.

Today, the sun is out and it is not going away. There are no gray clouds hanging out over the Lake.

Exactly like my insides.

What does this for you? When was the last time you witnessed someone doin' their thing? How did it make you feel?

Calling All BlissChicks & Wild Women!

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

When I first started blogging in April 2008, I tried something like this, being too naive to realize that I needed to wait, have some patience...projects like this take a certain number of readers and you have to cultivate community.

So here I am...many readers later, thanks to all of you.

Once a month, I would like to announce a topic or a question.

Then I want YOU to write the answer -- and not in the comments.

I want YOU to submit your piece to Blisschick. I will link to your blogs when I post your pieces, and in this way, I hope we can expand this Community of Chicks, spread out this Bounty of Bliss.

Here are the Submission Guidelines:

1. Email me your piece: pinkyogi at gmail dot com

2. Include a picture if you want. Otherwise, I will supply a visual.

3. Write anything from a few sentences to 500 words.

4. Make sure I have all your links -- blog, etsy store, wherever you are out there.

For December ("due" by November 23):

What is the main difficulty you have encountered in trying to craft a life of bliss? What have you tried to do about this?

Go!

Write!

Email me!

The Formula for Experiencing Life Fully Lived

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Jamie Ridler asks us for today's Wishcasting Wednesday:

What do you wish to Experience?

At first this question seemed extra hard to me, because I am experiencing so much that is wonderful right now thanks to this Awakened Dancer journey that I am on.

But it is that very journey, I realize, that opens me to more experiences outside of Dance.

Awakening your essential nature allows you to expand that nature. Awakening your core gives you the strength you need to grow ever bigger.

Here's the formula:

Overcome Fear + Take Risk =
Experience the Excitement of Life Fully Lived

I overcame a multitude of fears (MULTITUDE) to take the risk of going away for a teacher training, and as a result, my life has gotten Shiny beyond my wildest dreams.

What other fears could I approach like this and what dreams might come true because of my Courage?

Here are just a few of the things I wish to Experience:

1. Overcoming my Fear of Flying.

If I were to risk flying, oh, the places I would go!

I could go back to Paris. Just writing that sentence made my heart leap.

I could visit a warm beach in the middle of winter. I could snorkel! I have only ever snorkeled once in my life and I would put it in my Top Ten Favorite Things to Do. But because of my fear of flying...how sad is that?

This list could get out of control, so I'll just stop there.

2. Overcoming my Fear of my Own Power.

This is huge.

If I could risk tasting the depths of my own power, I could have any life that I could dream up.

As Marianne Williamson says in a very famous quote, isn't that what we really fear? That we are bigger and more powerful than we ever could imagine?

3. Overcoming my Fear of the Spotlight.

If I could step into the spotlight, I could be who I truly am.

There are many reasons I have shied away from taking center stage -- metaphorically and literally.

But for me, the big reason is that I have bought into the idea that this is "Showing Off."

But what is "Showing Off" about using the skills you were born with?!

What fears could you overcome so that you could meet risks head on and experience excitement?

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

Dancing My Way into Trusting Life

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

I've mentioned briefly that there are a few ways I have known that dancing is my path, besides the utter joy and complete centeredness that it brings me.

First, I have thought for years about going to a Yoga Teacher Training, but I would always find some lame reason not to. As soon as dancing entered the equation, I signed up and went. There was fear, for sure, but not hesitation.

And second, with this dancing path that I am on, I feel no urgency. I have become happy with the process and abandoned my typical obsession with product.

I am learning to trust and have faith in my inner wisdom and vision.

Big stuff, that.

The other day, I realized -- another of those duh! moments -- that this comes from the practice of dance itself.

When I am dancing, I am totally in the Moment. I am my breath; I am my body; I am my soul. There is no separation. I just Am.

As I dance, there is no logical cognition going on. I am not thinking, "Well, for this beat, I think I should and wait! I have to count, and maybe..."

Nope. No "thinking," except for the thinking that naturally and spontaneously happens between my spirit and my muscles and my senses.

I just move. I breathe and I react. There is no pausing, no wondering, no second guessing.

I do not think about transitions from one move to the next. I just transition.

Ahhhh! Yes. Now I see.

That is life well lived.

Dancing truly is life.

Be in the now. React from your instincts. Be the beauty you love, as Rumi said.

See how the physical body can teach us all we need to know if we just pay attention? The physical body contains the map and the treasure.

What is your body trying to tell you, whether through pain or pleasure?

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

The Dancing Queen...of Heaven!

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:02:00 +0000

I've mentioned that I'm reading the newest Deepak Chopra book, and yesterday I was reading a section about perception.

Chopra talks about how opening ourselves up to the possibility of synchronicity and messages that we will begin to notice how often these things occur.

He also points out that you can just stay where you are and write this stuff off as coincidence or explain it away with "science." (Again, I put science in quotes, because science, like any system, is a metaphorical language attempting to explain the ultimately unexplainable.)

But staying in that place is cynical. (I am really simplifying here; read the book.)

In the end, like I've said before, I would rather be on the side of the freaks than the cynics. I mean, I would rather see meaning in everything than meaning in nothing.

At the very least, this is way more fun.

This morning, Marcy said to me, "That's what drug trips are often about -- altering perception, opening up your mind to other ways of seeing."

There is no illegal drug tripping going on in this house -- for goodness sake, I can barely take Advil -- but last night, accidentally, there was some of the legal kind.

I have been having a very difficult time getting a good night's sleep. I'm excited and wound up, so it's for good reason, but lack of sleep is still lack of sleep regardless of the Why.

So I caved last night and took a sleep aid. Oh, my...

I don't remember how I got here but...

I have this small, about 2 inch high, glow in the dark Mary on my bedside table. I adore kitsch and I especially adore extreme kitsch of the religious nature.

Marcy had reached over and turned out my lamp because the sleep aid was already kicking in.

I looked over at Mary and she was...dancing!

I sat up, and according to Marcy spent at least 20 minutes watching and talking about Mary dancing, until she finally got me to put the Mary on my pillow. I fell right to sleep.

But the dancing!

Marcy just fed the fantasy, saying things like "Maybe Mary is going to tell you something..."

So I waited. But she was only interested in boogieing.

Today, I felt totally embarrassed. I have never had such an experience.

Marcy pointed out that it wasn't embarrassing and why not, why not, see it as a wee bit more than just a drug induced hallucination?

Why not notice that she was dancing? Why not find some meaning in that?

Why not, indeed?

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

MysticBliss: All Saints

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Today is All Saints day. This day was instituted to celebrate all saints -- known and unknown.

I like that "unknown."

Saints walk amongst us every day.

I do not mean holy people who never do wrong. I mean those rare individuals who try to think outside the box, challenge their culture, walk their talk even when it is inconvenient.

I think of Dorothy Day, who fed so many and whose life work continues after her death.

I think of John Dear, still working hard for peace in a world that does not take peace seriously.

But I also think of "regular" men and women who are willing to follow their hearts and not the money.

"Regular" men and women who dare live their dreams at a time when people think the most important things are retirement plans and health insurance.

"Regular" men and women who pursue the vast expanse of Inner Space.

"Regular" men and women who live with joy and bliss and contentment in the face of a toxic fear that larger, earth bound forces would have us feed on.

Who has been a Saint in your life?

MusicBliss: Love, Love, Love

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

This man and his music is so Totally Cool that I am linking to this song even though the embedding was disabled and that annoys the heck out of me.

(Hello? Music Industry? The video is already free to watch on YouTube...ever heard of the power of blogging and social media to spread your product.) Excuse the rant.

And I've posted this before, but this Erie boy has so much soul. I could listen to him sing this every day. He needs to do more R & B.

(Besides the title seems appropriate for Halloween!)

Your Mind is a Troublemaker

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:55:00 +0000

Yesterday I had an amazing day.

I am slowly but surely increasing the time I spend every day either dancing or doing yoga. At Kripalu, I learned that my well of energy is much deeper than I have ever thought, and that diving into that well daily (rather than just sipping from it) makes me feel better on every level.

All of my fibromyalgia related pain just goes away. My mind becomes clear and I think better. My heart grows lighter.

I also had a breakthrough with my strength. Since I returned, lifting weights has been a real struggle. I haven't felt strong enough to do what I was doing before I left. (There are many reasons for this.)

But yesterday, about halfway through my first set, I realized I was smiling and that I just felt so in my body, so capable.

Yesterday evening, I was reading the newest book by Deepak Chopra and came across this idea:

It's your mind that started the trouble;
it's your body that will get you out of trouble...
your body lives in the moment...

Our minds categorize things, try to put things in boxes, create the concept of time and aging and all these abstracts that we use to hold ourselves back or down.

But our bodies...

Martha Graham is famous for saying that the body never lies.

We are spiritual beings having a physical experience.

I think a lot of people get stuck on the first half of that sentence.

There is a reason we are given this solid, physical form. It is to be experienced, to be lived through, to be expressed.

It is not just a vehicle for the soul. They are inseparable. When we (our minds!) try to separate the two, we get to a couple of dangerous places.

We either decide the body is to be transcended and then end up denying our human nature.

Or we decide the body is be our ruler and then end up denying our spiritual nature.

They are intertwined. Both/and.

When I fully inhabit my body...that is the only time I am fully inhabiting my mind, my heart, my soul, my life.

Are you denying an essential part of yourself, whether body or spirit?

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

The Habits of Depression

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Suffering from depression and anxiety for a large chunk of my life means that I have some very well-worn Mind Paths that my feet are quite comfortable walking. Really, these paths were custom made for my feet; they fit just right.

Overcoming depression and anxiety is about overcoming the habit of walking on those paths when even just a wee bit of a bad mood strikes.

As soon as my brain detects what is a normal dip in mood for most people, it switches on some connections that have been strengthened over time. It lights the way to those old Mind Paths.

It is cutting these connections -- obliterating them -- and allowing those Paths to become overgrown that is this life's work for me.

I have fought long and hard and I have, for the most part, defeated this ugly, smelly, gargantuan Monster who wants nothing more than to eat me and spit me out and start all over again.

Finding my essence as a dancer and living from that essence has given me the Winged Feet I needed to escape that Monster's clutches and fly free, off the path.

But alas, that Old Path still exists. I have not flown free long enough yet for my body and mind to completely forget where they are located.

Yesterday morning, I awoke from a night of bad dreams. Not the sort of nightmares that I used to have but dreams filled with enough fear and anxiety to leave a taste in my mouth even after a good tooth brushing.

I can't link you to any particular study but there is a preponderance of evidence that bad dreams create a bad day. Our brains aren't that great at differentiating between real life and our imaginations so our bodies end up thinking that, yes, we were running from bad guys and yes, we were hiding in dark and scary places.

I awoke with this mood festering in my body. The sky was gray and flat. I scowled at the weather.

The mood grew.

I tried to do some exercise but the sort that is purely "exercise" and that bores me.

The mood grew.

Finally, Marcy sat me down for a good talk, and I realized that my Depression is a habit that my mind has not quite gotten over.

I have to be more vigilant, more aware, more Awake than ever.

My life is finally sparkling and shiny and new; there is no way that I will allow those Monsters to lure me back to those bad habits.

Creating new habits is an important part of getting rid of the old.

Around 3, Marcy and I started working together on my YogaDance homework. I was sweating and dancing and focused. We worked for two and a half hours.

And I was new.

Those Monsters hate happy; they hate fulfilled; they hate Engaged.

Monsters die in the light. And my essence? It just happens to be made of the stuff.

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

WishCasting: A Frightening Treat

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

I would not wish for candy. I would not wish for sparkling shoes (though that WOULD be okay). I would not wish for a night on the town.

For Wishcasting today, Jamie asks us:

What treat would you wish for?

I would wish for the courage and the strength and all of the stars aligning just right so I could treat myself to a three week intensive of study at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.

It's not cheap, to say the least. And it could only happen if I work hard enough to get into true dancing fitness.

So this would be a treat on many levels.

I would be treating myself to living my dream at its frightening, challenging, and ultimately fulfilling edge. For the first time in my life.

What about you? What treat would you wish for? What treat would change your life?

(Photo & Text Credit: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

Tasting Possibility

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:40:00 +0000

While at Kripalu, I stayed in a dorm room with 6 other women, and only one of those women was not also in the YogaDance teacher training. She remarked toward the end of our week there that our daily schedule seemed more like boot camp than was typical of Kripalu.

We all laughed. It was a bit like that, but we loved it.

Each day, we started at 6:30 AM with an hour and a half of yoga. Our days didn't "end" until 9 PM (and I put end in quotes because then there was reading and I would blog and journal, etc.).

All day long, we were moving and sweating. Our teacher training was experiential -- learn by doing. Not much sitting on our duffs and talking.

I don't think I have ever felt so good in my life. The week was difficult and there were times when I didn't think I could dance one more minute, and yet from somewhere, the energy kept coming.

All of my trigger point areas in my back were just gone. No pain anywhere. (Besides a little of the muscle aching variety!) I was flexible first thing in the morning. My brain was clear. I was focused.

I have been home just over two weeks, and I am desperate to get this back.

I know that there are massive differences between my time at Kripalu and my home life. Obviously. I love my home life. And balance is important.

But I felt so damn fantastic! I don't think that feeling that good, that focused, that directed is a bad goal.

Today, I tried some kundalini yoga for my morning wake up call. It didn't work. This surprised me; I am a kundalini yoga girl, for goodness sake. What the?!

Every day, I experiment a wee bit more; I tweak; I consider; I play.

Perhaps by the time I am scheduled to return to Kripalu at the beginning of December, I'll have gotten into a rhythm. Just in time to get it out of wack again! ha!

(Text & Photo Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009, Kripalu Front)

Learning to Trust Process

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:59:00 +0000

One of the greatest lessons I am learning right now is how much it matters that you do what you were meant to do.

You say, "What!? Hasn't that been the point of Blisschick all along?"

Well, yes, it has been, but that doesn't mean I am any better at understanding it than anyone else.

I want to be clear here, though. I am learning this lesson on a whole new level.

Because, you see, until you do the thing you were meant to do, you can think you are getting it but you're not.

I love to write, yet it's not my Essential Self in the same way as Dancer, so with writing, it's always been about product.

Now I totally get what it means to love Process and not be that concerned at all with Product.

That doesn't mean that I am not still waking in the middle of the night and thinking to myself, "What the hell am I doing?"

It just means that now when I ask myself that, I respond, "Just be quiet. Trust. It's going to all work out as it's meant to."

And here's the real kicker: I believe myself.

Today, a Thomas Merton quote came into my Inbox that is perfect for where I have arrived:

"...today we are used to thinking that there are explanations for everything. But there is no explanation for most of what goes on in our own hearts, and we cannot account for it all. No use resorting to mental tranquilizers that even religious explanations sometimes offer. Faith must be deeper than that, rooted in the unknown and in the abyss of darkness that is the ground of our being. No use teasing the darkness to try to make answers grow out of it. But if we learn how to have a deep inner patience, things solve themselves, or God solves them if you prefer, but do not expect to see how. Just learn to wait, and do what you can and help other people." (From Merton, The Road to Joy)

And then shortly after reading that quote, I read this great post about simply doing what makes you feel strong and letting go of this silly idea that we can do, be good at everything.

And I breathe more deeply than I have ever breathed.

And I say thank you to the process.

I could spend days, weeks, years lamenting the fact that I ever stopped dancing to begin with, or I could trust that I have come to it in this way and at this time for a reason, and then just let it go and let it be.

If you gave into the thing you love the most, how would this change your relationship to the Process of Living?

(Photo & Text Copyright, Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

Bloggy Love!

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Recently, two wonderful Chicks have bestowed some bloggy love on me that took these two forms:

The first came from Terra over at Schmetterling Yoga.

The second from Ingrid at My Peacetree.

And to spread the love, here are some new (to me) blogs that you might like:

Jess over at The Remembering Place

Michelle over at The Devil Wears Prana

And Heather has jumped back over to her older blog, Fumbling for Words

Enjoy!

MusicBliss: DRUMS!

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Punk drums, to be specific.

Because I love them.

Because I can't help myself.

Risking Comfort

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:07:00 +0000

This is a group shot of all the women in my Kripalu YogaDance teacher training, part one. It felt like an auspicious day to post it, because I just finished signing up for part two, which will run from December 6th through the 11th. At the end of that week, we graduate!

(I am in the back, standing row, wearing white.)

When I signed up for this class, it was a risk -- a risk to my complacent comfort.

I still wonder what drove me to finally do it. I had thought for many years of going to a Yoga teacher training, and I always backed out.

Dance being a component of this training obviously helped drive me forward.

Yet I wonder what gives people the courage to risk?

While there, I took risks daily. Some part of me had decided that to do this, I was going to go full out. No stopping. No standing on the side lines.

I did things that week, pushed boundaries, without hesitation.

The real lesson will come when I am doing that on a daily basis in my "real" life.

Finally Awake Enough to Know My Exhaustion

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

The work of being back in my body continues...

I used to say -- and with a laugh! -- "You could cut off my body and my head would never notice!"

So many years of sadness and depression and stress and anxiety and fear had effectively turned me into a Walking Intellect with little access to What Was Happening in My Body.

I would go all day without peeing and then wonder why I was in pain.

I would forget to eat or eat on automatic pilot.

I barely slept due to nightmares.

I wonder, sometimes, how I have made it this far in relatively good health.

All along, I have been trying to "fix" myself through the intellect too. I have read enough, I again joke, to qualify for my PhD in Psychology -- or perhaps one in religion or mythology. I have been looking on dusty library shelves for answers since I was about twelve.

Fifteen years ago, meeting Marcy was the first part of my physical awakening. Soon after, I found yoga.

But only since I have rediscovered Dance -- not even six months ago -- has the real body healing begun.

I was loving Marcy and our life together and our animals and doing yoga still from that familiar and safe feeling place of Gray Matter.

As soon as I put on those Capezios, something big happened. I felt lighter, more joyful, less...mired down by Gunk.

Then the week away at YogaDance teacher training truly broke me open.

The Awakening that began with Marcy and our life seems to have come to some Critical Point at Kripalu.

It was a bit like my soul -- wandering lost for so long -- saw that my body was once again loved and warm and comfortable and decided to drop by. Literally. I know the moment it happened even.

While doing a Dance Prayer, My Soul -- that thing with feathers -- fluttered over my head, the place where all my fear and sad has resided. Seeing the crack in me, the crack through which all those emotions I had hidden from were shining, leaking out...seeing that crack in as opportunity, She came back home to me.

My Diamond Center.

My Bleeding Heart.

Whatever traditional image you want to use, I am a New Person.

And it turns out, I am an Exhausted Person.

I have written about this a bit before, but now it finally feels Real and makes sense to me.

My whole life has been about the power of Will and pushing through. I have worked from a base of Tired on everything from the mundane tasks of daily life to getting an M.A. in English to writing this blog.

It has all simply felt like Work that Needed to Be, Had to Be Done.

I have never felt refreshed.

But when I dance, I feel myself shedding that Exhaustion.

I know this will take time and it will take Extreme Care and Awareness.

But Finally, Finally, I am awake enough to know my Exhaustion. I am Awake enough to finally Wake Up.

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009, Cafe at Kripalu)

SharedBliss: Troubadours of Divine Bliss

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

These two women are so amazing that I want to just immediately give them the floor. You can print this interview out, and you'd have a Free Guide to Bliss.

You can find their website here, their facebook here, and their myspace here. (DO take a listen; I think you will love!)

Hang on for the ride!

Describe the components of your Bliss Path: the things/activities/structures that help you to be brave and choose bliss every day.

Our Bliss Path is one that begins upon waking. So many of us awaken with a feeling of dread, with a to-do-list, with an alarm that startles us out of our dreams and into our jobs without a moment of pause for our purpose.

One of our morning rituals is to take that pause to consciously set intention for the day, so that we can segue from our dreams into daydreams. This time can be during the "snooze' many of us take or just a moment pause before putting our feet on the floor. For us, it is just a moment to ask the Great Spirit for Guidance, to offer up gratitude for another day to serve, to commit to honor the process (when anything feels like work), and to trust that each person, place & thing that crosses our paths in this day is not a coincidence but rather an opportunity to engage. We strive to live that bliss consciousness throughout each day.

In choosing to live a bliss filled life, what sacrifices or choices have you had to make that have been particularly difficult? Are there sacrifices or choices coming up in the near future?

The Universe wants to unroll the red carpet to us...we simply need to take some steps. We let go of many material needs and possessions. We have less, so we need to work less. We live in a small cabin without running water but we feel as if we live like Queens! It is necessary that we live simply and sometimes that feels like a sacrifice but truly it is a choice.

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe
will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude,
poverty will not be poverty,
nor weakness weakness.
~Henry David Thoreau

Our mantra is "FREE YOUR DREAM"...that means to remove the barriers and blockades to Following Your Bliss and set your dream free! The only reason we do not all live a bliss filled life is that sometimes credence is given to the things that take us on a detour from the path and keep us in bondage from our bliss. These things can be relationships, debt, things, jobs, addiction, and anything that feeds fear and not love.

Everything we possess that is not necessary
for life or happiness becomes a burden,
and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it.
~Robert Brault

Debt, for instance, is that thing that keeps us playing the lottery in hopes that "if" we win we can do what we've always dreamed we would do. If we eliminate our debt by making choices that feed the dream rather than feed our material need, we truly do win!

When we made the choice to become Troubadours, we realized that we could not fulfill our dream to travel around encouraging other people to free their dreams if we did not commit to setting our dream free. We don't buy things we really don't need; we don't have cable/satellite TV; we buy most things at thrift stores,we try to keep everything very simple. So, we began to make choices that sometimes felt like sacrifice, but when we took those steps the Universe truly rolled out the red carpet to us and always provided for every need and taken care of us!

“The sacrifice which causes sorrow
to the doer of the sacrifice is no sacrifice.
Real sacrifice lightens the mind of the doer
and gives him a sense of peace and joy.
The Buddha gave up the pleasures of life
because they had become painful to him.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

Describe your ideal, bliss-filled day.

The ingredients are just knowing that we wake up with another opportunity to engage & embrace this life. Just feeling the deep peace of walking our path and living our purpose. Not being a "paint-by-number" set with a plan of what the ingredients would be in the picture perfect day but being an open canvas ready to be brushed and colored by the Great Artist's hand. A day filled with deep prayers for peace and love within and for every being. A day with service to the heart needs of others at a crossroads. It would include time to take action for re-membering the circle - so we initiated www.MightyKindness.org that brings together and strengthens all of the goodness being done for our community. The day would hold laughter, dancing, music, a visit to the gardens to prepare a healing meal, and end in each others arms as we dream of flying!

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire
to improve the world and a desire
to enjoy the world. This makes it hard
to plan the day."
~ E. B. White

Each day is like a surprise party...all we have to do is show up, be fascinated & celebrate. Life is a cosmic cocktail of bliss & joy...just be an empty vessel in which the spirit may pour, add bliss & stir.

Do you have a daily spiritual practice that gives you the strength to live your own path?

Our favorite ritual each day is the time we take to do devotions. We choose to do this in the morning, but the time is not important - it is just taking the time that is important. It is when we read from the books that will remain dogeared passages in our hearts. It is when we listen to music that splashes like a wave in side our souls. It is when we talk and walk in our garden, which is truly just a metaphor for the garden of our spirits, and remember to root deep, tend to the weeds, remember the seed, and stretch toward the light to grow...stretching in long stretches in silence.

Some presents/presence to open from RUMI...these remembrances give us the strength to live our path...

Invite beauty and gratitude…

“Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

Invite the present moment…

“Keep walking
Though there’s no place to get to.
Don’t try to see through the distances.
That’s not for human beings.
Move within
but don’t move
The way that fear makes you move.”

Invite silence…

“There is a channel between voice and presence,
A way where information flows.
In disciplined silence the channel opens.
With wandering talk, it closes.”

Invite flow…

“…Your hand opens and closes, and opens and closes.
If it were always a fist or always stretched open
you would be paralyzed.
Your deepest presence
is in every small contraction and expansion,
the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated
as bird wings.”

How does your relationship to your body affect your bliss?

We truly believe that our bodies are a temple. Our bodies are evidence of our spiritual condition, so what we put into our bodies and how we feel about our bodies manifests in our spirits. If we take things that are negative into or onto our bodies physically and mentally, they manifest as sickness, as depression, and as poor self image.

We must take it easy on our selves by setting realistic and measurable goals, we must confront thinking distortions, by identifying childhood labels, and by stopping comparing ourselves to others. Don't let anything or anyone dilute your bliss.

If we are feeding our our spirit positive things, it manifests as bliss.

It is vital that we do not let our bodies/self image be one of the barricades to our bliss.

We do this by developing our strengths, learning to love ourselves, giving ourselves positive affirmations, remembering that we are unique, remembering to laugh & smile, and by realizing how far we have come.

Self-image is not permanently fixed. Part of our self-image is dynamic and changing. We can learn to develop a healthier and more accurate view of ourselves, thus changing the distortions in the mirror. Self-image change is a process occurring over a lifetime. A healthy self-image starts with learning to accept and love ourselves.

Was there a specific moment (or moments) in your life when you decided to break out of the cage and fly free, as we like to say in the land of Wild Women?

We wild women are Troubadours of Divine Bliss. We met 24 years ago in a spirit-filled, holy rollin', charismatic church where Renee's Dad was the Pastor & Aim Me's Dad was a Deacon. As the Hatfield & Mc Coy's of the Pentecostal world, Aim Me's Dad ended up kicking Renee's Dad out of the pulpit.

We lost faith in religion & gained faith in the Spirit, and like Thelma & Louise, we headed for the cliff of surrender. It felt WILD but it felt wonderful!

In 1995, we had the WILD WISH of being Troubadours of Divine Bliss, Street Performers who travel around encouraging Revolution of the Spirit & Courage of the Heart. Renee had a dream she was playing an Accordion, so she got one. Aim Me learned two chords on the Guitar & Bliss was born.

We followed our destiny to the streets of New Orleans where (wrapped in battery-operated Christmas lights) we debuted as Christmas Carolers in 1995 on the corner of Royal & Toulouse in the Big Easy. Since then we have traveled all over the U.S., Canada & Europe Freeing our Dream and embracing life in pure delight...our WILD WISH keeps coming true!!!

What gives you a sense of your Wild Woman self? What helps you to become less tame? Take risks? Put your concept of self on the line and challenge your boundaries?

Simply put, if we remember all the people and things that have told us you can't do it, you won't do it, you're not good enough, you don't have what it takes, you'll fail, you'll never make it...then ask ourselves if we want to be "THAT" person stopping ourselves and the answer is always "NO"! Nothing will make us escape the lion tamer and run quicker. Nothing will make us cut that tether and soar higher. Nothing will keeping us from beating our wings against the cage faster until the door breaks open and we fly free! We hold the key to the cage we're locked inside. Why would anyone imprison themsleves? Once you've tasted just a sip of unfettered freedom and peace, it seems impossible to go back. You become the moth drawn to the flame of true living.

NEVER be the one to dismiss your bliss!

What is the Wildest Thing you have ever done? What Wild Thing would you like to do? What is your Wildest Wish?

In 1998, we decided to take our bliss to street perform in Europe. So, with only $100.00, no set shows, one-way tickets, and fearless hearts, we flew off to Europe. The universe honored us being brave, and we backpacked through Europe for 6 months touring 6 countries singing our bliss on the streets, in homes, village concerts, schools, clubs, and festivals all along the way.

Wild Wishes = Being Brave + Following your Heart

Our wildest wish is that everyone would be at peace, follow their bliss and that this life would be the big circle of celebration that has been offered to us.

What advice would you give to women who are still trapped by fear and expectation and feelings of obligation? How would you advise that they set their Blissfully Wild selves free?

Embrace Life in Pure Delight...that is BLISS! Be fascinated more than fearful. Be expectant rather than have expectations.

Remember that you ARE the master of your fate, the Captain of your Soul- YOU are steering the ship. Sit in stillness and nurture yourself the way you would your newborn baby. Women are so good at caring for others but not themselves. Feed yourself Love. Feed your heart peace. Feed your mind postive thoughts and bliss fool visions. Seize every moment as an opportunity to re-create your Life, your Self. Be so tender when you fall, as you would a child, and lovingly scoop yourself up saying,"It's alright. You're going to be OK. I'll take care of you." Then run right back out to play! Surround yourself with healing, loving inspiring people and take time to sit in silence.

Be a wonderfully wild woman who plays every part & let's every part play. For a metaphor for this, please watch this "I Love Lucy" clip...it's the one where she's stomping the grapes.

It's such a great metaphor for dancing in the vat of this life when things seem a little squishy, icky, too much & too hot to handle. Watch how she trudges through it at first & then starts dancing & being goofy. Watch how her face changes from ewwwwwww to aha. Feel blissfully reminded to weave some more "Lucy" moments into this life!

All of these moments are like grapes fermenting in the vat of our spirit. Life is just that thing between that is poured from the bottle into the glass. We get to choose from which bottle we pour. Drink from the wine that moves you...the one that makes you dance, smile & make silly faces, the one that makes you intoxicated with Spirit.

"The cup wants to be lifted and used, not broken but carried carefully to the next. The cup knows there is a state for you beyond this one that comes with more vast awareness. The cup looks still but acts in secret to help. Sometimes you pour cup to cup, nothing happens. Pour instead into your deep ocean self, without calculation".--rumi

The juice of this time is just fermenting in your cask & it will pour a wine so divine we'll all be drunk & dancing with all of you Wild Women.

Oh, look, you've got something squishy between your toes...hmmmm, evidence of BLISS;-)

You are worthy to be loved and love abundantly. You are worthy to forgive and be forgiven. You are worthy to hold the Kingdom of Heaven within.

Be brave, hold your head up high, your Spirit's high enough to reach the sky.

May we all awaken to Love and never dismiss our bliss,
your troubadours of divine bliss

Duh...It is in the Doing

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Having been lucky enough to have rediscovered my core, my center, my essence in dance, and having been lucky enough to go to part one of YogaDance teacher training where I was seen, witnessed, and affirmed in that, I come home to an Old Me that is achingly transforming into the Real Me.

A very good friend of ours referred to my transformation as a "Transfiguration," and I love the body reference inside that word. I also love that it has a much more spiritual feel on the tongue and that it makes me think of the brilliance of the Sun.

Along with this high and mighty transfiguration, though, is the reality of one WhineyChick. One ResistantChick. One PainInMyAssChick, to put a fine point on it.

Take what happened this past Sunday as one small example.

I was sent home with homework to tackle in between our part one training and the part two to come at the beginning of December. This homework includes practice teaching. We were each given a CD of music that we will then use as our example teach in December.

Being the perfectionist I am, and knowing myself in terms of "performance," I knew I did not want to over-practice that CD. I don't even want to work on it until late November so that it feels "fresh" in December.

This means that for my initial practice teaches, I need to make my own music playlist. An hours worth of music.

No big, right?

Wrong!

Oh, the drama! The angst! The gut wrenching! The cries of "I can't do it! There's too much choice! Where do I start?"

Poor Marcy, you are thinking, and you are right.

She tried to help by compiling suggestions, but that wasn't right either.

Eventually, we found ourselves working together and succeeding in creating a truly masterful, seamless list. (We both LOVE music and know it well.)

We had so much fun. Of course we did. This is fun. This is my life's calling. This is my Heart's Deepest Love.

A lesson Marcy tried to tell me became so clear that day:

It is in the Doing that I find myself, that I remember myself, that I am myself.

It is in the Doing that it all makes sense.

It is in the Doing, after all, that we live.

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, www.blisschick.net, 2009, Chair at Kripalu)

Flying through Storm Fronts of Fear

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:03:00 +0000

I am going through so much change right now, experiencing so much growing pain, that my skin aches.

I have overcome a lot in this life, and I have felt fairly proud of myself for my emotional accomplishments in particular. Beating severe depression and anxiety is not something that everyone manages. And I say that with compassion because I have no idea why or how I have been one of the lucky ones.

That seemed like enough to me, whether I was consciously admitting it or not. My internal Story went something like this:

I have had a hard time. I have come from great sadness. I now have love and happiness. I should not expect any more. It is okay for me to just settle in and ride it out from here.

But now...oh, now...

Now it seems, I am also getting to become the person I was meant to be.

I have never known such hard work -- and this coming from a girl who overcame the thought that she might live to her middle thirties and would be sad until then.

To face all of my fears, to step out of a comfortable nest, to spread wings I had never used before and hope beyond all hope that they would work.

To find that they work and then to find that all the weather is not clear. There are storms still to navigate.

What keeps me going is those moments when I fly above all the weather and see the bright sun and the blue sky and the expanse that I know now is my birthright.

But, wow, the pain of that. Totally unexpected.

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, www.blisschick.net, 2009, Storm above Berkshires)

MysticBliss: Wild Woman Brooks Hall

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

This past Friday, mere hours before I was to leave Kripalu and head home, I got to meet, (too) briefly, with Brooks Hall of the blog, Yogic Muse.

Now, if I have any instincts about Brooks, she will be slightly uncomfortable with the fact that I have posted about her on MysticBliss day and she will wonder if she really qualifies as a Wild Woman.

But that is for me to decide (ha!), and I decide Yes!

Brooks is fearless in her excavation of the Self through Yoga. She shines light where most dare not look.

During her week at Kripalu, she wrote some insightful pieces, including this one on repressed anger.

She also happens to be a good writer. Check her out if you never have.

And thanks, Brooks, for asking to meet. It was the perfect ending to my week -- communing with a Kindred Soul.

MusicBliss: Pink Martini's Diversity

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Pink Martini is a big band/jazz ensemble out of Portland, which describes itself as a group of Music Archaeologists. (OH! And they have a new CD coming out this month!)

They do pieces from all over the world and they are consummate musicians. Amazing, really. Marcy and I have had the privilege of seeing them live -- twice.

To show their diversity, first:

And second:

The Unexpected Bliss of Goddess Leonie Allan

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

This week, my Inner Introvert needs some serious down time and rest, so I have the honor of presenting a series of guest bloggers writing about Unexpected Bliss.

Last but not least during this wonderful week of writing by wonderful women, I am proud to post the ponderings (excuse the alliterations) of the Gorgeous Goddess Leonie. You may recall, she was interviewed by me here. Here website and all her goodness can be found here.

Just like the swoops and curves of our journeys, bliss has its own way and time of appearing in our lives.

My love and I have always believed that no matter what happens, Great Spirit is guiding it, giving us whatever blessings and lessons we need at the time. Some days, our intuition speaks to us, telling us the movements that are about to be born into our lives. Other days, life is a beautiful mystery, giving us its own sensual unveiling in its soft, slow time.

I did think, however, that I would know immediately when a new soul decided to make its way into my womb. Being as sensitive to my body’s energies as I am, I thought for sure I would know when something new came through. In the first month of “trying” (but we didn’t call it trying - we called it WAHOO! NO CONTRACEPTIONS! THIS IS FUN!), I thought for sure I was pregnant. The way my hand rested softly over my belly, the presence of a new, soft, singing child spirit around me. And then the feeling left, and weeks later, my moontime came. We shrugged softly, and gave the experience to grace. All things, in their own perfect time.

The next month, when my moontime came, I asked my beloved when we should begin to worry. His answer, in that beautiful sage way of his was:

All in its own time... we don’t need to worry...

I went home and visited my family’s farm. We made a bush rock labyrinth in a field by a river. In the centre, we placed a large healing amethyst crystal. I bathed in the sea. When I returned, back to my love and our little cottage, I stopped eating wheat, sensing it didn’t help my sweet ovaries do their beautiful work. I received energy healings from my favourite healer, Hiro Boga. And we kept on living our beautiful, precious lives, with as much joy, gratitude, and grace as we could stand.

A month later, my love & I were eating vegetarian kebabs at our favourite table at our favourite place. And I was giggling, telling him my moontime was late, but I definitely, definitely wasn’t pregnant. I would have known if I was! And as we ate, I felt a bit nauseous, and I thought “Well isn’t that funny!” And I giggled again, and told my love that I was nauseous, but definitely, definitely wasn’t pregnant.

I will definitely know when I am pregnant! I don’t feel pregnant! I’m happy just to wait for my moontime to come again!

And he smiled, and his eyes crinkled around the edges, and there was a little light in his eyes.

That look was more telling than any pregnancy test.

Well my love... my guides told me a couple of weeks ago that we were going to expect a child soon... maybe it’s time for a pregnancy test.

And he took my breath away in that moment. We got a pregnancy test (“Just for fun!” I told myself! “I’ll know when I’m pregnant!”). And as I sat in the bathroom, two blue marks instantly appeared, as if by magic.

And tears swum to my eyes.

My child is coming... it really is coming...

And my love grinned and cried.

We are three months and one day pregnant today.

And like all the most beautiful lessons and blessings in our life... our child came through as my own unexpected bliss. In the seven weeks since that day eating kebabs, our child has already been my teacher: that sometimes we won’t know it all, and mostly, we don’t need to. That the greatest blisses are usually unexpected, and are carried by the winds of change, sitting softly on the wings of Great Spirit.

Great Spirit gives just what we need, just when we need it.

All in its own soft, sweet, sacred time.