BlissChick

Are Yoga Clothes Making You Lazy?

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

I have these super comfy capri yoga pants. I have two pair of them, actually. They are supposed to be for yoga and now for dance, but I have been wearing them...all...the...time.

And I have noticed something about these pants: They make me lazy.

They are too comfortable, too much like pajamas.

How sad is that!?

I have this vision of my essential, Wild Woman, eccentric Self: She is walking down the street having been at a dance class or a yoga class as a student or a teacher; she is carrying a wonderful bag filled with symbolic sorts of things.

(What would be in your bag?)

In this vision, I am very fit, and I wear yoga clothes at all times. You know -- the flowy pant, the fitted top with something flowy over that, the casual but chic shoes, a bit of jewelry, my hair messily and stylishly thrown up atop my head.

So I buy these capris and I think, cool, time to manifest this particular visual. I won't have to change three times a day or more for the different activities I do, so not only am I cute (ha!) but I am also uber-efficient.

Not.

Yoga clothes, for me, it turns out, are great for yoga, but they make me lazy in the other parts of my day.

They make me feel too casual.

I put on a skirt -- nothing fancy but a summery sort of skirt -- and I find myself gettin' back to business. I write more; I work on other projects.

And before you think this is trivial, let me tell you about the founder of the Shambhala lineage of Buddhism, Chogyam Trungpa who wrote the classic Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior.

He thought dressing more formally was a tool and that people in the West were getting too informal. He believed this would lead to a lack of discipline and a sloppiness in relations.

Yep. Smart guy.

So...sigh...the yoga pants have to wait for the yoga.

How about you?

Does how you dress affect your work, your mission in life, your bliss?

Do you harbor a secret vision of yourself that includes a style of clothing?

What would your Wild Woman self wear if she could wear anything?

A Reminder: Are you participating in the Wild Woman poster contest? The due date is fast approaching!

(Photo & Text Credit: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009, Rodin at Cleveland Museum of Art)

Do You Need to Be Less Serious?

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:03:00 +0000

The roof line of the Cleveland building pictured above is not very practical, but there is a spontaneous beauty and joy and playfulness to it that immediately pleases the eye and makes the heart flutter at the daring of the architect.

These qualities can sometimes be lacking in our day to day lives as we get caught up in details and to-do lists and goals.

Spontaneous beauty and joy and playfulness, though, are as essential to the human heart as is a good workout.

To return to the Sci-Fi geekiness of our little Lilypad, Marcy and I mostly watch shows like Star Trek -- all the different variations.

As we watch, we are constantly giggling about how much I am a bit like a Klingon and a Vulcan at times.

Like a Klingon, I can be a bit territorial, protective, and grouchy -- but in the endearing way of Worf. And like a Vulcan, I have been known to say, along the lines of Tuvok, not everyone prizes the concept of fun as highly as humans.

But as I open up to parts of me previously shut down, as I dance and sketch, I become lighter and I can feel that human playfulness trying to reassert itself.

Blogging has been a huge contributor to this opening. Being an introvert, blogging has been an amazing way for me to develop some very deep friendships.

This Friday, one of those blogging friends will materialize right before my eyes, as Lisa of Nerdy Renegade News is coming for a few nights visit from Dayton, Ohio.

The old me, the more Vulcan-Klingon me, would never have done this. I would never have had a (physical) stranger come to stay at our house.

But this is the more evolved, playful me.

And I wish for more of this.

I wish for more playfulness.

I wish for more risk taking adventure.

I wish for more openness and softening of my protective shell.

(Join Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday right here.)

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

Reading Stephen Cope: What Are You Starved For?

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

There is a story that my family used to tell about me that was supposed to be funny. (How many of these do we all have?)

It goes something like this:

I was almost three years old. (Still a baby, remember.) And I was so cute, but I was also so very pudgy. Pudgy (strong) little legs and a belly that was proud of itself.

One night after dinner, we had cupcakes, and as I reached for my second, which I guess was normal, I was told no. I was now on a diet. I pouted and looked angry.

Isn't that funny?

And thus the beginning of my Love/Hate relationship with food, but more detrimentally, my Love/Hate relationship with this body.

This body that wants the second cupcake. How dare it?

This body that likes to be a bit soft. How dare it?

This body that has always been so strong and so flexible but not quite thin enough.

How dare it?

When the subject of Hungry Ghosts came up in this recent chapter of Stephen Cope's The Wisdom of Yoga, I knew we'd have a lot to talk about here on Blisschick.

Now forget that specific story of my love of cupcakes, because really, there is nothing at all wrong with that.

Move forward to my teens and to my twenties and even into my thirties...

Look at how much I hate my body. Look at how much I go up and down, chunky to too skinny, over-exercising, under eating, a little bit of vomiting here and there.

Does that sound familiar to you, at all?

What was really going on?

Only with years of yoga and journaling and praying could I come to know those cravings for what they really were, of course. It is obvious when you are outside the craving, isn't it?

I crave love and acceptance. A love and acceptance that I never received, because I simply was not enough or was too much.

At three years, I knew this. I was taught this (and yes, the lessons continued and got much more...directed).

I will always and forever struggle with my relationship to food, but thanks to yoga and journaling and prayer, I see it for what it is: a manifestation of my sadness and anger.

Here are some questions for you:

What do you regularly crave but deny yourself? This can be food, clothes, shoes, books, retreats, whatever...

Why do you deny yourself? Watch your Self: are you operating from abundance or scarcity, health or control?

What do you get from the denial? How does it make you feel? Do you feel righteous, indignant...how old do you feel?

Do you remember the first time you felt this way? Recall the circumstances and the emotions in as much detail as you can.

You might be interested in our previous conversations about body image issues.

(Image: Botticelli at the Cleveland Museum of Art) (Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back is Still Moving!

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Things have been wonderful around here at the Lilypad. A lot of creativity and self discovery and giggling and Star Trek (yes, we are geeks).

Since I got my dancing shoes, I've been renewed and reconnected in ways I did not imagine possible even just two months ago.

And then this introvert committed a grave error: she totally over-scheduled herself.

Now, do not misunderstand me: every single thing we did within a few days last week was worth the time. That is never the question. Not really. We are pretty careful about how we expend our energy.

But it was too many very high energy activities and not enough down time, not enough Marcy and Christine time, not enough just stare at the sky time.

The good part of this, of course, is that every time I do it, I decrease the likelihood of it happening as badly or as often. I learn something new. I notice something new.

This time it is helping me, for example, to figure out that there are some projects that I have committed to that are not deserving of that commitment. I have limited personal energy and so I must use it wisely.

And today, I was supposed to be writing about the next chapter of Stephen Cope's The Wisdom of Yoga, but those posts take a lot of thinking. I don't have any extra brain space right now and so am writing about what is immediately on my mind instead. In the past, I would have just pushed through. Not good.

Which brings me to some questions for you:

What are the red flags in your life when you are beginning to step backwards?

When you notice these read flags, what do you do about them?

What is your favorite and most effective form of regeneration?

(Photo & Text Copyright: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009, Rodin, Cleveland Museum of Art)

MysticBliss: Merton on Creating Self Identity

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny. We are free beings... This means to say that we should not passively exist, but actively participate in His creative freedom, in our own lives, and in the lives of others, by choosing the truth. To put it better, we are even called to share with God the work of creating the truth of our identity. To work out our own identity in God... is a labor that requires sacrifice and anguish, risk and many tears. It demands close attention to reality at every moment, and great fidelity to God as He reveals Himself, obscurely, in the mystery of each new situation.

--Thomas Merton. New Seeds of Contemplation

(Photo Credit: Christine C. Reed, Lily, 2009)

A Little Bit of MusicBliss

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Music is food for this Chick's soul and imagination. Unless it is a beautiful summer day that is quiet and birdsong is the only sound outside, we have music on in this Lilypad.

If you are relatively new to Blisschick, you will not remember but this chick posted a link to some new-to-her music every. single. day. That started to take too much time, and so I decided I would just post new music once in a while. A little treat. So here we are.

Marcy and I are always on a quest for new music. Lately, we've been relying on Pandora to do some of this searching for us.

And I have a new favorite "station," based on Bitter:Sweet.

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

enCouragingBliss: Homage to Twelve

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

It was at the age of twelve that I began the process of taking my creative self and hiding her away...

There is much made of recent studies that show that girls around twelve years old start to ignore and do poorly in the subjects of math and science, but I think perhaps there is something deeper and darker going on that has little to do with specific educational subjects and more to do with Self and Identity.

At this age, of course, girls go through a biologically predetermined Rite of Passage. We are lucky. Many men complain of a lack of Rites of Passage* in contemporary culture, but we have no choice.

(*I have spoken to many men and read a lot about this; they do not see their version of puberty as powerful like ours. They feel there is no real external validation of their change from boy to man.)

At a certain age, girls change -- fundamentally.

And the way the world treats us and perceives us changes too, and then, perhaps most destructive of all, we change how we treat and perceive ourselves.

We start wearing masks and trying to blend in by not being too much, too loud, too pretty, too ugly, too fat, too thin, too smart, too creative, too different.

No "too" allowed.

Who were you before this moment happened? Are you lucky enough to still resemble that more essential self, or are you like the majority of us...still trying to find your way back?

Before the age of twelve, I sang and danced and drew and painted and wrote and created and twirled.

My life was not easy. It was often loud and scary, but I still had a strong sense that that had nothing to do with me. That I was my own person. That I had other things to do besides participate in my parents' continuous dramas. That I would be okay because I had all these things.

At the age of twelve, something clicked and none of those things seemed like anything I could share anymore.

I started dancing and singing only in my attic-like space next to the bedroom. I moved all of my art supplies in there. I rarely brought any of this out of that space.

I became my own Madwoman in the Attic. (A literary link for those of you interested in theory.)

This was a coping mechanism. As it was and is for most girls. We are protecting the most tender parts of ourselves.

The problem is that, over time and even as we leave dangerous places, we stay in those attics and we slowly die from a lack of sunlight and fresh air.

Of course, this is where all the talk of Eccentricity Revolutions for Wild Women comes in on Blisschick.

About two days ago, I got an email referring to the poster contest. It was from a reader named Jennifer, who knew it was not a Wild Woman Manifesto poster, per say, but that it was something she needed to share.

It was about her own struggle.

And it happened to be about herself at twelve. This was something I'd been thinking about before that email, so I knew that if I was thinking about it and getting an email about it, that it must somehow be in the air right now.

Here is the piece of art Jennifer had made and shared with me and below it is some of her email, which she very generously is letting me reprint.

This is a page from my "journal of self-discovery," based on an article I saw in Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine a few months ago.

I've used a photo of myself at, what I consider to be, my most perfect---12 years old.

This scan is of a simple page, but one of my favorites. It depicts me as the original 12 year old, which I figure is where "it all went wrong", and where I had to start from. I had to send all the love I have to that young girl to begin to heal who I am now.

Was 12 (or some age close to that) where it all went wrong for you? How did it go wrong?

Could you create an Homage to that young girl like Jennifer did to start the healing?

Will you share her with us? We will love her and respect her and give her what she never got.

We will be her community of Wild WomenGirls.

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

Wild Woman Poster Contest Reminder

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

Are you planning on submitting a poster to the Eccentricity Revolution for Wild Women poster contest?

The deadline is Tuesday, July 21st!

Go here for details about how to participate.

And remember: The poster must include the 14 points of the Manifesto found at the bottom of this post.

If you know anyone who might be interested, please pass this around!

Top 10 Spiritual Movies

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Marcy and I love movies. Really. Love. Movies.

And I am not a movie snob. I love eye candy and adventure and silly comedy...all of it.

My criteria: There must be a plot. This seems minor and yet so many films do not have a plot. Not a real one that serves a purpose, that has some complexity, that is not predictable.

Another criteria: The dialogue must sound real. God. How many great actors have we watched recently just struggling to get the dialogue out of their mouths because the writers didn't give them anything to work with? It's embarrassing.

Recently, I was asked what my top ten spiritual films would be. (This is in response to a Skribit suggestion. Remember, you can suggest topics for Blisschick using the Skribit widget to the right.)

Sure, movies like What the Bleep Do We Know and Heal Your Life are decent little flicks. But they aren't real movies.

No. They aren't. They are informational, educational. And they do the job they set out to do very well.

But they are not an absorbing experience that transports you to a different time or place. They do not transport your imagination.

To make this list, I simply thought of the movies that inspired me deeply, movies that I want to watch over and over, movies that teach us something about the human spirit.

That is what a truly spiritual film should do. It should be more than a movie -- it should be art.

Here they are:

1. Kundun. This movie just happens to be about the Dalai Lama, but it is the stark beauty of it, the music, the journey that make it spiritual.

2. Amelie. The colors! And this film teaches us a bit about our connections. To say the least.

3. Frida. Again, the music alone is worth it. There is not much I can say about Frida. You just have to watch it if you haven't.

4. V for Vendetta. Okay. Wow. There is a scene in this film when Natalie Portman is having her head shaved and she is frightened. For this scene alone, she should have been given TEN oscars. Seriously. I have never seen such a naked and honest portrayal of deep fear in my entire life. Then, to top that off, there is a scene that follows her release (I won't say any more) and she is standing under the rain and all of life makes sense and it's all beautiful and I defy you not to cry.

5. Hero. A martial arts film. That may turn people off right off the bat. But it is the most stunning film in terms of cinematography probably ever made. Truly. You must watch it to believe it.

6. Strictly Ballroom. A movie full of love and persistence and spirit and dreams. A movie to fill your heart with the good stuff.

7. Edward Scissorhands. Yep. A remake of Frankenstein. A movie about our small mindedness.

8. Chocolat. The movie and the book are quite different and both are worth your time.

9. Lars & the Real Girl. This movie was overshadowed by Juno and it shouldn't have been. It is so much the better film in every way. This movie is about love and acceptance and our definitions of normal and community. I wish I could make everyone watch this.

10. Lord of the Rings. Sci-Fi, as I have said before, is often where all the really serious and big questions are being asked. Who are we? Why do we exist? What is our place in this Universe? We, being the geeks we are, own the extended length trilogy and watch it over and over and get something new each time.

What are your most inspirational and spiritual films?

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

The Many Splendid Gifts of...Pain?

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

After I uploaded the above photo (of a new and lovely lily in our backyard), I realized that my lower back and left ribs were getting pretty sore. Even as little as one month ago, I would have ignored this and just kept working, pushing through, pushing myself, pushing my body. Pushing.

But not any more. This time, I listened to this obvious and very loud signal from my body. I got up from the computer -- GASP! -- and went downstairs for a brief but effective water and yoga and cat kissing break.

This is one of the gifts of my recent pain: a paying attention to myself that I have never bothered with before.

It has taken a lot, though, for my body to get my attention. Poor body!

I have suffered from lower back pain and a million other varieties of pain pretty much all my life. This is the physical evidence of early life abuse -- written upon this body in volumes.

Taken as normal, I have just worked through, around, and with it.

Yet, I know the power of my will and mind: I have gotten rid of migraines and depression without the aid of allopathic medicine.

Allopathic medicine would diagnose my pains and troubles as Fibromyalgia. Does this help me? To have a diagnosis? At first, I thought no, I don't need that. (I am also stubborn and hate labeling myself like this, afraid I will become the label.) But recently, I've come to learn that the diagnosis can lend a level of respect to how I care for myself.

My lower back pain has recently gotten extra bad. I also have other classic Fibro sites of pain: ribs and sternum.

Allowing myself this diagnosis has led to discovering muscle trigger points and how much the massage of these specific points can help me to heal.

So, ironically, pain has taught me to respect my body more than any amount of flexibility and stamina and trim thighs ever has in the past.

What else has pain taught me?

I need regular periods of rest. I know, I know, this should be obvious, basic human knowledge, but how many of us ignore it? Rest...away from the computer. Breathing in fresh air. Listening to the birds. Watching the birds. Petting a cat. Cuddling in the evening. Staring at the moon. Rest.

On the other end of that scale, I need regular periods of movement. Again, this should be obvious, but how many of us drown in computer land every day, never bothering to come up for air. And when I say movement, I mean MOVEMENT. I start my day, pretty regularly, with a bike ride to get the blood flowing to the limbs and the gray matter. I take walks, little mini yoga breaks during the day. Then late afternoon, every day, I either dance my ass off or do some serious Kundalini yoga. MOVE MOVE MOVE.

My pain is always better during this kind of movement and it lasts for a while...until I am called to move again.

I must listen to my body. I can do just about any yoga you put in front of me. I am flexible and strong. But that does not mean that I should do any yoga put in front of me. I am learning to really listen during my practice. My body is very clear about what it wants and needs. I just usually ignore it.

Water is the Elixir of the Gods.

Good food is more important than the "right food." Suzie the foodie recently posted about Food Elitism, and she is onto something. All these rules?! What are they really for? Are they for our health, really, or is something else going on?

Because I'll tell you something really important I have learned: my body knows what it needs in terms of nutrients and sometimes, a lot of times, it's not politically correct.

Also, there is a nutrient called JOY that a lot of us are missing by imposing so many rules.

The new rule is that there are no rules. How about that?

Posture counts! Sitting all scrunched up at the computer? Pain. Sitting on a sofa that is too soft? Pain. Standing with your head jutted forward? Pain. There is a great posture primer on this Ravi and Ana DVD. Very Alexander technique and I am learning so much from these few minutes.

My moods really do affect my pain. I am recognizing that if I hold in anxiety or any kind of anger, it makes my stomach hurt. Yep, never noticed that before.

What about you? Has pain ever taught you anything splendid?

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

How Do You Refill Your Creative Well?

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I have begun to sketch again. This seems to be the result of my reintegrating my dancer self into my creative life's matrix, if you will.

As soon as I started to dance again, other things were immediately popping up, including this desire to sketch -- and the disappearance of my angst about it, which is the larger gift, I think.

All of a sudden this very Wild Woman is living in a way that her younger self would recognize.

This makes me very happy.

I have had, for a long time, a sneaking suspicion that various forms of my younger self would be disappointed in how limited my creativity had become, how, well, controlled and tamed.

(Remember, if you want to challenge your Wild Woman, one way to do so is to submit a poster to the Eccentricity Revolution Poster Contest. For details, go here.)

But just as this sketching thing is happening (and it's happening for others as well), Marcy and I have the opportunity to accompany our dear and delightful friend Miss Kitty to Cleveland tomorrow to go to the Museum of Art, which has recently expanded.

Viewing art in person is a major way that I refill my creative well. It totally gets the juices flowing. I will have to take a decent sized bag so that I might have my camera along and a notebook because the ideas are sure to come.

One of the first times I realized that visual art was this important to me was through reading a magazine. I turned the page and there she was. This Brancusi literally took my breath away. I gasped. (And I have now seen her in person -- a few times.)

This gasping was a hint, actually.

Years later, I gasped in the same way when I entered the pottery studio of St. John's University in Minnesota. My pulse raced.

I still have not taken a pottery class, but now that I am giving into my Wild Woman, perhaps it is next on the list.

How about you?

What do you do to honor your Wild Woman?

What do you do to refill your creative well when it is dangerously low?

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

Reading Stephen Cope: Tapping into Bliss

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

It is not an exaggeration for me to say that without yoga I would never have completed a novel.

It is also not an exaggeration for me to say that without yoga I would never have begun a novel -- much less stuck with the process, had the patience, displayed the perseverance necessary to reaching the stage I am now at.

I have been doing various types of yoga for about 12 years now.

Besides helping me develop into the prose writer I want to be, it has opened the doorway through which I walk to find poems -- those wild and elusive creatures that can hang from trees just as easily as show up under the couch.

Yoga has helped me also to recover from chronic depression and anxiety. It has helped me to find a pathway to peace and beyond -- to, dare I say, happiness.

Recently, I rediscovered dancing, and this also would not have happened without yoga.

Just this past weekend, two other miracles in my book: I have begun to sketch again, and the lyrics for a song came to me while I was drifting into a lovely nap. I have not written lyrics (as opposed to poems) since I was twenty-two, and they are quite welcome in this house, thank you very much.

What is all of this about?

It's about the fruits of the practice of stillness. Whether you want to access this stillness through meditation or through asana, the fruits are the same.

We finally get to a place where we can clearly hear ourselves. Call this what you will -- God, the Universe, our own Divinity. We can hear it clearly only when we stand in the eye of the storm that is our thoughts, this loud culture, expectations, obligations, whatever it is making all the noise.

As Cope talks about, we are layered. Think of this for yourself in an individual, micro way or as a metaphor for the whole of this existence in a collective, macro way. Either way, it's the same thing.

We are layered, and "underlying it all is the ananda-maya-kosah, or sheath of bliss -- the subtle, interior blueprint upon which all human psycho-mental structures are built."

The Sheath of Bliss.

The blueprint upon which you and I and all of this is built.

Think of this as your binary coding, in which lies the essence of who you are.

Tap into this and you eventually come to the sweetest result of all -- how to stand up off the mat or the cushion and live your essence minute to minute, sweet action to sweet action, moment to moment.

Tap into this and you realize how inane, how trivial, how silly most of our desires really are when compared to the deepest desire of all -- to express ourselves as we truly are while we are in this physical manifestation. Each of us a unique expression wanting to only express that fact.

Tap into this and you realize why material gains always feel empty after a short while.

It is in the action of expressing our unique selves, in the process (as usual), that we are the conduits through which bliss enters this world.

Funny enough, my next small purchase to support this burgeoning, awakening, wild, eccentric, unique self that is only me? Tap shoes, of course.

(Photo: Handmade Gelato at Barbara's, Erie; Photo & Text Credit: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009)

MysticBliss: Before We Know

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

“The real miracle of individuation and reclamation of the Wild Woman is that we all begin the process before we are ready, before we are strong enough, before we know enough; we begin a dialogue with thoughts and feelings that both tickle and thunder within us. We respond before we know how to speak the language, before we know all the answers, and before we know exactly to whom we are speaking.”

--Clarissa Pinkola Estes, of course!

(Photo Credit: Christine C. Reed, Baby Catbirds, 2009)

MysticBliss: Taking Flight

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Sometimes the most mystical thing we can do is laugh our arses off:

enCouragingBliss: Again, Who Would You Be?

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

When someone whom you've just met asks you: "What do you do?" -- what is your response?

Most likely, if you are an American, your answer will be your job title. But there are cultures for whom this would be their last response. Yes. It's true. They might say that they are a parent or that they love to read or sail or that they garden or write poems.

(Some of us are lucky, of course, and we spend our days making a living by doing things that express our very essence. I'm not necessarily talking to you!)

So it came as no surprise to me when I last wrote about this idea of who you would be if no one had ever told you who you are that a lot of people ended up talking about jobs.

Answering this question can, eventually, lead to a different work life. But it starts at a much more basic place than that and I think it's worth revisiting.

This is about internal chatter, toxic tapes that play over and over, gremlins, divas that take up all the space and suck the oxygen right out of our ideas and dreams.

For me, this Blisschick, "you are lazy" is a core belief I hold about myself. No matter the lists and lists of evidence that I and others could construct to prove this wrong, it is still there, waiting for a moment when I'm not paying attention to ruin my party.

This means that my question is: "Who would I be, what would my life look like, if no one had ever told me I was essentially a lazy human being?"

The opposite is not always the answer.

Meaning, I do not necessarily replace "I am lazy" with "I am Super Woman of Productivity." Instead, the key here is to erase the lazy tape and replace it with "I am fine and happy the way I am."

Period. And it's probably the "answer" that we are all looking for.

Being fine and happy just the way we are.

So for enCouragingBliss this week, I ask you, what core belief about yourself did someone else teach you and can you let it go to just be fine and happy?

Dig Deep. Be Brave. Choose Bliss.

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

BlissQuest: Can You Really Let Go? And Should You?

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

We all have those memories that when they surface, we cringe. Sometimes it's out of embarrassment, yes, but sometimes it's a cringe of regret, a what-if?, a why did I do that?

If we dwell with these memories for too long, we become trapped by them. We are stuck in questions that can never be answered.

How do we let go of regret, a feeling that we've made bad choices, shame*, even embarrassment? This is a question from a Skribit suggestion. (You can suggest topics to blisschick using the widget to the right.)

(*A Caveat About Shame: In this piece, I am speaking of shame we feel about actions that arise from choices we make. There is a deeper and darker shame that comes from abuse. I am not speaking to that here.)

As a chick working hard to live her bliss path, this idea of regret gets to the heart of the matter. Every day, we must make choices about how we live and then we must live with those choices.

Deciding to make choices that are in line with your beliefs and your integrity and your dreams is what living your bliss is all about. We must make a commitment to ourselves to only make choices that are of the highest caliber.

This is how you get to the end of the day, the end of the week, and the end of your life without regrets. This should be the goal -- not the releasing of regrets but the not taking on of regret.

Perhaps we are awakening right now and making these bliss affirming choices, but perhaps we have not been so good about it in the past. What then?

Excuse my Geek, but...

Marcy and I were watching a Star Trek Voyager the other night. In it Seven of Nine, a recovering Borg (drone) who did many bad things in her past, is lamenting the fact that she feels badly, ashamed, about some recent decisions. She fears she is, once again, losing her humanity.

The Doctor (ironically a hologram) tells her (and I am paraphrasing), "But feeling badly, feeling ashamed is your humanity. These are good things. You will not make the same mistakes again because of these feelings."

Exactly.

So perhaps letting go completely of these feelings is not a good thing. Perhaps we really do have them for a reason.

You should not beat yourself up for them. They are done, in the past, but you can own the bad decisions by deciding never to make the same mistake twice.

What do you think?

Are there things you regret that are weighing you down?

Why are you holding onto the regret? What do you get out of holding onto it?

What would happen if you simply decided not to make the same mistake twice?

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

Nurturing Excitement

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Today, Jamie's Wishcasting Wednesday prompt is What do you wish to Nurture?

For a very long time and for very good reason, my main goal in life has been to nurture peace and calm.

When you don't have these things as a child, they feel imperative as an adult. They are imperative as an adult, actually, if you want to grow beyond what you were raised with. (So many people just continue the pain and the drama, thinking it "normal.")

I have succeeded on this front. When people come to Marcy's and my home, for example, they tell us later that it felt like a sanctuary, that there is peace here, and love and beauty.

But lately I have begun to realize that I have gone a bit too far with this.

I have created Safety -- rather than simply peace and calm.

Safety is good. We should all feel safe. But the thing is, I am safe. There is no need for me to grasp it, reach for more of it.

Safety of the sort of which I speak begins to deaden us. I do not try new things. I do not go new places.

Not anymore!

As you know, I have signed up for Yoga Dance training at Kripalu in the fall. This is a huge deal for me. I will be traveling there by myself. I have been having anxiety about this and then the other day I noticed something.

I wasn't having anxiety -- No. I was excited!

These two things can feel very much alike, and for someone used to one, the sudden uprising of the other can be quite startling! We don't necessarily notice.

But I did. So that's what I wish to Nurture: Excitement about this life I have created. Excitement about adventures to come. Excitement about my work. Excitement about projects.

Excitement, even, about taking risks.

Are you allowing the excitement of life to be overridden with concerns of safety or a sense of obligation to the extreme? What could you do to get your excitement back?

(Remember: One Exciting Thing you could do is participate in the Wild Woman poster contest!)

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

Calling All Wild Woman Artists!

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0000

So I have this idea and I need some help from you visual artists out there -- and I know there are so many of you!

I'm not just talking to those of you who make money with your art. Yes, you are included -- some of you are some of my favorite artists -- besides Marcy, of course!

I'm also talking to those of you who haven't given yourself permission to say you are "artists." Now is the time. Time for you to come out to yourself and the rest of the world -- or at least, this tiny piece of the world.

It is my dream to turn the Eccentricity Revolution for Wild Women manifesto into a downloadable poster so that women can hang them up on their refrigerators, over their computers, in their yoga rooms, at their jobs, wherever they need a reminder of their true selves.

But I am not a visual artist of this kind.

That's where you come in. Yes, you!

I will take submissions until Tuesday, July 21st. You have three weeks to work on this.

Just send a JPEG image to pinkyogi at gmail dot com.

After I have collected the images, we will put it to the vote. All pieces will be loaded anonymously and the readership of Blisschick will pick their favorite.

The winner will receive a copy of Clarissa Pinkola Estes' Women who Run with the Wolves, but if she already owns that, we'll come up with something else.

Here are the rules:

1. You may submit as many images as you like.

2. The poster must contain all 14 points of the Manifesto.

3. The poster must be able to fit an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper and still be readable.

4. The poster must be Wild, Fun, Expressive, Colorful, and Inspirational!

5. The poster may be generated in any way you see fit -- photography, paints, digital, whatever!

6. At the bottom, the poster must be copyrighted to www.blisschick.net and yourself.

The winning poster will be made available for free.

How about it? Are you ready to play?

I double dog dare you!

(Photo Credit: Christine C. Reed, Lilly Passed Out Mid Run, 2009)

Reading Stephen Cope: Unitive Experience & the Wild Woman in You

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

As you all know, my new black capezio dance shoes came a few days ago. The very next day, I really started to break them in. For close to an hour (my stamina needs to be rebuilt!), I danced!

And I danced! I mean, really danced. With no one to see me, I pushed myself, took risks, let go. There was no thinking, just doing. All my joint pain was just gone. All my anxiety was out the window. I was completely absorbed in this action, in this moment, in this music, in these senses.

I was mindless, I would have said many years ago. Of course, what I really was trying to say is that I was completely mindful.

After reading chapter four of Stephen Cope's The Wisdom of Yoga, I now understand dance to be, for me, a very powerful unitive experience and thus its importance -- its utter necessity -- in my life.

Cope writes: When all of our mental faculties become involved in the task at hand, action and awareness are drawn together. The mind becomes one-pointed. Distractions fade away. The pressure of time fades....There is no more reaching. Why bother looking elsewhere? Paradise is right here.

When I am dancing, there is nothing else.

But this unitive experience, for me, is not limited to dance.

And we cannot think that this is limited to moments on the mat or on the meditation cushion either. Actually, those moments are intended to be "practice" for the rest of our lives.

It is in the doing -- the fully doing -- of those activities that we were sent here to do that we fully become ourselves and become united with the larger universe or spirit.

I had a profound experience of this after an acting class in college where I presented my final monologue, which left the room full of students crying and my teacher, a professional theatre actress, breathless. When I left that room, the colors of the leaves on the trees, the sky -- it was all exploding in neons. Everything sparkled. I felt whole and totally open at the same time.

I had a profound experience of this when I was snorkeling in the Caribbean. I had no concept of where I was or how or if time were passing. All I knew was that I had dissolved into the Ocean and become one with the salty waters.

I had a profound experience of this when sitting on our back porch typing away at the last chapters of my novel, which seemed as if it had taken me over, was pouring through me.

It is in the doing...

Another tradition has much the same to say as Yoga in regards to Paradise.

In the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, Christ says: The kingdom is inside you and it is outside you...when you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living (god). But if you do no know yourselves, then you dwell in poverty, and you are poverty.

Because this is what all of this is about, isn't it? Knowing ourselves and living from that knowing.

I recently have invited you to join an Eccentricity Revolution for Wild Women.

This is not just some flippant attempt to get us all wearing glitter and singing too loudly in public. (Though that would be just fine...)

This is about becoming who you were meant to be so that you might experience bliss -- or your own divinity which is infinite in each moment.

Knowing yourself, you will then have more of these unitive experiences and some day you may realize that your whole life is one big unitive experience and that there is no longer any need for a meditation cushion because your life is your meditation.

Think back. What moments can you identify as unitive experiences? What were you doing?

Why aren't you doing it now?

(Photo Credit, Christine C. Reed, Upper Lobby, Warner Theatre, Erie, PA, 2009)

MysticBliss: Gandhi on Spiritual Experience

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0000

It may be that there are as many nuanced perceptions of Mary as there are people engaged with her spiritual presence. Perhaps, as Gandhi surmised, everyone has his or her own religion. He was not advocating a solipsistic dissolution of collective faith but meant only that everyone, no matter how orthodox or "by the book," necessarily experiences spiritual teachings in a unique way.

--from Missing Mary by Charlene Spretnak

(Photo Credit: Christine C. Reed, Hydrangea, 2009)

Sharing the Love

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Thank you to Everyday Revelry, The Analyst, and City Girl Lifestyle for the blog love!

"Apparently this award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

I'd like to pass this along to Rebecca over at A Difference a Year Makes and Graciel over at Evenstar Art.

Also, a big thanks to Natually Jules for her blog love; she gave this to me about a week ago and with so much going on, I didn't mention it in a timely manner. (oops)

And this one goes to Claudia over at Olivos Art Studio and Earth Mother at In The Raw.

enCouragingBliss: One Small Gift for Yourself

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0000

I received the box in the above photo Thursday afternoon from the UPS man (or the BrownTruck, as we like to call it -- all one word).

I have not held a box of this sort since I was probably twenty years old. I forgot that it was so small and thin, so smooth, containing so much promise. (I am very tactile, if you can't tell.)

What was in the box? I am sure many of you know...

My first pair of brand new black Capezio ballet flats in twenty years! Woot! I am so totally and utterly geeked about this.

You see, this magical pair of shoes cost a mere 30 dollars, and yet as a symbol, they are worth so much more.

Even before I found and signed up for the YogaDance training, I had decided to take my dancing self much more seriously. As a sign of my commitment, I ordered this pair of shoes.

These shoes are a symbol that I am freeing the Wild Woman in me, the Creative Bird who wants to fly higher and faster.

Now they are not just a sign of my commitment to this idea of me, but they are also a sign of that training and how I am preparing for it -- not just emotionally but also physically, of course.

All for thirty dollars!

So...here is the challenge for this week's enCouragingBliss:

What small thing, what inexpensive gift could you get for yourself that would act as a symbol of your commitment to freeing your Inner Wild Woman?

What little something -- when you saw it or used it -- would remind you that you are a member of Eccentricity Revolution.

Come on...Do tell! Then go out and get it.

Make that commitment. Make it tangible.

(Photo Credits: Christine C. Reed, Shoes!, 2009)

Michael Jackson Was Not a "Celebrity"

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:46:00 +0000

I remember it so clearly: the first time I heard the Thriller album. I was in my aunt and uncle's basement and the adults were playing pool.

My Uncle loved music and he insisted that everyone listen.

"This kid is amazing. Really!"

And though everyone quickly went back to their game, I was enraptured. I knew he was right.

I scanned and read and reread the liner notes of that album, stared at the cover photo, looking for some explanation of what sounded like genius to my 14 year old ears. My body desperately wanted to dance but I was too shy and so just sat and listened, amazed.

The music of Michael Jackson -- from the time he was small -- was different, and it changed music. Maybe not in a serious Philip Glass sort of way, but not everyone has to be serious or Philip Glass. There is genius in fun, in joy, in what seems, on the surface, to be "simple."

But that wasn't enough. Micheal's body changed our lives, too. Gene Kelly is reported to have said that there was no other person on the planet creating unique dance besides Micheal Jackson.

Again, from the time he was small, you couldn't keep your eyes off of him. No matter how many people were around him, he was all there was.

And now look around -- look at the music and the dance being made even now and I dare you to find anything that is in not some way connected to or derivative of Michael Jackson.

No, he was not a "Celebrity." A Celebrity is someone who whores themselves but has no actual skill for which they should be admired -- like the current reality television "stars."

Michael Jackson was Famous -- and for good reason.

Michael Jackson was famous because he did something that no one else could do, and for that, he earned and deserved our admiration and our accolades.

Michael Jackson, it seems, never found peace in this life; I pray that he finds it in the next.

An Overview of All the Chakras

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

As you probably know, I am a big proponent of Kundalini Yoga; you could even call me a "Pusher."

I have been doing yoga for about 14 years. I started with Iyengar and was pretty obsessed with Pose Perfection. I have dabbled in many schools of yoga, but I feel most at home in Kundalini. I've been with Kundalini now for about 7 years, and it has been a happy and healthy union.

(If you are new to Kundalini yoga, I have an amazon widget with some of my favorite books and DVD's for the beginner.)

The YogaDance training I will be attending at Kripalu (I got my confirmation of my space!) is also, I think, going to feel very like home to me. It is yoga; it is dance, yes, but it is also based on the Chakras.

I have been studying the chakras for as long as Kundalini Yoga, if not longer.

(For a great book that synthesizes the concepts of the Chakras along with the concepts underlying the seven deadly sins, read Matthew Fox's Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh.)

Last August and September here on Blisschick, I ran a series of posts about each of the chakras that include questions so you might explore each energy center.

And recently, someone used Skribit to suggest that I write about the chakras. I thought a good answer to this suggestion would just be the bringing together of these posts. So here they are, in order from the "bottom" up:

Chakra One: How Strong Is Your Sense of Self?

Chakra Two: Is Creativity Flowing Into Your Life?

Chakra Three: Navel Power Fuels Your Life

Chakra Four: Harmony of the Heart

Chakra Five: Let Your Voice Be Heard

Chakra Six: Awakening Your Intuition & Being True to Yourself

Chakra Seven: How Connected Are You?

Chakra Eight: How Bright is Your Radiance?

Categorizing only eight chakras is an oversimplification, to say the least, but it's also just a great place to start without getting overwhelmed.

Have fun exploring and let me know if there's anything specific that comes up that you might like to see me delve into further.

(Photo Credit: Christine C. Reed, Summer's First Lily, 2009)

Savouring Versus Going Through the Motions

pinkyogi@gmail.com (Christine Claire Reed) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:11:00 +0000

I do well with routine. In this house, the Lilypad, we refer to me as a "Schedule Cat." When my schedule is off, I am off. This includes bed time, feedings, all of it.

It also includes my creativity and the flow of my day.

But like any life, there is the danger of getting in a rut, not really paying attention, just going through the motions.

I get to the point where I am doing yoga at 4 P.M., because I am scheduled to do yoga at 4 P.M.

For Wishcasting Wednesday today, Jamie asks us What Do You Wish to Savour? (We will retain the English/Canadian spelling because we like it!)

Savouring is just another word for being mindful.

When you eat a really good meal, a large part of the reason that it is good -- besides the excellent cooking -- is that you are paying attention. You are just eating. You are probably not also watching television. You are chewing and noticing you are chewing, as Thich Nhat Hanh would say. There is a good chance you are rolling your eyes up into your head and making little groaning sounds.

I wish to savour my creative life with this level of focused, sensual mindfulness.

When I am writing, I don't want to just have the end in mind. The finished product.

There is so much about writing to savour. I want to notice the play of my mind and how much I am in the zone when that happens. I have a beautiful pen, an old typewriter, a great computer, an orange writing room with a window overlooking the street, music floating in and around the room...

There is so much to savour.

There is so much about yoga to savour. I want to notice the efficiency of my body, the stretch of my muscles, the sound of my own breath. The way it can feel like all thinking stops. Those wonderful times when I am chanting and it feels like my mind is as large as the sky...

There is so much to savour.

I wish to savour the moment of conceiving new ideas and scritch-scratching them down on my pink legal pads

I wish to savour this quiet life that makes poetry possible so that I might catch words as they fly over my head.

I wish to savour the privilege of sitting here, listening to the clickity-clack of the trimming shears as Marcy works in the yard, and writing for so many thoughtful, generous, and kind hearted readers.

I wish to savour this life.

How about you? What do you wish to savour?

(Photo Credit: Christine C. Reed, Clematis, 2009)