The Game On Diet

So there looks to be a new diet craze that is poised to be another check-out-line topic of conversation... the Game On Diet. I'm feeling a little torn about it, but am mostly happy with the concept. Check out my article from this morning here.

In other news, I'm off tomorrow! Yessss! That means I can enjoy the first Santa Monica Pier concert of the summer tonight and not have to have 6:00am coffee tomorrow to remain fully functioning at work :)

I'm very excited.

In other news, nope, still haven't made a vlog yet because my mic still isn't working. In truth, that is because I haven't looked at it again. Too mad. I need some time to cool down, I may say things to my laptop that I'd regret. Not good for any relationship.

Happy Thurfriday!

Technical Difficulties

Today's blog was actually supposed to be the link to a new vlog.

Didya know that? That I was a vlogger, before I was a blogger?

Well, I was. Then blogging took over my world and I haven't made a video in 9 months (oops).

So I recorded the whole thing, feeling very proud and capable, now that I'm back on the horse and all, then when I opened it to edit, I found....

dumdumdummmmm

No sound.

None.

So I tried to do a quick Skype to see if the sound was just for that one recording program...

Nope.

It's all jacked up.

So now I'm on a troubleshooting mission.

Anyone know about fixing a built-in mic on a Dell? (doubt it, but if you do, let me know!!!)

So now I'm frustrated. Slightly snarling, not gonna lie.

Perhaps tomorrow.....

Today's whiteboard quote:
"You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself into one."
~Henry David Thoreau

Pick Your Poison

On any given day, any one of us may feel a little doldrumy. No, that's not necessarily a word, but it is now as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway.

I'll go off of the assumption here that most of us would not rather be in a bad mood. And of course, those of us who would aren't consciously aware of it - why would anyone ever choose to be glum?

Er, it comes from habit, but that's for another post.

I'm also not talking about sweet melancholy - that emotion when, in a healthy balance combined with all of the other colors that make up our fluid states of being, creates a gorgeous, complex and ever-changing mandala of life experience.

There isn't a thing in the world wrong with some healthy melancholy. In my experience (I am very well versed from years of practice), when in a temporary context, it can be enjoyed as a way of slowing down. If it's really acknowledged and accepted as a valid emotion (rather than immediately suppressed, also from habit and a cultural belief that anything other that a smiling face is "bad"), it coats the world before your eyes in a sort of delicate veil, making the light burn differently and giving credence to the sensuousness of curling up in a warm blanket for a quiet contemplative time, just for yourself. Janet Luhrs even touches on this type of melancholy in relationships, mainly as a way of accepting your lover's moods using the lens of unconditional love rather that being stuck within the constraints of expectations, in her book Simple Loving - a must read for all of us who are pursuing the ever-elusive "perfect relationship".

But I've digressed again. The original point of this post was to talk about choosing to be joyful - or if that's too big a stretch, choosing to adopt a relaxed and accepting "go-with-the-flow" attitude.

Today's trick for doing that is to think back on some of your most proud achievements, or even just your ultimately lucky moments.

If you ever won a contest that you gave your all for, or created a truly beautiful piece of art, or aced the interview and got that perfect job you were wanting, or finally got up the courage to start a relationship with the person you'd been admiring from afar...

It doesn't matter if by now the contest winnings have come and gone, or if the art is sold or just doesn't hold that sparkle for you anymore, or if you've moved on from the job or the lover.

Do you remember how you felt when you got the news and you felt those mind-fireworks that, with their little explosions, brought waves of joy, satisfaction, and pride?

Do you remember how great you felt, knowing that you'd achieved something that you had been working for, whether the reward was expected or not? Remember that sense of self-confidence that surged within you because you'd proven that you could achieve that thing that you'd been reaching and grasping for?

Revel in that memory for a moment. Swim in the feeling, let it permeate your body and mind.

Now, return to the present. No matter how under-the-emotional-weather you're feeling, or how much that old goal has lost its luster once it was achieved, remember that you did it.

You still did that thing that made you so proud and happy - you still have all of those qualities that were affirmed to you by reaching your goal.

That's who you are.

All that has changed are your thoughts.

Just think - if you could monitor and choose the internal winds that drive you, what you'd be capable of....

Now, what are your goals for the day?

Today's whiteboard quote:

"In life, you can never do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Car Dancing

"Climb up, over the top,
Survey the state of the soul.
You've got to find out for yourself
Whether or not you're truly trying.
Why not?
Give it a shot- Shake it, take control...
Inevitably wind up finding for yourself
All the strength you have inside, still rising...."

Lyrics from an old Jason Mraz CD (genius!) that had me singing along while stuck in traffic, gazing at downtown LA, whose buildings looked as if they were made of mother-of-pearl as a result of the smog this morning.

Why not, indeed?

True, it is a Monday. However, I had a fantastical weekend, actually got a full night's sleep last night (for a change), and am now ready to light up my jet packs this week.

What are the goals on the current list?

1) To get my doggonit website up and running (been in the works for months, yes, I'm aware...)
2) Finish revising my DQP (all of the procrastination I didn't do for the original submission has returned in force and set up camp in my noggin this time around)
3) Send in the rest of the forms to the State for my L.L.C. (I'm now a company owner....there's just something so awesomely wrong about that)
4) Practice Reiki (it's more about setting up and taking down the table than it is about the rest of the process....but someone may as well benefit. Yes, it'll probably be T.)

As for this weekend, T (the below pic is pre-haircut) and I spent our Saturday in Santa Monica with buddies of ours,

(yay for new sunglasses. What is it about seeing the world through

newly purchased and unscratched shaded vision that makes one so happy?)

...followed by the best part, midnight vegan nachos, courtesy of B.

Today's whiteboard quote:
"The cyclone derives its powers from a calm center. So does a person." ~Peale

Shore

It's been a rough week. TGIF has never been more heartfelt as it echoed through my mind this morning, just as an unladylike four-letter word echoed through my quiet room right after the alarm began to sound...

At times like these, when there's an internal conflict involving trepidation and stress, and when thinking about the problem doesn't make it better, but only attacking it proactively would, but you're too exhausted and confused to even formulate a plan, much less do anything about it, I have a practice that always helps.

It's simple, but more difficult than you may automatically think.

The effect is also simple - it's as if you've placed your mind and your point of perceiving (your Self with a capital S) into a stream. It's almost as if your mind is washed with cool, clear, moving water and you begin to feel refreshed and renewed. It's subtle though, and usually takes a couple of hours to take effect.

For me, it takes less than an hour to start to make me feel better. It takes longer to finish. Roughly a day.

The trick I use is to stretch out to the edges of my skin.

It sounds funny, I know.

And it also doesn't work well at all if I'm in physical pain of any kind.

But, when the pain and fatigue is mental (it also works nicely if you're a bit physically tired), this does the job nicely.

I put all of my attention on two of my five senses. The main one is touch. I really feel everything that I touch. My fingertips tingle with aliveness. My spine straightens and becomes stronger and more graceful with the attention I'm giving it. My jaw relaxes and my eyes become more alert. That's when the second sense kicks in - sight. And not just everything, but how colors and shapes and light are in the world around me.

This is more subtle, again, I envision it as stretching out within myself and inhabiting only the edges of my body. I think most of us usually feel buried in here somewhere. Spending time noticing things you don't ordinarily take account of is freeing. For instance, I'm typing right now. How often do I notice what these keys feel like under my fingers? Not as often as I should.

How often do I notice, really notice, the cool breeze against my cheeks as I walk outside? Or feel my keys as they jangle in my hand? We're used to the meaning of it all (I pay attention to WHAT I'm typing, not just the ACT of typing), rather than the feel of doing it. Once you learn how to wield a fork and knife as a child it's as if your hand disappears. You're not aware of its action, only of what you want to happen because of it - you darned well know where those fork prongs are, but where is your pinkie finger? As I sit and type this, I honestly can't tell you where the heck it lies when I use silverware.

And on and on.

After awhile what I've found is that my body takes over and feels the pure joy in just living that tends to get buried under the 'in-your-head'ness of it all....and that visceral joy commandeers your attention and emotion, so you can't help dancing just a little too.

On the inside, of course.

And like I said, it's subtle.

But just for kicks, try it. Give it a go. Tell me what happens.

Today's whiteboard quote:
"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."
~Andre Gide

Weekend Bliss and Caffeine A'Comin

Today is Thursday. And what does that awesome fact infer?
Oh yes, that tomorrow is Friday.
Which means the weekend.

It had been awhile since I'd textually danced, filled with bliss for my love of weekend anticipation.

What do I have planned, you ask?

Nothing.

And that fact in itself is nothing short of delicious.

I'm very excited, can you tell?

I'm also excited because a couple of days ago I got my very first moolah for writing - that means I'm actually a professional writer now, and can call myself such....at least that's what they tell me :) I got a chapter in a book published some time last fall, but who knows if it's been printed yet (or even if it will be, considering that this was before the economic slump). Besides, if there aren't any funds, I don't consider it pro. Even now, I don't really consider myself professional because I won't believe that until I'm making a sizable chunk of my monthly income from writing - if it don't pay the bills, it don't count as professional....to me, at least.

All this one paid for was my new lovely coffeemaker that I ordered from Overstock (love that site!) on Tuesday:But wait, I don't drink caffeine...often.

However, the Santa Monica pier concerts start next week. If we go, it will be cutting a bigger piece of my REM cyclage out than I'm comfortable with. As in, miserable Fridays from sleep deprivation. I love them, though, and so does T - even more than me, in fact.

I made him this deal.

I'll go to the concerts with him every Thursday night if he'll get up pre-dawn with me every Friday morning and make me coffee :)

I think that sounds fair.

On that note, here's today's whiteboard quote:
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."
~Goethe

Now get busy!

Snippet

Today's whiteboard quote:
"Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." ~Albert Einstein

That's about as much as I'll post today - it's a busy one, and that quote is gonna help me more than ever with my outlook, whew!

Oh, and this (a pic of M from our shoot a couple of weeks ago):