As you know, I have not added any ads to this blog. If I am going to participate in shameless commerce, it has to at least be for something I believe in and Artella is most definitely one of those creative companies that I can really get behind.
So in full disclosure, I do get a commission on anything you buy at Artella, if you click through my blog. Check out the site and see if you like anything - it's so crafty and inspiring!
I just had the wonderful opportunity to read Jo Carson's book Spider Speculations: A Physics & Biophysics of Storytelling to review for the Arts & Healing Network.
This is a book about many things including synchronicity and interestingly, before I received this book (or knew anything about it) I had a dream in which someone (some part of myself) had just published a book called Loving You: The Physics of Loving Yourself & Others. This dream has lead me on a whole new journey of learning how to truly love myself, and Jo Carson's book weaves beautifully into that path. What we feel has a big impact on our energy and this can heal even the deepest and most brutal of hurts.
When I worked with all the "bad" things in my life and asked, What is the root of this problem? I always came back to a lack of love and respect for myself. So my prayer became simple - How do I love myself?, which has already transformed my life in astonishing ways. It is impossible to describe in words, but in a nutshell, I have a new attitude about myself and my life. When I make choices with love for myself, I make the best, most healing choice, for me and for others.
Contrary to what our American culture teaches, making choices out of authentic love and respect for ourselves in not selfish, because there is no way to authentically love ourselves without loving others as well. It's impossible not to, because when it comes to love there are no boundaries. I am you and you are me.
Love also inspires imagination and creativity and those are two of the greatest healing forces in the world.
I also include humor in that list. From the book: Comedy is about survival. Find some way to laugh, or die.
Humor has always been essential in my life and has gotten me through some of the darkest periods of my life. It's all about reframing - which is also what this book is about.
It's written by a storyteller so at times it is a bit choppy and hard to read - stream of consciousness-style. But the subject matter is thrilling and once I read a few chapters, I really sunk into it and could get lost in the story.
Pay attention to the synchronicities in your life and follow up on them - you will be amazed what will shift in your life.
Kelly Bulkeley, a wonderful author, teacher and dreamworker, has just written a wonderful article in the San Francisco Chronicle about Barack Obama's dream life.
T-Shirt from Obama Shops!
Here is an excerpt:
The first dream occurred when he was a senior at Columbia University, a year after receiving the news of his father's death. It started with him on a bus trip with an unknown group of people. An old white man sitting nearby informed him that "our treatment of the old test(s) our souls." The bus stopped at a grand hotel, and the old man somehow changed into a small black girl who began playing the piano.
The trip continued. Obama dozed, then awakened (still in the dream), alone. He got off the bus and stood in front of a rough stone building. Inside, a lawyer and judge discussed the fate of Obama's father, a captive in jail. The judge was willing to release him, but the lawyer argued against it because of "the need to maintain order."
Then Obama stood before the door to his father's cell. He unlocked it and confronted the man, with "only a cloth wrapped around his waist." His father smiled and said, "Barack, I always wanted to tell you how much I love you." They embraced, but suddenly his father shrank in size, and a deep sadness overcame him. Obama tried to lead his father out of the cell, but he declined and told his son he should go.
The dream ended there, and Obama said, "I awoke still weeping, my first real tears for him - and for me, his jailor, his judge, his son."
I am very touched by this dream because it really shows (in my projection) how full of love and forgiveness our presidential hopeful is. It is time we had a leader that showed a little more humanity, sensitivity and kindness towards the world.
Many people ask me what my faith tradition is and I always answer that I am an ordained Interfaith Minister and that my spiritual practice is creativity. This can be a bit confusing, as I don't attend church regularly and I don't subscribe completely to any established faith tradition. I am deeply in awe of all the faith traditions in the world and they all speak to me on some level, and yet they all do NOT speak to me on another level.
But, when pushed, the closest thing to an established faith tradition that I can subscribe to is Matthew Fox's Creation Spirituality. I won't go into the history of the how and the why of the creation of Creation Spirituality in this little blog post. What I will share with you are the 12 Principles of this movement. Explore these ideas in your own life and see if they resonate!
Ecology is the local expression of cosmology and so we commit to live in light of this value: to pass on the beauty and health of creation to future generations.
I've just recently returned from the odyssey of having my hard drive die. It passed away right around the time I saw the excellent documentary Gonzo: The Life & Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (see the trailer here), so I can't help but think that my hard drive just decided that it's life was over and shot itself in the head, as Dr. Thompson did. Perhaps I should shoot it off in a cannon, out into the backyard.
Many people are surprised to hear that I am a Hunter S. Thompson fan. After all, he was psychotic, violent and a complete drug addict. And yet...he was an excellent writer and liver of life. I am not a big sports fan, but I would read anything that Hunter wrote, knowing that, while I will read about the game, or the match, or the race, or whatever he was writing about, I would also read an incredible piece about the world and how he saw himself, and all of us, in it. His political writing is also incredibly insightful. There is a section of the documentary where Thompson goes to listen to a pre-president Carter make a speech to a bunch of lawyers (Thompson was the only reporter who bothered to attend) about how messed up lawyers are. Thompson was so moved he wrote a cover story about it in Rolling Stone magazine and many believe that is why Carter got elected.
One of my favorite movies of all time is the excellent Terry Gilliam film Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, based on the Thompson book of the same name. The movie stars Johnny Depp (who is genius in it) and Benicio del Toro (also incredible and so very odd). When I introduce the movie to my friends, it often ends with me cackling and screaming with laughter and my poor friend looking frightened and sad. It is a sad movie, I suppose - but the richness of it's weirdness speaks deeply to my heart. As Terry Gilliam said himself "this film is not pre-digested baby food" - using the formula that the majority of Hollywood films made today use.
In the end, if Hunter S. Thompson was anything, he was a Freak, and there is nothing better to see than a Freak waving his Freak Flag. Being a Freak is about being real. Not necessarily truthful, although he was often that - but as many times as not, he was also a complete fabricator and story teller, as all good tricksters are. His wild, creative abandon inspires me, always.
Creating with Spirit, or collaborating with the inner divine is about recognizing the ways in which we are weird and different, which is really hard to do in this culture of "alternative as trendy" that we live in now.
So rest in peace Hunter S. Thompson and rest in pieces, Hunter S. Hard Drive.
Okay, one more time...I have already written about Lynda Barry here and here, but I must share this wonderful piece of audio here. It's Lynda Barry just going for it - not the usual interviews, which are nice - it's Lynda Barry just totally going for it in an incredibly funny and satisfying monologue.
She really focuses in on PLAY and how essential it is to our well-beings. I like that she re-iterates that play is not always fun and it is never planned. When kids play, they are serious. They are focused, and it is completely in the moment. The same is true for drawing and writing and any other creation.
Enjoy.
I recently posted about my hero Lynda Barry's new book "What It Is." She is just the BEST! She completely believes that play is essential to mental health - the kind of play where you freak out and make weird stuff and have no attachment to what it looks like. We are all so obsessed with product, but it's also about PLAY! What it is, baby!
There is a GREAT interview with her on NPR's Talk of the Nation. Check it out!
One of my favorite artists and free thinkers is Lynda Barry. There is a wonderful interview with her in the New York Times. It includes a really wonderful slide show where you can hear her voice and look at pages from her upcoming book What It Is, which will be released May 13th.
The book highlights the workshops she offers (which I have heard from someone who has experienced them first-hand, that they are not to be missed!). The new book is laid out like a wild and free "activity book." It reminds me of Keri Smith's Wreck This Journal, in which she asks us to do all kinds of fun things like tear pages out of the book and rub dirt on the pages.
Here is a quote from the article:
What It Is...could be considered a picture book for grown-ups. Using ink brush, pen and pencil drawings as well as collages and luminous watercolors, many of them on lined yellow legal paper, it explores deep philosophical questions like “What Is an Image?” (The answer, Ms. Barry says, is something “at the center of everything we call the arts.”) It also includes an activity book, instructions, assignments and several passages of purely autobiographical writing and drawing in which Ms. Barry recounts her own journey to making art.
I have always loved how raw and honest Lynda's comics are. Her artistic process completely fascinates me. She is one of those creators that has to create, no matter what. In the article, Lynda says, “I think of images as an immune system and a transit system." I cannot wait for this book to come out! I am always searching for new inspiration and connection with other artists that do not fit into the usual boxes and Lynda Barry is most definitely one of them!
P.S. For more great reading, check out the Tin House interview with Lynda here:
http://www.rit.
http://www.rit.
I just received my copy of the wonderful new book A Church of Her Own: What Happens When a Woman Takes the Pulpit by Sarah Sentilles.
First, a disclaimer - I was interviewed for this book and a big part of my spiritual story are highlighted in the chapter entitled Minister (n.) vs. Minister (v.), along with The Most Esteemed Callie Janoff, who co-created the Church of Craft with me.
I've been reading the book and it's a wonderful read. Sarah's writing style is very accessible - almost like I'm getting to peek into her journal and read all her intimate thoughts about her own path of ministry and spiritual service.
The layout of the book is wonderful. We follow Sarah's journey as she feels the call to ministry and discovers a lot of difficult challenges along the way. As we follow Sarah's journey, we also get to read the stories of many other women who have also hit challenges on their ministry paths. Some of the stories brought tears to my eyes, as I recognized the frustrating circumstances that these powerful, visionary women ran into when they tried to own their own power in a male-dominated world.
I feel that the deeper message of the book is incredibly powerful. A quote from the introductory chapter explains it well:
The problems faced by women ministers cannot be dismissed as "women's" problems. They belong to all of us, whether you have a female minister in your church or not, whether you attend church or not, whether you think your congregation is sexist or not, even whether you are Christian or not. None of us - even those of us outside the church - is exempt from the reverberations of religious institutions' failings. Churches' treatment of women and women's reactions to this treatment are symptoms of a larger problem, indicative of the broader ways the church needs to change. What we do and say and believe in church is connected to what we do and say an believe in our everyday lives. Our theology is linked to the state of the world - to war and poverty and environmental destruction and reckless consumerism - and it is time that we held ourselves accountable.
I truly think these stories would resonate with other women who have run into inherent sexism on their paths as well. It's an inspiring read and it certainly has helped me feel less alone on my path. It would also be an excellent read for any man that wants to understand the myriad ways that sexism can manifest in our culture.
The interviews are with women from all different faith backgrounds, including some wild, Interfaith revolutionary spiritual leaders like Callie and myself! I have to say, I was reading the book in a cafe and I got so many looks! The cover is quite austere - with a circle of golden crosses surrounding one lone female symbol, but don't let that scare you off from reading this wonderful book. It is most definitely for people of all spiritual paths who are interested in understanding more deeply the role that sexism plays in our society and how we can transform our culture to a more encompassing and equal experience.
P.S. There's another great review of this book on the wonderful blog Viva La Feminista!
I recently left a job that was no longer serving me and through talking to a friend, I realized that I was subscribing to a very unhelpful paradigm for most of my working life. For various known and unknown reasons, I was living with the idea that work had to be difficult. I didn't realize it completely, but most of my jobs involved a lot of struggle and a huge amount of worry and stress. When my friend asked me if I could imagine a job without stress and worry, I realized that, in that moment, I could not!
All other aspects of my life are really wonderful and filled with joy. I have an incredible husband, wonderful friends, a nourishing weight-lifting practice, and a creative, juicy spiritual practice.
Aspects of my work are wonderful. I work for an incredible Art & Healing website, which I love. I have a thriving ministry, dreamwork and creativity coaching practice, and I seemed, until now, to always need one other job that "drained me." I seem to have always needed one other job that stressed me out and took up my time and energy and made me feel like I "worked a long, hard day."
Where does this strange, unconscious need come from? I attribute a lot of it to the Protestant work-ethic that this country was based on. Work hard and you will succeed after a lot of torment and struggle. I cannot express to you all how incredible it is to release this idea of struggle as work!
I am so thankful for that conversation with my friend that revealed this paradigm of struggle to me. I am now committed to creating joyful work in my life, just as I create joy in all the other aspects of my life.
So...how do I do that?
The first step, for me, was eliminating the job that was no longer serving and most definitely not causing me joy. Yes, all the work we do in the world has difficult aspects, and there is a big difference between crunching on a difficult deadline and being disrespected and harassed on a regular basis. The first is part of doing work in the world, the second is not necessary under any circumstances.
The second step for me was opening myself up to new opportunities. I have spent much of my marriage, incredibly worried about money. I knew that bringing in new, joyful work would be difficult if I held on to this paradigm of fear and worry. Instead, I focused on the work I already do that makes me joyful and asking the world for more of that. What is important to note here is that I focused on the feeling, not the actions. This means that work could appear that I had never even thought of, but the feeling of joy would be there, which is what I want to manifest more of. Already, some incredible opportunities have come my way. Some have come because I have been very vocal about my search for work and friends have recommended me for various gigs and some opportunities seem to have come straight from Spirit!
Through this whole process, I have been reading two excellent books, given to me by my co-worker and friend Danny. I shared my quest for joyful work with her, and she intuited that she should share these books with me. Yet another way that Spirit supports us all when we are clear about what we need.
Both books are by the wonderful Suzanne Falter-Barns.
The first is called How Much Joy Can You Stand? A Creative Guide to Facing Your Fears & Making Your Dreams Come True. I have just discovered that you can also download a free PDF copy of this book on Suzanne's website here (what a generous gift)! I love Suzanne's writing. She is very accessible and funny and every chapter I read made me catch my breath, because it was as if she was reading my mind! With chapters like "The End of Struggle," "Expect a Miracle or Two," and "In Praise of Failure," she helped me realize that my dream of companioning others as they craft an authentic life is completely worth pursuing - only because it is my dream and it fills me with joy.
The second book, also by Suzanne, is called Living Your Joy: A Practical Guide to Happiness. This book, doesn't pick up where the previous book left off - more that it goes more deeply. I found that this book went deeper both in the practical advice as well as the energetic, creative advice. I was very happy to find a plethora of online resources inside. While reading it, I was really moved towards action with concrete tools to work with. Some great chapters in this book include "How to Live with Financial Insecurity," "Why You Should Run Your Dream Like a Business," and "How to Share Your Work with the Rest of the World...and Live to Tell About It."
It is also a funny synchronicity for me that she uses the term "dream work" to describe the work of our dreams that we are all creating. My "dream work" is actually dream work (working with the sleeping dreams of myself and others as a way to more deeply understand our lives)! So every time I read the words "dream work" in her books, it really resonated deeply on my own personal path.
I can't recommend these books enough! Check them out today! Suzanne also has a great blog called Blast O' Joy.
