So I promised to tell you more about the spectacular projectizing Rally (Rally!) and then forgot.
The Rally (Rally!) was completely inspired by this post, which in turn was inspired by scooter rallies, and which I was inspired to write about because of my gentleman friend.
A rally, if you’re wondering, is several days of intense projectizing (working on your stuff and also on your stuff) at the Playground, my pirate-ey center of silliness and wonder. It was a wild zen rumpus of the best kind.
And despite the fact that we, the Rally-ers, could not decide what to call ourselves, we managed to have the most brilliant, hilarious time ever.
Rallying is now my new favorite thing, and I’m working on my 2011 calendar to make room for more rallies. In the meantime …
Some of the realizations people had while rallying.
And by people, I mean the Keepers of the Rally. The Rallyconteurs. The Rallyganders.
“That my project wants me to visit its different parts in a non-linear fashion, which was really surprising because that’s not how I do things. It’s time to bring in more non-linearity and this is exciting!”
“Not going online while projectizing is hugely beneficial. I knew this intellectually but this was experiencing it and everything is different now.”
“My project wants a letter written to it!
“My project is a sentient being that needs to be treated with respect, autonomy, love, reverence.”
“There’s a lot I’m not in charge of. And this is a good thing. Oh.”
“It is possible to keep working on your project even when there is a scary thing happening with it that you don’t understand.”
“Now I’m working with my project instead of on my project. This is so much better.”
“Biggification is connected to rest and play! Resting and playing! That’s how I’m going to biggify — not from pressure and urgency.”
Some of the fabulous superpowers we discovered we had.
We being the Rallions, of course.
Fast typing!
Clarity. Patience.
Shape-shifting.
Focusing. Inspiration.
Victory dance!
Play. Rejoicing.
Closure. Completion.
Some of the actual things we got done.
We? The Rallyscallions of Doom. Each of whom I am now madly in love with.
Jesse got eighteen thousand words written on her novel.
And not just words but good words. Without the pressure, agony and abuse that can sometimes come with writing.
And Emmanuelle managed to get months of work done in our three days of rallying.
Someone showed a story that had never been shown.
Someone planned a world.
I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. And planned the timetables, content, copy and everything else for our Week of Biggification in Asheville in November.
Some of the experiences with Rallying.
From — in Jesse’s words — the Rallyites! The Rally Cabal! The One True Order of the Rallions!
One person described experienced EXTREME FOCUSING after a long time of not having access to anything even remotely like it.
Someone else had laser clarity that lasted two whole days, and turned everything around.
One person talked about the experience of not forcibly silencing the body anymore, and what a difference that makes to Projectizing.
We were inspired like crazy. It was like mainlining pure undiluted inspiration.
Someone else talked about what it was like to experience productivity without struggle, strain, pushing … probably for the first time in her life.
One person wanted to have more of herself in her project, and discovered that this was less complicated than she’d imagined it to be.
Some of the ways our projects wanted to be put to bed at night.
Our projects! Or missions, if you don’t like the word “project”, which is fine by us.
One project wanted to sleep under the stars.
One project wanted to have a pillow and sleep at the Playground.
One project wanted songs sung to it all night.
One project wanted extra snuggling time.
One needed to eat something orange.
Mine now insists on being put to bed every night.
Quotes from the Rally.
“You can take the girl out of the Playground but you really can’t take the Playground out of the girl.”
“Shiva Nata is like falling off a really complicated log.”
Q: You see a Queen, Flowers, Ziggy Stardust & Shiva’s Horns sitting in a circle & the Pirate Queen walks in…where are you? A: The Rally.
“Victoryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!”
Favorite bits from the Rally.
Some of what the Rally mice mentioned:
The mad epiphanies from Shiva Nata, of course.
The chronicling (my techniques for processing the process).
Having trusty companions.
Not feeling alone.
Blanket forts.
Dedicated time and space.
Getting things done that you didn’t even think you needed to work on.
And all the other incredible things that happen when you’re in a supportive environment with warm, loving, zany people.
That’s it for now.
Usually when I review an event I’ve done (like I did with the Destuckification weekend in North Carolina or the week of destuckifying in California), there’s all this stuff I have to say about the things that went horribly wrong.
Not with the actual event, of course. We always have a crazy great time, and everyone gets phenomenal results. That’s a given.
But with the planning. Administrative crises. Things costing more than expected. Crossed wires with the retreat center. Stuff like that.
I have nothing to say about the Rally that isn’t completely positive. This is new for me, and I’m enjoying it.
In terms of comment zen for today? I would love cheering and appreciation for the wonderful thing that is rallying. One day we will get you to a rally somehow.
Or I will come to Australia or whatever far-away place you are, and rallying will happen there.
In the meantime, adoration from me and much enthusiastic waving from the Playground (while wearing fairy wings that Cairene gave me yesterday, of course).
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Sounds absolutely fabulous! I definitely want to get to a Rally one of these days. In the meantime, I’m so happy for everyone who was there!
.-= Kathleen Avins´s last post … Nearly there… =-.
Woo hoo! for one and all!
.-= christy´s last post … Mind Churn =-.
So exciting… I’m glad you were all able to be so relaxed and massively productive. Whee!
(I like rallyscallions, but I’m a chef so it sounds chef-y AND pirate-y to me. Yarr.)
And yay for things on the backend going smoothly. That’s a huge deal.
.-= Shannon´s last post … Free Download! Building Momentum with Moon Cycles =-.
“One day we will get you to a rally somehow.”
That definitely gets added to the unceasing incantation that is VPA.
.-= Mahala Mazerov´s last post … Self Care Confessions =-.
Hooray for all you Rallyscallions! Your Rallying magic ripples out to the rest of us. Thank you 🙂
.-= Darcy´s last post … A day worth writing about =-.
Let me assure you that words can’t even begin to describe the fantasticness of the Rally – or of the Playground for that matter.
There was gorgeous incense to burn, beautiful silence to listen to (not to mention the sexy robot music and bawdy sea shanties, but what happens at the Playground stays at the Playground), quirky stuff everywhere to look at and play with… really, there was no shortage of fun to be had.
And that was the big eye-opener for me: the time I invest in creating the right environment for the projectizing to happen will be repaid tenfold in increased productivity.
My new motto (riffing on something Havi said during the Rally): It’s not goofing off if it’s done mindfully 🙂
.-= Emmanuelle Archer´s last post … When you have a project you have to do… =-.
@Emmanuelle — so true. We could describe it ALL DAY LONG and it still wouldn’t capture the absolute awesomeness. Really and truly friends, you must, must go.
(Also…had almost forgot about sexy robot music! I need to know the name of that song if anyone gets a chance!)
It is so fun to read this post and just remember the everythingness of Rally. I can’t wait to return some day. I’m still living and breathing the magic I took back with me and figuring out how to make it dwell within the rest of my life. For those of us who spend a great deal of time working at a dayjob not entirely connected to our Projects, it was enormously important to figure out how much better I feel giving my Project some intentional space to live and breathe and grow. And that I can’t let go of that feeling — it brings too much goodness with it to be neglected for the rest of the year.
.-= Jesse´s last post … When visions explode! Dark stars- explosions- symbols- and getting kicked out of your own vision- Rally thoughts- Part Two =-.
@Jesse: It’s S.E.X.Y R.O.B.O.T. by the Pinker Tones. You can find it on iTunes. 🙂
.-= Elizabeth´s last post … why i think of my business as a yoga & music festival =-.
I’m jealous! But I’m so glad it went well.
Havi, you are so good at what you do. Just from reading this blog I go about my life much differently (and better) than I did in 2009. You have a way of telling us things that we already knew so that we will actually KNOW them…and of setting us up to be able to figure more of these things out on our own. Thank you.
Now I just need to come up with a project so I can go to a rally one day.
I will make it to a rally, eventually. If you were to consider having one in the vicinity of SxSW (before or afterishness) that would be lovely. I’ll be in coming back to the states for the tech portion, so that would make it even better and less stressy too.
Either way, I’m so happy to hear that this one turned out so wonderfully. 🙂
.-= Kathryn´s last post … Sprinkles =-.
Sounds like it all turned out fabulously! Well I’m one of the Australia contingent so YES come over here and do one … in Melbourne! But anyways, if that doesn’t work, I’m sure I could come across … just a bit more notice please 🙂
@Kerry – Melbourne! I have a dear friend who is moving there, so I will definitely have to visit at some point. And yes, next time I will not be such an ass, and give oh, more than a week’s notice. 🙂
@Darcy – kiss!
@Mahala – oooh, yes. That should definitely be part of VPA-ing. Maybe we’ll do a Wishing-themed rally. I have been thinking about that quite a bit.
@shannon – Totally. Chef-ey AND pirate-ey? What could be better than that? Scallions for everyone! One day we will hug in person. Yay.
As one of the lucky rallyscallions I realize that rallying is the only way to projectize your life.
My extraordinary fellow rallyscallions became my co conspirators. My project became a person, and a landscape, and a sometimes unruly child to put to bed each night.
I myself became a shivanaut (wow, rallyscallion and shivanaut all in one rally) I got glitter points, and did a victory dance AND a chicken dance all in the same day.
Here’s the rally rub…the 3 days of nonstop shiva-ing, processing the process, projectizing, old Turkish lady yoga-ing and pirate shanty singing has left me sticking out my tongue at ordinary life (phttt). So more playgrounds and more costuming and more shiva nataing are part of my inspired path into that more beautiful world where glitter points and tiaras are sparkly breadcrumbs guiding us across the landscape and everyone is lovingly supported in being their extraordinary uniquely unique selves.
Huzzah! And thanks Pirate Queen and Selma for making it so.
Yes! Melbourne! Come here! You will love it. I think.
Any tips for organising a projectising rally for those of us who can’t wait?
It sounds perfect. I would love to come to Portland but that would require lots of planning and some saving. Europe would be easier. Struggling a bit to wrap my mind around the luxury of going on an overseas trip to have fun working on my own project. Except a rally could be to experience and learn the culture of the Playground of Havi. And seeing that it is a sovereign state I am sure the natives are fascinating and the sights and tastes amazing.
Or come to South Africa!
How nice to experience such a magical gathering, albeit only vicariously.
Thanks to all the Rallyconteurs for sharing (some of) your triumphs, and to Havi for providing the safety for it! xo
.-= Rupa´s last post … My Father’s Make-up Kit =-.
It sounds like a fabulous gathering! I love reading about it (albeit, I’m a bit jealous!)
Thanks you all for sharing and Yay Havi!!! for making it all possible.
Wow. This post was the best thing I could have read this morning. All that energy, all that inspiration, all that potential. I think I am surfing along on the Rally-Backwash, and I’m not even on the same continent.
If you ever come over to England and do a Brit-Rally? I’ll totally be there.
.-= Alison´s last post … 60 All Tudor- all the time =-.
Sounds amazing.
Crisis-free rallifying! Hooray! Sparklepoints for everyone!
“One day we will get you to a rally somehow.
Or I will come to Australia or whatever far-away place you are, and rallying will happen there.”
Yay!
.-= claire´s last post … Lakeside Splash =-.
Yeah, Australia! Come!
MELBOURNE!
I don’t know how I missed this the first time. But based on the comments above and a friend of mine who hasn’t commented but I know would love to Rally it up with you, I have a feeling you would have no problems booking out a Melbourne Rally.