Fluent Self Item!A somewhat goofy mini-collection of stuff I’ve been reading, stuff I’ve been thinking about and oh, some completely random crap.

Basically the stuff that never gets mentioned here because I’m not the kind of person who can just make some teeny little point. Not into the whole brevity thing, as the Dude would say.

Actually, I’m under the strict compulsion to write ten pages about anything on my mind. So this is me. Practicing brevity.

So. Selma and I are back.

Back from teaching a week of Destuckification Retreat in California, followed by four delicious days of recovery, which basically consisted of imitating harbor seals.

You’d think I wouldn’t have any Items (Item!) but you’d be wrong. I have all kinds of things that I was Itemizing.

Item! Post No. 52 in a semi-ongoing Wednesday series that kind of surprises me each time it happens.

Item! Best epiphany ever? Possibly. Definitely best blog post title ever.

Maartje has clearly been doing her Shiva Nata because she is zooming with the hot buttered epiphanies.

This completely charming, thoughtful post about the Hierophant, capital-P Patterns and her own relationship with money is a wonderful read.

Also she mentions me, so extra points. 🙂

“I’ve done you wrong, poor archetype!

It’s one of those truisms, that the thing you hate is the thing you need. I dislike truisms, but this time it’s, well, true.

But I know what you look like now, pattern. I know which face of the Hierophant you use to try to get me scrambling for safety.

And I know the solution to a locked door: remember that I’ve got my own keys, and use them.”

She’s @martieu on Twitter.

Item! Observations.

A quiet piece that was just the thing I needed to read at the moment I read it.

“You look down when necessary to avoid a nasty chunk of sidewalk or the errant pile of poo, your injured ankle begging for attention, but you don’t look too long, lest you seem weak. Don’t limp. Don’t appear vulnerable.”

She’s @casey_cole on Twitter.

Item! How to swear in Cornish!

Up a storm!

So. This is kind of … not safe for work.

Unless you work in my old bar.

But it’s cursing. In Cornish. And boy you can say all sorts of dirty things in Cornish.

There’s almost nothing I can quote here, but I did find this one sort of safe one:

Ny synsav anodho favenn goeg = I don’t care an empty bean”

Apparently.

Got to this via the lovely Kate who is @tangokate on Twitter.

Item! Are you in Seattle?

Because you should be.

Amy from Barefoot Phoenix — who is lovely, by the way — is doing a 90 minute class on how to give an amazing massage without hurting yourself or wearing yourself out in the process.

So you have all the magic touch skills but you can still be really smart and cautious and knowledgeable.

You can go Saturday, February 13th at 5:00 pm or Sunday the 14th at 1:00 pm.

Affordable and awesome. If I were in Seattle I’d be there in a second.

She’s @barefootphoenix on Twitter.

Item! This post is called potluck. And it made me cry.

I love you, BHJ.

“… the meat devouring drug addicts liked to tease the straight edge vegans. The straight edge vegans thought the meat devouring drug addicts were uncivilized and ridiculous.

It was a war. But still. The kind of war made out of love.

All of them were broke, so me and Jenna would have them over for a potluck on Wednesday nights. We just avoided topics like drugs and animals and things went fine.”

Potluck.

You can always count on him for the good stuff.

He’s @wwbhjd on Twitter.

Item! It really is just one guy.

So you know how every Friday we do a thing called a Chicken and there’s always a Fake Band Of The Week who is just one guy?

This band is four guys (five?) who are just one guy.

Via Dick Carlson who is @techherding on Twitter.

Item! Iguanaccountability works even when it shouldn’t.

Also, Virginia Ruth is a rockstar.

That’s what the post is called. And yes, accurate description. Rock-star status confirmed.

“Dancing and singing in the kitchen is one of those things that make me feel super-hot and wish someone was around to see how adorable I am. Possibly the hotness is all in my head, though, so it might be a good thing no one ever is. (Kneading bread while Nina Simone sings the blues, though… that is plainly and undisputably hot. I should make bread soon.”

Nice!

Plus she used my iguanaccountability and it did cool things.

She’s @lirelyn on Twitter — go say hi to her!

Item! Floors and foundations. Good stuff.

Victoria’s teaching a business-growing program called Floors and Foundations.

It’s a ten month thing, and it looks amazing. I’ve met Victoria (twice!) and she’s good people. Plus she has a big fat brain and a very kind heart. So consider this a warm recommendation of pretty much anything she does.

She’s @victoriashmoria on Twitter.

Item! Update from the land of the Peculiar & Hilarious Shivanauts!

The “peculiar and hilarious” thing comes from Melynda’s sweet bit about Butterfly Wishes.

I kind of did a mini-collection of Shivanautical posts.

Casey (@casey_cole) wrote about being off-balance.

Holly (@HollyMarieHill) wrote about her stuck being a bear.

Eric (he’s @ericnormand) wrote about the relationship between internal noise and internal information.

Elizabeth (@elizabethhalt) wrote about motivation and how her stuckified About page accidentally wrote itself.

Oh, and read this one too. From an anonymous new Shivanaut.

And — when Havi says get lost she means get completely lost, I think, because I was floating on a log in the ocean a million miles from shore with how wrong I was doing it and had the best day afterwards.

Item! Comments! Here’s what I want this time:

  • Things you’re thinking about.
  • Some kind of ritual for my new weekly Pirate Council (because pirate queens don’t go to “meetings” (bleargh) — that would be awesome.

My commitment.
I am committed to giving time and thought to the things that people say. Even though asking for what I want still feels awkward for me, I’m just going to remind myself that this is a thing I’m practicing.

That is all.

Happy reading.

And happy Blustery Windsday. Unless you’re Claire, in which case you may have a balmy one. See you all tomorrow for non-Itemized regular old posties.

The Fluent Self