What's in the gallery?
We dissolve stuck and rewrite patterns. We apply radical playfulness to life (when we feel like it!), embarking on internal adventures (credo of Safety First). We have a fake band called Solved By Cake. We build invisible sanctuaries, invent words and worlds, breathe awe and wonder.
We are not impressed by monsters. Except when we are. We explore the connections between internal territories and surrounding environment to learn what marvelously supportive delicious space feels like, and how to take exquisite care of ourselves. We transform things.* We glow wild.**
* For example: Desire, fear, worry, pain-and-trauma, boundaries, that problematic word which rhymes with flaweductivity.
** Fair warning: Self-fluency has been known to lead to extremely subversive behavior, including treasuring yourself unconditionally, unapologetically taking up space, experiencing outrageously improbable levels of self-acceptance, and general rejoicing in aliveness.
What's in the gallery?
We dissolve stuck and rewrite patterns. We apply radical playfulness to life (when we feel like it!), embarking on internal adventures (credo of Safety First). We have a fake band called Solved By Cake. We build invisible sanctuaries, invent words and worlds, breathe awe and wonder.
We are not impressed by monsters. Except when we are. We explore the connections between internal territories and surrounding environment to learn what marvelously supportive delicious space feels like, and how to take exquisite care of ourselves. We transform things.* We glow wild.**
* For example: Desire, fear, worry, pain-and-trauma, boundaries, that problematic word which rhymes with flaweductivity.
** Fair warning: Self-fluency has been known to lead to extremely subversive behavior, including treasuring yourself unconditionally, unapologetically taking up space, experiencing outrageously improbable levels of self-acceptance, and general rejoicing in aliveness.
Friday Chicken #267: there are gems in here too
Where I cover the good and the hard in my week, visiting the non-preachy side of ritual and self-reflection.
What worked?
The clue was jewel. Perfect for Bond girl’s diamond caper!
I let things be jewels.
I wore my necklace and my invisible jeweled crown.
My toenails are red and sparkly. Ten jewels. I found the word WELL (both meanings) hiding inside of jewel, and that was a jewel too.
Also this makes me think of my high school driver’s ed teacher — the aptly named Mr. Carr — and how he once gave me a gift that was a moment of rescuing. He lent me a book, and he said “there are gems in here”, and he was right. Jewels.
Next time I might…
Trust more. Talk to monsters. Conduct. Entry.
Eight breaths of hard, challenging and mysterious.
- Adjusting to new things. A breath for releasing expectation and adjusting to What Is. Remembering that this can be hard.
- The rush to get here, no transition time. A breath for craving spaciousness and buffers.
- Something about space again, that claustrophobic feeling. A loving breath for the parts of me who have habitual ways of reacting to perceived tightness.
- Doubting myself. A breath for this.
- Noticing stuff I have about embarrassment, and about fear of loss, and how these are and aren’t related. A breath for noticing.
- Too much to do, still. A breath for this.
- Still haven’t found a way to celebrate the chagim that works well for me. A breath for wanting things to change.
- Inhale, exhale. Goodbye, mysteries and hard moments of this week.
Eight breaths of good, reassuring, delight-filled.
- Getting away! Just in time too. A breath for freedom and right timing.
- Spaciousness. A breath for expanding into.
- A new kind of adventure keeps me on my toes. A breath for new beginnings!
- Tashlich at the ocean. A breath for sweet release.
- Silent retreat. A breath for the superpower of not everything requires a response.
- Writing. A breath for giving myself the thing that feeds me.
- Sunset. A breath for beauty and presence.
- Compass meditation. The compass for Operation Jewel Star is my favorite compass yet. A breath for transformations.
Superpowers!
A superpower I had this week…
The superpower of “Okay, it’s an adventure!”
And a superpower I want next week.
I flow with everything AND I find secret hideaway bolt holes.
Salve.
This week’s salve is a serenity-contentment-secretsmile blend.
It is exactly what it sounds like. Pretty great.
These salves can’t be seen, but the production factory delivers enough for distribution by way of the magic of the internet, so help yourself. There is enough.
Playing live at the meme beach house — the Fake Band of the Week!
Background. Ez and I make up bands. Stu (retired Bolshevik-fearing voice-to-text software) once invented hanging out at the Meme Beach House“. It’s just one guy.
This week’s band is from Vanessa:
Profit Police
They sound a little bit like the Clash. Except as it turns out, it’s just one guy.
Hallo Hallo! I am saying Hallo Hallo. ANNOUNCEMENT.
You guys you guys you guys!
There are a few open spots in individual Alphabet Carousel Rallies.
- You can come to ONE RALLY.
- There is also an option to bundle TWO rallies at a discount, or THREE at even more of a discount.
All the details are on the new Rally page!
IF you are in the Floop and signing up for just one Rally, log-in to the Floop and use the Secret Benefits page for Floop discount. If you’re in the Floop and want more than one Rally, use the Rally page because there is no combining discounts and that’s the better deal. 🙂
That’s it for me …
Join my Friday ritual in the comments if you feel like it. Or call silent retreat!
We let people have their own experience. We’re supportive and welcoming. And we don’t give advice (unless people specifically ask for it).
Wishing you a glorrrrrrrrrrrrious day, a restful weekend and a happy week to come.
Shabbat shalom.
p.s. It’s fine if it’s not Friday anymore. There’s complete chicken amnesty — join in whenever (or not) and it’s no big deal.
Visions #217: Operation Jewel Star
Personal ads. They’re … personal! Very.
Each week I write these Visions of Possibility and Anticipation to practice asking for what I want. And to get clarity on what that really is, even when asking feels conflicted.
I always get useful information about my relationship with various aspects of the ask. Join in if you like!
Operation Jewel Star
The situation. And background.
Operation Jewel Star is two weeks that I am taking for myself for the purposes of replenishing, resting and writing.
This scares me a bit, for a variety of reasons, including:
- There is so much to be done right now.
- I am so completely overcooked.
- The monster collective knows that when I return I will not put up with working the way I have been working this summer.
What else do I know about Operation Jewel Star?
That word purpose is important. It has a purpose, a very specific reason for being, and everything that doesn’t fit with that purpose isn’t going to work.
That’s why I lost my notes for the project. Operation Jewel Star doesn’t want that project.
Here is what Operation Jewel Star is for, Havi Bell:
- emergency replenishing
- get back to being a bell
- believe in your heart that the above two (interrelated!) items of replenishing and bell-ness are both the point and the way, not what you are working towards eventually having, or what you get to do when you’re done.
- become a jewel and a star (that is: become friends with the qualities of jewels and stars)
- get to know Kishufit (the newest Incoming Havi who just showed up this week, and integrate her superpowers
- smell things and enjoy scent in various forms
- naps as portalbridges to healing
- be an ally of spaces
- make things easier for you (hint: first you need to believe this is okay)
- to experience this as the Last Time you take time like this because you are at your edge, from now on you take this time because it feeds you!
Anything else?
There are clues everywhere, so get quiet (quieter!) and pay attention.
Nothing is wrong.
Be flexible.
Play.
Anything else?
Yes, I want to add a thing about Kishufit.
If you speak Hebrew, you’re probably thinking: “Kishufit? She sounds a little witchy!”, and now we have to giggle because that is a pun. A little witchy! Actually, that’s not how she spells it (ha, spells, another pun), but yes: she is a little witchy. Just the tiniest bit.
So I am going to do Ever So Slightly Witchy things during these two weeks, and I don’t know what they are, but it will be playful and probably involve lots of Gwish Scripting, which is a thing I have taught at Rally.
And I will whisper-breathe my favorite sentence: All Doors Open For Me. This sentence is extra-fun if you are in an airport or somewhere with automatic doors, because then you laugh every time it comes true.
What I want.
To take PLEASURE in this time I am taking for myself. That verb. So hot. Taking. Pleasure.
To trust in the fractal flowers. Somehow, some way, the work things that need to get done while I’m gone REJOICE over hopefulness and possibility.
To take beautiful deep breaths of APPRECIATION. For me from last week who pulled so many strings to make this happen for me-now. For incoming me and all the incoming Havi Bells who love me and are waiting for me to find my way to them.
Right now I am also feeling overwhelming appreciation and gratitude for the thoughtful, creative, good-hearted people that have come into my world through having this website.
I hope you know how full of love my heart is for all of you, everyone who reads and everyone who is a part of this in any shape and form. This space is exquisitely safe, steady and miraculous, and that is not just because of me, it is because of the people who come here and how they are when they are here.
So I want to stay connected to that sense of grounded appreciation and trust.
The qualities inside of the wants:
Replenishing. Play. Presence. Pleasure. Plenty. Radiance. Receptivity. Resonance.
And the superpowers of all the flowers bloom in the right way at the right time because that is how flowers work, and I am able to appreciate each bloom and the timing of it all.
What might help?
Talking to Kishufit. Interviewing her. Skipping stones.
Being Lady Bond. Bringing the glamour. And the secret holiness of glamour.
Operation Jewel Star is sparkling. Let’s fill up on sparkliness.
This reminds me of a breathing exercise I used to do with Tal in Tel Aviv when we were both trying to quit smoking. Sparkling glowing shiny breath, filling us up with sparkle. Sparklebreath.
Yes. Eight breaths of sparkle-breathing.
What I want.
Some of these are secret agent code or silent retreat. Some are qualities and some are dreams. Some are re-asks and some are pre-wishes: tiny seeds for future processing.
- Sweet blissful steadiness.
- Miracles everywhere.
- The ballroom has its own magic, just like the Spiegelsaal.
- This doesn’t require my input!
- Ha, it’s so perfect that it turned out like this.
- Past me is a GENIUS.
- Tashlich.
- Sustenance.
- A beautiful Rosh HaShana that is exactly what I need. Wishing a chag sameach and shana tova u’metuka to everyone here. May it be a sweet, healthy, happy new year.
- Newness. Vitality. Sustenance. Peacefulness.
- I have what I need, and I appreciate it.
- Hawaii.
- Next year’s Rallies fill up by themselves even though I’m not around to tell people about them!
- I can see why this moment is good.
- The superpower of pausing to breathe.
I’m playing with…
Mapping and napping.
Announcement!
We have a few openings for individual Rallies this year. You can also get a great deal on a set of either two or three Rallies. They are going to be amazing, and I can’t wait to play with you at Rally.
See the new Rally page for details!
Progress report on past Very Personal Ads.
So. Last week, aka If X is Possible….
Super interesting. I actually took two steps towards figuring out if Z is possible (the one thing that is not-at-all working).
And I made these two weeks of replenishing-running-away time happen, something I did not at all believe was possible in any way at all.
A number of other unlikely things happened this week, including a bunch of unexpected changes in Hoppy House and with the ballroom, changes that feel exciting.
Huh. Silent retreat on the rest for now.
Playing. Shelter for the comments.
What’s welcome: Your own wishes, gwishes, visions and personal ads, small or large. Updates on past ones if you like. Things sparked for your own process.
I’m receptive to warm wishes for the things I’m working on and playing with.
We ask for what we need, and we give each other space and spaciousness for the process.
This is a place of safety for creative play and exploration, with a very non-dogmatic approach. We don’t tell each other how to ask for things and we don’t give unsolicited advice. We play.
That’s it. Let’s throw a bunch of things in the pot!
As always, amnesty applies. Leave a wish here any time you want.
xox
Friday Chicken #266: Nike Creche
Where I cover the good and the hard in my week, visiting the non-preachy side of ritual and self-reflection.
Friday. Friday. For the 266th time in a row, it is catching me by surprise.
That is the way of things, it seems.
What worked?
Anagrams! As secret code!
This week I had a million-trillion missions to accomplish, and all of them were getting on my nerves.
I was too cranky to metaphor-mouse them, but they had to be renamed because otherwise just looking at my list made me want to cry. And you know how much I like secret agent code.
Anagram-generators saved my week.
Deal with credit card? Didactic Drawl Three. Architect Raw Diddle. Cheddar Wildcat Rite! I am feeling annoyed? That’s A Daemon Feeling Yin! Or possibly: A Enamel Finned Yogi…
- Operation Rallying Page became Operation A Largely Ping!
- Operation Rallying FAQ? Operation Flagrantly Eh Qi!
- Operation Encroacher Fury became Operation Currency Hear!
- Operation Hail Kaiser became Operation A Rakish Lei!
- Operation The Pod became Operation O! Depth!
- Operation Chickeneer became Operation Nike Creche!
Nike as in: goddess of victory. So great.
Team Avoidance.
Marisa and Richard and I were Team Avoidance, and our battlecry was “avoidy-avoidy!”
We worship the Ultimate Venn Diagram of Team Avoidance.
Looking at this, rereading the first comment and thinking “avoidy-avoidy!” weirdly helped me get more done. A lot more.
Next time I might…
Give myself more permission and understanding about how hard things are.
Silent retreat on that.
Eight breaths of hard, challenging and mysterious.
- Timing. Deadlines. Having to finish things. A breath for dealing with pressure.
- Fellow agent in his stuff. A breath for being present with pain and your own pain in response.
- Recovering from Bend. A breath for when the thing that is supposed to be replenishing doesn’t do the job.
- Lost my wallet. A breath for the last straw of a lot of straws.
- Raging hormonal messiness. A breath for body stuff.
- Big changes. A breath for things reconfiguring.
- Wednesday. Falling apart in the biggest, biggest way. A breath for grief
- Inhale, exhale. Goodbye, mysteries and hard moments of this week.
Eight breaths of good, reassuring, delight-filled.
- Actual Beach Day. With Danielle. For her birthday. Even though it rained the entire time and I lost my wallet. Beach Day with Danielle! A breath for sharing.
- While I was falling apart, I had friends to stroke my hair and bring me tissues and say GOOD LORD OF COURSE YOU ARE FALLING APART WHO WOULDN’T BE, which is always important. A breath for comfort.
- The most gorgeous necklace ever, a handmade gift from Sami. I am wearing it right now. A breath for beauty that is healing.
- Marisa is back! Marisa is back! Marisa is back! A breath for love.
- Sweetness and more sweetness at the Agency. A breath for adoration.
- I said yes to a scary-wonderful wish, and it is happening. A breath for what I really want..
- A gift from Austin that was the exact right thing in the exact right moment. He sang to my ballroom. It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. Which is so true. And my ballroom loves to be sung to. This confirmed for me that singing is the right answer. As long as my ballroom is sung to, all will be fine, and I can let people sing to it in different forms. These might not be the forms I’d envisioned, and this is okay. Even if I cried. This is right. A breath for receiving this with my whole heart.
- For the first time in 22 months since I said yes to the ballroom, some pieces of good news related to the ballroom. A breath for movement.
Superpowers!
A superpower I had this week…
I had the superpower of trusting play.
And a superpower I want next week.
The superpower of trusting myself.
Salve.
This week’s salve is the salve of anagrams: it infuses everything with playfulness.
These salves can’t be seen, but the production factory delivers enough for distribution by way of the magic of the internet, so help yourself. There is enough.
Playing live at the meme beach house — the Fake Band of the Week!
Background. Ez and I make up bands. Stu (retired Bolshevik-fearing voice-to-text software) once invented hanging out at the Meme Beach House“. It’s just one guy.
This week’s band is also my favorite anagram for rallying page:
Parlaying Gel
And yes. It’s just one guy.
Hallo Hallo! I am saying Hallo Hallo. ANNOUNCEMENT.
You guys you guys you guys!
There are now open spots in individual Alphabet Carousel Rallies.
- You can come to ONE RALLY.
- There is also an option to bundle TWO rallies at a discount, or THREE at even more of a discount.
- And if you’re thinking “oh crap I wish I’d signed up for the whole Carousel of As Many Rallies As I Want when it was still the super low price”… take advantage of 3 Days Of Amnesty where you can secretly still get that lower price (through Sunday).
To activate the amnesty pricing, write to the First Mate and use the code phrase Chandelier Amnesia (you can pretend it’s a band), and he’ll sneak you in at the old price, which is half of what it is now.
There aren’t a ton of openings at individual Rallies, because the people in the full Carousel have priority, but we can make this work. All the details are on the new Rally page!
IF you are in the Floop and signing up for just one Rally, log-in to the Floop and use the Secret Benefits page for Floop discount. If you’re in the Floop and want more than one Rally, use the Rally page because there is no combining discounts and that’s the better deal. 🙂
That’s it for me …
Join my Friday ritual in the comments if you feel like it. Or call silent retreat!
We let people have their own experience. We’re supportive and welcoming. And we don’t give advice (unless people specifically ask for it).
Wishing you a glorrrrrrrrrrrrious day, a restful weekend and a happy week to come.
Shabbat shalom.
p.s. It’s fine if it’s not Friday anymore. There’s complete chicken amnesty — join in whenever (or not) and it’s no big deal.
Visions #216: If X is possible, then….?
Personal ads. They’re … personal! Very.
Each week I write these Visions of Possibility and Anticipation to practice asking for what I want. And to get clarity on what that really is, even when asking feels conflicted.
I always get useful information about my relationship with various aspects of the ask. Join in if you like!
If X is possible, then…?
The situation. And background.
I had an astonishing and kind of scary realization the other week, while doing some stone skipping.
I discovered, suddenly and unexpectedly, that nearly everything I dearly wished for last year and two years ago has come truer. Truer! Except for in one very important area, where things have not only not come into fruition but the situation has actually gotten worse. Which is interesting.
But. So many big, impossible-seeming wishes have come true. Things I did not think were doable in any way, are here and part of my daily life. I came up with twenty things I was sure were way out of reach, and they have all happened.
So…? Implications?
Right now they’re all slighly colored by emotional reaction:
- Waaaaaaah maybe the stuff I want now that seems impossible is going to happen too, and this is scary/exciting!
- Ugh maybe then I’ll just be gloomy about something else. Because look at right now: all these amazing things have happened, and I am still super-fixated on this one area that is Extremely Not Working. Admittedly, it is a big Maslow’s hierarchy-of-needs kind of thing. But still.
- Hmmm, so maybe that is what has to change now. Maybe on THIS level of the video game, I learn how to focus on what is working. But wait, what about this other thing…?!
What else do I know about this?
I am in a loop. The realization that these other things have all come into reality is kind of blowing my mind, and then I keep cycling around.
The hopeful part is: 1) What I want is possible. 2) Things Can Change. 3) Something that seems impossible or far off can come into being!!
The less hopeful part is: Man, this one very important area is really problematic.
And also: man, what if (Ludicrous Fear Popcorn and monster-fears here) I am just incapable of being content? What if two years from now the [problem thing] is fine but I’m just focusing on some other Not Fine, and maybe that’s my real problem?
What I want.
To REJOICE over hopefulness and possibility.
To take beautiful deep breaths of APPRECIATION and gratitude for all that has come to pass, for all the hard work I did in processing and playing to be able to be comfortable with these changes, to be the person who can live these changes.
To TRUST that if X is possible, then Y and Z are also possible.
Or some aspects or qualities of Y and Z.
To enjoy.
To lovingly move my focus and attention to [this one particular area] to learn more about why this particular part is so painful for me. I might need a proxy for this.
The qualities inside of the wants:
Possibility. Trust. Presence. Ease. Steadiness. Delight. Comfort. Sweetness.
And the superpowers of finding hidden openings and loving the hallway.
What might help?
Being a detective.
Going on a mission.
Talking to slightly-future-me.
Anything else?
I can skip some stones.
What I want.
Some of these are secret agent code or silent retreat. Some are qualities and some are dreams. Some are re-asks and some are pre-wishes: tiny seeds for future processing.
- I’ll ask her!
- Why not make it twice as long? I mean: WHY NOT.
- Parade please!
- Recovery is smooth and easy.
- Operation 888 is more fun than I think.
- Set-up for Wall Of Squoosh.
- It’s like Amsterdam but it’s not.
- Time to myself.
- Yoga comes first.
The qualities inside of the wants:
I’m staying with the same compass I’ve been using lately:
Ease. Sustenance. Prosperity. Contentment. Plenty. Appreciation. Receptivity. Peace.
And the superpower of there is secret nourishment right here and I can feel it.
I’m playing with…
Trusting my instinct. Time for me. Mapping and napping.
Progress report on past Very Personal Ads.
So. Last week, aka Bond In Bend.
Hmmm. I wanted to enjoy Bend, have fun and let the mission be pleasurable, and that didn’t really happen.
However, I learned a lot from the mission. A lot. And I’m glad I went, even though this is not something I would do again.
And also it was funny that the two main streets in Bend are Bond and Wall, and I was there as Agent Bond working on Operation Wall. Neat coincidence.
The main thing I learned is that when I don’t take time for myself, everything falls apart. And I need to do this sooner than I think. So this is my prize. And also I am giving myself a palpable, tangible, real-life gift to remind me of this. Holding it in the palm of my hand.
Ha! I forgot I asked for time with Meirav, and I ended up getting more time with Meirav than I have since 1997! Mind: blown.
Silent retreat on the rest for now!
Playing. Shelter for the comments.
What’s welcome: Your own wishes, gwishes, visions and personal ads, small or large. Updates on past ones if you like. Things sparked for your own process.
I’m receptive to warm wishes for the things I’m working on and playing with.
We ask for what we need, and we give each other space and spaciousness for the process.
This is a place of safety for creative play and exploration, with a very non-dogmatic approach. We don’t tell each other how to ask for things and we don’t give unsolicited advice. We play.
That’s it. Let’s throw a bunch of things in the pot!
As always, amnesty applies. Leave a wish here any time you want.
xox
Friday Chicken #265: chicken whispers “miracles, miracles”
Where I cover the good and the hard in my week, visiting the non-preachy side of ritual and self-reflection.
Oh, chicken chicken chicken. I needed you this week!
This week I learned all kinds of fascinating things about what my Stuff is. And I did not like this one bit, but I am also feeling pretty appreciative for all this new information I have.
So let’s start there.
What worked?
Talking to Upset Me.
Upset Me was so upset!
Once I talked to her, I really understood why she was upset, and it made so much sense that she would be feeling that way.
And then, she ended up comforting me.
Establishing a routine.
I was off on a mission in Central Oregon, and feeling out of my element.
Once rituals were in place (morning walk, dance class, shower before bed!), everything felt better.
Recognizing claustrophobia and giving it a name.
This week I dealt with some things I never have to deal with.
Claustrophobia, allergies, being unexpectedly on the receiving end of some unanticipated jealousy. Being in a fight, of sorts, with someone that I am normally very close to.
Naming helped me isolate and map some patterns.
Next time I might…
Schedule alone-time before I fall apart.
The last time I had this little time to myself was thirteen years ago.
I saw and felt it coming from way far away, the moment of I NEED SPACE AND I NEED IT RIGHT THIS SECOND, and I didn’t act quickly enough. Because of another pattern that has to do with wanting to placate.
Anyway, alone-time for Havi Bell!
Eight breaths of hard, challenging and mysterious.
- Central Oregon and I did not get along on this trip. Allergies, mosquito bites, weird rash on my face, bruised ankle. Ugh. A breath for my poor sweet body and the discomfort we experienced.
- Claustrophobia. The physical kind and the emotional kind. Unexpected. I’d imagined I’d experience [mission] as cozy, snug and contained, all things I like. But it turns out I go a little crazy in small spaces, and also in perceived tightness. A breath for needing spaciousness.
- No time/space for yoga/being yoga. Either it was 90 degrees or there were red ants or swarms of gnats or being in a certain space turned out to be a PTSD trigger. A breath for this.
- Work stress. Did not get to work on any of my writing projects. No progress at all on Operation Wall of Squoosh, which was supposedly the main thrust of the mission. A breath for this.
- Wednesday. Took the day off from work/over-work to dedicate it to Pleasurable Things Only. Instead had a misunderstanding/fight with a fellow agent and spent the whole day talking it out and crying. Fun fun fun. A breath for easing pain.
- Not sleeping well. Hating geese and coyotes, who were making ungodly amounts of noise while I was not sleeping. A breath for environment.
- Spoon feeding. I dislike doing it and resent that I have to. Deep breath for having to do something I don’t enjoy.
- Inhale, exhale. Goodbye, mysteries and hard moments of this week.
Eight breaths of good, reassuring, delight-filled.
- I got to take classes with my very-favorite-teacher in the world of [super embarrassing thing]. I am not crazy about being in Bend, but I am so crazy about her! Being near her is inspiring! I am in awe. Breath of appreciation and adoration.
- Some good news is I did NOT set the trailer on fire when I knocked over a tea light (it self-extinguished!). Less good news: wax all over my phone, including the bit where it plugs in to the charger and the little openings there. But then the good is that a toothpick fixed everything. A breath for things being okay. And for toothpicks at the diner.
- The Floop. I processed so much and the most remarkable things happened, including a small-and-vital miracle when I asked for it. A breath for community.
- Big huge wild progress on Operation Where I’m At (wham boom! this op is done!) and Operation 888! A breath for completion, and also immense gratitude to Agent W. who sat with me all day in the library three days in a row.
- The under four minute mile! Not actually a mile. But I got surprised by a really great surprise, and part of the surprise was that it took less time than it does to make soft-boiled eggs. A happy breath for sweetness and the feeling of being knocked off your feet by delight.
- The McGill sit-up. Not a proxy. An actual sit-up. I ended up being in the same room as something called an “ab challenge”. If you know me at all, you know that this would hold ZERO appeal for me. But I was feeling super cocky, and thought: “I may not care about sit-ups but I do a ridiculous amount of yoga, so bring it.” 85 second plank? Why not. Anyway, I did a thing I wouldn’t normally touch with a ten foot pole, and I learned this new (to me) kind of sit-up! And even though I still think sit-ups are stupid, I liked this. A breath for being surprised and trying new things.
- Something I was dreading (or at least: not looking forward to) went surprisingly smoothly and pleasantly, with the help of a bottle of wine. A breath for ease.
- Gorgeous moon. Outrageous sunsets, and a spectacular sunrise. A breath for beauty and sharing it with someone you love.
Superpowers!
A superpower I had this week…
I had the superpower of Miracles on Milagrotag. Which is really the superpower of conscious entry, and of asking-and-receiving. I whispered “miracles, miracles”.
And the superpower of melting imaginary snowballs with adoration and presence.
And the superpower of waiting calmly until the very last second and then smoothly outbidding everyone on eBay, and still getting the thing I needed at a fraction of the price.
Pretty great superpowers.
And a superpower I want next week.
Trust and spaciousness. And more whispering.
Salve.
I want to share the compass I made this week. Eight qualities I was wishing for on Milagrotag. This gave me comfort while whispering “miracles, miracles”, and maybe it will bring you comfort to.
This week’s salve is made of everything here:
- North. Ease. A sense of ease. A knowing of ease. A trusting of ease. And of Es. Trust the Es!
- Northeast. Sustenance. I am cared for. I am grounded. I am stable. I am nourished and nurtured. I am sustained.
- East. Prosperity. Even when things are edge-tough like they are now, I have access to what I need and I can flourish and thrive. Things are changing. Let this be so.
- Southeast. Contentment. I feel at peace with what I have and where I’m at, no matter what the news is (I hope I like it!), let it be so.
- South. Plenty. There is plenty. There is enough. There is more than enough. There is plenty of time, space, resources, good news, spaciousness, breathing room. Haha, the conflict I had with my fellow agent this week is a reflection of my perception of tightness/claustrophobia/lack-of-space. Tightness is a lie. So let me come back to a sense of plenty.
- Southwest. Appreciation. May I appreciate everything I have. May I know that I am appreciated and loved. May my life fill with appreciation.
- West. Receptivity. Let me be receptive to good news. Let me receive. Let me let myself receive.
- Northwest. Peace. Let this whole day be infused with peace. Quiet peace. Joyful peace. Peace for everyone in the cafe who wants some. Peace for everyone in Bend who wants some. Peace for everyone in the world who wants some. Let peace spread and prevail, readily available to anyone who is willing to have it.
Anyway, may it be so.
These salves can’t be seen, but the production factory delivers enough for distribution by way of the magic of the internet, so help yourself. There is enough.
Playing live at the meme beach house — the Fake Band of the Week!
Background. Ez and I make up bands. Stu (retired Bolshevik-fearing voice-to-text software) once invented hanging out at the Meme Beach House“. It’s just one guy.
This week’s band:
Marlene O. C. Dietrich
Just one guy.
Hallo Hallo! I am saying Hallo Hallo. ANNOUNCEMENT.
There are two spots left in the May Rally. (Rally!)
Grab them.
And for a not-that-much-more, for one more day, you can get access to as many Rallies as you want between this September and next.
That’s it for me …
Join my Friday ritual in the comments if you feel like it. Or call silent retreat!
We let people have their own experience. We’re supportive and welcoming. And we don’t give advice (unless people specifically ask for it).
Wishing you a glorrrrrrrrrrrrious day, a restful weekend and a happy week to come.
Shabbat shalom.
p.s. It’s fine if it’s not Friday anymore. There’s complete chicken amnesty — join in whenever (or not) and it’s no big deal.