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.
The Art of the OOD.
There are many, many wonderful ways to approach a project and make Giant Progress on it.
By “wonderful”, I mean useful, fun, powerful, effective, light-hearted, joyful and/or play-filled. As in: not stressful and depressing.
And by “project”, I mean any kind of mission, adventure, gwish or whatever it is you happen to be working on or playing with.
The point is: variety!
There are least as many valid methods for projectizing a project as there are people and projects but realistically probably way more. More!
Because we’re all different. And because we’re creative, inventive people engaged in a process of mindfully discovering neat and useful things about how we function.
Today: the art of the OOD.
This is one of my favorite projectizing methods ever. It’s one I often use on my projects at Rally (Rally!)
The OOD is pronounced Oooooood — rhymes with food — and it is the not especially secret code for:
Object Of Desire.
I’ll share the full version with all the steps, though of course you condense it. Pick and choose. Adapt and adjust. Move things around. Whatever works. Here we go:
1. State the OOD.
This is your basic declarative statement of the thing you want. Or a proxy.
I often do this part with crayons or magic markers on colored paper, which I then tape to the wall.
It’s a way of finding out what happens when you say the thing:
I want to set up a series of Shiva Nata classes!
That was the OOD I worked with at the last Rally.
Note! Rally ended last Thursday, and these classes not only were set up but also have already sold out. Thank you, OOD and Rally and blog readers.
2. Is this what I really want? In what ways?
Quite often, stating the OOD helps you realize that the thing you thought you wanted isn’t the thing.
Or is only part of the thing.
Maybe you realize you want to enjoy the creative process and you don’t actually care whether people see your painting. Or you want to bring a sum of money into your business but it doesn’t have to be through writing that ebook.
3. Gwish/Qualities.
Related to the above. You aren’t just looking at the Object of Desire but the essence of wanting it.
What are the qualities that this project brings into your life? What defines it? What are you really and truly gwishing here?
Yesterday, the OOD I was working with was my Plum Duff days project. And the qualities I wanted for it were:
[+fun] [+gleeful] [+exciting] [+enthusiasm] [+joyous] [+delight][+buoyancy] [+light-hearted] [+trust] [+pleasure] [+experimentation] [+courage] [+wheeee!]
4. Why I want this.
Always useful to remember. Especially after you’ve just tuned into the essence of the wanting.
There are a lot of legitimate reasons for wanting your project and for working on your relationship to that project, and it’s good to get them out there.
Often this is where the fuzzball monsters will start really getting loud What?! You want to make MONEY?! And have more TIME?!
And this is useful because we need them for the next step.
5. Possible disadvantages, What-iffery, monster-objections.
This is the new home for the worries — from the Very Legitimate Concerns all the way to the Batshit Crazy This Is Me Obsessing Over Things That Will Never Happen.
It’s all good. You just want to know what they are.
What if I’m not ready? What if I can’t finish in time? What if I get stuck in the middle? What if it’s no good? What if I suddenly go blind and then I trip over a pile of socks and then this will live forever in my memory as the project that ruined everything?
Often as you’re listing the objections, the solutions show up at the same time.
Otherwise, you can always do some Shiva Nata and stone skipping on the objections later. Or bring in a negotiator.
Useful resource if you get stuck here: the monster manual & coloring book.
6. Tizmun.
I am somewhat allergic to words like “timing”, “schedule”, and “deadlines”.
So I use the Hebrew word tizmun, which has elements of timing, arranging, itineraries and so on, but doesn’t freak me out.
This is where I figure out all the what-needs-to-happen-when bits.
Uh oh, if I do X before I do Q, then that’s no good. Note to self: start with Q!
And so on.
I don’t need to have it all figured out. This is just taking notes.
7. What will help?
This is kind of basic Book of You stuff. You might already know what helps. But it’s good to ask.
My list generally includes things like: Talk to H! Drink water! Take breaks! Do some reverse engineering! Ask for help!
8. Slightly Future Me says….
I don’t do anything without asking slightly future me (aka the me who is a few steps ahead of me) for advice and support.
How did she figure this stuff out? What does she wish that I knew? Where does she think I should start? What should I look out for?
What is useful about the places where I’m currently feeling stuck?
9. Allies, resources and helper mice!
Who is going to help me with this?
Whether with advice, moral support, spreading the word, holding me (lovingly) accountable…
Keep in mind that allies can also totally be fictional, imaginary or no longer alive.
10. Practical mapping.
This is where I go ahead and just make the List of Steps. What am I going to need to do? And in what order?
I put these on post-it notes so I can move them around in different combinations.
Listing possible next steps in the soft.
The soft = all the things that can’t really be seen.
The internal work. The talking to walls and being the fox and doing rituals and all that.
The destuckifying as opposed to the active doing.
11. Processing pain.
Working on a project means that your stuff will come up. There is, sadly, no real way to avoid this.
That’s because you’re dealing with an Object of Desire. So all the parts of you that are invested in not having it will show up.
Plus old grief and pain about past situations in which you weren’t able to have what you wanted, or you did get it but things went horribly, horribly wrong.
Projectizing comes with pain. Sometimes anger. This is normal!
And we need to interact with the existence of that pain in gentle, conscious, loving, inquisitive ways. But without diving into the pain and being in pain.
See: everything I’ve ever written about destuckification.
12. Revue!
This is where you take notes about various steps in the project or your relationship with the project, or the project as a whole:
What worked? What am I going to try differently for next time?
And that’s the OOD.
It’s challenging, powerful and surprising. And it saves time. And it’s awesome.
Plus you can do the whole thing with crayons if you want.
Playing! Caveats and comment zen.
We invoke Paul’s rule of People Vary. You can adjust and adapt any aspect of this to your needs. This is only one way to projectize, and it’s only one of the methods I use.
The important part is not the steps but the approach:
A conscious, mindful, sovereign, destuckifying approach. Because the culture of projectizing is about exploring rather than being prescriptive, and meeting pain rather than stomping on it.
If you’d like to play with any or all elements of the OOD here, yay! If you want to share projectizing stories of your own or discuss the approach, go for it.
Reminder! This is hard work. We all have our stuff. We make space for our stuff and we don’t tell each other what to do or how to feel.
Much love to the commenter mice, the Beloved Lurkers and everyone who reads.
Rally Revue! Goodbye, #11
After the June Rally (Rally!), I decided to share some of my after-the-fact thoughts and notes with you guys.
Mainly because I thought it might be useful to see what a possible version of an Exit Process looks like — that Revue and Review thing we’ve been talking about.
And also because it helps me remember to document the process.
So I’m doing it again, this time for the July Rally that just ended Thursday night.
And who knows, maybe you’ll find something unexpected in here that will secretly help out with something else you’re working on in a fractal flower sort of way…
New traditions that showed up at this Rally.
Muscle-hippo on the move!
In addition to constantly moving the fairy door around from place to place (the wooden one, not the pink one!), there’s another version. A spin-off?
We started obsessing over the sparkly and self-satisfied weight-lifter hippo statue.
So now we’re moving him around the Playground as well. And also posting sticky-notes on him.
Things like: “Love me tender!” and “I’m too sexy for my shirt.”
It was pretty entertaining. I hope it sticks.
Ringing the bell.
At the first few Rallies, I’d ask in the morning when we wanted to break for lunch.
That way, anyone who wanted to lunch with other rallions could meet up at the door. Or decide to stay at the Playground.
At first, lunchtime varied. 11:45? 1:15?
Eventually it just became 12:30. That was just when we’d get hungry.
So the plan would be to gather by the door. Except they’d wait for me. Or forget entirely. And then I’d end up ringing the bell.
But that doesn’t fit with the DIY culture of Rally. So the new thing is that someone can just decide to ring a bell at 12:30. Which is pretty vague. But then it totally worked.
And a continuation of fairly recent traditions.
Extra bonus superpowers whilst schmurphling.
Everyone loves bonus superpowers!
Reminding people to read the PLUM.
The PLUM is the Playground User Manual (thank you, commenter mice, for helping me name this!).
And whenever people get stuck at Rally, it’s invariably because they missed part of the PLUM.
I kept it out in the middle of the room and that helped.
Remembering to notice the side effects.
You know how everyone gets way more good-looking at Rally?
Sometimes I forget to pay attention to this until the last five minutes when all of a sudden we’re all like, Whoah, did it get hot in here? When did everyone get so outrageously gorgeous?
But we remembered. And seriously, we were smokin’ hot.
Some interesting things about Rally #11.
A very quiet group.
Thoughtful, introspective, reflective.
People did their own thing. We did not need a Talking Room. It was chill. I like it all ways, so this totally worked for me.
Some quality blanket forts.
Oh how I wish someone had taken pictures.
There was some really creative blanket-forting going on.
Skewing a bit younger?
If the last Rally was more towards the over-50 side, this one was more like 40-and-under.
Interesting, interesting. You never know. And it never matters. We always connect in weird and wonderful ways.
Some things we changed for this Rally.
I re-thought the closing ceremony and mixed things up a little.
This was the first Rally when I didn’t renovate any of the rooms beforehand.
Thoughts and ideas for future Rallies.
A systems thing! I really need a receipts envelope for things (extra snacks!) that I end up buying during Rally.
And maybe I will save the Ritual of Releasing Expectations for something else. Or do it beforehand?
Stray observations.
I really need to tell people — out loud and possibly also here on the blog — mre about what I’m doing when I’m Intentionally Not Shepherding.
This not-shepherding is a Hiro-concept, and a really important part of Rally.
Sometimes there’s light interpersonal drama at Rally and I do not interfere, other than strengthening the force field of Rally culture.
It’s not that I’m unaware of drama-ing, just consciously choosing to not engage, because it’s really important for everyone there that they channel Rally culture.
Which means working on sovereignty, taking responsibility for your own experience, separating out your stuff from other people’s stuff, and having a conscious intentional relationship with whatever is coming up for you.
That way, when you leave Rally, you can be in your strength.
NOT: “Oh Havi is so great and she resolved everything for us.”
BUT INSTEAD: “Hey, I’m getting better at owning my space, caring for myself and separating from what is not mine, thanks to Rally, yay!”
It always works out exactly as it needs to. And it might also be useful if I did a more thorough job of explaining this out loud before Rally in some form.
What I worked on
My personal focus/theme/project/mission for this Rally ended up being the ever-changing role of Shiva Nata in my business, and how it all works together.
Big stuff.
Favorite part?
Oh so hard to decide!
The madcap shivanauttery, of course.
I loved having such a mix of levels of shivanauts (two teachers there, some people with a semi-regular practice, some who had never done it). Neat.
This made teaching extra fun. We made the practice challenging in the most ludicrous ways.
I also took advantage of this young group to do a much more athletic practice than I usually might (with some sweaty high-impact jumping around!), and that was new.
The amazing results.
So many that I could write up an entire blog post just about the fabulous stuff that happened to us. But I will leave you with these:
Liz: “Ohmygod! Everything you said about Rally was true!”
Tim: “This is truly the most productive I have ever been. I got more done in the hour and a half between morning Shiva Nata and lunch today than in the past four months combined.”
Rhiannon: “This Rally left a wake. I’m almost more in it now than when it was happening. Ripples and ripples…”
And everyone loved the stone skipping card decks! Yay.
Hanging out with the Rallygators.
Especially at the Wine-and-Cheesening on Wednesday.
And going out for pizza lunch on Thursday.
Also having a crazed manic bubble-blowing/bubble-stomping romp with Tim when we were both having a fit at the same time.
Play with me! And comment zen for today.
If you would like to do a Revue for something and you want a place to put it, go for it.
If you’ve been to a Rally and want to share favorite memories, that’s welcome too.
And if you have interest in processing a thing which has happened or things you want to try, go for it.
As always, we remember that this is a process, and a process is really a tiny, sweet thing, so we tread gently.
We recognize our stuff, we let other people have their stuff, we take responsibility for our experience and we don’t tell each other what to do.
Love to the rallygators (past and future!), to the commenter mice, the Beloved Lurkers and everyone who reads.
p.s. The September Rally is nearly full. We do have a couple more spots for August. Rally!
Very Personal Ads #106: this is our wishing room
Personal ads. They’re … personal! Very.
Each week I write these VPAs 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!
One hundred and six consecutive weeks of VPA-ing.
I am imagining what this space would feel like if it were an actual room, and we had done yoga here together one hundred and six times.
Or sung sea shanties together. Or read our favorite poems.
When I feel that room — which is filled with so much grace and so much belonging, I remember why I love doing this, even though sometimes I forget and totally don’t feel like it.
Very Personal Ads!
Thing 1: the further brunching of the Shiva Nata destuckification series.
Here’s what I want:
I am doing a highly unusual thing! Instead of teaching Shiva Nata at Rallies (Rally!) and retreats, I’m doing a 3 part series of live Shiva Nata classes.
At the Playground. In Portland. In August.
And a special Snack Preview class on Toozday, July 26. Which is ridiculously soon, so there is lots to do to spread the word. I expect this class to be very full, but I’d like that to happen speedily and easily.
* Brunching = “launching”. I borrowed this from Tara the Blonde Chicken because saying “launch” kind of creeps me out.
Ways this could work:
I can use the Deguiltified Chicken Board at my Kitchen Table program to help me track the various steps.
And my OOD method, which I can’t link to because I haven’t written about it yet but assume that you’ll know about it eventually.
And use my monster coloring book to destuckify any resistance that comes up.
I can tell the people at the Frolicsome Bar about the classes, and ask for help with this.
Plus there are probably a thousand other ways that I haven’t thought of.
My commitment.
To try and get better at asking for help and support, because that’s what this ask is really about.
To give you guys the link:
–> http://shivanata.com/snack-preview-pdx
To ask you guys to tell everyone you know in Portland or the general pacific northwest. I know there are a ton of people who have tried Shiva Nata or want to, and this is a great way to do it without having to come to a Rally or a training or a Week of Biggification.
Plus, my classes are outrageously fun, challenging, zany and generally marvelous. And Selma will be there. And we have a costume room!
Thing 2: Plum Duff!
Here’s what I want:
Working on another big project that needs to brunch soon.
There are way too many moving pieces and I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed.
So the first part of my ask is for perspective, calming, focus, reassurance, flow.
And the second part of my ask is for BIG CRAZY PROGRESS!
Ways this could work:
For the first part….
Calming techniques. Old Turkish lady yoga. Consult the book of me.
For the second part….
Lots of Shiva Nata. Use the Playground. Use your anthologies.
Actually, shivanauttery will help with the calming too. So yes.
My commitment.
To breathe, pay attention, ask questions, negotiate, re-negotiate, and consult with the (internal) collective of scientists.
To pause (paws!) more often than I think is necessary.
And to dance dance dance.
Thing 3: post-Rally consolidation time
Here’s what I want:
So last week was Rally (Rally!) and it was Rally #11 and it was absolutely amazing.
Now I need to take all this astonishing collection already-done and almost-done and half-done work, and figure out the next steps.
I also need time for emotional/energetic consolidation: to assimilate all the things I learned and experienced.
So I guess this ask is about time, order, patience and allowing things to come into their new form.
Ways this could work:
Not sure.
Probably more shivanautical flailing, obviously.
And some naps.
And some Designated Time. But when? Maybe Wednesday?
And write another Rally Revue?
My commitment.
To take things slow.
To remember that Rally always involves change and that change involves recovery time.
To do things that are sweet, slow and restful. Or to look for things that might be like that. To invoke the flow chart of spaciousness, which always makes me laugh.
Thing 4: secret gwish
Here’s what I want:
I want a slackline. I want to learn to do crazy things on a pole and on rings. I want to do ridiculous things with my body.
But in order to be able to even give some of these a try, I have about a million little anxieties, fears, worries and doubts to interact with.
The grumble thrum monster collective is very clear that NOW IS NOT THE TIME.
So instead of trying to force this, I’m just quietly planting the possibility for this gwish here.
And in the meantime, I’m not going to do anything with it. Just setting the intention that eventually I’ll find out which parts of me feel anxious and what they might be anxious about.
Ways this could work:
This is it. I’m putting it here and I don’t have to do anything else with it yet.
Though if you have bought a slackline kit and like it, I am open to receiving suggestions for brands.
My commitment.
I promise not to force things. My body gets to make all the decisions. We’ll work together.
I am making space for both the wish and for the time it will take to feel comfortable with it.
I am making space for the part of me who is seriously yearning for this and for the part of me who is dreading this. They both get to be here. And there is time to sort this all out.
Progress report on past Very Personal Ads.
Just to update you on what’s happened since last time.
I wanted to work on a very specific project at Rally, and I did!
Then I wanted progress on a new version of a thing in my business. And while I didn’t work on it directly at all, I’m actually feeling really good about it. So I think some of the Rally epiphanies have been at work here.
I also wanted RELEASE, and that was a big theme over the week. More to do there but it feels good.
The last thing I wanted was to do some writing about dread. And I didn’t. So I’m going to re-ask this and see if something else comes up.
Comment zen. Here’s what I’d love today.
Things that are welcome! Your own personal ads, small or large. Updates on past ones if you like.
Leave your gwishes! Throw things in the pot!
Things we try to keep away from: the word “manifest”, telling people how they should be asking for things, unsolicited advice.
xox
Friday Chicken #154: better than a sandbox full of aardvarks though
In which I cover the good stuff and the hard stuff in my week, trying for the non-preachy, non-annoying side of ritual and self-reflection.
And you get to join in if you feel like it.
This week was Rally week (Rally!), so things were kind of crazy and all over the place.
I am completely baffled as to how it’s already Friday and how it’s only just now Friday since this week was so full of everything under the sun.
Anyway, Friday! Hi. Let’s do this before you end because I’m pretty sure it’s already Saturday everywhere in the world but here. Of course you can leave chicken comments all week but I’m still going to press pooblish before midnight!
The hard stuff
Poor me!
There was this tiny cramped weekend between my pirate queen holiday and beginning Rally.
Not enough time to transition the transition.
Everything felt off-balance. As if I was being squeezed too tightly.
Totally ignored everything I know to be true, which was not helpful.
All the notes about preparing for Rally that I’ve listed in the Book of Me are very clear about the day before.
Rally always begins at 5pm on a Monday, and that Monday has to be all about ready-ing.
I can’t do client calls, I can’t run around and do errands, I can’t get my hair done. I have to be at the Playground meditating and writing and getting into the zone and flow for Rally. All day.
We know this. Through re-learning it the hard way a bunch of times and through having done it the way it needs to be done, and experiencing how wonderful that makes everything.
But there was a business mini-emergency and people needed me and blah blah. It threw me off my game. And then I felt even more frustrated with myself, for knowing what I needed and not giving it to myself and then only having an hour to prepare for Rallying.
And then I did the same thing again, just for fun.
The Book of Me is also very clear about what is helpful and not helpful in times of frustration.
I considered kicking the door, remembered that this is never a good idea, and then kicked the door anyway. And instantly regretted it. Fun.
Way too much going on.
Trying to do sixteen hundred things at once and they’re all great, and it’s just kind of a lot.
I want something and I can’t have it.
And so it goes.
Rally is over. Sadface mouse!
Rally was unbelievably amazing and I got so much done and everyone was so lovely, and I didn’t want it to end.
The good stuff
My tiny weekend was actually pretty fun.
I call weekends Pineapple Upside Down days to remind me of my practice of trying to make them different than my week.
And these were very upside-down days!
I wandered around town, took a trip to Powell’s, visited some new food carts and generally did things in a backwards and unexpected way. Yay!
Rally! Rally! Rally!
Rally is always amazing but somehow this Rally — Rally #11 — was especially amazing. Rally!
I got ridiculous amounts of things done, had massive shivanautical epiphanies, and enjoyed the hell out of all of it.
And the old Turkish lady yoga was floaty and beautiful and made me cry.
The rallions!
Every group that has come to a Rally has had its own unique character or personality, even though of course everyone is different. It’s hard to explain but each group has a feel. And a special-ness.
For example, the last Rally before this one (Rally #10) had kind of a silly, happy-go-lucky, giggly feel. Effervescent and exciting. It was like OH BOY ICE CREAM! Fun! Loved it.
This Rally we had a group whose collective personality was quiet, thoughtful, reflective, sweet and mellow. With a lot of crazy-smart people who were sort of quietly wise and funny in a very chilled-out way.
And I am really noticing how much I enjoyed this group and how happy I feel to have met them all.
Just to be clear! I love all the Rally groups and I find all the people who come to my events to be bright, creative, and generally lovely. Not a statement of preference — just a statement of enjoyment!
The Shiva Nata! So great! We goofed off like you would not believe.
It was a really mixed group (people who had never done Shiva Nata and people who regularly teach it), and we threw ourselves into the mad flailing with abandon while I let them pick the words to assign to the arm positions…
1st day: pink, clear, patience and rastafarian as the horizontals, and aardvark, quietly, sandbox and excitement as the verticals. Leading to sentences like “I’m in a sandbox full of rastafarians and the aardvark is pink!”
2nd day : fun, mystery, trust and clarity as the horizontals, and excitement, fear, something and something (help me out, Rallygators?) as the verticals. Leading to sentences like “I fear excitement unless I remember to trust the mystery.”
The third day we had: pink, blue, ochre and crimson as the horizontals, and green, magenta, black and orange as the verticals. Which we also used while playing with directions in space and waving scarves (of different colors).
And we used music, dancing, sounds and all sorts of other crazy and ridiculous things.
I can’t even remember the last time I’ve laughed so hard. Or that the brains were so scrambled. Epic.
Related: getting so much done. But SO MUCH done.
Thanks to all the Shiva Nata, I came up with the best metaphor mouse thing ever (will tell you later).
And got piles of things done.
And generally astonished myself. Rally is the best.
On the last day, Tim said something like, “I got more done in the hour and a half between Shiva Nata and lunch today than in the past three months put together” and I thought YEAH.
Because that’s basically what happened for me too. It was intense.
Presents. I love presents.
Claire sent a bunch of marvelous monster stuff from Australia. Thank you!
We got books, socks, and a very mysterious drawing. All gorgeous and wonderful.
Thank you!
Shiva Nata classes in August!
Even though I pretty much never teach live classes outside of retreats and Rally, I will be teaching THREE Shiva Nata classes in August.
It’s a series. A destuckification series. Tuesday, August 16, 23 and 30, from 5:30 — 7:00 pm.
At the Playground, of course. It will be intensely fun, challenging, hilarious, and completely insane. I cannot recommend this highly enough.
And there is a live Snack Preview class coming up VERY SOON:
Toozday, July 26.
If you’re anywhere near Portland, you should definitely definitely come.
Here is the link: http://shivanata.com/snack-preview-pdx
And … playing live at the meme beach house it’s the Fake Band of the Week!
My brother and I have this thing where we come up with ridiculous band names and then say in this really pretentious, knowing tone, “Oh, well, you know, it’s just one guy.”
This week’s eclectic band is local to Oregon. They’re loud, brassy and highly entertaining.
What’s Their Petunia Budget?
Yes. That’s what they’re called. It’s confusing. But you know what’s really confusing? It’s actually just one guy.
And an ANNOUNCEMENT!
The early brunch pricing period for the September Shiva Nata Academy of Hilarity & Play ends today.
Read the page and see if speaks to you. We’re going to have an outrageously good time together.
Will I see you there? I hope so. That would be beautiful. All levels, body types, personalities welcome.
And even though it officially ends tonight at midnight, my tech guy isn’t around so the prices probably won’t go up until Sunday when he wakes up. You might catch a break!
That’s it for me …
And of course you can join in my Friday ritual right here in the comments if you feel like it.
Yes? Anything hard and/or good happen in your week?
And, as always, have a glorrrrrrrrrrrrious day, a restful weekend and a happy week to come. Shabbat shalom.
p.s. It’s okay if it’s not Friday anymore. There’s complete chicken amnesty — you can join in whenever (or not) and it’s no big deal.
Today I saw
I’ve been doing this thing at the Frolicsome Bar.
The Frolicsome Bar is what I call our Facebook page because saying Facebook page depresses me so much that I forget that I actually like to hang out there.
It’s kind of a ritual and kind of a game and kind of a chicken and a bunch of other things all at the same time.
Today I saw…
A perfect place to build a fort. A 70-ish woman lifting huge weights like a total badass. Giant triangles of watermelon (yum).
It’s deceptively simple. Just some things that I happened to see. Not a big deal.
But something about the act of naming them and writing them down turns it into a noticing practice.
Today I saw…
A tiny old woman under an umbrella that was A GIANT SUNFLOWER UMBRELLA.
Two kids playing in their yard brandishing plastic baseball bats that were almost as big as they were — one said: “I am a troll with a club! And I only strike once!”
And a rastafarian aardvark who was really just one guy.*
* Not really an aardvark. During today’s Shiva Nata classes at Rally we invented silly words for the positions, which kept resulting in phrases like “If the sandbox is clear, the aardvark is a rastafarian” (7:2 flipping to 5:4 in Level 2).
So I had the line “the rastafarian is an aardvark!” (4:5) in my head and then I was walking down the street and there was this guy sitting almost in front of the Playground, dreads and a giant hat, and I almost said it out loud.
It’s a communal practice.
It builds togetherness, in tiny, weird, sweet, unexpected way.
Read any of the comments (here or here, for example), and you will love all of our people.
You can feel what our loosely formed community is like. So so great!
Today I saw…
Today I saw: not very much because I have been mostly sequestered inside, but let’s see… I saw a lady doing tai chi, a red tricycle parked in a bike rack and a very crispy grilled cheese sandwich. What about you?
Read the comments because that’s where everyone else’s noticings and discoveries get to play too. It reads like poetry.
Pure creative flow with all the noticings connecting and overlapping, speaking to each other and reflecting each other.
Reading these collective noticings has become its own ritual. It takes me beyond the noticing into this gathering. It’s a place of connection.
And, like with the fountain or the pot, there’s so much power in that moment of acknowledging the noticing.
You start to feel the qualities that infuse our community:
[+Creativity] [+Joy] [+Delight] [+Trust] [+Receptivity] [+Intelligence] [+Hilarity] [+Wonder] [+Flow] [+Play] [+Support] [+Belonging] [+Welcoming] [+Strength] [+Courage] [+Sovereignty] [+Silliness] [+Beauty] [+Surprise] [+Love]
Today I saw…
Today! Today I saw: a stripey cat wearing a green collar (I stopped for a scritching), a gigantic flamboyant yellow rose (stopped for a sniffing) and a hello kitty tattoo behind a girl’s ear. What about you?
It’s not just mindfulness. It’s that combination of mindful and silly, aware and light-hearted.
Some of people’s noticings are poignant, some hilarious, some joy-filled, some sad. They’re all beautifully expressed. It’s a perfect form, in a way.
I feel a rush of happy when it’s time to drop the things I have seen into the bar so we can all share fragments and color from our day.
Today I saw…
A new day, new things. Today I saw: an old and very large tortoise named Herman, a parasol with a skull and crossbones on it, and a cat in hiding. Also I met a 71 year old man who has been going to the same dance class for 31 years (with the same teacher!).
There is something so grounding and reassuring (for me, at least) about ritual. It says: COME IN! It says: STILL HERE!
It’s solid and comforting. It creates spaciousness and containment at the same time. It is a place to play and still have structure and form.
Today I saw…
Things I saw today: a baby swan, six very skinny waitresses, a wet happy dog leaving wet happy dog prints behind him. What about you?
I felt nervous and awkward when I started this daily practice of noticing-out-loud.
Especially since everyone else’s noticings seemed (according to the Grumble Thrum Monster Collective) to be much more entertaining and generally more awesome than mine.
But then I realized that of course all noticings are special, because it’s the act of noticing, naming and appreciating that creates the frame and the experience.
Like seeing a beautiful photograph of something you might normally miss.
Being part of a group of noticers just points out how much is there to be seen, heard, perceived, appreciated.
I don’t know yet what I will see today.
But I will find things, overhear things and trip over things that catch my attention.
They will remind me that beauty is everywhere, that grief and loss are a natural part of change, that surprises hide in plain sight and there’s always a good sign. Or at least an entertaining one.
It would be lovely if you feel like playing with me, whether here or at the Frolicsome Bar. Or both.
I’d love to know what you’ve seen/heard/perceived/encountered. Or how this tiny practice has done good things for you. Or what appeals to you about it.
As always, we make this a safe space by not giving each other advice or telling each other how to be or feel. We make room.
Today I will see all sorts of crazy and delightful things.
What about you? What have you seen today?