Deja Vu Blues

Sometimes when I get the blahs, I don’t feel altogether there. As if my spirit has left my body I sit in a feeling of absence, while ironically aware. I can think, I can feel my body, and emotion is just submerged enough that I can see it through the water but am not currently experiencing it.

I search my psyche, the pages of my journal and the breeze running through the trees for meaning, passion, personal effects… And I appreciate what’s there - my favorite color, a pleasant temperature, a certain serenity - but I miss the girl in all of her effervescent spirit. Did something rob me of my essence, is a part of me somewhere unknown on another adventure, or are the stillness and silence just giving my soul (or psyche) the chance to rest?

There are rhythms to life that remain a mystery to us. What I do know – thanks to experience – is that this apathy, this absence of my zeal, won’t last. Best I can do is hope that the part of me who knows how to live life to the fullest is doing just that in some exotic faraway place. And that she’ll return with tantalizing remnants of a story that come to me one day in déjà vu glory.

Hello, Magnificent Future You!

Do you ever envision your life in the future, and do you ever envision your 'divine' or highest self?

Let's do a little exercise where we play in the realm of ideals and possibility.
I want you to imagine yourself and your life in the most ideal ways you can. I want you to see the details and immerse in the feelings you'd like to be experiencing.
What do you look like and how do you act?
What are you wearing and how are you feeling?
How about your life? How are living from day to day, how does it feel, and what details do you see?

The reason we think about the future (usually) is to plan out a more ideal existence for ourselves. So say you can create a better future with more pleasant experiences... Why limit your imagination with only what you think is currently possible? If you do that, you're setting your future self up for more disappointment.

Whenever the thought enters your mind, imagine how you want to look, dress, act, feel and be received by the world. Envision your life in the most perfect way you can: What you'll be doing career- or retirement-wise, what your relationships will be like, how you'll ideally be feeling, and how improved the world around you will be.

If you do this often enough, and then try to emulate any portion of it in the here and now, I'll bet you'll be walking and talking more like that future self much sooner than you thought possible.

Tricks & Treasures

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Manifest Calm

What I realized between writing my last post and now is that the anxiety I’m feeling is coming from all the things currently happening in my life; things I in fact am manifesting, or facilitating. That latter part is the realization I just made: These are things I wanted to have happen.

So kudos to the power of manifestation. And kudos to me realizing that I can also manifest a way to balance it all. The key is remembering that I designed it all this way. I’m getting what I wished for.

But I left out one of the most important components. When I say “I” and “Me”, I also mean “You”, “Yours”. Because the ability to create our dreams is rapidly evolving.

So look around and see what you’ve created. Hone the good stuff, and remember to heed the warning ‘Be careful what you wish for….’

Or, just accept that all things - creations and actions - have consequences – reactions and responses. And if you don’t like those, create a new wish to patch the holes in your new dream reality.

Fair Weather, Stormy Seas

When I was little girl my grandparents had a dog aptly-named 'Happy'. When the 4th of July rolled around that first summer and we lit those 6-foot fountain cones, Happy was right there with us... and then right there on top of the exploding fireworks - barking, bouncing and writhing about in an attempt to make it all stop. We couldn't get her to understand that nobody was in danger, and luckily she never suffered anything worse than scorched whiskers... but I don't think she ever learned her lesson either.

I don't know about you, but 2013 has been blazing through my life like a bundle of those fountain fireworks. The views are spectacular, the lights almost blinding, and most of the fragments of flame are shooting upwards as they should. It's mostly good stuff that's happening around me, but even positive excitement can send us into a tailspin and trigger anxious tendencies that are difficult to squelch. While I can't see the forest through the trees yet and my beliefs feel somewhat tested, when I come full circle to little old me and what I want it all to mean, I do find some calm and comfort... Until another swell builds and looms above me.

I don't really know what it all means, but since I (do try to) trust the Powers That Be, I also (do try to) trust I have what it takes to navigate the storm and paddle my way to calmer seas, even if just temporarily. Because in that moment of self-reliance, that's where it is - my breath that soothes me and has the power to soothe others. As well as my outlook on challenges - always finding the silver lining - which is pretty invaluable these days.

But when the big picture evades me and even the details seem oddly foreign, the part of me that loves comfort and foresight might have to step aside for the part of me that (said she) craves adventure and weather-worn character. Then she'll have to step back and watch the show, trying to resist the urge to squelch it for the status quo.

Our biggest breakthroughs
come from opening our minds
to all possibilities,
no matter how
impossible-seeming.

How to Stay Sane in These Crazy Times?

I tend to think that the more chaotic things get, the clearer what really matters becomes. However, I’m not currently finding that to be the case.

In trying to become more aware of current events and topics that affect our region/country/world/planet, I’m finding a lot of alarming, discomforting and questionable information… which is not only hard to sort through, but is making it difficult to get back to what matters most.

Priorities
So what does matter most? Does it vary from one person to another? Can our differing priorities co-exist? What happens when we begin to question what used to matter most?
Things have certainly changed and we all feel it in some way. But do we have any control over what happens next? Usually I would say, ‘Yes, we all create our future.’ Listening to the paranoia and anger that’s out there, however, makes me less confident about that future.

Protection, Safety & Wellbeing
On one hand, watching shows such as ‘Doomsday Preppers’ can provide some handy insights into survival skills. On the other hand, considering all the threats that could possibly be out there – and figuring out which ones pose the greatest threat to you – can make us paranoid and lose touch with the reality of our current lives. As well, too much ‘every man for himself’ thinking can cause us to mistrust our fellow man and utilize that skepticism to de-humanize others.

Community
In difficult times, are we banding together or building walls around our personal comfort? Are our differing beliefs creating discord and widening chasms between us? Should we be preparing for catastrophes related to the economy, climate change, national security, the “zombie nation” or others in scope? Should we be worrying about our distant future (retirement) or our nearer future (livelihood, safety, health)?

Information
What’s too much information, what’s just enough, what’s the correct information and what are the best ways to find it? The jury’s still out on this one. Access to information is greater than ever… but weeding through it all is becoming increasingly challenging.

Just don’t believe everything you see, hear or read. Definitely don’t believe everything you think. And watch out for public forum traps – arguing with others on comment threads or online outlets like Facebook. People are passionate, and while that can be a good thing, it’s often counter-productive when it becomes more of a knee-jerk reaction. Blaming each other for all of our problems is not going to get us anywhere good. Anger and fear, unless harnessed and utilized productively, could become our worst enemy of all. But then again, it probably has been all along.