yoga

You can’t see me…

Not because I'm invisible, even though I might be, but because you choose to not see me.

That's pretty much a summary of the waters beneath the surface for the past 3 weeks. I'm usually content to be in the background, doing the things I do because it's who I am, or how I choose to express myself. But the one time, the one time, that I made the choice to step up and say "HEY EVERYONE, REALLY LOOK AT ME!!!" I received the biggest smack down I could ever imagine possible. Worse than any of the shit I put up with going through middle and high school (and believe me, not all of it happened at school, so let's just say girls can be bitches and leave it there). So yeah, not planning on doing that ever again. But at least I know who my family consists of, and I'm grateful to them, even if they were part of the reason I broke before I was supposed to. But I shattered and I'm trying to pick up the pieces, little by little. The universe hasn't been totally helpful, because every time I try to take down time to hit up the mountains, or the river, or something; it manages to pop up and say, "Oh, you want time off? You sure about that?" and when I prove that I am, I come back to a clusterfuck bigger than I left to say, "See, you really shouldn't have taken that downtime. Normally, by this point in the year, I've had a month and a half of vacation. It's what keeps me sane, because I really do need 2-3 weeks to decompress from my job. So far, I've had a week and a half – and that wasn't a real, don't deal with anything work-related, vacation. I really need to just hole up in a cabin with no cell signal or wifi. Just me, coffee, a book, nature, and maybe Pastry (if he can get the time off).

I'm finding I need to re-establish my boundaries. I put myself out there for people, for whatever reason, and find that my margin of returns are exceedingly slim. Those who will continue to be blessed by my thoughtfulness are the ones that have shown themselves to return it, in some way – whether it's "paying it forward" or "kicking it back". I love them, and they get it. But I'm really tired of the dead ends. I'm really tired of looking out the window and seeing what is happening outside. The level of stupidity is astounding to the point I want to slam heads against a mirror and say, "What the fuck are you doing? Don't you see what you are doing?" But it would be useless. Very few are interested in self-reflection, and those who don't even consider it till they hit the proverbial wall are so blinded that they don't even know they've hit anything. It's disheartening to me. Depressing.

I have no clue where I'm going with this. I had some totally awesome stuff in my head earlier. Fluid and descriptive. All the stuff my writing professors loved. All the stuff my muse would pour out on to the paper before she was blindsided and muzzled because she "just wasn't good enough". Stupid people. Stupid me.

My office has a purple rug with yellow and lavender flowers on it. That makes me happy. I need more purple and lavender flowers. I need more solitude. Whatever fire is burning inside needs to come out. I can't handle it anymore, I'm tired of containing it within. It's being fed by something I don't know, and something I'm not familiar with. I don't know how to calm it down. And I don't want it to destroy me.

Writing….

I need to get better at this, so I'm just typing something since I have time. 🙂 I'm waking up earlier and getting out of bed faster, so my hope is that I'll start to get into the habit of writing something down, and maybe start getting back into the less superficial crap I've been writing. There's a lot that I've been thinking of, 's parting anniversary was a few weeks ago. So that is still in my head, still brings tears to my eyes, and there is stuff to pour out onto this digital paper about it. Yoga stuff to write, some bitch venting about acceptance and the crap I do to myself (which is the hardest part to accept).

But to say life is improving is true. The business is on the up right now. Not where I want it to be, and my scheduling sometimes leaves me hitting myself for failing to maintain my set boundaries. But hey, it happens and I need to learn to get over it. That whole speaking up thing and saying "no" is sometimes still a work in progress. I have amazing co-workers and clients who are more than willing to toss their wisdom at me, with a sense of humour, to try and help me back on track. But I am hopeful at the direction that work is going, and I can't wait to get back to the stuff I do best, integrated therapy.

Also, need to get better about working out, somehow. I've gained more weight than I would like, and lost a lot of muscle in the last few years. And this goes back to my boundaries, because I set time in each day to go to the gym or workout somehow. And when I violate my boundaries, it means that doesn't get done. Yesterday was a big one, and I'm still kicking myself for it. 2 reasons, I felt that my time was not being valued (the client I agreed to take on, last minute, told me one time when we started talking and called back with another time – which totally devoured both my workout time and my lunch) Me, instead of holding to my, "I'm sorry, but that time isn't available" hesitated and said "OK", which threw off my sugar levels for the rest of the day because I had a half-assed snack after the shakes were already starting up. So, the session sucked for me. I didn't feel like I did anything for him. He said he felt better, but obviously wasn't where he wanted to be (but I don't believe he would have been, anyway). Didn't have enough time to really discuss the issue, or what was really going on with him, and that is not how I want those kind of sessions to go, at all. Very disappointed with that. But yeah, "Oh well." Just a good reminder, so a note will get taped to my computer screen, to remind me that my schedule boundaries are there for a justified reason – to provide a quality service, and to keep my mind at peace.

I’m very disappointed…

*****Disclaimer*****

My apologies if you don't wish to read this and it takes up your page. It was not my intention when I set out, and normally, I would happily hide it behind a cut. But this is something that I believe needs to be said, and hiding it behind a cut would defeat the purpose of writing it.

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In a number of things, but we'll start the massive brain dump with the thing on the forefront of my mind, that makes my husband continually ask what's wrong with me…

Something horrible happened yesterday, 28 people were killed in the course of one man committing suicide. It was evil, regardless of what his personal issues were, that lead him to yesterday morning, it was evil. There is no changing that. Last night, before I went to bed, The Travel Yogi decided to post, what I consider to be, an anti-yogi status update. The call not to have a dialog about our issues as a culture that lead us to days like yesterday, but to further restrict guns – because a man intent on going on a killing spree was denied the ability to legally purchase the firearms. So, instead, he opted to take his mother's – before or after killing her. Gun control worked. Unfortunately, in the words of a legal beagle friend of mine, he decided to commit other crimes in order to obtain them.

I'm disappointed, because lost in all of this is something I consider to be the ultimate question – What is wrong with us, not as individuals, but as a culture? Out of all the vomit on FB and in the news, I've only seen this question asked twice, but not answered – or even seriously considered. Instead I see calls for more control, calls for less control, the occasional blame on the individual who actually perpetrated it (and who I will never name, because he doesn't deserve a name, in the same vein that I don't believe he deserves a burial better than being left out for the animals to scavange).

Now, going back to the anti-yogi stuff….Yoga is a process of self-knowledge and self-discovery. Using different branches, the goal is to shed into what is your higher self. We go out into the world, to show others how it can be, and that it can be done. We actively serve and provide a safe space for others to discover themselves. In relation to the topic, the focus was on the material tool – the guns used – not the intent, or the issues surrounding the person who chose to use a tool for an evil purpose. One of the major Hindu texts, the Bhagavad Gita, takes place on a battlefield, prior to the protagonist of the tale going to battle. He faces a serious quandary in regards to the idea of having to possibly kill a member of his family. It was a violation of the first Yama, Ahimsa (nonviolence). It's a quandary that many within the military and law enforcement field have had to face, and come to grips with. An ethical person will always have that issue, when faced with that kind of decision. A law-abiding citizen, who chooses to arm his/herself makes the choice to use their weapon in either defense. This man, chose to arm himself in offense – against children. For whatever reason, whether it be a mental disease or lapse, he premeditated the death of someone, and that someone ended up being mostly innocent children. This is not a case of SpiderMan, or The Mask, where an evil spirit rides a person and makes them do these horrible things. It was the choice of a man, not the weapon.

To go back to my question…what's wrong with us as a culture? That makes people jump to killing someone, instead of talking, or dealing with their anger in a constructive manner? It's not movies, it's not video games. Many of these weapons have been around for decades, much longer than I've been alive. Yet in recent times, it took a sudden turn for the worst. Is it people lacking respect for each other? For their lives? Probably. We don't actually talk anymore. We're so focused on getting what we want, and when we want it, that we don't sit back and take in what we actually have. Nor do we interact with people. We cut people off on the roads, instead of letting them merge, because that car length is the difference between arriving 10 minutes early and being late. We sit on the phone all the time, because paying attention to work, or whoever called us, is more important than seeing that person trying to cross the crosswalk with the right-of-way. We ignore the accidents, crimes, or the injured people we see – because we're running late. We teach our children that material wealth is more important that watching the sun set, or going out to play on a nice day. We teach them that these things are theirs, by right, and if anyone else tries to take them, Mommy and Daddy will come in to yell at that kid's parents. We teach them to cower in front of anyone who demands anything from them, because standing for yourself is wrong. We reward bullies for their behaviour, when it reaches the boiling point that the bullied lashes out, because no one would listen to them. And as a result, those kids are punished and taught to sit back and "take it." Yet, we coddle our kids. We don't let them participate in sports where there are winners and losers – for the sake of their self-esteem. We don't teach them humility and how to win graciously. We teach them that they are all the same; that trying their best doesn't gain them any kind of recognition. Because pride, when coupled with humility, is somehow evil. Believing in your own greatness is looked down upon, but believing in your misery is somehow a virtue.

The problem, is that the world, however we view it in its idealistic phase, does not allow for these things. These kids, who think they're "hot shit", when they go to get a job and find out that they are underqualified and lack the skills for the job they claim is right for them lash out. They're unprepared an emotionally immature to deal with their own failings, because they've never been allowed to fail. Some of them get a late lesson and recover, others go on sprees of violence – whether it's against themselves or others. It's because somewhere, WE FAILED THEM. Our "mind our business" mentality is what is killing us. Those of us who see this, and say nothing are at fault. We, as a society, have gotten too PC and overly inclusive to have the fortitude to stand up when we need to – because we're afraid of offending someone.

As a country, we once had values. They were espoused in the Declaration of Independence and elaborated upon in the Bill of Rights and the various writings of our Founding Fathers. What are our values now? Freedom for everyone? The right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness? We are selfish. Our pursuit of happiness is greed. Our liberty is a joke. And life? Some, and this includes some of those brave teachers who really fulfill the definition of a hero, are willing to defend those who can't defend themselves, against those who wish to do them harm. They are willing to stand up and say something is wrong and protect the innocent who need their protection.

And the problem with the arguments today, is the call to remove a tool from an ethical citizen's arsenal, for providing for both themselves and their loved ones. All because others are afraid and unwilling to stand up for themselves.

Ramblings…

Doing lots of house stuffs, mostly closets (you'd think my condo was nothing but closets with how often I'm working on one).

Work is up and down. Right now, just started another LS deal, and I've realized what a huge source of my anxiety is…dealing with other people's expectations. The last time around, at the onset and outset of the deal, I was stuck dealing with all the "me, now" clients. Had a few of them already, and given where we're at in the deal offering, they cancelled their coupon. It's the one nice thing with the way this particular deal is going, other than that, I'm not thrilled. It's not selling well, and I'm more than sure it's because they decided to offer it over the weekend, than at the beginning of the week. Pastry and I are contemplating marketing ideas, and I'm contemplating a change-up that might shift my market focus. It's in part thanks to my mentor for letting me sub for her at an awesome studio that is right up my alley.

Life, still working on that. Sliding back into my meditation practice thanks to all above, and thanks to my friend B, I found that the studio she works at has a regular kundalini class. So I'll be able to get back in tune sooner or later. Also planning to hit up my office neighbor for an acupuncture session, once I get my credit card back within personal limits. In a few weeks, it's ProgPower, really looking forward to that, since it won't be the last one. Oh yeah, went to see Steve Vai on Thursday. It was awesome, because there were parts that you could just shut your eyes and his opening statements proved true….a temple of music had been created. I was amazed, since I had never really listened to his music, I wasn't sure what to expect. So awesome.

Politics, they are what they are. Neither candidate is worth my vote, IMO and they haven't come up with anything to persuade my choice. Obama now has a record that I don't agree with, mostly on Constitutional grounds regarding some of his non-legislative choices. Those were the clincher. The legislative choices are just points against him. Romney…..what can you not say? There's very little difference between him and Obama, outside of a better choice of Veep choices (whose only positive, IMO, is that he's not overly familiar with the taste of his shoe leather).

Other stuff, trying to figure out what direction to take on mixing my personal and professional life. I would like a means to integrate them, because I have awesome ideas and I think it will make me a really happy person in time. It's just a matter of figuring out how to do that….

Today is…

Thorn’s birthday. Not sure how I feel, because there is a mixture of happy and sad today. Been thinking about him all day, no matter what, because my posts to him won’t be returned with a thanks of any sort. But…I did find 2 mantids last night on my blackberry bush. One of them had just molted and the other one was preparing to. This morning they were overly active, which meant they needed to move to a bigger bush (the roses) so the Pneus didn’t get them, and they needed to go outside. So that’s my positive for the day. Also, went and hung out with L, to check in on her post-op. She’s doing ok, feeling like shit, but I was there for the PT and a few other things. I’m proud of her, even though she’s having a time of it, because she’s progressing.

I think that’s another thing I’ll take away from Thorn…his love of his friends, and the fact that sometimes I can just be a mindless imp. But I think that’s because I just fail at letting everyone know when I’m thinking of them (which is pretty much every day). The checklist running through my head isn’t what I have to do, it’s everyone who has been in my life. Whether it’s wondering what they’re up to, or just smiling at whatever memory has arrived. There are very few people who are banned from my memories, even though their name will pass unattached through my head.

So…please know, even if we don’t talk, I am thinking about you. Everyone, even the random folks I’ve known since kindergarten. And I still know your name, it just might take me a few minutes to get out of my mouth.

With that said, tonight, just lift a glass and toast all your friends who have made a difference in your life, whether it was a compliment or a slap upside the head that righted you. They made a difference.

So, I slept in this morning…

Then preceded to attempt at finding a balance in the latest cheap coffee I bought, will not buy cheap coffee again, least not Arabica cheap coffee. I've discovered that I much prefer the gentle wood scents of Sumatra, Arabica smells like Starbucks.

While doing that, I managed to not really check facebook, so much as I responded to a message about the upcoming Equinox ritual tomorrow night. I'm filling the priestess role and my brain is still in yogaland – but at least said brain is functioning. Instead, I grabbed my book and headed out on the patio, after prepping the chairs with their mats and cleaning off the patio from my adventures in sawing window props from my old closet shelves (BTW, I still have a bathroom mirror to whoever wishes to give it a good home, since Pastry won't let me crack it an either make art out of it or send it to the landfill). Lost track of time and spent a good 3 hours out there reading. It's the first time, since I'd bought this place, that I've spent that much time out there. No music, no podcasts, just birds and cats chasing carpenter bees. And has anyone else realized, how stupid carpenter bees can be? They fly around like they have a broken horizon and bounce into things. Knowing how a bee's eye is set up, I can understand that whole "seeing triple" issue, but really, I'd think they could see in 3D.

Yoga stuffs, cut for your sanity…

Moving forward….

I've been in deep contemplation about this blog, where it's going to go, and what it's going to be about. My main problem has been the fact that I have too many journals. One is for my spiritual stuffs, one is for my personal stuffs, and I have contemplated doing one for my work stuffs. But I think it's time to suck it up and dive in by merging them all. The business will obviously have its own, and I can easily cross-post, but I'd like to keep things going here. I have 10 years of stuff here, and a few years more elsewhere (but I think I tossed the disk in my last house purge….oops!). But the muse is stirring, and I'm loving it. This afternoon I wrote an amazing poem in my head, which of course has gone the way of the wind by now. I'm starting to come out of my cocoon and stretching my wings again.

Yoga is coming along, my asana practice is actually becoming regular! Created some zen time yesterday at the Center, doing what my "job" is, cleaning the alters. For some reason, I always find that to be the most relaxing and meditative thing for me, even though I showed up to meditate with my teacher (didn't happen because I lost track of time).

I'm happy to be able to really say, "I'm getting there", because I am. I'm being a bit more social, and enjoyed a really awesome dinner last night with friends, and a Persian restaurant complete with the tables you have to squat around (I wish more restaurants did this, it was quite awesome!). I buckled down this afternoon and finished up (what I think is finished up) my tax booklet, so I can go drop it on my super awesome accountant's desk. Hopefully, it won't add stress and will be pretty simple for him to put together in time, if not, no issues with paying my late fees. My classmate Ang commented once on how she's just absolutely loving her life now….I'm thrilled to say I'm joining her with that sentiment!!!

Oh yeah, I have sproutlings on my patio! The garlic is coming along nicely, and the basil and oregano have just started to poke their heads out, too. A couple more weeks and the tomato seedlings should pop-up, as well.

Now if I could just get better about going to sleep before 1AM and waking up before 8AM.

Return of anxiety????

I have no idea what is going on, I'm anxious, and the latter part of my digestive process are not happy with it. This is the first time in months that I've felt this, and prior to YTT it was the result of overwhelming amounts of stress. There's only one thing I'm stressed about right now (wild guess), and that's never changed, but it's never caused this kind of reaction. I'm also starting to get heart flutters again, which is really odd, as I cut caffeine about the same time these symptoms went away. Adrenals are back on hyper-alert, I'm constantly thinking about BJJ tournaments and other adrenaline related things. But when I meditate it's like all of that never even happened. My brain is completely clear, I'm not fluttering through every little detail of every little thing. My asana practice has improved, managed a 2 hour practice last night and was completely focused and observant about what was going on with the body. No outside thoughts, other than Lexus wanting to share savasana with my head. Hell, even got a ILS muscle release with supported fish. But no conscious direction on what's going on with the tummy.

Maybe it's just too much going on right now. Trying to plan my weekend jaunt to Burney, CA and the trip to France to pick up the Pastry (both of which are the cause of stress). But it needs to be done, IMO, neither is something that I can skip or delay, at this point.

I guess I could also say that I'm a bit worried and placing more pressure on myself than needed. For multiple, natural, reasons, I have to step into Priestess mode. Hell, I've been training for this, and it's been part of my path. When first asked it was a natural answer and progression so it wasn't anything to worry about. Now, there's more to it than just leading a ritual, I'm stepping in as an actual life role and my brain didn't really wrap around that aspect at the time. And words have failed me more times than I have liked in the last few weeks.

But at least my closet is looking better. Need to take panoramic pictures of it. And by May I can stop being online all the time.

Ch-ch-changes…

So, I'm contemplating changes. The one that is in the process of happening is less on-line time. It will pretty much disappear when Pastry arrives (which, we do have a more solid date, just in time for our somewhat anniversary), as I'm on the computer just for our shared solitude moments. It also means I'll be more social, least on Saturdays and Sundays. Having gas money to go to potluck will be AWESOME!!! I'm also working on the inner workings. The sadness is going away, I'm not crying as much, but the series final of SG-1 has stuck with me since I watched it the other day. Not sure why, but it is because of the middle part. So well done to the directors on that one.

Simplification. I'm still working on it, but I never imagined how much of a mess it creates, just to get rid of stuff. Both in the apartment and in life. I'm trying to not take some things as personal as I have taken them, but finding that last thread to cut is always difficult when you don't have a magnifying glass.

Mindfulness. Been increasing this aspect, and I'm not sure if it's creating an irritation or not, because I'm finding that other people who are not as mindful are creating issues that grate on the outset and settle later. Case in point, this morning. Someone in my office dragged one of the wooden chairs across the floor with that nice loud "screeeeeeeeeeee" sound. Made me cringe because it didn't phase her at all. But hey, she thanked me for letting her use my electricity, which was cool.

Happiness. I really am happy, for the most part. I recognize things that I need to improve on, and I am working on them. My social life needs more variety, but I am getting out and being social with other people in one-on-one situations. And I'm being useful. Helped a friend put together her bathroom furniture over the weekend, and it was awesome. Have a class to take tomorrow, with friends, after working on a friend, so lots of friends there. 🙂 Upcoming is my yoga class' monthly gathering and book club, which I get to help with, so thrilled with that. I love me some book clubs, especially yoga centric book clubs. Just need to go grab my copy of the book so I can get started. I'm also helping out at grove, as I've been asked to co-facilitate the upcoming ritual. I was pretty nervous after saying yes, but at the same time, I'm very comfortable with the idea. Which, I should be, as my grove position requires me to be the "back-up", so to speak. So time to step up. I'm hoping this will help me in being more "on time" with my responsibilities and stuff I say I will do. I'm pretty bad about coming up with the "back out" reasons, and I need to stop that.

Funny story about that…

I came to another realization today, some of my anti-social behaviour is due to feelings of inadequacy. Not sure where they come from, as I was always a shy child, so my silence is not from there. I do recall many a time growing up, and as an adult, where I felt like I was being dismissed or just where my crappy timing and organizational skills fall flat due to nightmarish schedules I have to work with.

Where I feel inadequate is mostly when I try to do things for others…meaning, parties, gatherings of some sort, whatever. They almost always seem to fall flat (with exception to the annual PP gathering). Other times, it's in trying to express things. I sometimes feel like I'm talking to a wall, or being dismissed for no reason whatsoever. Anyway, that wasn't a fun thing to realize today. I really wonder why I bother, sometimes. I feel like I'm stuck in some BS competition and I'm the only one not competing.

Maybe I'm just going through withdrawal from classes being over, but I'm not in a happy place right now.