by Lori | Dec 31, 2022 | Blog
As the new year rolls around, most of us have completed 6 weeks of celebration and are getting back to ordinary life. When I was a tax consultant in public accounting, all celebrations ceased from Jan 1 until April 15. It was normal to have no fun and not a lot of sleep for at least 3.5 months. In fact, when a friend of mine had her first baby, her agreed upon part-time schedule for “busy season” was for no more than 40 hours a week. That obviously was not a good work / life balance, but work / life balance was never advertised in public accounting!
What is the appropriate ordinary time / celebration time balance now that we have crossed over into a new year? That is a great question for each of us to take to our souls.
The qualified answer from my soul was another question. “What is it that you consider to be a celebration?” Does celebration mean the 3D version of celebration of parties, presents, family gatherings and fine food and drink? Or does celebrating mean living life authentically and gratefully for all that we create and experience on a daily basis? The later is what my soul is guiding me to consider for the energy of celebration.
As an example, Ginger Withee’s automatic signature for her emails is a quote from Hafiz, a Sufi poet. “Today the vegetables would like to be cut by someone who is singing God’s name.” The celebration is in the energy of how the ordinary action is being done. The high frequency is infused into the common act of slicing vegetables.
My intention for 2023 is to celebrate the ordinary because the ordinary really is pretty wonderful. The beauty and awe of the daily action of the sun rising and the sun setting. The comfort of spending time with a friend or loved one. The joy of dancing by myself or with friends. The anticipation of seeing my dog waiting by her bowl for the kibble to show up. The power of sitting in the silence and knowing myself as one within the energy of the universe.
All of these are times to celebrate. So – I will. So – I AM. May every moment feel extraordinary because every moment is a celebration.
Gratitude to Gerd Altmann for the image.
by Lori | Nov 21, 2022 | Blog
Are you an Ironman? Jeff and Johnny Agar are. CBS Mornings recently had a segment by David Begnaud featuring Jeff Agar and his adult son, Johnny. Johnny has cerebral palsy – a disorder that affects the part of the brain that controls balance, movement and muscles. Johnny’s parents taught him not to let that limit his dreams – his dream to be an Ironman.
The Ironman competition is known to be the longest endurance race in the world. It is a triathlon where the racer must complete a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run – a full marathon – in under 17 hours. Team Agar has competed in 200 races and this year the team crossed the finish line of an Ironman race with 5 minutes to spare.
They train every day in order race together. Jeff pulls Johnny in a kayak in the water, rides a specially designed bike with Johnny on the back and pushes Johnny in front of him on the run. As Begnaud says in the piece, Johnny is the heart of the team and Jeff is the motor. When Begnaud tells Johnny he is an inspiration, Johnny says “Inspiring someone else gives my challenges purpose.”
The next challenge the team has is to finish the Ironman World Champion race in Kona, Hawaii. They tried it in 2016 but had to drop out because they did not finish in the allotted time. When confronted with the need to drop out, Johnny said, “sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.” I can only hope that I actively accept with compassion and detachment when the outcome of my manifestations is the need to learn.
This story is an inspiring feel-good story that many of us need to hear at a time when many stories that are reported are divisive. This story allows us to remember our humanity and our togetherness. In the end, Johnny states that it is not the medals or the accomplishments that inspire him and his father to continue. It is doing everything as a team that motivates them.
What motivates us at this time of year and at all times? Being a team, being in Sync, being One? Let us hold the intention that we are motivated to experience ourselves compassionately and completely as Source.
Namaste.
To watch the full interview, follow this link. Meet the father-son team who defied the odds by completing a full Ironman race – CBS News
Gratitude to Paul C Lee with Pixabay.com for the image.
by Lori | Oct 31, 2022 | Blog
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. What a great title. Everything Everywhere, All at Once is a 2022 absurdist comedy-drama movie. The plot centers on a Chinese American immigrant, Evelyn, her family and their laundromat. While being audited by the IRS, Evelyn realizes that she must connect with parallel universe versions of herself to prevent a powerful being from causing the destruction of the multiverse. The characters connect with the other aspects of themselves through intention and, to support the claim that the film is absurd, with a very bizarre action, like eating a tube of lipstick.
The movie has many metaphysical themes that you might find interesting and even help you to explore more about the multiverse. If you read the book Pull Your Self Together by Rebecca Whitecotton – see my blog entry from July 2021 Pull Your Self Together – Standing in the Light (iamstandinginthelight.com) – this movie may be another push to look at merging all your alternate realities. This movie might even encourage you to contemplate universes or past lives where you weren’t human. Again, great entertaining seed planting from Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who wrote and directed the movie.
At many points in the film, I kept thinking, what were the writers smoking when they wrote this screen play. When I mentioned that to a friend, she came back with the perfect rejoinder, “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.”
Thanks to Gunter with Pixabay.com for the image.
by Lori | Sep 7, 2022 | Blog
Baseball: America’s pastime. Or is it – Baseball: Past time, America?
According to the Los Angeles Times, “Major League Baseball has seen its attendance and television ratings steadily drop amid concerns about sluggish play. Changes, including a pitch clock and automated strike zone, could be on the way.”
Enter The Savannah Bananas, a college summer team, encouraging splits instead of slides and caring for the fan “a-peel” more than the score. The Bananas Team is the brainchild of owner, Jesse Cole.
Again, from the Los Angeles Times:
Jesse Cole serves as ringmaster, darting around in a yellow tuxedo and top hat, leading sing-alongs — Woah, livin’ on a prayer — and judging toddler races between innings. Lanky and frenetic, Cole is equal parts P.T. Barnum and Walt Disney, with a bit of “Saturday Night Live.”
“We’ve always been very clear about our goal,” he says. “We exist to make baseball fun.”
His team looks like another Harlem Globetrotters at first glance, but the competition is genuine and there is something potentially important at work.
The Bananas are a step ahead, packing ballparks throughout the South and Midwest, transforming themselves into a national brand with highlights on ESPN and 2.5 million TikTok followers. MLB executives say they are watching for any ideas that might make their game more “fan-friendly.”
The team dresses in bright yellow. Fans can buy banana costumes to wear during the game. Some baseball rules have been changed, like if a fan catches a foul ball, the player is out. Base coaches dance. One pitcher throws the ball while wearing stilts and another twerks before throwing a strike. Everyone is having fun. Even the opposing teams start to ripen to the idea, getting into the scripted parts of the team introductions before settling down to playing the game. The emphasis is on having fun and entertaining everyone. Meet the Savannah Bananas, who wow fans and have MLB’s attention – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
If you read my last blog post, you will know it was about the Air Guitar World Championship in Finland earlier in August. It started with this quote.
“It is ridiculous. It is as silly and absurd as it sounds. In fact, that’s why I wanted to start being an air guitarist to begin with, because I saw that this thing existed and I’m like, ‘That is the stupidest thing ever. I want to be the best in the world at that.’” So says, Justin “Nordic Thunder” Howard, the World Champion Air Guitarist in 2012. Make Air Not War – Standing in the Light (iamstandinginthelight.com)
We have a theme here. Cultivating and living in the energy of “more fun.” Besides the sheer joy of these activities, there is science behind living a more fun filled and joyful life.
NPR Life Kit has a podcast called: How to have fun – even when life’s got you down. How to have fun : Life Kit : NPR
This podcast, hosted by Julia Furlan, interviews Catherine Price who authored the book The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again.
In her book, Price defines true fun as “a time when you are able to embody a mix of three things: playfulness, connection and flow.”
Price goes on to explain playfulness, connection and flow.
Playfulness:
“Playfulness is when you embrace a spirit of lightheartedness and freedom. It means letting go of the idea that you have to be perfect or to achieve something.”
Connection:
“You feel a sense of connection with the activity that you’re doing. You feel a sense of connection with your physical body. Or, most likely, you feel a sense of connection with another person or group of people through a shared experience.”
Flow:
“You know that thing where you’re totally immersed in something and can even lose track of time? That.”
All of these energies are going to raise our vibration, and that is what Spirit encourages us to do daily.
SPARK:
Finally, Price has an acronym to help us remember how to find and focus on fun.
S — Make space for fun! Put your phone down, or even set aside some time on your calendar to make sure you are really dedicating yourself to looking for fun.
P — Pursue passions. “You don’t need to put pressure on yourself and think ‘I’m going to become a professional snowboarder,'” Price says. Set the bar low! Look for things that interest you and let those guide you.
A — A is for attracting fun, which means having an open mind about when and where fun might appear. Price recommends an improv-style “yes, and” approach to having fun, where you look for fun as well as jump into other folks’ fun.
R — Rebellion! Price found in her research that a little bit of gentle rebellion was a good way to make fun happen. So, jump in a pool with your clothes on! Stepping out of what is expected of you can be a great way to seek out fun moments.
K — Keep at it! Like any new practice, the only way to really incorporate it into your life is to try it many times. So don’t give up if basket weaving doesn’t work for you — maybe it’ll be guitar or making zines or working in the community garden that becomes your next fun magnet!
Whether you try your hand at air guitar, join the crowd at a Savannah Bananas game or watch a favorite sitcom, take stock in what you are doing. Try not to multitask away the joy of one activity by sandwiching it in with another thing on your to-due list. Try to see the beauty and fun of being present with each of your experiences. Marsha’s latest blog entry addresses this idea as well. How Are You Drinking Your Tea? – Marsha Hankins
Being present will help us remember the joy and fun of being alive, and the joy and fun of being human. That is the greatest show on earth.
Gratitude to S Hermann with Pixabay.com for the image.
by Lori | Aug 30, 2022 | Blog
“It is ridiculous. It is as silly and absurd as it sounds. In fact, that’s why I wanted to start being an air guitarist to begin with, because I saw that this thing existed and I’m like, ‘That is the stupidest thing ever. I want to be the best in the world at that.'” So says, Justin “Nordic Thunder” Howard, the World Champion Air Guitarist in 2012.
Nordic Thunder was a judge at this year’s competition which was held in Oulu, Finland, this last weekend. (August 26, 2022.) You can view the live stream here, if you like. Air Guitar World Championships in Oulu, Finland
The competition started in 1996. As stated on the group’s website, “The purpose of the Air Guitar World Championships is to promote world peace. According to the ideology of the competition, wars would end, climate change stop and all bad things disappear, if all the people in the world played the Air Guitar. This is why the whole universe is invited to play the Air Guitar for world peace at the end of the competition.” Story – Air Guitar World Championships
The group’s belief is you can’t hold a gun if you are holding an air guitar. The group also states that air guitars are accessible to all without regard to gender, age, race, economic status or sexual orientation.
If you watch any of the live stream, what you will find is joy and ridiculousness. It is marvelous. It made me smile and raised my vibration. The playfulness and the joy of the alter ego inducing atmosphere is hard to deny.
If you ever need to get yourself out of a funk and allow the energy of fun into your life, consider the benefits of putting on some 80’s hard rock, big hair band song and really allow your inner Eddie Van Halen to soar. What song will inspire you to aim for new heights and new joy?
