ROGER WRITES | 30 Day Challenge

My 30 day photo challenge is coming to an end.  A week before I started this commitment,  I took myself out on a date to take pictures.  I was looking to be inspired and to boost my stock pile of photos for my newsletter and blog.   Well, I came home from my date with my head hung low.  I had snapped 3 or 4 humdrum images.   A few days later I came across the 30 Day Challenge video, and I knew instantly that it was going to be a picture-a-day.

Even though the daily undertaking of snapping and posting one picture was simple, it had a great impact on me.  Every picture that I took was consciously taken.  I can look back at each photo and remember where I was, what I was doing, and in some cases, what I was actually thinking.  There were days when it was the first thing I thought of in the morning, and some days I didn't post until almost midnight!  What I realized is that it didn't matter where I was.  I could find inspiration in my very own living room, in a restaurant, out on a walk, anywhere.  Oh, and I took a lot of bad photos.  That's just part of it.  I took more photos this past month then I have all year.

I know that many of you committed to the 30 day challenge, as well.  The variety of commitments was astounding. Several people chose to dance.  Doug has been posting his dance videos on Facebook every day.  I would love to hear how the experience was for you.  Let me know if you are going to start or do another one next month.

I'm already excited about my next 30 day challenge, which will start June 1st:  One muscle a day for 30 days!  I've always wanted to learn more about muscles -- their names, function, etc..  My intention is to select a muscle first thing in the morning, and then throughout the day pay attention to how I'm using it.

If you'd like to join me for this make sure you "like" the Sacred Tremor Facebook page, and check in daily.  I will post the muscle-of-the-day in the morning.  Together, we can think and learn about them all day long!

Make sure you watch the TED talk on the Three Brains.  It gives a scientific explanation of something yogis have known for thousands of years.  It also reveals how activities like the 30 day challenge do, in fact, re-wire the brain and shape how our mind views and experiences the world.

TED | Joe Dispenza : The Three Brains

Joe Dispenza, D.C. has lectured in 24 countries on six continents, educating people about the role and function of the human brain. He has taught thousands of people how to reprogram their thinking through scientifically proven neuro-physiologic principles. As a result, this information has taught many individuals to reach their specific goals and visions by eliminating self-destructive habits. His approach, taught in a very simple method, creates a bridge between true human potential and the latest scientific theories of neuroplasticity. As an author of several scientific articles on the close relationship between the brain and the body, Dispenza ties information together to explain the roles these functions play in physical health and disease.

POETRY | Dorothy Allison : Two or Three Things

Tow or Three Things
-Dorothy Allison

Two or three things I know
for sure, and one is that I
would rather go naked than
wear the coat the world has
made for me.

DOUG WRITES | The Inner Weaknesses

The Inner Weaknesses by Douglas Allen Analysts at Goldman Sachs estimate that the global beauty industry consisting of skin care, make-up, hair-care products, and perfumes is $95 billion, and is growing at up to 7% a year.  If you figure in the amount spent on cosmetic surgery, diets and weight loss programs, the figure is much higher. Now, don’t get me wrong.  I like to look good.  However, I have been guilty of going above and beyond the call of hygienic duty by purchasing exorbitantly priced creams made by monks in small batches in the monastic mountains.  Counseling myself from the pain and into the comfort and relief found in products that improve chances of finding admiration and love is a natural go-to.  While strengthening the inner is having an upsurge, it is easy to fall back into traditional normalities.  Establishing a more desirable physical presentation of oneself is always in fashion and does not require one to get in touch with what is really bothering them. We are all aware of the ubiquity of the pretty lady syndrome, and now men have been given the permission to pamper and prod and poke in order to more fully realize the occupation with the outer self. This desire to be cloaked in beauty is one of the oversized coats the world has constructed for us.  It is certainly part of our pie chart, but an obsession over looking good didn’t always make me feel good, and this predilection did not leave much time for occupying the space within, which is where an everlasting beauty awaits our consciousness.  Everyone has so much inner knowledge and beauty, and oftentimes it sits inside instead of being assimilated and translated into beautiful gardens for all to savor.  Tragic. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  2nd Corinthians 4:16

THE SPANDANANDA SHOW | Dear Diary

The Spandananda Show : Season 1 : Episode 8 : Dear Diary

Dear Diary:  I will no longer limit myself with drab entries that all contain the same energetic quality.  Instead, I will embrace a newfound sense of creativity and have variety in my journal in order to gather insight and wisdom and have more fun!

PLAYLIST

MUSIC | Lemonade : Lifted

PLAYLIST | Heart Yoga Sadhana

This is the music playlist from the Temple of the Heart Yoga Sadhana at The Lotus Pond.  May 20, 2012.

PLAYLIST

ROGER WRITES | Primal Scream

I returned a few days ago from an awesome trip to Tampa where I was teaching yoga. It's always a joy to re-connect with friends and students. The journey from Portland to Tampa is long, but I'm an easy traveler; I sleep well on airplanes.

My flight to Tampa was a red eye on Jetblue. They handed out these lovely snooze kits, which included an eye mask and earplugs. The snooze kits are a great addition to the pillow and light blanket that I travel with. I snuggled into my seat. Just as I was about put my ear plugs in it started:

Waaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeehhh! Waaaaaaaaaeeeeeeehhhh!

It wasn't the typical cry of an unhappy baby. This was the primal sound of ferocity that curdles the blood. I put my earplugs in, but even the earplugs only slighly muffled the screeching, high pitched wail coming from about 10 seats away. As people put their luggage away and took their seats I could see it on their faces: the horror of knowing that possibly for the next 6 hours they might be locked into a sound chamber of madness. Let me be honest. I actually had the thought: would someone throw that baby out the window!? I chuckled to myself thinking that I knew I wasn't the only one with that thought, and also knowing how terrible it sounded.

The turn around to this story is that I caught myself thinking negative thoughts, wondering if laws could be passed to prohibit this, designing sound proof seats, etc.. I put myself in the mother's position, and I realized how awful it must be for her not only to be holding her screaming child, but also knowing that her baby was basically ruining 200 people's flight experience. Then I put myself in the baby's position. What was going on? Fear? Hunger? Pain? In that moment I felt a little softening in my heart, and decided to practice Metta.

Metta is the Buddhist practice of loving-kindness. It's a practice that helps us to remember that while we each individually want happiness and ease in our lives so does everybody else. When we offer blessings to others, we in turn have greater access to it in ourselves. Here's the blessings I offered:

May you find peace.
May you find comfort and ease.
May your journey be quiet and calm.
May you find rest.

I said this 3 times. Once for the mother, once for the baby and once for everyone on the plane (including myself).

The crying no longer gripped me, but instead opened me to compassion. Eventually I fell asleep. When I woke a little while later the airplane was quiet.

Ironically, and I'm totally not making this up, on my flight home I was assigned to a seat next to a young woman with a baby no older than 6 months. As soon as I sat down the baby started crying. A huge grin took over my face. I met the woman's gaze, and she immediately apologized. I wanted to hug her, but I knew that would be inappropriate so instead I told her not to worry about me, "I don't mind crying babies." I wiggled my fingers at the baby and smiled and made a little goo goo sound. The baby stared back in bewilderment, and then let out a little laugh.

You can now start calling me "the baby whisperer."

THE SPANDANANDA SHOW | Golly Gee It's Ghee!

The Spandananda Show : Episode 7 : Golly Gee It's Ghee!

It's hard to believe that something can be better than butter, but when the nutty-flavored, toffee smell of this clarified butter envelopes your senses, you'll have a change of heart with this heart-smart option!  

POETRY | Jewel Mathieson : Every Bone

Every Bone
-Jewel Mathieson

I collected them all, found every bone
except I couldn't find my hand, my hand
my mother had it
her calloused hard hitting hands have held me
gripped my spirit
she seized my hand at six
stripped it of innocense and grace
she severed my hand at seven
I found it again in a dry riverbed pointing North
this hand that has the most number of bones
fragments of bones, joints and articulation
I can't open it
I have my hand now
I can pray
I can pray again
I turn to the Goddess, pray for forgiveness
She says,  "there is no forgiveness because there are no sins"
She places God on the tips of my fingers
on the tips of my toes
and tells me that everyone has to learn how to pray
in their own way
in their own way with everything, everywhere
I collected them all, found every splintered bone
every piece of myself
now I dance flinging by bones to the floor
like the I Ching
like the I Ching each time I hit the floor
I'm different

DOUG WRITES | Consciously Conscioius

Consciously Unconscious

By Douglas Allen

The unconscious is a powerful part of our existence that gets to sort itself out when we meditate and dream.  If we pay attention and incorporate its language in our waking state, it connects us to creative ideals and meaningful imagery. Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and dream analysist, formed a basic tenet that said all products of the unconscious are symbolic and can be taken as guiding messages.  He has been a powerful influence in the pursuit of my truth through the continual analysis of my dreams and meditative states.  Witnessing a part of our psyche that does not usually enter our awareness is frightening and enlightening at the same time.  These fleeting moments of ah-ha and eureka, if jotted down and interpreted, can be golden opportunities to help us avoid traps, and can lead us towards where we ultimately want to go!  It is all about intention at a deep-seeded level. In my dream last night, I was looking at two trees which were severely cut back for the season.  I felt the shock that they had experienced during the cutting.  On the trees were still some remaining orange seeds. The image and sensation was like in a stand-still.  Then, like a fluttering lens trying to find its object and focus, the image shifted in a blurred and jumpy way to another image.  The dream now fixated on a magnificent tree standing in all its glory; wicked tall and with an impressive trunk and a unique shape.  It was complete. Upon waking, I wrote down my dream like I’ve been consistently doing for fifteen years now, and it had been an invaluable experience to learn about my inner psyche through these messengers. Lately, I have felt densely trimmed, stripped of what I have known, bare, in shock, and without my typical expression, and yet, there are seeds of growth in that state.  Life and healing (one in the same) is a process, and the shifting focus represents time passing.  I then saw a whole tree, representative of myself, fully realized.  “To believe you are magnificent.  And gradually to discover that you are not magnificent.  Enough labor for one human life.”  -- Czeslaw Milosz

MUSIC | Donna Summer; Honoring A Disco Legend

In honor of a disco legend's passing, this offering from the legendary Donna Summer!

VIDEO | Arthur's Inspirational Transformation

Arthur was getting stronger rapidly, and he was losing weight at an incredible rate! Because of DDP's specialized workout, he gained tremendous balance and flexibility -- which gave him hope that maybe someday, he'd be able to walk again.

His story is proof, that we cannot place limits on what we are capable of doing, because we often do not know our own potential. Niether Arthur, nor Dallas knew what he would go on to accomplish, but this video speaks for itself. In less than a year, Arthur completely transformed his life. If only he had known what he was capable of, 15 years earlier.

Do not waste any time thinking you are stuck - you can take control over your life, and change it faster than you might think.

Hopefully this story can inspire you to follow your dreams - whatever they may be.
Anything is Possible!

MUSIC | Djivan Gasparyan : Armenian Duduk

This haunting piece of music has made it's way into all of my recent yoga playlists and into my morning meditation-in-motion everyday this week.

POETRY | Lawrence Ferlinghetti : #11

#11

-Lawrence Ferlinghetti

from the collection “A Coney Island of the Mind”

The world is a beautiful place

            to be born into

if you don’t mind happiness

            not always being

  so very much fun

        if you don’t mind a touch of hell

now and then

  just when everything is fine

because even in heaven 

they don’t sing

all the time

The world is a beautiful place

to be born into

if you don’t mind some people dying

all the time

          or maybe only starving

            some of the time

      which isn’t half so bad

        if it isn’t you

Oh the world is a beautiful place

    to be born into

if you don’t much mind

  a few dead minds

      in the higher places

  or a bomb or two

  now and then

in your upturned faces

or such other improprieties 

            as our Name Brand society

      is prey to

        with its men of distinction

                    and its men of extinction 

          and its priests

        and other patrolmen

      and its various segregations

      and congressional investigations

and other constipations

that our fool flesh 

is heir to

Yes the world is the best place of all

for a lot of such things as

          making the fun scene

and making the love scene

        and making the sad scene

and singing low songs and having inspirations

    and walking around

  looking at everything

  and smelling flowers

    and goosing statues

  and even thinking

        and kissing people and

  making babies and wearing pants

          and waving hats and

dancing

and going swimming in rivers

    on picnics

              in the middle of the summer

      and just generally

‘living it up’

    Yes

      But then right in the middle of it

comes the smiling

mortician

ROGER WRITES | Rut or Groove?

Ok.  So this week's episode of The Spandananda Show was wicked fun to make and totally life changing.  It took three very long days to film, edit and release, which included at least 10 costume changes.   But it's really been in the making for a long time because I've been in a deep process around what makes me come alive for the past few months.  This episode is really the culmination of many different aspects of my life all brought into one dazzling 8 minute video.

Ram Das said that we are in alignment when everything we think, say, feel and do all line up.  I've had moments, brief moments, when that has been true in my life, but honestly, it's mostly been momentary glimmers of it.

So, I sat myself down and contemplated.  (It wasn't really as simple as just sitting. I stood, I drew, I journaled, I walked, I thought, I meditated, I talked about it with friends, etc..) Finally, I listed the things that were important to me, and I realized that the things that are most important to me all fit into a few categories:  being in nature, creating art, moving my body, adventure, and quiet time to contemplate.

At any moment in my life, if I'm in a rut or some kind of funk, I can choose something from this list to turn that rut into a groove. Please watch this video, and even more importantly, make a list for youself of what inspires you.

THE SPANDANANDA SHOW | Rut or Groove?

The Spandananda Show : Episode 6 : Rut or Groove?

Is your potential energy stuck in third gear? Move from a rut to a groove with these five vivacious and contemplative exercises! With a refreshed state of mind, body, or outerwear, you'll be saying "so long" to your blue funk!

1. GET OUTSIDE Getting outside instantly changes your perspective, especially if you have been inside for a lengthy time.   Dress up in your favorite outfit, and walk around the block if you only have a few minutes, or allow yourself more time by going to your nearby park to people watch, sky gaze, or journal.  Be an explorer with how you walk, letting your need for a variation of movement be the impetus that gives you the freedom to do this even with people around.  A slow, contemplative stroll?  A fast, energetic skip?  Try it backwards!  Is it an investigation into the children’s fortress?  Twirling round and round?   Let me tell you how much fun this is!  So, if it’s raining, bring an umbrella!  If it’s not raining, bring an umbrella!  Where do you sit?  At a bench, or on the Earth?  In lotus pose or lying down, fully relaxed?  Listen for your needs, and also be sure to take a risk and try something new!  And remember, you’re outside, so breathe in that fresh air!    2. CREATE ART We all have art supplies, we just may not think of them as such.  Be creative, and use what you have.  Even if you just have magazines, scissors, glue, crayons or markers, there are an infinite number of ways you could use them to create a piece of art that reflects where you are in this moment.  What we’re going after is helping you to make sense of what you’re going through in a way that is outside of your head.  Do something you love, or try something you are totally unfamiliar with.  Perfection is not the goal of this exercise.  What you create may be abstract, or not fully understood by you, and that is the beauty of it!  Do it just for you and keep it private, send it to a friend, or post it on Facebook! 3. MOVE YOUR BODY Ah yes…I really do mean it…DANCE!  Many people have a fear of dancing, when in all honesty, there is nothing more authentic than someone giving themselves permission to move their body in any such way that feels real.  We all have our “home moves” those movements that we feel comfortable with and will do if asked to dance, but I encourage you to vary the way your body typically functions through life, which is a dance in and of itself!  Choose some music:  one song, two songs, a whole playlist, or put your itunes on shuffle and come what may!  Shake, swivel, undulate, spin, bust a move!  A fast thrash, a slow riff,  a waltz or a polka…anything is possible! 4. DRESS UP All of us have costume elements that we pull out once a year for Halloween. Dressing up is not just for a holiday!    Elevate your spirit of fun and frivolity by painting your face, putting on a mish-mash of colors and textures, and do a  photo shoot!  If you are really adventurous, do the shoot with a friend on the street, to fearlessly bring more creativity to yourself and anyone you come in contact with! Talk about a mood changer!  Having a mask or goggles can really allow for further freedom, as no one knows who you are!  Be safe and respectful of course, and interact!  5. MEDITATE Take the time to create a lovely space, which could easily consist of one or more of the following: a shawl, cushion, yoga mat, a candle.  Clear your mind and sit in viparita karani  or lie in savasana.  Just be with your mind still, or pay attention to the thoughts and sensations as they come and go.  Keep experiencing!

TED | John Hardy : Green School in Bali

Join John Hardy on a tour of the Green School, his off-the-grid school in Bali that teaches kids how to build, garden, create (and get into college). The centerpiece of campus is the spiraling Heart of School, perhaps the world's largest freestanding bamboo building.

MUSIC | Au : RR vs. D

MUSIC | Blank Blue : In The Swim

POETRY | Danna Faulds : Just For Now

Just for now
-Dana Faulds

Just for now
without asking how,
let yourself sink into stillness.
Just for now,
lay down the weight you so patiently bear upon your shoulders.
Feel the earth receive you, and the infinite expanse of the sky grow even wider as your awareness reaches up to meet it.
Just for now,
allow the wave of breath to enliven your expierence.
Breathe out whatever blocks you from the truth.
Just for now,
Be boundless, free, with awakened energy tingling in your hands and feet.
Drink in the possibility of being who and what you really are-
so fully alive that the world looks different, newly born and vibrabnt,
Just for now...

VIDEO | An Invocation for Beginnings

ROGER WRITES | Sticky Notes

I joined the gym when I moved to Portland.  This feels a little like I’m making a confession. I haven't belonged to a gym since I was 20 years old working as a proofreader for a pharmaceutical company wearing a suit and tie to work 5 days a week.  I actually liked my job. I made my way up the ranks a little before I was fired.  I wasn't fired because of incompetency.  I was quite good at what I did.  On the contrary, I was fired because I was too happy.  Seriously.  I decorated my cubicle with bright colors, plants and pictures.  I smiled at everyone.  One day, on my 15 minute scheduled break, I drew happy faces onto sticky notes and posted them all over the building-- on the door handles, the wall above the urinals, next to cubicle name tags, on the coffeepot, etc..  I used the copier to make photocopy art.  I wrote poetry about corporate blandness.

I was fired via the telephone on a Friday evening.  The woman was sweet about it, and I wished her a good life.  I think she liked me despite her corporate need to squelch the  life out of people. I got off the phone and literally started laughing.  I packed my bags and tossed them into my smoke gray '83 Chevy Chevette (diesel), and the very next day I hit the road for a 2 week road trip.

My gym membership expired.

Not long after that I went to a yoga class, which was, in a good way, a little like getting run over by a train.  My eyes opened.  My brain fell out of my head. The teacher was using words I'd never heard before.  It felt exotic. I didn't walk out of that class, I floated!  Yes, a lot of you recognize that feeling, right?

So, almost 20 years later, I find myself walking through the doors into a room of sweaty, buff men and women.  I've been going 4 - 5 days a week, and I'm loving it.  I'm using the tools of yoga to dance with the weights.  I stand in tadasana with a lifted chest as I do arm curls.  I do handstand in between sets.  As I run on the treadmill I practice ujjai pranayama to keep a calm, focused energy.  I still smile at people.  One day I might even bring a sticky-pad to the gym with me!

Across the back of the gym there’s a big sign that reads: You have what it takes.  I see that every time I go to the gym, and it reminds me of the untapped potential that lies dormant, just waiting.  Oftentimes I add on to it: You have what it takes to be successful, to be happy, to be fulfilled, to laugh about life's ups and downs.

So, the next time you're stuck, in a blue funk, or a self-limiting belief takes the wheel remember:  You have what it takes!

POETRY | Marge Piercy : To Have Without Holding

To Have Without Holding
Marge Piercy

Learning to love differently is hard,
love with the hands wide open, love
with the doors banging on their hinges,
the cupboard unlocked, the wind
roaring and whimpering in the rooms
rustling the sheets and snapping the blinds
that thwack like rubber bands
in an open palm.

It hurts to love wide open
stretching the muscles that feel
as if they are made of wet plaster,
then of blunt knives, then
of sharp knives.

It hurts to thwart the reflexes
of grab, of clutch; to love and let
go again and again. It pesters to remember
the lover who is not in the bed,
to hold back what is owed to the work
that gutters like a candle in a cave
without air, to love consciously,
conscientiously, concretely, constructively.

I can't do it, you say it's killing
me, but you thrive, you glow
on the street like a neon raspberry,
You float and sail, a helium balloon
bright bachelor's button blue and bobbing
on the cold and hot winds of our breath,
as we make and unmake in passionate
diastole and systole the rhythm
of our unbound bonding, to have
and not to hold, to love
with minimized malice, hunger
and anger moment by moment balanced.

MUSIC | Goldfrapp : Happiness

Finding the real inner you may mean jumping through your town!