Little Bits of Mirth

Things that made me laugh this week:




Walking along the street, seeing this sign, and immediately knowing it was put up because someone did just what the sign says not to do. Imagining them as a serious businessman, walking while texting on his phone, suddenly smashing into the door with a loud but not painful rattling wump sound, then trying desperately to look dignified afterwards like a cat who has just failed an easy jump:

https://youtu.be/m9k_I2OCbls

And after the sign is put up, when someone else smashes into the door, and then sees the sign, what emotions and thoughts are running through their head? And can the bystanders who saw it and then got close enough to read the sign contain their morally inappropriate but overwhelming urge to laugh?


Business update: very busy and productive. And tired. Speaking of lack of awareness, was on a bus, five feet from two good friends, and didn't notice for several minutes, till they called my name, twice, and waved to me. I'm glad I'm not in feudal Japan or I would have been required to commit seppuku for bringing shame on my teacher of awareness. In my defense it was a long uncomfortable trip and I was trying to ignore most of the sensory input that was coming to me as it was smelly, ugly, cramped and painful. I will do better next time sensei. Yosh!*


* "Yosh" being a Japanese word that means "OK!", in this case, as an exclamation you might use after rolling up your sleeves, before trying a second time to lift something heavy.

Snowstorm!

Wow! I'm betting most of you got hit by this too. It's pretty incredible here in New York. There's no place for the snow to go, so cars parked on the sides of the streets were encased in snow to the point where you couldn't see them at all. The wind whipped the snow into pyramid shapes atop them, two or more feet above the roof. And walking along the street still confronts one with walls of snow that are at times up to eye level.

Thankfully for everyone who needs to get places it's started to melt and people are going about their normal lives again, but for a day or two, the whole world seemed to stop.

There are still cars trapped between walls of snow from the shoveled sidewalk on one side and the plow on the other, three feet high.

And the weather report was initially saying, maybe four inches by the time it got to here ;-)

I hope you guys are all safe and sound.
Stay warm,
-Isaac

Off to See the Wizard

I'm off to the woods for secret wizard training starting early tomorrow. Have to finish packing tonight and get up super early and I won't be back till late Saturday next week, so this is my last chance to send this from my computer (rather than finger typing while I'm on the bus).

I Taught another class today. I'm learning a lot, the kids seem to be enjoying it as well, and the other teachers seem to think I'm doing at least a good job (they say I'm doing a very good job, but they are nice people so that may be an overly generous estimation.)

In any case it is an incredible way to learn for myself, and a deeply satisfying way to be of service.

Today was about Martin Luther King Jr., and a core concept from the Bhagavad-Gita. I simplified the words and simplified the concepts through activities (discovery: kids love drawing) but kept the essence intact. It's good practice in not being too serious, because to design the lesson quickly and effectively I need to be in the headspace of play.

OK, that's all for now. I need to eat and pack!

See you in a week :-)
-I

Trust in Guidence

I went to New York and did an acting conservatory for two years, even though I did not have the intention of becoming an actor. I had plenty of logical reasons. I'd enjoyed acting, as a hobby. I loved improvisational dance, and if acting was as joy producing as that then I'd be happy to do that as a job, and there were some distinct similarities. I knew the particular teacher I was going to was a master teacher, and even if I just continued on my path, more towards writing and such, I would learn the discipline, industriousness, and courage to be both financially successful and artistically successful.

But when it came right down to it, I simply had that surety. The unmistakable feeling that this was the right next step for me. I only rarely got that level of clarity. Moving to Iowa to go to the spiritually oriented high school, in the spiritually oriented community, was one such time. It only seemed to occur when it was a big decision, one that would change the course of my life, potentially in a very positive way. It has always proven right. When I follow that voice, it leads me to wonderful, incredible growth. Always. So I've learned to trust it implicitly. Especially when it's very clear and strong. And it was. So I went.

And, as always, it was a very good thing. In ways I could never have logically guessed at. For instance, here I sit, half a year after graduating, with the dawning realization that part of what I love to do is teach, particularly with a spiritual bent. I'm designing a lesson plan for Saturday (with lots of help from more seasoned teachers) and I realize, the feeling of anxious excitement, that could easily bleed over to tension, if I let it tip into worry, is almost identical to how I felt in school, preparing a scene or monologue. And I'm reminded of what one of my best friends said, how teaching gives her much of the things she loved about acting. And I see now, even more, ever more, how each step feeds into the next. All this training I got... it is perfect for teaching. The storytelling, the meticulous eye on preparation, even how to handle stage fright.

It has been years. So many years of picking up pieces of a giant jigsaw. Some few got put together, but mostly I was just collecting them, getting more and more confused as more jumble was added to the table. But finally, the puzzle is starting to come together. The edge pieces are all found. Some of the picture is there, and I'm starting to get an idea for what it is. And that is making the assembling happen faster and easier. It is a good feeling, a relieved feeling, and I can do nothing but feel gratitude and yet more trust in that deep inner voice that has been leading me with breadcrumbs all these years.

-I Out

I get knocked down, but I get up again

This is an important lesson I've learned. I've learned it pretty slowly. But, perhaps like a slow growing tree, whose growth rings are so tight together that the wood is almost like iron, the slow growth makes for strong growth.

Here's the lesson: whatever you're aiming for, when you fall short, when you make a misstep, as soon as you realize that, begin again from that moment. Don't go into a downward spiral.

What makes me go into a downward spiral is feeling bad about having taken a misstep, getting knocked down, knocked off my path. And then talking unkindly to myself. To sum it up simply, I goof off or something instead of doing what's most important to my dreams, and then say, "Dang. You suck." And then get sad, and goof off more, because I'm sad and I'm trying to distract myself from that. That's the downward spiral. I'm sure there are a million different permutations, but something like that is the bones of it.

That's not an effective approach. I've done a lot of field testing. What works much better is basically just changing the self talk at that point of awareness. The point where I realize I've gotten off track. Instead I say, "The past is past, you can't change it, but you can change yourself in this moment, right now. You're a spark of the divine, like everyone else, and have the potential to express that like all your heroes. You are totally capable of doing that. And it starts right now, figuring out what the next step is and doing it.

And then I get quiet and connect with the deepest part of myself and ask what the best possible thing I could be doing right now is.

So, to distill all that down to pill form, in case anyone else wants to try this:

First, when you realize you're off, track, change your self talk. Be your own cheerleader. (This can take some self work).

Second, start again from that very moment, by simply asking what the best thing to do right now is, and getting quiet so the answer can come to you from that deepest part of yourself.

This post is a little more philosophical, but it's what I'm doing at the moment. Getting back into the swing of things after a vacation.

Peace, Love, and the American Way (Or whatever positive ideology or religion you subscribe to ;)
-Isaac

2016: The distant future

Heloooooo everyone!

Updates: in Fairfield (Iowa). Lot's of friends. Lots of food. Lots of sugar. Have been mostly avoiding the food and especially the sugar because of minor stomach troubles. They seem to be going away now. It would still be nice to avoid all the sugar though. I should pretend I still have the stomach problem so I can continue to eat healthy.

Fairfield is so warm and cozy and safe compared to the Big City. It's very enjoyable, but I also see how dangerous it can be. If life is just a little bit unpleasant, then there is more impetus to do things that give me deep satisfaction, even if they're a bit harder. If I'm not doing that, then I'm just alone and bored/unhappy. But in Fairfield, there is a candy land of fun distractions. Friends, games, play. It is exaggerated greatly because I'm literally on vacation, but there is probably a 20% productivity boost I get by living and working in New York, just because friends are less easily accessible and everyone around me is type A busy with work.

I think both places could learn something from each other. New York could teach Fairfield how to buckle down and get stuff done, and Fairfield could teach New York how to mellow out and take a break. Since I'm naturally from the latter camp, I'm finding it very valuable, learning the New York lessons of industry and assertiveness.

This is a short one, but I want to at least get something out Sunday. I've been more busy than usual, actually, trying to get as much time with everyone as I can during this short visit. In addition to being a bit sick through all of it, which makes me a slower and more spacey than normal.

Anyhoo, Happy New Year!

2016. We are so far past the present, into the future, that I am not sure what to expect at this point. We're long past the point of jet packs, alien invasions, and the world ending, according to 1950's Sci-fi. What's actually happening continues to surprise me. I hope I live another 70 years worth of story, so I can see how it all turns out. Probably won't take quite that long, even.