Today's Happiness Practice... do I Believe?

There was a meme on FB the other day - about how empaths need order, organization. So a messy space results, for the empath, in difficulty being productive.

I expect that works for a messy inbox also. The number of emails, papers, envelopes, sticky notes, documents can feel overwhelming and, if you're like me, can cause the overwhelming desire to go read a book. Behind a closed door. Preferably in a secluded forest glade no one knows about.

Which, in the end, adds to the pile of things to do.

This is something I have been struggling with - wait, reword - something I have been working on for a long time. The Time Management project, is what I've been calling it.

But it's not really Time Management. It's space management. It's information management. It's knowing what I have and what I need to know.

And here's the thing. EVERYTHING in my pile of things to accomplish this day/week/month/year is something I want to do! Something I have chosen, for the happiness of the Lila. Something I love to do.

But it turns out that loving to do something does not immediately confer a montage of productivity.

The interesting thing - I already have  system in place. I KNOW what is effective in helping me feel productive and competent in juggling all the hats I have in my toolbox. And how many times have I written: "one step at a time." "Practice the habit."

A lot. At least it feels that way to me.

So, we're back to practice. Just practice. The best way to figure out how I do something is to do that thing, and play with it, and make it mine.

And there's one more step to wanting to practice, if you're like me. Belief.

I need to practice believing that I can accomplish all this awesome stuff I want to do. Seeing myself doing it. Feeling myself do it. I can make all the pretty schedules and lists that I want. But do I see myself using them?

How does it feel to use them?
Is there a sense of overwhelming obligation when my day is full of to-do's?
Do I become disappointed if I don't get everything done?
Will I feel satisfaction or frustration as I work my way through the daily lists? Through the sorting? Through the work?

Do I believe I can do everything I want to do?

And, how do I believe I can best get it done?

As usual, the practice comes down to the truth of the moment. Allowing it to be what it is, but also believing in myself. That I will get into the flow that feels beautiful and fulfilling and magical.

Because there is magic in the most mundane things. After all, proper filing and rows of neat numbers are salve for the empathetic soul. Right?

Today I will practice believing in myself and my practice.

And I believe we will all have a great day!
-Lila

Does sending Energy work?

Some years ago, I read an article where the writer sneered in a literal fashion at those of us who sent good energy and prayers and thoughts to help improve another's life. We were admonished to get off our butts and do some physical, tangible good.

And for that writer, it could be that there was no energetic connection with the world. And so he/she was physically incapable of connecting with another on a mental level and helping from a distance. I am grateful that he/she did do tangible acts to assist others.

But in this day and age, where we can connect with another part of the world with the touch of the button, you better believe the energy is a great way to connect. To heal. To help. To conjure. To manifest.  For many of us.

And as more and more people are realizing they are "sensitive," "awake," "spiritual," powerful, there are fewer and fewer obstacles to helping each other with our intentional, mindful thoughts.

So yes. Help heal your loved ones. Keep in touch with your friends. Open doors and create abundance for you and others.

and Believe.

 In God, the Universe, the racial memory, the 99% of the unused brain, the elements, Science, whatever force connects you. Believe in it. Believe in your power.

There are a lot of people out there who can be helped and healed and freed by the energy of our good intentions.

If only we Believe.

Thank you.

And I hope you have a beautiful day!

-Lila (Believer)

Is it cranky in here, or is it just me?

Hello, peoples:

I have been going on and on about what Happiness is. Today, with the high level of cranky out there, I'd like to take a few minutes to type about what Happiness is NOT.

Happiness is NOT being perpetually positive, stiff upper lip, pretend everything is going to be all right, smiling manically every day.

Happiness is NOT forcing myself (or others) to speak or act or behave in a way that belies the inside feelings.

Happiness is NOT singing and dancing, all day long, with sunshine and rainbows and unicorns and little hearts floating all around (though I do believe in those things.)

What Happiness IS, at the heart, is:

• believing, in every moment, that I am doing my best.
• allowing that sometimes my best is not the way I want it to be.
• knowing that I only have choices about what I say or do, and not what the rest of the world says or does. And honestly, sometimes I don't even have choices in my reactions to things - they are automatic, trained, habit, thought patterns so deeply carved in my brain and body it could take an act of terrific (or terrible) proportions to retrain me.

Or a whole 'nother life'stime worth of practice (obviously, I still have a ways to go.)

You may have noticed that the cranky meter is pretty high this week. There is so much going on, so much changing, so much unknown - personally and publically -  and we're really not sure if we're supposed to run in circles, or hide, or pull out the swords and the cannon, or pray. So we end up doing a bit of all of them. And then we chastise ourselves for our reactions, and that cranks the cranky up a notch or two. So we go out to share the cranky with others.

I am not asking us to stay in; stewing in your own cranky is just as bad as mixing in with others'.

I am not asking us to try and be sweetness and light to everyone we meet.

What I am asking is that we believe in ourselves.

Please, believe in yourself. 

Believe you are doing your best every moment. And if you do or say something you wish you'd done differently, then allow yourself to admit that to yourself. No judgement, no blame. Just fact.

 And then step forward again, doing your best.

It is all you can do. It is all, and only, what anyone can do. And it is what we are already doing.

You are doing the best you can do. I am doing my best. She/He/It is doing their best.

We are not comparing ourselves to anyone else; we are not judging ourselves by any standards. A moment happens. We do our best. We like the outcome or we don't. A new moment. We do our best again.

I know you are doing your best, because I know I am doing my best. Every day. Every moment. And I know I am just as awesome as you are, and you are just as amazing as I am. We are equal. And uniquely ourselves.

So don't worry about smiling, if that's not in your toolbox today. Just remember to breathe and believe.

Believe in yourself.

I do.

Thank you.

And I hope we all have a hundred thousand easy breathing cranky free moments for the rest of this most interesting week.

-Lila

If you're like me... Mourning the Wicked (a review of the play)

If you're like me, you do mourn the Wicked.

If you're like me, you are enjoying the trend of fairy tales retold: Cameron Dokey's Once Upon a Time novels; Mercedes Lackey's series 500 Kingdoms; Malificent; Ever After High; Phantom of the Mall; Witches Abroad. You like it when storytellers reference a fantasy you love, and give you a different perspective. (Of course, you ignore all the ones you dislike, which we shan't mention here because they don't really exist.)

If you're like me, you remember OZ fondly - both the original series by L. Frank Baum; and the world it became as other stories crept in to add depth to your Oziverse: movies like The Wizard of Oz and Under the Rainbow; the play The Wiz; the book Number of the Beast .

If you're like me, Oz is a  haven, a place for believers who need to escape. A place where no one dies or grows old (and no one is born). It is eternal, like a Neverland, or a Heaven.  Dorothy is 12 and sings beautifully;  Glinda is a calm, goddess-like woman who travels in a bubble; animals can talk; and there is a wonderful spa.

So when you heard that Wicked was OZ from the viewpoint of the Wicked Witch of the West, you were intrigued.

If you're like me, you tried to read the book Wicked, but found Gregory Maguire's writing style to be dense and depressing - nothing to do with the glory of OZ. So you shrugged it off.

Then the stage musical came into being. You heard some of the songs - "Defying Gravity"; "You Changed Me for Good" - and you thought, "Hmm. Theater is pretty awesome. Many of my friends like the show. All right. Let's go see the play."

I'd better put in a disclaimer here. This review (diatribe, soapbox) is not about the players, it is about the play. "The play's the thing" which to my heart such sorrow did bring.

And yes, this review contains some spoilers.

I saw Wicked at the Buell Theater in Colorado, in 2015. The performers did an excellent job. The set was astounding. The amount of tech work had to be huge. Kudos to everyone involved.

Except for the writers. And since I don't know how closely the play follows the book, I don't know whether to name G. Maguire or Stephen Schwartz & Winnie Holzman as the reason for my dismay. Maybe it was a combination. So I will simply use the title Author.

In my opinion, Author tried to destroy OZ. In writing Wicked, (s)he exchanged one malicious person and one wise woman for a race of vapid, mean, spiteful, selfish, nasty, horrible Ozians; and one (maybe two) persons trying to find herself(s).

Not a fair exchange at all.

And how distressing to be so transformed. Rather like the animals losing their voices, or being forced to fly.

It's true. Humans can be judgmental, scared, petty, conniving, finger pointing, blindly following, fear-based creatures. Of course, that's not all of us. Many of us can take responsibility and think for ourselves.

But more relevantly, OZ is not Earth, and Ozites (or Ozmites)  are not humans.

Perhaps the original story was a political satire. Maybe it was the first American Fairy Tale. It might have been simply a story for children. Regardless,  Munchkins, Winkies, Quadlings, Gillikans, and other Ozites do not have the same fears, needs, or morality that humans do. Perhaps the closest Ozites would come to humans are the human child -- open and wide-eyed, trusting in the awesomeness of Wizards, and believing in a pure division between Good Witches and Wicked ones.

The play Wicked appears to be a melodrama based on infidelity and a green potion. It certainly displayed the baseness of human nature. Did any one of the Ozians evolve into a better being than she started? Not that I could see. Everyone seems happy to be dragged into the fear-based world of evil animals and Wicked Witches. Even Glinda, who's original motives were pure and generally kind, became driven by fear and sorrow.

Oh, wait. I am wrong. One person evolves - Fiyero stands up for his heart. Yay! And is gruesomely executed for it. (What?!)

Worst of all, even though Author gave Elphaba a persecuted and tragic history, the supposed heroine never triumphed. Despite her battle cry of being unlimited, I never felt she truly found herself, or her center. I never felt happy for her. I'm not even sure Elphaba ever knew what she wanted. I think she would have been better off as the Witch who went after what she wanted by choice, than as  the hunted animal rights activist who made an aborted effort to right some wrongs.

To me, it seemed all Elphaba did was run away and regret her choices.

If you're like me, you mourn the play Wicked. But because you are more "Ozite" than "Ozian", you will always believe that Oz is a special world, suitable for children, comforting to the lost, and home for humans who wish to be more. Hopefully, Elphaba found her way there. And finally feels  beautiful. Brighter.

Truly unlimited.



I hope you have a fantastical day!
-Lila