Today's Happiness Practice - Releasing Resistance next level

Today I am going to practice releasing resistance.

Yes, I have been practicing it. I led a workshop. It was helpful. Yay!

But humans are like ogres, and there are layers. And when one exfoliates off that first layer of skin, one finds another whole tougher layer underneath.

Resistance may not be the word for what I'm doing, but the results are the same. Tensing. Avoiding. Deflecting. Distracting. Triggering physical dis-ease which leads to grumpy unhappiness.

Therefore the best first step is also the same.

Breathe.
Say the word. "Breathe."
Inhale and exhale.
Expand the space within me and around me.
Slowly and gently and easily.
Breathe.
Follow the breath down past the heart. The center of truth.
Follow the breath down into the diaphragm. Into the solar plexus - which is the center of action.
Bring the strain and the striving from the forehead down into the center.
Let go of the tension in the legs and bring it up into the center.

Will and intent come from the center - the rest is just processing and production.

Breathe.
Relax.
Transfer the tension into action and intent.
What is the situation?
What are my choices?
Breathe. Gently. Easily.
Who does the resistance, the triggers, the fear belong to?
Not me.
I know what I need to know.
I know how to make a choice from my truth, from my center, for my health and happiness.
Breathe.
Transfer.
See the situation.
Accept it as it is; list the choices.

Breathe.
Then choose.

Today I am going to practice releasing resistance - transforming it into beneficial action.

I hope you have as easy a day as I expect to!
-Lila

LIR 083016 - Gebo & OthilaR

It's not about fairness, in nature. It's about balance.

Energy is constantly exchanged, giving and receiving, ebbing and flowing, being and being, through each change and transformation in the cycle of existence.

Energy out leaves room for energy in.

The exchange is not in the gifts or the product, but in the effort. Your best deserves my best.

May each day be your best day!
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Enlightenment is Awesome, my ass! (and various other body parts)

Actually, this post isn't about my derriere. Of all the body perceptions I have, my butt is not something I ever focused on changing. It was never too short or too big. It never failed to function. It always cushioned me nicely when sitting, and...

... well, I'm trying to find a light-hearted way to comment on the various substances humans process, and how we do so, but it's just too early to talk about it. And too taboo.

But that is the point of this post. Taboos. and Bodies. And what I really think about mine.

I wrote a whole stream of meandering yesterday, which I did not post, describing how difficult it was for me to accept my body. MY body. My favorite part is this...

"I strove to be better at activities. At actually physically being active.
I wanted to be thinner. Prettier. To eat less.
I wanted to dance better. and sing better. And be able to manipulate my body like gymnasts.
I wanted to be light and airy. And slender and willowy. And long and lean.
Perhaps like a unicorn, yes? With a glorious, multicolored mane and such a lightness of being!"

I FEEL myself as 5'6", lean and graceful, every hair exactly where I placed it, pressed and polished.

And yet, in the mirror, I see myself as frumpy and short and round, and I rarely iron, and I'm messy, and I need a five minute break after a two minute dance.

"Frankly, I am at the stage where I would stand up and point dramatically to the witness stand and proclaim, "My body betrayed me!""

Well, I was at that stage yesterday morning. Obviously, being the awesome and amazing Do It Yourself Improvement Advanced Practitioner that I am (can you read that 10 times fast?, ) I instead started using tools suggested by my path partner.

Every morning for at least a week, I am finding 5 things about my body for which I am grateful. (And yes, that took a while, yesterday, because often I would follow it up with, "Yeah, but...")

And I listened to Dain Heer, a practitioner of Access Consciousness - which is, it turns out, a healing modality that's right up the Happiness Alley.

And the tool I focused on, all of yesterday, was the phrase "Who does this belong to?"
Instead of going into the long explanation of it, I shall post the link to his quick (8 mins) video discussing this tool. LINK

So, I spent a good long time yesterday weighing hunger, exhaustion, annoyance, tension, and expectations against the phrase "Who does this belong to?"

I did combine it with my own personal version of releasing resistance (workshop tonite!) and a lovely visual of chucking unneeded stuff out of the mental attic.

By the time I went to bed, I was so light! Like I'd taken a muscle relaxant.

Of course, this morning I was up and at it again. Judge judge judge. What if What if What if. Why can't I? Why won't I? Why aren't I?

Who does that belong to?
Who does THAT belong to?
WHO does that belong to?

There were some I was surprised weren't mine.

The body gratitude was easier.

And then, as I was sitting on the bed, contemplating my vision of being soft spoken and calm and proper (Julie Andrews) versus my actual bawdy and robust self (Bette Midler,) the automatic track of "Who does that belong to?" intersected with the willowy blonde vision.

And the world exploded.

Not me. Not ME. NOT ME!

It has nothing to do with me.

I am one with this body. With my body. 5'4". Amazing and versatile hair. A laugh that can fill a cathedral. Strong fingers for typing. Happy in my clothes, even when there's spaghetti sauce on my breast (and yes, the stain is always on the breast.) I love to dance, even if only for 2 minutes.

And I'll stand on my tiptoes to hug, because I do still feel so tall and expansive.

Yeah, my body, mind, and spirit have more exploring to do as I accept myself and what things my body CAN do. (And we're still discussing how much dark chocolate I REALLY need to consume in a day.) But when I look in the mirror, it won't be with the expectation of seeing something I never was.

Enlightenment is Awesome. I'm happy I am awesome enough to find it!

I hope you're having a great day!
-Lila

LIR 082416 - Raido & Kunos

Movement brings us possibilities. It is your movement that brought you to the choices you have now. Don't like them? Move again.

It doesn't have to be a big move... step to the left. Turn around. Go away and come back.

Movement is growth. Growth is change. Change is new possibilities. 

What else is possible?

I hope you have a great day!
-Lila

Today's Happiness Practice - taking responsibility for my choices

Today I am going to take responsibility for my choices.
Which is such an easy thing when those choices feel good, and lead to doing my work with joy and passion.

But when my choices lead to me sitting on my bed, feeling sick and regretful, it's not so easy.

It's tempting to wallow in the discomfort, to dive deep into the regret, to start singing recriminations and beating my breast and wailing to the world the long stories of how I am so sad and so sorry and what I really wanted. And then there will be a nice little chorus of "If only, if only, if only...

But that's not how I work - using "work" in the fashion of making choices, and using my gifts, and practicing happiness. I don't do "if only". I don't beat myself up or spend time focusing on how I did it WRONG. I don't berate and judge and heap coal upon the head of my yesterday self.

 It doesn't change the choice or the actions. It doesn't change the consequence. And it certainly won't heal me or help me make a different choice next time.

So today I am going to take responsibility for my choices. Yup, I did that. I overindulged. Yes, today my happiness level is low. Yes, today's choices are affected by yesterday's choices.

So, next time I am offered that choice, how will I choose differently?

Each time I start to bemoan how I feel and start singing the "what I did wrong" song, I shall breath, accept that I made those choices, accept that these are the consequences, and Practice making a different choice next time.

Then I'm going to focus on today.

No judgment. No wallowing. Breathe. Accept. Replay with different choice. Move on.

And perhaps some gratitude practice thrown in there. That I know myself and have practiced happiness long enough that I am able to accept, replay, and move on.

Today I am practicing responsibility for my choices, and transforming recriminations to happiness. Because this is now. The future is unlimited. And happiness is my choice.

I hope you're having an excellent day!
-Lila

Today's Happiness Practice... I Want

Today I am going to say what I want, today.

I have been using the phrase "I would like..."

I would like to have a home base for my work. A store or an office or some place people can come into.

I would like to travel and give workshops.

I would like to drive a vehicle that feels the way my Tracker felt.

I would like.

I would like.

The thing is, that sounds like future tense. I would like.
I will eventually like.
Or maybe it's suppositional tense - if this happened, then I would like.

But neither of those are the truth of today, of this moment. I don't know what I would like tomorrow, though yeah, I expect it does involve health, abundance, and happiness. I know what I want today. I know what I want to feel today. I know what I want to manifest today. I know what I want to allow today.

I don't want to wait until tomorrow for a home base. I don't want to have a vehicle only if I accomplish specific tasks. I don't want to travel in the distant future.

I WANT IT NOW!

And going with the flow, Universal time, it'll happen when it's right, etc and so forth - all that aside - now is when I want these things.

I know that I get what I ask for. Heck, I'm manifesting situations and opportunities I desperately yearned for 10, 20 years ago. And many of them I no longer want. Or I don't want Right Now.

Who knows if I'll still want a sporty, 4 wheel drive in 10 years? Or even 5? It's possible that next year I would like a personal driver. Or I would like a mini-copter. Or a transport beam.

But today? Today I want what I want today.

So today I am going to practice saying what I WANT today.

I hope you have a great day, today, if that's what you want.

-Lila

Today's Happiness Practice... asking the questions

Today I am going to practice asking the questions.

Actually, it's not THE questions... that sounds like there are only a few really vital and important questions. Which is judgmental and limiting.

The vital and important part is that questions are asked.
* Do I want to eat this?
* What do I want to wear?
* Do I like that?
* Why is the sky blue?


I admit - there is a lot of fear, concern? trepidation about this practice. Especially regarding food. What if my body says no to bagels and oatmeal and stir fry? What if it only says yes to Broccoli and mushrooms?

What if I don't want to walk or sing or write or admin or whatever the question of the moment is?

What if there is... gasp... dissension?!

Okay, first, what if there is?  Perhaps I've been doing or consuming something that really disagrees with myself? No judgment, remember?

And second, this practice today isn't so much about the answers - though I do hope there is a yes somewhere in the eating, because, you know, FOOD! But by taking a minute and asking the question, I allow myself to act instead of react. I am more aware of my truths. I am more connected to me.

Besides, do I really trust myself that little? I know that purple brings happiness because I love the way I feel whenever I see the color. I know I become giddy when I read Tanya Huff. I know drinking tea is delightful.

And I also know that just because I liked something yesterday, that doesn't mean I want anything to do with it today.

So, today I am going to practice asking questions. Giving myself, and hopefully everyone I interact with, the space to be consensual about everything.

Would you like to have a great day?
-Lila