Everyday Bliss

Since Thanksgiving of last year, I’ve been contemplating something very big. Quite out of the ordinary and not what you might expect but…I seem to specialize in doing things not the way everyone expects and with the most amazing outcomes no one could have predicted.

In fact, you could say doing the unexpected is something of a brand identity.

I’m going on an adventure, that expresses every single one of the Bliss Keys.

For my fiftieth birthday…

And quite by myself…

Somewhere far away where English is not spoken so often…

And adventures, history, romance abound.

I couldn’t talk about it until now because I didn’t know if it would come together.

But this is an adventure I want to take you on. An adventure we can have together, no matter where you are.

Initially I wanted to take my five best girlfriends and ship all of us out on a cruise of the Greek islands for my 50th. But one by one those friends have dropped by the wayside in myriad of no-fault ways that were nothing more than just growing apart with different agendas.

Now I have new girlfriends who are even cooler and more hip to what I’m into, but I really get that this timeperiod is about me and me alone. Stepping into Unlimited Self it is all so clear, so easy…

to set aside an epochal moment to savor first and alone…
to suck the marrow out of
and grow new wings…
to fly boldly into the unknown,
shrieking with wild, ecstatic laughter
to harvest the burgundy-currant juice of deep wisdom
to savor the clarity, aliveness and precious living in each and every day.

Stay tuned, there will be more. Now that the decision is made, watch what unfolds…

It’s thrilling to be on the precipice of something new and amazing.

What are you doing that is bold, fearless, outrageous and entirely in the service of yourself, for once?

What are you doing to serve your own highest needs today?

Please comment and let us all know, and I’ll be back with more later…

I just met a wonderful new person on Twitter: @stillettochick a.k.a. Betty-Ann Heggie. She’s an energy junkie like me and had this wonderful post on her blog:

Is the Energy in Your City Serving You?

Aug 28, 2009 – Saskatoon, Sask.: Is the energy of your city serving you? A friend in Europe emailed me to say that when she enters a city, she feels the energy and can tell whether it’s male or female. For instance, she spent most of her life in Zurich and got a definite masculine vibe from its focus on production efficiency. She now lives in Prague, which has been called the “mother of cities”; indeed, she feels a warm, loving, healing embrace from the city. I experienced this when our daughter was choosing a university. We drove to many good schools that she wasn’t even interested in touring once we arrived and she felt the energy of the city.

To see if there was anything to this, I contacted Patty Beach, an expert on masculine and feminine energy…

This is a great article as is Betty-Ann’s blog. I spent a few moments reading through articles here today and now have a great new blog to add to my daily reading list.

Check out the rest of this great post at Betty-Ann’s blog:  Stilletto Chick Sees The World.

There are so many lessons in Presence, in Community, Leadership and Cooperation we can learn from animals. Here’s just one more for the holidays. Before you roast that Christmas goose (if that’s your thing) check out what these community-minded fowl can teach us all.

Leadership Lessons We can Learn From Geese

Geese Fact: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the other birds to follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 70% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

Our Lesson: People who share a common direction and a sense of community get where they are going quicker and easier — because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

Geese Fact: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.

Our Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

Geese Fact: When a goose tires, it rotates to the back of the formation as another goose flies to the point opposite.

Our Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities and unique arrangement of gifts, talents or resources.

Geese Fact: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Our Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups — where there is encouragement to stand by one’s heart or core values and encourage the same in others — is the sort of honking we seek.

Geese Fact: When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out in formation and try to catch the flock.

Our Lesson: If we had as much sense as geese, we would stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

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Note: Though many others have been credited, Dr Robert McNeish of Baltimore, MD is the author of this piece, which was written in 1972 as a lay sermon delivered to Northminster Presbyterian Church in Reisterstown, MD. Dr McNeish was a biology teacher who enjoyed observing the geese on the eastern Atlantic shores of Maryland. Thanks to the exhaustive research of Sue Widemark for the provenance of this article.

I rarely make political statements, but this is one I happen to think is important, and it’s not about people, it’s about the environment. It’s a good point they’re making along the lines of  an untutored person thinking "if one pill is good, five must be better" and killing themselves through ignorance.  Biofuels are great, but the authors of this newsletter Avaaz (see below) have a good point about green technology caveats. Vote your conscience…

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Biofuels are billed as a way to slow down climate change. But in reality, because so much land is being cleared to grow them, most biofuels today are causing more global warming emissions than they prevent⁵, even as they push the price of corn, wheat, and other foods out of reach for millions of people⁶.

Not all biofuels are bad–but without tough global standards, the biofuels boom will further undermine food security and worsen global warming. Click here to use our simple tool to send a message to your head of state before this weekend’s global summit on climate change in Chiba, Japan, and help build a global call for biofuels regulation:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/biofuel_standards_now/9.php?cl=60989106

Sometimes the trade-off is stark: filling the tank of an SUV with ethanol requires enough corn to feed a person for a year. But not all biofuels are bad; making ethanol from Brazilian sugar cane is vastly more efficient than US-grown corn, for example, and green technology for making fuel from waste is improving rapidly.

The problem is that the EU and the US have set targets for increasing the use of biofuels without sorting the good from the bad. As a result, rainforests are being cleared in Indonesia to grow palm oil for European biodiesel refineries, and global grain reserves are running dangerously low. Meanwhile, rich-country politicians can look "green" without asking their citizens to conserve energy, and agribusiness giants are cashing in. And if nothing changes, the situation will only get worse.

What’s needed are strong global standards that encourage better biofuels and shut down the trade in bad ones. Such standards are under development by a number of coalitions⁸, but they will only become mandatory if there’s a big enough public outcry. It’s time to move: this Friday through Saturday, the twenty countries with the biggest economies, responsible for more than 75% of the world’s carbon emissions⁹, will meet in Chiba, Japan to begin the G8’s climate change discussions. Before the summit, let’s raise a global cry for change on biofuels:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/biofuel_standards_now/9.php?cl=60989106

ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Hey there fellow Stillness fans. It’s not like Words can really capture an occasion like hearing Eckhart Tolle lecture, but I’ll try. I’m leaving in a few minutes for San Rafael, where we’ll hear Eckhart tonight from 8 – 9:30pm and Saturday from 1:30 – 4:30pm at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium. If you’re there and find me, we’ll meditate together.

At right is a picture I found on Tolle’s website of him looking even more puckish than usual with a calico mittie. He often speaks of animals, cats in particular, as being more aware than we are. He once said the most accomplished Zen master he ever knew was a cat, so it’s not suprising to see him with one. What mutual delight on the faces of these two friends.

Here’s what the event says about itself: "…Now you are invited to experience this visionary teacher in a live, face-to-face encounter. Here is a rare opportunity to be drawn into the "spaciousness that words can only point to" by the vibrant, conscious presence of Eckhart Tolle himself."

I’ve heard about the effects of an evolved spiritual teacher conferring shaktipat, spontaneous awakening and initiation, by merely sitting in the teacher’s presence. Where I have seen most reference to this is in what is said about the spiritual teacher Amma – the Hugging Saint as she is called. I have heard this said of Tolle as we. Without anticipation, am looking forward to feeling what a room full of people being in presence together will feel like.

It’s extraordinary how I’ve come to this feeling of not looking forward, yet taking all the actions I need to take to be there. An immense clearing occured this week that lasted four days. Before the clearing the mind was busybusybusy with monkey brained chatterings. As I reach today and am marvelling at how resilient the pain-body can be, yet also how easy to take out, once you know what it’s doing, a flushing of inattentiveness seems to have happened.

Presence is one of many states that I move in and out of as I continue coming to awareness of my own pain-body. To be constantly in that state must be truly miraculous. I will get back to you later on being in the presence of one who is there most of the time is like. 

A little late on the ball, but in response to biz-buddy Krishna’s tag in her post: 8 random things about me

I have a friend whom I dearly love – Kim George, author of Coaching Into Greatness and Director of the AQ Institute. A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hanging out in Kim’s home for a week, and being her guest at a concert by acknowledged "young guitar god", Derek Trucks.

Kim wanted to introduce me to Derek’s work because he is, quite honestly, probably the greatest guitarist now living. Or at least one of the mega-greats. You look at what he does with his fingers and listen to the virtuosity, and  your mouth simply falls to the ground. It’s the kind of good that spins your heart, stomach and head all in different directions and leaves you wanting much, much more. Emotions you didn’t know you had bloom suddenly and make you ache, but in a good way. You don’t want the set to end. But I digress…

Some might know Derek as an Eric Clapton protege, or from his work with the Allman Brothers. But on May 17th in Torrington, Connecticut at the palatial Warner Theater, it was solely the Derek Trucks Band, resplendent in its own celebratory glory. 

We got there from deep in the wilderness of Massachussets through the backwoods express route into what seemed like nowhere. Thanks, Google Maps. After miles of beautiful trees, lakes, herds of man-sized mosquitoes, cud-munching Guernseys and a medieval fortress dam or two (one wondered if we hadn’t taken a turn into the Twilight Zone) we arrived in Torrington and had the time of our lives.

Kim has been a fan for ages, and I was a virgin conquest, brought to be sacrificed upon the altar of good music. My heart thumped, thighs quivered and as many before me, I became thoroughly infected with the DTB virus. We all had the DTB’s pretty bad, to be honest. But if you haven’t seen and heard Mr. Trucks and his quirky, amazing fellow musicians, you are missing one heck of a treat. They not only roll out good rock, soul, jazz, r&b and blues, but the personalities of each musician are as engaging as their repertoire. Holy hit parade Batman, but the dude can rock SOLID! If you’re into fancy fretwork, Derek Trucks is your man.

I snuck in my Casio Exilim and managed a few short  and shaky vidcaps between security-guard strafings, the light flashing from an adjacent teenager playing games on his cellphone, and bobbing and weaving of the extra-large-headed fellow right in front of my lens. There was by way of compensation, a nice fellow sitting next to me named John, who interestingly is moving to nearby Walnut Creek within the month. (Dude! Meet you at the Fillmore!)  He and Kim exchanged emails and furtive plans to move items of fandom across state lines…which I am assured is all quite legal…. 

Not my best, but here for Kim and the rest of the excessively *rabid* Derek Trucks fans, (and they’re all rabid) is this five minute-sumpin’ Video.  Be mindful of your speakers, download at will, and Enjoy…

By the time you read this, I’ll be on a jet plane and flown off to Massachussets to visit NLP and Coaching friends, do a little teaching, a smattering of processes and have a lot of fun. When I get back in a week, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of stories to tell and new processes to share as I’m meeting with, among other colleagues, good buddy and NLP legend, Harvard Business School’s own Stever Robbins. It’s bound to be fun and there will be declaiming on Cambridge Common to be listened to. Come join me for a picnic lunch if you’re on Cambridge Common by the Whitefield Elm at noon, this Friday, May 18th. I’ll be speaking on Energy Therapies and I’d love to meet you!

Until next time, don’t forget the fabulous giveaway going on ONLY until the END OF MAY at:

http://maryamrecommends.com/selfimprovement.html

TONS of self improvement gifts, freebies, software, memberships and so on.

And just wait for tomorrow, when you’ll see quite a DIFFERENT face on the "improve thyself" ticket.

Wait for it!

Love & Blessings,
Maryam

…were scattered all over the place until just today. Still a cadre of boxes awaits in the garage. Wowser, has the unpacking ever been intense! Getting back to blog soon but the cool things where we are right now:

• a massive and research-friendly library nearby that doesn’t mind you setting up a laptop and staying awhile…
• a WholeFoods Market & Trader Joe’s just down the street – no hiking far afield for organics…
• Huddart County Park (acres of REDWOODS – woo!), up high in the hills near where we live…
• the joy of seeing tall ships (for which read "clipper" – yes, real ones!) sailing by the hubby’s office window…
• air that is much, MUCH cleaner than in the valley (San Jose, Silicon Valley) and much cooler…
• the pool Kraken. The hubby, a mythology buff, has dubbed the little robot that floats around the pool on a tether and vacuums up fallen leaves and other tree debris, "the Kraken". Presumptuous thing – it snuck up and suckered my leg once, nearly scaring me out of a few year’s growth.

Blissful Moments: In the San Francisco peninsula piedmont , it is far too cold to actually use the pool until late May. (oddly enough said pool is shaped like a gigantic piece of candy corn…) But the sun shines bright, the winds blow cool and pleasant and herbs are beginning to poke up tiny shoots in the kitchen window greenhouse – parsley, miniature basil, lemon basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, tarragon, savory, variegated sage, oregano and lavender. The summer will be rife with tasty morsels and fragrant moments….  

"Thank You, Thank You!!!! The call today was far better than my expectations. The best $20.00 I have ever spent."

- Elaine F, participant

In this multi-modal hour long class, you will learn what our "Tribal Painbody" is and how to overcome it, how to get FREE ONCE AND FOR ALL from overwhelming feelings of national trauma such as 9/11, and general feelings of unsafety regarding terrorism, abduction and personal bodily harm.

A powerful meditation, releasing and re-framing of the gifts we now can accept into our lives on this fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The choice to unhook from our primitive survival-based urges, the acceptance of complete freedom and the ability to feel calm and relaxed around this and other national and personal tragedies.

Not to be missed!

You can now Purchase the MP3 of the call by clicking here

Or here, if you’re sending the URL to someone in email:

http://snipurl.com/Sept11thTeleclass

Enjoy!

Warmly, Maryam