Three for Free (Challenges, that is.)

Emma suggested that I complete Free Like That with a Freedom Challenge.  If you prefer, you can call these challenges invitations. In any case, they are opportunities to deepen and expand the experience of being free.  Maybe you've done one of these before.  Maybe you have other challenges/invitations.  If so, weigh in. 

1. Freedom Top 5 (or 10) List

What is the soundtrack for being free?  Soundtrack is key! Unless it's not; then don't worry about it. 

Picking songs can be a challenge.  Like, "is this really the best choice for the Freedom Top 5?"  Who cares? Put it on the list; you can change the list later.  If you're feeling more like the Freedom Top 25, roll with it.  For me, that's too many decisions to make. 

Anna's Top 8, April 3, 2014 

1. Susan Boyle; this is on my favorites list.  I listen to this at least once a week.   
2. Pharrell Williams, you are so sweet.  Thank you for this song! 
3. J.Tims.  The song changes but he's regularly on my top 5.  Abby, an Amen?!?
4. Smile! is not what you expect for a Freedom Top 5 until you remember that you are free even if you are not feeling like Rock Your Body.  Being real is being free.
5. Because the Go-Go's are the freaking COOOOOLest!!! Please note, by today's trends in celebrity fashion they dressed like June Cleaver.  
6. If you were thinking about complaining that there is a Grateful Dead track, be grateful I grabbed the studio version.  And, if you're disappointed about a studio track, Shakedown Street is their best studio recording.  
7. Wake Me Up.  Not by Wham. 
8. Good Feeling.  Pretty much the anthem of free.  For me.  

I'll stop here.  

2. Announce Yourself and Be Free

It is helpful to have a few announcements on hand if you get into any of the following situations of bondage: 

• Most Boring Social Situation.  Everyone is talking blah-blah-blah. You do your utmost to be interested in other people but it's like they're telling you a story they've told twenty times before and it's not even interesting.  This is a perfect time to drop an announcement. 
• Stephen Colbert Locks You In. You are at Stephen's for dinner and he says he can't let you go home until you give him some good material for a few sketches.
• Facebook Irrelevance. You've been off Facebook for a few months (days?) and have become irrelevant for Facebook conversation.

As you can see, bondage can sneak up on a person.  So, challenge yourself to announce yourself.  In announcing yourself, you shed your shackles.

For example, Jimmy Fallon takes the empty seat next to me on the Concord Trailways bus from North Station to Portland.  He says, "Tell me a little about yourself, Anna." 
I offer the most powerful cognitive shifting training in all of Maine. All of Maine!  The Tony Robbins Foundation is on the cusp of granting me their first Coach-that-we-support-who-has-no-training-in-our-methods-but-reassures-us-that-she-is-amazing-and-her-audacity-so-impressed-us-that-we-talked-with-her-and-now.... damn... she's-right Award Recipient.   

I know, I know, not everyone is an extrovert. Or obnoxious. So,  introverts.... you could write your announcement of yourself on an index card and put it in your car by your steering wheel. Extroverts, you can do that, too!  

This is not lame.  So, don't announce something you think is lame.  If you think it's lame, it is lame.  Right?  An announcement is fun.   It's not like you're making a commitment, baring your soul (although you can if that's fun), or promising anyone anything.  You don't even have to say the announcement out loud ever. You're just ready. That way, if you get stuck at a children's birthday party where parents are discussing the pros and cons of various math curricula, you can get drop this gem of an announcement: 
 I've been thinking about doing a TedTalk on the parallel teachings of Flashpoint and Mooji.  Like, no shit.  We will go DEEP on it.

See what happens next.  

You might feel some resistance to announcements. Or, you could start thinking anti-announcement thoughts. I suggest that you do not argue with the voices in your head, nor let them scoop you up and carry you off.  Just give them some respect like, "Okay, I heard you."   You are not these resistant feelings and thinkings.  You are what is aware of resistance.  Watch the I.  

Or, watch Jenna Marbles.  She announces herself for a good ten minutes in this video.  If you are new to her, I recommend give her a few minutes to get to know her.  

In sum, announcements are declarations regarding skills, insights and experiences which may or may not be true.  

3. Design a Product

Here's why this is a challenge.  People think that a product is only worth designing if:

• it has market value
• it is useful
• it actually works
• it can be manufactured, rather than 'only' imagined

Let me tell you, if you just throw all that out the window you will find that you are a fabulous inventor!  Like, I created an assessment tool.  I have to tell you, it was and is so fun for me.  I understand that is just way too geek for some people.  But, for me, it's perfect!  Maybe you cook up a new dessert, make an obstacle course for your cat, write a magic spell to prevent things that were never going to happen anyway.  

How about this guy with Dance Walking!?  I am in love!

May we recognize we are free and powerful, the proof of truth. May we trust all seeds of freedom are growing perfectly.  

May we recognize the harvest available in each moment. 

And so it is.  

Whales and Lions, Dreams and Songs

Tips for watching the videos that would have been helpful had I provided these tips say.... 3 weeks ago:  
1. Watch on a screen larger than a phone
2. Use earphones
3. Enjoy

Two for two with whales.  Chalk it up to synchronicity; I can't explain it.  Whales have a hold of me!

This Moment, This Dream
I would love to sit with all of you, watch these short videos together then listen to each of you share what feelings, questions and insights come up for you as you watch them. 

In terms of tonight's whale video, I get that I dreamed myself into this very moment with all of you.  That's how free I am! I dreamed myself into communicating with people from a "further out" place than the first few 75-years-long nights of dreaming.  

Further out because we're not sitting together 
and we won't all look at this post at the same time
nor will we all watch the videos or watch them in their entirety.
Further out because we may not hear some of you 'speak' with us directly through the comment section of the blog (still time for that)
yet, you are sharing videos, songs, pictures, meals, walks and other expressions of freedom back with us even though they may not be directed toward 'us' specifically.  

The personal self cannot understand what I'm saying because the personal self is bound by time, cause and effect, and separation. So the personal self will rationalize.  Watch the 'I.'  In other words, give some attention to who sees the thinking and who decides (or doesn't decide) which thoughts to think.  Perhaps, let yourself wonder... 

This Song
Whatever, wherever and however you experience yourself, your 'song' is indispensable in this Circle of Life.  Thank you for being in the choir with me.  

Astonishing

A video about a positive prank  a group of friends plays on a 'deserving' woman is working its way around Facebook.  I am wary of the word 'deserve.' The sentiment of the video is sweet but it plays into the myth that some people are deserving, or more deserving, than other people. 

Deserving of what, precisely?

Of financial reward?  Social support?  Generosity?  Astonishment?

Growing up, each one of us was taught - by our schools, families, peers, religious institutions - that we have to do certain things to deserve 'a good life.'  Work hard, play by the rules, make the right choices and you will be rewarded.  

There's nothing wrong with working hard, playing by the proverbial rules and making choices that resonate with an internal guidance system!  However, extrapolating that these are viable criteria to distinguish the deserving from the not deserving is cynicism (even if it would make for an entertaining Louis C.K. sketch).  And, it is bondage.  

I get the sense that peoples' hearts are broken from the travesty of forgetting who we are.  During Love Like That I posted this Osho video where he suggests that love is sabotaged when people feel like beggars rather than emperors.  In my experience, people are now comfortable paying attention to:

• what do 'I' want?
• what do 'I' think?
• what do 'I' do?

yet give almost no attention to the 'I' itself.  What is this 'I' that is paying attention to wants and actions?  We must ask otherwise we  could spend the rest of our lives tweaking desires, thoughts and actions without discovering our true wealth.  

Our true wealth is who we are (same link as video below in the event the video doesn't show up in your mobile device):

Let it be known inside your heart
that you are born for this. 
You are born for this. 
You are born for freedom. 
This life is for freedom. 
~ Mooji
  
May our freedom liberate others. 

Freedom Looks Good On Michelle

Reach by Michelle Miller

It's awesome the way a new artistic medium ignites my creative process. Encaustic wax is a beautiful thing as are the human skeletal system and actively practicing my unique skills and talents.

Although Encaustic Wax has been used as a painting medium since 200A.D., it has only come into my view in the past 2 months. I spent a few days wondering which came first, the space in my life or this inspirational new medium. Did this new medium drive these beautiful drawings or did the freedom I've come into insist on a creative expression?

Anna and I talked and she suggested it didn't necessarily matter. That they were one and the same. She's probably right.

I realize today that Freedom for me is simply being in the process, getting my hands dirty, and making a visual statement. Working. Playing. Creating. Easy!

Pelvis by Michelle Miller

Guest post by Michelle Miller, March 31, 2014

Brand New Nuanced Freedom Assessment Tool!

No Handbook, No Problem

Background
You all know I've been sitting in satsang with Mooji (up until Friday when I completed the final sit). What I haven't shared yet is that Emma and I have been watching the show "Flashpoint" at the same time.  We love this show; it's Canadian!  

Okay, but that's not why we love the show.  

If you are not familiar with Flashpoint, the show features Team One of the Police Strategic Response Unit. Team One is called in to resolve hostage, bomb and other explosive situations that most officers are not trained to handle.  They always acts as a team and prioritize a peaceful resolution.  

Training
To maintain presence and clarity while in high-stress situations, Team One participates in ongoing, intensive training.  Today we watched episode 15 of Season 4, when a new member of Team One - Raf - is placed into a situational role play with the Tactical Team Leader - Ed.  Ed plays a gunman holding another member of the team hostage.  In this scenario, Raf's role is to talk the gunman down and resolve the situation with no casualties.  

Over and over Raf fails.  And it starts to drive him crazy - what is the answer?  How does he guarantee that nobody will be hurt?  How can he anticipate all possible outcomes and ensure everybody's safety?  How? 

His commanding officer, Sergeant Greg Parker, is not impressed with Raf's carrying on and tells him: 

The moment you think you have all the angles covered, 

you have failed, my friend.

---

At the end of the show, Raf approaches Sgt Parker: 

Raf: I think I know the solution.

Sgt. Parker: Go on.

Raf: There is no solution. The failure, it's built in, you know. And it ain't even about beating the drill.  It's not that.  It's about learning to live with the choices you've made. 

Sgt. Parker: My man.

---

The moment I think I have all the angles covered, I fail.  Not fail like I am a failure of a human being.  But, fail like I have lost sight of the Mystery, I have lost sight of the Unknown, I have lost sight of the Awareness, the Freedom and the Love that I am which is beyond thinking, which doesn't need to anticipate, which doesn't confuse rational linear thinking with "truth", which doesn't second guess, which simply IS.  There is no handbook for Being Free.  We simply are.  

---

Living in the Country
Before going grocery shopping today, I assessed the clothes I was wearing. My outfit was perfect for sorting the recycling, writing some emails and laundry.  I loved how my tank top was the exact same color as the word "baptiste" on the shirt Karen Yencha gave me, and I love that years ago Alice gave me the pants I was wearing.  I could have worn this outfit into town, no problem.  But, then I said to Emma, "If I go out like this, people might think I've given up.  I don't want to depress the good people of North Conway." 

We laugh.

This is me "dressed up" for town. 

This has nothing to do with Flashpoint.  So what?!?!!

It cracks me up, like this Selfie song.  

Alice Speaks: A Girl, Some Yoga, and Redemption

I am honored to be a guest blogger, writer, and person on the Wonder With Institute page.  Anna and I have shared and shaped each other’s worlds for 7 years plus and just as much as I have been her yoga teacher she has been my “human” teacher – she tells it like it is and continues to peel away the layers of her experience that stand in the way of her awesomeness!

I pondered and thought hard about what to share and was going to write something pithy and current when I stumbled upon a story in the cobwebs of my Microsoft documents.  You will now read the edited version – it’s a story about a girl, some yoga, loss, gain and well, redemption!

And so it begins…

Everyone has her story.  

The story usually starts with something like,  “Once, when I was a drug addict”, or “Once, when I was overweight”, or “Once, when I was tossed out and left for dead”…you get the picture.  These stories are important to share.  However, there is another story to be told, a story that is very common and somewhat invisible.

 Drum roll please…

It’s the story of the Perfect Life.  The story where it looks like it is all working out.  The happy or at least not awful childhood, the loving parents, the groovy marriage, the financial success story, the “it all looks good on paper” life.  Yet, if you read between the lines, the heroine is dying a slow death of losing her joy and her life spirit.  At the end of the story, the heroine is left to her own devices, trying to figure out where she “went” wrong even though she believed she was doing everything right.

You know this person.  The householder, the person who lives a good life but is not quite satisfied.  The person who knows that gratitude is the way to go and yet cannot muster up the energy to be thankful.  With this as the backdrop, a low-grade dissatisfaction becomes the normal experience and daily unhappiness goes unnoticed. The person becomes numb to themselves, to the people around them and end up going to their grave with the proverbial question, “what was it all for and why”?  Final gasp, curtain down.

Well, as you may have guessed, I was that person. The rub is that I didn’t know I was leading an unconscious life.  I truly believed if I played by the rules, I would get the life I wanted or that I was supposed to have.  If I was good, I’d be liked, if I did drugs, I’d be cool, if I got married, I’d be complete, if I had a child, I would feel needed, if I stopped doing drugs, I’d be spiritual.  If I said and did the right thing, God (read: Higher Power) would give me what I needed to get the things I wanted to lead a comfortable life that would lead to more unconscious living.

It wasn’t until I started to take my yoga discipline seriously, and by that I mean practicing for over 10 years and then one day deciding to practice everyday for a year, that I slowly began to snap out of it.  AND, I will add that it took me 53 years to get to that place; the place where I began to understand the discipline of discipline.  Before I hit that 10 year mark, I even used my yoga discipline as an “Alice improvement plan”.   I thought if I did it enough (the triple type A approach) I would get better.  I thought it would make me a better person, because I needed to be fixed, and by the way, so do you!  Or, I’ll practice when “I” know it’s right because “I am so in touch with my feelings” approach.  If I could do it my way as opposed to committing to an actual discipline and even open a yoga studio, it would all work out A OK.  

Boy was I WRONG!  But, in the best way possible.

Through the discipline of my yoga practice I am beginning to understand the famous quote by the famous yogi Pattabhi Jois, “practice and all will come.”  And, by the way, there is no one way that all will come.  Yoga is a personal journey of mystery, transformation, breakdown, breakthrough, blood, sweat and tears.  The yoga journey is the path that leads us back to our humanity.

Over the last 2 years, I have had a yoga studio, almost lost a yoga studio, and then built a new studio.  I have been elated, terrified, exhausted, ashamed, depressed and then some.  I tried to fix it, justify it, name it, judge it, evaluate it, give a name and avoid it. I did everything and have done everything EXCEPT give up my discipline of yoga.  And by that I mean the down and dirty practice, no music, no lights, no fancy pants stuff, and no mixing it up.  Just the same old shit, day in and day out, and I can tell you this:

I love my life!  I have a strong body and a spirit that is peeking out behind the curtain, open to the possibility of light, love and faith.  I feel strong and connected while simultaneously feeling it could all slip away at any moment.  It’s my yoga discipline - the relentless ongoing quality of the boring day-to-day grind - that has revealed to me the joy in the everyday quality of life and the access to seeing the spirit of this joy in the people I meet.  I don’t care if I lose everything tomorrow because my yoga discipline has given me everything that I will ever need.

My yoga has given me my LIFE and for that, I will be forever grateful. 

- Alice Riccardi
portlandpoweryoga.com