fEELinGs R rEaL-IngS!

Oh dEaR fun&freefEeLerS!

Whew! I needed to remind myself to breathe yesterday . . . 'cuz something super wObBLy . . . dark . . . gloomy . . . and scary came over me . . . and kind of tOoK oVeR and . . . I couldn't stop feeling like I needed to cry or maybe BArF (can you relate?)

 ;0( . . . but that's okay . .  .

And, today, I'm back . . . well, sort of . . . 

But it IS really okay . . . Today, I'm continued to share all my feelings, let them move through me--including happiness, btw! I totally spent an hour petting my new amazing ZEN-MASTER JAKE. Thank you, Jake, you centered me more than any yoga class could have!

So, here's my feelings about my feelings . . .

• I have had a hard time sharing my feelings for most of my life. I think it started when I was a kid, actually, when gRowNuPs used to argue with me about how I felt (which doesn't even make sense, does it? how can you argue with how someone feels?). 
• Others also used to tell me how I felt (did they crawl up into my head or into my heart?--what the hel(k) did they know NE-way?)
• So, I learned to iGnoRe my feelings altogether. I haven't even known how to name my feelings until the past couple of years. But NO MORE!

I would say that my emotional life HAS BEEN rather . . .

U

        N

                D

                       E

                               R

                                       G

                                              R

                                                     O

                                                            U

                                                                  N

                                                                         D.

 . . . which means I generally don't share my feelings 'cuz I don't feel comfortable or safe. (But I actually DID share with you all that I was wobbly, even though I wasn't sure what it was about . . . and that's g(o)od progress, huh? . . . 

Fortunately, I am practicing knowing what I feel. Yesterday, I was and scared, and a little (actually, ALOT) confused . . . 

I used to just

    push

                my

                             feelings

                                                away   

iGnOrE tHeM,

aRgUe wItH tHeM,

or pReTend they weren't there.

(sound familiar? . . . that's what I learned from those silly gRowNupS. . . I don't really think they meant it, though, 'cuz they didn't know any better . . .)

It's taken a lot of practice to get my feelings again, and

 I still have barfy tummy butterflies when I share my feelings--like I think I'm going to get in trouble for feeling.

I am getting braver, 'cuz the You-niverse is giving me lots of opportunities to share my feelings lately--both super awesome amazing happy feelings! and black hole-in-the-heart scary hidden cave-in feelings. 

ffFeelers!: I encourage you to share your feelings--even if it freaks you out, caves you in, your  heart pounds, or you think you are going to puke! It will get easier!

I have been letting myself be sad. I have not been running away (nOt gOoD), eating chocolate (thud), smoking (eEw!), drinking wiNe (yuk), or stayIng in beD all day (lame) . . . AnD . . . I am so okay! 

Next time I feel (anything), I will give myself even more permission to just bE mE. . . (wherever I AM) . . . and LoVe all of mE, NEway!

LovE yOu,

SuperMe (2 sUpER yOu)!

U R ur HeArt!

"If I create from the heart, nearly everything works;

if from the head, almost nothing." 

- Marc Chagall

gOOd moRning aLL!

You probably already know if you follow my blog that sometimes I get very stuck up in my head. My amazing partner has told me over and over: "Don't overthink it." In other words, I should stop thinking so much and follow my gut and my heart.

Which makes me wonder why I tend to overthink so much and why I get stuck up in my brain so often.

Didn't I ever really learn to trust my heart and my gut? I mean, I get that it's really never too late to learn, but jeeeesh! 

Some things, I suppose, take a lifetime of practice . . . and, at least I realize that I do this now. A few years ago, I was usually trapped in my head and I didn't even realize I was a prisoner of my own thoughts sometimes. I guess that's progress, huh?

Meditation really helps me calm my thoughts and focus on my breath--which can almost always bring me back to the PRESENT MOMENT,-- out of my worries about the future and yucky instant replays of my past.

Eckhart Tolle wrote an amazing book called The Power of Now that I listen to on my iPod. He basically tells us that we are not our thoughts and we are not our mind--we are so much greater. And he gives strategies for freeing ourselves of our negative beliefs and thought patterns. And what we need to do is stand beside out thoughts and observe them (without judgement), and not necessarily believe them . . . but just notice them, and then let them go. Kind of like sitting on the side of a river watching the current of the water flow by. Ahhhhhh . . . I feel calmer already! 

I totally know that my most important journey these days is finding the path from my head to my heart. Maybe I will introduce them to each other and we can all have a lovely chat!

I hEaRt U, yO!

Dana bo bayna

fEEL rIGhT?

Dear FunFreePeeps!

Do you take yourself too seriously? Have you noticed that your life is very dramatic? I personally LOVE TO LAUGH (and sometimes I do take myself too seriously and my life is overly dramatic).

Anyway, the point is, I can sometimes catch myself in this self-defeating behavior and return to gratitude and laughter.

CaSe in pOinT: Yesterday, while my son was at his bass lesson, my daughter and her friend went to a toy store and bought "noise putty"--aka fart putty. Basically, when you put your hand in the container and squish down, the "noise putty" make a very loud, wet prolonged sound. I mean, seriously . . . it was so obnoxious.

So, as we went to the drive through at McDonald's, the girls were in the back going crazy with their "noise putty," and the drive through workers were kind of looking sideways at each other wondering what the heck was going on. I was laughing so hard I began to cry, and I finally blurted out between gasping laughter:

I'm so sorry, but my kids have fart putty!

and then I burst out into even more hilarity (with snorts in between) . . .

[BTW: My sixth-grade son was horrified, shrinking in the front seat out of sheer embarassment]

Anyway, the workers at the drive through started busting a gut along with all of us, and as we drove away, they were still laughing. I think we may have made their day . . .

I had to pull over into the parking area for a minute because I was laughing so hard, and between snorty laughter, my daughter said, Mom, I love being your daughter . . . (really, what could be more precious?)

These moments of letting go of what other people think, and just diving in to the hilarity of what's in front of us--these moments are gold. I personally know that if I can surrender to these moments it is a sign that I AM WAKING UP!

What do you do that makes no sense, and no money, just because it feels right? Leave me a comment and share your awesomeness!

LOL!

Dana

thErE's nO pLaCe lIke ho(ME) . . .

There's no place like ho(ME) . . .

Dear FunFreeMePeople;

Today I took my kids to the film "Oz the Great and Powerful." I had no idea what to expect, but I knew it was supposed to be a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz,"--like, as in, how he got to Oz in the first place.

The entire movie reminded me of expectations. The Land of Oz was expecting a wizard to arrive and save them from the evil entities that had taken over, and when the wizard (who did not believe himself to be a wizard) landed there, everyone expected him to be THE ONE, and to save them. 

Repeatedly, he told them he was not THE ONE, and they would not accept it. 

And this is key: When the good witch was speaking to him, she told him,"You're not THE ONE we expected, but you are THE ONE who is here." (and, so he is the chosen one, cuz he is the one who arrived...do you get it? Nobody else arrived).

OMG.

And, THE WIZARD replied to her something like this: "I may not be what you expected, but I am what you need."

And because everyone believed in the wizard, he eventually came to believe in himself (and he faked it for a long time until he did believe himself to be the hero of heroes!).

In the end, I think the wizard may have been his own worst enemy because he needed to know, and love, and believe in his own integrity. 

I can relate. How do you challenge your own trust in yourself? How have you leaped to trusting the greatness of YOU?

You R OZ-some!

Love, 

Dana

bE aMazing yOu!

dEar aMazing & gOOd lOOkinG and sUpeR sPaRkLy fuN & frEE pEEps! 

I have a really weird and amazing idea for all of you today. I dare you to be your authentic self . . . for 1 hour. Sounds easy, right?

Hmmnnn . . . let's unpack it a bit.

That means,

• checking in with yourself every moment, or at least every time you make a decision, to ensure that you, beautiful and amazing you, are in your own unique integrity in this world
• making decisions based on you . . . rather than what
• other people will approve of
• other people will think is the "right" choice
• will make others like you
• feels the easiest (unless you need it to be easy)
• is automatically ANTI (for those of us who don't like to be told what to do so we choose the radical or OTHER position)
• your parents would have wanted you to do
• others might need
• being free to express yourself, for example . . 
• I was shopping with some friends today and one friend said something sosososo ridiculous that I burst out laughing! 
• Looking around at people staring at me, I apologized  . . .  and then kept on laughing my a@# off . . . even the fancy botoxed (NO JUDGEMENT...I love Botox!) high-heeled designer shopper eventually began to chuckle with me!
• being sad & sappy if I need to
• asking for help when I need it
• saying sorry and knowing I'm wrong
• taking care of me FIRST, SO I have stuff to GIVE (the opposite of what I learned growing up!)

WE R ALL AMAZING! How do we forget that? It's crazy!

 Can  You let go of the story of your own un-amazingness?

Let me know in the comments!

HeArts!

dana

gOt LaUgHtEr?

Max with bacon moustache!

03.11.13.

Dear FunFreePeeps--

Today I've been laughing . . . a lot. And I would venture to add that laughter is one of my most holy daily practices.

From the minute I lie awake in the morning and ask myself (or someone asks me), "What's going on?" and all throughout the day, I JUST HAVE TO LAUGH.

My life is my self-created drama, and It's just not that serious anymore. 

As Shakespeare wrote:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances . . .

Case in point: I was actually at a terrible Shakespeare play today . . . which was really expensive! I have 3rd row season tickets! Oy!

After a fabulous lunch with my mom, we sat down and the man behind us started farting. And he proceeded to fart throughout the entire production!

I, of course, being the super immature (love potty humor) 50-year-old eighth grade English teacher, thought it was hilarious! I wasn't laughing AT him; I was simply laughing at the fact that HE WAS PASSING GAS DURING A THE-AY-TER (insert fancy snobbish voice!) PERFORMANCE!  

I was actually beside myself!

[Insert Irony].

Anyway, I kept nudging my mom every time he farted, which was every couple of minutes, and my mom whispered ('cuz the play was so bad); "That's exactly what I think of this play!"

More laugh-until-I-cry laughter ensued. It was painful, but awesome 'cuz I love laughing. At one point, we were scared that there wasn't an intermission so we could quietly put ourselves out of our misery and leave! 

Mom leaned over and said," What if there's not an intermission?"

I replied, "Then we are just supposed to be here. Stop sighing. It makes it worse."

(thank Go(o)dness there was an intermission!)

We escaped during intermission. I went over to my neighbor's house after the play, and she was surprised that my mom and I left in the middle. BUT GUESS WHAT?

I get to choose how I spend my time and the play felt uncomfortable, violent, and I felt sick after only half. SO . . . 

I came home, cooked an amazing dinner for the man I love, took a lavender bath to get off the ISH . . . and sat down to write this silly BLOG. 

I love you ALL!

Dana

Back to the laughter:

Laughter Meditation

Find a comfortable place to sit. Bring your attention to your breathing; watch your breath as you slowly breathe in and out.

Bring your attention to your belly; breathe as if your belly is filling up with water. As you breathe, let go of any tension that you may have in your body.

Now bring up an image of something you find really funny. Then once you have that feeling, try to spread it throughout your entire body.

Then bring up another image of something you find to be hilarious. Again, work on spreading that feeling throughout your entire body.

Keep breathing and working on noticing the feeling of laughter inside your body. This simple meditation will help you to carry this feeling throughout your day. This will reduce stress, build strong relationships, and give you a greater sense of well-being.

aRe U rEaDY tO reCeIvE?

"Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace,

the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, 

but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart."
- Sarah Ban Breathnach

Dear FunFreePeeps;

We all have quiet places in our hearts that hold our secret longings, our prayers, our deepest desires. 

What are yours?

Last night I was at a gathering where people were sharing epiphanies they had experienced as a result of doing some deep inner work. One man who had come from work (I could tell because he was wearing a uniform, like a mechanic or something) was talking about how he had experienced wanting BIG, amazing things all his life, but there were some blind spots he had to shed light on, namely:

he had trouble asking (for anything)

and 

he had trouble asking (for help)

and

he was uncomfortable with

(yup, you guessed it)

RECEIVING.

I used to do everything by myself because I thought asking for help was a sign of weakness, lack of independence, or stupidity. I was embarrassed if I didn't know how to do something . . . as I write that, it seems so foolish. Now, I must admit that super-duper, really-really, very often,

I need help!

The amazing & humble handyman, Phil, (who, by the way, started his own successful business after realizing this about himself) reminded me that we cannot get where we want to go ALONE . . . which is why we are all so unique--we can help each other. 

We are all interconnected.

My gifts and strengths are not the same as yours (which is why the Universe brought us together, yes?!).

We are here to help each other learn stuff! 

Case in point: My friend Celia is an amazing businesswoman, and we are in school together right now (SHOUT OUT!). We have some things in common, but in many ways we are SO TOTALLY different (which is aWesOmE-sAuCe). Here's why:

She can help with stuff that is challenging to me, like branding, hooking me up with technical people and web designers, keeping me on track with my schedule and what I've committed to, calling me out on my BS excuses . . . in a really kind but firm way!

And I can do the same with her, in other ways. We serve each other. IT'S ALL GOOD! 

NOTE TO (bad) SELF: We can't support or help each other if we don't ask each other for what we need or we are not open to receiving.

How can you be of service those around you? What can you ask for that you've been afraid of seeking? How can you be open to receive?

Lots of Love,

Dana

yAy! iT's a sUpEr giFt: a sNoW dAy!

my favorite backyard tree

03.05.13.

Dear FunFree . . . Snow. . . Peeps,

OMG! What an amazing gift I awakened to this morning . . . a fluffy blankie snowfall! I love snow so so so so much! There's something so comforting and snuggly about it, like we can just rest, breathe, and relax. 

And--super bonus! I don't have to go to school today . . . even though I'm already showered, dressed and ready to meet my destiny ;) Check out my vid about my gratitude for my day!

Hope you have a blessed day, too; and stay warm.

Dana

ReBoOt of the reBooT!

Dear Peeps;

As you know, I overcommitted to my RebOOt, and felt like I had set myself up for not feeling so good cuz' it was TOO much . . . So, I'm going to RE-vise my RE-boot. Here's my earlier reBoot, with some revisions in GREEN:

even though I'm rebooting the reBoOt!

Dear AweSomE pEEps!

Check out my blog on THE DAILY LOVE! It's a huge deal get our message out on such a amazing site, so please head over and leave a comment, if you please! Thanks, so much! I've decided to begin a 9-day practice starting tomorrow for a Revolutionary Self-Care Reboot for spring! 

Rituals can provide us with grounding as we encounter the business of our daily existence. I know that the power of simply being present can offer not only a daily spiritual practice, but a gateway to LIVING A SPIRITUAL EXISTENCE-- throughout the next NINE days, I'll share some of the more spiritual self-care practices I infuse in my days to help guide me along the way. I'll also share how difficult it can be to keep up such practices--but the benefits are transformational!

Sadhana, or daily ritual practices, support us as spiritual beings--and spirit can be woven throughout our existence. In my self-care practices, I chunk stuff in 4 different categories; note that even though I put my intentions in categories, they all overlap because living a spiritual existence happens MOMENT TO MOMENT. Here's my plan for theRE-REBOOT:

Daily Practices:

SpIriTuAL: 

• I will read Gabrielle Bernstein's May Cause Miracles, working through the 40-day program of releasing fear and moving into LOVE!
• I will write my blog.
• I will journal.
• I will read some of my favorite blogs each day: 
• The Daily Love
• Marc and Angel Hack Life
• Purpose Fairy
• Tiny Buddha
• en*Theos Optimizer
• The Chopra Well
• I will walk in nature.
• I will listen to amazing music.
• I will dance my BuTT off!
• I will pray and/or meditate; this will look different each day depending upon what I need (if you don't know how to meditate--here's a cool start! 

PhYsiCaL (and spiritual): 

• I will awaken each morning at 5:30 am, meditate, and set intentions for the day.
• I will take vitamins OR antioxidants each day, and drink lots of water. 
• I will abstain from drinking pop, eating sugar, and drinking alcohol.
• I will run, do yoga, or walk, for 15 minutes each day.
• I will take time off when my body needs a rest! 
• I will take pride in the way I look (cute is good!).

EmOtiOnAL (and spiritual): 

• I will check in with my gut and my heart to see how I'm feeling. 
• I will send a lOveBomB everyday!
• I will give my feelings and thoughts voice and share them with love when appropriate. 
• I will practice healthy boundaries around relationships and people who drain my energy.

InTeLLecTuaL (and spiritual): 

• I will commit to doing B-SCHOOL with one of my besties on Tuesday nights.
• I will commit to continuing the enTheos course taught by Mastin Kipp called Discover Your Soul's Goals for 2013.

What daily practices can you commit to? Leave us a comment and share your dreams!

Lots of heart lOve!

Dana the Evolving