Rule 6: There's no better place than here . . .

heLLo funfreefollowing!


My intention for the next 10 days is to dig into Cherie Carter-Scott's work, "Ten Rules for Being Human."I'm focusing on one rule each day! Today is rule 6:


Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

We all have a tough time being in the moment, or being in the NOW----like, for example  .  . . right now you are reading this blog . . .)

Sometimes, when I'm doing something, I'm not really paying attention--like, my mind is elsewhere (like, worrying about the past or the future, of course) and my body is going through the motions (of life). Sometimes, I catch myself watching me (Dana) in my own personal movie . . . I'm doing stuff but my mind is totally checked out. Like when I drive to work and have no recollection of my travels; has this ever happened to you? It's surreal! . . . this habit robs me of  life cuz I'm not actually experiencing  and focusing on what is in front of me (which is a huge gift!). 

Go(o)D NeWs: we can choose our habits of thought---and, we can replace old habits that don't work anymore, with new and improved habits that make life even mOrE aMaZing!
So HOW do we beComE more pReSent? Here are a few iDeAs:

• breathe deeply (and pay attention while you do it . . .)
• hang out in nature--notice how amazing our world is!
• play with kids, animals, and babies--they require that you stay in the present!
• do what you love and live your passion! being creative is deeply engaging and takes us to a different state of consciousness . . . sometimes called a flow state...time drops off!
• try meditating . . . it really calms your mind. 

More about peace tomorrow . . .

Have a beautiful day, and remember to 

B     r     e     a     t     h     e !

Gobs of love and peace!

dana

Rule 5: Learning lessons never ends . . .

"Learning lessons does not end . . ."

hApPy Monday!

I've been looking at Cherie Carter-Scott's work, "Ten Rules for Being Human" for a few days. It's an amazing list! Check it out. I've been focusing on one rule each day, and today is rule 5!
Ten Rules for Being Human
by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

What rule 5 reminds me of is to be humble. Like, as in, we never "arrive." So I know that as long as I am alive, I will always be a student of life. What that means to me, is that I can relax and stop thinking that I am "done" or I "have arrived." In other words, my life is a work in progress, and I can relax and stop trying to be perfect.

We need to be open to the lessons the You-niverse provides us. What lessons is the You-niverse opening up 4 you?

Hearts!
D-Doggie-dog

Rule 4: Lessons are repeated until they are learned . . .

"Lessons are repeated until they are learned."

Hey there--

Hope your week has been amazing! For the past few days, I've been poking into Cherie Carter-Scott's work, "Ten Rules for Being Human." Her list is so short, but so incredibly powerful. Check it out! Today we'll be focusing on rule four . . .

Ten Rules for Being Human
by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

Yesterday, I was writing about all of our individual lessons that are tailor-made especially for us by the Universe. It's interesting that many times, we think the same old stuff keeps happening TO us, AND IT DOES (actually, it happens FOR us) . . . for a reason! As Carter-Scott writes,

"A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it.

When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson."

Know what? That means that if the same old s(tuff) keeps repeating itself in your life forming a painful pattern, we need to

WAKE UP

and see how we are

PARTICIPATING

in

PERPETUATING

the

PAINFUL PATTERN

and if we don't . . . 

no worries . . .

it'll come around and
bite us in the butt again

(in a different way . . .)

Here are some of my top lessons I've been challenged with my entire freakin' life:

1. It is not good for me to put the needs of others before my own needs. I love myself first, and that allows me to love others from overflow.
2. It is not good for me to rescue others to boost my own self-esteem and ensure that they don't leave me.
3. It is not good for me to put up with others' unkind or abusive behavior towards me; it is awesome for me to set boundaries, and disengage and detach from people who do no treat me with respect.
4. My power resides from within me, not from my intellect, my degree, my material wealth, or my relationship status.

Where patterns keep re-presenting themselves to you?

Love you so much, peeps!

;) dana

Rule 3: There are no mis-takes; only lessons.

Theere are no mistakes, only lessons

Dear funfreePeeps,

If you've hopped on the blog lately, you know that for the next 10 days I am digging into Cherie Carter-Scott's work, "Ten Rules for Being Human." Here's her list--I'm writing about one rule each day.
Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

As I think about rule three, I am struck with the idea of forgiveness--does that seem kinda weird? I didn't know where I was going with rule three, but I'm going with my intuition here.

We can assume that everyone is doing the best to get their needs met (even if we think it's messed up) and that we are doing the same. That's good news. I really truly know in my heart that everyone is doing their best (even if they piss me off or disappoint me or make me CrAzY#$@#$@%^ . . . or, crazier than I already am . . .  ask my 8th grade students! I have a fake turd in my desk . . . okay, maybe two: one human and one dog--I use them to play tricks on the school janitors every year. As in, "Bill! Come quick! Someone took a crap in my classroom! OMG!" . . . it's the best . . . ).

I can think of so many things that I've done that were pretty messed up (in other people's minds and in my own looking back) but those things obviously met a really important need for me at the time. Usually, it was one of the super duper basics I needed, like being acknowledged, being accepted, being loved, being recognized and seen, or being appreciated and valued.

So, if everyone is learning their lessons (including us), we can trust, and FOR(ward)GIVE ourselves and others for our "failed experiments," as the rule states.

I don't know about you, but I am much, much harder on me(self) than I am on others. And, when I am harsh or judging about others, it's really a projection of ME (. . . not psyched to admit that one, am I? . . . NO!). 'Cuz everyone's a MIRROR:RORRIM. When I criticize, it's about me needing to judge, be right, or be better than someone else.

But that's a rule that comes later. Maybe they're all the same. Yikeys . . . full circle.

Sweet dreams!
Dana

Rule 2: You Will Learn Lessons . . .

"You will learn lessons."

"Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn,

presented once again.

So, where you made a faulty choice before,

you can now make a better one,

and thus escape all pain that what you chose before

has brought to you." 
-- A Course In Miracles

Dear funfreePeople ;0) ---

If you've been hopping on the blog, you already know that my intention for the next 10 days is to dig into Cherie Carter-Scott's work, "Ten Rules for Being Human." Here's her list--I'll focus on one rule each day!


Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

So the second rule is about learning lessons--and each of us has our own special set of lessons the You-niverse has uniquely prepared for us--so we can't be so quick to believe that just because someone else's lessons aren't the same as ours--that their lives are easier, or better, than ours--or that THEY GOT THE GOOD STUFF AND WE GOT THE CRAP-oLa (you know what I mean).

We never know what's going on with others on their IN:SIDES, so it's (forthcoming CRAZY ALERT) UBER DANGEROUS to compare their OUT:SIDE with our IN:SIDE. After all, don't you try to hide your crap-ola and act like "everything is just fine."--actually, it's human nature for many of us (translation: I have everything in control. I don't need anybody. Everything is pErFckT! I am a rock, a pillar, even!). Some of us who don't try to hide our imPerFcKtion may move to more dramatic measures--'cuz we lOooOoOOove dRaMa! btw: this is also human nature. (translation: SaVe mE! I am poWerLess! Life is happening to Me! It's all about everyone else!)

but I digress . . . (noT!).

We can be grateful for our lessons . . . they are like the most amazing & beautiful tailored clothing designed with just us in mind (insert your fave thing to wear---mine is amazingly blingy jeans with black lace-up boots and a flowing baby doll shirt layered with a cardigan...). We all call in our lessons . . .  and (sorry!) we keep repeating them until we finally GET IT (you know, like learn and change the way we respond to the pattern).

This also means that we may not need to rescue others when they are in the midst of learning one of their beautiful You-niversally designed lessons (I know this totally sucks, 'cuz we don't like to see people in pain). However, what I know, is that sometimes by rescuing or helping others, we are actually hurting them, and delaying the You-niversal lesson . . . and, they'll just be repeating it again . . . and again . . . and again . . .and again . . . and again . . .and again . . . and again . . .and again . . . and again . . .and again . . . and again . . .and again . . . and again . . . (okay enough already!)

This can be VERY dangerous for those of us who thrive on the rescue mission and put others before ourselves (obviously one of my You-niversally designed lessons . . . still working on it!) At the end of the day, I want to say, "Thanks for the amazing lessons, World." As my amazing mentor, Mastin Kipp, says, "Everything happens for us, not to us."

We just need to be wide awake. Conscious.

How are you becoming conscious? Leave a comment and share your experience. We LoVe yOU!

;0) dana

Rule One: You Will Receive a Body

"You will receive a body . . . "

dEar fUnfrEepeEps!

If you hopped on the blog yesterday, you already know that my intention for the next 10 days is to dig into Cherie Carter-Scott's work, "Ten Rules for Being Human." Here's her list--I'll focus on one rule each day!

Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

We have all been blessed with boDiEs . . . and what I'm wondering is, why is it so tough for some of us accept our bodies exactly where they are (even if we want to make some changes like getting in better shape or taking vitamins)? How can we learn to treat our bodies with the utmost loving care?

When I think about caring for my body, I picture being healthy and loving about a lot of stuff:

• my food and drink choices (including sugar, caffeine, processed food, eating too much or restricting food, and staying hydrated--as in--drinking water!)
• my activity and exercise habits (like not exercising or being compulsive about running, and listening to my body when it's hurting or tired)
• my sleep habits (too much? too little? why do I wake up in the middle of the night? am I staying up too late? am I bummed out and want to sleep too much? am I napping to catch up when I need to?)
• my stress levels (am I doing to much? am I obsessing over stuff I can't control? am I meditating and doing yoga on a regular schedule?)

Now, this list can be a little scary--especially since now that I've written it, it feels like a list of too many SHOULDS. Good information to think about, nonetheless. And with the shoulds, my perfectionism kicks in, and I could easily start beating on myself for not doing all of the good stuff every day and in my routine of health.

So, the main thing for me is probably balance--if you haven't noticed in my blog, I have generally been a person of extremes, and I have tended to assign meaning to events and relationships (including my relationship with myself) as either good or bad, right or wrong . . . pretty much black and white, all-or-nothing. 

Good thing now is that I have some self awareness to OBSERVE ME from a detached perspective so I can NOTICE how I interact with my life!  Yeah & Ouch--in a good way! I think I'm gRoWinG . . .

How do you take care of and listen to your body? 
LovE mE, and yOu!
dana dana fo fana

bE-iNg hUmAn . . .

Dear FunFreePeeps;

I have been writing for the past few days about embracing our human-ness (our fate, according to Guru Singh) while keeping our hearts open to our soul-purpose (our destiny, according to Guru Singh). I have to admit, sometimes it's tough for me to be vulnerable, to feel my emotions and share them, and to embrace what it means to be human. I try to operate from a place of LOVE & CONNECTION rather than FEAR & PROTECTION, but often I find myself shrinking from connection and inhabiting my protective shell when I feel hurt or sad. It's only human to go into fight, fright, or flight mode. One of my personal human challenges is to try to remain open in my heart even when I feel like shrinking away and disappearing into a tiny insignificant dot.

Can you relate? 

For the next 10 days I'm going to re-feature The 10 Rules For Being Human by Cherie Carter-Scott--focusing on one each day. After all, we are first and foremost . . . HUMAN!

So, today, we'll look the BIG PICTURE, and then, I'll write about one rule each day (in the order that she has them, 'cuz I have to follow the rules, right?!)

Here is an overview: Pretty cool stuff . . .

***********************************************************************************

The Ten Rules For Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

Rule One - You will receive a body.
You may love it or hate it, but it will be yours for the duration of your life on Earth.

Rule Two - You will be presented with lessons.
You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called "life". Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.

Rule Three - There are no mistakes, only lessons.
Growth is a process of experimentation, a series of trials, errors and occasional victories. The failed experiments are as much as a part of the process as the experiments that work.

Rule Four - The lesson is repeated until learned.
Lessons will be repeated to you in various forms until you have learned them. When you have learned them, you can go on to the next lesson. 

Rule Five - Learning does not end.
There is no part of life that does not contain lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

Rule Six - "There" is no better than "here".
When your "there" has become "here" you will simply obtain another "there" that will look better to you than your present "here".

Rule Seven - Others are only mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

Rule Eight - What you make of your life is up to you.
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.

Rule Nine - Your answers lie inside of you.
All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

Rule Ten - You will forget all this at birth.
You can remember it if you want by unraveling the double helix of inner-knowing.

**********************************************************

I am so excited to revisit these ten guidelines for life; we'll begin tomorrow with the first . . .
 

heartLOVE!

Dana

hApPy (re)bIrThDaY! . . . every (daNg) dAy!

HaPPy bIrThdAy!

09.23.65.

50 years ago, I wAs BorN!

deAr fun & frEE pEePles--

yAy! 2-day is my (re)biRtHdAy! . . . and, you know what? I am wondering why I don't think of every single day as my (re)birthday!

Do you remember when we were little, and we spent a lot of time thinking about the celebration of our birthday . . . who we would invite, what we would do, what would be in the treat bags, and we would make a list of presents we wanted and really, what I loved sOSosoSosOs much, was that I would be treated so special and I would look forward to having a day when I was OFF THE HOOK, and I could just BE? and people would leave me BE!

I wonder what it would BE like if I act like every DAY is my BIRTH-DAy? I get to start over every day?

Think about it, yo. The possibility is amazing!

I have to go eat a yummy pink cupcake!
Happy birthday to me!

Love, 
mE

we R frEE . . .

noTice the coNNection to my SymBol!

gReEtInGs fun & free people!

. . . a note about the whole name thing, specifically about the word free today. The word free has so many different meanings, doesn't it? . . .

• free to choose
• free to speak
• free to be YOU
• free to express yourself
• free to create
• free to choose your own path
• free from living from the OUT:side IN
• free from regret
• free from the past

Free basically means, unattached from expectations--like, what others think of us (but, like, not to mean you can just do whatever you want, like be cruel or do anything against the law...)

Sometimes, freedom means freely forGIVING people who have hurt us (whether they meant to or not, cuz we can never really know the TRUTH about that; sometimes it's stuff we make up in our head, in our STORIES).

It also means forgiving YOUrs(elf) (like, as in, your mean inner (s)Elf) . . .

When we carry resentment, it actually hurts US (not the person we are mad at . . .). I heard once that holding resentment is like holding a piece of really hot burning coal . . . and expecting the person we are mad at to get burned! Kind of crazy, but true! 

Here is an awesomely inspired video by 

SoulPancake

of OprahWinfreyNetwork

about ForGIVEness, letting go, and

Popping Your Problems:

Think about it like this: 

re-sent-ment is like getting 

                     crappy energy 

                               re-sent (back to) me(nt). 

So LET IT GO! 

You'll feel much lighter (money back, guaranteed!)

More later about some ways to do this . . .

Breathe in the light and love!

;) dana

mOOn-liSciOus!

Hey All! Got New Moon?!

(I know I've blogged this before, but . . .)--When I was a kid, one hot summer day, I was lying in the sun on a towel in my backyard and it was so, so hot! It was a bit before noon, and I had my iced tea, my journal, and my transistor radio (you can Google that--it's old school!). I looked up in the sky, and to my right, I saw the bright, beautiful, radiant sun! It was scorching hot, full of energy, and I could literally see the beams reaching down to our beautiful Earth. I glanced across the sky to my left, and I saw the faint outline of the moon. The mOOn! And I was like,

"OMG!

I can see the

sUn

and the

mOOn

at the same time!" 

I felt a deep connection with the cycles of nature, the sun, the moon, the Earth--ALL OF IT. It was like an epiphany (which means, according to dictionary.com): a sudden, intuitive perception of, or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

Here's what I understood in a deep and timeless manner:

Everything

is

connected.

Absolutely

everything.

So, tonight marks the Scorpio new moon, and I do rituals and special prayers and intentions around the cycles of the moon. So, when the moon is new and it waxes (gradually gets larger . . .) we are supposed to call in new attitudes, ideas, relationships, behaviors (fill-in-the-blank) that will serve our highest good! 

For this moon cycle, I intentionally bring in: taking care of me (Dana). . . . Here's a site that I subscribe to each month called MoonCircles:

MoonCircles

Happy new moon! It's so amazing & magical & full of possibilities!

So MuCH LoVe!

;) dana

lOvE oTherS! tHey R whErE theY R!

Hey funfreeMe LoVe(ly) PpS!

So if we want others to accept us for all of our crap and hUmOn-ness (not a word, but oh well . . . ) that means that we should pay it forward and allow everyone to be free to be (the best version of) themselves, and not necessarily what WE want them to be. Which means, a couple of different things:

• we can't expect others to change for us
• we can (maybe) accept others for who they are (even if we don't care for them or them personally)

So, maybe--- we can trust that everyone and everything is exactly as it should be...(including ourselves, which is kind of hard to believe, especially when things get tough and we feel like we and others totally suck the big one!).

In m y blog from last month, I was writing that sunflowers and roses are meant to be sunflowers and roses---they aren't supposed to be anything else.

...which leads me to the question: Why do we sometimes think people should be anything different than who they are?

...which takes me back to TrUsT in something biGGer and GREATER than what we know... (and trust is hard,...cuz alot of times, we only believe in what we can see, touch, smell, taste, etc...).

HOW CAN WE choose to LOVE OTHERS WHEN THEY DO HORRIBLE, ROTTEN THINGS? I don't really have a good answer to that, actually... I will defer to my mentor to speak to that...

I remember the shootings surrounding the BatMan movie a couple of years back-- it left me with that question. How can I choose love in the face of hatred and brokenness, death and killing?

Here are what a couple of my mentors say:

It's hard for me to imagine the broken-ness that would cause such a tragedy. 

I love you! & trust, y'all!

:) dana