Be You--You are the Expert of Amazing YOU!

Everybody is a genius; 

but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,

it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.

~Albert Einstein

Have you ever seen a school of fish swimming together? One thing that amazes me about fish is that when they swim in  a school, they work as a group--and they don't even touch each other or run into other fish! 

Check out this vid!

It's almost like they operate as one unified body, isn't it? How do they do that? I'm not a biology person, but there's something very natural about how these beautiful creatures operate as a school. 

I think it might be in their genes that they are naturally aware of other fish around them and gauge their speed and movement accordingly. I've also read that fish travel in groups because they are more protected, and they swim so close together so that from afar, some predators view a school of fish as one big creature. I wonder if humans would benefit from a similar, more interconnected way of life. 

Hmnnnnn . . .

But I digress . . . Einstein's quote above brings me back to the subject of this blog: Each of us is, well, a GENIUS . . . at being uniquely ourselves! 

Because we humans are one species, we often kind of ASSume that other people should be like us, be good at the same things as we are, or like the similar stuff. 

I mean, we tend to judge other for not being or feeling or operating like we do, but we would never look at a fish and think, 

"Man, that fish is totally crappy at walking.

That is well, unfreakin'-believable!"

Einstein's words are a nice reminder to me that everybody is exactly where they should be, and that my job is to keep my focus on Dana and allow others to be freely themselves; I am on this Earth to be uniquely and supremely myself, as are others. 

It also reminds me that m(e)y judgements are about ME, and are not really about the person I'm judging (and other people's judgements about me are also . . . not about me).

Anyway, when I was a kid, I used to want to be like others, but now I know that it's not even possible and insanely boring! 

I celebrate the fact that I'm sort of random, I laugh often and hard (and cry, too!), I claim my farts, and I feel deeply. 

I find joy in teensy-weensy stuff (like my favorite stickers or a yummy-smelling candle!) and I pay it forward by trying to smile and be kind to everyone I encounter. 

I also have awkward dance moves, and love making faces. 

It's all good; it's just . . . ME!

Lots of Love,

;0) Dana

To be (vulnerable), or not to be . . .

Being Vulnerable . . .

Tuesday, March 10, 1015

I'm sad.

Don't tell anyone. 

Life feels kind of hard and complicated right now. And I want to keep it together. Here's what I do. I keep it together, well, . . . perfectly. NOT.

YIKES.

I have had fits of perfection off and on all my life. Still do. As a matter of fact, something about my perfectionism has recently got my attention in a BIG WAY.

BACKSTORY: Sometimes, I like to manage my emotional life by keeping all the crappy stuff to myself; for example, when I'm struggling, sad, frustrated, overwhelmed, or anxious about anything, in particular--or about LIFE, in general. So, things build up . . . DUH . . . and then my feelings and fears end up spewing in a not-so-planful or pretty fashion. Not pretty. (Sorry, friends . . .)

And, I can't possibly get support from the people who love me if they don't know what's going on. The EGO part of me believes that it's better if people think I'm FINE and I can handle everything--like SUPERWOMAN, right?

Not.

I need to make a recommitment to myself and my loved ones to be more transparent about my TRUTH, knowing that sharing my pain or frustration does not make me needy, it does not mean I wish be rescued, and it doesn't make me a BURDEN or a VICTIM. 

It just IS.

I have felt a huge weight lifted from my heart by shedding a layer of my perfection, asking for a little time, and resting in the presence of loving friends who have listened with patience and compassion.

I am (im)perfeCktly human.

After all, my good and amazing stuff, as well as my wobbly spots, are all part of what makes me, Me: Dana Lynne Curry Bradach . . . and I can't  celebrate the great stuff and hide the ISH . . . cuz' the ISH is what needs transformation and is the awesome Growing SPOT.

I need to shed light on ALL parts of me--and especially the scary wobbly parts of ME need to bask in the light so they can be transform, heal, and re(a)l-ease. 

Whew.

"All the world's a stage . . ." ~ Shakespeare

"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; 

They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts."

~Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

Not sure if I've really shared this much, but I work at night. Sure, I have a day job as a teacher--which I absolutely love--but I do some of my most important work at night, during the dreamtime.

Some call it Astral Travel, Karmic Cleansing, Aboriginal Dreamtime, even Lightwork. Call it what you may, my nightlife is pretty intense. In my twenties, I used to wake up around 1:00 A.M. almost nightly, but I didn't really pay attention or know how important it could have been back then.

In the past few years, my "time" has changed to 3:33 A.M. I do some of my most meaningful work when I am lucid dreaming between the hours of 3:33 and 5:33 (when I get up to go teach my amazing 8th graders). Sometimes I awaken and I'm pretty exhausted.

Anyway, last night I had a really amazing dream . . . about acting. I've always wanted to act, but never went for it or pursued it; I think I just didn't have the type of confidence it would have taken--until later in life, after getting a "real" job, after kids, after life just happened. Here's my dream:

I was on the set of a movie with teen actors--kind of like what you would see on High School Musical. I wasn't actually in the movie, but I was also a teenager, watching them film it on the sidelines, experiencing vicariously as the actors took their places and encountered many takes for each scene. Each kid had a signature character that seemed hip and talented. They sang and danced under the lights as the director guided them through the storyline. I tried to hide myself from view under the set, so nobody would know I was watching. I didn't want to get in trouble or get kicked off the set. 

When the actors were done for the day, they all went to a sort-of dormitory place, where they hung around, ate, and chilled. There weren't really any parents around; they were something like adult chaperones. I walked into this dorm-like place--I knew I wasn't supposed to be there--so I asked one of the chaperones how to get off the set and back out. I was told to go around the corner of the brick building, and I went down the stairs and out the door, around to the left of the building to the other side.

When I got to the other side of the building, there was another movie set . . . 

As I walked out into the courtyard, a director began to yell out of a megaphone to me. I was confused, but then the male lead from the other movie set showed up, and I became an actor in the even BIGGER movie . . . and guess what it was about?

A male lead falling for a girl who had been watching him on the set of his film. I was actually the female lead actress. I was in the movie, after all. And I hadn't realized it. Life is funny . . . as we gain larger and larger perspective, we can realize that everyone is in the play, that there is a role for each person, and that our roles and characters can change on a momentary basis.

We don't think we have a part in the play, but we are, in fact, the lead actors in our own lives. And we all are players.

That's awesome.

"Tend to your own garden." ~Voltaire, Candide

"Tend to your own garden."

~ Voltaire, Candide

Sunday, March 8, 2015

This morning, I was describing how I am struggling right now because some huge stuff is going on, and I feel like I have to take care of everything myself. 

My husband, a very smart man (bless him) asked me this: "What if it's not true that you have to take care of everything?" (huge pause) "What if you just think you do?" (another huge pause) "Maybe you sometimes do for others, but they don't really need you to? Or, what if other people can step up?"

JEESH. ( . . . maybe this is really about me? . . .) ouch. (not really--I needed to hear this).

I know for a fact that writing sustains me, and is a means for making sense of my experience and for self-care.

I haven't blogged for awhile, and I need to get back to it. Life has showed up very intensely for the past year or so, and that's been my excuse NOT TO WRITE. Today, I get it that sharing my experiences and perspectives is precisely what I'm supposed to do--ESPECIALLY and PRECISELY when life gets messy. So hear goes . . . about taking care of everything and everybody (which is made up, anyway . . .)

For the past few years, I have been in the process of unpacking a huge epiphany, an operating assumption that so many of us have, which is: 

In order to be okay, we need others to be okay first.

It sounds nice to take care of others, but there are string attached, right?  When we trying to make other people okay so we can be comfortable, it's a no win setup for everybody. It also prevents us from getting to okay because we're too preoccupied with others to take care of ourselves. Here's how messed up this gets:

• our value is outsourced to others from the outside in, rather than from the inside out
• we are not in touch with what we need because we focus on the needs of others
• we are off the hook for working on our own issues
• as we depend on their comfort for ours, we set up an unrealistic expectation--which is actually pretty manipulating!
• people are robbed of their experiences because of our attempts to micromanage their emotional landscapes

Knowing this on a conscious level is a game-changer for me. It's a tricky balance, knowing when to give, when to receive, and where to focus our attention.

For now, I think I'll be minding to my own business for awhile. I need to make sure I'm okay before I help others, so I'm fully present and available to the people in my life. I think I will spend some time tending to my own garden.

Happy You Year!

haPpy yOu yEaR!

Happy 2015, fun&freePps!

Good news! I was featured on THE DAILY LOVE this week as a guest blogger-ette! Check it out & leave a comment about the content and how it speaks to you~thanks so much in advance! Click here for my specific post: Dana's GuEst bLog.

So we've dropped a big story in the past couple of days, and now it's time to rock it to the present and the future! This is your year of creating and celebrating the life you desire-- welcome to 2013! You are aLIVE and yoUr fabulous existence began as a strand of DNA . . . amazing . . . huh? How do you live your life on purpose, with purpose? 

I am doing a lot of stuff right now to figure out them meaning of my LIFE('s) juiciest purpose, and when I get in touch with me, I can check in to what gives me a feeling of passion and what brings me to LIFE!

When I used to live from the OUTSIDE:IN, I worried a lot about what other people thought of me--I found myself reacting to life rather than responding to it. And while responding is a more powerful place than reacting, I still wasn't living life & loving (myself and others) as a powerful coCreator!

I beLIeVE it is my destiny (& yours, too) to be the most powerful and fabulous expression of me I can be! That is each of our highest calling.

So, are you living life small? Or, are you living LARGE and in CHARGE--bursting forward with pursuing the amazing creative aCtS that give you energy and passion?

Have you every thought that the world will be a better place if you sHaRe your amazing gifts with the You-niverse, with your fellow travelers--otherwise, why would you be here? What presence do you wish to leave as your own personal signature to our delicious and amazing existence?

That doesn't mean that life is easy, and there won't be challenges--as a matter of fact, the hard stuff is designed especially for us so we can learn and become even more amazing (I know it's hard to believe when your in the emotional and experiental crapper). Check out this Dr. Seuss vid called "Oh, The Places You'll Go" as a reminder of the awesome texture of LIFE!

Today, the first day of the NEW YEAR--I challenge you to do a bit of writing.

• Make a list of at least 10 things, people, experiences, or opportunities that you are incredibly grateful for--be as specific and detailed as you can. Read the list out loud and at the end of each item, graciously feel the gratitude and say Thank you in your mind's eye.
• Create another list of 5 things you desire to call in for this New Year--again, be very specific and write in the present tense. For example, I am earning an extra $1,000 each month, or, I run painlessly and freely each day. When this list is complete, read the list out loud, envision each desire fully with all of your senses-- and at the end of each item, graciously feel the gratitude and say Thank you, and so it is in your mind's eye. If you're really into it, you can create a vision board with the 5 things you's like to manifest--collect images, magazine snippets, drawings, whatever you like, and make a visual representation of each of your 5 desires that you can hang somewhere you'll see it every day.
• Revisit your lists daily, and do the gratitude piece to close each process.

This is just on step to living your life as your BeSt sElF--remember that every juicy moment and hOLy interaction is created jUsT for you to reaCh youR hIghEsT poTentIaL! What are some of your desires in the new year? Leave a comment on the blog--we appreciate you sharing your experience!

You are large and in charge! LOL!

Blessings in the New Year!

Dana