You’ve come a long way, baby…

And there are many more roads ahead.

FOREVER YOUNG!
FOREVER ROCKING!
FOREVER HAPPY TO BE ALIVE!

Recently, I told you about the disappearance of my bedroom. Once the room was empty, here’s what happened…

Since I was all by my lonesome self to move everything from one end of my flat to the other, I put blankets and carpets under the heavy furniture in order for it to glide towards its destination.

Thus the room formerly known as my bedroom has become my new office. Here you have the view as you enter the premises.

Now that I don’t have my big drawing table anymore — wasn’t using it that much so I gave it to my grandson — I put my light table in this quaint little corner where I can look out the window and be entertained by whatever’s happening in the lane.

The wall where my trunk and vanity used to be is now fully occupied by storage units. Two years later, my paper purge is far from being over — what a slowpoke, eh?

Finally, the guided tour ends with my work station. You see that my faithfull PC is still on duty even though a MacBook Pro has entered my life. I am doubly served and doubly blessed — THANK YOU, UNIVERSE!

I’m thrilled about the upcoming new decade. I even talked about it in EPISODE 11 of Radio FaceBoo; recorded on July 31 — a saturday night — I went on and on, saying how exciting it is for me to be turning 60… that I’m finally at ease with the thought of being the clown-without-a-costume that I’ve always known myself to be in my heart and soul.

On the eve of stepping into August, I was possessed with an urgent need to clear up space for change. And so it was that I started to demolish my bedroom.

You see, I’ve been sleeping in my living room — in my big comfortable recliner arm chair — since last September. This means I wasn’t using my bedroom anymore so might as well get rid of my queen-size bed (with its rock-hard mattress) and other pieces of furniture that took up space and blocked the good chi.

A longtime friend of mine offered to take the bed off my hands and was happy to inherit the vanity which belonged to my mom.

My huge trunk is destined to hold a special function in what will become the Giggle Theatre. For this to happen, I cleared my office of all ITS furniture as well — I’ll keep you posted on this work in progress.

As for the wicker table, the rococo lamp, and the guardian angel, they’ll probably end up in my kitchen — “to be continued.”

So that’s what happened on July 31.

I’ll be back very soon with my account
of the first days of August — woo hoo hoo!

Till this morning!

Here’s my friend Socky who wants you to know that…

“Happiness is a blooming hibiscus.”

I’ll tell you more about Socky very soon.

We’ve recently reunited and have decided to work
together on different projects, this summer.

I’m sure you’ll love him just as much as I do.

Here, now, is the story of WHY this episode is on my blog and not on Facebook and audioBoo:

Two days ago, I inaugurated Radio FaceBoo, a radio show
born of the union between Facebook and audioBoo.

EPISODE 1 was a breeze! I downloaded it to audioBoo — all 4 minutes and 41 seconds of it — and was on my way to FaceBoo heaven.

Then came EPISODE 2 which, by the way, is in French because I’ve decided to cha-cha from one official Canadian language to the other. This time, though, things didn’t go quite as well. When I downloaded my 6:57 document to audioBoo, it was cut short after only 5 minutes. And since I didn’t notice this unfortunate fickle-finger-of-fate occurrence, I went ahead and shared my episode on Facebook and audioBoo and, yes, on my French blog.

What a sour surprise it was for me (and others) to listen to my show and realise the song I played after my chit-chat had been amputated.

How annoying!

Of course I automatically thought I had done something wrong — working with this new MacBook Pro in GarageBand, I’m still stumbling and tripping all over the place. BUT, once I recorded today’s episode, I paid better attention to the whole process and discovered the glitch: after downloading my podcast, I noticed audioBoo had only registered 5 of the 7 minutes and 16 seconds, cutting it short once again. It wasn’t my fault after all. Cool!

So here I was with an audio recording, but no vehicle to post it on Facebook and audioBoo. What to do… ? Would I be stuck skipping a few days till audioBoo fixed the tech problem… ?

And then it dawned on me: I would post it here, as a regular podcast, and finally get to learn how my podPress plug-in works. Perfect!

So all this to say that I’m happy to have persevered instead of calling it quits. And even though there are a few moments in today’s show that I could have done without — i.e., my abundant use of the words “like” and “thing” — I’m proud of myself for not re-recording the podcast and instead going for the natural, “spontaneous” effect.

In other words, What you hear is what you get!

Hope you’ll enjoy it… and leave me a comment.
Thanks!

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: A really big THANK YOU to my good friend Kcrystina for helping me figure out the last steps needed to download my podcast to Bluehost. I LOVE YOU!

So here it is…

EPISODE ONE of Radio FaceBoo

Enjoy!

P.S.:
If you don’t want to miss future episodes,
please join me on Facebook or audioBoo… or both!

Getting things ready for the video I’ll be recording in days to come… for my “about me” page. The one I should have done in February in order to follow through on my 12-Notch Plan. The baby step I didn’t take which resulted in my being awarded a great big half trophy.

Dreamer.
Lazy old
bum!

In my defence, please note that I hadn’t yet found the concept. It’s only today, early evening, that I came up with the idea: Oza will interview Mudd.

Can’t wait to see the final product.

How about you…
Are you late for something?
Come on… admit it!

You see, I’ve been living all by my lonesome self for 12 years now, and it’s become a habit of mine to read while I eat my meals.

Today, for instance, I had the honour to share my sandwich and salad with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama via his book, How to See Yourself As You Really Are.

Here’s what the Dalai Lama has to say in the introduction:

My Perspective

When we rise in the morning and listen to the news or read the newspaper, we are confronted with the same sad stories — violence, wars, and disasters. It is clear that even in modern times precious life is not safe: I cannot recall a single daily news program without a report of crime somewhere. There is so much bad news nowadays, such an awareness of fear and tension, that any sensitive and compassionate being must question the “progress” we have made in our modern world.

Ironically, the most serious problems emanate from industrially advanced societies, where unprecedented literacy only seems to have fostered restlessness and discontent. There is no doubt about our collective progress in many areas — especially science and technology — but somehow our advances in knowledge are not sufficient. Basic human problems remain. We have not succeeded in bringing about peace, or in reducing overall suffering.

This situation brings me to the conclusion that there may be something seriously wrong with the way we conduct our affairs, which, if not checked in time, could have disastrous consequences for the future of humanity. Science and technology have contributed immensely to the overall development of humankind, to our material comfort and well-being as well as to our understanding of the world we live in. But if we put too much emphasis on these endeavors, we are in danger of losing those aspects of human knowledge that contribute to the development of an honest and altruistic personality.

Science and technology cannot replace the age-old spiritual values that have been largely responsible for the true progress of world civilization as we know it today. Not one can deny the material benefits of modern life, but we are still faced with suffering, fear, and tension — perhaps more now than ever before. So it is only sensible to try to strike a balance between material development on the one side and development of spiritual values on the other. In order to bring about a great change, we need to revive and strengthen our inner values.

I hope that you share my concern about the present worldwide moral crisis, and that you will join me in calling on all  humanitarians and religious practitioners who share this concern to contribute to making our societies more compassionate, just, and equitable. I say this not as a Buddhist or even as a Tibetan but simply as a human being. I also do not speak as an expert on international politics (though I unavoidably comment on these matters) but as a part of the Buddhist tradition, which like the traditions of other great world religions, is founded on the bedrock of concern for all beings. From this perspective, I share with you the following personal beliefs:

1. That universal concern is essential to solving global problems.
2. That love and compassion are the pillars of world peace.
3. That all world religions seek to advance world peace, as do all humanitarians of whatever ideology.
4. That each individual has a responsibility to shape institutions to serve the needs of the world.

* * *

Throughout the book, His Holiness offers step-by-step exercises to help us shatter our false assumptions and ideas… and see the world as it actually exists. So if you want to discover the reality behind appearances, put your 3D glasses on and read the book!

P.S. : I’m not too sure about No. 3 = that all world religions seek to advance world peace. How about you?

THANKS, EARTH!
(((HUGS)))

This doodle dates back to 1999 — Black ink pen and Prismacolor crayons. Namaste… Peace!

The person or people before me had pulled down the shade so as not to fry in the burning sun. I don’t know why, I guess it’s because the shade was drawn and this gave the huge window a more intimate look, but all of a sudden I had the feeling I was on a train.

At first, we were on our way to Vancouver — it’s always been a dream of mine to go there. Ten minutes later, I changed the itinerary: we would instead be traveling across the maritime provinces right through to  Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia — all aboard!

Dear …..(your name)….. ,

Having a GREAT time!!!
Wish you were here…

Hugs & Love,
Mudd
xoxo

Three years ago, I rescued him  from the suffocating depths
of a giant bin, at the friperie Renaissance, here in Verdun.

I will never abandon iGGY…
We share a common quest for liberty.

Notice to Mizz Law of Attraction:
I’m making room for abundance.

Even if I didn’t publish my “Notch #3 — BABY STEPS / Week of March 1 to 7″ post, I stuck to The 12-Notch Plan and to my goals for the month of March. Photo proof: here’s what I’ve eliminated from my storage facilities.

This pile represents approximately a quarter of the stuff that needs to disappear. Tomorrow, I’ll bring some of the items to the local friperie (our version of Goodwill). Tuesday night, I’ll put the rest — i.e. garbage — out on the sidewalk.

MODIFICATION TO THE PLAN

It was getting redundant, all these posts — at the start of each week — about what baby steps I would be taking, and then the following posts — at the end of each week — where I’d give my update about said baby steps.

And I didn’t find it interesting or esthetically pleasing to see all these titles — identical words, series of dates — listed in the sidebar under “Recent Posts.”

So I’ve decided to drop that method; from now on, I don’t need a leash to hold myself accountable. I will continue to take my baby steps and promise to report back to you through informal posts with fun titles.

DAMN FEAR

Last Tuesday, as I was about to press the “publish” button and announce to the world my firm intention to move, I was struck with the Big Shit Scare.

Oh yeah.

Having not had the time to publish my post before leaving for my son’s cottage in beautiful Boucherville (school break = fun with the grandkids), I found myself later that night sitting in my son’s basement, feverish and fatigued, staring at the computer screen, my hand resting on the mouse, my index unable to budge.

What was I thinking?!!! How could I possibly move out of my housing co-op when I don’t even have the financial means to pay for anything other than the flat I’m living in at the moment and whose rent, thank my lucky stars, is calculated based on my yearly income?!!!

Deap breath…

And then I got a flash. I saw the progress I had made since the beginning of the year. I thought of my report on poverty. And I immediately understood that I simply had to take the leap of faith: click!

Now I’m even more determined.
IT’S GOING TO WORK!

I’M ATTRACTING MY IDEAL HOME

REFERENCES: The 12-Notch Plan — Notch #3 – GOALS for March

2010 equals change.
MAJOR change.

So I’ve decided to get ready to move out of
this place I’ve been living in since 1982.

Yes indeed, even though I have no idea where I want to go or how I’ll find the means to get there, I firmly believe that on or before July 1, 2011, I will move out of this housing co-op and into a beautiful, loft-like / open space home. And since I have no intention of dragging along a bunch of old stuff, I will be eliminating as much of it as I can over the months to come.

Thus, Ladies and Gents, March is all about cleaning out
the two storage facilities on my back balcony.

STORAGE 1

STORAGE 2

I will be posting the “zen look” pictures at the end of the month.

ATTRACT THE NEW!

March is also about using the tools at my disposal
for ATTRACTING my perfect home.

I need to revisit my Law of Attraction books, improve my meditation and visualization techniques, and make sure to focus my thoughts and actions in the right direction.

I’M MOVING INTO MY DREAM HOME

Do YOU have any plans or goals for March?

REFERENCES: The 12-Notch Plan — UPDATE / Week of February 22 to 28 AND Notch #2 Trophy — The Big Purge — Official Paper Purge Launch

It got me to experience the Law of Attraction in all its glory: after what seemed like a never-ending period of doubt and soul-searching — and thanks to my perseverance, my pursuit of non-stop action, and my unwavering focus on creating a better life for myself — I was able to flush a two-thousand-year-old bad karma. Alleluia!

Purged of all negative emotions anchored in the past,
I draw inspiration from the Source and get my fill of creativity.
I AM RICH.

Guided by a very dear friend (a medium who wishes to remain anonymous), I discovered why it was that, over the years, I had slowly sunk myself into poverty.

Following a message she had received for me concerning a past life,  my friend gave me the following homework: to write a report about what I had gathered from poverty. The subject haunted me for three days and three nights. The day of our meeting, I wrote twenty pages — handwritten — where I spoke of shame, sorrow, guilt, anger, deception, isolation, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, sadness, boredom, worry, humiliation… but also of understanding, humility, compassion, gratitude.

Once I was done doing this exercise, and after twelve hours of a captivating conversation mixed with King Cole tea, vegetarian spaghetti, and decadent chocolate cake, I felt liberated from the feeling of lack which had afflicted me ever since birth. Not only the lack of financial means, but also the lack of LOVE.

This said, I still have a heck of a lot of work to do in order to pull myself out of the hole I’m in. But I’m confident everything will work out fine… one baby step at a time.

TROPHY
for Notch #2

I only deserve HALF!

I had two goals for February… I only reached one.

My first goal was to create a decent “about me” page on both my English and French sites = failure.

All I did was put up an audio message saying that I would be adding information on a regular basis… to please check in often.

Not so!

Consequently, as soon as I accomplish this mission, I will receive the other half of the trophy.

My second goal was to create a new habit: S-T-R-E-T-C-H for 20 minutes every day following my morning walk = SUCCESS!

I’m back to my flexible self again and it feels great. Not only do I stretch after my morning walk, but I also do it whenever I need a break from working at the computer or from any other task that requires hours of concentration. Excellent!

CONCLUSION: February was all about introspection and the elimination of old thought patterns. Now that I’ve made peace with poverty, bring on abundance!

I am
RICH RICH RICH

REFERENCES: The 12-Notch Plan — Notch #2 – GOALS for February — Notch #2 – BABY STEPS / Week of February 22 to 28

TO TRUST…
and let it drip!

I know — I’m late for my BABY STEP post. I’ve been experiencing a major soulquake, and it has disrupted my routine.

I spent the last five days wondering if I’m going forward or backwards. I feel like I’ve been trying and trying and trying all my life… without ever getting anywhere. Could it be that I’m trying too hard? That the problem with me is in the “trying,” in the wanting to “control” everything?

I even started to question my 12-Notch Plan. Because after all, the whole point of the plan is for me to become more creative, more productive. So am I being too organized? Too structured? Not letting myself go with the flow? Going with what flow? And where exactly is it that I want to go?

Sheesh!

After writing about this in my Morning Pages (and in my afternoon pages, and my evening pages, and my night pages… ), I decided to thumb through The Artist’s Way in the hope that I would find an answer.

Well aha! I found it. And I’m glad to say that I can stick to my 12-Notch Plan. But I must understand that when it comes to creativity, I need to stop trying so hard and start trusting the process.

That I’m not the boss…
I’m the bucket!

Here’s the excerpt from The Artist’s Way that gave me the permission to not feel guilty about my moments of inaction:

Creativity — like human life itself — begins in darkness. We need to acknowledge this. All too often, we think only in terms of light: “And then the lightbulb went on and I got it!” It is true that insights may come to us as flashes. It is true that some of these flashes may be blinding. It is, however, also true that such bright ideas are preceded by a gestation period that is interior, murky, and completely necessary.

We speak often about ideas as brainchildren. What we do not realize is that brainchildren, like all babies, should not be dragged from the creative womb prematurely. Ideas, like stalactites and stalagmites, form in the dark inner cave of consciousness. They form in drips and drops, not by squared-off building blocks. We must learn to wait for an idea to hatch. Or, to use a gardening image, we must learn to not pull our ideas up by the roots to see if they are growing.

Mulling on the page is an artless art form. It is fooling around. It is doodling. It is the way that ideas slowly take shape and form until they are ready to help us see the light. All too often, we try to push, pull, outline, and control our ideas instead of letting them grow organically. The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.

Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise. All too often, when we say we want to be creative, we mean that we want to be able to be productive. Now, to be creative is to be productive — but by cooperating with the creative process, not forcing it.

As creative channels, we need to trust the darkness. We need to learn to gently mull instead of churning away like a little engine on a straight-ahead path. This mulling on the page can be very threatening. “I’ll never get any real ideas this way!” we fret.

Hatching an idea is a lot like baking bread. An idea needs to rise. If you poke at it too much at the beginning, if you keep checking on it, it will never rise. A loaf of bread or a cake, baking, must stay for a good long time in the darkness and safety of the oven. Open that oven too soon and the bread collapses — or the cake gets a hole in its middle because all the steam has rushed out of it. Creativity requires a respectful reticence.

The truth is that this is how to raise the best ideas. Let them grow in dark and mystery. Let them form on the roof of our consciousness. Let them hit the page in droplets. Trusting this slow and seemingly random drip, we will be startled one day by the flash of “Oh! That’s it!“

And you…
How’s your bucket?

REFERENCES: The 12-Notch Plan — Notch #2 – GOALS for February — Morning Pages

REFERENCES: The 12-Notch Plan — Notch #2 – GOALS for February — Notch #2 – BABY STEPS / Week of February 15 to 21 — Morning Pages

Ever since starting my Morning Walks, I stopped writing my Morning Pages. Every time I stop writing my Morning Pages, I lose contact with my Soul. And now is not the time to lose contact with my Soul — I’m on a quest for change!

The practice of writing Morning Pages — just like the practice of Morning Walks — is a form of meditation. Here’s what Julia Cameron has to say about this in The Artist’s Way:

We meditate to discover our own identity, our right place in the scheme of the universe. Through meditation, we acquire and eventually acknowledge our connection to an inner power source that has the ability to transform our outer world. In other words, meditation gives us not only the light of insight but also the power for expansive change.

Insight in and of itself is an intellectual comfort. Power in and of itself is a blind force that can destroy as easily as build. It is only when we consciously learn to link power and light that we begin to feel our rightful identities as creative beings. The morning pages allow us to forge this link. They provide us with a spiritual ham-radio set to contact the Creator Within. For this reason, the morning pages are a spiritual practice.

It is impossible to write morning pages for any extended period of time without coming into contact with an unexpected inner power. Although I used them for many years before I realized this, the pages are a pathway to a strong and clear sense of self. They are a trail that we follow into our own interior, where we meet both our own creativity and our creator.

Morning pages map our own interior. Without them, our dreams may remain terra incognita. Using them, the light of insight is coupled with the power for expansive change. It is very difficult to complain about a situation morning after morning, month after month, without being moved to constructive action. The pages lead us out of despair and into undreamed-of solutions.

So from now on, I will wake up at 6:00 in the morning instead of 7:00. I will write my Morning Pages, then take my Morning Walk, and do my Morning Stretches.

Amen!

REFERENCES: The 12-Notch Plan — Notch #2 – GOALS for February — UPDATE / Week of February 8 to 14 — Morning Pages

Before I explain what the illustration’s all about, here’s how it went with my BABY STEPS last week.

BALANCED DIET / PROTEIN INTAKE

I jotted down everything I ate to make sure I was getting the recommended 78 grams of protein each day… or close to it. Being vegetarian is quite a challenge when it comes to proteins — most days, I made it to 65-70 grams. I have to get used to eating more of everything: beans, nuts, tofu and other soy products.

CONCEPT/DESIGN FOR “ABOUT” PAGE

Had quite a few crazy ideas which — unfortunately — aren’t do-able. Maybe I’m expecting too much of this. Then again, I’d really like to come up with a fun way to introduce myself. Back to the drawing board!

AND NOW FOR THE BABY STEPS INTO THE SOUL

Time came to a halt last week. It’s as if one extremely long day went by. Or better yet, one never-ending night. Yeah… it was kind of dark for a while.

First, a friend of mine needed help. Without going into details, let’s just say that I put everything on hold in order to *be* with her. She’s better now — thank the Universe!

But somehow, it got me thinking about where I’m going with this blog, the whole internet thing, being stuck at a desk in front of a computer instead of being with actual flesh and blood people out there in the real world. This situation is getting weird. It’s not how I want to spend the rest of my life.

Then I caught a cold and the trance-like fever amplified my feeling of isolation. I even managed to injure my foot and couldn’t get out of the house for my morning walks. I was in prison… in a trap. Arrrrrrgh!

Naturally, all that was left  for me was to think-think-think. I’m still thinking as I type,  How do I get out of this rut? I’ve been in this housing co-op for 28 years. Sure, it’s a nice flat, the rent is low, I’m near the metro. But deep down in my soul, I know that it’s time to go. But where?

I want the road, adventure, mountains, nature;
to walk along oceans and step deep into forests.

I want the unexpected, the out-of-the-ordinary,
the not-the-same-as-yesterday.

My cocoon period has come to an end.
I’m aching for change.
I’m ready for it.

And once I create that change, I’ll have something
more interesting to blog about!

CONCLUSION

I need a vision.
A map.
A plan.

How about you… do you need a change?

Here’s what I’m committing to this week:

BABY STEP
#1

*P* is for PROTEIN

For the past 2 days, I’ve been feeling more tired than usual; my bet is I’m not eating a balanced diet.

So I’m going to start jotting down / counting my food intake to make sure it’s all good, especially the protein intake as I’m vegetarian.

I checked on the internet and saw that I should be eating 1.5 grams of protein per kilo. I weigh 52 kilos (115 pounds), so my daily dose comes to 78 grams. Divided between 6 small meals, this means I need to eat 13 grams of protein every 3 hours.

Maybe I should go back to logging my daily food intake on DailyBurn. Not sure if I have enough time, though; for the moment, I’ll keep track offline and see if that’s enough commitment for success.

And yeah… I stopped my weight-lifting routine. That’s another thing I have to go back to — sheesh!

BABY STEP
#2

Come up with a concept/design for my “about me” page.

How about *YOU* — anything new?