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The cheer in that prompt might seem tone-deaf, at first.
But consider that it is asked in the face of:
So yeah, even in the sober face of all those cruel growth-stimulators, the question stands: What's been your BEST EXPERIENCE of 2020 so far?? I'll leave my answer in the comments, and hope you will too. There is strength beneath our feet... to stand. 👣 🖤
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This 26 year-old woman has blown my mind, and I deeply hope you will trust my recommendation to set aside 90-minutes, and do nothing but watch and listen to this incredible interview. The defector, Yeonmi Park, had all of her remaining family in North Korea "vanished," because she was so brave to voice her story. That is an obscenely high price to pay, to speak truth to power.
Do you know anyone who has ever made such a literal sacrifice solely in the interest of exposing oppression? Me either. So please, make time.
One of the most remarkable minutes in this interview happens at 43:30-44:30. There, Yeonmi admits that she first found freedom frightening. "It's not easy!" she says, and confesses that if she could have ensured having enough food, she would have preferred returning to a pre-determined future, with all decisions already made for her. She would have traded her freedom, for frozen potatoes. That is how dangerous attachment to "security" can be. In the name of "public health," human behavior and movement has been restricted in ways that now more resemble North Korea, than former North America. I say "former North America" because CV-19 has drawn a clear line in the sand of history and human consciousness. Before Corona, North America enjoyed (and maybe even took for granted) basic human rights like breathing, earning a living, and being with each other. After Corona, all those things and more are under severe restrictions. Looming threats of medical mandates are all over the place, while there are zero measures of medical accountability?! Is it acceptable for a government to suspend human liberty, force poison into human bodies, all while they are exempt from legal consequence of humans' reaction to that poison? How do we lack so much self-respect as to not INSIST on demonstrated rigor and ethics PRIOR TO the dispatching of any DNA-disturbing substance? Large-scale flu vaccines started in 1945. Seventy-five years later, and the flu still persists. How can that cycle be considered successful, and worthy of repeating? And as we have NOT yet succeeded in containing/mitigating the flu in all these decades, how is it reasonable or sane to believe we will now SAFELY contain/mitigate CV-19 in a fraction of the time? Why have natural solutions been repressed and discouraged? Why has the function of our innate defense/immune system been so under-discussed? Whyyyyyy is any trust being placed in a rushed, economically-motivated, tracking-enabled neuro-toxin? The world has been turned upside down. Our lives have been put on artificial pause, while 'support' from the government has quieted too many mouths. Are we becoming more passive and voyeuristic... hoping for the safety of frozen potatoes? The darkest place on the planet is called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Clearly, its ideology is not in support of common people. It preys upon common people, exploits them as slaves, and literally keeps them too malnourished to even have the strength to protest or resist. Hopefully, by seeing North Korea from the outside, we will do all that is necessary to not become any version of them on our inside.  Being an inner-directed person (versus outer-directed), is actually pretty similar to having a regular 'ol 2-person relationship, where one person regularly seeks the opinion, guidance, or support of the other. With flips.
I've lived alone, abroad, as a single woman for the past 4.5 years. By necessity, I've had to learn many new levels of self-reliance. Not having a special person to regularly bounce things off of, has conditioned me to go within, first. Not Google. Not a girlfriend. Not a guru. But within. As a result, my intuition is now as recognizable and reliable to me as previous partners. (Moreso, actually.) Over time, my intuition has fruitfully shown me: * who to seek or deepen connections with; * where to invest my energy, focus, gifts, and passion; * when and where to move, 'til I found my just-right dwelling place; and * how to hold space for my overall well-being, which is no easy task these crazy days! So, practical things. I'm not saying coupled people can't live intuitively-led lives. But UNcoupled people have more listening space, and less hindrance to act on inspirations. Also, we may lean in more earnestly, with fewer helping hands in our proximity. We can enjoy continued intimacy with life, even as a solitaire. 💎 3 Solid Reasons To Try A Deep Writing Prompt: 1. To discover your position about something (lotsa times you don't know what it is, and the act of writing helps reveal it to you.) 2. To claim or liberate your feelings about something (sharing is declaring!) 3. To practice feeling and voicing deeper insights with greater ease (be more human, with less hesitation.) So, what is your relationship with intuition like??  Things I've done at Buckingham Fountain, in alpha order:
I LOVE DOING ALL THOSE THINGS. (Well, not waiting. lol) All but two, can be done alone. Those two, tho. 🖤 And that skyline.  I took this yesterday on the roof (no filter), and was reminded
that clouds can -- momentarily -- block light. But then that moment always passes. They will break apart, move on, and the light is unblocked. The rules of this game are simple: (1) know what you are; (2) hold your position; and (3) keep shining. But let's try some, anyway. #optimist Well, in truth, I started the wee early morning with a healthy fruit smoothie. But then added more than a justifiable amount of vodka. Because I am at the kitchen counter, in a semi-colon (horrid posture!), at the laptop, HEAVING FOR AIR. Because all the dirty cops, and hired liars, and master manipulators, and wealthy wizards who have mesmerized the world with their light-forsaken rule... which has been so, tragically, effective... ...all of that hot-n-steamy, systemic pile of soulless 💩 bums me out, sometimes. So, I poured more. To feel less. (And of course, we know it doesn't work that way.) But this *is* how addiction and suicide-ideation starts. And my sensitive, heaving, semi-drunk ass TAPPED IN... to the heart-heaving hurt that is happening -- and heightening -- at the weeeeee hours. The WE hours. The You and Me hours. hOURs. ⏳ Know that I FEEL YOU. I wanna reach you, to assure that it does get greater later, 'gator 🐊. But it will first, get worse. Hence, the heaving. Because empaths are grieving, first. Our eyes and hearts just burst. For peace and beauty, we thirst. Until we remember who and what we are... AND WE DANCE, AND MAKE RAIN, AND THIRST NO MORE. 🖤  Gentle greetings, precious human.
For context, everyone on this planet has been traumatized for the past 5 months. Every human on this planet has had their trust repeatedly betrayed, by systems and sources they once believed in. We've sat... sometimes bettering and connecting -- and lots of time stewing and brewing -- over and under the non-stop threats to our life! The life we knew back in February... that's gone. Forever. It was a long way from perfect, but compared to NOW?! And we haven't even properly grieved that fact, because we are still pushing and facing today... and tomorrow, and its new batch of threats to our very existence. So, it's been rough. Work life. School life. Home life. Public life. All life, has been made rough. We seem unable to agree on which version of hell we're careening toward, so we burn our energy ARGUING about the various versions, rather than concentrating our energy to CHANGE THE COURSE TRAJECTORY. We're at odds because we can't agree on the FOUNDATION of things. Well, the foundation is CHAOS + CONFUSION... and everything that spins out from it, HINDERS. Blocks, delays, agitates, instigates. Good Lord, and SEPARATES. Rather than blast each other over differences in skin, masks, and ideologies, why not direct that passion toward something useful... like figuring out how to MANDATE MEDICAL ACCOUNTABILITY for damage caused by: * the omission of, and interference with, healing protocols; and * the promotion and advancement of harmful protocols. Why constantly play defense, when we can INITIATE + ASSERT a future that does not include genocide?! The Hippocratic Oath has been mocked and pissed on, just as badly as the US Constitution. Both our health and liberty have been abused, by those who hold power, yet cannot restrain themselves from various degrees of evil. These times call us to become solid and stable within our own self, because outer anchors MOVE... and just may head someplace you don't want to go! This Deep Writing Prompt invites you to dive in, access compassion, and write your own Open Love Letter to Humanity. I encourage you to say the things you want to hear. We change the tone of things, by changing the tone of things. Love will not be cancelled. 🖤 these truncated lines
are built with the spines of words meant to stand in the liberated land between your ears beyond your fears through your tears can you hear? a call to More than the media's roar? if we only read what was rather than write what can be who really controls our destiny? not a blue, or a red a cop, thug, or fed your future is YOURS, made with the thoughts in your head. the thoughts in your head; what are they making? are they carrying their weight? or are they just taking up precious space behind your face, causing you worry, and hiding real grace? they are ABLE to change material circumstance without the old school song and dance. so would you try, and take a chance on envisioning more beauty, don't just count dead bodies. makers ain't morticians. we don't embalm. we psalm. we bomb with words written in a certain way to change the direction of co-opted ways.  1. Have a question that you really want/need an answer to.
2. See a room with a chair, a desk, and a book on that desk. 3. It's your book. Walk to it. On the cover you see "Your-name-apostrophe-'s Book Of Answers." 4. Take a seat. Get comfortable. Then, open your book to wherever you like. The page will be blank. 5. As you look at the blank page, something will emerge on it. A splash of color, a shape, a number, a word, a sentence, an image, a moving image... a symbol of some sort. The visual expression that appears, is your answer. 6. Waiting for your symbol to emerge (it will), develops incredible focus and concentration. 7. Deciphering what your symbol means (you can), develops inner-confidence and self-trust. Life is not merely mundane. There are lots of assists. This is one. If you like, share your results, or questions, in the comments.  Chicago recently had a shoot-out -- AT A FUNERAL -- hospitalizing 14.
Portland is on its 56th day of protest, now with Federal agents deployed. Tension continues to grow among humans regarding CV, race, masks, vaccines, ID chips, public health, mandated medicine, liberty, justice, propaganda, conspiracy theories, election games, ideologies, massive misinformation and confusion. Hot Mess Central. Near-identical insults are hurled at both presidential candidates. Trump and Biden are both regularly declared incapable and indecent by Americans. It reminds me of two kids amped up on Mountain Dew, both claiming their drunk, dead-beat dad is the best, and the other kid's drunk, dead-beat dad is the worst. When, really, it's two losers. But who's prepared to admit that? Such an admission requires instant maturity. On-the-spot growing the f*ck up, and seeking solutions from self, rather than outside self. No, the kids prefer to remain kids. And resist adulthood. And channel the power of their belief into a non-paternal shell, willing to play the role. The human psyche has been hyper-conditioned to believe in a need for "a leader," a daddy-like-president... no matter how unfit. Each time, the choice is between Candidate Bad, and Candidate Worse. THAT IS NOT A REAL CHOICE. But you are. YOU are a real choice. What would happen if your energy to OBSERVE drama-vision, was re-directed to CREATE a more sane and humane world? English writer, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, claimed "The pen is mightier than the sword." A modern translation of that is "The written language is more effective than direct violence." Today's deep writing prompt asks: How can you use the written language to arouse more peace and harm-free progress?? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments.  Notes from an art class last year, that taught me to see:
1. Perception of EDGES (borders/boundaries) 2. Perception of SPACES (between/within) 3. Perception of RELATIONSHIPS (among) 4. Perception of LIGHT (casting of shadow) 5. Perception of THE WHOLE (pulling it all together) Today is my Mom's birthday. I miss her.
She's a very talented, self-taught artist. Would you like to see some of her work?? She's a great realist, and I featured her on my very first blog: https://lifeblazing.wordpress.com/featured-artist/ At that time, we were always within an hour of each other. Now, we have 2,900 miles and a world re-set between us. Art was the bridge that connected us. Drawings and sculpture. Theater. Dance. In those ways, Chicago was perfect for us. I wish we were there now. Together. With cake. Happy Birthday, Mom. We must make new memories, when we are able. All my love, Erika 💗  Of course it can.
Most mundane things can double as spiritual practice. Consider: parenthood; a self-owned business; a recovery; a righteous cause; mindful movement; and, yes, expressions on social media. If you're not a small business-owner, then you've possibly never associated strategy or method to what you post. That's cool. Or you might be like me... a small business-owner terribly resistant to social media. Well, I'm thinking about social media in new ways:
One of my purposes in life, is to place greater demand on human communication. We're malnourished in sincerity. Withholding of praise and appreciation. Over-developed with criticism and rage. Reluctant with transparency. And I'll be explorin' all up in these tendencies, in coming days. ✨ "I'd like to focus on the importance of GREATER EMPATHY AS BUSINESS STRATEGY, when living in times of heightened and sustained stress/risk."
A client has me on retainer to do business communication with him. That quoted, authoritative-sounding sentence above, did not come from any journal, data scientist, or market guru. It sprang, like a declaration, straight from my heart. And I notice that happening all over my communication with everyone. What's true, is true. Regardless of audience, aim, whatever. THE NEW WORLD IS EXACTLY WHAT **WE** MAKE IT, FRIENDS. Not "they." Weeeeeeeeeeee. Youuuuuuuu, and meeeeeeeee. We have so much more influence than we realize!! It is not only easy to influence culture, it is also inevitable that we are already influencing culture with each of our thoughts, words, and deeds. We must each THINK + SPEAK the world we want, and RESIST + STARVE the world we find unacceptable. Every realm, every level. From grocery stores to governments, and every human touchpoint in between. Because that is what's at stake... our humanity. We are not passive objects, merely to be done upon. We are active sovereigns, empowered TO DO. My Grandad grew 'em, and my Grandma canned 'em... ...but all this time of eating and loving it, I never knew that OKRA is also called Ladies' Fingers. (What lady has falon-like, claw-tips at the end? Or a green hue? Or soft fur?) It's name is likely derived from an Igbo (Nigerian) word, 'okuru'. I chase the origins of words, because I always want a deeper grasp of a word's source, and roots. It's rare and refreshing to find an acknowledged word-route, of an English word that links to Africa. Historical and linguistic erasures are maddening! Anyway, the cross-section of okra is a beautiful mandala. But that's true of all fruit. Yes, okra is considered a fruit. A fruit, by definition, is a SEEDED organism. Watermelons and other 'foods' that have been de-seeded, have been 'modified' so badly, they don't even fit their original definition anymore. Grasp nature, and nature will grasp you. Botch nature, and nature will botch you.  Of course it can.
Most mundane things can double as a spiritual practice: parenthood, a self-owned business, a recovery, a righteous cause, gardening, mindful movement, and yes, shared expression on social media. Here are three factors that can help level-up the time you spend on your favorite social platforms:
One of my ultimate purposes in life, is to place greater demands on our communication with each other. We're malnourished in sincerity. Awkward with praise. Negligent in attribution. And over-developed in rage and criticism. THERE'S MORE FOR US. And I'll be explorin' all up in dat, in coming days.  Influence. What comes to mind when you see that word?
Social media, more than likely. As in an "influencer." Someone with a lot of people who care about their posts. But, let's... surprise, surprise... dive a little deeper than Insta-seduction. Let's consider the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. I always see the word as "internal fluency," and I like that a lot. Equipoise. Alignment. Integration. <--- Those are all good synonyms, too. They all, essentially, mean being in agreement with yourself (which is not nearly as easy as it sounds). It is a state I live in, because several years ago I simply decided to become an integrated person. And I've gotten used to living according to directives that launch from inside myself. I am the boss and leader of myself. Recently, I took a necessary step, and joined a (very special) business incubator to help me take my authorship more seriously. In doing so, I have subjected myself to be influenced by the remarkable mentors and members of that container. We have all been challenged/invited to make daily social media posts for the next 6 weeks. This is in the interest of increasing our overall online visibility, and I am sure there are many other benefits and strengths that will emerge. But anyone who really knows me, knows that I am just not that social, and this is WAY OUT of my comfort zone, and even character zone! Matter-a-fact, I often feel contempt for social media, and enjoy multiple days without it on the regular. So, showing up with something to say every day? Yup. I've committed to it, and just 3 days in, already feel a bit of steam-momentum starting to rise. I would not be doing this without the strong urging of someone I have vetted and chosen to trust, in guiding me to an improved professional and financial state. I allowed her (Tanya, who you'll be hearing more about) to influence my behavior. It is an uncomfortable reach for me, and I also feel excited and stretched. Your deep writing prompt today, should you agree, is: What has recently had a positive influence on you??  If mice started wearing traps as a MATCHED ACCESSORY on their tails, would we even notice? Could we see ourselves, reflected?  You are harsh, and intense. Like direct sunlight, at noon. This light doesn't flatter, like the "golden hour" around 5pm. Or candlelight on a dinner-table shared with someone you love. No, this light is nearly blinding. It reveals everything. And scorches lots of things. It is not okay to scorch our children, though. To abuse them with normalized suffocation. To torture them with systematized insanity. To off-load our unconfronted fears directly onto their precious development. If we weren't willing or able TO STAND for ourselves against the many obstacles that have been hurled thus far, will we at least stand for our children this fall? I'm so proud of my visionary friend, Dayna, who wrote Radical Unschooling nearly a decade before the world completely lost its mind. It's the only humane option I see. I went to celebrate 2 dear friends' birthdays yesterday at this gorgeous restaurant in Belize City, 501 Hub. We had a great time. The staff was so friendly, the food was delicious, and we were the only diners in the whole, magical place. How sustainable will that be for them, or any business? Last year, approximately THE SAME NUMBER of people died from the flu... ...but they didn't take all of humanity -- and sanity -- with them. It is neither considerate nor responsible to expect the world to literally suffocate themselves, while remaining holed up at home, growing deficient in sunshine, human touch, real eye contact, good bacteria, and the natural strengthening of your innate immune system. BREATHING is the most basic and fundamental need for life. We can go THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TIME without doing it, before literal death. Yet the vast majority have bought into the most ridiculous idea that self-suffocation is noble, heroic, virtuous, and helpful to others?! The real, true, great threat is a well-funded, long-planned, deceitful agenda. You owe it to yourself, your brain (which REQUIRES oxygen to function properly), and your lungs (which are re-inhaling quite a lot of the WASTE GAS, carbon dioxide), to look into the inappropriateness of this protocol. Those who have mandated it are despicable people unworthy of our trust. We are fighting with each other over breathing, while a bigger-than-life agenda marches forward. I hope no one lights a single firework or starts a single grill this Saturday, without listening to the Declaration of Independence first. Just 10 minutes. PLEASE. Think about the past 3.5 months in the light of those words. The evident, has become not very evident. The Declaration of Independence is the basis of the 4th of July celebrations and fireworks, many Americans used to participate in... and I'm curious to see what will happen this Saturday. But you don't have to be American to feel Thomas Jefferson's words. ESPECIALLY NOW. So that's what you're invited to do. Take 10 minutes, and LISTEN to the reading of this historic document. Notice how you feel, and share that feeling as a comment. The thing that makes this writing prompt "deep" is that it asks you to reflect and consider how you feel about something that's complex, and has no easy answer. The medicine, I believe, will be in us all seeing each other's honest feelings ABOUT THE DOCUMENT, and how it might apply to each of us right now. Let your comment first filter through your heart, please. We're very interested in your honest expression, AND that expression needn't be insulting to anyone else. How do you feel about Jefferson's break-up letter from King George III? 👑💔 👂🏽 HEAR it: https://youtu.be/4uE-tqe0xsQ 👁️ READ it: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript  (This is an open message to my Facebook Group. You are very welcomed to join us!)
Hi, EmpathicWriters! I'm Erika, and I created this group AGES ago. It went dormant while I had 2 international moves, surrendered all my life's possessions and paradigms... and have been putting myself and my life back together... from the heart, out. It has been big, tiring, messy, LIBERATING work. I haven't said anything here for awhile because, honestly, I hadn't known what to say, or how to serve... 'til now. Starting tomorrow, July 1, I'll post deep writing prompts here, every Wednesday. I invite you to use the prompt to arouse in you a related memory/story, and share it as a comment. There is no shortage of detached, avoidant banter and debate all around. This group will practice and promote the opposite of that. We are kind, curious and candid. ORIGIN STORY OF WRITE YOUR WAY OUT: Twenty years ago, I was at a cross-road. I ached for An Answer, and got one: "Write your way out." It was a non-audible voice I 'heard' from deep inside me. Somehow, I knew I could trust the voice, and I started following that advice every day, and have been doing so for two decades. I didn't write what I already knew. I wrote what I *needed* to know. I started from confusion, loneliness, low self-worth, and other shadowy stuff, including career dissatisfaction. I needed freedom from those things, and *have* been freed from them. Well, now I'd love to see if we can write our way out of ignorance and hatred. Presumption and judgment. Shallowness and blame. I believe we can. Why? Because, stories are like ants, and can carry 8 to 10 times their weight. We'll genuinely learn about fellow humans. We'll see our own reflection in each other in ways that will amaze and heal us. Watch. Give it a try. We start tomorrow. 💜  If you had to pick a breast, or a testicle, to have removed... which one would you give up?
Left... or right? It's an impossible, unanswerable question! Just like the US' 2-party system is an impossible, unanswerable question. * HOW can you choose between health and economic security, when the real answer is both? * HOW can you choose between justice and responsibility, when the real answer is both? * HOW can you choose between black and white, when the real answer is both? POLARIZED. End of an axis. There's not nearly enough compassion at the end of an axis. And there's definitely not enough nuance and tenderness at the end of an axis. At the end of a rope. Polarization, literally, restricts the vibration of a light wave. So imagine what it does to you and me. Consider how polarization restricts the vibration of the light wave that is you, when you make immediate assumptions about the person wearing a Red MAGA hat. Or a wild, frizzy 'fro. Disaster-opportunity is ahead. Are we seriously going to greet it with festering hostility? Rage exhausts and weakens those who carry it. Even when the rage is justified, it still will rust its container. To resist CAPTIVITY OF THE WORLD, ere'body better get a whole lot smarter, and a whole lot nicer. Think. Care. Breathe. And depolarize. 💎 |
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"The Work of The Empath" Podcast 
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