Category: SUMMER EXPERIMENT

The Brand (And Myth) Of Reality

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We think that the seeking, the attaining, the working at, the goal-setting, the relationships, the failures and successes, the meditation, the spiritual practices will bring us to a moment, an experience we created, exposing us to a piece of what? What feeds the fiction that we are driving and in control of this projected separate experience of some individuated perspective – this is not a meaningless illusion?

This is not a drill. This is the Big Phuck.

If you don’t reach or find or discover meaning, congratulations, you are free from the brand of the illusion of reality.29078795502_b48734e822_o

[blog # 14 #AntiSocialSocialMediaExperiment #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical ]

Take comfort in your characters.

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“Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.” ― Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

“Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”― Samuel Smiles

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I look forward to spending time with my characters the five days a week I write.

I can’t wait to see what they’ll say and do. I feel for them.

40,000 words into my 2nd draft. Head down now. No more distractions.

Where will I place my characters when this journey is over?

[blog # 13 #AntiSocialSocialMediaExperiment #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical

 

Impermanence

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“Death is not an ending. It is a transformation. What dies is only our sense of identiy, which was false to begin with.” – Deng Ming-Dao

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The cocoon seemed so exposed. The ants had already destroyed one that precariously hung off the patch of milkweeds. One butterfly, found dead, was not fully formed or perhaps, eaten by birds. We decided to take the remaining cocoon on the porch. I carefully cut the stalk of the milkweed stem and placed it in a vase with other flowers. I tied the milkweed leaf on the stem on day 3 after I noticed falling dead leaves, afraid the leaf holding the cocoon would be next; a delicate operation, but success! On day 10 or so at 2 AM, I noticed the cocoon changing color (as it had over it’s metamorphosis) but darker now. My butterfly was emerging. I stayed up as long as I could to witness another miracle. This was not my first birthing of butterflies. The next morning, my little buddy was next to her cocoon. My husband had placed her and the vase outside but I wasn’t ready to let go. I easily convinced myself: it wasn’t ready, it’s gonna rain really hard, the birds will eat her before she has a chance to fly away. I brought her back onto the porch. It rained really hard! She could not yet fly, as monarchs spend hours drying their wings. My husband said “how could this be? how could they ever survive? can nature be that cruel?” (we know that answer, don’t we?) My sweet butterfly lived on the porch for a day and half. This morning, i saw her on the screeen. I offerd her my finger. She climbed onto it. I opened the porch door, and walked with her to the milkweeds down the path. I placed her on the orange flower. She quickly flew off! I watched her circle the swath of flowers, up into our oak tree, then over our fence, away from view. I felt happy. I smiled. My little girl was grown and free. It’s the afternoon now and it’s raining really hard. I am trying not to focus on “oh no, what if she’s too wet?” and think instead: she’s safe under a bush. Life is impermanent. Holding on to anything is futile. I will find freedom with this knowledge.

[ Blog # 12 #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical #AntiSocialSocialMediaExperiment ]

Momma always said “Politics Is Like A Box Of Cereal” – Forrest Trump

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You want a bowl of cereal. You’re craving a bowl of cereal. Something sweet like when you were a kid. Trix. Alphabits (but the ones before they changed the ingredients). Coco Puffs (only because they were not allowed in your house).

You check the kitchen cabinet and damn, you’re out of cereal. You check the pantry: Eureka! But damn damn, it’s generic bran flakes. You go to the dollar store down the street and go to the cereal aisle. There is only brand name (expired? damaged?) cereal but it’s those large tasteless rectangle wheat bars. Kinda shredded-like. (no one enjoys being sued).

You go home with your tasteless weird wheat shreds and pour a giant bowl. Your plan is to cover the damn things in as much sugar as you can, slice up some fruit on top.

Oh. My. God. You don’t have enough milk. You are not about to go to the store again!

You look at the carton, hoping for x-ray vision, gauging just how much milk is left.

Cereal to milk ratio is the meaning of life.

After giving the carton a good shake then peering inside, you realize you have to remove some of the cereal. You will have to sacrifice some of the rectangles and most of the banana. You start a second bowl with the leftovers and put it in the fridge, leaving it for “later.”(tbh= throw out)

You wait until your show comes back on before pouring the milk on the cereal because cereal to milk crunchiness is the meaning of life.

You do it. Grab your spoon and napkin first, then pour!

Perfect. The fucking milk is bad! The milk is lumpy, smelly and sour.

You dump it all out and decide to move to Italy and eat gelato for the rest of your life.

 

[Blog # 11 – #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical #SummerSocialMediaSabbatical #AntiSocialSocialMediaExperiment ]

 

How to not hold on to sanity

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A458C7C6-1A34-445F-AAB7-DEF018AE0583I get into the most trouble when I try to hold on. It doesn’t matter what it is: an idea, a thought, a feeling, a relationship, an experience- none of it serves the ME in the end. What’s harder? Trying to let go? Trying to let go of: an idea, a thought, a feeling, a relationship, an experience- either way, the cluster fuck seems to be in the “trying”.

Could it be the ME is drawn to self-imposed suffering; a non-stop, commercial-free, one way fearful trip to a future that never arrives?

I live an extraordinary life and yet I wake up to battle everyday. I don’t give myself a break until hours after I’m conscious. Sometimes, I’m relieved that in 20 years I’ll probably get to punch my time card for the last time and retire to the Afterlife. I put in my time on Earth. I won’t be needing a gold Apple watch either.

There is respite. Today,

I find comfort in my  thoughts or they can be my worse enemy.

When my mind is searching around, waiting to land on the roulette wheel of emotions, I can easily fall to existential angst or the latest shooting/attack/atrocity (#Munich #CharlesKinsey #TrumpSpeech) for suffering solace. Or perhaps because the first love encounter you are writing for your character turns into a sexual assault.

Perhaps the trick is forging ahead (“just keep swimming”) and keep that augmented reality in the background.

Perhaps I have to let go of this notion.

7/24/16

[BLOG # 10 #SummerSocialMediaSabbatical #TheAntiSocialSocialExperiment #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical ]

 

Mental health, the criminal justice system, and how I blame Elayne Boosler

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Yesterday, I did something out of the norm. I sent two letters out. Both to prisons. Both to men in their 20’s, serving time for violent crimes. One for 13 years. One for life. They both suffer from severe mental illness. One is a friend’s son and one is an ex-client. Neither could get proper help on the “outside”.  Neither is getting help on the “inside” – the justice system and these privatized institutions do not deal with “crazy”. Why should they?

Only 15-20% of Police forces in the country have crisis intervention officers specializing in mental health. [Nightline: 7.22.16]

I have a close friend on Twitter with PTSD who just bought a gun. She sounds angry and out of touch- a lot. Today she’s TRUMPED up by the fear mongering. We are to believe we need to treat these pockets of horrific violence militarily, not as the law enforcement or mental health issue and gun proliferation that it is. We ignore the roots and want quick easy answers.

I wonder if we’ll ever be able to connect the dots to sanity in this country?

 

On another Note-A Confession: I cheated this week and went onto Facebook. I went to check on a friend and came across an Elayne Boosler Game. How could I resist? I checked Twitter today too and even posted via an anonymous account. #Munich #MichaelKinsey #RNC #damn

 I still blame Elayne Boosler for my Social Media Sabbatical slide.

[blog # 9 #AntiSocialSocialMediaExperiment #SummerSocialMediaSabbatical]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focus on the task at hand: saying goodbye to VHS.

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Find myself wanting to scroll through Twitter SO BADLY at times – like a smoker, HABIT/ INGRAINED in my muscle memory. MUST PICK UP PHONE. I’m used to checking after coffee, bathroom breaks, afternoon slumps, teatime, lunchtime, during coffee, waiting for anything. Mornings, Afternoons, Late evening. Before coffee.

ADDICT/SCHMADDICT

True, I fell off the wagon a few times. But I’m making the rules. I am allowed (says me) to post on my news and political account once in awhile and to dm my brother. The universe reminded me STAY OFF when I saw “jihadi obama” on a hashtag. O.M.F.G. Remember the “UNPATRIOTIC AMERICANS” questioning Dubya? Don’t get me started.

Doing better with Facebook but went on once to see how my friend’s surgery went (only because she didn’t return my call.)

I didn’t visit or “like” (emote) any posts. Phew.

Guess what I’ve discovered? I have a lot more time! When the break from writing becomes a green adventure outside or Tai Chi or stillness (watching the infinite between my thoughts) becomes priority. When I can remind myself- you are chipping away at whatever arbitrary (read: SO IMPORTANT) goal you set- progress is being made! Maybe they won’t want to bury you with your bins afterall! Film gets scanned, photos get deleted, edited, organized S.L.O.W.L.Y., home movies get CONVERTED TO DVD THEN PLACED ON YOUTUBE.

(It’s official. We are no longer carrying memores on VideoTape!)

The green is calling me now.  Will visit the monarch caterpillars who are all cocooning.

Just like me.

post #8 #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical

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Method Acting & A River Baptism

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Writing is about submerging oneself into another realm.

Drowning out the chaos surrounding you and finding the center which births your world.

 I find it difficult to come out of a writing session. [Defined as sitting focused, 5-7 hours, trying to remember to get up and stretch, eat, and drink.] It has to be driven by a singular mission: listen to the characters voices. Know the theme and settings, but immerse fully.

I know of no other way. I realize, if I were an actor, I would definitely be a method actor- brood about, inhabit the entire being, become the story. IRL- I become easily distracted, and need to commit fully (i.e. get off social media for the summer to finish this DAFT 2ND DRAFT) in order to pinpoint thoughts to completion. The pinpoints of stillness actually become the ordered chaos of plot.

There has to be utter unshakeable (HA!) faith pervading all- allowing that plunge, daring to hold your breath throughout your creation, shake off the outer events of life (Sweet JESUS) and become reborn in a world of your own making.

Know. That. I. Am.

Good writing day. 45 pages.

[ # 7 of 7 posts #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical]

Why create a new path when the old one is working just fine?

 

Why create a new path when the old one is working just fine?

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We tend to assess ourselves at the wrong times.

Depressed states, anxious states, angry states- the negative emotions tend to be our best motivators. Making a decision in any of these states however is most often, exactly what we shouldn’t do. But we do. (Note: I am a proponent for not applying “shoulds” of any kind in our lives but in this case, it seems to fit)

Is it possible however, to assess our life when things are going well? When we feel happy? Satisfied and at peace?  In a “good place”? Is this the time we feel motivated to make a change? Take a risk? Why not just appreciate this transient moment and sink back into our comfort zone? Why dare to try anything different at this point when things seem fine?

It’s easier to accept that this is the precise time to make decisions, as we are least effected by the suffering of our ego. (Trying to convince ourselves NOT to evaluate ALL  when we are in the opposite place is harder.)

Wild creatures make paths to escape predators, as a way back to the nest or food source, and often have several alternative routes.

That dent in the couch cushion fits our ass so well, why move at all?

I’m taking a different path this summer and it’s not from ennui but from wanting to challenge myself and risk the repose I have on various  Social Media sites (Twitter & Facebook).

I have nothing but freshly fallen snow in front of me.

 

[# 6 blogpost for #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical – go to bottom left or right (titles) for other posts]

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Things you cannot do while tweeting or checking facebook

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– Sitting in a chair bookended by two giant dog heads, scratching each one.
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“A NEW STUDY” just came out revealing we spend TEN HOURS PER DAY on FB and Twitter and Instagram and Snapchat. I feel vindicated.

I don’t want to start sounding like an ex-smoker (it’s been 9 days and I cheated a bit) BUT I realize I never mean to be on the social medias for that long.

It is strange not checking. It is freeing and there is more time.
I don’t know what 2 more months will feel like nor what I will do come September,
but I like the freedom from my phone.
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THINGS I’D STILL LIKE IF NOT FOR THE INTERNET:
>Ayn Rand
>Jonathan Franzen
>Woody Allen
>Ishtar (okay, I still like Ishtar.thanks Rick.)

6.30.16

[# 5 blogpost for #SocialMediaSummerSabbatical – go to bottom left or right (titles) for other posts]

New: Why create a new path when the old one is working just fine?

Last: THE SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMER SABBATICAL CONTINUES: day 5

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