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Have you started to think in tweets...

Posted on Dec 9th, 2008 by Allison : Dreamweaver Allison
originally posted at my blog http://iallison.blogspot.com

I have this idea for a film or a story, but since i am neither a screenplay writer or a novelist, i thought i would just share it here.

To be honest it comes out of my own neurosis, but then again, doesn't everything?

So, i have found myself living my life in tweets.  Yes, i am one of those on twitter.  I hate to admit i was skeptical at first, the whole concept seemed the height of egotism and really pointless.  HA, I should have known i would LOVE it!

In case you are not familiar, Twitter, is microblogging, you get 140 characters to say your piece. You may say what you are doing, link an interesting find online, anything you choose with those few 140 characters.  You "follow" others on twitter, and  you get their updates all day and night long!  I have sadly found it is a great replacement for a relationship.  Seriously, no more missing talking to that special someone just before bed, here you have hundreds, thousands of people wanting to tell you something at all times of the day or night.

So anyway, as i was chatting with a friend who is new to twitter, at first you feel this sort of self-conscious careful scripting of your tweets, but then very quickly that falls aside and you just say whatever, free stream of conscious thought often.  

So anyway, back to the character of my fabulous indie cult film...

So i envision this character living his/her whole life interrupted by the need to tweet. Examples: Dog runs into the street, but our character stops to tweet about it and missing the chance to call the dog back before the dog gets run over.  Ok, clearly this is why i have no future as a screenwriter.  But you get the idea right?

I guess what all this twittering is getting me to wonder, it feels like i am making this shift to always talking about, analyzing, reflection on or telling about my life, rather than simply living it.  And this is not new for me, we all have our unique internal worlds.  Well i tend to live my life always looking for the next quirky story.  Crazy relatives and family dynamics being a great start, but it carries over into all areas of my life.  I always act as though i am just one of those people that has strange shit happen to her all the time, but truth be told, i think i am just constantly on the lookout for the strange shit. (and have a gift for exaggeration!)  So i have always tended toward this storytelling way of living, now i am just doing it on a truly micro and less funny level all the time!

So all this twitter focus is making me question if there is a way to turn all this action into a spiritual practice.  Is it a way to be a witness to the thoughts, emotions, etc that are arising in me?  Or am i simply getting trapped in a world of ego-madness!

We'll see, but for now just join me at http://twitter.com and of coursefollow me!
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Tagged with: twitter, spiritual practice, ego

What do I think of Rick Warren?

Posted on Dec 28th, 2008 by Allison : Dreamweaver Allison
Originally posted on my blog http://iallison.blogspot.com on 12/21/08

Ok, so I am frequently being asking what my opinion is on the Rick Warren selection for the invocation at the inauguration, and it is time to get this out once and for all.  

I am mad as hell that Rick Warren was selected to give the invocation.  I am mad that on the biggest human rights issue of our day, the candidate I worked endlessly for has decided to literally begin his presidency by giving the stage to someone who worked so hard to take the rights away of so many California citizens.  Take rights away, I can't believe I am even typing those horrible words.  If I hear one more person tell me it was a smart political move for Obama, I just might throw up.  I didn't work this hard for this kind of "smart political moves."

As a Democrat, as an Obama volunteer and supporter, and as a person who deeply loves gay and lesbian family members and friends I am nothing short of furious!

But I do not wish to write today from any of those perspectives (though it would be easy to do...)

Today, I wish to write to you as an OUTRAGED Christian!  I just can't take it anymore!  ENOUGH!  Seriously, dammit ENOUGH!  

How, I ask you, how can the millions of American Christians, sit back and continue to allow their faith to be tarnished and marked by injustice and prejudice.  What world are they living in?  What faith are they following that makes this behavior acceptable?  

How is Christianity any place other than the leading edge of the fight for equality?  How is Christianity any place other than the leading edge of inclusion and acceptance and wholeness! How can Christianity and its followers possibly be responsible for discrimination against a minority group of Americans?

So in all my fury and outrage, here I sit.  Yet, again questioning if remaining in the Christian movement is something I have the courage to do.  I sit deeply ashamed of mainstream Christianity in this country today.  I sit wishing Rick Warren wasn't the face of Christianity to millions of people.  I sit ready to act and fight and work to end this last form of  socially acceptable, truly rotten discrimination.  

And I simply sit.

As a child it was almost more than I could bare to come to grips with the reality that  I was white while learning of the pain and suffering "my people" had caused African-Americans.  

And yet, like it or not, it is a part of me.  But I hope dealing with the pain of that reality took me to a place of greater awareness.

So much of my time in the Christian movement is time spent with those just like me. The Progressive Christians that aren't interested in dogma or particular beliefs.  They don't take the Bible literally, but look to it as one of many sources of poetry and metaphoric wisdom.  These Progressive Christians care about the earth, work for equality for all people, love to use their mind and intellect to question and wonder, are followers of Darwin, champions for the poor and are inspired social activists. 

All Christianity is not equal.  But all Christianity is part of the human experience of trying to understand life.  And a part of understanding life is wrestling with prejudice, and injustice, and at times even hatred.

So for today, I will sit with the utter agony of holding both the peace and the pain that my religious tradition has caused so many (this is where that courage comes in).  And if I am able to survive that just maybe that will lead me to sit more generally with the peace and the pain, that I personally have caused the world.  And if I keep sitting, maybe one day, down the road, I will see that my peace and my pain, my joy and my sorrow are one.

And for now... I will promise to try contain myself while at the inauguration and will try my best not to throw my shoe at Rick Warren.
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New Year's Resolution Yoga Style

Posted on Dec 31st, 2008 by Allison : Dreamweaver Allison
First posted on my blog http://iallison.blogspot.com

Yesterday, I was writing the e-newsletter for the yoga studio where I teach.  As I sat down to compose the message, I began thinking of my yoga training and the influence of my dear teacher Pam Schap (owner of the studio) and my teacher who trained me as a yoga instructor, Sandy Carden.  Both have influenced me greatly through their words, actions and their being. And it was from their great teachings, and a quick google search that the following ideas came together.

So often we set out to make a New Year's Resolution. The trouble with this practice is that so often our resolutions are guided by negative feelings we hold about ourselves.  Needing to loose weight because we are unhappy with how we look, stopping some habit that stems from our self-loathing, etc.

As a part of the training I did for yoga teacher certification was an intense study of the ancient yogic practice of Yoga Nidra.  Yoga nidra is a meditation technique that guides you to such a deep level of relaxation, you are incredibly open and receptive.  Nidra actually means sleep.  If you can ever find an opportunity to participate in the practice of yoga nidra, I would highly recommend it.  When you begin the practice of yoga nidra you state your sankalpa.  A sankalpa is an affirmation, intention, or prayer stated in the present tense.  Popular sankalpas include, I am peace, I am happy, healthy, and whole.
"The sankalpa is a chosen resolution made during the practice of yoga nidra. It could be said that the main purpose of yoga nidra is to realize one’s sankalpa. Whether this is true or not, sankalpa has the potential to release tremendous power by clearly defining and focusing on a chosen goal. Its effect is to awaken the willpower within by uniting the conscious awareness with the unconscious forces lying dormant. It takes the form of a short phrase or sentence, clearly and concisely expressed, using the same wording each time, to bring about a positive change in one’s life. Now the important question arises: How to choose the appropriate sankalpa?"*

*Read more of this text here.

This New Years I invite you to take some time to identify your sankalpa.  Rather than creating a resolve to be different for a whole year, create a positive intention for how to be in the present moment.  It is ludicrous to try to change your behavior for a whole year, by beginning with a self-deprecating style.  So this year, I invite you to see yourself in your most positive true light and to let that light shine in this present moment and for many more to come.

Namaste!
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Tagged with: Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Sankalpa, New Years, New Year's Resolution, Intention, Positive