Notch #2 – BABY STEPS / Week of February 15 to 21

BABY STEP
FOR THIS WEEK

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

MORNING WALK – the goal becomes a habit

My morning walk by the river
has become a habit.
I’m hooked.
I’m glad!

Here’s what the trail looked like yesterday, around 8 a.m. — I was blown away by the different shades of blue.

Now that I’m in the habit of strolling along the river every morning, I get to notice the changes. For instance, this big crack wasn’t there the day before. You’ll be happy to know that even though I’m not comfortable with stepping onto the ice, I mustered up enough cojones to capture this picture… just for you.

Another fun thing about my new habit is that each morning I choose a different place to stop and sit and BE. This was yesterday’s *magical* spot — cool, huh?

Of course, I was already a big walker prior to engaging in this daily routine (a New Year’s resolution). Since I don’t have a car, I walk all the time, I walk all over the place. I also pride myself in walking super fast (beep! beep!) and for long distances — I get all pumped up and sweaty… it’s what keeps me fit.

What’s particular in this case is that my morning walks have turned into really nice dates with myself. YESSS! I’m starting to understand what Julia Cameron calls the artist date. I know, my dates aren’t exactly “artist dates” because I don’t go to different places to participate in different activities, but the end result is the same: I’m pulling myself out of the mothballs. I’m rediscovering who I truly am and asking myself what it is I want to live for the rest of my life. This makes me relax, and play; I’m being more creative, more happy.

Come to think of it, each morning walk is like a little road trip where I feel free and ALIVE. I’d love to just go on walking non-stop. I bet I could walk all around the world.

Only downside: When I miss my morning walk — like I did today, on account of the rain — I crave the river’s energy. The day just ain’t the same without it.

My Rune For 2010

Last night’s New Year’s eve ritual
ended with the picking of a Rune.

With candles and sage burning…
With Totem‘s music drumming & shaking my soul…
I prayed. I thanked. I asked for guidance.

Ansuz answered my call.

Excerpt from The Book of Runes, by Ralph Blum:
(mine is an old edition from 1982 — looks ancient!)

ANSUZ

Signals
Messenger Rune
The God Loki

The keynote here is receiving: messages, signals, gifts. Even a timely warning may be seen as a gift. When the Messenger Rune brings sacred knowledge, one is truly blessed, for the message may be that of a new life unfolding. New lives begin with new connections, surprising linkages that direct us onto new pathways. Take pains now to be especially aware during meetings, visits, chance encounters, particularly with persons wiser than yourself.

Loki is the ancient trickster from the pantheon of the Norse gods. He is the heyeohkah of the North American Indian, “a mocking shadow of the creator god,” the bringer of benefits to humankind. Even scoundrels and arch-thieves can be bearers of wisdom. When you draw this Rune, expect the unexpected: The message is always a call, a call to new life.

Ansuz is the first of the thirteen Runes that make up the Cycle of Initiation — Runes that focus directly upon the mechanism of self-change — and as such, addresses your need to integrate unconscious motive with conscious intent. Drawing it tells you that connection with the Divine is at hand. For Ansuz is a signal to explore the depths, the foundations of life, and to experience the inexhaustible wellspring of the Divine in your nature.

At the same time, you are reminded that you must first draw from the well to nourish and give to yourself. Then there will be more than enough to nourish others. A new sense of family solidarity invests Ansuz.

What strikes me in this message is the reference to Loki the ancient trickster, the heyeohkah of the North American Indian.

This is Abuelita Margarita — I carry her picture in my Rune book.  I met her for the first time in 2005 when she came to Montréal from Mexico to hold spiritual healing circles. When she saw me and heard me laugh, she affectionately called me a trickster. I’m starting to believe that maybe she was right.

And when I read that once I draw from the well to nourish and give to myself, there will be more than enough to nourish others, I feel this has to do with writing my memoirs. I’ve come to realize that by revisiting the past and making peace with everything and everyone, I’m reclaiming the energy I left behind because of the confusion and depression I was living at the time. By writing my memoirs, I’m drawing from the well. By getting my Road Trip Show on the internet, I’ll be giving back and hopefully nourishing others with the love and laughter I’m so eager to share.

So Ladies and Gentlemen, the magic has just begun.
Hold on to your hats!

P.S.: For those of you who think I was a tad tipsy when I recorded my New Year’s message, let me assure you that the Magic Potion was pure peppermint tea — I was actually drunk with joy.