Chart Your Course, Sail True North

Once you've discovered your North Star, you’re able to move toward that guiding light. Now, you’re ready to Chart Your Course. What will be the tools to keep you heading in the right direction and alert you if you're off course? The Chart Your Course category of the blog explores personal tools of refinement that emphasis body, mind and spirit practices in addition to my personal favorite--Meridian Tapping. 

If you go to my website and scroll down, you will see a beautiful tapping points guide that you can resource to learn Meridian Tapping as a self-administered technique. If you need the additional support of a trained and certified practitioner, please contact me to start solidifying your North Star and Charting Your Course by using your body as your guide and compass.

Wilbur, Will You Be My Valentine?

Happy day, Valentine! Enjoy the following as my gift to you on this day of LOVE:

Will you be my Valentine?
© 2014 Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Love spoke to me and said, “What’s all the hub-bub, Bub, simply love,
period.
On and on and on, people ask, ‘Have you ever fallen in love?’
Starry eyes, these are good to possess,
but a better question might be, ‘When have you fallen out of love?’
Now this is a meaty question…
or better yet, sticky sweet.”

I pondered Love’s question, when have I fallen out of love?
Ah, yes, the woman on the phone,
sweet thing, just doing her job, verifying my social security number,
mother’s maiden name,
high school,
sex of my last child (of which I’ve had none),
pet’s name (“Did I put down Sparky or Ninja…?”
“I don’t know, you tell me!”),
thong or bikini underwear,
are you kidding me?
Ten minutes of verifying my identity
and my patience thinned.

Then, there was Facebook,
does it count to fall out of love with a social network platform?
What if your relationship is only a day old?
After years of people haranguing me to join, I did,
and then, well, it’s just so basic and ordinary. 

I’m on a roll, for this admittance I could probably get sued.
One of my greatest loves was offended—chocolate,
so I must divulge:
I’m participating in a chocolate making class
and imagine this—a multitude of beautiful confections are displayed on the table.
After three hours of whipping, concocting, baking, decorating, inhaling
they’re ready to taste.
Students gather round, giddy with expectation,
body chemicals in overdrive.
Instructor dives in, no fork, no plate, chubby fingers stab
these perfect creations of love,
like Cortez snatching the cacao beans from Montezuma,
didn’t even bother to wipe lips,
stained with the blood of the peons’ offerings.
To the wide-eyed terror and gapping jaws, teacher replies,
“Chocolate is sensual!”

Yes it was, until…well, I won’t go into it again.
My internal thoughts chatter into overdrive, “Who's the instructor, God?
Quetzalcoatl, perhaps?”
In my mind, I step all over the teacher to crawl up on my high horse.

“Ding, ding, ding!” the horse speaks!
It’s Love, of course,
disguised in the horsey voice of the famous Mr. Ed,
“Losing patience,
expectations dashed—so basic and ordinary,
judgment downright sickening,
sounds like love in muddy valleys rather than soaring peaks.”

I consider kicking the sides of my beast,
sinking the spurs in deep and high tailing it out of there,
but of course, Love’s on the bottom and doesn’t move an inch,
rather with sides of steel, speaks,
“When falling out of love, reign yourself in,
don’t shoot for the moon, Starry Eyes,
find a neutral resting place, OK,
like the humble shade beneath me and cool off!”

I begin humming, “I left my horse in San Francisco…
tied to the post by the Ghirardelli factory,” but then,
realizing I’m yakkity yakking a streak,
Love cuts to the chase and speaks
four simple words, I must endorse,
(I’m a sucker for metaphor and Love knows it)
of course, of course—
“Love is the refuge.”

I harrumph,
climb down off my high horse,
enter the humble shaded space,
and breathe a sigh of relief,
falling back into love,
my refuge. 

Mind(fulness) Over Matter

I just finished reading a book club pick entitled, Grace Eventually by Anne Lamott. Notice there's no link to it, as it doesn't come recommended. It wasn't completely without merit as the author is way witty and shares the downfalls of human nature with an honesty that is remarkable. Also, reading it enabled me to solidify my personal preference to fill up with reading that inspires and celebrates one's best nature versus telling funny stories about one's attempts but missing the mark.

In my personal walk, I find being consciously mindful of love, compassion and hope will increase these qualities in my life, and if I encourage these seeds they will grow. The opposite is also true, if I water the seeds of fear, failure, anger, impatience (even though I'm human, heck give me a break), then these seeds will grow and love, compassion and hope will be but flutters and afterthoughts. I know, I know, it takes great discipline, and yes, it does. But, as one of my dear friends always reminds, it's well worth it in when the seeds grow and you begin to feel the positive effects in the nervous system and the mind--peace, calm, clarity, gratitude, etc. Also, for me, mindfully making a decision to focus on higher ideals (North Stars) takes me out of my tiny circumstance; it's an antidote to being self-indulgent.

When my turn comes to pick the book for book club, I will be juxtaposing Anne Lamott with Malala Yousafazai, in her new book, I am Malala. This young woman spends a mere seven pages in the prologue describing the events of her shooting for those who are perhaps unaware and then shifts her focus entirely to the state of her country and the light of hope she and her family continually shine in the face of devastating circumstances, most notably the earthquake that struck Pakistan and the rise of the Taliban in her country and home region. Malala continually orients toward compassion, hope, love and courage and this after an attempt on her life. Reading such a book inclines me to become a better human being, to consciously and mindfully make a choice for only goodness, in spite of what the outer world reflects.

Thank you, both Anne Lamott and Malala Yousafazai, for clarifying that Mind(fulness) over matter is my commitment.

Raw Compassion--Ouch! That hurts.

But it doesn't have to...ever been in a situation where you're called to witness another person's suffering and you don't know if you have it in you? Trust, dive in, fill up and give. It's really that simple. There is a never ending, constantly flowing resource, a reservoir, and it's not us alone--it's part of us, it's the energy of all those who have come through suffering, it's our ancestors and holy beings--I call it Raw Compassion. There's a constant flow, and you can tap in. Here's a poem to commemorate an amazing day I had prompted by the Inner Constellation Blessing*-- please consider helping one person suffer less.

Enjoy and be inspired:

Silent Lover
©2014 Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Leaving my home this morning and going to work as a translator,
I had a goal in sight—
help one person suffer less.

Inundation began before noon:
veteran whose spouse had died a few years ago, yet pain of loss appeared, fresh.
Another observer to the veteran’s remembrance shared that she too understood loss,
hers was a child.
As the miracle of collective comfort unfolded, I remained humble translator—
hands conveyed spoken words into American Sign Language and vice versa,
creating a bridge to ford the stream of suffering.

Afternoon, I sat across from one describing attempted rape at knife-point 

but rejoicing in escape. 

Inspired by perception’s shift, we dove through churning and cresting waves,
went deep into calm resilience and rested there, in the lessons of life.

Early evening, student shared she considered taking her own life three times,
another in response told the story of a family member, attempting suicide.
That young one intervened, literally staunched the wounds until help arrived.
Wrist revealed to show the name of the beloved tattooed across tender flesh
as reminder—life is precious.
Penetrated by inked transmission,
surrounding mouths dropped agape, eyes lit bright
asking about the health of the loved one.
“She’s fine, she’s absolutely fine now.”

Today, life was miraculous,
an inundation of ocean’s ability
to remind water of its source.
Breathe in, allow its touch and movement,
breathe out and enter the ocean,
receive through aching hearts its passage,
clean and pure.


*IC blessing is a daily Mon-Fri send of short inspirational blips. If you'd like to be added to the mailing, please contact me

School Shootings, the New Normal?

Heck, no! I mindfully make a choice--I call it "raw compassion." First, however a bit of startling 2014 history. As of this past Friday (1/24/14) there has been an average of one school shooting every other day so far this year. This is not including three near-misses where police intervened before bodily harm happened. My teacher's jaw dropped when I heard this statistic, and I did what I've learned to do to keep myself flowin'--start the laptop a humming and write it out.

My way of approaching the epidemic of shootings is a far different approach then what I see from media and top decision makers. It seems gun control is Obama's answer and many Americans agree. In my humble opinion, I disagree. The shooter must be addressed. I know this is a scary idea for many people, but unlike a gun, which can be outlawed, people can't always be kept out of reach. I see the shooter coin from two sides:

1. People suffer and they don't know how to deal with it. If not managed, their sphere of suffering increases. 
2. If another person suffers, we suffer. We are completely interdependent, whether we accept someone's actions or not. 

We must help people suffer less. If people do not suffer, they do not pull triggers on innocent children. Call it naive, call it simplistic, I call it "raw compassion." For today, here's your Arrival action step--please consider helping one person suffer less. Be brave, be raw and do it. All love and care, K

"The trick is, just relax your legs...I read it on Wikihow!"

Watching the movie, Identity Thief, I took deep belly laughs for a solid two hours. Not only was it engaging but it had a sweet and precious ending. To set the stage, it co-stars one of my favorite actresses, Melissa McCarthy (starred in Bridesmaids as Meghan, "I met a dolphin down there. And I swear to God, that dolphin looked not at me, but into my soul!"). She's quirky, spunky and kind of injured inside--but that doesn't get her down. She's resourceful, and right at the height of her resourcefulness, she takes a pretty good tumble. Won't go into details, cause I don't want to spoil the flick for you, but it's kind of a slow motion moment, an "Oh, gosh, is she going to be OK," moment, and just as your heart is missing a beat...well I promised not to spoil it--this line comes out of her sassy mouth:

"The trick is, just relax your legs. I read it on Wikihow!" 

She got me thinking about flow, and how necessary it is to maintain healthy flow for well-being, both physical and mental. Think about the times your body has felt twinges, what do you do? Me, I try my darnedest to stop, listen to what my body is saying--"Yo, I'm giving you a warning, pay attention here!" and meridian tap. It's even harder to maintain flow when a moving object is coming toward you at high velocity, as in the case of our dear Identify Thief.

So, then, let's progress from the body to the mind--now that chattering monkey is even harder to dress up in the Sunday bests and convince it to behave itself! Whoa, I think I just channeled Melissa McCarthy. 

What to do with the unruly monkey mind? You've got to tame it, baby, kind of like Big Chuck at the Foxhole! Sorry. Alright, where were we? Oh, right the monkey mind and maintaining a state of flow--start the day oriented to what's important to you, AKA the North Star--that which is your highest ideal or priority in life, and do not stray! Do you hear me? Do not stray! Um, OK, easier said than done. However, I have a little secret, and it's called North Star tapping. 

First step in maintaining constant flow is identifying bodily discomforts, cause if you can't be comfortable in your skin, it's more challenging to be comfortable anywhere else. So, first things first, target aches and pains with Meridian Tapping until your number is a SUD 4 or lower and then, shift to tapping in your North Star. If you don't know what I'm talking about, contact me for a session and let's get started on taking care of bodily discomforts, identifying your North Star and creating a steady state of flow. I even have an Inner Constellation Flow Chart that provides a guide for self-directed practice.

When you're running from The Law, you never know when you need to keep your flow a flowin', but what I've got to share, you won't be reading on no Wikihow!

"May the Force (of Mindfulness) be with you."

Hello Sweet Lovelies, I have a beautiful day off and of course, first up, writing. Lately, I've really been digging Thich Nhat Hanh. When he speaks, the Inner Constellation metaphors flow out of his mouth, my jaw drops and I'm more in touch with my inner truth. Initially, too, I have to admit, I was drawn to him because he reminded me of my absolute favorite character when I was a kid, Yoda. Seeing as Thich Nhat Hanh  is Zen (and maybe even Yoda!), he will not mind my reference one iota.

Mindfulness is something discussed much in Thich Nhat Hanh's engaged Buddhism practices, and I've been giving this concept much deserved attention, attempting to define it for myself and take it from the abstract into the concrete. What does it mean to live mindfully, to be with my clients mindfully? First on the brainstorm list was, "It's like getting in touch with The Force." Thank you, Yoda; however, diving a bit deeper, I came up with a poem. Enjoy, and may the Force (of Mindfulness) be with you....

Mindfulness

©2014 Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Beloved breath—
lifeline, precious nourishment,
are you thready, shallow, below the surface
or even, full, long,
rhythmically leading the orchestra of my body?

Beloved body—
vehicle of movement, constant regenerator,
are you aching, strained, yearning for notice
or fresh, rooted, poised,
cradling my attention while alerting me to feelings?

Beloved feelings—
carriers of information, heart at my center,
are you heavy, uneasy, lonely at the core
or peaceful, happy, brimming,
overflowing a joyful steady nectar that sweetens minds?

Beloved mind—
that to which I give attention, creator of my reality,
are you regretting the past, grasping future, chattering like a monkey
or still, reflective, expansive,
acknowledging the ever-present wonders of life?

Breath, body, feelings, mind—I am here.
In this precise moment of transformation, I dwell.