OGT DAILY - Day Sixteen SLEEP and SNOW

Two good things - sleep and snow - cleansing, refreshing, renewing.  I had both today.

Have been keeping my distance from news.  Bits here and there on the radio.

Did take time to write to Elliot Engel about Steve Bannon and he wrote me back saying he and other Democrats are fighting to rescind this appointment.

But I realize I'm showing signs of traumatic stress when I can't focus and have a compulsion to be exposed to the news.   It is extremely important to pace ourselves as this will be a long fight.

Get your sleep!   Walk in the new snow while it lasts.   Make a pot of winter soup.

• Research suggests that sleep plays an important role in memory, both before and after learning a new task.

• Lack of adequate sleep affects mood, motivation, judgment, and our perception of events.

• Although there are some open questions about the specific role of sleep in forming and storing memories, the general consensus is that consolidated sleep throughout a whole night is optimal for learning and memory.

From Harvard Medical School
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory


"Despite all I have seen and experienced, I still get the same simple thrill out of glimpsing a tiny patch of snow in a high mountain gully and feel the same urge to climb toward it."

Sir Edmund Hilary

OTG DAILY - Day Fifteen VIGILANCE

It's exhausting, but I see it everyday now.   Almost everyone I know is making phone calls, writing e-mails and letters and protesting.

Vigilance has become a new way of living.


Over the last three days I have written a letter requesting my county legislators to condemn Nazi literature sold at the County Center Gun Show.    I have written a personal note to Paul Ryan telling him why keeping our health care is important.  I have written Senator's McCain and Gillibrand to thank them for speaking up against unconstitutional and illegal rulings ordered by this administration.


This afternoon I noticed that the light was returning as we come into February.
It is a moment I wait for every year, when I realize the days have lengthened to the point that the sun is again filling the world with light.   Ancient Celts built passage tombs completely designed around worship of the sun and its return.    We can always remember this light and hold that inside us to create a place of wellness even in the darkest times.

That is a good thing and this gives me hope.

OTG DAILY - Day Fourteen - HEALING SOUND

This post is written a day late because I have literally had to catch up with myself.

It has been a difficult few days and I feel like I'm living in a heightened state of fear.

I know that I am not alone.  And I am not directly threatened by the travel ban.   But I am indirectly affected and I will be directly affected by an executive order soon.


My solution has been to think of the good things; to write about good things.

I have been finding that hard for two days now.

Even with the crowds of brave people protesting, the amazing federal judges who have been ruling this unconstitutional and the ACLU and other volunteer lawyers who have been literally sleeping at airports just to see travelers are allowed entry.

I am amazed by the courage and energy and bravery and as President Obama says "heartened" by the community protests.  These are amazing not just good.

It is still difficult to not feel traumatized and exhausted and constantly angry.

So last night I went to a Sound Bath in Brooklyn with music therapist Katie Down at The Maha Rose Healing Center in Greenpoint

http://www.katiedown.com/
http://www.maharose.com/products/sound-bath

This is a delicious enveloping experience where the deep and resonant tones of crystal and brass Tibetan sound bowls are played in sequence as people rest on yoga mats in a dimly lit room.

The experience is like a twilight sleep, where your awareness is so trained on the tones that your mind is cleared of anything else as in a deep meditative state.   You awake only to hear the tinkling of a new bell and your whole body fills with these tones which washes away tension and strain.

I have been having trouble sleeping, but last night slept like a newborn and retained that sense until I heard the strains again on the morning news.

OGT DAILY - Day Thirteen IN MEMORIAM

This is for my friend Claudia, who we remembered today for her grace, her creative spirit, generosity, enormous smile,and courage in the face of cancer.

We will so miss you.

FROM OUR SHADOWS

There are so many words for sadness

and for joy so few

maybe none

that can tell

the sound of the secret spring

welling up from before words

though when its voice rises

within us

we want to be able to tell

someone about it

if they will stay to hear

talk about

what is beyond words

sadness can rise in us

in the midst of happiness

and joy can take us by surprise

in midst of great sadness

both of them know us

from before we were here

but if we speak to them

only sadness lingers

to hear us out

joy disappears

to wait for us may be

where we least expect it

W.S. Merwin from Garden Time


- my action today?   I called Paul Ryan twice to support the ACA!!

OGT DAILY - Day Twelve - THE PATH

So it was back to the walk this morning.   7:30 with light snow.  One foot in front of the other.
Good to be in the cold air.  Single minded.   Birds flying.   Mostly cardinals now and the occasional woodpecker.

Life is simple on the path.  Your feet follow the line.  Dodging only rocks and mud.
No Twitter.  No devastating news.   Its enough in the woods to escape for a bit, even with construction cranes in the distance.

The path and meditation have become essential.   If one is to become a warrior, regular and ritual cleansing becomes necessary.


My action today: writing a letter to local officials denouncing the sale of Nazi literature at a county event.


On this day in 1945 the Russians liberated Auschwitz concentration camp, where the Nazis had killed over 1.5 million people, including over 1 million Jews.

OGT DAILY - Day Eleven - COURAGE

It's what it takes to stand up every day and say this will be okay.


It's what it takes to stand up and say a lie is a lie.  

It is becoming very hard to get up in the morning and it takes courage just to keep on.
But it is what we must do it and we all give each other courage and that courage builds and we can think of those who stood out in the blizzard to protect the Standing Rock land against the pipeline, or the Greek coastguard fishing children out of the Mediterranean from sinking inflatable rafts.

It takes courage to wake out of complacence and take action.
It's what I am seeing in my friends and colleagues every day now.

You have it.  I have it.   We all must use it.


Si se puede.

OGT DAILY - Day Ten - SUPPORT

I feel like I'm losing my mind.  It is literally impossible to believe what comes out of the mouth of our leader.   Outright lies and denial of them, are hallmarks of propaganda and manipulation techniques for the masses according to Hannah Arendt.

I'm worried for our troops in Iraqi now that the "so-called" leader has again said we should "take" the Iraqi oil.   One good thing is that the Iraqi prime minister announced today that East Mosul has been secured from ISIS and pictures of school children returning to class after two years were a joy to see.

In the same report on Rachel Maddow she spoke about how the Iraqi people were now sharing on social media reports that our new leader was going to "take their oil."   What does that do to our troops who are helping Iraqi forces against ISIS?   Essentially he proposing theft from an already bankrupt country.   This is our foreign policy now?  WHAT?? Madness.


The good thing I can think of is support; support of Iraqi citizens by American troops; support of each other as we face this crisis of insanity and alternative facts in our country; support from the amazing people I am connecting with in a time of need - knowing we are forging bonds that have real meaning.


Below is a piece forwarded to me today full of good advice about how to manage your mental health and welfare with this new world of activism:


https://medium.com/the-coffeelicious/how-to-stayoutraged-without-losing-your-mind-fc0c41aa68f3#.a6l7qwksp

OGT DAILY - Day Nine CHANGE

Okay so I'm officially freaked out; frozen, overwhelmed, wanting to crawl under a rock.   There's too much that has to be done; too many holes in the dike and its all happening too fast.

Yikes - so breath!   I did not have my walk or meditation this morning due to medical appointments.
Maybe that's it.   Anyway back in control, I realize maybe this is just what change looks like.
I've heard others say it.   We are less complacent as evidenced by the numbers marching on Sat.
And not that I'm condoning the new regime, but maybe this is how revolution has to occur.   Historically revolution is bloody.   But life is change.  To not embrace it is to languish in stagnation.   We don't have to always agree with the change, but it is forward movement...and we can take action to affect the change.   Our actions can determine our future.

After my retreat, I've decided instead of giving into overwhelm, I'm going to do at least one action a day along with my recognition of "one good thing."   I'll set limits on this so I do not burn out, but this will be part of my being "constant."  Tonight I wrote to four senators urging them not to vote for Jess Sessions for attorney general - his history of biased opinion would essentially put us in a fascist state if we aren't already in one.

My good thing for the day is change and accepting what the new day will bring.

A prayer from St. Teresa of Avila:

Let nothing upset you

Let nothing afright you

Everything is changing

God alone is changeless

Patience attains goals

Who has God lacks nothing

God alone provides all she needs

OGT Daily - DAY EIGHT CONSTANCY

Eight days since I started my mission to become and remain more positive and I am still here.
Believe me I have wanted to run..."Oh no I have started another stupid blog that no one will read"...several times and have almost abandoned ship, but I keep on.

At almost anything we wish to accomplish constancy is the most important ingredient.  Practicing an instrument, writing a novel, planting a garden, painting a picture, building and keeping relationships.   None can be accomplished with grand strokes, but with steady tapping away at the vast marble block of reality.

I woke this morning with a tangled web of images and words running through my brain from FB and the newspaper - what is reality? What is "alternative reality?"   All I could think to do was take the newspaper into the studio and shred it up into strips to be rewoven into my own reality. Creative destruction.

With the news pouring in today, like a torrent of unending horror from Washington, it was hard not to become overwhelmed.

But we must remain at the helm with our protection of our civil rights, day by day, letter by letter, phone call by phone call.....


Long before morning I knew that what I was seeking to discover was a thing I'd always known. That all courage was a form of constancy. That it is always himself that the coward abandoned first. After this all other betrayals come easily.
― Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

OGT Daily - Day Seven STILLNESS

Seven days - tomorrow it will be a week.   I have made it this far.   That is the most important good thing.

I also offer stillness.  Stillness this morning after the crowds, exhilaration and exertion of the big March.   Stillness even after a night not sleeping, ruminating over the images around the world on FB, and wondering what will come next.

Though I was only able to meditate five minutes before a workman showed up to fix something in the house, I had my moment of stillness and tried to carry it through the day.

I renew my vow to myself today to try and stay positively focused and active, to not make social media and news an addictive habit, to read, write and walk more 

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. 

I awoke and saw that life was service. 

I acted and behold, service was joy. 

Rabindranath Tagore

OTG Day Six

Fired up and ready to go!   Let's March.

Trump Tower all blocked off.

Solidarity is an amazing thing - people marching in 50 states and 34 countries in solidarity for human rights.   I received this Unity Pin to wear on my jacket from someone at the march today.
You can get one too my contacting unitypinproject@gmail.com or look for them on Facebook. The safety pin originated in England after the Brexit vote as a symbol of solidarity and safety for those who did not support the vote and then became a symbol of safety for those who felt threatened by it like immigrants and refugees.  To wear it means to stand against hatred and discrimination under all circumstances.  I was proud to receive it and wear it today as I stood with so many people in unity.

Unity Pin

OGT Daily - Day Five

Five days in and how am I doing?   Not bad - that in and of itself is the good thing.

How are you doing?

Also the white ranunculus I bought for myself yesterday, which sit in vase in the midwinter light - these are delightfully good.

Today I meditated, turned the TV on low to a channel not broadcasting the brouhaha in Washington and am focusing on - FAITH, INSPIRATION, and ABUNDANCE.

Having faith that we can move forward in an inspired way with abundance in our positive results of action for ourselves and our planet.

I give thanks for the grace of Barack and Michelle Obama and eight inspirational years of service.

OGT Daily - Day Four

One good thing is Zachary Quinto reading the love poems of Rumi at the Rubin Museum in honor of Brad Gooch's new biography of the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic.

The music of poetry and the poetry of music can always put me at ease and in a more positive state.

Brad Gooch read passages from the book and there was a wonderful musician playing a mournful, haunting wooden flute that took you back to Damascus and Turkey in a time when scholarship and religion were serious pursuits in the middle east and Christians, Jews and Muslims lived side by side.

Gooch reminded us that the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Damascus were in much worse shape than they even are today because of the Mongols continually raiding from the east.   History can remind us that "this too will pass," eventually.

Another good thing is my lovely daughter, who loves Zachary Quinto and attended with me along with her partner.   We all had a great time, good conversation, and Venezuelan food after on 18th street at El Cocotero.

Speaking of music it was heartening to see people singing, "We shall overcome," in the offices of their Colorado Congressman when they went to protest the repeal of the ACA.  That was poetry to my ears and brings me back to the war and civil rights protests of my childhood.   We are all becoming more politically active and connected because of it.

.

ONE GOOD THING - Day Three

So one good thing is that my parking meter was paid for me yesterday by a woman in a black fur hat before I was even able to get my own quarters together in the car.

Whether she was addled and put the money in the wrong meter or whether she was being a good Samaritan, I don't know.   With my fervent "happiness project lens" I chose to dwell on the former and allow it to restore my faith in humanity that perfect strangers are capable of random acts of kindness toward each other.   Political campaigns are meant to divide and conquer and that is exactly what has happened to us as a nation of people.   That we can reach out and give to, see, understand the stranger - perhaps the stranger who can afford to wear a black fur hat that I can't is hopeful.   We will need to reach out often and soon to those who disagree with us about economics, health care, gun rights, gender and racial equality - even as we protest those who will change policies.

In a perfect world I would have followed this woman into the diner where she seemed to meet a friend and pointed out she had made a mistake, but I did not want to disturb her social appointment.
I should have just to thank her and may have made a new friend.

"The Happiness Advantage" a positive psychology manifesto written by Shawn Achor of Harvard University speaks of seven principles that make positive thinking so powerful.  I have paraphrased in my own words:

1)   The positive brain has a biological advantage over the negative and we can retrain our brains to become more positive and productive.

2)   How we experience the world is constantly changing according to our mindset.   We can adjust our mindset to give us power over changing circumstances.

3) When we become stressed we often only see the negative, but if we can look for other possibilities we will often them.

4)  In crisis and despair we can find paths to feeling better - happier - and that experience teaches us how to be happier in the event of future crisis.

5)  Focusing on small accomplishable tasks keeps us from becoming overwhelmed and allows positivity to build.

6) Even when faced with lack of stamina, small changes done regularly can defeat other more defeating habits.

7) In response to stress isolation is a common response, but investing in relationships, friends, family and others keeps you connected and more positive and successful.

Recommendations to accomplish this are:

- Meditate: Rewire the brain and bring calm.

-Anticipation: Finding something to look forward to can raise endorphins.

-Give to Others:  Committing five acts of kindness in a day can increase your sense of power and efficacy.

-Make Your Environment More Positive:  Go for a walk, watch less television, get off social media.

-Exercise:  A few times a week can boost your immune system and brain function

-Spend Money on Events not Stuff: Go do and see things, acquire memories not things - and journal about it!

-Practice something you are good at:  Writing, drawing, swimming, listening to another, math - whatever you have a strength in can give you strength.  Think of different ways to practice your skill each day.

Day Two - What Have I Done?

One good thing is that no matter what the circumstances, I always will make art as a means of survival.

I was reminded by my Reiki circle last night that in thinking about gratitude its important to feel grateful for pain also, as it reminds us that we are alive.   As Jung would say we need to see the shadow in order to be whole.

That was my train of thought when I wake up today and realized: What have I gotten myself into in manic moment?   What if I don't want to get up from bed and walk or even meditate?  And how am I supposed to always think of the good thing everyday for an entire year?

Well I'm reminded when I think of one good thing that it leads or another an inevitably another. It builds on itself.

Far from being Pollyanna-ish - as this sort of thing can be seen as - the good thing is not always so pretty either.

I'll describe two examples from the art world that have me inspired:

The Crochet Coral Reef: Toxic Seas.   Margaret and Christine Werthiem of the Institute for Figuring's magnificent re-imagining of the our dying coral reefs, made entirely of crochet materials such as cassette tape ribbons, twist ties, yarn and other detritus that clog the oceans and helps to bring the demise of the reefs.

It is a spectacular color show and a sober reminder of what is happening to the planet.  At the Museum of Art and Design in NYC - but only till Feb!

http://madmuseum.org/exhibition/crochet-coral-reef-toxic-seas

Photos do not even do it justice.  Colors are spectacular.

The other was part of Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905-2016 at the new Whitney Museum.   This show really explores how intertwined our lives have become with visual media since the dawn of television and film.

Bruce Connor's 1976 film CROSSROADS uses declassified footage of the Bikini Atoll hydrogen bomb testing in the 1940's.  It's a chillingly beautiful reminder of the deadly forces we have in our possession to destroy everything.   As you watch sequential clips of the exploding mushroom cloud over the still ocean from multiple angles, you are mesmerized by the image so distant in space and time and wholly absorbed and horrified by it.

A good thing is that museum curators are providing powerful reminders of our responsibility to each other and the planet at a time when politics seem uncertain.

ONE GOOD THING - O. G. T. - For 365 Days

A beginning.   A commitment.

Today seems a perfect time to begin this project.   It came to me yesterday on my daily walk, but then the day was filled and Monday arrived and so...

But this idea really does honor Dr. King and his commitment to positive change in the world.
I have been, like many ravaged by fear, anxiety, and consumed with my own rage and helplessness.
Yes, I have taken action and made phone calls and signed petitions and I will be marching to be sure. And will continue to march for as long as we need to to ensure that we continue to move forward toward positive change and acceptance of others rather than the creeping feeling that we must exclude and demonize in order to survive.   Human beings are built to compete and aggress but they are equally built to relate and empathize.

So I have found, despite my best intentions to become proactive and remain positive, it has been extremely hard.   I find the fear and anger dwelling in my stomach and heart; taking up too much space in my body.  

Yesterday morning I rose early at 6 and was able to meditate and then walk in the bright, crisp early morning with a path of white crunching snow under my boots and the sky just turning a pale blue.   I thought, "What a gift this is to be in the early morning calm in the beauty of mid-winter," and that was it.

I knew if I could hold onto just "one good thing" it would make my day better and change my outlook a bit from that moment forward.  As I continued to crunch along in the snow I remembered Dr. Zhi Gang Sha's prayer for mental healing and repeated this over and over as I walked:

"Spirits of love, forgiveness, compassion and light you have the power to transform my consciousness.  Remove my negative mindsets, attitudes and beliefs as well as ego and attachment.  Thank you."

(Sha, Z. G. (2009) Divine soul mind body healing and transmission system. New York: Simon & Schuster.)

As with any other meditation its repetition at first focused me until I found myself repeating the words and having other thoughts arise.  So I refocused on enunciating the words and hearing them and did this for the full five miles of my walk.   The result was less rumination on current events in the news or my own concerns and worries.   I noticed a flock of sparrows gathered in bush before me and just stood to watch and they didn't fly away.   Later on my way into the city complete strangers looked at me and smiled and asked how I was doing.  It was if as my entire countenance had changed and made me more open.   Dr. Sha recommends repeating this prayer for as long as you can - 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes and see what results.   I have experienced its effects before.

As a Reiki practitioner I have a daily prayer to: "not anger, not worry and be filled with gratitude" - so this lesson comes easily to me, but is just as easily forgotten.  I am the first to admit that I cannot always sustain meditation, mindfulness, or positive thinking.   I am often racked with anger, sadness and petty jealousies, which make my life a grayer, sadder, and more miserable than it could be.

This is when I try to remember compassion.  Compassion must begin with the self and is then naturally shared with others.

So this is my compassion and commitment:

Even if it is only to say "I am still breathing today" I am going to commit to recognizing "ONE GOOD THING" about each day for one year!   O. G. T. - and I am going to share this on my blog and ask you as readers to think of your own O. G. T.    I welcome your sharing with comments and would love to see where this brings us in a year.   One good thing, one day at a time as we move forward. It doesn't mean we don't still get angry or have emotional upheaval as we may expect to with the coming political powers, but recognition of gratitude and positive thinking can have a revolutionary effect.   Despite the turmoil and stress recognizing "one good thing" is a small accomplishable task we can all do every day.

Yesterday I found that it was not just the beauty of the fresh cold snow under my feet in the early morning.  It was also that sound of the snow reflected the notes of Vivaldi's "Winter" from the Four Seasons, which I am currently learning to play.  It was the presence of the birds.  It was the smiling stranger on the subway car and the repeated effect of feeling the world to be emotionally more positive and safe.   No easy task in the current political climate!  Or with media filled with such distracting ugliness.  

So I invite you to join me:  O. G. T. for 365 days!

My "One good thing" for today?   That's easy.   The memory of Dr. King, his beautiful voice and the legacy he left for us to follow.

Looking forward to tomorrow.