Embracing Change

Movin' On

2006-09-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's time.
I've been blogging here, off and on, for about a year. It' s been fun.
But, you know, my energies and attention have been elsewhere. I find I'm doing my best writing on my website and for my newsletter. People have been telling me I should put up my newsletter articles on a blog, so I'm going to. And, I'm moving them to my website.
You can keep up with embracing change by going to my new blog page. Please keep in touch.

For your inspiration. . .

2006-05-20T08:49:00.000-05:00

The moral of the story is. . .you just never know when you're making a difference, UNLESS you set your intention to make a difference. Then, any time, any where, the Universe might bless you with acknowledgement and encouragement to continue. I received this email from a former student who is finding true success on her chosen path. Read her story, resolve to make a difference, and let us know what shows up.

This entry is submitted by Leslie S. of Las Vegas, Nevada:

"I would like to nominate myself for the Embracing Change Award.

My childhood was one of violence and abuse. Insistent that there was another way to live life, I set out at the age of 19 determined to "find" myself, much like Hesse's young Siddartha. Somehow I ended up in Las Vegas, and it was here that I came to understand harmony and found peace.

In my 8 years in Las Vegas, I finished both my Bachelor and Master degrees in music--the latter done in one year. I received a 4.0 GPA on my M.M., and while working on it, I continued to work as a full-time music specialist in the Clark County School District. My job requires that I provide the music education for students in Kindergarten through 5th grades utilizing the Orff-Schulwerk Method which I am fully certified in, and although I get paid nothing extra for it, I have choreographed, produced and directed more than 30 shows involving at anywhere from 25 to 400 students. Furthermore, my choirs and instrument ensembles have performed with the Henderson Civic Symphony and PBS and are continually invited to sing at UNLV Choral Festivals, CCSD School Board meetings and other district and region music festivals. In my spare time, I continue to grow as a musician by singing in local churches and choirs and playing cello, piano, recorder, and dancing. I also enjoy lounging around at home with all my kitties--big and small--while reading, practicing yoga, and studying a more positive way of life. I hope that I may continue to grow and embrace change--so that I may bring laughter and joy to others, so that we may one day live in peace."

[This is MBS again. The most powerful thing to me is that this forum gives people permission to acknowledge for themselves what they have accomplished. Peace be to you, dear Leslie, our most recent nominee for the Embracing Change Award!]

A Wake Up

2006-05-10T13:56:00.000-05:00

Yikes! How do four months pass without posting to the blog? I'll tell you--busy DOING instead of talking! I've been writing a lot in my monthly and weekly newsletters to my clients of the Feldenkrais Center of Houston, and may post some of those gems here. I've been nurturing a relationship with my SO, Chris. Often, I just don't feel like I have anything to say, or that what I have to say couldn't possibly be THAT important. However: now I am awake. A specific issue woke me up today, and I hope it wakes you up, too.

Go to savetheinternet.com immediately and call your representatives. Every one of us who uses the internet, especially if you are not a mega-corporation, has a HUGE stake in this issue. I have posted logos on both of my websites, and am using my teeny influence on this blog as well.

So the companies who provide the internet access, or the "pipeline" people, want to be able to charge more for speed. The companies that provide a lot of content to the pipeline, like Yahoo, or Citibank, currently make use of the speed to be able to load all of their content and features onto sites. The great thing now is, so can I. If Congress allows the pipeline companies to charge a premium for high speed features, either the "little guys" (like me) will have to pay huge fees or STOP. Right now, the playing field is truly level. I have as much access as the mega-corporations. And so do you.

This is important for anyone with a blog, anyone with a small business, anyone who downloads anything. Many voices can be heard now on the internet. So go to www.savetheinternet.com now and take action: sign a petition, call your representatives, and make some noise. Of my three representatives (Rep. Culberson, Sen. Hutchison and Sen. Cornyn), none has yet taken a public position on this vital issue. They are waiting for us.

Ghosts of Christmases Past

2005-12-24T09:31:00.000-06:00

I still observe Christmas.
"Observe" is such a curious word. Much like "Practice." Two words, which in modern life and for most people, have habitual connotations that are paltry compared to the richness that lies within.

For example, "to observe" somehow implies that one is a bystander, on the outside looking in, somehow OB-jective, uninvolved. But observing can be intimate, non-judgmental, accepting, noticing--even appreciating the details, the variations, the texture and fullness of the experience.

In our Western mindset, the word "practice" implies what you do before you are ready to perform. You practice in preparation for "the real thing," whatever that is. Not ready to have a baby yet? Gotta practice! Practicing law, or practicing medicine--until they get it right, goes the old joke. Non-musicians sometimes see musicians rehearsing before the big concert, not realizing that practicing is a daily discipline that reconnects the musician to the music, to the instrument, to the self, and to the others with whom the music will be played. To "practice" anything---means the daily doing of the thing, in that search for re-connection.

I know that my understanding of observation and practice have evolved mightily over the last several years. This year, I re-invented the way I "spend" the holidays. (Another interesting word, spend.") For the first year since my divorce, the four of us have not been together for Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. Not that we were maintaining any kind of charade for anyone, the pantomime of a happy family. We just "naturally" (or, more accurately, "habitually") have gathered at the family home. That was what we did, but increasingly I have felt more disconnected than re-connected. This year, my children came to Houston for Thanksgiving, my ex stayed in Austin and spent the day with friends. I went to Austin for this past Friday and part of Christmas Eve day, then drove back to Houston to attend MY church and spend the evening with my sweetie. The making of conscious choices---this, not that; here, not there---has been powerful and emotional for me.

It is comfortable, although non-habitual, to spend Christmas this way. Something a little odd, but historic. It's the first Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day since 1976 that I haven't spent with my ex-husband. All those ghosts of Christmases past rear their heads---some beautiful, some ugly--but most are just wistful, and sad. The way for me to acknowledge and honor the past, and be done with it, is to do something new. This definitely marks a change, a shift in something, and a centering. There are tears. Seems like a cleansing, and a birth.

I decided that Christmas is a time to spend with people who LOVE YOU. (Not just "people you love." If they don't love you back, it's the worst worst ever to be with them at Christmas.) No, be with people whom you KNOW love YOU. If you're by yourself, that's who you most need to love. (Obviously, it keeps going---people want to be with you because they know you love THEM.) That's why I chose my kids, and my church, and my self. Love is being allowed to grow in my new relationship. I don't want it to be like the Amaryllis bulb that you keep in the closet before Christmas, then force it to bloom. No, Christmas is about love, and light, and lots of it. Isn't everything that's good and true?

Indian Summer, New Moon, and other developments

2005-11-11T11:36:00.000-06:00

We thought we were going to have fall. A week of mild temperatures lulled us, seduced us into believing that fall was really here. It's our only indicator of the season here in Houston, where very few leaves actually "fall,"---although I suppose you could track the wardrobe changes of the fashionistas and detect subtle color and texture shifts that try to manifest the season though the power of costuming. (It's part of what makes the damn Christmas decorations so incongruous---see previous post!) This week, however, we're back in the 80s, and a few people are cranky. Up north, this might be known as "Indian Summer:" a time when, after the first cold snap, unseasonable warmth reappears, ostensibly as encouragement to tide one over during the long, dark, cold months ahead.

This Indian Summer or whatever we're experiencing now has brought with it a promise of newness. The new moon that's started growing in the sky seems to be reflected in my psyche. Perhaps the cooler weather helped me to relax and enjoy life a bit more, welcoming possibilities and changes, letting go of the old, the outgrown, the emotional clutter. Just like clockwork, when space had been prepared, something new appeared. For me, new energy and vision, new business opportunities and clients, and a new relationship. Life is feeling pretty darn wonderful right about now, especially since some of my friends are so cranky.

I find myself welcoming whatever is to come. As a friend of mine said yesterday, "The Universe is WAY COOL."

An Affront to All That's Decent

2005-10-20T09:19:00.000-05:00

Noted: Yesterday, OCTOBER 19, 2005, at 10 a.m., while driving on Westheimer through River Oaks and the Highland Village shopping center, what did I see but a huge, red, glittery bow sitting on top of a building. Another huge "ribbon" adorning the top of Pottery Barn. Another BFB (Big F. Bow) sitting on top of P.F. Chang. A crew on a cherry picker, mounting god-knows-what--probably a candy cane---in the first of the long line of palm trees lining that part of one of Houston's busiest thoroughfares.
So, well before Halloween, we already have Christmas glaring at us.
I don't mean to sound like a humbug. I don't know where 2005 has flown, other than out the proverbial window.
I saw the artificial trees for sale at Sam's a few weeks ago, and rolled my eyes. But I wasn't devastated--no, OFFENDED-- by that as I was surprised by my response to those damn bows.
And, you should know--ask my friends---if there were a "Least Likely to Be Offended By Anything" award, I would definitely be in the running.
I realize the workers can't realistically put up giant candy corn in the palm trees for such a short ramp-up to the Halloween holiday. But those big bows, before one doorbell has been rung or the words "Trick or Treat!" even uttered----
it's just WRONG.
I will continue to embrace what is NOW--OCTOBER---and allow space for the inevitability that the joy of Christmas will soon be here. When it's time.
Some good old pared-down penetential Advent is looking really good about now. . .

The Best Thing Ever

2005-10-10T05:05:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning in Chicago. Usually a pretty quiet time to head downtown on the "El." I'm a devoted Red Line girl myself. I stay with friends up in Rogers Park and get on the train at Sherwin---the next-to-the-last stop before the end of the line, at Howard in Evanston. With sentimentality I rarely experience anywhere else, I relish the view of Lake Michigan, the gorgeous skyline as it appears around the corner; the great people-watching, and above all, pulling in to the Addison platform, right across from Wrigley Field. In Chicago rarely enough that the ride never becomes drudgery, those train rides are part of my "total sensory experience" whenever I'm in the city, and I groove on it! I often ride during rush hour, both ends of the day. But this Sunday morning, I'm meeting my friend Carla downtown for brunch at one of our favoriate restaurants. We're going to spend the day catching up on business and personal matters. I'm excited.

It seems to be a typical Sunday morning in Chicago, with very few people on the train. But then, as we pull in to the Belmont station, the platform is so crowded, it looks like 8 a.m. rush hour on a weekday morning. The passengers pile on to the train. They are in groups of three, four, seven, eight. Each group wears a matching t-shirt: "Where's Jamie?" (bright, electric orange). "See Jane Run". Pennants, balloons, flowers. Fullerton stop. More t-shirts, more noisemakers, a megaphone, "Go Kevin!" The joy, excitement, and yes, LOVE are absolutely palpable. These are the friends, loved-ones, and co-workers of people who are running in the Chicago Marathon today.

Friday when I flew to Chicago from Houston, I got a little taste of the marathon. I sat next to a few people who were traveling to run. They were animated, yet laid back at the same time, reading their running magazines, poring over technique columns and shoe evaluations, talking about where they were staying, plans to rendez-vous afterwards. Other runners on the plane were easy to spot by their physiques and by their very cool sporty gear. As people disembarked, it became obvious that everyone on the plan had had a conversation with a stranger about the Chicago Marathon. "Good luck!" "Run well!" "Have a great race!" Such well-wishing after a commercial airline flight struck me as highly unusual, and I savored the great feelings well past the baggage claim.

But this morning, on this train---unbelievable. Crazy hats, wardrobe evolving to the level of theatrical costuming rather than just simple team unity. I hear the clanking of cowbells above the din of the train-noises and the conversation--a whimsical rural noisemaker in this urban setting, it makes me giggle. Each get-up more over-the-top than the last. Excited conversations. The woman sitting next to me was in from St. Louis. She and her friend had hoped to cheer their husbands at an earlier checkpoint, but had missed them. They were taking the el to try to intercept them at another checkpoint on down the line. People were on and off the train, well before downtown, apparently doing the same thing. Strangers talking to strangers, a lady from Delaware. "My son." "My girlfriend." "My best friend's brother." Laughter, smiles, appreciation.

OK, so now I'm going to make a really corny statement. The ENERGY on that train, and probably every train rolling on this morning, was so overwhelmingly positive, cheerful, loving, giving, and expressive without concern of foolishness (in fact, that sort of seemed to be the point). Every one of those people was doing what they wanted to be doing, had made an investment in attire (or regalia, as the case may be), and were spending a Sunday morning focused on celebrating the achievement of someone else. No resentment, no martyrdom, no competition, no worry or concern. Just love, fun, acknowledgement, and support. It was a demonstration of selflessness and joy that was so PURE, people just seemed to be shining. Who knew that the Transfiguration of humanity was happening on the CTA?

I feel such pleasure, joy, and appreciation whenever I am in the presence of groups of people--even LARGE groups of people--who are all gathered to have a good time, to laugh, to cheer, to appreciate. (The Art Car Parade in Houston is one of my favorite events for that reason.) Those are the occasions--the mile-markers-- when I feel most intensely alive, and deeply grateful for it.

My friend and I met for a fabulous brunch, and we sat in a window seat which allowed us to see more folks making their way to be at the finish line. A riot of color, humor, creativity. Our conversation centered around more serious matters--contemplated decisions, transitions, preparing for change, preparing for growth. We share a lot of laughs, and a few tears. Later in the day, I spent a beautiful few hours cuddling 6-month-old Nick, the son of dear friends, as they went out on a rare movie date. Upon their return, as Nick and his mommy romped in the floor. his giggles and chortles turned into belly laughs of the deepest delight. The fullness of life, and this particular day, overflowed through my tear ducts. I am not nearly done.

Deadlines and Livelines

2005-10-01T17:56:00.000-05:00

A week has passed without writing an entry for the blog. I find that I am still rather unsettled from the hurricane evacuation. While I was very "pent up" and enjoyed the creativity that comes from releasing during my exile in Austin, now that I've returned, I'm left with a big feeling of "Now, what?"
The drive back to Houston was easy and quicker than normal. I returned on Monday evening, driving in the comparative cool, with very few other returnees. Check a Texas map: heading east on US 290, I noticed people being able to put gas in their cars as far as Giddings, about 70 miles from Austin. Another 30 miles or so, and it's Brenham. No gas, and almost nothing open that night, from Brenham into Houston. Brenham is about 70 miles from Houston. No wonder nobody was on the road!
There was no damage at my place. I noticed a tree down the next day, in the next block. So for all the flap of leaving, my apartment and life and even the road welcomed me seamlessly, effortlessly, as if I'm supposed to just pick up where I left off. Mind you, I recognize that I have merely suffered a minor inconvenience. No trauma, nothing life-shattering. But I've been struggling all week, and now I'm ready to be done with it.
I resumed my class schedule, although my students didn't, exactly. I saw as many clients as could make it in. I filled up my gas tank and felt grateful to pay nearly $3 a gallon to do so. I completed two major program proposals and am planning to receive the future. It's amazing that it's taken me all week to realize that nothing on the outside stopped---just something on the inside.
This evening, I'm in Dallas, meeting with friends old and new, and having an opportunity to share my work tomorrow with a good-sized group. Life does go on, whether we're totally ready or not.

'Ritas for all

2005-09-25T08:27:00.000-05:00

Perhaps the greatest thing we (and I really mean "We" here: our community, our country, our culture) learned by observing/experiencing Hurricane Katrina was the power of paying attention, and the power of cooperation. We also learned that nothing comes without risk and responsibility.

People in Houston were paying attention to the lessons of Katrina: infrastructure failures, communication failures, and the indomitable success of our evolutionary impulses to do whatever we think is right (or, whatever we want to do) when it comes to defending family and home. They made the choices they could make at the time, given their circumstances and the information they had. Some of the choices turned out to have dire consequences, but they were choices made by sovereign human beings. Stay or go? A terrible choice for them, a choice made too late for some, a choice dictated by economics and circumstance for others.

Labeling something a "bad choice" is a judgement that others make, in retrospect, or a judgement I make of myself when things don't turn out the way I hoped. People who make "bad choices" learn, and we should support them and not punish them. We had achance to learn from a whole host of horrifying "bad choices" played out on our television screens. We paid attention. When we heard that Rita was headed our way, 2.7 million people said, "No thanks! I am outta here." I was one of them.

Fear can be instructive if it is not paralyzing. As I prepared to leave, I encountered many who were nearly paralyzed as they went from store to store in search of needed supplies. At one point, I decided to prepare for a trip, rather than a disaster. The humorous moment came on Tuesday evening as I fortuitously chose to head out at 8 p.m. after finishing my teaching day, and fill up my car with fuel. There were lines at the pumps at Sam's Club, but I was able to fill up after waiting for a mere 10 minutes. I had had bottled water on my list for a few days, and thought to go in to Sam's and pick some up, just in case. They were already sold out of water at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Plenty of soft drinks and gatorade remained, but I chose to purchase----a case of Pellegrino. Might as well go out in style, I thought. And in that moment, I knew that I was not deeply afraid. I had made my decision to depart.

My sensitivities were heightened, having been in contact with new friends from New Orleans. One of them stayed in her home, well provisioned, for a week after Katrina. As she watched the looters at the drug store across the street from her home, she decided, hour by hour, that she was safer inside. Her land line worked, and so she was able to communicate with the outside world if people called her. She was not flooded, and had no damage, but neither did she have electricity or running water. I wanted to be well prepared, but I also wanted to avoid repeating her experience. I had paid attention.

If I had had a friend with me, a lover, family, or other reason to stay, I might have stuck it out. It would have been fine, since Houston was spared the worst of Rita. But you never know. Things could have changed in a matter of hours, by a factor of a few degrees difference in the storm's path at a critical moment.

We also learned the power of cooperation. When I left Wednesday evening for Austin, the trip took a mere 8 hours. The next day, people in the same position would take 8 hours just to get across Houston. Wednesday evening, there were still cokes, bottled water, a little gas, and plenty of goodwill to go around, as store-keepers stayed open late and offered encouragement to the travelers. The largest evacuation in history was underway. Unfortunately , there were accidents and fatalities during it. It's small comfort to the people who lost loved ones to consider that statistically, the percentage of fatalities occurring was virtually insignificant, compared to any other "organized" activity in our country---like automobile travel overall, or organized sports, or walking across the street. The statistics are miraculous. The losses are real and heartbreaking. We'll get to learn again, as all 2.7 of us try to get back in the Houston. Our authorities have made a plan, and most folks seem to be voluntarily going along with it. Each successive approximation leads to improvement. In this climate, there are no failures, only lessons learned.

I paid attention to what actually received priority as I evacuated. The desire to be with my children and even my ex-husband, as opposed to anyone else. The choice to take my computer and files with all of my creative work, as the basis of building a new life, should the need arise. Essential documents -- and even in that, there were some that I chose to leave behind. Somehow I knew that I couldn't affort to travel that heavy. No pictures or knick-knacks. Comfortable clothing, clothing I would need for professional presentations. Current projects. Seems I was more interested in creating a future than in preserving a past.

There's still clean-up to do, people to care for, and plans to be made for the next necessity. I'll wend my way homeward in the next few days. These two girls, Katrina and Rita, brought a hell of a lot of trouble with them. They also brought gifts that may have the power to transform our culture and get us back in touch with what makes us fully human, and what indeed makes life worth living. I'll be lifting a 'Rita tonight, on the rocks, with salt, in recognition and thankfulness for all on this learning curve along with me.

Can't stop

2005-09-23T17:33:00.000-05:00

How many news reports does one need to watch? I have the local NBC affiliate via streaming video on my computer, and downstairs can switch between CNN and The Weather Channel. Even though I left Houston so I wouldn't have to experience Hurricane Rita, why do I have the need to experience it vicariously?

In one way, it's about connection and concern. I have intrepid friends who decided to stay, or decided NOT to get on the roadways with 2 million strangers, and I know my chest is in a knot for their sake. I know I would have been too frightened to weather the storm by myself. Turns out I'm still pretty scared, without even being there.

I have another friend, another Feldenkrais practitioner named Jim Levert in Lafayette, LA, and it looks like now he's in the path. Of course all lines of communication are busy. I don't feel any relief that the Rita's worst may just skirt Houston. In fact, I almost feel worse that it's heading for him.

The winds are picking up in Houston. It is blazingly hot and sunny in Austin, as if nothing is happening anywhere else. I will try to concentrate on something else, anything else, tonight. Is it OK to be thinking about what's next?

Other shoes, on other feet

2005-09-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

Houston, the new home of those who fled from Hurricane Katrina, now has its own potential disaster to deal with. Her name is Rita. Now among the ranks of "displaced persons," I reflect.

I did my part for Katrina relief, some of which I wrote about here. I hosted people in my home who were displaced, listened as volunteers "unpacked their hearts" after spending a couple of days at the Astrodome, gave money, prayed for higher consciousness and to see the Big Picture. And now, I too face the unknown.

Yesterday afternoon, after canceling or being cancelled by everything I had scheduled, I prepared to leave town. Pulled out of my apartment complex at 4 p.m. An hour later, having traveled 3 miles, I drove underneath Interstate 10, electing to take 290 to Austin. Forty minutes later, I was on 290. Another hour later, I was passing Cypress Fairbanks High School. When there is light traffic, that entire trip takes about 20 minutes. With dedication, and calm, benign spirits, many many many travelers inched along 290.

Famished at 9 p.m., I got off the road in Brenham to eat some dinner at K-Bob's, and ran into a Physical Therapist colleague. It was nice (for both of us) to see a friendly face. Back on the road, terrified of falling asleep as exhaustion set in, now 6 hours on the road. Finally, at just after midnight, I rolled into the parking place in front of the condo where my 2 children and ex-husband live.

I've spent most of the day watching Houston TV on the computer, trying to email people around the country to say I'm OK, battling hit-or-miss cellular service as all 4.5 million cellphones in the Houston area simultaneously try for a signal to reach out to friends or family. The choice I made to leave is fateful. Other friends who were waiting until today to leave have either decided to stay home and shelter in place, or God knows where they are--probably stuck on 290 or I45. I might have been there, too. But I'm sitting comfortably in Austin.

Priorities. I've been thinking a lot about them. I've been noticing what I chose to pack, and what I chose to leave: hoping that I'll just be gone for the weekend, knowing the possibility exists that I'll be a gypsy for awhile. I've been noticing that of all the people I could have spent the storm with, I chose to be with my kids. I've been noticing who and what I am most concerned about, and what concerns me not at all. Such things are telling.

So for the next several days of rain, I shall busy myself with projects, reading, and plans to create some money away from Houston. All shall be well, no matter where I am. Knowing that fact helps to put my racing heart and anxious stomach in perspective.

It's the little things. . .

2005-09-09T00:16:00.000-05:00

If you watched the recent voyage of the Space Shuttle, you may have become aware that little things mean a lot.
Someone saw that a tiny little string-like piece of something was hanging down from the underbelly of the shuttle. Sort of a little strip of cardboard, jutting out from between two tiles, only about an inch.
The first miracle was probably that someone NOTICED. Someone was paying attention. The second miracle was that somebody said----"Wait a minute." Not, "Oh, that's probably ok, let's just keep an eye on it."
No.
Somebody bothered to do the calculations of the drag of that size piece of string, at the velocity and friction that would occur on re-entry to the earth's atmosphere. And the effect of that tiny piece was potentially huge---and disastrous.
The next miracle was that we were able to send a guy out on a space walk to have a look and fix the thing. Hurtling through space, high above the earth, he easily pulled the offending bit out, inspected the surface, and came back in. That attention to detail, and the team support from Mission Control at NASA, averted a potential tragedy and saved nine lives.
Little things mean a lot.
Ask any survivor of Hurricane Katrina about the value of a bottle of water. A toothbrush. A safe place to sleep. It's the little, simple things that can make a huge difference in the quality of life, and of survival itself.
I am privileged to help people improve their lives by paying attention to the little things. The Feldenkrais Method® uses small, slow, gentle body movement as a means of developing awareness. It teaches how we can improve our capacity to function in ways that are more efficient and comfortable. I help people to do what they want to do, whether it's being able to get out of the car without pain, or picking up your grandchild, or reaching the top shelf of the closet, all the way to playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto more beautifully--and everything along that spectrum. Noticing little things---for example, are you holding your breath right now?---can lead to big improvements in your ease, skill, comfort, and enjoyment of daily life. You can embark upon a path of positive change in your life right now, easily and comfortably.
More information is available at the following sites:
www.houfeldenkrais.com (The Feldenkrais® Center of Houston)
http://feldenkraisforyou.blogspot.com (Audio files of movement explorations for improvement, by Feldenkrais practitioner Holly Bonasera)
www.feldenkrais.com (The Feldenkrais Guild® of North America).
What little things mean a lot to you?

Crying at the Grocery Store

2005-09-02T17:30:00.000-05:00

So it's 3:45 on a Friday afternoon, the afternoon before a long-weekend holiday I might add, and I decide to go to the grocery store. Iwasn't just picking up a few things for the weekend, though. My store was accepting donations for the refugees from Hurricane Katrina.
My city, Houston, Texas, has rolled out the welcome mat for our neighbors. Countless volunteers are doing all they can. Those who can't volunteer are contributing time, prayer, money, and goods.

I drove up to the store and saw that 1/4 of the parking lot was taken up with several large semi-trailer rigs, and all up and down the row were pallets of bottled water, diapers, toilet paper, and other items. I felt the emotion well up within me--- my eyes began to burn, the lump in the throat, the tightness in the gut. I parked and walked in to the store.
It was easy to find the few items I needed. Ingredients for the salad I'm taking to a party on Monday. A couple of bottles of wine. Some frozen veggie meal-starters. The shelves were well stocked and opulent in their abundance.

I made my way to the back of the store to grab a case of bottled water. I keep a case in my car so that I can easily grab a bottle after a walk at Memorial Park, or after my NIA workout. They need water. All those people, with nothing to drink for days. Some men were unloading a pallet of cases of Ozarka Spring Water and loading it onto a display. "I'll take two of those, while you're unloading." "Yes, ma'am. Certainly." They put the water on the bottom rack of my cart. One man said, "I've been doing this all day." The other one said, "Thank you, ma'am." Thanking me for buying their product. Thanking me for the opportunity to help me join in the gargantuan effort of service to our unfortunate friends. "Thank YOU." I said. My voice wavered.

Continuing down the back wall of the store, I came to what I was looking for. The diaper stocks were looking pretty depleted. I realized it was because almost everyone who walked into that store this afternoon had departed with a package of diapers. The sight of that sparsely populated shelf took my breath away, as I thought about everyone who took action to DO SOMETHING. I picked up the diapers, a box of tampons, and some kid's bath gel in wild watermelon scent. That will be a treat for someone. My eyes filled with tears and I shuddered. So many people, acting independently, yet banding together to make someone's life just a little bit better. I was blinking back tears all the way through the check out. I noticed a quiet and concentrated quality in the bustle of the store. Lots of people were blinking.

The trip out to the parking lot. I loaded my car, then made my way over to the staging area for accepting donations. A light rain was beginning to fall. Two volunteers greeted me and scooped up the items. "Thank you SO much." A wave of emotion washed over me. "I had to do something."

The magnitude of Hurricane Katrina, and the changes it has set in motion for the region, the nation, and the world, is nearly incomprehensible. New Orleans and southern Mississippi now have all the charm and convenience of a Third World country--and it's right in our own backyard. The long-term trauma, the emotional, mental, psychological, environmental costs are unknown, but it's my sense that they will be far more costly than the economic damage.

Most Americans have never been inconvenienced for even a moment without complaining about it. The poor, marginalized people who have borne the brunt of this storm are used to inconvenience, discrimination, and even poverty---but not this level of suffering. And here they are, doing it in my back yard. Up in our privileged faces with their desperation. Yes, having a hurricane wipe out your city can really mess up your day.

I am grieved down to my bones. I am grieved that our government, we, the most powerful and privileged nation on earth, can't do better by these people. I am grieved that so many are working selflessly and tirelessly to do all they can, and they are being blamed for not doing enough, fast enough.

We must all reach deep within ourselves to find that spark of whatever is good, loving, compassionate, generous, kind. . .we must look deep within each person who is suffering unspeakably and acting out of desperation to see and elicit the same qualities in them.
And we must ACT, even if it's just donating a package of goddamned diapers.

Mercury

2005-08-11T08:11:00.000-05:00

It's August in Houston. We're in a weather pattern where the oppressive heat, humidity, and bad air quality are abated by an afternoon thunderstorm. The next day, we're even more hot, and humid, and then we have a thunderstorm. . .So it's the mercury, the temperature reading, the feeling of it that is the first sentence out of anyone's mouth. "It's SO HOT today!"

Even at 10 p.m. the night air is hot and sticky. We spend so little time outdoors in the summer in Houston, that it's a shock to the system to go from the air-conditioned environments of car, home, office, restaurant, mall, movie----into the naked air. The objective measure---the number indicated by the mercury--- ceased to have a precise meaning weeks ago. We now have "Hot," "Damn Hot," and "Too Damn Hot." Or variations thereof.

There's a bit difference between 99 degrees and "Too Damn Hot," and it's the subjective difference of perception and meaning. At 96 and above, it's basically all the same. Don't tell us about "Dry Heat." Hot is hot, as far as we're concerned. The sentiment seems universal, so we lose sight of our own subjective experience and emotions---the mercurial moods that accompany individual perceptions of the mercury reading. Witness countless conflicts as bedmates negotiate the tricky territory of the thermostat setting, the speed of the ceiling fan, or the amount and quality of covers on or off---at any time of year. Yep, it's the individual experience of mercury---and the realization that the person closest to you is very, very different in their perceptions and preferences.

My internal mercury readings are recalibrating. I'm at "that age" where fascinating things happen occasionally. One recent evening, sitting at my computer, comfortable in the AC, suddenly perspiration began pouring out of my hair onto my forehead and face. I was glistening all over. A bona fide hot flash, a power surge of mature womanhood? I chose my response---get comfortable, keep breathing, "chill out," and it passed in a few moments. Now, I'm eating more soy, taking a shot of goji juice every day, popping the red clover and evening primrose oil capsules when I think of it. Perhaps Mercury will be my friend again one day.

Mercury, in ancient mythology, was the messenger of the gods. Mercury's planetary influence is credited, or blamed, for all sorts of communication problems when it "goes retrograde." This term describes the phenomenon when, from the vantage point of earth, the planet Mercury seems to reverse course in the sky and travel backwards for a time. Cell phone batteries die, computers crash, emails get lost. My most recent experiences with Mercury the Messenger have been that my last two blog posts---not saved sensibly, just created and attempted to be posted---went into a black hole somewhere and could not be published. I'm going to be a little smarter this time. But I also had to reflect on my belief that the benevolent universe was protecting me in some way---perhaps my musings those days were more for my personal process than for mass consumption. Mercury recalibrates, levels the playing field, makes me just pay a little more attention to be sure that I am clear, kind, and temperate in my communications.

I notice subtle changes in myself. Perhaps I'm more able to accept WHAT IS, and more conscious of my desire to remain free of judgement. It's a process, but a helpful one, that gives me a steady starting point somewhere in reality. This may be the best insight I've had on how to embrace change--mercurial or subtle---in the ups and downs of Houston temperatures and life.

Would you like to acknowlege someone who is embracing change? May we acknowlege you? Please go to http://www.houfeldenkrais.com/embracing_change.htm and tell us your story.

Winners

2005-07-14T21:04:00.000-05:00

One of the fabulous things about starting this blog has been the surprising relationships that have arisen through the old-fashioned art of letter-writing. Well, OK, it's been emailing, but sometimes it feels very literary and at a depth that probably wouldn't occur in regular circumstances. Two people embracing change in a big way, and they deserve acknowledgment.
First is the amazing Nita Cheramie, cordon bleu chef, social service agency administrator, mom of one of my darling voice students, and much, much more. Nita has gone back to Weight Watchers, is losing a TON of weight, and is training to run her first marathon. She'll be heading to San Francisco to run in the Nike Women's Marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. I hope she'll let me print more of her story here in posts to come. But she shared this site with her Weight Watchers chapter--kudos to all for embracing change! You can donate online to Nita's marathon fundraising goal by going to www.active.com/donate/tnttxgc/NitaCheramie .
Second is Karen Quicker, of Sheboygan, WI, who has gone from caterpillar to butterfly so fast it would make your head spin. And she ain't done yet! (None of us, is, really.) She has become filled with the wonder of daily transformation, seeing all of life AND HERSELF in new, positive ways that are filled with possibilities for good. Read her blog at www.mezzolibra.blogspot.com for the searingly honest chronicle of her transformational process.
These are truly inspiring women who bring so much life and energy to my experience. Keep on keeping on!

The Friendly Universe

2005-06-30T23:22:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite quotations is from Albert Einstein:
"I think the most important question facing humanity is, 'Is the universe a friendly place?' This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves."

I've heard this also referred to as the "fundamental option" that each of us has: to decide our own answer to the question, "Is the universe a friendly place?" The answer to that question will, in large part, determine our attitudes and therefore our experiences.

Moshe Feldenkrais says, in the first sentence of Awareness Through Movement: "We act in accordance with our self-image." I'm known to say to my ATM students, "Your spine is a chain, and not a pole." (Thanks to my colleague, Nancy Galeota-Wozny, for that one!) Now--if you think your spine is a rigid, one-piece pole, you're going to move--and act--quite differently that if your think your spine is a supple, multiple-link, flexible chain. If your image of yourself is that your pelvis is like a concrete block, then you will act very differently than if your image includes the possibility of strength, power, and life.

"As a man thinketh, so is he." (Just call me Mrs. Bartlett, I'm full of quotations tonight, aren't I?) So is he, so is she. That quality of "is-ness" is what we create, moment by moment, by what we choose to focus our attention upon. It's our experience, our expectations, attitudes, habits, our entire way of being in the world. Can you see how exercizing the "fundamental option" one way or the other will dramatically change the quality of what you create?

In fact, when we talk about "is-ness," we're talking about the essence of BEING. Let's stop being so objective and clinical here---the subjective statement of being is, "I AM." The ancient Hebrew writings tell us that this is the very name of God. "I AM that I AM." Straight from the Horse's mouth, the burning bush and all that. This, every time you say "I AM" is the ultimate creative statement for your own experience. "I am strong. I am resiliant. I am a trouper. I am able to solve this problem." How do those statements make you feel? Contrast that with: "I am a failure. I am fat. I am offended. I am stupid. I am broke." STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! heehee

We are always creating something, even (perhaps especially) when we don't intend to. (If you have a religious framework for things, you can say that since we are made in the image of God, the creator, of course we are also creative.) We create our own universe moment by moment--with our I AM statements.

I found that as I first began to embrace change in my life, I had to be willing to change my thinking, my attitudes, even some of my beliefs. Virtually everything around us, from cars, condo towers, orchestra performances---all began as an idea and then began their progress toward physical existence, or manifestation. Someone pointed out to me: if your every thought is creative, pay attention to what you're thinking. Conversely, if you want to know what you're thinking, look at your life, your circumstances, your emotions. That's what you've created by your thoughts.

This is heavy stuff, and there's no wiggle room away from the notion of ultimate responsibility. There's nobody to blame, nowhere to hide. This is a hard one for me. Perhaps changing the connotation of "responsibility" as being some kind of burden or penalty--like, "whose fault is this? Who is responsible here?" would help. I like to think of responsibility as "response -ability;" that quality of life in the friendly universe, where I create the ability to freely and joyfully respond to those around me.

"Look! A new day has begun." (Memory, from Cats, by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I promise, that's the last quotation for tonight.) What would you like to create for yourself?

Share your story ( or that of an inspiring friend) and be part of the Embracing Change Award. Go to www.houfeldenkrais.com/embracing_change.htm for details.

On purpose

2005-06-20T08:14:00.000-05:00

Welcome. Perhaps you've stumbled across this blog in your site-surfing, perhaps a friend sent you here. Please consider sharing your story of navigating change by responding to these blog posts (or responses thereto), or by nominating someone for the "Embracing Change Award." Read more about that at http://www.houfeldenkrais.com/embracing_change.htm .

So many ways of navigating change. Having some goals is essential, and breaking through that resistance to having goals is the first step (see the earlier post, Synchronicity, for some suggestions about that). The goal-setting process needs to be fun and enlivening, in and of itself, so plunge in. What the hell!

But goals need a center, or guiding/driving purpose around which to coalesce. It seems kind of heavy to ask oneself, "What is my life's purpose?" (dun dun DUN!!!!!) Yuck! But it's instructive to find some resources for self-knowledge, like the Enneagram (just google it--you'll find a bunch of great stuff!), or, from a Jungian perspective, the Myers-Briggs type indicator, or MBTI (also eminently google-able). Very helpful as a way of finding a little bit of light on "Why do I do what I do?" or "How in the world did I get HERE?"

As I was telling my sweetheart this weekend, these tools for self-knowledge are not meant to limit us, or pidgeon-hole ourselves or others. ("Well, he's an ISTJ, what do you expect?" or, "She's a 2!!!! Run and save yourself, while you can!" Or even, "Scorpio rising! That explains it.") No, no. We ALWAYS have choices in how we behave, the actions we take, the thoughts we think moment by moment. We can be informed by any of these systems of understanding, but the question each of us is always left with is, "What will I do NOW?" This is the fundamental weakness of much psychotherapy and new-age self-exploration: pre-occupation with the painful dissection of the past and leaving it there, without moving forward into the present with the CHOICES we make right now, in this moment.

Yes, NOW. This moment. Don't worry about engraving anything in stone for posterity. "What is my life's purpose----today?" is a fine question, and could be the best possible place to begin.

More on this later. Please share this site with your friends. Let's share our stories of taking positive action in transforming our lives into more of what we DO WANT.

Be well!

Blood and vulnerability

2005-06-17T18:56:00.000-05:00

Greetings:
In the blog world, the last 2 weeks without a post are an eternity. In the real world of clients, housecleaning, and self-maintenance, the time has flown. As usual, I have several reflections and am hoping I can tie them all together.
As I have followed my own reflection from the last post to "be the change" I wish to see in the world, my world has changed. I am realizing that the change I wish to see and be involves finding ways to truly be in service to those around me. (Thank you, Mattison Grey, www.greystoneguides.com for the reinforcement of this idea.) I find myself growing in the direction of embracing a much more public sphere, reaching more people with my work, truly enlarging my little circle into the amazing web of interconnections that this life is.

As I have changed, my world has changed. I have been in a relationship for nigh unto a year with a wonderful man, who, alas, is not where I am. It doesn't make anyone wrong, it just is. There is pain in embracing this change---that perhaps our dreams of being together will not develop past this point--but there's also growing clarity. A beacon of my life's purpose, still a little hazy in the distance, but shining nonetheless, and I can tell the direction I'm supposed to be moving in. And move, I must.

A wonderful part of this web of interconnections comes from people I only know via email. One of the most fabulous people with whom I've come into contact is the brilliant Karen Quicker. (read her blog at http://mezzolibra.blogspot.com, and go to her website on www.classicalsinger.com for a real treat!). She is discovering the amazing paradox that vulnerability, allowing oneself to be vulnerable, turns out to be a place of strength, clarity and possibility, rather than the feared state of oblivion. And behold, the same theme of vulnerability started showing up everywhere this week, as soon as I started thinking about it. (DUH.) A client came to see me who, as a child, had never been allowed to go through the developmental stage of crawling, because her mother didn't want her to get dirty. As an adult, this woman is a survivor of much, and is now in the process of taking care of the physical and emotional de-toxing issues, as well as learning how to move in the world. We lay on my floor together at her lesson this week, as I helped her to experience the elements necessary to be able to crawl. Didn't crawl YET. But just about to! Her humility, curiosity, vulnerability--allowing a space for something new to come in. She seemed giddy, playful, engulfed in the simple pleasure of experiencing such a foundational, organic, alive movement.
As a second example: this week at one of my Awareness Through Movement(r) classes, four beautiful, incredibly buffed-out gay men joined the ranks for the first time to try it out. It's as if they realize that, despite their beauty and impressive musculature, something is still missing. They can't move! They see the need to regain the ability to feel themselves from the inside, without judgement or competition, and just find a way to be comfortable. That struck me as incredibly courageous.
So, if the whole world and all of life is just a reflection of what's going on inside of ME (or you, in your world), then I have to ask how this vulnerability issue applies to me. Skirting the issue all week, today I sat still long enough to actually think about it. The quiet space occurred at the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, where I am a Commit For Life blood donor. Giving blood is always an opportunity for me to be thankful that I have life, that life courses through me freely, and that I have life, and blood, to spare. And that I'll make more, so that in another 8 weeks, I'll have enough to share and spare again. I thought about how, sitting in that chair---well, they really had me. Although I consented to be there, I was powerless. Where are you gonna go when the tubes are hooked up and you're donating blood? You're there until it's over. I was struck by the thought of one of the hexagrams from the I Ching: the one that says, "voluntarily chosen limits increase your power." That's what time to be silent, time to give blood, time to be vulnerable--does for us. It increases our personal power.
The powerful essence of being vulnerable largely consists of "allowing." Of being open and unprotected, so that just about anything might get in. It's about not being "pre-occupied," in other words, already being busy, occupied, with something else. No room in the inn. Making space for the next, best, thing.
There is some loneliness in vulnerability sometimes, and that brings us back to the possible/probable demise of my current relationship. I am finding a way to be open, available, not pre-occupied. There must be space to allow the new to emerge, regenerate, manifest, unfold.

Be the Change

2005-06-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

Gandhi said it: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
Perhaps in order to embrace change, one must be willing to BE change, to embody change. That requires the acknowledgement that a change is necessary.
And, in case this is a new idea for you, here's the biggie. No fair demanding that anybody else change to suit you.
You don't have the right to change anyone else. You can only change yourself. You are not responsible for changing ANYTHING---except yourself. This is perhaps the ultimate responsibility we have. Here's the other biggie: as soon as you change yourself, even in a small way, everything else begins to change, as well.
I had heard this idea for years, and resisted it, tooth and toenail! I finally experienced the idea concretely as I began to study the work of Moshe Feldenkrais. His method, using minimal body movements to develop self-awareness, showed me how making tiny changes in a seemingly impossible action, could transform the whole action into something effortless and pleasurable. Tiny changes. Little things mean a lot. (For more information about the Feldenkrais Method and what it can do for you as you manage change, go to www.houfeldenkrais.com.)
I remember my first Feldenkrais teacher, asking me in an early lesson, "So, MaryBeth----what would you like more of in your life?"
The question took my breath away. I realized in that moment how greedy I felt. How needy I felt. How unworthy I felt to ask for a different experience than I was having, in my marriage, in my career, in my whole life.
Then, the answer came: what would I like more of in my life? "Possibilities."
There began the real journey.
How do YOU create possibilities? What is one way that YOU have discovered to "be the change you wish to see"? Write to us and share your story. The most inspiring stories of positive change will be published each month at www.houfeldenkrais.com/embracing_change.htm.

If you want love, be loving.
If you want peace, be peaceful.
If you want money, give.
If you want recognition, acknowledge others.
If you want forgiveness, forgive yourself and others.
If you want your dreams come true--help others to achieve their dreams.
If you want to experience positive change in your life--express gratitude for all that is in your life, right now.

Be the change!

Loose ends

2005-06-03T23:21:00.000-05:00

My bags are packed, and I return to Houston tomorrow.
As with any change, large or small, I think of all that lies ahead and all that is over and done.
Such a full two weeks!
News of two new babies on the way.
The kitten at home, died this morning, buried in the yard at the ranchito.
Taking care of my friend's new baby, and observing with awe once again the amazing love that makes a family.
Reflecting on my accomplishments, plans, joys, concerns.
Laughing harder than I've laughed in a good while. Tears welling up at the drop of a hat.
How to embrace it all? Move forward. Keep showing up. See what happens!

: 05282005: Synchronicity

2005-05-28T08:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I rode the Amtrak Hiawatha Express from Union Station in Chicago to downtown Milwaukee. I sat next to a young woman, an interior design student, on her way home for the weekend. She confided that she wanted to move out of her current apartment with four messy, chaotic roomies, and live by herself. Part of the reason for the trip home was to convince her father ("He's SUCH a Business Guy!" she said,) that this is a good idea.
She took out her laptop and began putting together a Power Point presentation for her dad. "Who has to use Power Point to talk to their parents? How sad is that?" she said.
"He'll probably be really impressed that you are making the effort to speak his language," I reassured her.
As she typed, she expressed frustration that her dad was always asking her what she wanted to be doing in two years. "How do I know?" she said. "Things can change so much, it's impossible to predict!"
I found myself telling her some things that I needed to hear and think about for myself, and I'm so grateful that the marvelous synchronicity occurred that she was my seatmate.
"We really do have the power to create our own reality," I heard myself saying.
"As soon as you form a mental idea that you are passionate about, you begin moving toward it. And amazingly, then things do begin to fall into place.
"You can always adjust your plan. But without a plan, the universe doesn't know how to take you where you want to go."
I wondered how she would respond to this bit of "woo woo" stuff that I was dishing out so wisely. But she just listened, bright eyes open and thoughtful, not discouraging me from continuing.
This was where I came up with some great stuff. (I can attest to the fact that experience with parenthood makes one adept at pulling stuff out of----thin air---when required.) It's probably not original, but I'm going to use it this week as I have a break from routine and can do some Design Work on the next phase of my life.
I said, "When your dad says he wants to know your two year plan and goals, you can translate that into your OWN language. The title of the Power Point screen is "Two Year Plan," but you can think of it as the leading statement, "It would be SO COOL if. . ." So what do you think would be really, awesomely cool?"
She began to type. "Graduate in the Spring of 2007 with a GPA hopefully between 3.5 and 4.0. Get a job."
"Does that inspire you? That seems like kind of a no-brainer, doesn't it, like "I want to get up tomorrow morning! That might be a goal for somebody MY age, (she giggled), but for you, that's not a goal."
She seemed puzzled, not knowing what to type. "How about this?" I suggested. "How about 'Graduate with honors in the Spring of 2007.' Next goal: 'Secure a position with a major interior design firm.'
"Oh, yeah," she said. "Much better. He'll like that!"
More importantly, YOU like that, I thought.
"So how do you make yourself desirable to companies so that they'll hire you? In other words, what's the step BEFORE graduation."
She was searching. "Well, I need to do an internship with them." She typed, "Get an internship with an ASID member firm."
"Great. Sounds pretty competitive, and essential. How do you make yourself desirable for an internship."
"I want to do a study abroad program in Italy, or maybe London for a semester."
"That WOULD be cool!" I said. "So you want to go to Italy because it's the epicenter of just the coolest, most cutting-edge interior design and furnishings, right?"
She nodded, beaming, the idea of herself in Italy soaking up all that vibe, learning in an international setting.
"So, does your dad know that?" (She shook her head.) "Better explain that, or he'll think, 'Why should I finance a trip to Italy so she can play?'"
"You got that right!" she said, now typing rapidly.
Her ideas began to flow, as she worked backwards, step by step, from her goal.
"You are doing something called "reverse engineering," I said. "Begin with the end in mind. Keep prompting yourself, "It would be so cool if. . ." and then ask, "What needs to happen before that?" And before you know it, you're right back to today, this moment, you have a plan that you are passionate about and ALREADY TAKING ACTION to bring it about."
Her fingers flew over the keyboard. She made plans to "aquire international perspective in the design field" in a study abroad program, go after an internship with a major firm, become involved and take leadership roles with the student interior design organization, and I could see her working her way back to her immediate next step: living by herself and creating an orderly environment that was conducive to the changes she wanted to create.
"Oh my gosh, here's my stop!" She said, hurriedly closing down her computer, looking out the window. "Thanks so much. This was awesome. You're really good at this!"
She hugged me, unexpectedly. "Really, thank you," she said.
"My pleasure. Good luck with your dad. Go be famous," I said.
She turned to leave, and I sat back down in the seat, thoughtful. It's been awhile since I took the time to make my own "It would be so cool if. . ." list. That bright young woman probably doesn't realize how she inspired me yesterday on the train to Milwaukee. Thanks, Jenna.

Want to nominate someone for the Embracing Change Award? Go to www.houfeldenkrais.com/embracing_change.htm

A change is as good as a rest

2005-05-25T23:44:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Chicago!
Thanks for checking in on the development of the Embracing Change Award. The "Award," at this point, is simply the recognition and acknowledgement of an inspiring person by publishing their story on this blog, as well as on the website of the Feldenkrais (R) Center of Houston, www.houfeldenkrais.com. Contributions of names and stories, as well as inspiring quotations about change, are beginning to flow in. The "honorees" will be able to have a picture on the website, if they choose, as well as links to their websites. It's exciting to be part of this new project. I am encouraged to continue with the positive changes I have created, and I hope you will also find encouragement and inspiration here.

I left sunny, hot humid Houston in the mid-90 degree temps, and stepped off the plane in Chicago to dry, cool (60 degree) air, sparkling sky, and the most gorgeous lake in the world. I am deliberately taking a few days of freedom before more structure and work here next week, BUT I am amazed at the level of relaxation I am experiencing already. My theory is, just changing from routine a tiny bit can be the stimulus for your brain and nervous system to take a fresh approach, get some distance from old habits, and get a little excited and curious about something new. A change can be as good as a rest.

Experiment: What small change could you make in your routine? Be sure to choose something a little silly, that is completely unimportant, inconsequential, and will have no lasting effects. Really. This is not the time to run off to a convent, stop that horrible habit, or get a mohawk. Just something little. For example: if you notice you always put on your left sock, then your right one, try putting on your right one first. If you go into the restroom and always head for a certain stall---choose to use another one! Park in a different parking spot at work. Try a different restaurant or new dish at lunch. Just take a moment to voluntarily choose to do something---anything at all----differently than you normally do.

I was introduced to this concept by Joan Pfitzenmaier, a New York City Feldenkrais practitioner and an important influence on my path. When I began playing with making these little changes that did not matter, I began to become aware of some amazing things going on. I felt more courageous, more self-determining, more creative! I was so attached to some of my routines, it was actually a relief to let them go temporarily. Let us know if you take on this experiment, and let us know what effects you experience.

Change does not need to be sweeping to be significant. Start small and comfortably.
Here's to ya!

Embracing Change

2005-05-23T08:04:00.000-05:00

Moshe Feldenkrais said, "Change happens whether you want it to or not."
Change is indeed a fact of life. Sometimes change is necessary and productive, sometimes it seems traumatic and unwelcome. Some people fear change and resist it. Some seem to create chaos for themselves and others by changing just for its own sake. I'd like to go a little deeper with this idea. Embracing Change, accepting the lemons of life and finding a way to make lemonade, or cream pie, or jet fuel out of it requires courage, creativity, and a resilient spirit. This page seeks to provide recognition and acknowledgement to people who have faced, chosen, survived, and ultimately embraced the changes of life. Perhaps this page will also provide encouragement and inspiration to those who are considering, in the midst of, or looking back on a life-changing experience.
Please nominate yourself or someone whom you know and admire. Post it here. Submissions must include your name and email, so we can be responsible and verify your nomination. We'll also ask you, by private email, for the person's name and contact info so we can obtain their permission to be nominated and appear on this blog and on www.houfeldenkrais.com/embracing_change.htm.
In a brief paragraph, please tell us
what life changes your nominee has faced,
what action the person took,
and the successful and/or evolving outcome.
Our focus is not in dwelling on the adversity, but on the positive changes that occurred. We'll post the most inspiring stories as we go on this blog.. The creme de la creme will be published July 1, 2005 on the website of The Feldenkrais Center of Houston, www.houfeldenkrais.com.

This is COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE. There is no fee to nominate someone, and no fee if selected for posting. Nobody's story will be posted without their permission. Remember: acknowledgement costs nothing, yet is priceless!

My own story: In 2002, I was going through a divorce (my idea, after 24+ years of marriage), and also left a university teaching position, colleagues, and students that I loved and enjoyed (not my idea, after 10 years). It became obvious that I would not be granted tenure there, so I withdrew my long-fought tenure appl