February 2012
54 posts
3 tags
Day 97(C): The Hypocrite
When Jung and I met our daughters at school today, they both told us that their day was awful. Although the list of unfortunate events was long, their bad day began for both of them with a single, shared incident, and much of their ensuing misfortune had roots in what happened in the morning.
Our daughters’ grade is putting on a musical about the American Revolution and although most of the show...
Day 97(J): Commitment and Practice For Creation...
It has been almost one hundred days since I left my corporate employment in order to create work and life that feeds both my soul and my family. In addition to identifying consciousness and awareness as essential ingredients in making the soulful soup that will feed both my soul and my family, I’ve learned that commitment and practice must be brought into the mix.
I can read, listen, watch and...
January 2012
54 posts
Day 96(C): A Proud Papa Again
I’ve written before that I haven’t always been diligent in making time for teaching music to my daughters. I think it was my own conflicted relationship with music that got in the way. I’ve also noticed, though, that my daughter J hasn’t taken well to “being taught.” This is nothing new. When she was four years old, she decided that she hated dance classes because she didn’t want to act like a...
Day 96(J): Long Live Wise and Wild Women!
Recently I began re-reading the book, Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. It is an old gift from my mother-in-law. I don’t recall exactly when she gave it to me, but I think it was before my marriage, which would make it at least 15 years ago when I received it from her. I am wholeheartedly grateful to her because I am rediscovering the timeless truth, love, and power of...
Day 95(C): Learning to Dance
This morning over breakfast, Jung said something that resonated deep within me:
“Life is a dance, not a march.”
These words worked as a solvent on the crust that had been forming around my soul for the past few days. Until that moment I didn’t understand why I had been feeling heavy and my level of creativity had dropped. It was then that I realized I had started marching at some point last...
Day 95(J): Stay Awake, Stay Full
The emptier I get, the fuller I feel. By empty I mean letting go of anything that I’ve outgrown.
Consciousness is the key to knowing what does not serve me any longer but is still taking up precious space in my life - whether in my psyche or in my physical environment. The more I get to know my soul, the clearer I can see what I truly need and want in my life.
This clarity that I enjoy now was...
Day 94(C): Just a Day
Some days are just a day. Today we ate together, we played together, and we talked. Much of what we talked about was the Little Women musical we saw yesterday. We read up on life in the 19th century in society, politics and the arts. We talked about the 19th century composer Amy Beach.
Mostly we talked about how the desires and strivings of the contemporaries of Louisa May Alcott seemed less...
Day 94(J): Dream Message: The Life/Death/Life...
Lately I’ve been dreaming a lot and I’ve been remembering many of my dreams — somewhere between three to five a night. I’m paying close attention to them, and recording them when I wake up, to the extent I remember the details. Sometimes I simply jot down images that were particularly provocative or evocative, or words or thoughts that lingered with me. For instance, this morning, I woke up...
Day 93(J+C): Little Women
The entire Soul Play Family just got back from the opening night of Little Women at Studio East in Kirkland, WA. We were all surprised by how powerfully moving the show was. We went through a lot of tissues and our voices are hoarse from cheering at the end of every song. I have seen very few adult actors whose talent and passion could match that of the teenagers we saw perform tonight! (Charles...
Day 92(C): No Further Meaning
I got a bee in my bonnet about “Four” today. I’ve been struggling to learn the tune and my lack of progress has been making me cranky. Today I was determined to get it into workable shape, so I decided to finally practice it in earnest. As my practice session went on I became less and less forgiving and I all but felt myself split into two beings: my “student self” who was sitting at the piano,...
Day 92(J): Twin Native Powers
My energy is low today. I feel dull, sluggish, and slumberous.
It may be from the gray Seattle winter that seems to have settled in since the snow storm that hit this region hard last week. We’ve also had weather advisories concerning windstorms for last few days, in addition to on-and-off rain showers and drizzles. When Charles and I dropped the girls off at their school this morning, we saw...
Day 91(C): How is Whining Working for You?
Many, many years ago I ran across Hugh MacLeod’s cartoons and ever since I have enjoyed the way they often get into my head and prod me to challenge my assumptions. I don’t always agree with him, although I often do, but he always makes me think. I have subscribed to his daily cartoon email list and when today’s cartoon arrived I knew I needed to share it with Jung. The message of the cartoon is:...
Day 91(J): Cooking Enhances My Creative Ju-Ju
Yesterday I wrote about working at home as the most significant change in my life since MyCrownShift, and my current at-home phase as being symbolic of my soul finding its home in me. I wrote:
”I am no longer in exile because I am reunited with my soul, my friend with whom I will never, ever, part again.”
Furthermore, spending most of my waking hours at home, living and working daily in my own...
Day 90(C): Sustainable
xkcd: “Sustainable”
Ninety days! It’s been ninety days since Jung left her corporate employment and we started this daily blog. When she first brought up writing every day, I was completely supportive of her doing that, but I really didn’t think I would be doing it as well. Ninety days into this thing it seems that I was wrong. I’m still here!
One thing I’ve written about a few times, and I...
Day 90(J): The House of Belonging
It’s been ninety days since I left corporate employment and launched this Soul Play Family experiment with Charles! As I read my Day 1 post again, it feels like I just wrote it yesterday. Yet, I can see the last ninety days of my life as if I’m watching a movie! It has been the most enriching, blissful, and liberating time I can remember in my adulthood. When I left Microsoft, I didn’t know...
Day 89(J): Cold Haiku
Knocked out by head cold. Sinus congested, dull mind. Body needs to heal.
Day 89(C): “Four”
At the end of each chapter in the jazz piano book I’m working through there’s a list of “suggested tunes to work on.” I have no jazz education to speak of. Although I’ve heard a reasonable number of jazz standards over the years, I don’t know much about them — usually not even their titles. This makes finding and playing through the “suggested tunes” in my Real Book akin to opening surprise...
Day 88(C): Act Locally, Really Locally
I want to live in a different United States of America. I want to live in one in which “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” not only respected as our inalienable rights, but are the focus of our collective, co-creative energies. I know that Jung supports my vision and yet when I would complain about things, people or events that fall short of this ideal, she would often resist...
Day 88(J) - What Do De-cluttering And Mediation...
After the power out was over, I was inspired to clean out the freezer. All the frozen items were spoiled anyhow, and needed to be thrown away: melted ice cream and other frozen desserts, saggy, defrosted vegetables and fruit, rubbery pizzas and french fries. Fortunately, we didn’t have our freezer packed with food right before the power out.
After cleaning out the freezer, I was revved up to...
Day 87(C): The Gift of Loss of Awareness
On top of dealing with the snow and power outages since coming back from California, I’ve had one of the worst colds I can remember. It’s not like when I was sick at the end of December. I haven’t felt like I needed to go lie down. I’ve been functioning fine except for constant and complete sinus congestion and irritation which interrupts my sleep and most everything I do. I guess it’s more an...
Day 87(J): My Heaven on Earth Revealed in a Power...
I wrote this post yesterday when the power came back; however, before we had a chance to put it up, we lost our power again. Hence, I’m sharing it today.
We got our power back this afternoon. I am relieved to put away the sleeping bags and extra blankets that Charles and I used last night to sleep in front of our gas fireplace in the family room. At the same time, I am deeply grateful to those...
Day 86(C+J): Power Out Haiku
Our power came back,
But now we lost it again.
It won’t come back on.*
*Final line courtesy of our daughter S.**
**Attribution courtesy of our daughter J.
Day 85(J+C): Gratitude Born out of a Power Outage
After a full day without electricity, we’re grateful for what we do have: food, hot water, a fireplace, shelter, love for each other, time to slow down, gratitude, joyful dancing with glow sticks, the beauty of the snow around us, and a renewed awe for and awareness of our place within Nature.
We hope you are all safe and warm!
Day 84(C): Let Go of Past Decisions for the Sake...
“I never look back, darling! It distracts from the now.” ~Edna Mode, The Incredibles
We’ve gotten some snow here and there have been continuing threats of more. The biggest question in the mind of those of us in the Seattle area has been what was going to happen today. There was no question that more precipitation was coming, but the forecast for how much precipitation and what kind it...
Day 84(J): We Can Choose
I really like Charles’ post today. When we woke up this morning, he told me about University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass’ editorial in his blog. We were both dumbfounded to hear about the people who expressed their frustration at the changing weather forecast and their disappointment at the lack of “character” in the meteorologists for not being strong enough to stay with their...
Day 83(C): Should I Stay or Should I Go?
A major theme in David Whyte’s stories and poems this past weekend was learning to wait for one’s way of being in the world to become ripe and allowing it to pull you out into the world in its current, as opposed to forcing yourself out there, deciding with your strategic mind what your soul work is and getting a move on. Fruit becomes sweeter if it ripens on the tree rather than on your counter,...
Day 83(J): Be Good to Yourself
During this past weekend with David Whyte and his Irish musician friends Size2shoes at the Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey Bay, I was reminded to be good to myself. It is such an essential requirement in life, yet I confess I need to consciously remind myself now and then to be good to myself. We don’t need to have an excuse to be good to ourselves. All the same, this reminder led me to...
Day 82(C): Joyful Struggle
During the Size2shoes concert Saturday night at Asilomar in Monterey Bay, Moley of Size2shoes talked about how he got into beatboxing (vocal percussion), because it was “the path of least resistance” for him. He had been a drummer but, according to him, drumming was becoming too difficult so he decided to quit drumming with his hands and to start drumming with his voice instead.
To me, it...
Day 82(J): The Art of Creating a Beautiful Mind
I feel fully recharged after our weekend in Monterey Bay in California (at the Asilomar Conference Center) which was my birthday present from Charles, S and J. Back in November 2011 when my milestone birthday came around, Charles asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I asked for this event with David Whyte although it was scheduled to take place almost two months after my actual birthday.
...
Day 81(C&J): Adventures in Coming Home
During our flight home from San Jose, we heard about the snow that had been falling in Seattle and we wondered if our minivan would make it up to our house. One thing we’re still not used to is the difference in road clearing between Massachusetts and Western Washington. When it snows here, we’re never sure what the condition of the roads immediately around our house will be like.
...
Day 80(C&J): Goodnight!
We all just came back from hearing Size2Shoes wrap up today’s program and it is time for the Soul Play Family to get some sleep after a long day full of soul, play, and family!
Goodnight!
~~Charles & Jung
Day 79(C&J): Gone Creatin'
We’ve flown south as a family to attend David Whyte’s weekend event: The Art of Creating a Beautiful Mind. The blog may be a little quiet for the next few days as we intensely focus our attention on the here and now.
Attending this event as a family is a bit of an experiment for us to see how our daughters choose to participate in this event that is not geared for a young audience....
Day 78(C): A Daily Awareness Discipline
Back when I was searching for a creative outlet other than music, I tried my hand at photography on the social photography website, Flickr. I rarely pick up my DSLR anymore, especially since I began carrying around an iPhone whose camera is good enough for most of my needs, but I have fond memories of my short time as a photographer and still enjoy visiting Flickr from time-to-time and admiring...
Day 78(J): Three More Gems from Dreammaker
Upon thinking further about the dream I had two nights ago, I was able to uncover three additional messages from my unconscious.
First: Learn to perceive and receive goodness in life with a beginner’s mind.
I did not eat the salad that was served in my dream because I was busy figuring out whether I paid for both Charles and me to enjoy the fresh, nourishing, and savory salad. Trying to do the...
Day 77(J): Thank You, Dreammaker!
“There is innately in every human being a desire to hear stories that matter, and dreams are stories that matter. There is in every person’s psyche an innate longing to listen to one’s dreams–and there is not a finer storyteller than the Dreammaker.” ~Clarissa Pinkola Estés
As Charles wrote the other day about dream analysis, we have been both getting into a new practice of paying closer...
Day 77(C): In the Basement
Jung had some very interesting dreams last night and as we were talking about them, I couldn’t help but think that the one dream I had was awfully dull in comparison. The colors of my dream were dull, the emotions were dull, and the activity was dull.
In my dream, I was outdoors in an urban area, under an overcast and gray sky. There was only enough light outside to see by, and there wasn’t much...
Day 76(C): Proud Papa
My daughters constantly impress me and make me proud. I will be the first to admit that I go starry-eyed when I talk about them and I am extremely pleased with how they growing up. That said, sometimes I miss my little babies — the ones for whom a simple block was an amazing sight. I miss watching them with wonder as they accomplished the simplest tasks with Herculean effort and...
Day 76(J): A Year in Aix-en-Provence
Although MyCrownShift didn’t happen until 76 days ago, I felt the internal pressure to free myself from corporate employment and environment more than a year before I was able to give myself permission to leave behind everything I had built in my career, and walk through the doorway leading to true freedom. It took many years for me to see with clarity that I was the only one standing between...
3 tags
Day 75(C): True Motivation from Inner Knowing
When I was in school years ago, I practiced and studied primarily out of a desire to please my teachers and to get good grades. Yes, it is true that I chose to study music, but the reality is that I stopped practicing the piano the day after my conservatory recital, and I stopped listening to and reading about music when I left my Ph.D. program. While focusing so hard on getting good grades and...
Day 75(J): Authentic Freedom for All
If a fairy had come and asked me even a year ago what I would have wanted the most in the world, I would have said “freedom.” I felt so bound and stuck that I wanted to be free from everything. Above all, I wanted to be free from the work that didn’t bring me alive, and I wanted to be free from the responsibility of meeting everyone’s needs but mine. I thought at the time, “If only I had...
Day 74(C): True Love, True Self
There’s a common understanding in role-playing game circles that when someone says, “let me tell you about my character,” it’s advisable to suddenly become very, very busy, or have a pressing engagement elsewhere. “Gaming stories” are generally considered to be mind-numbingly boring to everybody, even other gamers, apart from the people who were there at the game itself.
In my case, my daughters...
Day 74(J): Let the Pig Be!
Why put lipstick on a pig?
First of all, it does not make the pig prettier. Lipstick on a pig simply yields “a pig with lipstick,” not some magical transformation imagined by the lipstick wielder.
Secondly, more troublesome than believing that this “trick” would work, is the insidious assumption that there is something wrong with the pig to begin with. A pig is supposed to be a pig. That’s...
Day 73(C): With Great Power...
If you’ve read my last two posts, then you know that I am excited to finally know my calling. I’ve been on quite a high since coming home from class Wednesday night. My creative power has been released and my body feels barely able to retain it! This is a huge change for me after years of exploring, experimenting with, and rejecting many ways I could work in the world. As much as I loved trying...
Day 73(J): New American Dream
It may be either the maturity that I’ve gained with aging, or the clarity that I’ve recovered with awakening, but no matter how it happened, I now fully appreciate the benefit of my life experiences that taught me to navigate and bridge different cultures and worlds.
When my family came to the U.S., I was approaching my 14th birthday. Although my parents initially thought that we’d be here for a...
Day 72(C): Fact Finding
Inspired by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ advice in Mother Night, Jung and I have begun trying to write down our dreams in the middle of the night and then to help each other tease wisdom out of those dreams the next day. Last night was the first night I tried this and so today I told Jung about my dream:
I was stranded with another man and a woman. The woman was the pilot of the plane we were...
Day 72(J): Reclaiming Our Birthright!
Imagine a world where past, present and future are all melded into one — where you are one with the World, and every day when the sun rises, your renewal begins. Because you are one with the World, as the World turns, you also turn with the flow of that universal energy. As the World engages in becoming, you also engage in the process of becoming. There is no more struggle or strife or...
Day 71(C): Knowing in the Marrow of My Bones
Yesterday was the last critique session of this semester’s film scoring class. Originally I was going to have three weeks to prepare the assignment: a fully-orchestrated realization of the composition I wrote for the previous session. Unfortunately, due to both Jung and I being sick over the holidays, and the usual holiday busy-ness, I ended up with just a couple of days. This meant that most of...
Day 71(J): Unexpected Lesson
During our morning walk today, Charles told me that he has noticed two things about me since MyCrownShift. I was all ears.
First, he told me that when I was working outside the home, I had to carve out time to read and write on the side. Now my time and energy are primarily focused on reading and writing, and devoted to discovering, generating and synthesizing ideas to explore, experiment with,...
Day 70(C): Between-classes Haiku
End of semester. I had fun; next is better. I will score a film!
Day 70(J): Solitude and Quietude for Inner Knowing
After school resumed two days ago, Charles and I had two straight days to ourselves from the time we walk our daughters to school to the time we pick them up. When I worked outside the home, I often wondered what Charles did at home alone during all those hours of “free” time, but now I know how fast the days go by whether one works at home or outside.
After we see our daughters safely to school,...
