Squeaky CLean Fun

Well, I’ve been super busy forging my new partnership with Chris Rachel Oseland of Palmyran Rebel Events. We are two geeky girls   who are making a huge effort to really push preconceived boundaries of success….Being in promotions, production and performing really requires us to be able to wear many hats – Going from business meeting to costumed weirdo in zero seconds flat.

We needed a break from the heaviness of our meeting today, so we went in search of balance and stepped outside the restaurant we were meeting at to have some Iphone photo fun! As we ran around taking photos and releasing all tension as we got ridiculously silly, I came across a moose – and I just knew I had to tame this wild and majestic beast.

A very influential person in my life, Sharon Fountain (of Performance Development Corporation and president of the National Association of Self Esteem) has a wonderful analogy in which she uses the moose…. a dead moose actually.   She uses a moose on the floor in between two people to represent something that can keep two people from communicating. The moose represents some issue between the two that neither wants to deal with. So it lays there. The people step over and around it, but it’s still there and eventually begins to stink and taint their experience.  Until the moose is dealt with, things will continue to become more and more unpleasant.

This is also a great way to think about issues within ourselves that keep us from hearing our inner guidance and allowing our dreams to communicate to us on how to achieve them. Many of us love to hear the positive feel good stuff of spirituality that promises us a purposeful life, but (as one of my songs say)  following our dreams means confronting our nightmares.  We have to deal with the moose.

I’ve outlined the steps  to this in interpretive photo dance!

Step one: (sadly I did not get a photo for the first step).

First step is seeing the moose and realizing what it is. I did this today by coming to a screeching halt in the parking lot of Lynn’s Paradise Cafe, lifting my arm to point and screaming “MOOOOOOOSE!!!!!!!!“.

I recently realized that I’d put off admitting some things from my life had made me sad and that it was okay to be sad about them. There were some things about myself I’d been refusing to see.  They recently came to light, and I was willing to take a deep breath and say hello.

The first step is always the hardest!

Step Two

Be willing to take on the challenge of the Moose! It may be that you’ve gotten a bit out of shape like me. First step is to believe and decide that regardless of your current shape, you CAN tame the moose! Begin it! The first step is always the hardest!

Although I saw a moose in some areas of my life, I put off making the first step to dealing with them for quite some time. Once I made the first step, I was committed and the process was in motion.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all?

Step Three

Keep Going. You may not be able to see the progress that you’ve made while in the midst of trying to overcome the moose; you may feel all turned upside down at times, but you are actually getting somewhere. Don’t get stuck, and remember you can turn around if you find yourself a little  off course.

I’ve done a lot of work within the last year, and sometimes it feels like I’ve gotten no where, or find a new thing rising up within  me to deal with. Then I take a moment to reflect on how different my life is in comparison to three years ago and I am tremendously proud of myself.

holy cow! no moose! I'm on a moose!

Step Four

Don’t let fear stop you. Just take a moment to reflect and look at how far you’ve come.  Have faith that you are almost there.

Although I see many bright things on the horizon, it doesn’t mean that I don’t daily deal with the temptation to fear or doubt. Forging a faith strong enough to move mountains takes daily practice.

aww, I love you, moose.

Step Five

Learn to love the moose. Oh that’s right. I said it.

I recently had the revelation that spirituality wasn’t about removing the items from yourself that you don’t like or refusing to let them come to mind, but rather learning to embrace and love ALL those parts of yourself – including the moose -  how? by dealing with them of course!

Step Six

Claim VICTORY as the wild moose rider you are!  Ride that moose with all the pride you can muster. It might not go away, but now you know it for what it is, have learned to rise above it and can ride it like a pro when it comes around

I embrace what comes my way to deal with and allow it to surface when it needs to, but am more experienced in ways to work with it instead of fighting it.  For example, I found certain things trying to haunt me/accuse me, so I imagined little gargoyles for each of them that I mentally patted on the head while cooing things like “Awww, do you want some attention? Poor little baby needs some love”.

What kind of  Moose have you been hiding from? What lies in your past that you have not ever admitted, dealt with? What are you refusing to see about yourself? What nightmares are keeping you from the realization of your dreams? What kind of silliness can you begin to help you learn to ride your moose?

Don't sulk! Be a rebel and sneak on to the ride it anyways!

Voices may always rise to tell you that you’re not good enough, pretty enough, strong enough…… Don’t let any voices tell you that you’re not tall enough to ride the moose.

IIIIIIII DID IT!!!!!!!!

If you’re not ready to tackle the moose yet, don’t forget to take pride and joy in tackling some smaller beasts within your life first as you work your way up.

Yes…We did a lot of laughing today.  Please tweet, facebook, ping the moose! Share us with your friends, family and loved ones who might also enjoy a laugh…Help your loved ones ride the moose, too!

Don’t forget, if you are getting this via email, you have to come to www.doggeddreamcreations.com/divinityrising to see the photos!

Three years ago, I had a vision of my life purpose. I had a vision that I should get rid of as much as possible and hit the road to meet, gather, and show off pure hearts with a video show as I performed, home schooled my son and sold my creations. It’s been a long and winding road, and I think I about got to the point of thinking the day would never come. I still kept the promise in mind and followed where I was led, but I also found myself running here and there trying all sorts of different things to “make” it happen instead of making it the primary focus and just doing it. I also faced the fears and blocks that I had in place that would keep me from doing it. Looking back, I think I really expected it to come from somewhere else. I was waiting for someone to show up and say “here ya’ go” and hand it to me.

The last three years were shifting as I tried to find others to help me accomplish this vision, and had excuse after excuse for not doing it, such as needing the perfect bus, needing a bunch of sponsors, needing a camera crew. In addition, I still had worries over what others would think (mostly family), and if things would be “okay”. Well, I finally came to a point of realizing I didn’t need any of that, and if I was doubting, I wasn’t truly having faith in where I was led. Those were just excuses. As soon as I decided to “just do it”, I was blessed with an amazing opportunity!

My faith has paid off…finally!! The day has come!

Thanks to Bill Sprangler at Roseislandphotos.com for the photos!

I think Cody had given up on the dream, too. His face was awesome when he realized it was ours. He screamed and couldn’t believe it.

I found this baby on Craigslist, and trekked all the way to Salem, Indiana to check it out and buy it.

The first thing we did was run out of gas. Just as Cody and I were giving each other high fives and reveling in our glee, the engine sputtered out. HA! This is going to be a lot of fun!

Lexington performer Mike Wright Conquers the roof at the Louisville Speak Easy

It is old, and it needs cosmetic work, but the engine is great! So, the first few episodes of our web show will be fixing it up!! I hope you’ll enjoy them!

Party in the RV- Roni Jonah, James Tackett, Avri hanging out at the RV unveiling at Louisville Speak Easy

I will be posting my web show here, while Cody will have one of his own at his site.

Here’s the thing. Our chariot needs a name. I’m asking YOU to vote! Vote for one of the options below OR make a suggestion of your own in the comments!

May we be a constant reminder to remain loyal to the truth your heart whispers to you. Our visions have no time line on when they will be realized. We often have certain blocks within ourselves that must be released before the visions can flow from our hearts into the world around us. Always follow your dream. I believe in you!

What is your suggestion for a name? Do you have a dream that you are creating? Where do you think our first road trip should be?

With the technology of today, you can know what is going on in thousands of people’s heads, but do you know what is going on in yours? With online status updates, you can know what is happening all over the world, but what is happening in your world right now? What do you want? What do you wish? How can you make it happen?

Spirit is always speaking. It just won’t shut up. Its chatter is everywhere. The answers are all there, all the time. We’re surrounded by them. So, I guess you should figure out exactly what it is that you want to know.

I was asked to speak to a college class Monday night, and it was quite an awesome experience. The teacher asked me what people can do when they’re surrounded by babble boxes all the time. (Televisions, radio, and other media).

My answer: turn them off. Just ten minutes a day of quiet can allow you to still yourself and begin to hear more of your own guiding voice. We have to learn to turn down the
“public haunt”.

Why do people have such a hard time doing this? In her song titled Sober, pop recording artist Pink says “The silence screams the truth.” She’s right. The voice of our inner guidance system is a quiet one. It’s subtle and it comes from deep, deep within.

It comes from such a deep place that it’s hard to hear amidst all the stuff floating on our surface that we’ve recently taken in from the stimuli around us unless we take a moment to be without external stimuli.

Why do people run from it? Why do people drink it away? Why are people so obstinate about listening? What is the voice saying that is so unpleasant anyways?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most people don’t want to hear it because they don’t feel like they are where they are supposed to be and the voice calls them to be what they love.

If we’ve put off listening to our inner guidance for quite some time, there may be a lot about ourselves that we don’t want to hear. It is saying “You are beautiful, shining, magnificent…what you want is okay. You really are a divine creature…just let go of these things that don’t really suit you”.

When the voice is pointing to something “ugly” ,“unpleasant”, or something that makes us cringe, it is showing us something that is holding us back: something we need to surrender and let go of. If we will just surrender and follow the guidance, we will find that it was what was keeping us from being the beautiful vision our heart believes we are. When we can hear the voice everywhere and realize that even trials and tribulations serve to bring us closer to our truest bliss and beauty, we truly can see the good in everything.

How do you still yourself? What is your method of prayer? Do you take time to be quiet everyday? Take the challenge: 10 minutes a day for 30 days. What happens? Leave me a comment and let me know – and tweet this or facebook it while you’re at it!

It’s where all the hearts of art are hiding this summer!

IT is every Thursday at Carly Rae’s, starting at 8 pm. There is no cover charge!

Drink Specials: $2.50 margaritas or throw your name in the plateful of grateful for a chance to win the blind pig! Winner gets five drinks for $1 each.

Third Thursday of every month, we choose a featured poet, musician, artist or filmmaker and pay a small stipend

If you’re in Louisville, Kentucky on a Thursday, come experience the magic of naked hearts sharing poetry, monologues, music, drum circling, jams, bellydancing and fellowship! Come warm yourselves by our heart fires!