blog

Sounds Good To Me

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:50:00 GMT

As my mother used to say: "wherever you go, there you are." Simple but true. You – your spirit, your being and, yes, even your stories – are with you no matter where your physical being happens to be.

But, what happens when we forget this? And our physical being is "showing up" in places that we don't really like or in situations that are truly challenging? And we ask, "Why is this happening TO me?" Well, e>v asks you to remember that everything that happens "out there" (physical world) is a reflection of what's happening "in here" (spiritual world). So, for today: what if we all commit to putting our inner house in order and watch what happens right outside the front door... Could be pretty rockin' ....

Or, as Esther Hicks says, "Spirit versus Material are not the choices. Everything about this physical manifestational experience is spiritual. It is all the end product of spirit. You have nothing to prove. Be the (e>v adds: "best") spiritual you and create like a physical fiend."

AHHH! Don't go in the house!!!

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:43:00 GMT

Life is where you go, dear friends, to temporarily believe in death, fleetingly forget your power, and briefly have the Dickens scared out of you, voluntarily. All in the name of adventure. - The Universe

(e>v says: Kinda sounds like sitting in the theatre watching a horror film, eh?! But don't forget, it's not so scary when you remember that it's all just make believe and that the monster is just a nice person in a mean costume and that, at any time at all, you can turn off your "lens" and see the world through a new perspective immediately. Who wants popcorn?)

Burn, Burn, Burn

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:15:00 GMT

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..." -Jack Kerouac

Adventure Awaits...

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:12:00 GMT

A great thought from a great artist ...

Life is Between the Trapeze Bars

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:25:00 GMT

This is a quote from a birthday card I got this year. And, after recently attending a performance by the amazing youth performing arts center, Circus Juventas, I realize more and more how this is true. And how our attitude makes all the difference.

As I watched these performers fly through the air, I sat with anticipation and anxiety. Will they catch each other? Will they make it? I was tense. Probably an OK state for me to be in as I was on the ground ... but the daredevils? High, high above the popcorn-littered floor? Tense was not an option. They all hung, swung and flew in complete ease and trust ... loose and languid ... focused and free. They knew, if they tensed up or held back, a disaster could happen. (Or at least a semi-embarrassing fall to the safety net.)

They all knew that life truly was happening right that very moment ... and they dove in. Literally. And that's what made all the difference.

Summer!!

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 23:41:00 GMT

Happy summer, friends! We at e>v have been so busy traveling that we've seriously neglected this blog. So sorry ... and, at the same time, not really as we've been having a blast. Camping. Road trips. Concerts. Oh my. And, there's so much more to come. The days are long, the sun is bright and our spirits are up. And you?

Just ... hello

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:39:00 GMT

Sorry to be MIA lately ... time flies when you're having fun.

And speaking of fun: Gretchen and I are heading into an upcoming weekend e>v getaway. And I'm in serious "Prep" mode .... You know that feeling: That excited, yet, holy shi# how am I going to get everything done in time to catch my flight? I'm in that space now, surrounded by papers and file on my desk. And it's only Tuesday. At least the birds are chirping a song to keep me on the move. I feel like a tech-happy Snow White.
More later.

Ahh.... I get it.

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:00:00 GMT

The gem I found in my inbox today from a favorite source: "Your emotion does not create. Emotion is your indicator of what you are already creating." I've posted this on Twitter, I've scribbled it on my notebook, I've sent it to my fella, I'm tattooing it on my hand so I remember, remember, remember: Emotion is our gauge of how we are BEING. Emotion lets us know if we're on course or off. Emotion informs us of what is or what is about to happen in our lives. Emotion is our crystal ball, our tuning fork, our own personal soothsayer. Emotion is our BFF who tells us we have broccoli in our teeth, who nudges us to act, who offers up her frank opinion on everything in our lives -- good and bad. Emotion rocks.

(How are you feeling -- or should I say BEING -- today as you travel through life?)

Ethically Adventurous

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:44:00 GMT

Hello travelers ... Elissa here. My friend Tim just sent me this link and I had to share it: ethicaltraveler.org. It's a cool site that helps adventurers of all kinds explore our world with a clean conscience and a pure heart. Sounds very evolutionary to me. A quote from their site sums up our kindred spirits and moves me to ... move! Check it out:

"I take very seriously the sense of our living these days in a global neighborhood. And the first sensible thing to do in such circumstances, as well as one of the most rewarding things, is to go and meet the neighbors, find out who they are, and what they think and feel. So travel for me is an act of discovery and of responsibility as well a grand adventure and a constant liberation." - Pico Iyer

Nice.

Let the Sun Shine...

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:41:00 GMT

On this theme of remembering (Elissa here) ... Remember your beauty. Remember your brilliance. Remember your importance. Remember your light. Remember that only you can do what you do ... and that the world is perfect because of it. Thanks to the daily note from The Universe to help bring this all home:
"Some people just have big hearts. And with this gift they're very often able to feel, offer, and show far more love than they receive from those around them. Which, at times, is a heavy load to bear. So today I'd like to remind them, and especially you, that the sun asks not that the moon and planets help brighten each day, but relishes her role as a keeper of the light and a bringer of the dawn. A role much like your own." Daaaang. Let that light shine, people.

Ownership

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:57:00 GMT

Hello Evolutionistas!

Elissa here ... Last night, Gretchen and I had a great meeting with a fun, new friend named Dana. (keep an eye out for her on this site ... you'll definitely be seeing more of her!)

Over our respective cocktails and gorgonzola/pear pizzas, we shared tales of travel, thoughts on the self and our respective opinions on the idea of Aliveness. And for me, I shared how, lately, this feeling of Aliveness has been seriously escaping me as I've traveled through my everyday life.

I shared how I've been feeling -- even in the midst of a brand new year and new intentions -- in a big, deep, frustrated-at-the-world rut. How I have recently gotten so into the grind and focused on the weeds and addicted to "working hard" that even I have seemed to miss out on the bigger picture, the e>vness of life, the essence of ALIVENESS.

And I was reminded again of how this ... all of life ... is a journey that ebbs and flows, starts and stops. And I was reminded again that the entire world is a projection of myself. And, I was reminded of how feeling alive -- when you're out of practice -- doesn't just come 'naturally' all the time. And I was reminded that I might actually need to REMEMBER to stay connected to my Aliveness...

And so, to you, to the world, to the universe, I make a declaration ... a New Year's Reclamation (as Gretchen calls it) to re-own my freedom, to reclaim my possibilities, to remember my purpose. So:

Today, I choose Aliveness. Today, I choose to feel good. Today, I choose to be brave. Today, I choose to let go. Today, I choose to be free. Like a parachute cord, Aliveness is always there, just waiting for me to grab it and pull. A reliable, never-lets-you-down, old friend...Aliveness is just waiting for me to grab its hand and fly through life, leaving my stories and excuses behind, trusting that I'm going to land in the right place, more exhilarated and empowered than ever. No matter where I am today, no matter what comes my way, I choose ALIVENESS.

(and how have you been feeling lately?)

So ... it's like watching a movie and trying to make the actors change what they're doing...

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:16:00 GMT

"(Your life) is about realization, not about changing anything. The world is as you perceive it to be. For me, clarity is a word for beauty. It's what I am. And when I'm clear, I see only beauty. Nothing else is possible. I am mind perceiving my thoughts, and everything unfolds from that, as if it were a new solar system pouring itself out in its delight. If I'm not clear, then I'm going to project all my craziness out onto the world, as the world, and I'll perceive a crazy world and think that it is the problem. We've been working on the projected image for thousands of years and not on the projector. That's why life seems to be chaotic ... But when you meet your thoughts with understanding, the world changes. It has to change, because the projector of the entire world is you. You're it!" -Byron Katie, Loving What Is

Be / Do / Know

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:37:00 GMT

"Take the time to line up the Energy first, and action becomes inconsequential. If you don't take the time to line up the Energy, if you don't find the feeling place of what you're looking for, not enough action in the world will make any difference." -Abraham

Elissa here. Going to meditate on this quote all day in light of new intentions for this new year ... Just like we say at e>v: "Be" first, then "Do" ... What a wonderful reminder.

All the Hemispheres

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:30:00 GMT

Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out

Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadows and shores and hills.

Open up to the Roof.
Make a new water mark on your excitement
And love.

Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And giving
Upon our intimate assembly.

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart.

Greet Yourself
In your thousand other forms
As you mount the hidden tide and travel
Back home.

All the hemispheres in heaven
Are sitting around a fire
Chatting

While stitching themselves together
Into the Great Circle inside of
You.

~Hafiz

No Guru, No Method, No Teacher?

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:11:00 GMT

Bit of a break in travel stories to bring you this bit of poetic goodness from Persian poet Hafiz:

The words guru, swami, super swami, master,
teacher, yogi, murshid, priest -- most of those
sporting such a title are just peacocks.

The litmus test is to hold them upside down
over a cliff for a few hours. If they don't wet
their pants ... maybe you found a real one.

And, maybe you don't need to look outside of you...regardless of whether or not you'd wet your pants.