I woke up with some feelings today, people. Feelings that were spurred by some recent FaceBook posts that have entered my "wall". 

These are posts that seem self-righteous to me. I am right, you are wrong. Women rule, Men drool, etc. "It's not my job to educate you on feminism."

Yikes. We are hitting nerves all over the place these days. And I feel like we are highlighting, more and more, our separateness, when in reality, we are interconnected.

Ever since last election, I have been feeling heightened energies of duality in the air. All this Us versus Them stuff.  And I feel it myself. I find it hard to seek common ground when I'm met with such opposition, such difference in opinion or perspective from my own. I do have a sense that I am "right" or that my views are somehow more educated, more evolved, more... well, more. Better.

I think that's why these recent posts are irking me so much. They are posted by people who I share political and spiritual leanings with. These are my people. Or are they? Because if I am really working towards the reality I want, all people are my people. Even the ones I don't like. Maybe especially the ones I don't like. 

So today, I invite you to notice. Are you activated (either angered, rattled, or giving an energetic "Hell ya!") by something you come into contact today? OK, so you are activated. Stirred.

What is it moving you to do?

​Move forward. With compassion. Let me know how it goes.

I had a coffee date today with someone who I haven't seen in a while. Let's call her Sarah, for the sake of keeping the innocent innocent.
Sarah and I have a weird relationship; maybe a bit tenuous. We don't speak the same language. She pushes my buttons and I'm sure I push hers. So we don't get together a lot. Once in a while, I guess to keep the relationship going. I'm not sure, actually. I think I might look a little bit more closely at that.

So we were talking about this and that: kids, weather, weekend plans. And then the subject of my (unfinished) kitchen came up. I always feel a little activated when people ask me about my kitchen, or the state of my house in general. The wife of a builder, we joke that the home is always in some state of remodeling (read: disrepair). So I get antsy when people ask, a little embarrassed, and I start to wonder if people think I'm not trying hard enough, I'm not good at follow through, I'm general crap, etcetera.

But actually the truth about the kitchen is that our refinance (and equity loan) fell through. Long story. Guilt attached. We'll get to that on one of these blog posts someday soon. So it turned into a financial discussion.

I'll just say it - I have some financial blocks. I'm working through them. (If you have ideas on working through financial blocks, please email me!!

Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.
~ Walt Whitman

Well ok, then.

I am reading this book by Rebecca Campbell called "Light is the New Black". I am so enjoying it, as it talks about looking to your light within and then letting it shine. It is the recurring theme in the books I have been reading over the last year or so. More on that later. Anyhow, one of the things that Rebecca mentions in the books is the pitfalls that prevent us from shining as bright as possible. Right now.

And one of the things on the list? Naming it.

Shit. My last post was fricken' called "Name It".

I love naming things. Having a word that helps to describe what's going on. It's like once you know the illness, the treatment is possible. Naming something, owning it, moving forward. But sometimes, as Rebecca so kindly reminds us, having to Name something can be a big, fat roadblock to moving through it.

So when it comes to how you are feeling in this moment - what is moving through you? Notice that. Notice what's happening in your body. And maybe, rather than naming it, you ask yourself: "What do I need right now to heal this feeling?"

This morning, I woke up from a dream where someone had stolen my laptop, phone, wallet, and journal. And what did I do in the dream? I railed against the Universe. I cried and carried on and hollered. The night before last, I dreamt about my kids, and woke up in a cold sweat, thinking "I need to be more compassionate!" What  are these dreams trying to tell me, I wondered.

Anxiety. (yes, I named it) I woke up scared both days.

So this morning, Rebecca Campbell's words travelling through my heart, and rather than dwelling in my mind of "What am I so fearful of?" "What's going on with me?" I asked myself "What can I do right now to heal my fear?"

'Move,' the Universe whispered to me.

So I moved my body, stretched my hamstrings and my belly, listened to my breath.

And holy shit, I felt better. So I'm sharing it. No you don't have to name everything. You can be curious about what's going on for you. Curious about what might help and then do that thing. You are on the right track. And me too. Thanks, Rebecca!

One of the most valuable things we can do as we are learning to truly process emotions is naming them.

What is this sensation? What does this feel like? What do I call it?

Only once we've named it can we begin to understand what it is about. I often found myself stuck at this phase. I had a hard time identifying if I was angry or sad.

Below is a grid of emotions, similar to a grid that a therapist gave me in the past. This one was found at: https://aliciateacher2.wordpress.com/grammar/adjectives/