I’d love for you to join tonight’s bi-monthly Self Made community call. Historically, these calls have been recovery support calls, however; as the community continues to evolve, so do the topics. These calls are a great way to ground the skills and teachings I share in the monthly Life Design Skills Sessions, and to get to know me and the community.
What to expect: A brief grounding exercise; a journal prompt; a discussion. An hour spent with fellow comrades on the path. An opportunity to remember how much bright goodness still exists.
February’s topic is Changing the Way you THINK: an Introduction to Thoughtwork → The problem with most attempts at self-development is that it has you focus solely on changing your actions. When you change your actions but don’t change the thoughts and feelings behind those actions, a gap opens between any success you might be reaching, and an inner experience that despite all evidence to the contrary has you continuing to feel shitty. It becomes difficult, if not impossible, to see real change. → In February's session, I'll teach the fundamentals of THOUGHTWORK, a self-coaching tool that will help you shift your inner experience so that the voice in your head becomes more helpful than harmful. → During the session, you'll apply this information and "workshop" a shitty thought pattern. → All are welcome! If you’re already familiar with this tool, this is a great opportunity to revisit. One of the best parts of these workshops is the resource shares and suggestions that open up between us. → All are welcome! → There will be a recording - so please sign up even if you can’t make it live. (Wednesday, 2/12, 9am-10am PST, FREE)
It is said that before entering the sea a river trembles with fear. She looks back at the path she has traveled, from the peaks of the mountains, the long winding road crossing forests and villages. And in front of her, she sees an ocean so vast, that to enter there seems nothing more than to disappear forever. But there is no other way. The river can not go back. Nobody can go back. To go back is impossible in existence. The river needs to take the risk of entering the ocean because only then will fear disappear, because that’s where the river will know it’s not about disappearing into the ocean, but of becoming the ocean.
I'm deep in a writing project that is taking up all of my attention and time (can’t wait to share more soon) so I don’t have a ton of words leftover, BUT!—considering the events of yesterday, there is one small thing I’d like to offer (and this is specific to my American readers, though perhaps this will be relevant to more of you considering that the whole damn world feels pretty nutty at the moment).
Ever since the presidential election in November, a lot of what I’ve been seeing buzzing around online is a directive to BRACE OURSELVES, ostensibly, for all the chaos that is coming from this new (?) administration.
On one hand, this makes sense: a lot of Very Bad Shit is sure to happen, and none of us want to be blindsided.
However: I for one refuse to spend the next four years (at least) in a posture of bracing. Not only is this not an effective strategy for anything, but also, my nervous system simply could not sustain it. And if we’re going to come together and embody a different future, we need to include the health of our nervous systems (we need to nurture the health of the collective body).
There are plenty of people far smarter than me writing about this moment and how to meet it. My humble contribution is this: rather than bearing down and bracing, our efforts would be better spent learning to move, bend, and adapt so that we can create something new. No leader is going to fix this - can we finally let die the dream that some unifying figure surely is on their way to unite all that divides us and forge a saner path forward?
We are the path forward. We have to save ourselves, and each other. We have all the power to do so; now is the time we claim it.
I know things feel so dark right now. I know there are truly important things that need our attention and focus and disobedience. But demagogues be damned - they cannot put consciousness back in a bottle. There is no “going back to the way things were.”
I’m going to save my bearing down and bracing for when this next phase of human consciousness and evolution that is being born finally shunts through the cosmic birth canal and comes to fruition.
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At SELF MADE, the game is to uncover your essential self so you can design a rebellious, bold, on-purpose life that is an expression of who you really are and what you really want.Posts are written by me, Dani Cirignano, writer, Integral Coach, and recovery guide based in San Francisco, CA.
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