Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Some Medical Jokes
Just came across an old book of mine, and found some good jokes worth sharing I think..#1Nurse: "Doctor, doctor - the man you just treated collapsed on the front step! What should I do?"Doctor: "Turn him around so it looks like he was just arriving!"#2A patient called his dentist to inquire about the price of extracting a tooth."250 dollars," The dentist said.The patient was shocked, "What? 250
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Charity: Water
Water Changes Everything. from charity: water on Vimeo..Time flies! It's been almost 4 months since my birthday campaign for the Charity: Water. Just watched their latest video - the same message - to gather everyone's effort to bring safe and clean water to those who most need it.I just donated again. You? ;)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Reason behind the Kindness?
Specialist is giving bedside teaching to a group of medical students.At a patient's bedside,Specialist: "This patient has very interesting heart murmur. You all can take turn to listen to it," He then put his stethoscope diaphragm at the valve area, and passes the earpiece to one of the students.So the students took turn to listen to it. The last student, after listening, took out an alcohol swab
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Running in Circles
A lot of people might be surprised to hear that my mantras include: do less, be a be student, what can you let go of? I do a lot. I'm juggling more projects, in more capacities than sometimes seems humanly possible.
Here's just a partial list. Project Managing a volunteer effort for Taproot Foundation. Submitting art and installation proposals for 3 upcoming shows. Planning Kirtanarama, 3 days of global chant at FIGMENT, on Governor's Island. Painting 3 rooms. Reclaiming old gardens. Planting a vegetable garden. Planning a workshop with Karuna project founder, Claudia Coenen. Preparing to start an MFA program. Working on redesign of two websites.
Each of these could qualify as a full time job. And while it often looks (and) feels like I'm spinning around in circles, a circle is a sacred space, a container, a basket.
So, how do I do it?
I give myself permission to do what I feel like first. And for only as much time as I feel like. The things I may need to do, but don't feel like doing, go to the bottom of my list. And when I do get to them, I give myself just 5 minutes to start. Then, I have a choice as to whether I want to continue or not. (Creativity Coach Marianne Mullen calls it choice management.)
Most often, the distastefulness of the task at hand is so diminished by the 5 minute marker, that I'm happy to continue and complete. This works especially well for me with health insurance claims and other form filing minutae that make me slightly crazy. But it works for projects I'm passionate about too, that seem difficult to start for lack of time. Making art is great, creating proposals to make art, not so much.
If this all sounds counter productive to you, just give it a try when you are feeling less than inspired. See what works for you.
May your day be filled with the Magic Medicine of running, hopping, skipping and jumping in the sacred circles of your choosing.
Here's just a partial list. Project Managing a volunteer effort for Taproot Foundation. Submitting art and installation proposals for 3 upcoming shows. Planning Kirtanarama, 3 days of global chant at FIGMENT, on Governor's Island. Painting 3 rooms. Reclaiming old gardens. Planting a vegetable garden. Planning a workshop with Karuna project founder, Claudia Coenen. Preparing to start an MFA program. Working on redesign of two websites.
Each of these could qualify as a full time job. And while it often looks (and) feels like I'm spinning around in circles, a circle is a sacred space, a container, a basket.
So, how do I do it?
I give myself permission to do what I feel like first. And for only as much time as I feel like. The things I may need to do, but don't feel like doing, go to the bottom of my list. And when I do get to them, I give myself just 5 minutes to start. Then, I have a choice as to whether I want to continue or not. (Creativity Coach Marianne Mullen calls it choice management.)
Most often, the distastefulness of the task at hand is so diminished by the 5 minute marker, that I'm happy to continue and complete. This works especially well for me with health insurance claims and other form filing minutae that make me slightly crazy. But it works for projects I'm passionate about too, that seem difficult to start for lack of time. Making art is great, creating proposals to make art, not so much.
If this all sounds counter productive to you, just give it a try when you are feeling less than inspired. See what works for you.
May your day be filled with the Magic Medicine of running, hopping, skipping and jumping in the sacred circles of your choosing.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Down Time
Today I am sharing a post from creativity coach Paula Chaffee Scardamalia's newsletter.
I met Paula at the Creativity Coaching Association Conference in Lake George this past October. I love the daily tarot readings she posts on Facebook. And her Divine Muse-ings Newsletter is a rich source of inspiration. And reflection...
Reclaiming Sacred Time for Rest and Renewal
This past weekend, I sat at lunch with some tarot friends and colleagues, listening to a discussion about the evergreen issue of overwhelm and time management.
One woman mentioned that she's developed a practice of taking one day a week to do nothing, not even get dressed or engage with other people if it doesn't suit her. She started it as a monthly renew and refresh day but became so enamored of it that she now does it weekly. Another woman at the table thought that was a great idea and perhaps she could try it once a month.
I found the conversation amusing and bemusing at the same time. Amusing because, of course, this isn't a new idea, it is the traditional religious idea of a Sabbath. Many different religious sects have a Sabbath, some in order to rest as the god or goddess did, and others in order to have time to pray or honor the appropriate deity.
I was bemused by our discussion because the real issue is not one of discovering or creating a time of rest, but how we lost it in the first place.
Very few of us practice a "Sabbat" of any kind nowadays, especially those of us who are creatives or creative entrepreneurs. Like moms, our work is never done. The fact that many of us work from home means that our work is never more than a few steps away, hanging over us like dire black birds, cawing to us of the work that MUST get done.
And just in case we don't hear them, then our cell phones and laptops are sure to relay the message, even when we manage to schedule time away for a vacation.
Of course, we also feel responsible about meeting everyone's needs, especially those of our clients, fans or supporters. So naturally we work through the weekend to meet a last-minute demand for a project or give up our quiet meditation time to take an early phone appointment.
And there goes our Sabbath, our sabbat, our time away for rest and renewal.
In Ciro Marchetti's deck, the Four of Swords speaks clearly to us about this issue. In a chapel-like space lit by a stained glass window with the Greek symbol, Chi Rho, the symbol for Christ, a man rests on four swords. A raven (death, the soul) flies over him with two poppies in its beak, one red (love, life) and one white (purity, rebirth). Notice that the Swords, the suit of the mind, thoughts and communication, point down.
This card implies a rest or retreat from the stresses of the mind. The worries and concerns, the swords, aren't gone, just at rest, like the man.
I think it's important to notice that this rest occurs in a sacred space. Sleep and rest aren't just biological needs but also sacred acts. When we sleep, we dream and within our dreams, we receive guidance and inspiration, insight and foresight. When we take time to meditate, to slow down and daydream or to let our minds wander, we restore and rebalance our emotional, mental, and spiritual energies as well as our physical ones.
Just as importantly, our creativity is restored.
Rest, retreat and renewal are not special treats that we can put off until we "have time." They are something that is intrinsically necessary to our well-being.
So how can you make time for rest and renewal, for your personal sabbat?
You can start in small ways. You can take an occasional nap. Or you can start your day off with 15 minutes of meditation, or journaling, or with just sipping a cup of tea and staring out the window.
Learn to take time away from your technology buddies, your cell phone and laptop. Turn off the TV and even your music.
Then increase that 15 minutes to a half hour or more. Or make your weekend a time away from your weekly work. Like developing a muscle, carving out time for rest and renewal may become easier the more you do it. Then those flowers of love, life, and rebirth can be received.
Tired? Overwhelmed? Creatively depleted? Take some time for rest and renewal. After all, the sacred day of rest never left us. We left it. So what can you do today to return to a sacred time of rest and renewal?
© Copyright 2009, 2010, Paula Chaffee Scardamalia
Intuitive and creativity coach Paula Chaffee Scardamalia publishes Divine Muse-ings, a weekly ezine. If you want to connect with your Muse for an inspired, gutsy and productive life, sign up at: www.diviningthemuse.com
About Paula: As a creativity coach and intuitive, Paula Chaffee Scardamalia uses dreams, tarot, rituals, and journals to connect writers with the Muse, an unending source of inspiration and guidance and then helps them create a plan to move from Muse to manifestation, from dream to reality.
I met Paula at the Creativity Coaching Association Conference in Lake George this past October. I love the daily tarot readings she posts on Facebook. And her Divine Muse-ings Newsletter is a rich source of inspiration. And reflection...
Reclaiming Sacred Time for Rest and Renewal
This past weekend, I sat at lunch with some tarot friends and colleagues, listening to a discussion about the evergreen issue of overwhelm and time management.
One woman mentioned that she's developed a practice of taking one day a week to do nothing, not even get dressed or engage with other people if it doesn't suit her. She started it as a monthly renew and refresh day but became so enamored of it that she now does it weekly. Another woman at the table thought that was a great idea and perhaps she could try it once a month.
I found the conversation amusing and bemusing at the same time. Amusing because, of course, this isn't a new idea, it is the traditional religious idea of a Sabbath. Many different religious sects have a Sabbath, some in order to rest as the god or goddess did, and others in order to have time to pray or honor the appropriate deity.
I was bemused by our discussion because the real issue is not one of discovering or creating a time of rest, but how we lost it in the first place.
Very few of us practice a "Sabbat" of any kind nowadays, especially those of us who are creatives or creative entrepreneurs. Like moms, our work is never done. The fact that many of us work from home means that our work is never more than a few steps away, hanging over us like dire black birds, cawing to us of the work that MUST get done.
And just in case we don't hear them, then our cell phones and laptops are sure to relay the message, even when we manage to schedule time away for a vacation.
Of course, we also feel responsible about meeting everyone's needs, especially those of our clients, fans or supporters. So naturally we work through the weekend to meet a last-minute demand for a project or give up our quiet meditation time to take an early phone appointment.
And there goes our Sabbath, our sabbat, our time away for rest and renewal.
In Ciro Marchetti's deck, the Four of Swords speaks clearly to us about this issue. In a chapel-like space lit by a stained glass window with the Greek symbol, Chi Rho, the symbol for Christ, a man rests on four swords. A raven (death, the soul) flies over him with two poppies in its beak, one red (love, life) and one white (purity, rebirth). Notice that the Swords, the suit of the mind, thoughts and communication, point down.
This card implies a rest or retreat from the stresses of the mind. The worries and concerns, the swords, aren't gone, just at rest, like the man.
I think it's important to notice that this rest occurs in a sacred space. Sleep and rest aren't just biological needs but also sacred acts. When we sleep, we dream and within our dreams, we receive guidance and inspiration, insight and foresight. When we take time to meditate, to slow down and daydream or to let our minds wander, we restore and rebalance our emotional, mental, and spiritual energies as well as our physical ones.
Just as importantly, our creativity is restored.
Rest, retreat and renewal are not special treats that we can put off until we "have time." They are something that is intrinsically necessary to our well-being.
So how can you make time for rest and renewal, for your personal sabbat?
You can start in small ways. You can take an occasional nap. Or you can start your day off with 15 minutes of meditation, or journaling, or with just sipping a cup of tea and staring out the window.
Learn to take time away from your technology buddies, your cell phone and laptop. Turn off the TV and even your music.
Then increase that 15 minutes to a half hour or more. Or make your weekend a time away from your weekly work. Like developing a muscle, carving out time for rest and renewal may become easier the more you do it. Then those flowers of love, life, and rebirth can be received.
Tired? Overwhelmed? Creatively depleted? Take some time for rest and renewal. After all, the sacred day of rest never left us. We left it. So what can you do today to return to a sacred time of rest and renewal?
© Copyright 2009, 2010, Paula Chaffee Scardamalia
Intuitive and creativity coach Paula Chaffee Scardamalia publishes Divine Muse-ings, a weekly ezine. If you want to connect with your Muse for an inspired, gutsy and productive life, sign up at: www.diviningthemuse.com
About Paula: As a creativity coach and intuitive, Paula Chaffee Scardamalia uses dreams, tarot, rituals, and journals to connect writers with the Muse, an unending source of inspiration and guidance and then helps them create a plan to move from Muse to manifestation, from dream to reality.
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