Abraham-My Own Personal Snow Day

Both photos from an exhibit at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. I thought I would remember the very interesting artist's name. I've researched and can't even track it down.

I must congratulate myself for something I find myself doing more often these days. Lemons to lemonade. Or maybe it's thinking about lemonade when I could be thinking lemons.* Or maybe it's just softening my vision a little when I view something "real" and let in the knowing that there may be more to the situation than meets the eye. I know Abraham often speaks of focusing or sharpening focus, but with "reality", I think it may be good to blur things a little or step back enough so the focus isn't so sharp.


I worked on Monday. Mostly my day was blissful and I had one contrasty class with a heavy dose of bliss as seasoning. I knew about this job ahead of time and I don't think the sub robot even called me. So I did think it was odd when the robot called on Friday requesting me for the same teacher the following Wednesday, which was yesterday. It turned out to be a mistake. I had turned down two full-day jobs on Wednesday. Yes, I got paid for a half-day because of the mistake (I actually stayed and worked since I was already up and dressed and eager to see kids), but I noticed throughout the morning that I had begun to think about those two jobs like they were a better option. I could see where that line of thinking would take me and, wouldn't you know it, Abraham had just asked the question, "Would you rather be right or would you rather feel good?" on the CD I'd been listening to in the car on the way to school.


Many in my situation would feel wronged and most would agree it was justified. I could have chosen to go there and I could have called it another Step One clarifying moment. Instead, when I heard those thoughts knocking at the back door, I  said, just loudly enough to drown them out, "I don't have to think about that right now," and went on with what I was doing. 


Besides, teachers are a lot like students. When we're let out of school unexpectedly, we don't mind. In fact there were a lot of disappointed teachers because there had been so much talk of a snow day that never materialized for them and here I was getting half a snow day in a way. 


I decided to make a bold move. I pointed my car South and called a friend who works downtown. She wasn't available, but was happy I'd called. I called another friend who works across town with her family and she said to come on over. I was envisioning a cup of tea and a look at our schedules to make future plans. It was 11am and I had a 3:30 appointment and pleasantly vague plan to pick up some organic veggies in her neighborhood. This would be fun. When I arrived at this very beautiful home, I was surprised to see that her mom, who is usually hard at work during the day, was at home with a cold. My friend and I coffee-klatched in the kitchen for a while and I was going to make myself scarce right after my cuppa so that they could get on with their day. I am so lucky to have this friend. She is fairly new to Abraham, but she is just a phenomenal woman and is seemingly absorbing the knowledge through her pores. So it's fun to have someone with whom to be completely open on the subject. She also played me some beautiful music she had recorded for me and we danced just a little which, of course, releases resistance and raises the vibration. What I love about this particular friend is her ability to have fun. She loves to laugh and we did plenty of that. Since both she and her mom were there, the work that they do was halved and there was space for conversation. Her mom joined us and the conversation just soared. We laughed and listened to each other's stories, though I'm sure I told the bulk of them. We just enjoyed each other's company. It was moving and uplifting and FUN! I would say that we all got into the Vortex at the same time and when I left there I was just buzzing with good energy.


I made it to my appointment with little time to spare. I did some pre-paving on the way, because this was my second appointment with an occupational therapist to work on creating ease and flow in my right wrist. I also realized that the "stim" they do on my wrist takes 15 minutes and so do the Abraham meditations, which I have put on my Blackberry, so I had brought along my earphones in preparation. I do the stim before I work with the OT, so I was in a good space when she brought her lovely self into the room. The wonderful thing about these treatments is that I get to meet very interesting people and to chat with them, and I really liked this woman's vibe. It had occurred to me that I might want to change the steps of the typical patient-practitioner dance. I sensed she was someone I could ask to envision me as well and to see my tendon as lithe and freely-moving in its sheath. I gave her the invitation and she accepted it. We had a lovely conversation and spoke of many things: of shoes--and ships--and sealing wax....she even told me about this:


http://www.sandfantasy.com/

which tells you that she and I are on the same page. 


I listened to the new CD on my way to and from the appointment and, as often happens, found a song I became obsessed with. I deny any firsthand knowledge of headbanging, but I am most appreciative of certain shredding metal solos--they just do something to me. After some research, I found that this guitar god was none other than Kirk Hammett of Metallica. He's featured on this cut "If Rap Gets Jealous" by the wonderful Somalian poet and hip-hop artist, K'Naan. The hot solo comes at the end of the song and if you're going for the full experience TURN IT UP AND DANCE:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhDGkGCOaxs 


And here is a mellower K'Naan with Tracy Chapman:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQvNJvHSKPc


A fully fun day that led into a nice sleeping experience. No surprise that I awakened with lots of new ideas. Here's one:


I'm going to be aware of my thoughts during routines that often are rife with Step One moments. Routines like dressing, grooming, looking in mirrors. I'm sometimes hurrying through these activities and I know the negative thinking is there, because some of the negative emotion and the sensations of activation are there, though it's can be very subtle. Perhaps, I thought, I could turn these times into opportunities for deliberate creation. I could choose what to think about and see where those thoughts lead me. Choose the subject, don't let the subject choose me, I thought. 


I decided then, to think on purpose this morning as I was showering and applying toner and moisturizer and readying my skin for cosmetics and applying them and drying my hair, etc. I chose to think about reading "Animal Farm" to the young man earlier this week. I basked in those thoughts long enough so that other thoughts like them began rushing in, only these were new thoughts. Ideas about how to introduce students to their autonomic nervous systems and their triune brains with games and activities. So many ideas that I had to switch to a larger notebook to contain them at one point. And it was fun to think about and they were stimulating and creative ideas. 


And as I was writing this, I got a call from a delightful woman I met a while back who has a great interest in Peter Levine and Somatic Experiencing, and we're making plans. So there you have it. Getting into the Vortex creates all kinds of unexpected and wonderful things to materialize in your life.


The Vortex Diary started as an experiment in documenting just what happens when I deliberately get into the Vortex on a regular basis. Here's what is true for me:


I get in more often.
I stay longer.
When I'm out, it's easier to get back in.
Because now if I'm not in, I'm at least in the neighborhood.



*I actually like the taste of lemons and often don't find them that sour. 

Abraham-11111 & Getting Into the Vortex Meditation CD

Giant sculptural twig ball in ultra-modern
concrete planter outside a Madrid hotel.

I love the alignment I'm feeling these days and I love numbers lining up as well. So today's date just sends me. I wasn't sure I'd be working today. I'm already doing a MWF thing in one school, so I slept in a little and made preparations so that I could get out the door on time in case the little substitute robot called. So kind of late, I was called to a school way across town to work in an EGC (Emotional Growth Center), where kids who have behavioral or social adjustment issues spend parts of their day. I got there a few minutes late, couldn't find the room right away, so got there just as the bell rang. But the cool thing about special programs is that the support staff really knows the ropes and generally runs the show and the teacher of record is sometimes there just as window dressing. The main gal is someone I'd worked with in the past and I knew she was good with kids so I was pretty happy. 


It turned out better than I'd expected; this was a day filled with gifts initially disguised as scowling teenagers. I got to work one-on-one with several young people, one of whom had intense activation patterns that look like severe obstinance, excuse-making, loudness and rude behavior. (I'm using the non-Abraham vocab that you might see or hear about such a child.) Because of my two passions, Abraham and Somatic Experiencing, I tend to see kids very differently than many educators and even quite differently than I saw them in the past. PTSD causes people to feel overwhelmed, angry, hopeless and frustrated. They also become controlling and overly sensitive and able to find the negative in any situation. Put all that into a teenage body, add hormones and then try to get them to do work that overwhelms, angers and frustrates them, which then makes them feel hopeless and you've got quite a day ahead of you. I could see that this place had their own way of dealing with these issues and I could sense that maybe things had gotten a little stale. I decided to observe and step in where I could. I won't go into too many particulars, but I got into the Vortex while reading "Animal Farm" to a generally pessimistic young person who had an avowed aversion to reading or being read to. This student subsequently wrote a short, clear synopsis of the first chapter and read the second chapter in English class. I hear this is unusual. I used my connection to Source and my functional autonomic nervous system to "hold" a space for these kids to be who they really are. I didn't react to cussing, rolling eyes or various other behaviors that many people can't stand, because I know how utterly wonderful these kids are and how much contrast they've already experienced. And perhaps the coolest thing I know is this: THESE KIDS ARE DOING JUST FINE. They all have their own Vortexes (Vortices, I suppose). Just ask them about their:
-dogs
-cats
-horses
-guitars
-music
-favorite sports


You will see lit-up faces and smiles coming from within as they talk about what they love. Oh, they are precious.


At the end of the day, the woman who runs the place said, "We didn't have to send one kid out into the hall today for poor behavior. Everyone was really on-task."


One beaming heart coupled with one stable nervous system is just so powerful. And I find it energizing. And fun. And satisfying. Hooray.


It was snowing at the end of the school day, so I canceled an appointment that would have left me on possibly slushy roads in rush hour. I had that "snow day" freedom feeling and stopped for a cup of tea and a snack. The place I visited is known for its wholesome young staff and when I walked in the cashier was protesting as her cute guy co-worker was loudly and repeatedly referring to her as "from the Bay Area". 


"Where are you from?" I asked, and she answered that she was from Northern California. 


I told her I'd lived in Redding and her eyes widened. She hails from Ono, a small town near there, and I was living, breathing corroboration of her NorCal identity. 


He (cute co-worker) wasn't giving up so easily. He yelled Bay Area at her a few more times. She and I used facts about mileage and distance to combat him. I got my tea and sat down near some of the cashier's college classmates deeply embroiled in a wedding discussion. While she did sidework in our area, the cashier began describing the hunter green frock she was due to sport at an upcoming wedding. Yeesh, hunter green, I thought. And the cut of the dress sounded awful, too. I sympathized with her and got involved in the conversation. Yes, it really did sound like a bad dress and when you added the poufy lace  at the bottom you had to wonder what the bride was thinking. Hunter green, I asked. Really?(Turns out the family is very outdoorsy.) At least it's not camouflage, I offered. We hooted and hollered over even more bizarre possibilities that made a satin hunter green lacy A-line with a horizontal detail across the widest part of the hip a preferable alternative.


Then cute co-worker told a story of messing with the heads of some middle-schoolers who had come rushing in earlier shouting, "SNOW! SNOW!"


"What snow?" he asked them.


"Can't you see it? It's snowing! Just look out the window!"


"I don't know what you guys are talking about," he dead-panned.


And so on. For quite some time. To the point that one girl went outside to collect snow on her clothing (it was Oregon-style, non-sticking snow so she couldn't actually pick it up).


Then after they'd gone through middle-schoolish caniptions to prove the snow and were on their way out the door, cute co-worker yelled, "HEY, YOU GUYS, IT'S SNOWING!" 


I realized I'd been swept into the Vortex and thanked all those wonderful young people for the fun.


I hadn't had time to meditate before work and I found myself eager to get to Day 3 of the "Getting Into the Vortex" routine that Abraham recommends. I fed the cat and hurried to the living room to plug headphones into my Blackberry and listen. There are four 15-minute meditations: General Well-Being, Financial Well-Being, Physical Well-Being and Relationships. Abraham asks that you read the section in the book on General Well-Being before you begin to use the CD. And that the first week you should listen to the four meditations in order, one per day. To be honest, on the previous two days, I had felt that my breathing was a little forced. I read that the breathing was very important and that it was carefully timed with the music to be a shorter inhale followed by a very long exhale. Abraham says "Breathe in. Breathe out," throughout the CD. I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but today I got the rhythm and began enjoying that aspect. They say that it's not necessary or even desirable to concentrate on the words. It's about allowing and letting go of resistance. I do recall Abraham saying that evidence of alignment and lowering resistance would begin to show up immediately. Scowling teens, bad bridesmaid dresses and messing with middle-school heads sandwiched between layers of laughter and positive regard are perfect signs of my own personal alignment. Cuz that's just how I roll, people.

Abraham-Late Night Vortex

Really cool lounge chairs at the Frankfurt airport. And that's my carry-on, which I always see in my mind's eye as "carrion". The word, not the luggage.

Yeah, I don't think I should be up at 11:49 starting to blog, either, but here I am. I worked two half days in a row--both cooking classes and got off work around 3 today. I had done a lot of cleaning at home in the morning after I meditated, so I'd been on my feet from about 7-10, then went to work and stood from 11-3 and went shopping until 5, so I now realize I was on my feet for 10 hours straight. No wonder my dogs were barking. I couldn't swim until at least 7 because of a water aerobics class that uses the whole pool and dinner was important and my partner made a wonderful roasted pepper and tofu dish with cumin, and perfectly roasted some halved potatoes (Vortex food), which we ate around 6:30. I ate moderately, but wasn't feeling the pool right after I ate. 


Besides, we had to finish "Io Sono L'Amore", which was absolutely spectacular! I would call this a film, not a movie. There is a scene where Tilda Swinton is walking through San Remo in an orange dress that matches the begonias that match the car parked on the street. Then a woman passes through the frame in fuschia dress that matches the geraniums and all this is in contrast with the gorgeous stone buildings that are very lovingly shot. Oh, my! Vortex-worthy mise-en-scene. And the sex scenes: FANTASTICALLY VORTEXY SEXY. I like it when a director shows as much of the man's body as the woman's. I watched "Io Sono L'Amore" twice (the second time to see what the director was doing) and I will rent it again to get another impression and to watch the special features, which I did not have time for. I hope there is a director-narrated version, because that will be Vortex material, indeed. To see pictures of director, Luca Guadagnino, Edoardo Gabriellini and Ms. Swinton, go here:


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0345174/

So, all of me got in the Vortex except my feet. (I'm claiming an in-the-Vortex status, because I heard on an Abraham CD that it's good to do that even if you're in and out or on the edge. Just claim it. I like that.) I don't know if I'm working tomorrow, but up to now when my feet hurt at night and I don't do something, they kinda don't feel their prime in the morning. But, I didn't really want to go to all the trouble of getting to the pool. My partner and I had been chatting and time was slipping by and I was yawning and feeling very beddish. But then it dawned upon me that the video was due tonight before midnight and the video store is right across the street from the pool. I did some mental gymnastics and fought the idea of going swimming so late, but I really did have the desire for the feeling of being in the water and experiencing its silky envelopment. My partner and I negotiated a bit and then I gave in to the call of the water and off I went, reaching the water at exactly 10 PM. I love it when I start my exercise exactly on the hour, too. I find it very aligning. 


It took me a while to warm up. My shoulders and back were actually chilly as I swam, but the water began working its magic on me. I've recently been able to get back to doing the crawl and that is such a gift. I've been doing mainly kicking in the last several months and an interesting stroke I learned from an Olympic swimmer from the 1940's who lifeguarded at the downtown Portland YWCA decades back. It's a butterfly kick with breast stroke arms and it's a really cool stroke. I was the only swimmer and the only pool occupant until 30 minutes into my routine when a guy got in and did a walking workout. I had brought my Yoga Toes with me:


http://www.yogapro.com/?gclid=CNve2oTYp6YCFRBzgwodNgd5pA

and would normally put them on in the hot tub. I haven't used them in a long time--I sometimes forget I have them--and the hot tub use is how I've always done it in the past. But I had a brainstorm while I swam. I could actually wear them while I did my water weights. I have tried to wear them while I swim, but they fall off. I like to wear them for about a half-hour because my feet look so aligned for some time afterward and also feel really good. So I did wear them standing up in the pool; I kept them on as I walked to the hot tub and since I was the only person in the hot tub, I left the jets off and just floated in the warmth. I wear my goggles so I can completely relax without water in my eyes and I can just let my body go. Vortex!


So now it's even later and I'm going to go now. But first I wanted to mention some little things that happened in the last week that I found Vortextual:


-an incredible salmon and pink sunset showing through bare black trees 


-a student who had given me a hard time before winter break giving me a side hug when I passed on a compliment from one of his teachers


-a very funny Craigslist ad title: "Need to published your work in online? here! (salem)" 


-8 hawks on the way to Portland yesterday--8 hawks!


-a marbled pink, blue, gray sky above me at the Keizer mall today


-in general, laughing at my own jokes, like right now when I was editing this post and re-read the last sentence in the caption on the lounge chair photo. And the joke came about as the result of an earlier edit and I laughed both times.


Oh, life is so good, isn't it?

A Madrid street performer who would fit nicely into the lounge chairs in Frankfurt.

Abraham-Vortextual Day

Gluten-free (!) pizza at a great restaurant in Paderno, Italy.

Our favorite paella. We ate this during a
wonderful Vortextual date in Madrid.

I had a lovely day yesterday (Monday, January 4) doing laundry and putzing around and swimming and getting groceries and THEN....


I had agreed to a task that I thought might be tough to stay in the Vortex around. It was a co-creative kind of a task and was not one I looked forward to. It took a few minutes, but I got spit out of the Vortex (OOV) into some uncomfortable rumination and activation at bedtime. That's all of the story I will tell other than to estimate that I was OOV for a good hour. Here's what's SOOOOO fantastic. Even with all that activation, I remembered to say things like, "I'm having a Step 1 moment that's going to make Steps 2 and 3 even bigger and even better," "I'm having a clarifying moment," "What is it that I want here?" How cool is that? Then when I couldn't get to sleep right away, I just kept thinking soothing thoughts and soon I was in the Vortex again and off to sleep. I had a great day at work even with some overflowed cakes, which caused some odors in the ovens. Young cooks learning some basics. The kids were great--I got to chat and build relationships and just enjoy those high schoolers. Fun times. 


Work was just a half-day and I was off to Portland to have lunch with a friend. Not only is she more stunning than ever, she has a passion for "the transformation of consciousness", as she puts it. She and I can talk Abraham at a level that I find really, really fun. She is also very cognizant of the huge shift that is happening in the psychotheraputic world and I enjoyed collecting book titles from her. A very enjoyable experience.


Then I went to see Braco, the Croation "gazer". Very interesting. Pretty positive. I had some interesting physical responses. I could definitely feel a lot of energy in the room and I appreciated many things about the whole experience. There is a wise guy that lives inside me who sometimes tries to make me laugh when things are supposed to be serious--I got kicked out of a Mormon church service I attended with two of my girlfriends when I was 13 for laughing--and I had a couple of those moments, but I really liked it overall. I had some lovely conversations with people around me. One man had died and come back and had out-of-body experiences. One beautiful, spirited woman with pink hair was just a delight to chat with. I met a couple of Abraham people. Fun.


I managed to squeeze in a couple of trips to places where I resell items I've collected. I got primo parking places at the height of rush hour. I tried routes that allowed me to move unimpeded to my various destinations. When I arrived I was first or second in line. All day long, things just worked out. I didn't get to do absolutely everything that I wanted to do, but it was a good day and I got home by 9 PM.


And the OOV subject? No charge in that for me today--it just had no juice, no electricity in it. I did discuss it briefly and mid-topic I thought, hmmmm, why would I focus on this? I quickly switched topics and got out of that stream of thought. I was just Step 1-ing a little, and creating an even juicier Vortex. No regrets. No-fault universe. I had managed to figure out a lovely solution even amidst all the contrast and look forward to applying that solution soon. 

Tangent: We've begun watching "I Am Love"/"Io Sono L'Amore" with Tilda Swinton. In the film she just ate a meal prepared for her by her son's friend, an experimenteur gastronomique, I would call him. She is eating the shrimp and vegetables dish he has made for her (very cutting edge, sculptural work-of-art food). In this scene, she is swept into the Vortex as she eats and it is a sight to behold. 


Enjoy your Vortex! 

Abraham-Crafty Chica/On Being Alone

Flowers in our hotel in Madrid.

Just finished publishing the last post and checked Twitter. Found a tweet about a most delightful blogpost by Kathy Cano-Murillo on her blog, Diary of a Crafty Chica, and a wonderful video called "On Being Alone" made by her daughter, Maya. Una familia muy talentosa. I love the name Maya because that is the name of my midwife's daughter who was about 6 when my son was born and was a full participant in the home birth experience, bringing me cool washcloths and making sure I was comfortable. All this made me happy even though I should be in bed now. Here's the link:


 http://nblo.gs/cwpoF


In the Vortex again!

Abraham-Callback Number 4

The amazing Lila Downs.

This link will take you to one of Lila Downs' wonderful songs. The link showed up on my Twitter stream and I was delighted to see this cool video. There's a bit of a Mexican theme today, so this seems apt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtFlBWt864c

Here's a little story about what I term a "callback". Okay, so if you've been following the Vortex Diary, you may remember that the first post was about meditating and getting just to the edge of the Vortex only to be swept in by the appreciation of some porcelain hands on my mantle. A day or two later, I blogged about seeing a woman at the pool arranging her hands just so in a position that mimicked that of the porcelain hands exactly. That was callback Number 1. A callback, for me, is when the Universe lines up a little happening--a little coincidence--that only you would notice, that says to you, "You're doing very well," and reminds you to notice your alignment and to celebrate it. Esther Hicks loves to see the numbers on clocks and speedometers line up as does my friend with whom I had lunch today (I'll wind back around to that in a moment). I love those little signs and feel happy when they happen. 


After I wrote about the hands, a friend of mine told me that her sister and her brother-in-law, also friends, had been reading and enjoying the Vortex Diary, and that her brother-in-law's mind was a little blown by story of the lady in the pool arranging her hands just so. He, it seems, had been swimming in another pool on that same day, and had seen a woman do this same rather unusual exercise and arrange her hands just so. Now I had never seen anyone do this--place hands palm-down on the edge of the pool right above the waterline and then go underwater--and I've been going to public pools for decades, so it was quite a coincidence for two people to see this in one day. Callback Number 2.


On Christmas day, my partner gave me some lovely things, but maybe the sweetest thing he gave me was Callback Number 3. While looking through my extensive collection of greeting cards for one to send to his dad, he came across a card that I bought at least five years ago. I actually bought two of them because I thought they were so beautiful. He pulled it out and gave it to me because he knew the story of the porcelain hands and the just so hands at the pool. This card pictures the palms of a pair of hands arranged just so, and he was struck by the coincidence and wanted to share that with me. Thank you, honey.


Many times in the last few months, my partner and I have talked about stopping at a Mexican restaurant we pass en route to 24 Hour Fitness (or 24/7 as my partner now refers to it). We finally got around to it yesterday afternoon. (For locals, it's called Habanero and is located in the mini-mall at Hawthorne and Center.) The first thing I noticed was the cute decor--contemporary and tasteful--and the second thing I noticed was that behind the counter was a wonderful friend I'd lost contact with after I quit teaching full-time. She and I had worked in the same building for three years and really appreciated each other. We stayed in touch for some time but got out of each other's orbits and hadn't seen one another for quite some time. I think about her every single day, because she gave me two beautiful objects from Mexico for my mantle--a painting and a mask, and the painting is directly across from the chair where I meditate. She and her husband made this cool little restaurant together and the food is really, really good. She told me that she was hoping to build up their business and I, of course, told her to hold that vision.


I went right home yesterday and emailed all my friends in town and recommended the restaurant. One of my very good friends responded and suggested having lunch today. The idea of great food and great company was an easy yes. We met and ordered and as we chatted about the blog, I told my friend about Callback Number 2: my friend seeing a completely different swimmer in another pool arranging her hands just so. We got our wonderful meal and kept chatting. I was happy to see that while it wasn't busy in the restaurant, there was a steady trickle of customers. As it turned out, one of the customers was another friend I'd emailed the night before who was in the neighborhood and stopped in. What I didn't realize at the moment was that this friend is the wife of Mr. Callback Number 2 and I'd been talking about them just moments before she showed up in the flesh. I'd say that's Callback Number 4, wouldn't you?

Abraham-Nearly New Year

I loved having painted fingernails in Venice.

I've been staying up really late to blog this vacation. Late like 2AM and today I slept until 9 and I WOKE UP IN THE VORTEX! I mentioned the videos by homebuiltindoorplane on YouTube in the last post and how they swept me into the Vortex. I listened to this one right before I went to bed:

He wants to feel relief, plus Abraham slams it home (Part 2 of 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-JSNRgBry4

and I basked  once I got into my bed. By basked, I mean I just experienced the pillow, the comforters, the sheets, the wonderful mattress, etc. I reveled in being physical, really, and then I went to sleep. When I awoke and realized I was in the Vortex, I basked some more and then put some soft, comfortable clothing on over my wonderful silk long underwear that keeps me so warm. I had a quick glass of water and headed to my meditation station, which is an overstuffed chair situated between two tables filled with books, notepads, writing implements, and other "supplies" (a bell, a candle, crystals, a music box, a mirror, glasses, Post-It flags, highlighters and an array of decks of angel/well-being/inspirational cards from several sources including Abraham). I love this wonderful space in my living room that is charged with beautiful energy. I did my meditation and I started a focus wheel. I got as far as the 8th statement and I was solidly in the Vortex and milking it. I spent time in there thinking about my friends and family and seeing them through the eyes of Source and just loving all of them.

By then it was getting to be 10 AM and I decided I'd make my green drink and listen to the Abraham video again. This was the first time I'd used red kale with the cucumber, celery, apple, lime and ginger and it made a really pretty drink that I wanted to photograph. When I retrieved my camera from my art bag in my car the screen looked odd. I think my camera was frozen and the pictures looked very ghostlike so I didn't get a good shot. I started to worry about my camera but decided being in the Vortex was more important. My camera is fine, by the way. 

I listened to homebuiltindoorplane's video (his name is Dave!) several times and basked in the content. There are so many things that Abraham is saying that have already happened to me. Since starting the blog, I've noticed that my body feels wonderful. If I get an ache or a pain, I focus on an area of my body that feels good and the pain subsides or disappears. I have energy and stamina. Staying in the Vortex is getting easier and easier and I am having a lot of fun. Being out of the Vortex is uncomfortable because being in is so wonderful. I also listened to another of Dave's YouTube offerings, which is about a healer named Bruno Groening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvbI1X4h-

FY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

This is one of Dave's personally narrated videos and it is very cool. 

I got to the pool just in time to squeeze in my 45 minutes of in-the-Vortex exercise and felt just wonderful afterwards. I listened to an Abraham CD (the Money book) in my car as I bopped to the pool and made other stops. Abraham responds to Jerry's questions on this CD and the subject was work. Abraham says that the purpose of life is joy and that if we stay in the Vortex and enjoy our lives, anything that we want in the way of work must materialize. Very inspiring. Recently I heard a great analogy on this same CD about being in alignment and in the Vortex. It went something like this:

Imagine that you're running down a very long corridor to get to something that you really want. Every 20 feet or so, there's a door that you must slow down to open and run the next 20 feet and so on.  This is life not in the Vortex. If you're in the Vortex, all the doors are opened before you reach them and you just get to sail on through as fast as you want to go.

Everywhere I went tonight, people smiled at me and chatted me up. People like the wonderful boy in the pool who was playing with his little brother. The lovely blonde woman pulling into the parking space next to me. The clerk at the video store was jovial. A fellow customer at Big Lots and I had a long Cuttlebug, paper, sticker conversation. The cashier shared her falling-in-love story with me.

My fabulous partner and I took a walk in the very cold evening weather after a light dinner and that's when I began blogging. It's a few short minutes until 2011 and I am psyched because I've been in the Vortex for the entire day basically. I slipped out a couple of times and remembered from the homebuiltindoorplane video that examining any negative thought or emotion is something that can be accomplished in a flash. And since my dominant intent is to get back into the Vortex, that's what I did. An A+++++++++ day times at least 5 today. Happy New Year!!!