Spontaneous Musings

1. Ugh, IBS. It resulted in cleaning my joggers in the sink tonight. I'm trying to figure out what disagreed...also difficult. Could be medication related. Hard to know. Have had digestive issues two weekends in a row. Oh well, at least it's not during the work week - small miracles.

2. Accomplished quite a bit today...

* Made bed up clean
* called mother
* cleared out closet of clothes, pulling out winter clothes, and putting in more spring and summer. Also arranged and organized them. Still have to organize the shelves and get rid of the stuff in the bottom of the closet. But baby steps. Took three hours just doing the clothing portion.
* Finished another watercolor, which turned out okay - I had issues with one of the hands. (I have troubles with hands and faces in watercolors, also feet, which I just leave off the paintings so far.) Managed to get around it by lengthing the sleeve which kind of works and kind of doesn't.
* Watched television

Didn't manage to get a walk in, or work on my book - but at least I was off the internet and computer for 90% of the day.

3. Listened to self-help/psychological audiobooks.

A. Finished I thought it was just me (it isn't): Perfectionism, Ego and Shame..by Brene Brown - which ended on an interesting note, after two chapters of woman talking about being shamed as mothers or in divorces.

[Although there was an interesting chapter in the midst of that on "labeling and stereotyping" and the dangers of both. ( Read more... )

Apparently Brown had focused most of her research on women. But towards the end of her book and research on Shame, she talked to men. And discovered a pattern. The men she interviewed told her that they needed to stay fit so they could kick anyone who shamed them - ass."What if someone shames me or disses me? I kick their ass."

She asked them various questions...

*. How do you view yourself physically?
Response: I need to be fit so I can kick people's ass.
*. How do you view yourself as a father?
Response: If you say anything about anyone I love or hurt them - I will kick your ass.

They couldn't show signs of weakness, not emotional and certainly not physical. In short - they are emotionally beaten up. Not that women aren't as well - but less so, women are permitted to be emotional, and negotiate emotion. Men? It's a sign of weakness. Power - physical and mental, is revered. They get shamed if they show weakness, particularly emotional weakness.

I found that interesting. Although not anything new. I saw that in the Buffy fandom. Various male and female fans revered Angel because he didn't show weakness, and assumed Spike was gay because he did, or he was more feminine in some respects not macho. Bulky was better. Big and tall - revered. When they were told that they had to take their shirts off - they bulked up, they had to show physical strength, defined abs, the ability to well "kick your ass".


It's an interesting listen, and I do recommend, but with the following caveat - it does get a little repetitive in places, also she kind of generalizes. Plus a lot of focus on wives, mothers, and parenting or divorce - which I found to be tiresome, you might not.

B. Started...the audiobook - Take Control of Your Life: How to Silence Fear and Win the Mental Game by Mel Robbins" ( a life coach and motivational speaker). I was admittedly wary. But she surprised me. In the first chapter she makes two-three salient points:

i.) You aren't going to find your passion outside of yourself. We all feel passionate about things all the time. Passion is basically - being happy and eager to get up and go to the office to get work done. Or feeling energized about something. ( Read more... )

ii. Brick by Brick. ( Read more... )

iii. Don't overthink it. ( Read more... )
Her points resonated, mainly because they echo the advice of the Headspace App Meditation Specialists. And others I've spoken with, and my own experience. This is what has worked for me.

She has a workbook that is free of charge at her website - melrobbins.com.

**

4. The Artist's Way is into magazines, collages, and lists. Clearly was written in the 1990s. Back then we had magazines. Finding magazines is kind of hard. I mainly found National Geographic - which doesn't quite work for the exercise.

It did however have an interesting exercise regarding Jealousy (although I think she means Envy...but whatever).

The Jealousy Map.

When you feel jealous of someone else, ask yourself why, then do something about it.
( Read more... )

A lot of the exercises do not work for me, so I ignore them. I did however clear out my closet. It has a lot of those exercises. Clearing away things. Also a lot of vision boarding - which I'm not sure works for me. Nor is the morning pages - journal writing, mainly because I have this one? And I've found I'm less likely to rant or whine if I know someone is reading it? Or for that matter just ramble.

Does ask me to list my favorite movies. Clearly a flim maker. Also into frigging lists.

I honestly don't know. I always list the ones I'm willing to see multiple times or have seen multiple times. So remember.

Let's see...in no particular order
( Read more... )

Going to try to go to bed now - that I think my stomach and digestive track has finally settled down.