Social Distancing in Swimming Pools

There’s a fable circulating the internet that amplifies – ignorantly – the misguided alarm propagating the belief that something must be done about the patched state of self-isolation orders in effect throughout the US.

It can be paraphrased as, “Having some states lock down and some states not lock down is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.”

Ironically, those folks supporting this quite ridiculous notion, are more often than not the very ones doing the peeing in the swimming pools, across the land. 

Now I don’t know which side you butter your toast on, but confound it, and to loosely quote a much more loving human being, “those who pee in the swimming pool need be the very last ones to say anything about anyone else’s elimination habits.”

Just saying. 

Please take a look at my draft

https://medium.com/@145b67ed1ac4/696a73892a62?sk=

Markham (Preface)

It turns out I have a relatively unique challenge with Quantum Mechanics. While fascinating, the study of functions and advanced math nomenclature are based in the dictates and underpinnings of logic and pure analytic reason. These are interesting pursuits – to be sure; but lack the overwhelmingly satisfying energy of conscious phenomenological experience.

As a card carrying cosmologist, I am far more intrigued and energized by the foundational and ontological aspects of the Quantum Mechanics theory, String Theory and the notion that we may inhabit a Multiple Universe – with infinite possible other universes – and their probable ramifications.

• • •

To begin with – as an pre-anecdotal critique of coming attractions – I find myself side-tracking in my thinking as I might be wandering a bit too far afield and am struck by the inescapably irrefutable realization that everything we could be considering could be extremely irrelevant while simultaneously astonishingly appealing.

To this, my ever irascible self says, “it might be a good time to give all this up and get back on track”. To which I actually have no suitable retort. However, it would be a grave mistake for you to think you are now somehow psychically eavesdropping on a meaningless personal conversation.

Quite the reverse is true.

You have been selected to engage in a brand new experience of conscious evolution, and, you have my word, it won’t hurt one bit. In fact, the sole objective here is to get you wrapped-up enough in the ongoing conversation so as to keep you occupied just long enough to give you a snapshot of what is up about human consciousness, information you might not otherwise get another chance to integrate.

All set?

OK, here we go…or, as my great friend Markham is so very fond of observing, “Everyone wants something from someone. That’s not good or bad, it just is.”

Impeccable. Before we begin, however, the are a couple of other items worth noting…

• • •

I had a visitor. His name was Markham. Not “Jon Markham” or even “Bob Markham”, just Markham. And, though I would ask a couple of times during our times together about his name, his origins, and other such information; at the very best he only ever obliged me with some unrelated story that had nothing at all to do with him, his people, or his home.

In the end, I just gave up.

Markham had some interesting notions about quite a few things, but the subject with which he was most eloquent could be best described as a model of consciousness based wholly upon experiential and empirical observations about himself and the world in which he found himself currently residing. I tried, during our many discussions, to point out that his view was entirely heliocentric and lacking of any real objectivity, to which he curiously quipped, “So is every other everything you have ever heard or might be fortunate enough to hear come tomorrow and the next day, and the next, and so on until the end of your days!”

For instance, on one such occasion, just as I was returning from one of my client visits he greeting me with the following.

“Consciousness Expansion”, he related, “the exponentiation of one’s conscious awareness and incumbent creative capacities through the deliberate and sustained excitation of one’s core energy.”

“Sounds completely and utterly terrifying”, I remarked. “If I were to suggest such an incredibly fantastic notion, you would have me laughed right out of town!”

“Nonsense!’, Markham insisted, ‘it’s as simple as 2 + 2”. “Here, let me explain it to you in more simple terms…”

“To begin with, it could be said that each of us is a singularity of consciousness. By that, I mean to say, we are all single, isolated, and discrete points of light in a vast rainbow of consciousness. We all begin just at this singularity of spacetime to comprehend the ensuing expansion of our self in what we call ‘the world’.”

“That sounds a bit familiar”, I remarked.

“I am not claiming that what I have to relate to you is entirely unique. In fact, many terra-born philosophies and religious views actually contain similar notions.”

And so it went with him. Over the course of the ensuing years he had many other somewhat odd, buy always interesting, things to say.

The following is what I recorded…

The Struggle we Can’t See: How to Support our Friends with Mental Illness.

Imagine for a moment that you’ve made dinner plans with a friend…

You’re excited to check out the new swanky place downtown that recently opened. You go to the website and check out the menu, and you’ve really got your heart set on their crème brûlée when your friend sends you a text message.

“I’m really sorry, but I won’t be able to go to dinner tonight. I called the restaurant to see if they are handicapped accessible, and they said there is limited handicapped parking available, their doors are narrow, and they do not have a bathroom large enough to accommodate my wheelchair.”

You’re bummed for sure, but you can’t be mad at your friend. If anything, you’re outraged that the new restaurant didn’t consider the needs of people like her when they opened their business. So, you pick a different place to hang out, and hopefully, you find some crème brûlée there, too.

Now, change that scenario just a little bit…

You make plans to visit this new, swanky place with your friend, and you receive this message:

“I’m really sorry, but I won’t be able to go to dinner tonight. I’m not feeling well. I think I’m going to stay home and rest.”

This is what your friend wants you to hear. What she means to say is that her anxiety is really high today. The idea of going to an unfamiliar, crowded, noisy place, in a neighborhood she doesn’t know, makes her want to crawl out of her skin. She’s taken her medicine to try to combat the shaking hands and nausea in the pit of her stomach. It helps a bit, but she’s afraid that going to that place will send her into a full-blown panic attack—the last thing she wants to go through in a crowded restaurant.

Or, maybe, your friend is struggling with depression. She can’t get out of bed today to even take a shower. She knows that even if she goes, she’s not going to be able to enjoy it. She doesn’t want to burden you with her problems. She’d rather just be alone, anyway, and not have to force conversations and interactions. Just the thought of it exhausts her. She knows she’s isolating herself. She should probably call her doctor, but she really wants to try to pull herself out of this without medicine this time. Taking antidepressants makes her feel weak. She wants to be strong and power through it, but going out tonight is just too much for her.

When you receive that vague message, “I’m just not up to it today,” you might take it personally. You might think, “She cancels on me every time we make plans. I guess she doesn’t have time for me.” You might be angry—you set aside your Saturday evening and your friend just bailed on you at the last minute. You might stop reaching out or making plans.

Here’s the thing: your friend in the wheelchair has no problem saying, “I can’t go here because my body won’t allow it.” And you can look at your friend and see that what she says is true. You can measure the wheelchair she is in, then measure the door frames in the restaurant, and determine very quickly whether it’s possible or not.

Your friend struggling with anxiety and depression probably looks fine. She’s probably become a master of putting her game face on when she goes out into the world. Maybe she’s never even mentioned that she struggles with anxiety or depression. She fears judgement and exclusion. She’s learned this by witnessing the stigma in our culture surrounding mental illness.

I

f your friend is diabetic, and his pancreas has stopped making insulin, you would never judge him for taking insulin shots to replace the chemical his body needs. You wouldn’t tell him he is weak for using the lifesaving medication his doctor prescribed for his condition. The same is true for people using medications for chemical imbalances in the brain. If your brain stops making serotonin, or the receptors stop responding to it, that’s not something you can wish away with positive affirmations. It’s not something you can just overcome anymore than you could pull yourself up by the bootstraps and kiss your insulin goodbye.

If you went out somewhere with your diabetic friend, and he had a blood sugar crash, you would get him some orange juice and sit with him until he felt better. You would never call him dramatic, or accuse him of doing it for attention. But, that’s what we do to our friends who are struggling with things we can’t see and don’t understand.

To be fair, our culture has taught us to view mental health this way. In America, it is cloaked in fear and misinformation.

We view mental illness as a personal weakness. We accuse people of being dramatic, seeking attention, or being lazy. We use psychological diagnoses to describe people who behave differently. “She’s crazy, anorexic, schizophrenic, ADD. He’s a psycho, alcoholic, bipolar, narcissist…” This language reinforces the negative stigma associated with mental health.

Ultimately, that negative stigma keeps people suffering in silence. That stigma makes people feel like seeking therapy or taking psychiatric medication is a personal failure. That stigma literally kills people who never seek treatment, because they’re too ashamed to admit they’re not okay.

It’s important to note that one in five Americans has a mental health diagnosis. Anxiety is the most commonly diagnosed condition; depression, addiction, bipolar, and eating disorders are also high on the list, along with attention deficit and schizophrenia. It’s likely that you, or someone you love, has struggled with at least one of these conditions.

Next time you get that vague cancellation text from your friend, remember that it’s not personal. She probably wishes more than anything that she could just live her life unencumbered by her illness. She would love to go out and spend time with you, and share that crème brûlée in the swanky new downtown hot spot.

Please don’t give up on her, she’s doing the best she can. This is the time she needs you most.

Instead of pulling away from her, can you lean in? Respond with a question: “Is there anything I can do for you?” “Would you rather hang out at the house?” “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

Let her know that you care about her, and want her to be okay. Don’t judge or hover. Encourage her to make that next step toward feeling like herself again. And, if you’ve ever struggled with a similar, unseen condition, share that experience. There is great power in learning that we are not alone. When you share your struggle, you open the door for your friend to talk about her challenges without fear.

If you’re struggling today, please hear me. You’re not alone. There are so many of us, and so many ways for us to cope. You are here with a purpose, your life is important, and people care about you—even some you’ve never met.

So, please, call your therapist. Take your medicine. Do everything you can to bring peace and happiness back into your world. You deserve to live a life of joy and fulfillment.

We can’t see your illness, but we see you—strong, beautiful, brave, worthy you. You deserve to be well and enjoy your days, and we are all here cheering you on through every moment.

Better days are right around the corner, precious soul. Just hold on.

(Reprinted from: https://bit.ly/2zMvPFL)

~

Jiffy

Meandering moves

little or not,

Thinking we’ve reached

wondering tops.

Suffice it to say

though it seems iffy,

We’ll be back

and in a jiffy.

Today, Aug 9, 2017

Enticingly sweet,

and soft to the touch

Not without spunk,

oh what a rush.

In a word, Spicy!

6 Steps to Accelerated Learning

THE SECRET: When you “learn” something, what you are really doing is remembering something you already know.

Whatever you believe about learning, the following concepts are worth knowing. . .

Accelerated learning concept #1: There are three levels of existence, physical, quantum, spiritual.

Accelerated learning concept #2: Everything in the physical is a manifestation of energy and information from the quantum. Energy vibrates at different frequencies and we perceive these frequencies as our physical world.

Accelerated learning concept #3: All of us are exchanging energy on a continual basis.

Accelerated learning concept #4: Deepak Chopra states this next concept well. . .

“There is really no boundary between ourselves and everything else in the world. The continuity of the physical world exists only in the imagination. If we could fine tune our senses, we could actually see the gaps in our existence. We are here and then not here, and then here again. The sense of continuity is only held together by our memories.”

Accelerated learning concept #5: The spiritual level of existence is what holds everything together. It is pure potential.

Accelerated learning concept #6: And here is the biggy for our purposes: Again quoting from Deepak. . .

 “Our thoughts are recycled information. Every thought we have is actually part of a collective database. All but the most original thoughts are recycled information, and even the most original thoughts are actually quantum leaps of creativity that occur from the same recycled bed of information. Intention, imagination, insight, inspiration, meaning, purpose, creativity, and understanding have nothing to do with the brain. They orchestrate their activity through the brain, but they are qualities of the non-local domain, which is beyond space and time.”

These concepts are the foundation for a way of learning (remembering). They allow you to acquire any skill you want and learn it faster than you ever thought possible.

You discover your mind. You learn how your mind operates and how to access and control it. Accelerated learning is fun and informative. You find out things about yourself and your mind that you never knew before.

You can radically change your life in less time than you ever imagined.

(Thank you Paradigm Shift)

 

The Stars for December

Happy December (2015)!

You love a good secret on the 3rd and 4th, and for some reason you’re a magnet for people who want to unburden their minds with sordid tales of depravity and debauchery. They don’t have to worry, though, because their secrets truly are safe with you.

So what are these runs about your lack of confidence about? The truth is on the 8th and 9th you’re the very best you that you can be, and the world should be knocking down your door just to get a glimpse of your fine self.

Stumbling upon new ways to organize your stuff or to clean your place is the highlight of your day on the 15th and 16th, and while it might not be exciting to anyone else, hey, it works for you.

It’s important to do your best work when a boss or teacher is watching on the 24th and 25th, especially if you’ve been looking for an advantage in getting ahead.

The 28th and 29th bring challenges that you couldn’t possibly be prepared for, but your ability to persevere no matter what keeps you in the game.

Your competitors have absolutely nothing on you.

Remembering You’re Extraordinary!

About two years ago, my sister Nancy and I had an idea. We decided to collaborate on putting down on paper our thoughts and experiences, especially as they related to living well. What started out innocently enough grew into a wonderful, memorable undertaking by two people who have cared the world about each other for over 60 years.

As we progressed, we realized two things:

First, we found that the co-creation and chronicling of these ideas was a remarkable experience in and of itself and, we discovered that there were direct benefits occurring in our lives that could only be ascribed to the materials we were creating.

Second, we noticed that sharing this work had direct beneficial impact on those others who came in contact with these materials.

As a result, we decided to combine the materials into a book form and make it available to everyone.

Eventually, this material will be contained in an eBook available from Amazon, Google, and Apple. But for now, we have decided to pre-publish our creation in The Miller Minute blog.

Because we are aware that everyone does not get a chance to see every post from this blog, we will post each section (beginning with this section) three times each week.

The first section is this pre-Introduction, an annotated Table of Contents, the original Introduction, and a brief author’s preface entitled, How to use this book.

Subsequent weekly posts will include the various chapters (one chapter per week) and other useful information.

It is our sincerest desire that you find this material illuminating, enlightening, and useful.

Please be kind enough to let us know what you think,

Robert & Nancy

Remembering You’re Extraordinary

Table of Contents

Introduction

How to Use This Book

Part One: The Backstory

Chapter One: Courage is the Opposite of Fear

F.E.A.R. is False Evidence Appearing Real!

Chapter Two: Forgiveness

For everything I have done and everything I have not done. For everything I am and everything I am not. For everything I will do and everything I won’t do, I forgive myself. . .

Chapter Three: Complete Respect & Compassion for Myself & Others

Enough said.

Chapter Four: Practicing the Art of Accountability

Accountability means I am willing to acknowledge that I am the author of my life and experience.

In the matter of my life, I am at cause.

Chapter Five: I am not my Story, nor am I am my Stuff

To remember at all times that I am a magical, mystical being currently inhabiting a human body

And as a human, like all other humans, I have a story BUT, I AM NOT THAT STORY

Chapter Six: I am a Master of my Resources, I am in Balance

Life is about change. Going forward, and as I meet changes I will address and move past any and all changes with minimum effort and maximal use of my existing or readily acquired resources.

Chapter Seven: Optimal Wellbeing

I promise to make it a daily habit to take whatever steps necessary to maintain optimal wellbeing: Spiritually, Financially, Physically, Emotionally, Psychologically, In short, every which “ally”!

Part Two: The Rest of The Story

Chapter Eight: Manifesting, The Pathway to Your Dreams

Intent is a force that exists in the universe. When sorcerers (those who live in tune with Source) beckon intent, Intent, their ally, comes to them and sets up the path for attainment, which means that sorcerers always accomplish what they set out to do.

Carlos Castaneda

We are all Sorcerers!

Chapter Nine: Grace, Gratitude and Generosity

Madisyn Taylor writes, When we accept that we always exist in a state of grace, we are able to live our lives more graciously. Knowing we are graced gives us hope, makes us more generous, and allows us to trust that we are taken care of even when we are going through difficult times. Grace is our benevolence of heart, and our generosity of spirit. Grace is unconditional love and the beauty that is our humanity. When we know that we are blessed with grace, we can’t help but want to live our lives in harmony.

Chapter Ten: Humility

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.

C. S. Lewis

Chapter Eleven: Integrity and Authenticity

To always be and give my best, genuinely; and to live by Curly’s (movie: City Slickers) “One Thing” ethic every moment.

Chapter Twelve: Service

Serve others First!

I choose to remember and carry with me that by serving others, I am served.

Chapter Thirteen: This Moment is All There Is

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is an unrealized dream; only this moment, Now, is real!

Or as Baba Ram Das reminds us: “Be Here Now”!

Chapter Fourteen: Laugh Often, Love Much

Find the humor in each moment; be completely open to the love that is mine everywhere, from everyone; be willing to give back to everyone, everywhere.

Chapter Fifteen: Life is a Grand and Wonderful Adventure!

In the movie Tombstone, as the character Doc Holiday (played by Val Kilmer) lies dying of tuberculosis in the Colorado Sanatorium where Wyatt Earp (played by Kurt Russell) had taken his friend; there is a defining, over-arching moment when Wyatt says to Doc, “I just want a normal life”, and Doc replies profoundly, “Wyatt, there is no normal life, there’s just life”!

Appendix A: How to Meditate

About the Authors

INTRODUCTION

When we were very young, my brother Robert and I, collaborated together on many topics, and I think some of my best memories include such times as sneaking into our second floor bathroom with our arms laden with as much food as we could carry from the grown-up parties our parents were hosting.

About those parties. . .

My parents welcomed many friends into their home and wined and dined them like royalty.  We always knew we could count on the tastiest morsels especially around these parties.  I’m more than certain, too, that our parents knew we were awake and sneaking food upstairs but let us think we were the cleverest spies in the world!  It was these special evenings I had alone with my brother that we talked about everything in the world.  We were not afraid to pour our hearts out and we were not afraid to just be “who we are”.

Robert and I have always held that special bond, this wonderful love of each other that we share.  Both he and I have lived long, fruitful lives filled with much happiness and sorrow. (You can read our BIOS for more on this).  So, it was no surprise that one day, many months ago, that he called to tell me of an idea he had.  He told me he had been writing and that he had created “core principles” that would become the cornerstone for Remembering You’re Extraordinary.  Shortly thereafter, he asked me if I would be interested in co-authoring.

There was no hesitation on my part and I felt honored to be asked to be a collaborator, once again, on such an inspiring topic that we both believe will help you remember we are all Extraordinary!  Thus began our work together on writing this course.  Since we live far apart, we got together via Skype and phone.  Every week we sat together and poured our hearts and souls into this work. We would break away only long enough to finish our assignments to each other getting back together to review and summarize.

We’ve been living these “core principles” through the years always striving to “walk the walk” instead of just getting by with “talking the talk”. As the weeks went on, we found ourselves going through this course together, discovering that we had more to learn and uncover!

As we continued to write about each principle and place each principle in its appropriate chapter, we found ourselves living out the lesson incorporated in them. Our lives became a great experiment in living each principle daily as if we were newborns never hearing the words before! Our meetings have run the gamut of emotions; sometimes filled with laughter, sadness, joy, grief, and any other emotion that presented itself as we were writing.

Often this took us both by surprise and we realized that we had to let ourselves experience all of this in order to really live what we were talking about. As a matter of fact, I have the perfect, true to life experience, that just happened to me as I was writing this introduction that I will share with you in a bit.

The universe is shifting and all of us with it. This isn’t the first time in history – though it might be the most important – that people have taken stock of their lives and decided that there are more important aspirations besides acquiring the biggest flat screen TV or the latest in a series of new suvs.

We all want to know how to be happy and satisfied and make both last. We all want to look to a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. Most importantly, many of us want to be free of the chains that bind our spirits and haunt our sleep.

As partners in this unfolding, we are co-collaborators fully engaged in this shift and support a crucial transformation of our current universe and support each and every person in this endeavor.

It is our sincerest intent that Remembering You’re Extraordinary will support you in this transformation wherever you are in the dance.

Each chapter contains extremely useful tools to help you remember where you truly come from, who you truly are, and most importantly, that you are already extraordinary!

We are not alone.  Many masters throughout the ages have taught us through their never ending love and inspiration.  We include some of these present day masters in our writing and use quotes from their teaching and inspiration.  Having lived through this course and knowing we will continue to use its practices, it is our deepest desire that these pages will help you live yours.

The universe has always supported us and now is the time to pay it forward. We can help do this by starting with ourselves.  We trust our work and are so very happy that what we share here will get you on the path to remembering how extraordinary you are. There is much to be done but with time and effort we can do this together.

We’ve included a short preface entitled “How To Use This Book” we hope you will find helpful.  Certainly, you can read these pages any which way you choose, but, you might find it more useful to follow the chapters in order.  This is a great volume to reference any time.

We welcome your comments so please feel free to leave any and all on our Coaching for Extraordinary Living website or our Facebook page.  Let us share a word of caution: This book does not address profound grief from the loss of a loved one, nor overindulgence in any form, nor does it pretend to meet the needs of the trauma brought on by a critical life changing event.  We would urge you to seek the appropriate help needed in these circumstances.

Okay, I promised to share my true to life experience. . .

I have a very dear friend who I’ve been very privileged to know for over forty years now.  My friend and I have shared everything together and going to visit is “going home for me”.  So it was with great anticipation and joy that I called my friend and asked for a visit home.  I was sent an email that said it would be a horror if I came to visit.  I let myself take this “personally” and in doing so made myself physically ill.  It wasn’t until I got out of my ego and really looked at the situation for what it was that I realized I was allowing this email to erode my wellbeing. In re-reading the following chapters I began to see what I was doing to myself and why!  Boy, did I learn a lesson. The lesson:  To honor who I am first and foremost and not take anything personally.

Boundary is my new best friend and I will take this lesson with a giant spoonful of love.  And, by the way, I truly love my friend and cannot wait for our next visit!

Last, but not least, we want to thank all of you for taking the time to read what we have worked on as our labor of love.

Enjoy!

Blessings to each and every one of you!

(At the end of each section of our book we have included pictograph from various cultures expressing the meaning of that section. The characters above are Japanese and convey the meaning, “To Begin”, or “At the Beginning”.)

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK (Author’s Preface)

Remembering You’re Extraordinary, is a user friendly eBook comprised of two volumes containing a total of fifteen individual chapters each including a core principle intended to help you remember who you are, how got you where you are now, and options about how to move forward.

Each chapter is divided into five main sections:

(1) Guiding Principle

(2) Keystone Elements

(3) Lesson Activity(s)

Meant to gather your thoughts and help you answer questions you probably ask yourself often. We believe you will find these to be inquisitive and enlightening.  There is NO right or wrong answer.  It is merely an aid to help you realize how you really feel.

(4) Additional Resources

A section of each chapter including books, movies, and songs that will enhance your experience of each chapter as you go along.  By all means, feel free to choose your own resources as you go.

(5) Closing (Daily) Affirmation

Although there is really no particular order to the themes presented in the book, we’ve written each core principle and put them in the order of importance as they came.

Please read and experience each chapter at your own pace taking as little or as much time as you feel necessary. This book is also meant to be a reference guidebook that you can refer to as often as you’d like.

(Next Week: Chapter One: Courage is the Opposite of Fear)

Namaste

It’s Friday!