Author Archives: spiritmovesdance

Greetings from not-Portland-Maine (and why it’s a good thing)

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Today I was supposed to be in Portland, Maine.

I was. Last winter, I promised myself that I would go to the Authentic Movement workshop that’s happening there this weekend. Matthew and Xander were going to come too (to Portland, not the workshop). Friends of ours were going to come along for the trip. It was going to be an awesome vacation and, for me, a big, splashy return to the world of dancing with new people and learning new things “out there.”

And then life happened.

My husband left his office job (and his regular paycheque). We cut expenses drastically. I started actually doing all the business-y stuff I talked about doing before he left the office.

And then it was the end of April, and there was just no way in hell it was happening.

So, there it is. The Authentic Movement workshop will happen (technically, it’s happening right now, since there was a Friday night session), without me.

But you know what? That’s OK.

It would have been a really cool experience. But it would have cost well over $1000 (probably $1500 or higher) between transportation and accommodation and everything else. And, frankly, I would rather take that money and use it to cover bills and buy myself some time in which I can focus completely on building my business. I’ve already started, and it’s been fabulous.

Plus, there are a lot of opportunities right here.

Next weekend there’s a Barefoot Ecstatic Dance (which I’ve meant to go to since Xander turned 2, and STILL haven’t made it to). There’s also an open house at a local yoga studio, and that means free yoga classes (which I’ve meant to go to since Xander turned 2 and STILL haven’t made it to). And the weekend after next, there’s a contact improv workshop at the studio space where I teach DansKinetics (the idea of going terrifies me, but in that good “walking my edge” kind of way).

I can go to all three for $25, plus bus/cab fare if necessary. I’ll be walking my edge, challenging myself in the best possible way. And I’ll be making connections and learning and growing in the community where I live. There’s something to be said for that.

Growing...breaking through walls...

I feel like I had to not-go to the workshop in Maine in order to truly appreciate all the possibilities there are right here. I’ll be keeping my eyes open from now on, making an effort to get out to events and experience new things here in Halifax…and I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’m looking forward to having new movement experiences to blog about :)

What’s Your Sign? (Or, a Magical Productivity System for People Who Have Trouble Finishing Things)

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I don’t believe in horoscopes.

Not the “You’re this sign and therefore this exact thing will happen to you today/this week” ones in the magazines and newspapers, anyway.

But I do believe in astrology. I believe that the position of the stars and planets affects us.

I’m also fascinated by the cycle of moons and the wheel of the year, which I’ve been learning about this year

This stuff? Oh yes, I completely believe in it.

And I believe that the way the stars and planets aligned at our birth has an impact on our personality. I think it’s more complicated than your main sign, though…have you read your birth chart lately? A lot of mine is scarily accurate.

So, while I don’t believe what the magazines tell me about my future (can all Libras really have an unlucky/lucky day on the exact same day? And why do they keep telling me I’ll meet someone new when I’m happily married?), I do believe that my sign has a lot to tell me about myself.

For example: Libra. Scales. Balance.

Or…majorly effing indecisive.

Yup, that one rings true.

And so does this one: Libra. Air sign. Mentally oriented and often caught up in thoughts…aka easily distracted and not the best at following through on said thoughts with concrete actions.

This is SO me. Case in point: tiny plate syndrome, where I get distracted by the multitude of possible projects before me and forget the biggest, scariest, most important one.

Other case in point: the fact that on Monday, while I was thinking about my blog and business, I was suddenly seized by the desire to start a brand new blog. NOOOOOO.

Always starting, rarely finishing. That’s my M.O. And that’s why last weekend’s telecircle was such a huge triumph for me…sometimes it feels like I’m struggling against my own nature when I actually FINISH something and make it real (boy, am I awesome at starting things, though!).

Last week Matthew (bless him) pointed out during one of my panicky Libra freakouts that my air-sign mind was busily hopping from thing to thing to thing, but I wasn’t actually finishing anything. Again. And we talked about things I could do to cut that crap out.

Here’s the truth: not getting things done feels crappy, especially when you’ve got an overflowing to-do list. I’d like productivity (actual, results-producing productivity as opposed to frantic busy-work that leads nowhere) to be something that happens every day, not when I’ve committed myself into a corner and am completely panicked.

So I started experimenting with techniques that could help. And it turned out that the magic combination was in my mental toolbox the entire time…I just hadn’t realized it.

Here’s Meg’s Magical Productivity Combo for air signs (or anyone who’s having trouble getting things done).

1. MicroMOVEments

Oh man, I’ve known about SARK’s anti-procrastination technique FOREVER, but it never really stuck for me. Making lists of tiny baby steps with deadlines kind of felt like a giant waste of my time and just another thing to do before I actually tried to do the things on my…to-do…list.

But I was so very, very wrong. MicroMOVEments (or at least their babystep cousins) are what got me organized for my class on Saturday. Instead of a crazy-making, procrastination-inducing list like this:

-Plan class
-Test Vokle
-Send final newsletter

I created a list that went like this:

Plan class:

  •  Pick music
  • Write initial plan
  • Write detailed plan
  • Finalize
  • Practice

Test Vokle:

  • Set up camera
  • Test camera and sound
  • Test speaking over music
  • Test chat window

Send final newsletter:

  • take Vokle screenshots
  • schedule event and get link
  • write newsletter, include link, playlist, screenshots, link to world clock
  • test newsletter
  • send newsletter

You get the idea. Each step, which was initially too large for me to wrap my head around and thus led to intense procrastination and distraction, was broken down into its constituent parts.

It was great, because that way I didn’t forget anything, and I had all the pieces of the puzzle written down in one place, ready to check off. AND (bonus) each task was fairly easy to achieve in a short-ish time period, so I could check more things off as I went. My airy brain LOVED this.

2. The Pomodoro Technique

OK, I admit it, I’ve only tried this for about 36 hours. But I already love it.

If you don’t know what the Pomodoro technique is, the basic principle is that you set a timer and work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break. Repeat 4 times, and then take a longer break. Etc.

Jamie Ridler has mentioned it a few times, and she recommended it highly. And now I know why.

I think this is going to really work for me. 25 minutes is short enough that I can keep myself working (as opposed to, say, checking Facebook), but long enough that I can actually get something done. On Monday night I managed three 25-minute sessions, and I checked 4 things off my list! On Tuesday afternoon, I did 5 sessions and completed a whole PAGE of babysteps!

The combination is perfect for me. I can’t get over how productive I’ve been!

And here’s the best part:

I’ve been thinking about my airiness as something WRONG with me, but I finally see…this isn’t about needing to “fix” myself. Being an air sign isn’t better or worse than any other sign…it just IS. It’s time to accept that I’m easily distractible and that ideas come more naturally to me than follow through…and it’s time to create some systems to help me balance out the airiness.

I think I’m off to a good start!

What’s YOUR sign? Does it have anything to tell you about the way you work?

P.S. I’m collecting information to help me plan future telecircles! Want to help me? Click here to take the (super-short) survey

 

Making space for the Universe to flow in

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I did my first telecircle on Saturday.

I did it.

After more than a year of “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly”-ing, a month of “I’ve announced this, now how the hell will I pull this off?”-ing and a week-long delay when the Universe had other plans…it’s done.

And it was lovely. The technology worked out, the plan came together, and my friend and I had a wonderful dance (thank you! <3). It actually happened! For real! It was incredible to know for that hour and a half that I was doing something that I had dismissed as impossible only months before.

As I danced the 45 minutes of free movement between the opening and closing of our circle…

…space opened up…the space in my heart and my brain where this dream had lived cleared out…and the Universe flowed in.

A dozen new ideas bloomed in the space left by this one…and I realized something important:

I’ve been quiet for a long time. Not that I haven’t written on my blog or spoken in person, but…I’ve held things back. I’ve been terrified that if I shared everything that I had to share, there would be nothing left. If I released my creations into the world, nothing would come to replace them. If I blogged every idea I had, I would run out of things to say.

So I held them back. I stored them for special occasions, or until I could “make them perfect” (which never happened). I got distracted by new projects before old ones were complete (more on this in an upcoming post). I hung on to never-started ideas because it was safer than trying.

But what came to me as I made this one dream real…was just how wrong that belief was. As I danced, things shifted in my mind, and possibilities blossomed. I took my next step into readiness.

And I thought…”I’m ready to DO this. I’m can share what I create, and there will always be more where that came from.”

So here I am…I’m sharing. (It still feels a little scary, but I’m doing it anyway)

I have a gift for you

Spirit Moves Dance – The Dance of Breath

This is my first-ever moving meditation. I created it about a month ago, and I was too afraid to tell you. I’m not afraid anymore

(It’s a link to the mp3, so you should be able to right-click to download…help yourself, it’s yours for free, and if you like it, please spread the word. This is my thank you to you for reading my words and sharing my space…I love so much that we can connect this way and that I can share with you)

There are more where that came from. There are more telecircles too. And there are projects I haven’t even thought of yet. I understand now…I have to make them real and let them go, and then the Universe will flow into the space left behind. I will grow, and I will be able to create new things.

There is infinite possibility…just so long as I don’t hold back.

 

…I’m ready to let the Universe in and see what happens…