From hatred to presence...

It’s easy to be disappointed in or blame others without being accountable for yourself. It’s also easy to let strong emotions mask what is actually true. In fact, if you see a narrative that is largely rooted in hatred, the truth is likely concealed or manipulated. Emotions do not yield facts.

Hate is easily fueled, and can create great demons and senseless violence - whether physical, emotional, verbal, or otherwise. Often, hate is rooted in false reality, overreactions, and unhealed wounds projected onto others. 

And centering your energy or purpose on something hateful or resentful is definitely not going to lead you where you want to go - it will only harm your own being, degrading your own existence.

What can feel more challenging — yet is more rewarding and healing — is taking your gaze to yourself instead of constantly demonizing others. What would it be like to be curious about what arises in you in response to a situation or strong stimulus? What potentially vulnerable part in you needs your attention or care, instead of focusing blame on whatever or whomever is around you? The more you look within, the more you can effectively move the world around you.

All this to say, anger is an emotion that is important and needs to be allowed, and can lead to useful actions, creations, or ways of processing… and if you don’t have a healthy way of moving it through, or you hold on to it as a purpose or identity, it can turn to hate and destroy your heart.

We can’t expect life to be fair, because it isn’t. And we can honor our own needs (instead of always expecting others to do so, which sometimes they can and sometimes they can’t), help others, and do our best (which doesn’t need to be “pretty” or “perfect”).

The more you take responsibility for yourself, the more you can trust in the unknown and actually let go. The more you can allow yourself to see the bigger picture, the more you can receive support and see clearly. And the more you can step out of blame and shame, the more strength, resilience, and kindness can flow through your life.

Don’t let what people may say or think about you (or others) hold you back from being kind and brave and truthful and free.

Hate and toxic comparison are boring. Living in and acting from fear, wounds, hate, resentment just isn’t that interesting. I have compassion for these patterns, and the abuse that comes from them is something I strive to no longer tolerate. Let’s see what else among the tapestry of human experiences can exist when we consider a different or better way of being, communicating, and problem-solving.

May this new year be a time where you align more deeply with what is in your heart, with creating beauty no matter what life throws your way, and going forward no matter what.

After witnessing a horrific fire the last couple of days where people in the community right next to me lost everything, and after seeing and experiencing what I have this past year, I am inspired to no longer hold myself back from living life deeply, authentically, truthfully, with clearer boundaries, lower tolerance for what doesn’t serve me, and with an open heart. And to worry less about judgments (mine or others) and instead focus more on what’s *really* important.

How will you spend this precious time you were given living and breathing here at this moment? Will you choose a path of fear and resentment, or one of love and flow? We all feel fear, yet living from it as though it were a lifestyle simply won’t lead to solutions or better quality of life.

How can you be kinder while also being clear about what you will and won’t tolerate? How can you flow with inevitable change while also creating conditions where you can thrive? How can you align with people, places, and energies that truly make a difference and create a positive impact in your life and that of others, instead of with those that pull you down?

How can you be here NOW, because the past is past and the future is always in motion — now is all we have. 

Kindness

Loving-Kindness is not complicated. It’s quite simple. Yet we complicate it with distortions, biases, projections, outdated belief systems, and judgements — even hatred — of the perceived “other.”  The capital T “Truth” of it all, though, is that we are somehow all the same, all perfectly imperfect beings moving around in earthly bodies on this planet. There isn’t really an “other”… just other perspectives.

And it’s also deeply true that we are each vastly unique, carrying hugely important distinctions, such as lineages, cultures, experiences, a variety of authentic embodiments etc. 

And yet, we are the same. We are all human beings. We all house a soul. We all long for love in some form. We all are born, live, and then die, learning and growing and expressing, until we rejoin the universe in a different form. 

Our precious lives are better lived with a practice of being kind to ourselves and others. This practice doesn’t have to be an act of perfection. It’s a compass. It’s a practice for when we fall into what can often feel like the harsh brutalities of the world. And it starts with our own inner worlds.

From a kinder inner world, we can celebrate both the differences and the sameness we see in our outer world. 

I find myself on a continual journey of self love and compassion, and hope to be for the rest of my life. I trust that through offering these qualities to myself, I can somehow make the world a safer place for others to show up as they are, and that I can better support or be present with whomever is around me.

Let’s work towards a more compassionate world.

Inner Spark

Sharing myself and what I love has always been terrifyingly vulnerable. I struggle sometimes with feeling like I have something worthy to offer the world. And, the more I slow down and be present with myself, I’ve realized that freedom from this feeling of inadequacy can come by following my inner spark. Following what lights me up. What gets me curious. What nudges me from inside.⠀
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And then it doesn’t matter what others have to say or the thoughts of doubt spinning in my mind. My desire and joy, even in the face of deep pain, can carry me above judgment - mine or others. ⠀
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It doesn’t always go that way. Some days I feel stuck in the pain of unworthiness, of not-enough-ness. However, I’ve been befriending my spark more and more, and now it can guide me in dark moments. ⠀

What lights you up? Where is your spark leading you today? ⠀

And if your spark doesn’t feel accessible, know you have value simply by being. To quote Melissa Ambrosini, “the world needs your magic.”

And your magic is you being you. Fears, hopes, and all.

⠀(Pic from the loveliest little yoga studio we stumbled across on a past summer venture in Carbondale, CO) 📸 @devinpatrickhughes

Life Energy

There is a dynamic flow of energy available to us, both mechanically and energetically, as we move through the world.

One could say it’s “life energy.”

It also influences our movements and patterns, emotionally, psycho-physically, and even spiritually.

I’m inspired by spending time today with the spiraling tissue layers of the torso that are fundamental to human design, as well as the parts of me (emotionally and otherwise) that inhabit areas of my body, and how they all contribute to my ability to be and express myself.

We are all brilliantly designed no matter what.

 

#alexandertechnique #soundbody#naturalspirals #lifeenergy 📸 @tombrella_photography 2018

Going Towards Tension

Essay for TVF Retreat July 2019 -- “Going Towards Tension” By Molly Kittle

Sometimes when studying work that evokes, invites, and integrates the qualities of freedom and grace into our lives, we get the idea that we need to move away from tension and always go toward ease, because that’s where we thrive as beings. And while there is truth to that, it’s not necessarily the whole picture.

In fact, sometimes I can be hard on myself for not being “easeful” enough, especially if I’m often noticing my tension habits and feeling the need to constantly improve. This can be a slippery slope, because I start to think I should be different than I am. When this happens, my body tightens, my heart grows heavy, and I have much fewer resources to make a useful shift or be the person I want to be in the moment.

When studying to be an Alexander teacher, it was important for me to learn how to be more easeful with my arms, as I discovered I carried a lot of tension there. In fact, as I began exploring how I used my arms — especially my right arm, which is my dominant side — I realized that how I typed, wrote, chopped vegetables, and grabbed objects usually had quite a lot of squeeze and grip going on.

As I continued to learn about using my arms according to my innate design, about halfway through my training I ran into a bit of a struggle. I began to think I would never get there — I would never have the ease, grace, and integrity in my arms that I wanted. I had moments of freedom and lightness, but they felt fleeting. I saw my peers moving with such ease — why couldn’t I also have that experience? Was something wrong with me? Was I the gal with the weird, unfixable arms?

This discouraged mindset was challenged quite regularly the more I progressed through the Alexander training, and as I began to work as a teacher. There are two instances worth sharing in which I received a gift of clarity that helped me fundamentally shift my struggle.

The first was when a friend told me “your arms are perfect as they are.” Something about how she said this sentence struck me. She said it with such authenticity, such embodiment of truth and acceptance, that it brought tears to my eyes. I paused to consider that I was, in fact, already perfect as I am, and that my body has always been acting out of brilliance. I realized it was my job to claim this as the truth, and what a deeply important job it is to practice unconditional self acceptance! I would later learn that this is a key part of not only the Alexander work, but to discovering life’s beauty.

The second instance was when I found myself recovering from a surgery and doing rehabilitative movements with a Pilates instructor. I learned that even though it felt counter-intuitive, actually going toward the tension in my upper arms somehow satisfied my system and relieved what felt like my constant efforting to avoid my old tension habit. The instructor cued me to acknowledge the tightness I felt without trying to make it go away, and then briefly and mindfully do small phrases of feeding into or exaggerating both the movement and feeling of the tension, and then coming to rest. These moments of exploration and permission to be tense allowed my body to soften and I began to simultaneously accept where I was in my process and discover a wider range of motion. The phrase “there is no wrong movement, just movement poorly done” has been quoted to me several times by several teachers, and in my recovery process, I started to understand more of what that meant.

So what does it mean to “go towards” tension in any instance?

Going towards means welcoming what is.

If we are willing to lean in to what is uncomfortable, and willing to acknowledge that tension shows up for a reason -- that it’s even aiming to be helpful and informative -- and that we don’t have to fix ourselves because we aren’t actually broken, something magical can occur.

Magic can be defined as a condition existing outside what you currently believe to be possible. When we welcome what is showing up for us in our experience, we are no longer fighting to be different than we are. And when we aren’t fighting to be different, we can become more aware. And awareness itself is the place from which shift and change can happen. And this is magic - because it goes beyond limitation into potential. And we don’t actually have to work hard to make it happen. In fact, through acceptance, we can let go of holding on to “shoulds” or judgment, and in this act of surrender, we re-direct fuel from limitation towards creation.

This very principle applies to our thoughts, emotions, movements, and how we show up as ourselves in the world. And as singers, it applies to our relationship and skill with our voices and our ability to share authentic expression and artistry.

In my case with my arms, my perspective of “not getting it” and the judgments I had about my body’s limitations created the condition for limited movement. In a mixture of both confusion and discovery, I slowly began to understand and develop a sense of trust that my arms could actually do less and still get the job done. To this day I’m still playing with it! And I always have to ask myself -- what if I can be fine with where I’m at now? This act of welcoming myself as I am in the present moment has become the magic moment.

Do we want to sing with exaggerated tension? Obviously not. However, when we can allow ourselves to appreciate and accept whatever is true for our experience and for our bodies and spirits in the moment, we can become open to possibilities and abilities that we couldn’t have foreseen or anticipated. And this is magic.

Have a magical week. Welcome both discomfort and joy, and discover what you can create.

On Right & Wrong

Wow, it’s amazing how the work we do in AT invites such a true acceptance of one’s being.  

For this work can not be effective if perceived from a place of right and wrong.

If we believe our habit to be “wrong” - and, in doing so carry the label of our self as being wrong, not good enough, full of “can’t do it” and “why don’t I get it?” narratives - then we will struggle to feel or experience the freedom that is available.

And, when we approach ourselves slowly, with curiosity, and celebrate when we notice our habit appear, we create a window of opportunity to make a choice to let go, to undo, or simply not do the habit, and continue on towards the intended movement path/action/thought, or start over - whatever is desired.  

Importantly, the conditions for this situation must be that of curiosity. Of self-kindness and exploration. If we were to judge ourselves for every time a limiting habit arose, we would be very miserable, for our habits are usually always with us, especially when we are just beginning to see them in a new light.

And, we tend to ebb and flow with ourselves and our life environments, and if we expect to be in a state of freedom or ease 100% of the time, we are setting up yet another angle of the "right" place to be. 

When we embody a mindset of duality with right and wrong, we automatically create conditions where the choices available are very limited, giving the illusion that we simply can’t do the task at hand, or we only can do so within a certain constraint. When, in fact, we merely haven't shifted our attention.

We could instead pause and notice ourselves, accept or celebrate whatever we feel in that moment, and choose to ungrip in some way (mental, emotional, physical - all at once, one after the other!), and complete the task with a different quality of being.

With this different quality of being, we have an expanded perception of ourselves and our environment, and are less likely to go down the pathway of looped or stuck behavior and experiences. We can see more clearly that there are other pathways available, and we can become comfortable with the idea of doing something new or traversing into the unknown.

We simply have to choose to observe ourselves when we feel uncomfortable, and when our bodies are curling up with tension during a task or experience, we can decide that we won’t judge ourselves for “doing it wrong” or carrying the “I should know better” narrative. That type of thinking is, in fact, part of a tension pattern. 

And when we pause and see the thought and feel the tightness, we can celebrate our noticing of it, open our hearts full of acceptance for the pattern that has served us in some form or another over time, and ungrip - even if just a little bit - to change the conditions of our being.  

How do we "ungrip?" That’s where an AT lesson is useful. Alexander teachers give you tools for noticing yourself and what you’re doing, how to ungrip or shift your use, and then rediscover the innate support that lies not only all around us, but also within our very structures and essence. And from these new, expanded conditions, we can go forward and face life with more ease and grace.

Compassion, self-acceptance, and self-kindness are a key part of this process.

I saw this stone and labywrinth in a sweet town in the Colorado mountains called Carbondale.  The Rumi quote says "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."

Singing from your bones

An interesting article in Gizmodo about why your voice sounds different inside your head.  Check it out HERE!

NEW

Here I am taking a leap of faith and beginning a new blog to share my musings on singing, Alexander Technique, teaching, learning, music, philosophy, health, continual perspective expansion and likely, The Force.

Studying the art of singing, for me, began a journey of continual discovery, which has lead to my fascination with human potential and spiritual dimensions of craft.  The craft being how we live our lives each day – the way you do one thing is the way you do everything.

I’m excited for this new creative venture.  I’m also excited for my new website and Boulder studio.  If you’re reading this post, welcome!  And cheers to newness.

McCartney Album "New"