Living a Life Of Inspiration

by: Jaclyn Shaw
Blocked energy and bouts of negativity can have crippling effects or at the very least lead to feelings of uneasiness and panic. Thanks to Source (my personal word for God), I have been successful at unblocking by dedicating myself to some activities that exhibit reverence for life.

What does that mean? Well, I came up with my own list of 20 ways to connect with Life Force (Source) and feel infinitely inspired and empowered because of it. When I do these things, I keep in mind why I am doing them.
With a strong intentionality, I practice the following at my own pace. Hope you enjoy my suggestions! Here goes:
1. Eating holistic organic food. (Honoring Body)
2. Drinking 7 glasses of water a day. This intake varies according to weight. Calculate your proper intake using this water calculator (Honoring Body)
3. 45 minutes of stretching/cardiac/ lifting exercise (Honoring Body)
4. Getting proper sleep (7-8 hrs) (Honoring Mind, Body, Emotions)
5. 1 hour of meditation (Honoring Mind, Body, Emotions, and Spirit)
6. Morning Pages - Writing down  3 pages full of subconscious dreams and thoughts as soon as I awake. (Honoring Mind, Emotions)
7. Spend time with children and reconnect with your inner child (Honoring Relationships/ Emotions)
8. Write a list of 10 people, places or things you are grateful for and why (Honoring Relationships)
9. Call, or write a letter to an old friend/ new friend (Honoring Relationships)
10. Go on a mystery date with yourself... take yourself to a place you've never been that excites and stimulates your senses (Honoring your Experience)
11. Plan trip to a place you have never experienced before (Honoring your Experience)
12. Writing Music  (Honoring Creativity)
13. Sketching/Drawing/ Painting (Honoring Creativity)
14. Free form prose writing (Honoring Creativity)
15. Write a list of 5 things that made you giggle today (Honoring Emotions)
16. Read a book about something you've never explored (Honoring Intelligence)
17.  Creating a "Career Focused To Do" list and sticking to it (Honoring Potential to Succeed)
18. Spend time with animals (Honoring Nature)
19. Long walks in nature (Honoring Nature)
20. Pray: Thanking Source for the food, clothing, shelter, good luck, good relationships, etc. (Honoring Nature/ Connecting to Higher Intelligence)

People Live Their Lives For Me On TV

by Jaclyn Shaw

When I recount the most influential songwriters of my teenage years, I think of the angelic soulful Jewel. She was beautiful, and strong willed, yet graceful. She wasn't some pervert trying to minimize my feelings... she was honest. She had a message of vulnerability for her listeners and she most unabashedly led me to the pent up emotions of my youth.

One song loops in my mind today, as I struggled to unstick my hypnotized eyes from the addictive 90210 series on the boob tube. Who will save my soul?

It's funny how songs pop up from our subconscious to remind us of what is important. When I really want to check in with my feelings about an experience, I quietly wait in stillness till I hear the incessant record player in my mind. The song that pops up usually gives me the best advice about that moment. It's magical... it really is.

As I write this, I remember the first time I discovered that people enjoyed my voice. I was at a block party with a friend, Kristen, in grammar school. She had invited my 8th grade class, with all it's personality and darkness to her neighborhood event. Amidst a population of school kids who would often leave me feeling anxious, I felt a calm as I entered a crowd of karaoke singers. Amongst that group, I recall a school bully who make a habit of making fun of female vocalists (and women in general). Before summer let out, he mocked a boy who had a Jewel CD in his backpack.

I remember the freshness and breeziness of that day. It was as if my body was on autopilot, and all my worries were being lifted and soothed by air. School had let out, and in my mind I thought, I may never see these people again. I just wanted to sing.

"Who will Save Your Soul?," was the song they handed me the microphone for. I focused on the words, and meant them. I could feel the energy of the crowd rising, just as much as the energy rose inside of me. But, I didn't want to admit it. Kristen leaned in, smiling and wide eyed, after my performance and encouraged me, saying how good my voice was.

Today, I am reminded of that glimpse of hope and enthusiasm. When people seemed to be living their lives, I would sit back and watch. I would analyze. I would judge. Lately, as analytical and pragmatic as my intelligence is, I have been craving that honesty. It seems that whatever struggle I have internalized from that grammar school experience is still present. Am I the critic or the artist? Am I the one who feels or the one who numbs?

What of the listener? Yes, it is good to be inspired. But how long must one be inspired before taking a leap into the unknown? Because what has inspired us is no use if it does not stir our souls to action... we are the keepers and dispensers of our truth.

Truth is soulless without those feelings. This day forward, I vow to get rekindle and untangle the most complex of those feelings. For the sake of my art, my soul, and my progress as a communicator.

Youth Obsession

by Jaclyn Shaw

Youth is the Tabula Rosa. Youth, often symbolized by smiling plump faces, bright eyes, and bouncy healthy bodies, are visuals that I often associate with new beginnings. It is youth, of course, where we begin learning our beliefs and shaping our identities. Within the fair flesh of these beings are the rudiments of exploration: hungry minds that starve for knowledge, playful fearlessness, and resiliency. Their heavy feet, expressive bodies, and shameless countenance can often remind us of our own potential. They are such beautiful “BEINGS!” Of course, new beginnings, though associated with, are not exclusively reserved for the young. This idea of the beginning, is constantly presenting itself to us, now and into our late adulthood. Changes, adjustments, and movements need to be made to balance ourselves with the rest of the world, and even more so, with our own vision of progress. Yes, a mysterious hand (beyond hormonal highs and libido) rears an energetic youth but this does not deny the power of the aged. The aged BECOME what they learn, a great metamorphic skill, if their learning is continuous. The youth is a mere emblem for the inner child we hold as we birth new moments. Age and wisdom guide us as we select what we yearn to nurture and fulfill. This being said, I often glorify the youth as they represent a readiness to embrace change BUT the aged and experienced catalyze those changes… and for this I am grateful as well….Just Some Banter….

The Irony of People Pleasers

by Jaclyn Shaw
MY dream is not YOUR dream, and YOURS will never be MINE! Our unique visions stand in isolation, and are all imprinted in our minds as dissimilar as fingerprints. I can neither completely conceive of your dream nor your past experiences, feelings, and latent desires associated with it. I can only guess at it with assumed approximation… We have more control over ourselves than we ever would over someone else, let alone their vision! So why waste time living through other people? 

I've done it. I have tried to make a shinning armor out of someone else's dust. I am guilty of putting people on schedules to plot out their lives, to motivate them, and inspire them... but what for? I recently asked myself this question to get to the root of my "SELFLESS" actions. After much ruminating and analysis, the answer I concluded is “empowerment.” I help others because it empowers me? This is ironic. How can I empower myself by plotting and planning the goals of someone else’s assumed potential? 

I have an older, wiser friend who is a “common sense” genius. She said that after spending a life-time of helping others, and putting others before herself, she is filled with resentment. Why did she finance her girlfriends through college, buy people cars, work endless hours for hand out money… to her own demise? 

Before she was famous, a local artist gave me a dirty look after I complimented her performance at a local hole in the wall. I remember the shiver that ran through me. Why is she performing, if she doesn’t like reaching people? Or furthermore, why is she performing is she doesn’t like people? Or even more specifically, why doesn’t she like me? At that point, I knew how important it was to be polite, because you never know how much you can let someone down with words, or in her case, looks. 

Like God, “What people think?” is a mystery. Unless they tell you with words, you can’t know what objects and abstract concepts have been playing in their minds. We can try to please them, like trying to please some invisible ghost. I think we should treat them with respect and invest minimal energy in trying to control them. 

People pleasers end up becoming doormats: an object for the needy and the lowest common denominator of service. After all, people need a place to wipe their feet when they come off the street. Doormats get dirty and crusty quick, despite their elaborate welcoming design and warm energy. 

Why please people at all? For a stroke of the ego? For a buck? For a minute… until some raw association comes up for them, and THEY decide I are no longer of service to them? 

I conclude my ramble with this… yeah, it is of good morale to be respectful to people, but never at the expense of my self-respect. Though people know not what they do, because they are inherently ignorant of their impact on others, it is not our personal responsibility to enlighten each and every one of them. That is their responsibility, according to their unique grids of potential.