Someday Bloody Someday

5000 piece puzzle
missing one piece
the first
lost
in questions
instead of living them
playing with energy
dangerous
like love can be

someday bloody someday
infinite intimate
like hummingbird visits
flirting figure eight flutter
time stopper
as Life offers
teachable moments
in Nature

all this
to fold a little space

all this
to fold a little space

we change
we pray
in poems
like mother hands
wondering
where she went wrong
where she went right
where her dreams for you landed
when her fears for you planted

we change
we pray
in poems
like father hands
wondering
where he went wrong
where he went right
where his dreams for you landed
when his fears for you planted

secrets mastered
to protect our time
bleed into cemetery visits
and this guy
has daughter fatigue

uncheckable daughter
in a box-checking world
disappointing
like unchecked boxes can be

hair, body, clothes
long, thin, femme

someday bloody someday
i’ll write prayers
beneath this one
fly them into palms
meant for loving
and all the world’s heartache
would bow to beauty

behold
the greatest story
ever loved

Gender Binary: “Girl Toys” vs. “Boy Toys”

I remember being young and having this angry feeling in toy stores. Why did “Girl Toys” teach girls how to cook, clean, and mother? I didn’t want pink, princesses, or any gendered trickery. Why did “Boy Toys” seem more fun? Remote controlled cars, building Legos, transforming Transformers…

The binary begins long before we become aware of it, but here’s one young girl’s moment of clarity about gendered marketing:

make happy happen

forgotten poet

i hear the poems you haven’t written

mediocre musician

i hear the songs you haven’t sung

struggling worker

i know the labor of your love

self-healing survivor

i know your justice

joyful sorrow

i ebb when you flow

dying flower

i save your seeds

uncertain dreamer

inspired silly

i sip your magic

root your floating parts

and dance with you daily

happy is not someday

happy is a daily practice

create happy

do happy

be happy

deserve happy

work for happy

make happy happen

Vietnamese Short Film on LGBT Counseling Needs

LGBT và Nhu cầu Tư vấn (LGBT’s Counseling Needs)

New Video Blog: Expect more videos that Make It Better

Happy Wednesday folks! Click below to watch my latest video blog. Stay tuned for upcoming training videos that help Make It Better for Queer, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming Youth of Color, plus Mindful Tech videos about social media marketing (youtube.com/MindfulTech)

10 Ways to Kick-off Your Project

I’ve decided to start a new blogging space called Mindful Tech. It’s a new vision project aiming to share social media marketing skills to beginners, artists, healers, small biz start-ups, side-hustlers, small orgs, good people, and good causes. I’ve been working hard on creating a logo, defining the purpose, target audience, securing handles, and self-educating along the way. There’s so many things I want to have ready, but alas –the blog is just getting started. .

I’m caught up in having it all be perfect now, instead of just starting to create content. Not to mention, I feel that self-imposed pressure rookie bloggers feel. And I have an awkward relationship with blog stats.

It’s a difficult thing to start something. It’s hard to start something by yourself. But keep in mind we don’t have to do it alone. Mindful Tech is excited to work with Words On The Page. We’re sharing skills, supporting each other’s goals, and giving each other homework and someone to be accountable to.

When you’re ready to kick-off that big idea, that side-hustle, or that creative dream –it can be overwhelming to get it off ground. Maybe you feel some kinda way about self-promotion, marketing, or social media. Maybe you have a ton of other things to do. All that stuff that comes up –Acknowledge it. Honor it. And don’t let it hold you back from breathing life into your great ideas.

So while I don’t claim to have all the answers, here’s some things to consider:

10 Ways to Kick-Off Your Project

1. Schedule a weekly (or bi-weekly) check-in with a mutual life-coach buddy. Give each other homework.
2. Define your target audience. Be specific. Create a story about them. It helps.
3. Define purpose, goals, and expectations (what can other people expect?)
4. Secure those Twitter handle, Facebook pages, WordPress, Tumblr, Gmail, the actual website URL if you’re ready to, and any other online space that makes sense for you.
5. Put stuff out there in a way that sustains your being. Props to make/shift magazine for modeling that for our community.
6. Revisit your organization and productivity tools. Google Docs is a must. And see if DropBox and Evernote work for you. Or maybe ToodleDo?
7. Commit. Revisit your vision and goals. Why is this project important to you? Why now? Why do you want to commit to it at this point in your life?
8. Research. What do you need to learn? What skills would support your project? Are there people you want to work with?
9. Finalize that logo design. Make sure it looks good in various sizes. Profile pics are really small. Banners are really large. Remember the exact colors and fonts. They’ll come in handy later. Remember colors on screen may print slightly darker.
10. Make that timeline. Any timeline. Even if it’s one goal with one deadline. Make a backwards timeline if it helps.

Thanks for reading! Although we’re not flowered yet, please follow our seeds. Pre-follow our super blank Mindful Tech blog. Follow @MindfulTech on twitter. Pre-Like us on Facebook.

14 Ways to Practice Being Present

The Higher Self increases awareness by becoming aware of one’s automatic self.  The Higher Self realizes you can create space –even in brief moments of spaciousness.

Observe your thoughts. Just observe. Some people follow their breath. Be aware of the air as it enters your body through your nostrils. Deepak Chopra suggests silently repeating the word “just” while you breathe in, and the word “this” while you breathe out. Just… This…

Thoughts are naturally based in the past and the future. The present moment however, is the actual place from which Life is lived. Life is right now. Our minds wander in the past –whether rooted in past trauma, loss, situations, regret, or memories. Our thoughts of the future keep us preoccupied with upcoming bills, unmet goals, responsibilities, fear, hope, dreams… visions.

I feel like I’ve posted about cultivating presence in numerous entries. Note that these writings are mostly reminders from my Higher Self to my automatic self. A gentle nudge to snap me out of where my own thought patterns take me. The stories we create. The chatter. Perceptions. Unanswered questions. Uncertainty. Shoulds and should-haves.  But all thoughts take a back seat to the spaciousness of Presence. And so I keep writing about this because I, like most of us, struggle to really live in the Here and Now.

So how do we cultivate presence? Try this:

1. Create a time and space dedicated to your spiritual practice
2. Join a sangha or community space that feels like a spiritual home
3. Don’t beat your self up when you struggle with being present
4. Create a journal about your experiences with cultivating presence -what works for you
5. Eating Meditation – Eat quietly, being aware of where the food came from (labor, sunlight, rain, etc.), and how it sustains your body and your life
6. Have your own 1 Day Silent Retreat – change your voicemail and notify your friends that you will not be communicating in any way (this includes reading, writing, internet, etc), for the designated time
7. Clear your mind before you sleep
8. Self-massage with massage sticks to help move stagnant Qi and release pain. Mentally release the pain in the places you carry stress and trauma.
9. Do chores mindfully. Start with one: washing dishes.
10. Use stretching as a time to breathe mindfully
11. Be self-aware of reactions
12. Be self-aware of wrong perceptions
13. Be mindful of cell phones interfering with face-to-face conversation
14. Change your cell phone notifications to a long, peaceful bell sound

Join the conversation. What works for you? What are some challenges to being present in your daily life? Share by leaving a comment below. Thanks for reading!

*This entry and others are influenced by Daoist and Buddhist teachings.

Expect More On This Blog | How to Create a Facebook Cover Photo

Hey friends. So I couldn’t decide if I should start a new marketing and communications blog, or just expand my current blog. Since I’ve yet to master the art of blogging, I decided to continue to work on this one. Expect more blog entries on social media marketing, tech news, and all things geek. To visit another blog I manage, check out the myprintXpress.wordpress.com, a Real Estate Marketing Blog for myprintXpress, part of mypXpress.com

And now for some Facebook tips. For the new Facebook Timeline, there’s room for a nice cover photo. You’ll need it to be 840 x 310 pixels, but keep in mind it will appear cropped when people view your profile (until they scroll up). Here’s an idea of what it will look like with your profile pic in the bottom left corner.

Facebook cover photos are 840 x 310 pixels

Excited? Check out this article about Facebook cover photos from Mashable, or this one from jeyprieysblog.

 

two people

There are really two people within you –Your accidental self and your intentional self.

– Levinson & Levinson, authors of Guerrilla Marketing Remix

take you there