May 29, 2008 One More Time

Our youngest, Ariel, gave birth yesterday shortly after 4AM to a lovely boy, un-named as of this writing…a natural childbirth.  She will be home tomorrow.  She had to fill out all sorts of forms because she won’t allow any vaccinations.

He is my 8th, and likely last grandchild.  I’ve been very laid back about him, but as I write various friends I realize how excited I really am.  There’s something in that – how sharing with others reveals you to yourself.

So in this year so far, our youngest daughter Ariel has given birth, Sunny, our oldest - because of Aliya’s love – is moving to a house of her own.  I tell you, her yard is the yard of a million dollar home and the home is in Hamilton, near an excellent school.  And my now next older grandson is almost 8 months old – He talks with me all the time.

When you have family like that, nothing else matter.  We are blessed One More Time.  I am secure in my commitments – to a sustainable planet, to social justice and to spiritual fulfillment.

April 5, 2008 Stretching – Michael Lipp

This is an exciting month – even not in Paris –I’m expanding into new markets and I’m enthusiastic about both.  I’m leading a most interesting teleseminar at the end of the month on Coaching 2.0.  And I’m coaching professional staffs, creating solid teams.  The staffs are absolutely essential to the practice, but who ever takes care of their staff?

And my youngest daughter is in her 8th month.  I’ll be leading a Symposium as she enters her 9th.  I haven’t written about this activity.  But it has accented my mission.  This is the “Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream” symposium, developed by the Pachamama Alliance.  It’s purpose (my mission) is to have a sustainable environment, social justice and spiritual fulfillment present for all of us.

I’ve begun to distribute my newest book, The Principles of Relationships and on April 21 I’m starting my newest class on that subject.  There’s more, but that should give you a sense of the month ahead.

March 24, 2008 Spring Break

The impudent teenager wants to take that title and not write anything – and somewhere that tempts me.  But I’m saying this more about Diamond — Mom and Grandma work and she’s home – having to play.  Ironic.

Monday is always busy for me – I write my essays for next Monday, which includes creating new poetry.  And, of course, there’s the “normal” Monday activities – the phone calls, the commitments,… And yesterday was a holiday for some of my family.  Have I ever mentioned my family’s personal diversity?  My son is married to a born-again Christian (with 3 sons, twin grandsons and a grnddaughter).  My two oldest dayghters are both pagan – Wiccans, as is Deborah’s son.  My next two daughters are each with African American men, one a husband, the other a commitment-phobe father- They account for 5 grandchildren – 4 boys and Diamond, who, appropriately is the leader.  And my youngest daughter, divorced from her daughter’s African American father and pregnant with her white catholic raised son.  Whew…

When I read that, I think – no wonder I’m committed to Social Justice – as well as Environmental Sustainability and Sporotual Fulfillment –takes all of that just for a family gathering.

March 19, 2008 To the Gym

It’s been weeks since I’ve been to the gym.  And at my age I lose my conditioning faster than ever, so I pay the price.  But it’s a price worth paying. 

I’ve learned much growing up, but I have few regrets.  And one of them is that I let participating in sports fade away.  So I’m left with exercising in the gym.  I don’t mind the boredom and I enjoy the constant result of a workout.  But I regret not playing.

My best friend Sherm never stopped playing.  He’s climbed mountains, biked through Europe and has played basketball and for the last 10 -15 years reacketball, religiously.  At 72 he outplays kids and sets a standard that we can all aspire to.

When I came home from ROTC summer camp in 1956, I was able to do push ups with my kid brother (now 63) on my back.  I loved it and me doing that.  Why did I ever stop?

March 14, 2008 Camron Types

Camron is 5 1/2 months old.  I observe him to study how babies become ‘us’… They have more sensory equuipment than adults and I wonder whether it’s still there, but somehow supressed.  All of his loving baby-isms, the apparently random movement of his hands and legs – how his head moves right and his hands move in an apparently disconnected way– they’re not at all random.  He looks everywhere at once, uses his mouth to gather information… is inrigued by all of it. 

His mother, Nancy and I all take him with us as we use our computers.  He has already adapted to that world.  He grabs at the keyboard and looks to the screen, already knowing there’s a connection.  No awe…except by me.  He grabs the keyboard and eats it…not enough info; he moves his fingers on it and sees stuff change on the screen.  He likes that.

He grabs the remote when I watch TV; he knows there’s a connection.  He has one of those ‘exersaucers’ a circular thing that turns within a tray of amusments.  He turns one way while his hands play with things he can’t see.  Attention Deficit Disorder is what we call it when there’s a failure to conform to a linear attention model.  That’s one of the ways we train babies to limit themselves, just as we reduce their natural tools to gather input and collect data.  We teach them how to fit in, to become this culture on this planet, to become grounded.  I want to learn as an adult to go the other way.

I think of all my commitments, the one that’s least natural for a baby is environmental sustainabiity — next is social justice.  But I believe we teach them early on not to be spiritually fulfilled.  They start there.

Incidentally – My next free seminar, 6 sessions, starting April 21 — The Relationship Principles— Register on my website or, at least, find out: www.MichaelLipp.com

March 8, 2008 Either

Either the Irish are funny or my town is.  They scheduled a St. Patrick’s Day parade for today.  Isn’t it supposed to be March 17?  But it’s stormy today and they had to cancel and reschedule – For March 29?  So I know they understand that it’s supposed to be in March. 

I went to the library this morning (in a storm, remember?)  But I wore my normal not-winter jacket.  And a woman leaving the library offered to share her umbrella an walk me back in.  Very sweet, I thought, but so unnecessary.  She insisted, saying that her dad was the same way – almost cancelled out the sweetness, but didn’t.  Bad enough I only take out large print books, but to be correctly stereotyped bugged me.

I decided to write poetry today.  I never do that.  My poetry is impromptu and I don’t understand it.  I do know that sometimes it’s good…even when forced.

My daughter, Aliya, mother of Diamond and Camron, decided to get her college degree, having stopped after high school.  She’s been in the Univ of Phoenix for the last 4 1/2 years.  She started when Diamond was 3.  She explained to me that Diamond has heard “not now, I’m doing homework,” or the like most of her life.  She didn’t miss school throughout her pregnancy and for Camron’s first 4 months.  She graduates on Monday.

I am awed by her commitment, her persistence, her “no matter what” attitude.  Pride is the least emotion I feel.  I wish I had her extraordinary qualities – There’s nothing she can’t do

February 19, 2008 More on Curing Asthma

I believe this homeopathy cure will work.  That is probably an essential step in getting it to work -  probably true for anything that works for us (Law of Attraction) whether we know it or not.

It’s funny that I say this after the  most difficult asthma days I’ve had in months.  But I am now tasting food I haven’t really tasted in years and smelling things I haven’t been aware of in years.  My onion-like body is peeling away layers an layers of medication imposed insensitivity.  I’ve also been taking low doses of steroids for years (now a heavily advertised asthma ‘cure’ called Advair) so I’ve been slowly robbing my own immune system of power.

It’s clear that this process of stripping layers and then rebuilding the stregth of what’s naturally there will take some time.  So the self-imposeed dietary restrictions are only temporary.  Still, there are certain foods I miss and will continue to miss.  Too bad.  A very small price to pay for no asthma and no medications.  Very small. 

My wife has suffered from chronic headaches, maybe from age 12 on.  She had been addicted to Excedrin.  So she’s going through her own stripping and rebuilding.  Nice thing is that we’re handling this food restriction together.  Will be nice to slim down together.  She hasn’t had a headache in a week – for the first time in a long, long time.

So we’re learning as much as we can – so we can be a knowledgable source of support for our kids.  I really think this is all a part of our international green revolution:  sustainability, justice, spirituality — discovering our ownership and power.

January 10, 2008 Telling Time

I love language – This title can be read 1) as if using a watch 2) a significant time 3) a revealing time.  When I first wrote it I thought a mattering time – then I had to figure out what to say and I caught caught by the multiple meanings.

Well – This is a telling time – It matters.  I found out a few days ago that my next grandchild is a boy.  That matters -  Apparently they can now do a 3-D sonogram.

One of the things that confused me about New Hamphire (I think I’m always confused by politics) – They exit-interviewed undecided voters, many of whom said that it was a last second toss-up between McCain & Obama.  Really?  Do they have the slightest knowledge of  being for the war vs. being against the war?  of  right wing, conservative Republican and left wing, radical Democrat?  I would have (and withhold) an opinion over which of those choices they should pick, which is irrelevant — but that there’s even a last second choice between these polar opposites really blows my mind.  And it’s a telling decision.

I know life would be a lot easier if  acting out of our opinions had no consequences – it would be so much easier to make up our minds – like eating without consequence.

Does this have anything to do with my commitment to environmental stability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment?  Both of thos guys say they’re for all of that.  But I don’t think either of their advisors support any change.

January 8, 2008 School

My granddaughter asked me to drive her to school this morning – so I just typed the title and left.
I never realized how isolated kids have become – Their lives are consumed by alone-ness, by television and play station, by video games, even the internet.  And I don’t know about your nighborhood, butoutside play doesn’t happen that often anymore.
When I was a kid, we always played outside.  Street games were a constant. 

I never got that school is a rare opportunity to be together with other kids.  Imagine that – school as a social institution…reminds me of one of Asimov’s robot novels – maybe Caves of Steel – anyhow, the same robot (Daneel) & detective… How do they make friends?  Our culture changes underneath us and we don’t notice.  Kids are a different demographic; they watch and listen to different things than we do; we may not even know about any of it.  Worse for me, I’m a grandparent, so the discontinuity is large, like jumping over a chasm with 2 leaps (I don’t suggest you try that.)

How do you keep up?

Makes my commitment more interesting, because I have to keep educating myself so that I speak what they’ll hear — having a sustainable environment, social justice and spiritual fulfillment for all of us.

December 17, 2007 The Difference a Day Makes

My newest grandson is almost 3 months old.  To him a day is more than 1% of his life.  He learns more in one day than we do in maybe a year.  He learns thorugh senses that we have bveen grown to mostly ignore, bypass or unlearn.  And to a large extent that will continue perhaps for several years.

Not only does he learn to be human, he also learns to be American and increasingly he learns how he fits in, how to interpret, how to get what he wants (very close to being born with that) -  But let’s put Cameron aside.

Our tendency is to lump days together, noting only minor differences.  We only pay attention to what we consider to be major events.– Songs tell us, What a Difference a Day Makes, but tha’ts usually a specific day.  We quickly get used to the mundane – and most of life is “the mundane.”  So I assert that that is where the action is, that is where the juice is.

A commitment is only lived when it is “the mundane” — Goals are reached when the reaching becoms mundane, with periodic non-mundane-stones, noticeable moments.  When we eat an orange, we throw away the mundane peel, only using it in certain recipes that call for using the zest.