Mojo Monday ~ Who Are You?

Michelle Fairchild
Who Are You?
This past Monday and Tuesday the fost-adoption agency I work for brought in a presenter for a two-day management training. We did some interesting interactive activities. I wanted to share some of them because I thought they might prove interesting for you to try at home with a family member or a friend. Additionally it can be interesting to try it in a group as well. The process can lead to some interesting discussions and realizations about yourself and those you know or think you know.
The first activity was to start off by pairing off with another person. Before we were given the question we would be asking we were to choose who would ask the question and who would answer. The question was “Who are you?” and one of the persons had to ask this question over and over for a minute, with the other person answering again and again, maybe with a different response, maybe repeating some answers. After the minute the partners then switched and went through the same process for another minute. Then finally they would switch back and forth for one more additional minute.
The next question we asked and went through the same process again was “When you are afraid who do you pretend to be?”
Following these exchanges we then gathered back into a larger circle and we then had to take turns standing behind our question & answer partner and introduce our partner as if we were he or she by stating the following.
Hi my name is: ___________
I am a ____________ person.
In order for me to feel safe I need ________________ from the group.
Later we did another rather fun activity. This one will require you to write down some simple answers and later I can reveal more about what your answers mean.
1) Write down your favorite color. Now list three adjectives for this color.
2) Write down your favorite animal. Now list three adjectives for this animal.
3) Write down the word “Night” and list three adjectives.
4) Write down the word “Water” and list three adjectives.
I will tell you more about what these mean in a comment to this post.  Be sure not to peek
😉
Another very interesting test to take is the Human Metrics Personality Test
The results will tell you the following:
  • Your type formula according to Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers typology along with the strengths of the preferences
  • The description of your personality type
  • The list of occupations and educational institutions where you can get relevant degree or training, most suitable for your personality type – Jung Career Indicator™
Share your answers to the questions above and if you take the Human Metrics test come back and share your results.

If you take the time to try the “Who are you?” answer and question exchange with a friend or family member share what came up during the exchange.

Mojo Monday ~ ~ Letters & Prayers for Shiloh’s Rite of Passage

Michelle Fairchild
On Saturday, December 11th an evening reception was held in honor of Shiloh Sophia McCloud.
Part of the ritual included the creation of a ceremonial treasure chest that was to include letters, prayers, and testimonials honoring our Chief Laughing Cloud.
If you already wrote something for this treasure chest please share with us or feel free to write something to Shiloh now.

If you attended the event perhaps share with us a taste of your experience.
Here is the letter I sent to be part of the treasure chest:
The only word that I could speak upon entering The Wisdom House gallery was “WOW!” I was in awe of Shiloh’s art and then as I explored her journals and spoke with Mary McDonald I felt something stir in my soul. In the following months I would visit Shiloh’s web site to view her art and to learn more about the Cosmic Cowgirls and when I learned of the Bountiful Conference in October 2008 I was drawn to attend.
The first time I heard Shiloh speak at the conference my response was again “WOW!” It was incredible to see that not only her art represented a “wowness”, but so did the woman who created that art.
Months later while framing a print of Shiloh’s to display in my home, one of my 3 year old daughters asked to see what I was doing. I turned over the piece of art and the one word out of her little girl mouth was “WOW!” I actually wrote to Shiloh of that experience because here again that word “WOW!” was coming from the mouth of a mere baby whose own young soul was stirred by what she saw.
My heart knew no other path than to become a Cosmic Cowgirl and over the course of the past two years as I have taken painting classes, Sparked, attended conferences, written blogs and articles and interacted with other Cosmic Cowgirls, I have also been blessed to have grown to know Shiloh more personally. I have been so incredibly impressed and inspired by this remarkable woman who is firmly grounded (while wearing her red cowgirl boots no doubt) and yet is also reaching for the stars and encouraging everyone in her presence to do the same.
I would like to share a poem/song called Remember Your Wow-ness by a writer who is also a personal friend of Shiloh. It is by Patricia L. Reilly and appears in her book Words Made Flesh.
Remember Your Wow-ness

Verse 1
Do you ever look up at the night sky and say WOW?
Well you’re made of the same WOW-ness as the night sky.

Verse 2
Do you ever get lost in it’s bigness and say WOW?
Well you’re made of the same WOW-ness as the big sky.

Verse 3
Do you ever feel held by its darkness and say WOW?
Well you”re made of the same WOW-ness as the dark sky.

Verse 4
Do you feel the tug of the full moon and say WOW?
Well you’re made of the same WOW-ness as the full moon.

Verse 5
Do you ever try to count the stars and say WOW?
Well you’re made of the same WOW-ness as the night star.

Voice Choir
You are composed of the same stuff as the Milky Way.
You are an exquisite dimension of the Galaxy’s development.
You are a space the Universe fashioned to feel its own grandeur.
You are an individualize expression of WOW. WOW!
Thank you Shiloh for all the “WOW” you add to our world and the Universe!
much love ~ Michelle Fairchild

Mojo Monday ~ Character Strengths

Michelle Fairchild
It has been said that one of the secrets to happiness is finding ways to be able to operate in areas of strength as much as possible. One way to identify more of your strengths is to take the VIA Character Strengths assessment test. Researchers in a field called Positive Psychology identified 24 character strengths. The test they designed helps you figure out which of the 24 are your greatest strengths. The idea is that after you discover your strengths, you can work to improve ones you’re weaker at, but also play to the ones you’re stronger at.
You have to create an account so it will save your assessments. After you make your account, click on the test called “VIA Survey of Character Strengths” to take the test. It’s 240 questions long, but it goes fast, and I promise it’ll be worth it!
After you take the test, please share your Top Five strengths here on the Red Boa blog.
For the record, here are my top five:
1. Appreciation of beauty and excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.
2 Love of learning
You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn.
3. Perspective (wisdom)
Although you may not think of yourself as wise, your friends hold this view of you. They value your perspective on matters and turn to you for advice. You have a way of looking at the world that makes sense to others and to yourself.
4. Curiosity and interest in the world
You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery
5. Gratitude
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

Hallelujah as performed by K. D. Lang

Michelle Fairchild

This stirs the soul. What an amazing performance. The standing ovation and K. D.’s reaction at the end is so very touching.

hallelujah, halleluiah [ˌhælɪˈluːjə], alleluia [ˌælɪˈluːjə]

1. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) an exclamation of praise to God
2. an expression of relief or a similar emotion
n
1. an exclamation of “Hallelujah”
2. (Music, other) a musical composition that uses the word Hallelujah as its text
[from Hebrew hallelūyāh praise the Lord, from hellēl to praise + yāh the Lord, Yahweh]

Mojo Monday ~ Dear Santa

Michelle Fairchild

Today my 4 year old twin daughters wrote letters to Santa Claus asking for particular gifts for Christmas.  They let me know before we stared that we needed to include pictures for Santa Claus.

After they completed their letters and I explained that I would mail them to Santa Claus I sat there pondering what my letter to Santa would include this year if I still wrote one.  Then I considered why not write my own letter to Santa. 

There is a song I know called My Grown Up Christmas List that captures many things I would ask for as an adult and you can watch a video and read the lyrics below. 
Yet what about my inner child? What if I was 4 years old again or maybe 12? What about fun and adventure?
My 4 year old self would ask for that race track I always wanted and never got.
My 12 year old self would ask for records to play on my stereo.
My 41 year old self would ask for some fun and fancy paints from Dharma Trading so I can paint my black boots with a wild kick-ass design, an iTunes gift card (because I do so LOVE music), as well as ask for a greater power to help me not feel scared so much and help me embrace being courageous this next year. A bonus list would include a request for more time for creating and more peace in my home, which is sometimes challenged by the moods of my twin 4-year-olds.
What about YOU?
What would your 4 year old self want Santa to bring?
What about your 12 year old self?
What about this year? What would you put in your letter?
Lyrics to My Grown Up Christmas List
By Jane Monheit
Do you remember me
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies
Well, I’m all grown up now
And still need help somehow
I’m not a child
But my heart still can dream
So here’s my lifelong wish
My grown up Christmas list
Not for myself
But for a world in need
No more lives torn apart
And wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up Christmas list
As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree
Well heaven only knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul
No more lives torn apart
And wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up Christmas list
What is this illusion called the innocence of youth
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth
No more lives torn apart
And wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my grown up Christmas list

Zainab Salbi ~ Powerful Insight About War

Michelle Fairchild

In war we often see only the frontline stories of soldiers and combat. At TEDGlobal 2010, Zainab Salbi tells powerful “backline” stories of women who keep everyday life going during conflicts, and calls for women to have a place at the negotiating table once fighting is over.

About Zainab Salbi
Iraqi-born Zainab Salbi founded and runs Women for Women International, and has dedicated her life to helping women in war-torn regions rebuild their lives and communities.

This is a MUST-SEE video.

Some of the powerful moments that hit me is when she describes how a woman who was raped and mutilated in front of her children and also had to watch as her husband and her 9-year-old son were killed worries that her surviving children will have hate in their hearts and that they will grow up and want to fight the killers of their father and brother.

The tears flowed when Zainab shared how these women who have survived horrible wars are still dancing and singing everyday.  They are women standing on their feet in spite of their circumstances. 

She ends with a beautiful quote from Rumi “Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” 

She then asks us all to meet one another there.

Mojo Monday ~ Giving Thanks

Michelle Fairchild
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melodie Beattie

Here is a wonderful photo montage that plays to a beautiful song called I Give Thanks by the talented Kathryn Mostow.

This week the majority of people in the USA will gather on Thursday for a holiday called Thanksgiving.  The origins of the holiday may have a complicated historical past, yet the idea of families and friends gathering together to share in a day of Giving Thanks and expressing their Gratitude is inspiring.    

I have been in some circles where we have gone around the dining table in order for each person to express his/her gratitude.  I have also experienced meals where we each wrote down something for which we were thankful on a piece of paper and then they were all read at the table.

Share with us here on the Red Boa what you will be Giving Thanks for this year.

“Embrace your ordinary life, whatever its wrapping, for in the embrace you will hear the whisper of Gratitude. Listen for her in the ordinary activities of your day, in the ordinary encounters with loved ones, and in the ordinary challenges that greet you each morning. She speaks from the depths of you, in the voice of your ordinary life.” —Patricia Lynn Reilly

Mojo Monday ~ I Promise Myself

Michelle Fairchild
Patricia Lynn Reilly, theologian, women’s empowerment pioneer, and author of Imagine a Woman in Love with Herself, contends that a woman’s relationship with herself is the source of all personal power and relational success. In I Promise Myself: Making a Commitment to Yourself and Your Dreams, she offers step-by-step support to make a vow of faithfulness to yourself and your dreams – the first essential step to achieving meaningful and reciprocal relationships with others. Author SARK, describes the book as “A profound and deeply illuminating guide to magnifying self-love.” And adds that “Patricia’s work is wise and resonant.”
The introduction to I Promise Myself begins like this:
An Invitation to Be True to Yourself

Imagine a woman who has grown in knowledge and love of herself.
A woman who has vowed faithfulness to her life and capacities.
Who remains loyal to herself. Regardless.
Imagine yourself as this woman.

For more than a decade, I have invited women to journey with me from self-loathing to self-love, from self-criticism to self-celebration. Along the way it has been necessary for us to dismantle the disempowering questions, “What’s wrong with me?” and “Who will save me?” As these questions are ousted from our lives, we return home to ourselves, reclaiming our natural resources and capacities; we author our own lives, participating fully in life’s gifts and challenges; and we remain loyal to ourselves even in the face of challenge and opposition. The journey transforms our inner landscapes and reframes our relationships to the world around us. To deepen these fundamental shifts in self-understanding within women’s hearts, minds and bodies, I have refashioned the wedding vow and wedding ceremony into transformational resources for making a lifelong commitment to ourselves. Each woman’s journey culminates in the composition of a “vow of faithfulness” to herself, which is then witnessed at a commitment ceremony…

Women of all ages, from all walks of life, are vowing faithfulness to their own lives. As a result, they are refusing to ask the questions “What’s wrong with me?” and “Who will save me?” Instead, they make powerful statements with every thought they share, every feeling they express, and every action they take on their own behalf. They use their personal and communal resources to give birth to woman-affirming rites of passage and ceremonies of transformation for their daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and for themselves. They are women ~ full of themselves!

…Pause for a moment and imagine growing in knowledge and love of yourself, vowing faithfulness to your own life and capacities, and remaining loyal to yourself ~ regardless. Imagine a life in which you deepen your relationship to your natural vitality, resilience, and sense of self. Imagine a ceremony of commitment to yourself, culminating with these words of self-blessing: “This is it. This is my life. Nothing to wait for. Nowhere else to go. No one to make it all different. What a relief to have finally landed here….now. Blessed be my life!
Did reading these excerpts from Patricia Lynn Reilly’s book conjure up any particular thoughts or feelings?

Is there something in particular you want to promise yourself?

Consider writing a ceremonial vow for yourself this week.

If you feel inclined to share, come back to the discussion and post your promises and/or vows of commitment to yourself.