The Columbia River Bar Pilots were established in 1846 to ensure the safety of ships, crews and cargoes crossing the treacherous Columbia River Bar, which is recognized as one of the most dangerous and challenging navigated stretches of water in the world.

I’m following my bliss, so it is not stalking me, but it is scaring me down to my DNA.

My husband Murray and I are going to Bali in October and we plan to stay until the end of June 2012. Murray quit his job as an occupational therapist for a school district, we are renting out rooms in our house to cover our house payment, and we are going to Bali to see what happens.

My only daughter is pregnant and due in December, and we will probably not be coming back for the birth of my first grandchild. We plan on coming back in March to help her transition back to work while her husband starts his student teaching adventure. People have opinions about this choice. You might have opinions about this choice, and your choice might be different than my choice. That’s okay.

We figured out a way to finance this year of Murray not working and for us to live Bali. We’ve been working on this for two years. We have it all figured out. It’s all figured out. Boy, have we got it figured out.

Traversing the Bar
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I’m Talking to You!

I heard you groan when you read the title. I know what you are thinking: “Not me. Not ever! I am too disgusting, too fat, too ugly, too unacceptable, too rejected, too skinny, too pock-marked, too flat-chested . . .” I have heard it all and said much of it to myself.

Aren’t you tired of wishing you looked different? Aren’t you sick of trying every new diet that steamrolls down the freeway aimed straight at your self-confidence? Do you think possibly you’ve been duped by a youth-obsessed, anorexia-inducing culture? ? Isn’t enough finally enough, already?

A confession: I do not yet love my body completely as it is. I am in recovery from a disapproval addiction, and I will need to be in recovery every day for the rest of my life and so will you. This is not bad news; it is good news. Recovery is fun. You will live longer, laugh more, and have time to appreciate the important parts of your life instead of wasting your precious time focusing on that dry skin on your elbows or those little wrinkles around your eyes.
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Mother’s Day is an invitation to pretend.  Relationships are complicated, even the best ones, and a Hallmark card has never done it for me.

When my blind, cancer-ridden mother was still alive,  and I could still see, we would walk through a card store.  I would pick out the biggest, mushiest Mother’s Day card I could find, read it to her, have a big hug and a big laugh, and put the card back in the holder.  Authentic, yummy, green, and free.

This year I had an epiphany about my relationship with my grown daughter.  I think it will be helpful for anyone with children or parents. If you use EFT, you can tap along if it pleases you.

Click here for the audio.

Bless all parents who love their children to madness and are willing to commit to sanity,

Vicki

A Body, Mind, Soul Liberation Banquet

A Monthly Gathering to Celebrate Who We are and Who We are Called to Become

Every month I will host a gathering at Dreaming Forest Farm in Philomath, Oregon or an online group “Yumfest”.  We’ll start with TLC for ourselves, loving and forgiving our trespasses, so we can get unstuck and enjoy the flow of our lives. Once we feel yummy and safe, we will practice Trusting, Listening, and Courageous Action–another kind of TLC.  We will practice trusting Faith instead of Fear, Creativity instead of Fear of Looking Silly.  We’ll practice embracing Discipline and let go of trying to beat ourselves into shape with Will Power.

We will practice listening deeply to ourselves and honoring what we hear.  We will listen to each other, assuming positive intent.  We will listen to our world with curiosity.  We will want to know what is true because the truth does set us free.

We’ll practice Courageous Action by stepping out of our comfort zones as much as we can in that moment.  We will courageously entertain new ideas about ourselves and our limitations.  Maybe we can sing, dance, do math , and learn to use technology creatively and playfully.

Want to join us in person or online?  Contact me at vicki@outrageousvisions.com for more information.  If you are feeling an inkling or nudge to do this right now in your body, honor that urge.  You are not committing to anything.  Your curiosity is peaked and you are willing to lean in and see what happens next.  You are alive and growing and it feels GOOD!

More About TLC for the Enlightened Neurotic

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