Mojo Monday ~ How Do You Celebrate Your Birthday?

Mojo Monday was born in May 2010, so we are celebrating her 3rd Birthday this month.  I wanted to share some of the things she has taught me over the course of the past three years.

She taught me that when you have a dream or goal that you need to set aside the time to do the work to reach those dreams and goals.  For example if you want to be a writer you have to write.  Thinking about being a writer or talking about being a writer some day will not move you very far towards your goal.  You have to actually write.

She taught me more about getting my joy from the creating and the journey, not from the responses I get (or don’t get) to what I created or wrote.   There are important lessons to be learned about the importance of internal approval rather than external approval.

She provided wonderful opportunities to meet, interact and get to know better more of the brilliant and creative Cosmic Cowgirls on the Rodeo, where I also post my Mojo Monday discussions.

She showed me that commitment and applied discipline to a regular practice feels good and can build one’s confidence to say “YES” to other opportunities.

Here’s to you Mojo Monday!

Contemplating birthdays also led me to wonder about how we choose to celebrate our own birthdays.

Do you celebrate your birthday?  Do you make a big deal out of it and throw parties for yourself?  

Or in contrast do you play it down, or (gasp) ignore it?   

Is your birthday a time of reflection for you or is it just another day?  

How does your aging affect you?  Does getting older inspire you to fulfill some kind of bucket list?  

Have you ever had the thought "I'm to old to do ______________."  

Take a few minutes and watch this very inspiring episode of Amy Poehler's Smart Girls that is about a woman named Ellaraino, who is famous for being an inspirational storyteller and public speaker.

In the interview with Poehler, Ellaraino talks about her great-grandmother's incredible journey to freedom after being a slave in America for most of her life. At 86-years-old, she learned how to read and write, despite being told by everyone around her that she shouldn't bother.

“Reading and writing she called her 'freedom,' and she enjoyed that freedom for over 30 years because she lived to be 116," Ellaraino said. “Don’t you let anybody tell you you can’t do what you want to do, when you want to do it."

Amy Poehler offered her own words of wisdom to viewers who may be struggling to achieve their dreams.

“Throughout life, no matter how old you are sometimes you keep telling yourself what you think was supposed to happen in your life is not going to happen," she said. "And that happens in our lives whether we’re 16 or whether we’re 116.”

Mojo Monday ~ Who Are You?

Who Are You?

Next month the theme for Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine will be Identity.  I thought it would be fun to revisit a Mojo Monday post from a couple of years ago that asked the question "Who are you?"

A few years back 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 below.  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.

Scroll down for answers to questions.

Answers to questions:

1) Your favorite color and descriptive words represents how you see yourself.

2) Your favorite animal and the adjectives represents how others see you.

3) The word "Night" represents death and the adjectives describe how you feel about death.

4) The word "Water" represents sex and the adjectives describe your thoughts/feelings about sex.

My results from the questions were as follows:

1) Fav Color - Black: deep, profound, inclusive

2) Fav animal - Lion & Eagle: Lions majestic, strong, confident; Eagle free, adventurous, visionary

3) Night - contemplative, restful, peaceful

4) Water - Source, life-giving, spiritual

My Human Metrics/Meyres Briggs test resulted in INFJ (introvert, intuitive, feeling, judging) which is referred to as the Idealist Counselor.

Mystical Filament of the Heart

This month in Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine 

we have all been contemplating and writing 
about the term Community. 

Come read my latest article called Mystical Filament of the Heart

“…the capacity of the mystical filament of heart that if listened to,
will lead us beyond what we know into the
depth of our common humanity,
into that place where none of us are strangers.”

~ Mark Nepo

Red Thread Love by Michelle Fairchild

Mojo Monday ~ We Are Star Dust

Please enjoy this video "We Are Star Dust" by Symphony of Science.