Saturday, January 31, 2009

Be the Change
















“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”


~ Marianne Williamson

These wise words are resonating stronger than ever these days, as things are shifting to much within me, within the mass consciousness. We are being called forth into a new way of Being. We are being asked to shine brighter than we ever have, to let go of all of our old habits and patterns that no longer serve us. The time is NOW to give it our all, and create the change that we wish to see in our world.

I watched an incredible video of a man, John Francis, who did just this. He has been committed to environmentalism since the 70's. He spent 17 years in silence so that he could listen more deeply, and made a commitment to himself that he would no longer drive or ride in motorized vehicles. So he spent years walking all over the United States, being the advocate for the environment that he wanted to see in his world. Just like Ghandi said: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."



It also brings to mind a song that I really love, by a powerhouse of a woman from Colorado named Lynx. The song is called "Half Full" and here are the lyrics:

"Miracles are the impossible coming through and everything is possible
This is for the possibility that guides us
and for the possibilities still waiting to sing and spread their wings inside us
cuz tonight, Saturn is on his knees proposing with all of his ten thousand rings
that whatever song we've been singing, we sing even more
The world needs us right now more than it ever has before
Pull all your strings, play every chord
If you're writing letters to the prisoners, start tearing down the bars
If you're handing out flashlights in the dark, start handing out stars
Never go a second hushing the percussion of your heart
Play loud
Play like you know the clouds have left too many people cold and broken
and you're they're last chance for sun
Play like there's no time for hoping brighter days will come
Play like the apocalypse is only four, three, two...
You have a drum in your chest that could save us
You have a song like a breath that could raise us
like the sunrise into a dark sky that cries to be blue
Play like you know we won't survive if you don't, but we will if you do
Play like Saturn is on his knees proposing with all of his ten thousand rings
that we give every single breath
Y'all, this is for saying yes
This is for saying yes"

~Lynx

Tonight, as I write this, I am fulfilling a commitment that I made to myself on January 1st. I told myself that I would post on my blog every day for the month of January. Today is the 31st and I didn't miss a single day, which feels really good. When I have integrity with my word, I create a world of integrity.

It's a new era - can you feel it? Everything is shifting so quickly now...consciousness-awaking, foundation-breaking, soul-shaking, breathtaking transformations are taking place everywhere we look, within and out.

The time is now.

The time is NOW.

The TIME is NOW!

Friday, January 30, 2009

Happy People Dancing On Planet Earth



This video brought me so much joy - the human spirit radiates so much light all over the world.

Enjoy!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Emerging













Bleary eyed uncertainty
In a space of unknowing
Relaxing into infinite possibility
As the wind outside is blowing

Listening, my mind's adrift
Here and there it wanders
Curious about what comes next
Feeling fuzzy, it ponders

A new level of trust is tested
As I lay here wondering what and why
Feeling the void, and opening to it
Allowing a part of me to die

It's clear that something new is emerging
And so I must wait for the dust to settle
Old patterns and habits no longer serve me
And I give up living life as a battle

Decisions make me, and abundance flows
Effortless grace all around me
Watching how easily a flower grows
Just like that, I allow life to live me

No longer a struggle, I finally let go
The reigns are not mine, never were
I give them back and I watch life flow
As I melt into soft, sweet surrender

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Tiny Houses

I have been living in a dorm room for the past six months and have been surprised by how much I appreciate the simplicity of this lifestyle. I certainly wouldn't want to live in the dorms indefinitely, but I have found that I am incredibly efficient in this room.

And so I have a deep appreciation for what Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed is doing. He says, "My decision to inhabit just 89 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment, and because I do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space."

Here is a tour of his house:


He teaches workshops all over the country, to empower people to build these houses themselves.

Here is a photo of a Tumbleweed house that he built here in Iowa, in Iowa City:





















The man who lives in this 10 ft by 7 ft dwelling, Gregory Johnson, has lost 50 pounds after living here for three years.

He says he is more active and has also begun to eat more healthfully and that scaling back has given him a new sense of freedom.

And there is now a Small House Movement with the Small House Society serving as its voice. This movement is the "result of concerns about what we are doing to the environment, and what the environment is doing to us (wild fires, flooding, hurricanes), as well as a shifting economy. Some people just desire to live simply so that others can simply live."

Wow, there are just so many aspects of sustainability, and I am inspired to see how many different and wonderful things people are doing to leave a smaller footprint on the Earth.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Swap Tree

This is such a brilliant concept! I haven't tried it yet, but it looks amazing!

Here's what it says on their website:

Joining Swap Tree is free, and here is how it works:

List. Choose. Swap.



Simply list the books, CDs, DVDs, and video games you have.
Choose the items you want to receive.
Then just swap your items through the mail.




Choose From Thousands of Items.



Swaptree's trading engine instantly shows you the many thousands of items you can receive in return for the items you are trading.



No Post Office













Swaptree makes mailing your item easy by allowing you to print a perfect postage label right from your computer. There's no worrying about stamps, weights, or visits to the post office.




Free. Fun. Green. Safe.














On Swaptree you can get the media you want for free, learn about new artists and authors, share your media collection with friends and meet people with similar tastes, all in a safe and green community. Free, fun, safe and green, what's not to love?

Monday, January 26, 2009

Further!















"If you're not amazed by how
naive you were yesterday,
you're standing still.

If you're not terrified of the next step,
your eyes are closed.

If you're standing still and your eyes are closed,
you're only dreaming you're awake.

A caged bird in a boundless sky."

-Jed McKenna

Never before has this quote by Jed McKenna rang truer for me. These past few days, weeks, months, years...I feel like I am accelerating faster and faster and faster. Like someone hit fast forward on the DVD player and the button is stuck now, so there is no way to slow it down again. But it's okay because it's intensely exciting, exhilarating, evolutionary...

The lessons I am learning are right in my face, everywhere I look, and the themes and patterns are impossible to miss. Surrender, empowerment, femininity, self-nurturing, balance...and my close women friends echo the same words, lessons, and themes.

It's time now to go through the issues, not around them.

It's time now to feel the emotions fully, and stop trying to avoid them.

It's time now to get into our bodies and do the work on this planet that we came here to do.

It's time now to dismantle the old patterns and burn them in the fire.

It's time now to let go, to relax, and to trust that we are fully supported. We always have been, and always will be.

It's time to make outrageous requests of the Universe, to commit to ourselves 110%, to have complete integrity with ourselves and others, and to be daring and bold.

Now the real fun begins...ready or not, it's time to go further and further and further!!!




Sunday, January 25, 2009

25 Things About Me


















This was a recent "game" going around on Facebook.

If you'd love to share your 25 things, please post them as a comment to this post!!!

Here are my 25 things:

1. There are currently 2275 people in my Microsoft Outlook contacts.
2. I cry often.
3. I feel deeply, and I am learning to appreciate this exquisite gift.
4. I love the beautiful peace lily that I have in my dorm room.
5. I love Facebook.
6. Singing brings me more joy than just about anything else I can think of.
7. I am constantly amazed by both the similarities and eccentricities of people.
8. Traveling is a state of mind for me, and has taught me most of what I know.
9. I prefer to spend most of my time with other women.
10. I experience every day is an epic adventure.
11. Every day, I trust myself a little more fully, and that is one of the most exciting things I can think of.
12. I love writing my blog. http://erinpillman.blogspot.com
13. I am learning to listen to my heart more and my head less.
14. My heart is tender and sensitive, and I cannot remember a moment in my life when it did not ache.
15. I have had to edit #1 about five times since I started writing this because the number keeps getting bigger.
16. Raw chocolate, avocados, berries, and coconuts, are some of my favorite foods.
17. Practicing Yoga with my teacher Dharma Mittra while eating a 99% raw vegan diet in 2006 in New York City transformed my being more quickly and profoundly than anything else I have done.
18. I yearn for so many things – complete union with the divine, fulfilling livelihood, a sense of purpose, a close circle of women friends, singing in front of large audiences, feeling fully supported and empowered, a deeper connection with Nature, growing my own food, living in a place where I feel that I truly belong, living more simply…
19. I’m constantly alarmed by all the plastic I see everywhere.
20. I wonder if our species will die out because we are acting like such idiots.
21. I don’t know where I want to live, or if I want to be in school next semester (which starts in a week), but I’m only mildly concerned.
22. I am in the process of recording a children’s album with Lynwood King, the dean of my university.
23. I am a certified yoga instructor, but I have not taught yoga in a couple of years.
24. I want to start singing and sharing my own music – be the star of my own show – touch people’s hearts – inspire and uplift audiences – bare my soul on stage.
25. I am really glad that I am me.