C.M. Halstead's Blog, page 4

Moving on from victimhood, leaving the past behind.

There is lots of talk in the media and on Facebook about flags and other symbols. Symbols are a powerful thing, I admit I have a few I am passionate about. The tough part to accept by me is, why demean and devalue a use of a symbol or object because of ONE use of it?

The symbol at the top of this blog post is a symbol that has been utilized since the Neolithic period in human history. It can be found in 16 plus cultures. In 2015, the symbol is generally referred to by a word that actually means luck or prosperity in its sanskrit origins.

Indigenous American tribes like the Hopi, Navajo and many others utilize a form of the symbol. To the Hopi it represents the wandering Hopi Clan, to the Navajo it is a representative symbol for something used in healing rituals. The symbol has also been found in archeological excavations in the Ohio & Mississippi river valleys as well.

Hinduism and Buddhism have it as a sacred symbol also. In Buddhism it is a sacred symbol of eternity, and in Hinduism it is used in sacred rituals and as a good luck charm.

Yet, with almost every continent on the planet having a culture that believes the symbol is a good thing; we still focus on the one culture in history that used it as a symbol of power and hatred.

The other cultures did or still utilize the symbol as one for good, prosperity, protection…the list goes on. How many of you have learned about those cultures in publications or on TV?

Did the Germanic culture of that time period do horrific things? Absolutely! Hard to argue with if you have your blinders off, and if you are open to logic. Even the German education system teaches this. No denial there.

What is symbolic to me, is that we use these images and symbols as a way to continue living the trials of the past. Those that have been wronged, cry foul when the image reminds them of the past wronging, thus continuing the cycle and preventing those living now, from moving on from the wrongs of the past.

Living in the past is a form of victimhood. Perpetuating what has happened as apposed to moving on and living the life you desire. It is a crutch to use in order to blame others for where I am in my life. They did me wrong, it is your fault, you owe me. Or, they did my ancestors wrong, it is their fault. You owe me.

It would be like me suing the British government for acts of hatred and oppression they performed on my Scottish and Irish Ancestors. Blaming them for me not being able to. . .whatever it is I am telling myself I can’t do because of what they did!

Asking current generations to pay for acts of the past, is continuing the wrong. A great example: reverse discrimination or reverse racism.

The term reverse racism is a misnomer, if you go to dictionary.com (or other word look-ups), you will not find a definition for it. One must go to popular opinion sites to gain somewhat of a formal definition of the term, wikipedia for instance.   I would define it as making a future generation pay for the mistakes of their ancestors; I would hazard a guess (not really a guess) that all people, from all walks of life, regardless of race or creed, or place of origin, have ancestors that have been wronged and have caused wrong, either by their own culture or other cultures!

Life is not black and white at all, history is written as so, by the victor.

Symbolism is not black and white either, the same symbols mean different things to different people. Just ask anyone who runs a four way stop sign, because no one else is there at the same time as they are. To them it is a stop if another car is there, a slowdown if there is not another car at the intersection at the very same time.

Ok, that is a vent and yet, still an example.

Where was I?

Symbols can be projections for honor, pride and freedom or oppression, depending on the shoes you are standing in. What is important to me, is that we don’t forget that the good comes with the bad. One horrific cultures use of a symbol, does not mean the other uses don’t exist.

Why does the bad outweigh the good? Why is it only one version is allowed? If this is going to be true, lets focus on the blessing.

The good use of the symbol above, for there are 16 plus cultures that use it for good, and only one that used it for bad. Screw those sods, lets move on. Live in the present, heal the past and then. . .maybe we will allow ourselves to pursue dreams and be happy.

Not related you say! Stay tuned, more to come on that topic.

Be open to any path, and the right one will present itself

Two years ago, if you paid me to write down where thought I was going to be and what I was going to be doing at this very moment, and we had taken that piece of paper, without either of us looking at it again and stashed it in a safety deposit box until this very moment. When we opened the box and read the piece of paper, there is no way in hell it would read anything like where I am and what I am doing.

I guarantee we would not be reading the words,”CM Halstead writes in his writers cave daily, is an entrepreneur, travels the national parks for exploration and stellar views, and is an Amazon & NY Times best selling author.”

Now, if you had paid me to write down on a piece of paper, where I dreamed I would be and what I would be doing. . .and we followed that same procedure with this piece of paper. When we removed it from the safely deposit box this time and read it, it would read something very similar to,”CM Halstead writes in his writers cave daily, is an entrepreneur, travels the national parks for exploration and stellar views, and is an Amazon & NY Times best selling author.”

Have you noticed there is only a one word difference between the two questions asked?

In the first question, I am asked where I think I will be. So my brain thinks about it, utilizing its current belief system, with its strengths and weaknesses built in, to come up with a good logical answer. The brain bases is answer on its world experiences and told belief systems. Who told it? Where do the belief systems come from.

The belief systems are seeds that grew over time. Planted there by people in the past: parents, spiritual leaders, drill instructors, friends & enemies, teachers of any kind (class room, martial arts instructors etc). Some are good, some are bad.

Where you told to think outside the box?

Where you told to shut up and be quiet?

Where you told that anything is possible?

Where you told you suck and won’t amount to anything?

When I am asked about the dream, all those told belief systems go away, if only for a split second. When asking someone this question, look into their eyes and see the glimmer. Better yet, look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself the question:

Where do I dream I will be, and what do I dream I will be doing in two years?

It will be there in an instant, the answer that is. It will flash through and come to the surface, it will only last a moment for some, yet it will be seen!

Write it down. Tape it to that same mirror, or attach it to a wall. Read it every day, twice; morning and evening, until it happens.

Do it now.

For the only thing we have to lose is someone else’s belief systems….

I  write this, because it is what I am inspired to do today. This is today’s dream: to offer up a different perspective for someone who is open to it. To enable ourselves to pursue the dream and obtain the obtainable, for anything is obtainable with persistence.

If our brains tell us to quit, we will. If our brains tell us to keep going, we will. Keep going. Dream the dream!

Now for that best seller list; where’s that piece of paper!

What my mind feeds. . .grows!

The above picture holds a quote that runs around in my circles. Sometimes it is presented as an Indigenous American tale, sometimes presented as a tale from a grandfather, sometimes as a parable from a priest.

I do believe if we looked, we would find a version of it in most cultures.

Either way, the tale works for me.

It speaks to the power of thought, and I am a firm believer in the power thoughts have over my beliefs.

One thing many public speakers, survivalist, and motivators have in common, is the they use the phrase ‘a positive mental attitude is key’ to your survival or success (depending on your goal for the day).

When lost in the woods, those that lay down to quit, telling themselves that it is hopeless and they are going to die. . .usually do!

Those that keep busy and hopeful, stand a better chance.

Exact numbers are hard to obtain (it’s hard to poll someone who didn’t make it ;) Yet, if you watch a few motivational speakers, or research survival itself, the topic will come up each and every time. Anything that all the experts tout is worth considering, at the very least, don’t you think?

Heck, for the fun of it, search it on the internet, see what comes up; and by all means, if you find an article or motivational that denotes a positive mental attitude to be detrimental, then by all means share it! I’d love to read it!

But the quote doesn’t talk about survival or excelling does it. It talks about a wolf inside of us that brings good to the world, our internal world actually. Which we then pass on, when we carry it out into rest of the world through our actions.

One talks about the seven deadly sins, and the other talks about what?  To my knowledge, it isn’t labeled. Surprising? maybe…

How does this speak to you, does it ring true?

For me it does ring true. I can of many examples where a mindset change instantly improved or degraded my day.

A bad day at work, changed by a great joke told by a co-worker, it wasn’t so bad after that. A good day ruined when I was cut off in traffic and couldn’t let it go. It works in both directions. Overcommitting on a canyon, and after some suffering, accepting that the day was going to hurt, and then it stopped hurting so much ;)  Some of you will get that one!

Has anyone else had a moment where they reached a point of acceptance, and something they were resisting came into fruition?

In my case, I stopped resisting the writer in me and within a year, wrote three books, started a blog, and am making great strides in becoming a professional author. All because of a perspective change.

I stopped feeding the negative wolf,  I started feeding the one that feeds me positively instead. I stopped living the lie, the ill-fitting suit and put on the one that fits.

Here’s to the journey!

 

Braving the Dark Places

I get these TUT motivational emails everyday, and they seem to nail me everyday. Today is no exception:

Should you ever find yourself on your path, Chris, moving along in spite of fear, wondering if you’re ready or not to rise to the next level, chances are great that you will not be ready. Rise anyway.

Tallyho,

The Universe”

Nailed! And a great reminder. For as long as I can remember, I’ve joked; “if I waited till I was ready to do anything. I’d still be at home, with mom, living in diapers!”

I’ve always been one to face my fears, to the extreme at times.

After a few “water incidents” I developed a decent phobia of deep water. To give credit where credit is due; watching jaws at just the wrong age, didn’t help. If I couldn’t touch bottom or see my feet, the fear level rose.

So what did I do? Did I go to a therapist or hypnotist or something along those lines? Nope!

I took up canyoneering….

For me (big disclaimer there) for me, it was the best way to face that fear and remind myself that it is all good and I am going to make it.

For those that don’t know canyoneering. . .it is an outdoor activity adventure, where we (going alone is a big no no, even for me!) enter a slot canyon from the top, and come out the bottom. More often than not, once you are in, you are in. It’s full commitment. Just like the Marine corps ;)

It can take upwards of 6-10 hours to do the technical sections of these canyons. Almost all that I have done so far, have at least 3 deep pools of water. Liquid ice, that smells of whatever died in it a couple years ago. If it was a skunk, that really sucks!

Regardless, during the season, I forced myself into that deep, dark, dank place, encased in heavy duty wet-suits month after month, year after year, until suddenly the fear subsided. I realized this one day after my canyoneering partner said to me “that has got to be one of the hardest water courses we have ever done”. In that moment, I realized it was the most fun I had had in any of the water sections of any canyon I had done.

I was there.

It took years.…

So as you read this, maybe ask yourself:

What have you been putting off that you know you want to accomplish? What is next in your list of fears to face?

Or better yet, stand up and go to a mirror and make eye contact with yourself, and ask “What have I been putting off that I know I want to accomplish?”, “What is next in my list of fears to face?”

Take action and be what it is you want to be, step through the fears that tell you its impossible and do it anyway. Proving my own self limiting belief system wrong is empowering.

The time is now.

My Writer’s Cave

I occasionally visit the local coffee shops, less since I got this kick-ass espresso maker off friendslist. A great deal they gave me; kudos to the friend. She even gave away the monies that I paid her to a child in need! In my visits, I ran into a few authors that insist they can only write in coffee shops. They need the noise, the energetic feeling of people coming and going, and probably the caffeine.

Other writer’s prefer a quiet place, a space in the spare bedroom of the house, the attic, the basement, out in a cabin in the woods, somewhere they won’t be disturbed or interrupted by other humans.

I’m sure there are other categories as well. Those that like to write while traveling on airplanes, those that like to write on the beach or in the forests. The rare, pogo stick rider, who dictates to his smart phone, while riding single track. And the list goes on.

What works for me, is what I call a ‘Writer’s Cave’.

My definition of a Writer’s Cave is: A space that is established, free from all outside noise (in a perfect world), has blinds and solid doors, and a “do not disturb” ordinance.

Basement, office, attic, closet, used to be a garden shed. Any place that I can set up my writing gear: paper and pen, computer, typewriter, what ever your medium is! For me its a small 11” computer, attached to a 22” tv screen.

My awesome wife got her hands on an antique factory desk, it is all that matters in the Writer’s Cave. I put it where it felt the best in the room. In this case, it is facing west, near a window, but two feet into the room from it, along the south wall. If there were nothing else in the room it would look strange, but who cares, its all about the writing, and if it works it works!

The room has a solid door and double thick blinds. Isolation is key to my writing. Uninterrupted thought is mandatory. The story runs and flows undisturbed, as my fingers bang the keys. I am not consciously thinking when my fingers are flowing. The muse is running the show.

As soon as I am asked a question, or an email alert comes across my screen (if I forgot to turn them off that is!) or a knock on the door. . .the flow stops. I am forced to leave that creative part of my brain and return to the logical part of it. Chances are, like 99.9999%, that whatever was going to come out of my fingers next is gone.

When the house is quiet it flows. When there are ins and outs, knocks on the doors, or loud bass bouncing someone’s car down the road, my creative flow, isn’t.

The do not disturb sign is not actually on the outside of my door, it is on the inside, it reads “Shut up and start writing” for more on that see Sit down and write blog post.

The “do not disturb” comes from conversations with my friends and family. I am writing every day from 9-1pm. I am not available. Do not knock on the door except for emergencies that include: significant blood loss, house fires, or imminent danger of rocks falling from the sky and onto the house. It does not include the emergencies of: we are out of milk, I can’t find my favorite sock, or I made too much bacon, would you like some. (That last one was tempting!).

This boundary may have to be enforced from time to time. Gentle, grateful, balanced reminders of your appreciation for the opportunity to do something you love, and their understanding and help in that endeavor, goes over well. Yelling “I told you to leave me the F alone!!!”, probably will not.

Once you have your space, barriers between you and the outside world, and buy-in from your friends and family, there is nothing left but to sit down and write!

If you want other ideas and possibilities then read my other blog posts under: Writing, what works for me.

The Big Writing Secret

I have a small piece of paper taped to the inside door of my writer’s cave. It started as an 8 1/2” x 11” piece of common print paper. Here in the United States, that is standard size for almost everything, business and personal. I decided to print something out on it to help me write. When I did, it only printed out on a 6” x 4” area of the paper. Apparently “fit to page” has a different meaning these days.

The reason this is important is that the entire background of the thing I printed is colored blue. Imagine a big piece of paper with only an off-center piece of it colored in blue with words on it, occupying only 1/3 of the paper! So naturally I had to grab scissors and trim it down to its current 6” x 4” size.

None of this really matters. What really matters is what the words created by utilizing the negative space in the blue say. They were so creative when they made it up, weren’t they? Utilizing negative space and turning it into words is awesome! And they used that creativity to produce the words:

Shut Up And Start Writing”

That is the secret! Who knew? Well, somebody did. Stop talking about writing. Stop thinking about writing. Stop dreaming about writing. Simply, sit down, shut up, and start writing. Heck, you don’t even have to sit down: Hemingway wrote standing up. In fact, today’s modern authors have the option to dictate to a computer while pacing back and forth if they so desire.

If you need help on setting up your writing space, see “Writer’s Cave.”

If you have that inner critic which drones on negatively in your head, you are not alone. I have a very loud one! See “Kick the Judger and Critic Out!”

It seems we can talk about things forever–analysis paralysis is a form of procrastination. Excuses are a form of procrastination: “The room is not ready,” or “It’s too dark,” “I’m out of coffee,” (OK, maybe not that one), “It’s too hot here,” or “It’s too cold.” Any (and all) excuses and reasons that run through our heads are forms of procrastination.

You already know that you have the call, the desire, the want, to write or be a writer. So what are you waiting for?

Regardless, shut up and write.

Voices in My Writer’s Cave

I have times when I am writing and it’s all flowing. My fingers are flying over the keys without conscious thought, creatively propelled by an unseen muse. I am sitting up straight in my chair with good posture. I am well fed and watered. I am focused and I am making progress. Then my inner critic snidely remarks, “That was crap” or “They are going to hate that” or “Dude, who do you think you are writing?”

These are shortened statements of my inner critic’s key message as if everything I write should be labeled, “Ha ha! That sucks!”

The Judger and the Critic have shown up: they are king & queen killers. Here is how I handle them: I get up. I open the door to the hall. I tell them to get the @#$%& out and close the door. I sit down and start writing again. They are not welcome in the creative stages of my writing.

There is no place in my Writer’s Cave for the Judger and the Critic. He can exist out in the world to some extent. And I know professional ones exist. That’s fine. The constructive ones serve a productive purpose. Lots of people need someone to give them a qualified opinion, or they simply want to be entertained through reading and then bashing with great glee someone else’s work.

That voice in my Writer’s Cave is a creativity killer. How many of you reading this have those voices in your heads? How many are not writing because it already sucks, or it will never be better than it is in your head? Or you feel that you can never write as well as your idol.

That message has no room in the creative stages of any project. The balanced part of that voice is intended for the later stages. For me, that means third or fourth time through my personal editing stage.

So anytime those voices show up, what can you do? Are you in a place where you can do the same? Literally or metaphorically you can get up. Open the door to whatever is outside your Writer’s Cave. Tell the Critic and Judger to leave. Close the door. Sit down and start writing again.

If you write in a coffee shop and one day feel the need to close your laptop, walk to the door, and yell at your inner critic and judger by telling them to get the f… out, followed by slamming the door, let me know how that turns out for you. It might be a good story!

At the very least, the message is clear. What works for me, is to stand up, walk to the door to my Writer’s Cave, kick the judger and critic out, then sit back down and start writing immediately. Deep in my being, I am determined to write passionately. I can do this when I know they are out in the hall judging and criticizing each other.