Dances with Fat | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

image by Eric

1. BROKEN SAVIORS: Alien Invasion Comic Book Kickstarter project. 12 days to go, and so close.

2. 3 Ways to Make Your Life Simple and Successful Again from Marc and Angel Hack Life.

3. May my suffering be of service from Danielle LaPorte.

4. A series of guest posts about courage hosted by Marianne Elliott.

5. Does Intuitive Eating mean eating whatever and whenever you feel like it? ~Guest post by Terri Barger on Eat to Love.

6. Listening to your Life from Rachel Cole.

7. The Limitless Living Course from Caroline Leon. FREE.

8. When Others Frustrate You and A Simple, Powerful Self-Compassion Method from Zen Habits.

9. Heart-opener from Guinevere Gets Sober.

10. The Just F*cking Journal Class: April 20-24, 2015 from Jamie Greenwood. FREE.

11. RAIN by Teah Strozer on Tricycle, which says,

Getting started on a spiritual path takes guts. We usually don’t know it in the beginning, but if we keep going on it — if we really want to know the truth of what it means to be human or if we are deeply finished with our suffering — we will learn that walking the path of freedom takes a humble courage. It also takes determination, humor, a balanced effort, and the willingness to feel, directly in our body, the suffering brought by attachment to our conditioned thoughts, which create separation, dis-ease, and the greed and aversion we usually use to seek happiness. But the promise is real. We can be free of suffering; we can know our wide-awake mind and the open heart that goes with it.

12. Why I Seldom Teach The Hero’s Journey Anymore — And What I Teach Instead.

13. The “Food Babe” Blogger Is Full of Shit. And in related news, The “Food Babe” Strikes Back At Her Critics.

14. Grief is the Price We Pay for Love.

15. How BMI affects emotional eating from Isabel Foxen Duke.

16. Perpetual Potential Thin Person from Dances with Fat.

17. Blue Mood on SF Girl by Bay.

18. Devotion to myself? on The Art of Wildness.

19. 3 selfies shared by Chris Rock are just one more way he’s demonstrating racism still exists.

20. This family is ‘blissfully enjoying life on the slow road, with no end in sight.’

21. Good stuff on Bored Panda: Mom Captures Powerful Photos Of Her Fearless Daughters To Show That ‘Strong Is The New Pretty’ and Incredible Miniature Paintings Of Galaxies, Animals And Books By Lorraine Loots.

22. The psychology of mean bosses is so fascinating you’ll wish this 2-minute video was 20 minutes long.

23. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön,

Many of our escapes are involuntary: addiction and dissociating from painful feelings are two examples. Anyone who has worked with a strong addiction—compulsive eating, compulsive sex, abuse of substances, explosive anger, or any other behavior that’s out of control—knows that when the urge comes on it’s irresistible. The seduction is too strong. So we train again and again in less highly charged situations in which the urge is present but not so overwhelming. By training with everyday irritations, we develop the knack of refraining when the going gets rough. It takes patience and an understanding of how we’re hurting ourselves not to continue taking the same old escape route of speaking or acting out.

24. 20 Great Writers on Motivating Yourself To Write, No Matter What.

25. 4 Myths About Police Brutality We Need To Stop Spreading Right Now.

26. Louis CK’s impression of Jimmy Fallon = the best thing ever. In related news, 4 years ago, Louis C.K. went on ‘Conan’ and told a story that explains why we love him.

27. I love big book news and I cannot lie! from Brene’ Brown.

28. for love of liberation on Lists and Letters.

29. Beware of Tribal Shame! from Elizabeth Gilbert on Facebook.

30. Shared on Susannah’s Something for the Weekend list: 10 Success Secrets of the Highly-Creative, and 7 Reasons Your Wife Is Stressed Out All the Time, and The rise of the death doula.

31. This Woman Was Reunited With A Gorilla After 12 Years. What Happened Next Will Tear Your Heart Out.

32. Body Talk. (Thanks to Rachel for sharing).

33. Advice From Former Racist: ‘If You Hear Something Racist, F–king Stand Up and Take Responsibility.’ I can’t stop thinking about this video. Such wisdom from a completely unexpected place.

34. The Floor In His Apartment Is Covered In Bread. When I Saw Why? I Was Choking Back Tears.

35. “In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions…” on Elephant Journal. It’s from a few years ago now, but it always makes me stop and think.

Lady Moon Meadow Trail, image by Eric

1. The bravest thing I’ve done this year from Marianne Elliott, the first post in a series on courage that I also wrote a post for, I showed up. I opened my heart. I stayed. Marianne’s next session of 30 Days of Courage: a guide to bravery in action starts April 20th and registration is open now.

2. 15 Things Stopping You from Moving Forward from Marc and Angel Hack Life.

3. our very special houseguest on Chookooloonks. For our next dog, I want to be able to say say, “She’s [or he’s] gentle, and sweet-natured, and incredibly calm, and so easy. She’s obedient and playful, and she’s taken to our family almost seamlessly.” You know how much I’ve loved my dogs, but so far, I’ve had “it’s been so hard but I know it will be worth it,” and someday I’d really like the other version.

4. 23 Best Movies On Netflix You Haven’t Yet Seen.

5. 30 Questions You Should Ask Your Best Friend and 30 MORE Questions to Ask Your Best Friend from Hello Giggles.

6. Three Eternal (So Far) Truths about Living and Writing from On Being.

7. Artist Paints Ocean Stones With Thousands Of Tiny Dots To Create Colorful Mandalas on Bored Panda.

8. the mabel magazine either / or question: part 2, in which you can read my responses.

9. I Gotcher Blog-Writin’ Advice Right Here from Terrible Minds.

10. Wisdom from David Whyte,

Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another, with a community, a work, a future. To be courageous, is not necessarily to go anywhere or do anything except to make conscious those things we already feel deeply and then to live through the unending vulnerabilities of those consequences.

11. In memory of Anne Frank, some of her most beautiful quotes on Hello Giggles, which says this,

Anne Frank’s diary remains one of the most essential pieces of writing in existence — a 13-year-old girl’s account of the most horrifying genocide in modern history. But more than that, Anne’s diary was a beautifully-written autobiography of a brilliant young girl, full of hope, potential and bravery. This year marks the 70th anniversary of Anne’s final diary entry, and she continues to inspire us with her spirit and courage.

12. WALK THE MOON – Shut Up and Dance (Official Lyric Video). Dance break!!!

13. Heartbreaking and beautiful, we have a trailer for the Amy Winehouse documentary on Hello Giggles.

14. Teen Comes Out As Gay, His Father Reacts Angrily. Hey Dad, what would Jesus do?

15. What Would Beyonce Do?! funny stuff from comedienne Luisa Omielan.

16. Interview: Patrick Mulholland on the Broken Saviors Kickstarter.

17. Good stuff from Dances with Fat: Dealing With Oppression – That’s Not How I Would Have Done It! and Can Trader Joe’s Reduce Our Guilt Around Food?

18. Your past experiences are blinding you: How to take a step back and view the world without bias or judgement on Medium.

19. Good stuff from Rowdy Kittens’ Happy Links list: The Journal Diaries- Gert’s Hobonichi and On Our Next Big Adventure and The one thing you’re most likely to regret.

20. A Note from the Universe, “For every fork in the road, Jill, there are often two paths from which to choose: the one you ‘should’ take and the one you want to take. Take the second. Always take the second.”

21. On Chookooloonks this was a good week list: Dressing up strangers as dolls: cute or ‘creepy’? – BBC World Service and Novelist Katherine Center’s philosophy on writing the story you long to read.

22. No Kids for Me, Thanks on The New York Times.

23. I Am A Plus-Size Woman Who Wore a Low-Rise Bikini to the Beach and This is What Happened on Bustle.

24. Orthorexia Nervosa: When Righteous Eating Becomes An Obsession.

25. Creating a New Cultural Story, Jennifer Louden talks with Brigid Schulte, author of the NYT’s bestseller Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, which I want to read.

26. Good stuff from Alexandra Franzen: How to Talk Yourself in to a Great Day at Work and Be done with what’s done. Let it burn. and Always one more time.

27. Knock Knock, It’s Tig Notaro | Official Trailer | Showtime Documentary.