Seth Godin | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

Not acting on our habitual patterns is only the first step toward not harming others or ourselves. The transformative process begins at a deeper level when we contact the rawness we’re left with whenever we refrain. As a way of working with our aggressive tendencies, Dzigar Kongtrül teaches the nonviolent practice of simmering. He says that rather than “boil in our aggression like a piece of meat cooking in a soup,” we simmer in it. We allow ourselves to wait, to sit patiently with the urge to act or speak in our usual ways and feel the full force of that urge without turning away or giving in. This is the journey of developing a kindhearted and courageous tolerance for our pain.

19. To overcome an irrational fear… from Seth Godin.

20. From this week’s Blessing from Ronna Detrick,

I kept myself busy with so many responsibilities. I took them on because they needed to be done, but more, because they seemed like the best way to keep from feeling crazy. When I slowed down, when I rested, when I stopped, my mind fought against the silence, the space, the calm. But, in truth, silence, space, and calm was what my heart wanted most; what I needed most. It took time, but I learned that it’s not in working harder, faster, or smarter; but in sitting, resting, and leaning that feeling crazy eventually vanishes, that transformation comes, that love shows up.

21. Frog discovered in Costa Rica resembles Kermit. Don’t know quite why, but this makes me so happy.

22. Good stuff on Hello Giggles: Amy Schumer’s NSFW sketch brilliantly skewers how Hollywood treats older actresses and ICYMI: Tracy Chapman’s awe-inspiring cover of “Stand By Me” leaves us speechless.

23. Transgender Kids, a series of features from NBC News.

24. Interesting stuff on Huffington Post: Parents’ ‘Demanding’ Invitation To Baby’s First Birthday Goes Viral and What Makes ‘Liking Your Body’ So Damn Hard and Grieving Dad Pens Honest Obituary For Daughter Who Died Of Heroin Overdose and the comments section of My Battle With My Son’s Addiction.

25. On What it Takes from Dani Shapiro.

26. This Advice on Dealing with Your Struggles and Privilege is Pretty Much Perfect – And Super Adorable.

27. Read Amy Schumer’s Powerful Speech About Confidence.

28. A Conversation with Neil Gaiman.

29. 10 Things You Should Know About Doing a Crowdfunding Campaign from Todd Mitchell.

30. The Pioneering Poet, Tig Notaro interview’s Andrea Gibson.

31. Amy Schumer’s brilliant ‘Friday Night Lights’ parody puts the blame for rape where it belongs.

32. ‘Wellness Guru’ Belle Gibson lied about having brain cancer, profited from lying about bogus cancer cures.

33. Wisdom from Atisha,

The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

34. “What Is Systemic Racism?”, a playlist of important videos from Race Forward.

35. Native Actors Walk off Set of Adam Sandler Movie After Insults to Women, Elders.

36. The Best Job Interview Answer Ever. This Man Just Nailed It.

37. From In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts in the Introduction,

The inhabitants of the Hungry Ghost Realm are depicted as creatures with scrawny necks, small mouths, emaciated limbs and large, bloated, empty bellies. This is the domain of addiction, where we constantly seek something outside ourselves to curb an insatiable yearning for relief or fulfillment. The aching emptiness is perpetual because the substances, objects or pursuits we hope will soothe it are not what we really need. We don’t know what we need, and so long as we stay in the hungry ghost mode, we’ll never know. We haunt our lives without being fully present.

38. togs: my natural hair journey on Chookooloonks.

39. Walking Is A Humans Best Medicine.

40. Obama Just Burned GOP Climate Deniers in “Anger Translator” Rant.

1. Good stuff on Medium: Why Starting a “Blog” is a Terrible Idea, and When you work for yourself: stop doing shit you don’t like, and Starbucks Wants To Talk To You About Race, and Lighten Up.

2. Good stuff from Dances with Fat: If Not Weight Loss, Then What? and Willful Suspension of Disbelief.

3. Things That Make Me Happy on A Design So Vast.

4. Don’t Create Content. Move People. from Jonathan Fields.

5. Truthbomb from Danielle LaPorte: “Think of suffering as self-compassion school.”

6. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been kind of obsessed with any conversation around race and racism lately. Here are some thought provoking articles on the subject, if you are also interested: After an Uneasy Start, Finding Common Ground to Discuss Race Relations at Work, and 10 things black people fear that white people simply don’t, and Why Kimmy Schmidt’s Native Subplot is Great: A Native Fan’s Opinion, and Being White Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry: How the Oklahoma frat scandal exposes a racial double standard, and Portland gentrification video: ‘This is painful, but we can do something,’ and this video,

7. Good stuff about writing from Terrible Minds: The Flipside Of My Writing Tirade, and In Which I Emit A Lot Of Grr-Talk About Your Writing Career, and Writing Is A Profane, Irrational, Imperfect Act.

8. I’m also kind of obsessed with the conversation around fattism, fat shaming, Health at Every Size, and such. Here are some good articles on the topic, if you are also interested: the weight of this body, and Virgie Tovar on eradicating diet culture, the joy of moving your body, and Babecamp 2015, and Grieving the Loss of Your Body Fantasy, and What Happens If We Let Fat People Be Happy?

9. Just One Man Remains in Fukushima Radiation Zone – He’s Feeding All the Animals Left Behind.

10. The Girl’s Girl from Brittany, Herself.

11. 40 Guilty Cats Who Deserve To Be Shamed Publicly, but probably don’t care because, well, they are cats.

12. Meg Worden, podcast goddess: Ask the Aunties Episode 1: ‘I am a 35 year old virgin’ and Raise your Hand Say Yes with Meg Worden.

13. If Vegans Said Things Meat Eaters Say.

14. StoryCorps Wins The TED Prize And Builds An App That Lets Anyone Record An Interview On Their Phone.

15. Nurse helps sexual assault survivors heal, move on.

16. Sex Tips That Don’t Suck, a poem performed.

17. Tweet, Memory, Dani Shapiro remembering Lisa Bonechek Adams.

18. Leon Bridges, such a beautiful voice. I can’t wait for his full album. The style of what I’ve heard so far reminds me of Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black.

19. A Group Of People Read The Last Texts From Their Exes And It’s Hilarious.

20. The Pitfalls of Pursuing Your Purpose by Adreanna Limbach.

21. Good stuff from Lion’s Roar: On Awakening Through Race, Sexuality, and Gender, and Dig into 3 recipes from vegan chef Bryant Terry.

22. Side-By-Side Photos Of What Rich And Poor Eat Reveal ‘Glaring Disparities’ Worldwide.

23. The difference between commitment and technique from Seth Godin.

24. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön,

Even after many years, many of us continue to practice harshly. We practice with guilt, as if we’re going to be excommunicated if we don’t do it right. We practice so we won’t be ashamed of ourselves and with fear that someone will discover what a “bad” meditator we really are. The old joke is that a Buddhist is someone who is either meditating or feeling guilty about not meditating. There’s not much joy in that.

Maybe the most important teaching is to lighten up and relax. It’s such a huge help in working with our crazy mixed-up minds to remember that what we’re doing is unlocking a softness that is in us and letting it spread. We’re letting it blur the sharp corners of self-criticism and complaint.

25. From Brave Girls Club:

Just like every amazing brave girl, your mind and heart are filled with lots and lots of ideas and dreams. Sometimes that puts us into a panic because we feel like we have to do it all right now, or that we will run out of time, or like the window of opportunity will close.

Please remember, friend, that there is a season for everything. You may find that when you ask your heart of hearts, that you can only focus on one big thing at a time if you are to do it in the beautiful, soulful way that you love to do things…and that other things may have to wait for now. You may find that you can juggle two or three special things, but that you will have to let some others things go to be able to make that happen. What you will most likely NOT find if you are very very soulfully honest with yourself and if you listen very very closely, is that you cannot do EVERYTHING you want to do at once…because sacred things will suffer…most especially YOU.

So please give yourself permission to put some things on a different timetable so that you can give the best of yourself to the things that are very most important in THIS season of your life. It does not make you weak or powerless when you let things go… On the contrary it shows your strength and commitment to all that is best for your own precious life.

26. Introducing April LOVE, 2015!, another great daily photo challenge from Susannah Conway.

27. Good stuff on Create as Folk: Contributor Welcome: Caren Baginski for Workday Wellness and Ever Feel Like a Nobody?

28. The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People: INFOGRAPHIC.

29. Surrealist Sculptures by Ellen Jewett Merge Plant and Animal Life.

30. Now that’s what I call an *acceptance* speech. Amazing job, Kerry Washington.