Encore! Encore!

Good Day Still Playin With It family! 

I usually end my blog with the above quote. Today, I am starting this blog with that quote because it has become a foundation for the last two years of my life.

It’s Still Playin’ With It and My 2 year Anniversary! Yes, it has been two years since I started the adventure in blogging. Holy Hell! Two freakin years! I remember sitting at Starbucks on a sunny March morning in 2014, setting out to study for my licensing exam. Then, like the amazing procrastinator I am, I started a blog instead. Ha! Best A.D.D. decision I have EVER made.

Blogging, for me, wasn’t ever about blogging. Blogging was just a silly word to me that represented a time in history where computers and social media had become the go-to front for people to hide behind. I am NOT speaking of all bloggers. I am generally speaking of the way people have grown accustomed to hiding behind a keyboard, cell phone or computer screen. Feeling courageous when typing, and not when talking. Feeling invincible when clicking, scrolling and tweeting behind the safety net of the web. Yes, it is a web. A confusing, convoluted web of isolation and fear. Ok, rant over. (natgeo)

So, I decided that my blog wasn’t going to be about hiding…but about showing up to the world. Being honest. Being transparent. Being Perfectly Rebecca. As James Clear states: “To Lead at Scale.” It was a way to get out of my journal and into your head!

I get the most compliments from readers thanking me for being real. Could you imagine living your life any other way? AHA! I felt a little squirm in you when I asked that! Because WE ALL do it. We hide behind a text message. Experience life behind a screen. Conceal our true emotions, feelings or ideas from your world in order to…to what? Well stop that shit. Make eye contact. Oh! Here is an idea…Dial a string of digits on that keypad and actually use your vocal chords to talk. Be bold.

In all honesty, blogging was an amazing opportunity to show and tell my life as I grew, stretched and got OUTSIDE my comfort zone. Leaving the “comfort” of a difficult relationship and tip toeing my way along the ledgies of the unknown. I knew it would be the perfect storm of life lessons for US ALL If I was honest about it. And I was.

All of these were full of F.G.O’s. Yes, fucking growth opportunities. Despite the back drop of the Indian Ocean in Bali, The ruins in Rome, the pain of the Grand Canyon, the liberation in Zion or the Marines that fight for this country, my life and YOURS is full of lessons to be learned. Along with a choice. A choice to Dig Deep or to isolate in the blooming. I mean, I was and still am Still Playin With It. Still Playin with life, lessons, love. What are you Still Playin With?

Still Playin With It, two years later has been a way for my life to inspire yours. My means of leaving a little fairy dust of inspiration or continuous wave of encouragement. A ripple effect long outlasting the short moments you share with me. I want to show up in my world and leave a lasting effect. Hence the world of blogging for me. Maybe a word or a statement from my heart leaving a little impression on the life of my reader.

Aw! The Encore Effect! Right?! 😉 Have you heard of this idea or this book??  As the name implies, The Encore Effect is what happens when you walk away from someone and they want some more. A standing ovation suggesting: “Wait! I want some more of that!” You impact people merely by being YOU and that leaves a ripple whereby they can’t  wait for more! A yearning. A longing for more of what you left in their presence. A crop dust of enticement. A little sprinkle of power to welcome back the people who are ready to dive in. Do you want to leave that effect on people? How can you? What do you leave behind?

Two years ago I wrote A-WAKE. I re-read it today and it rings as true then as it does now. You WILL leave a path behind you. You will leave some sort of impression…

“What will your wake of existence be? Will you allow for a chemical filled jet stream to be your source of forward momentum? Or will you look behind your path, behind your life and see a wake of impact? A wake of ripples, whether large or small, that give people an opportunity to believe in the possibility of empowerment? That was my choice. That was my option. I chose to be and have a wake-effect, a small ripple in my sea of influence. My imprint.” –A-Wake 

Thank you for reading me. 

I love, love, love you all. May this next year be one where we all stand and applaud YOU for taking a leap of faith, forgiving someone, setting a goal, achieving it, blessing a life, or hugging your person. Be here now. And know, that you are perfect.

“All she wants to do is, all she wants to do is dance. And make romance. (Oh, and change the world btw.) That’s it. 

Love, Rebecca 

 

Kisses

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” Mother Teresa

Good Day Still Playin With It Posse!

I riffed last time in: It’s A Bird! on being your own Super Hero  and how you can be all you desire! From a brilliant power pose to using your mind to create those powers! Remember? Did you take a moment to reflect on your Super Hero List?

Thank you for the feed back on this blog. I was tickled to hear how it inspired you and made you think and even feel POWERFUL!

Super Heroes don’t live simple lives do they? Or do they? I imagine Wonder Woman had a part of her that went home and had a sexy, simple dinner with her man, or watched the sunset with her best friend…

This morning I have been inspired by the simple things. Someone once said to me, “It is the simple things I love.” (Twaves) I think we have all heard this before. But as I, myself, pondered the statement, I was taken back to what the simple things are in my life. AND I am grateful for the people that remind me of this important aspect of life.

Some of my favorite simple pleasures are:

Coffee, Fro Yo, Quarters, bike rides, holding hands, making eye contact, candles, exercising, sunsets, airplane mode, long drives, music, corn tortillas, making dinner with the people I love while we chat and discuss the day, Sylvia, connection, beer, the view from my spot, my tree, my heartbeat, water, pillows, fuzzy blankets, high fives, funny movies, getting off the grid, fist pumps, a phone call with my parents and friends in Oregon and around the World…

What are the simple things in your life that you can go to to make you smile? Write them out and have them accessible. In those moments that we are staring at that “ledgie” 😉 wondering what is next…come back to YOUR BREATH, then to the MOMENT, then to what you have at your fingertips right now that will ignite that feeling of worth, and gratification.

The most impactful simple things are within the moments I share with the people in my life. The above picture is a prime example. As I jogged around Gili Trawangan off the coast of Bali, I ran past these gorgeous local women. All it took was a smile and a high five to bring joy to ALL our faces. Like a little smooch to our hearts. 

As Mother Teresa quoted above, we never may know what a smile does to a soul, but we can be assured of one scientific FACT! The mirror neurons we hold within our brain, will contagiously cause an effect and a chemical will be ignited that WILL bring some sort of positive effect on the other. Like a little kiss to the brain. 

As I hiked Potato Chip Rock last week, I set the intention to smile at everyone I passed on the trail…and everyone smiled back! Like a little peck to one another’s soul. It can make the next step of the climb a little better.

I share these moments with you to remind you that you have it ALL within you. I know you hear me say that a lot because it is an unbelievable, at times, TRUTH!  I just said it to one of my Marines yesterday! Practice the simple things and the “big” things will come.

“A little ember is still a fire.” -Rebecca Laser

Within the moments we share and experience is breath. That simple, yet highly complex mechanism in our bodies is the true life source of our creation. Breath is so sweet and such a gift. Yes? Check out this riff to see how I explain the power of Kicking Ass through YOUR breath…How to Kick Ass in One Easy Step.

The woman to my left is an amazing super hero in my life and finished her first ever 5-k! Talk about an honor to watch that simple Sunday morning exercise become a blaze within her! I am so proud of you, Goddess!

 

What little kiss can you bring to your life today? What little smoochie can you give to another through a simple act of life…I dare you.

“EITHER WRITE SOMETHING WORTH READING OR DO SOMETHING WORTH WRITING.”-BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

 

The Dubyas

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” -Viktor E. Frankl

Happy 2016 Still Playin With It People! Stop the New Years Resolutions right now! Please! For the love of all that is good. Stop thee: “what will be in a few months” and think about what is NOW…In the space between. I wrote in Rock the Vote back in July of 2014 about this moment in time…the space between what will be and what was. This perfectly precise space to discover your self, your bliss, and your next courageous leap.

Your next ninja move is housed in this magical fortress: The Space Between.

As I reflect back today, January 10, 2016, on Rock the Vote from July of 2014, I decided it is too perfect to not reiterate right NOW in this Still Playin With It moment of THEE Space Between. Please Enjoy!

ROCK THE VOTE- July 24, 2014…

You all know, if you read me diligently (and I thank you from my depths, if you do) that I love definitions of words. They carry strength.

Between by definition: “in the period separating (two points in time.) 

Two points in time…what is in between two points in time? NOW. This “Between” is my current residence. But, I am going to be the Mayor of this fucking town and call it: FOR-NOW. Who is ready to buy some land and plant some crops in FOR-NOW?  Prices are amazingly LOW because no one wants to live here…currently. So I will take a breath, look around and know that this space is exactly that: FOR-NOW. 

  The magical land of FOR-NOW, between where you were last and where you are going…can be scary, to say the least. It can hold an energy of confusion, and or fear. Those fearful moments don’t add to the amazing process we are experiencing in the Space Between. Your free floating thoughts may sound like this: “I’m lost!” Impossible! “I’m stuck!” Nope. “I’m stranded.” Never! “What do I do now?” Be Here. 

 

My Space Between is filled with inquiries that I don’t have an answer…FOR-NOW. They are evolving. My current habitation is rich in development, so, I sit patiently. Well, most of the time. What will unfold? What and how will I move into this next chapter? Who will I meet that will have a specific purpose to teach me something radical? Or vice versa?

 FOR-NOW is a space for letting go of control. Allow yourself to open your eyes and mind to all that is in this space. And then, settle in. Snuggle yourself into the depths of this cozy, warm, perfect place…a truly exciting place to see what is brought to you! Are you with me? Or are your insecurities and ego getting in the way of what is? Stop for a moment, right now and ask yourself that exact question. Allow the answer to come…

A tool to use for this space: BREATH! I think of meditation within the context of this space. The space between in meditation or prayer is that “place” you go where there is no time. Where there is no space, people, things…just your breath…and YOU. Link to How To Kick Ass in One Easy Step, where I talk about this practice of…breathing.

 And of utmost importance, my FOR-NOW abode is not my FOR-EVER. Nor is yours. That is an important point to make very understandable and clear: FOR-NOW, does not mean FOR-EVER! Life is a becoming. Let your life become what it is to be through this space between.

As Mayor, President, CEO, and Soul-Proprietor of the beautiful city of FOR-NOW, I promise this to you, dear citizens: YOU can take complete solace that the unclear will become clear, the unknown WILL become known, and the fog will lift. Then and only then, will your investment multiply!

FOR-NOW

Population: 1

Who is ready to admit where they are and invest in this ocean front property?

(END ROCK THE VOTE ENTRY)

 

As you ponder what 2016 will bring, STOP and ask yourself instead about the 5 Dubyas…

Who will you Be?

Who will you free?

Who will you see?

Who are you to become?

What will this day bring?

What will you feel?

What will you sing?

What will you heal?

When will you KNOW?

When will you believe?

When will I let go?

When will I achieve?

Where are you?

Where will you stand?

Where will you go?

Where will you land?

Why will I go?

Why will I stay?

Why will I know?

Why will I pray?

How? 

Aw, the Hows!! Those are my favorite…kind of like smiling! (Twaves) 😉

You will “HOW” by BEING HERE NOW! (I am a poet. And I know it!)

That is it. Presence. Awareness. Trust. Faith. And bringing the people in to your path that allow you to do just that. You all know who you are in my life and I am utterly grateful.

“EITHER WRITE SOMETHING WORTH READING OR DO SOMETHING WORTH WRITING.”-BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

 

Mewwwwwwy Christmas!

Merry Christmas Still Playin’ With It Posse! 

My utmost gratitude to my Still Playin’ With It Family and Friends! Thank you for all your support and love along this amazing journey of mine in the world of BLOGGING! Dreams come true people. Period. Don’t ever forget that!

From: Your thoughts becoming things. To the power of your mind and heart to create your reality. And all that “WOO WOO” psycho babble I talk about ALL THE TIME…

Please don’t forget the most amazing part of this:

YOU ARE YOUR IT AND YOUR ALL! YOU ARE PERFECTLY YOU. RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE. DOING EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING. BEING WITH THOSE YOU ARE WITH. WORKING WHERE YOU WORK. PLAYING WHERE YOU PLAY. LIVING WHERE YOU LIVE. LOVING WHO YOU LOVE. 

I BELIEVE THAT 2016 IS GOING TO BE YOUR BEST YEAR YET. DO YOU?

 

 

LOVE AND MEWWY CHRISTMAS,

REBECCA LASER: YOUR STILL PLAYIN’ WITH IT GURU

“EITHER WRITE SOMETHING WORTH READING OR DO SOMETHING WORTH WRITING.”-BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Rock With Me

“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.” -Wayne Dyer

Welp, this wraps up my Birthday Week. And what a magical week it has been. From the onset of November, I have been stoked with little nuggets of blessings. From the Goddesses that enlighten my soul, to my marines digging deep. From movement of my spirit to movement of my body. From overcoming obstacles in my mind to conquering “ledgies” on a golf course. 😉 (Waves) From being open to receive to giving the gift of love in a smile to a stranger, this month has been a true gift.

If you have been a part of Rebecca Laser’s life, I thank you for the continued love and admiration. If you are reading this, then you ARE a part of my life; An integral part of one of the biggest adventures of my life: Still Playin’ With It. I am in continued awe of this platform for MOVEMENT! A movement of knowledge, truth and more than anything, a platform to PLAY! Thank you for being my play mates.

“YOUR MOVEMENT. YOUR ADVENTURE. IT IS WITHIN YOU. SAY YES!” -Rebecca Laser

What makes you wanna move? What makes you feel the most? For me it is music. It is the soundtrack of my life that elicits the movement of an emotion. Whether in my living room, at a bar, or in the hallway of my shop at Camp Pendleton while I show my Marines that this MFLC knows how to “Dougie.” Busting out a little rhythm always makes my heart vibrate a little more and makes me smile. Shit, even if just to ignite a smile on my face or my audiences, I FEEL more. I feel better. My friends don’t call me D.J. Bexlove for nothin’!

I encourage most of my clients, marines and friends to try hollering while in their car at the top of their lungs. Get some of that stuck energy moving. Maybe it is an angry yell. Or perhaps an excited “YEW!” Either way, it gets the blood flowing and the possibly pent up feelings moving! To boot, try busting out a dance move in your car. And who gives a shit if some random stranger sees you. Remember, it will more than likely make them smile. Consider it your Random Act of Kindness for the day! 🙂

For my birthday this year I gathered a group of amazing women in to my home.  I gave them a soundtrack to my soul…

“Rebecca Laser’s Feel Good Mix”

1. People Everyday (Reprise) Arrested Development
2. You Rock My World – Michael Jackson
3. Jive Talkin’  – Bee Gees
4. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
5. Sugar – Robin Shulz
6. Loud Place – Jamie xx
7. Ocean Drive – Duke Dumont
8. Rock With You – Michael Jackson
9. Stolen Dance — Milky Chance
10. All About the Bass – Meghan Trainor
11. The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson
12. Don’t Call It Love – Zero 7
13. Killing Me Softly With His Song – Fugees
14. She’s Gone – Hall & Oates

YOUR STILL PLAYIN’ WITH IT CHALLENGE FOR DECEMBER:

1. Develop your own “Feel Good Mix”

What songs evoke a response your body has been longing for? OH! And PLEASE SHARE with me! I would love to hear what the Soundtrack to your life is! You can email me through my blog, leave a comment or through my website: www dot Rebecca Laser dot com.

Are you a Brick House? An Electric Slide? A Macarena? Or a slow dancing sexy mama? Do you Swing? Do you Square? Moonwalking Bad Ass? Robotin’ Queen? A Cupid Shuffle fool? Shakin’ the Harlem? Bring it!

I SEE A “DANCE OFF” PARTY IN MY FUTURE…and YOURS!

Be the dancer doing YOUR dance. What moves you?  

Love and Play, 

Rebecca

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”-Benjamin Franklin

 

My Afflatus

Dedicated to those that have “showed up” in my life. Especially my clients and Marines, ready to do “the work.” Because of YOUR life, I am inspired. You are my afflatus this morning…(EK, JC, Lt. FGO, FL, CL, MS, JK, AZ, LA, SB, LB, on and on and on…Thank you for trusting me.)

“You hold the paint palette of your canvas. Create it from your heart. And like the trekking at Angel’s Landing in Zion, one step at a time, speak your heart’s truth to your mind. It will hear you. It will concur with your heart’s whisper. I promise.” Excerpt from Buckle Up!

ZION! ZION! ZION! This word or place or metaphorical afflatus (look that one up!) has been whispered in my ear for the past two months.  If you look up Zion on the world wide web, you may find a few different definitions, translations and ideas on what Zion is, means and was historically. I am going to stick to the basics of what I have found. Or of what I liked. 🙂

“Zion” can be looked at as:

THE WORLD TO COME. 

If you are a diligent Still Playin’ With It reader, you know about my adventure in the Grand Canyon with my folks which ended in a very scary and unforeseen accident where my father fell and severely sprained his ankle. The hours to follow were inspiring and courageous. If interested in this WILD story, check out Namaste Grand Canyon. From the premature end to my travels in the Grand Canyon, I stepped in to ZION National Park ready for my WORLD TO COME.

Stepping in to the unknown can be, well scary, to say the least. What is next? Who will be there? How? What? When? Whether by pure exhaustion or the monotony of their current circumstance, I often experience people finally ready to explore their WORLD TO COME. And get out of their own way! They are ready. Ready to stop the feedback loops in their mind. Ready to dig deep. Ready to sift more in to who they are to be in their NEW WORLD TO COME! It is the biggest gift and honor in my life to do this with YOU!

“Life lesson: Small steps lead to GREAT and significant accomplishments! Even in the midst of fear, take a step.”- From my blog DIG DEEP PEEPS 

I will hold your hand. And heart…

One of the ways to DIG DEEP is by “showing up” (in my office, in your life, in your heart) prepared to step in to the “cave you fear to enter” as Joseph Campbell wittingly coined. As well, most of you know, I stepped in to this cave post separation from my ex-husband over three years ago. These pivotal moments (divorce, heart ache, loss of job, person, life circumstances) act as points of reference to take a leap in to YOUR WORLD TO COME!

This “cave” or the precipice of change, and/or letting go, circles us back to the Hero’s Journey and the “Call to Adventure.” Right? Here is a link to my blog on the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey has been a significant afflatus in my life since my leap. If you haven’t read or learned about Joseph Campell’s “Hero’s Journey”, and you want to be inspired, please watch Finding Joe on Finding joe dot com. Or Itunes. 😉

“We all have the choice to make a decision that may be detrimental to our growth, yet provides momentary satisfaction. Or make a decision that provides painful growth and possible discomfort, yet is the ultimate reward. What will your decision be?” – Excerpt from Hero I Go

I often speak on creating YOUR reality and YOUR world. I often riff about the POWER within YOU! YOU are responsible for YOUR own well being! YOU are! Not me. Not your partner. Not your parents. YOU! It is a ton of responsibility isn’t it?

Well, I think it is time for YOU to hear this:

Stop blaming. Stop being a victim. Stop making excuses. Dig Deep. Show up. Be courageous. And if you need a little push, or a soft prod, ask for support.

I am confident of your ability. I am secure in the perfection of timing. I am 100% fucking stoked on YOU! From Portugal to Australia. From Africa to Sweden. The United States to England. Thank YOU for reading my words, trusting my nudge and SHOWING UP!

Now, Let’s GO! 

Accept your call to YOUR ZION! It is YOURS! THE WORLD TO COME! How exciting!

Love, Rebecca

.

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin

Metamorphic Creations

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

…and so it flows…

I stepped on to the trail yesterday morning. I realized I haven’t trekked around a lot since my adventure of a lifetime in The Grand Canyon and Zion with my folks back in June. If you haven’t had the chance to read NAMASTE GRAND CANYON, please do. It is a story of my metamorphosis and the true understanding of this process. This recognition was the vital ingredient of things coming full circle in my life.

Circles can make us dizzy if we don’t focus on and ground ourself in to the actual experience of them. Let’s go…

We, the “humans”, know of shedding of skin when we think of snakes, or the cycle of Ecdysis. Did you know that a snake about to shed is referred to as being “in the blue.”  (The metaphors of this. A writer’s muse.)

“Normal shedding is a necessary process for growth in snakes (and in humans) and is highly dependent on numerous factors with the most important being good nutrition and proper humidity.” (www.peteducation.com)

• What are you feeding your body, spirit and mind?

We even stop in bewilderment when we stumble across a snake’s skin that has shed. Sometimes, I admit for me, it is in an energy of jealousy. I want to be at the end of that “in the blue” phase; gorgeous, sexy and feeling good! Process done! No discomfort! We all know this is where the true growth comes. We grow the most from things that stretch us the most, right?

The good news is we do shed our skin…daily.

• You have roughly 1.6 trillion skin cells. Of those billions of skin cells, between 30,000 and 40,000 of them fall off every hour. Over a 24-hour period, you lose almost a million skin cells. (How Stuff Works dot com.) 

“OUCH!” doesn’t even really align with the true experience does it? You don’t feel your skin naturally sloughing off. It is a natural part of our evolution. We don’t fight it. We don’t argue it. We simply let it be. Aw, you all know where I am going with this, huh?!

Yep. Just as our physical bodies shed skin as a protective strategy and/or a way to make room for a new gorgeous layer, so does our spiritual and emotional bodies.

Molting of our spiritual, emotional and experiential bodies can be uncomfortable. It is a process. It takes TIME. And the courage to NOT RESIST IT! Don’t let it scare you or keep you stuck. It is all a natural cycle of metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is only painful when we resist it. Is this even possible?

As you read and possibly feel inspired, I ask you this: What in your life is shifting, changing and preparing you for the shedding? Can you shift your perspective and understand it is a natural part of growth? Or do you want to stay in the victimhood of the growing pains? YOU HAVE A CHOICE! 

Life cycles. We ebb and flow in to a new existence. Sit in it. Don’t force the flow or resist the change. It will complete itself. It will create. You are the creation.

Taking full responsibility for your own well being…And in the spirit of change…

In great expectation,

Rebecca

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin

 

Buckle Up!

“I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.” -Vincent van Gogh

I don’t think I truly understood the sheer amount of exhaustion my trip through the Grand Canyon had on me until the past week. Namaste Grand Canyon took me a couple weeks to write. And getting back to my dear readers and followers on Still Playin’ With It has taken even longer since that entry. As mentioned before, I promise to follow the lead of my heart when I write and not force it.

Like the gorgeous feminine side of us all: ART must flow and not be forced. Therefore, ever so sweetly I say to you today: Thank you for reading my words and trusting my process.

The “Metaphors of Zion” are continuing to build in my life. They transform like the striation of rock that built this magnificent place. These layers of my life are orange and red; vibrant and blending. Truly a scene from a creation no one, except “my-me” could imagine or build in their mind’s eye.

Many times when I set out to write I have an idea that has inspired me. A theme or a muse that gets my fingers riffing. I have mentioned in many blogs that, as a writer, I am constantly aware and seeking inspiration for you all to read. Today is different. I have many. I have a gazillion ideas floating and cruising the pathways of my heart and mind. They seemed to have landed on one space: THE HEART. My heart. Our hearts.

As a storyteller, words are my art. They come from my heart. (Poet and did know it!) This 18-inch voyage from our heads to our hearts can be the longest journey of this lifetime. I know it has been for me. 

Despite the trenches I have laid in while healing my wounded heart, this descent has been where the healing has emerged. Similarly, while sitting in the vastness of growth, this 18-inch slope has held the space for joy-filled experiences. Even more comparatively, while my heart is filled with the ecstasy of loving the life I CREATED, this 18-inch joy ride is where my heart bursts with FEELING!

The 18-inches between the two has been where the growth, pain, resistance and struggles have lied. This pathway also holds power, glory, courage, resilience and healing. Such a beautifully orchestrated, and may I even suggest BALANCED, platform for F.G.O‘s! Right?!

Yes, we HEAR with our heart. We also SEE with our heart. We FEEL with our heart. We TOUCH with our heart. Additionally, research is showing, and I believe with all my HEART, that our consciousness resides predominantly in this beautiful mass in our chest. Where the East meets the West, hey? Such radical progress for humanity.

You hold the paint palette of your canvas. Create it from your heart. And like the trekking at Angel’s Landing in Zion, one step at a time, speak your heart’s truth to your mind. It will hear you. It will concur with your heart’s whisper. I promise.

When working with clients and speaking to friends, I many times say: “Get out of your head and into your body.” Get out of your head and into your heart. Take a direct detour south and listen. Listen to your inner guide. THEY always know the truth.

Start today by listening to the beat of your heart. Start right now. Take your left hand and place it on your heart. Take your right hand and place it on top of your left or on your stomach. Experience what you FEEL. Is the connection you are having with your self too intense to continue. Sit in it longer then. Allow the tale of your desire to bleed through. 

Then write it down. Tell a friend. Start an art project. Play your instrument. Take a hike. Go for a run. Sit in stillness. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe! Get it out of the compartment in your mind that stole it from your heart and keep it flowing on your canvas.

Someone once told me that we SHARE what we most need to learn. Touche’ dear sage, Touche’! In the starting, continuing and writing of this blog, I am honored and grateful. I am grateful YOU take the time to read. I am proud of myself for putting it out there. And delighted that I have listened to the brilliance of my heart’s guidance.

Like rappelling down the rocks at Zion: TAKE A JOURNEY FROM YOUR HEAD TO YOUR HEART! It will be worth it. BUCKLE UP and trust. And then…MAKE YOUR MOVE! 

In Love and Courage,

Rebecca 

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin

 

Holy Shitake!

“Be brave! Take Risks! NOTHING can substitute experience.” Paulo Coelho

Great Morning to you all! I am approaching my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Still Playin’ With It! Holy Shitaki mushrooms! I can’t believe it! In celebration of this amazing accomplishment and for your loyalty…I am preparing one dynamite BLOG! Not that they haven’t ALL been DYNAMITE! 🙂

For this week, or at least for today, I am putting the links of three of my most favorite blogs. I do read through them and find it fascinating to see the growth I have made as a writer. Today is one of my best friends birthdays (Happy Birthday DAWN!) Dawn is one of my loyal followers and readers. She thanked me this am for continuing to follow my bliss and stay committed to Still Playin’ With It. Thank you DAWN and everyone around the world for reading. I will continue to evolve, vulnerabilities in hand, as the writer I am to be. Or “Leading at Scale” as one of my favorite writers, James Clear, poses!

Do Do or Doo Doo?

Shake, Rattle and Kick ASS!

Rock the Vote

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Lastly, here is the link to my first EVER blog on Still Playin’ With IT. Please read in preparation for my Anniversary PARTY edition!

Love, Love, Love and more of that shit,

Rebecca

“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day your realized why.” –Mark Twain

Peak a BOO!

“As a man thinketh, so he becomes.” -Buddha

Let’s start this weeks Still Playin’ With It blog with a quote from last weeks, Mosaic:

“In Winner Winner Chicken Dinner I talked about Newton and the Law of Motion. Like the quote above from Einstein, we must keep moving forward! Not only to stay in motion, but also to KEEP OUR BALANCE!

…We are fragmented souls. Fragmented in a way that suggests that there is a balance of our pieces. Not fragmented as in BROKEN. Got that?

…Regardless of your belief in the above theory on fragmentation, our lives can be felt as more balanced when we step into the reintegration of these parts. Take a moment right now. Close your eyes. Imagine, like a beautiful mosaic, your parts coming together to form a tight, gorgeous, perfectly connected MASTERPIECE! That is you: a timeless piece of art…”

 

One, it is scary to step into the fragmented portions of our lives. It is awkward and fearful.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek.” -Joseph Campbell

This quote shows up many times throughout the webbing of my blog because it is a powerful statement and an even more powerful experience once you step inside. This cave represents the portions of our mosaic awaiting to be seen as a part of you. NOT as a BIG, DEEP CREVIS THAT IS UNFIXABLE, BROKEN, SHATTERED, WORTHLESS OR UNLOVABLE. 

Fragmented. What a crappy word. Makes ya feel less than, yes?

Fragment is defined as: a broken part or piece of something: an incomplete part.

This word ignites fear, let alone has a negative connotation. May I challenge you to reframe the previous word and look at it from a different angle.

Fragments of a mosaic are where the LIGHT SHINES IN! Isn’t that a rad thought and image.

The light is where the cementation of our life experiences coalesce. I love the word COALESCENCE! Early on in my Still Playin’ With It days I wrote about the inspiration the word COALESCENCE brought my soul in For The Love of Legos:

COALESCE: “to grow together; to fuse:

to unite into a whole:

to unite for a common end:

to arise from the combination of distinct elements”

“We grow TOGETHER and fuse to unite into a whole, for a common end, to arise from the combination of distinct elements.”

It is truly fascinating to me to think of the ways my life and this blog has coalesced. Almost a year running and over 4000 hits!  The words of my past are coalescing into a perfect masterpiece inspired by the fragmented parts of my mosaic.

Dig Deep Peeps! Right now. It is time to let that beautiful light shine. Those are the spaces between that really allow people to love YOU. You. Perfectly YOU.

Now enough of the fluff! Rock this week with passion. Open your arms to the Universe (wink wink JC) and say:

“BRING IT ON! I AM READY TO ROCK THIS MUSEUM CALLED LIFE!” 

Gratitude for my followers, family, friends, and mysterious readers from across the world. I appreciate you so much. Please tell me how this masterpiece of fragmentation is blessing and teaching you. Visit my website: Rebecca Laser dot com to shoot me a quick email, ask me a question, or make a suggestion of a topic you would find inspiring.

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin

Are you kicking ass?

Still Playin’ With It Readers,

Below is a blog I wrote from April, 2014! It is by far one of my favorites! As I have grown the past year, I reflect on my writing specifically. I look back over my blog and see the growth, as a writer, that I have done. Some were small steps, some were ginormous. With each step YOU and I take, comes progression, movement and evolvement. Therefore, no matter the size of the step, YOU and I will expand, develop and cultivate our own yellow brick roads.

I wrote last week in A Great Resolve about setting your resolution to make 2015 GREAT! Do not merely hope for the best, waiting for 2015 to bring it to you! Expect Greatness by creating it.

I mentioned this definition in A Great Resolve as well: “resolution” can be defined as: the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc. :the act of resolving something.”

By awareness of this definition, I realized something this week. Sometimes the answer comes from hind sight. The word resolution, as defined through, say, A New Year’s Resolution, is setting something for the future. The above definition suggests, to me, more of discovering an answer through experiences of the past. Yesterday was the past. One second ago was the past. What did you learn?

I will set out this year to continue to Expect Greatness by being Perfectly Rebecca. As well, I will utilize my past lessons to hear the voice inside guiding me to where I am to be! In Look What I Found, I explain the depths of lessons I found while traveling through Bali. This is my bliss: Traveling, writing and teaching. If You Build It explains the beauty of living by your dreams, YOUR BLISS! What is your BLISS? What wakes you up at night with a passion in your gut?

Anyways, I send you off with the beautiful riff below. I am in the midst of some major transitions in my life. I look forward to sharing with you all as they unfold. Please take a moment to read How To Kick Ass In One Easy Step.

 

Well, that is, if you want to KICK ASS!! Do you?

 

How to Kick Ass in One Easy Step

I am sitting in a Starbucks on Sunset BLVD this am. To get here, I had to weave around the detour for a race happening on Hollywood BLVD. Apropos for today’s blog…

On your marks…Get set…GO!!!!

First thing that we encounter as we leave our mother’s body? Breath. Last thing we experience as we take off to our next space? Breath. And every moment in between? Breath.

But we must also believe in it’s power to support our goals and dreams. What I mean is this: Look at your breath as your building block. You want to increase your pace, speed or endurance in exercise, practice focusing on your breath. You want to decrease anxiety or stress levels, practice. You want to be more attentive in your meditation practice and enjoy deeper thoughts, practice connecting to your vitality, your breath. Like the one listed below… 🙂

Deep Thoughts By Jack Handey:

“If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is “God is crying.” And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is “Probably because of something you did.”

Step one: Breathe with intention.

What is intention? One view of intention: higher consciousness thought. When you hold an intention you actually call forth your conscious awareness at a present level.That is it. We, as humans, as spiritual beings, have the ability to find our present moment, our presence, in a breath. We have the POWER to calm our nerves through a breath. We have the ability to increase our heart rate at a pace that our breath can assist in reaching. We have the design to expand lung capacity and maintain a steady heart rate by…breathing.

Let’s try it together: (Come on. Just do it.) Inhale through your nose to a count of 10, or 11 or 50 for heavens sake…just pick a slow paced inhale… slowly, as slow as you possibly can. NOW STOP. Before you exhale, which we normally do quite quickly from this point, become exquisitely aware and now…exhale…AS slowly and consciously as you inhaled. Get grounded again before you inhale…now consciously inhale again, SLOWLY. Maybe give your breath a color. Visualize this colored air oxygenating your body from the base of your spine, up through each vertebrae, filling your lungs, enlarging your rib cage…this vibrant breath swirling around your heart space and moving up into your skull and swirling around that beautiful brain of yours…and out the crown of your head. Wow. Did you see that?

Someone once shared with me how he meditates and I really appreciated it (Thank you LS): As you exhale, visualize yourself squishing down to the smallest molecular form of you, like you were a speck of dust, a particle of sand, an electron, an atom, a quark! (yes, look that one up). Then as you inhale, imagine yourself expanding to a ginormous form of YOU. Like you could engulf all of Texas with your amazing mass. NOW HOLD IT. And consciously exhale as you transform this immensely sized being into the smallest, tiniest form of YOU. Breath in…lungs expand, oxygen increasing the expansiveness WE formulated with those moments that WE created. You did. You created that moment of intention of YOUR breath.

Do we have to focus on our breath? No. See, your ANS-Autonomic Nervous System- will continue to breath FOR you. Most ANS mechanisms are involuntary. The ANS acts as a “control system” that functions below the level of consciousness even. Beautifully and intricately formed in our being, the ANS assists us when we are unaware of our design. Thank you ANS! Sometimes I forget to breath…and am able to simply allow this visceral function to be. We can bring precision to this valuable force by utilizing our focus.

Spirituality of Breath: In most, dare I say all, traditions, spirit means breath. The spirit in us and the spirit through us is breath. Do you believe that you have the power to connect with your spirit through your breath? Again, maybe try that exercise a few more times really focusing on your spirit, god, God, whatever connects your spiritually to you. Pray as you practice this breath. Meditate as you breath with awareness. And gratitude. Let us be grateful for this tool in our belt.

PranaYAMA is prana-YUMMY!

Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning: extension of the prana or breath. Or extension of the life force. Breath equals life force. Therefore, that kick ass step I was selling you on in my title: Breath is life force. Breath is energy. Breath is our life. Breath is the key to awareness, presence and adaptation even to stress, yes? Breath is our fuel. (And a little plug for Yoga. Sometimes the only place in this world I can be present is on my mat…while I am focusing on the breath that centers my practice.)

I included a picture of myself from the 5k I ran last Sunday. Just a little 3.10686 mile run along the coast…I was inspired to riff about breath because of this race. The reason I crossed the finish line was because of my breath. My breath fueled me, increased my pace when needed and slowed my stride, too. My breath was with me the entire way. As well, breath is what linked me to the other stars racing that day. We all have breath, we all have life while we are still breathing, and this connects us as humans. From the beginning to the end. From the start to the finish line. This race…this pace. I’m ready to execute. Are you?

Our bodies, designed in greatness, will always hold our breath…so you don’t have to. Let it flow. 

Step two: THERE AIN’T NO STEP TWO. Just breath 🙂

Merry YOUmas!

 Dedicated to YOU: my followers, friends, family, clients, and fellow passengers on this ride we call…LIFE!

T’was the Day of YOUmas

T’was the day of YOUmas and my only goal,

Was the feeling of gratitude penetrating my soul.

I looked to the left and I looked to the right.

Realizing what was actually in site:

Merely myself and the connection I could grasp instantly.

And the love that I had for especially ME!

To jest at the thought of loving YOU first,

Is a pure misconception and probably the worst.

YOU are the reason you are where you are.

YOU are perfectly placed not too close or too far.

Perfectly Rebecca and perfectly YOU.

It is the exact time to see how YOU grew!

Through my “riffs” and words I have experienced your joy.

And been the proud parent of a blog I enjoy!

So, as I sit in the midst of this beautiful dance,

And burst at the seams of my new corduroy pants.

I say to YOU my fellow warrior and queen:

“Be the best you can be and follow your dream!

This is a  test! One that cannot be missed.

One that will lead you to FOLLOW YOUR BLISS!”

Let your LOVE light shine so pretty and bright

And Merry YOUmas to all and to all a good fucking night! 😉

Merry Christmas from Still Playin’ With It and Rebecca Laser!

Fa La La La

In these final moments as we approach Christmas 2014, I wish you all the happiest of the year ending. I will write at least one more riff before we end. Enjoy the beauty of the Winter Solstice and the magic and finality of 2014. I am proud of each one of you. From Slovakia to Germany. Indo to Greece. China to Canada. The Netherlands to Afghanistan. The United States to England and every city, nation and space between…THANK YOU!! 

My utmost gratitude and respect is coming your way!

Love, Rebecca 

My mantra as of the past two weeks has been: “Less is more.” The liberation that came from this statement was truly satisfying. (Gratzi Dana!) I recognized when I dug deeper that there were things coming up that I want to share with you: my Still Playin’ With It family.

This ties in to my “to-do” list. Tis’ the season for that bloody thing. How many of you are more focused on what to mark off your to-do list than on what is in front of your face? Or WHO is in front of your face? Racing around the mall, Wal-mart and Marshalls (Link to Effing Marshall. A riff from a few months back that I think is hilarious. Just sayin’) in an attempt to feel that your day has been at least somewhat successful.

We may take a second to glance up from our Iphones and Droids (link to Insta This) after looking at our electronic check list, to see if the line at Macy’s is moving forward. There is even this awesome App called CLEAR that really hits my task completing vein!! Like a fein ready to be worthy of a moment to relax tonight, I get to either swipe left to put a line through the item or swipe right to remove it entirely! Watch out TINDER! This is a perfect gift for your neurotic family member and its a bargain at only 99 cents. Sweet deal. (Thank you Ian.)

Oh, the irony. As I am sitting here writing about CLEAR, my phone dings with a reminder from CLEAR of a
gift I didn’t want to forget to buy. Ha! Yes, it even will send you a reminder. SHUT IT DOWN, REBECCA!

Let’s take this a step further, shall we? “Yes. We shall, Rebecca. Thank you so much for helping me dig a little deeper. Look a little more inside this body and mind of mine.” You’re welcome. 🙂 

When pondering on this new concept of my never ending “TO-DO” list and allowing myself to step into the cave of truth and wisdom I feared to enter, I have come to a conclusion the past year. The conclusion: My “To-Do” list has been a means of not only distraction, but also a coping skill, if you will. What I mean is this: If I focus on this list of tasks to be completed, then I don’t have to or won’t look at the other things externally and/or internally that are begging for my attention. In this space where I get to mark one task off when I complete it, I FEEL better. I slash through “dog food” and the choir of angels sing as I am one step closer to finishing my list for the day while not taking the time to focus on me.

Like that little voice inside you that whispers: “Meditate. Hug your child. Walk your dog. Be here now.” We ignore it due to the weight of our list. “Oh, yes, I will do all that nonsense once my list is complete.” DOH! Please, let it go and do those priceless things now.

But who of you doesn’t do that? The more tasks I complete, the better I feel. The more I get done, the more worthy I am of feeling good? Think. On. That.

And if I don’t finish Wednesday’s List? God forbid I would simply allow it to flow in to the next day. Or imagine, if it didn’t really matter at all?  We chatted about this In Do Do or Doo Doo where I encouraged you to focus on the wonderful things you did get done versus what you didn’t. Again, less is, and can be, so much more when you allow yourself to flow in YOUR perfection.

I shared last week in Perfectly Rebecca, I have been practicing setting my intention for the day before my feet hit the floor in the morning. Sometimes this is just a “go through” of my day ahead type moment. While taking deep breaths, I go over my schedule, in preparation.

Lastly, I have been challenged to limit my “To-Do” list to no more than 3 items (Again thank you DD). I am attempting, and I mean attempting, to allow this process of awareness and letting go to create space for more. This is much harder than I thought! But freeing as well.

My challenge to you in these last 9 days till Christmas…

1. Stay focused on what matters right now

2. Smile at a stranger

3. Offer a hand to help someone

4. Reflect on how much you do do

5. Slow down

6. Be proud of who you are

7. Stay off your phone while in the line at Starbucks

8. Take an evening stroll and look at the wonder

9. Soak in a bubble bath

10. HUG it out

11, yes, 11. LOVE. Period.

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin

Perfectly Rebecca

“Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts.” -Jim Morrison

In Honor of and dedicated to my father: Richard Ross Craig. (He is alive, don’t worry, and more of a stud today than ever before.)  

GOOD LORD! So as I am “Still Playin’ With It…” I noticed that a bunch of my pictures, almost all, are missing from my previous posts. What the hell? GRRRRRR! Then I realized why after a little recon: I deleted pics I had used from my media folder on WordPress not knowing it would remove their links in my blogs! (Insert Aussie accent here…) “Good on ya, Rebecca Laser”  for trying to organize your life and thereby lose all previous files. So! There it is. It is. It is perfectly…Rebecca Laser. They may never come back and I will be okay with that…I think. 🙂

Let it go…Can you? Is there something in your life that is holding you back because you can’t let it go? I utilize the image of holding reigns often with my clients. Take your hands right now and visualize holding reigns as tight as possible. Finger tips digging into your palms. Fists squeezing so tight nothing could penetrate the grip. Take a deep breath and release the grip…slowly…allow the light to enter and the control to release. Enjoy the ride.

I tell you…I sat at my spot, beer in hand, being spoiled by my friend and bartender. I thought: “This is gonna be a great night to write!” Then distraction set in as I ruminated on details of the day, or on what I wanted to come out onto the screen. Oh, and then I met Ryan, a fellow writer. And then my chicken was dry and the girl behind me was yelling in my ear. All distractions of life that love to wiggle their bloody paws into our moments. Frosted on top of the fact that my photos were buried in the WordPress cemetery. (Letting it go…)

AHHH! WHERE THE HELL ARE MY PICTURES? (Well, trying…) This is an opportunity to practice what I preach. Deep Breath. Be here now. Enjoy the moment. Taste the hops. See the patrons. Here the tunes in my ear. Move right. Move to the right hemisphere of that gorgeous brain and feel the night. FEEL the words. Feel the presence of greatness surrounding you, readers. FEEL the elements surrounding you and FEEL yourself in the midst. There must be a gift wrapped in this shit. As I sit here I think: “What a perfect example of the title of my blog: Still Playin’ With IT!!! Again, I say: “Aren’t we all?!

I titled this “Perfectly Rebecca” because I was feeling frustrated and bummed about my blog mishap. Judging myself for making a mistake. Judging myself for not knowing the ins and outs of the blogging world. Frustrated at the amount of time it would take to fix it…blah blah blah. Then, I stopped and thought about a conversation I had with a wonderful girl I see in my private practice. We were discussing her frustrations at thoughts she has, or decisions she makes. She was wondering if they were “good or bad” in an attempt to clarify her feelings. Or possibly, in an attempt to identify the “whys”. Or a way to ultimately understand her true self. As I listened to this gorgeous soul discuss her pain and frustration at why things are the way they are, or why she feels the way she does, I looked at her and said, You are perfectly You! (inserted her name here.) You are perfectly and exactly where you are supposed to be. Thank you for the true inspiration you give me (MS).

And I say to YOU: wherever you are and whoever you are: YOU ARE PERFECTLY YOU. Period. Even in the midst of chaos and judgements towards yourself. Stop. Take a breath and accept this moment as ideal. Accept this space as RIGHT. Acknowledge this step as part of the amazing process we call life. And be fucking proud of yourself. You are HERE because of all the steps you took prior. Right? Repeat after me: I AM PERFECTLY (insert name here)!

You have a choice. You have a choice right now to be bitter and pissed, as I was for a moment. Or you can enjoy this moment as perfectly placed in your path for a purpose. Or just love yourself and your “mistakes.” The dictionary defines “mistake” as:

“an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.” 

Well then. I mean, without getting TOO DEEP…(HA! Yeah, right! I would never force ya’ all to DIG DEEP!) If you had poorly reasoned, carelessly decided, and/or insufficient knowledge, then how the hell wouldn’t you fuck it up? This statement infers there was a moment, a planck (the smallest measurement of time) where you were able to decide. To decide which way to go. And from this present awareness”mistakes” happen.

Mahatma Gandhi said: “It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.” 

Mistakes can be some of the biggest gifts in our lives. Aw, the red wedges of Bali! (Woohoo, AW!) These “mistakes”, or planck of time, or moments of reasoning… give us the bridge to the cave we fear to enter, yes? In this cave are the elements used for producing a perfect “YOU-MUFFIN”. Maybe made out of momentary icky ingredients. But, yummy nonetheless. 🙂 

NOW…Get out your air guitar and rock this planet being thee…

PERFECTLY ALIGNED INGREDIENT THAT YOU ARE!!! 

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin

Follow Me to the TOP!

Good Morning Still Playin’ With It PEEPS!

Aw the start to a new BIRTH year! My utmost love and gratitude for each of YOU. I believe it is going to be an ASS KICKING year!

Follow me to the top of your true potential. Your dreams, hopes and aspirations are just around the corner…even if the trail bends, the path is rocky or the road is slippery! Woohoo! Those make for perfect experiences! And a training which is ideal for who you are and where you are going! I promise.

Enjoy this raw video and know that I will be posting a blog this weekend with a rad “Playlist to my Life!”

Love and Ass Kickin’ Gratitude,

Rebecca

 

Links to mentioned past blogs:

Imatard, Uatard Avatard

For the Love of Legos

Tootsie Rollin’

“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day your realized why.”

–Mark Twain

Rock the Vote- Take 2!

Dear Still Playin’ With It Family,

Isn’t it a blur? Sometimes life seems to throw you into this space of CONFUSION?! This place where the only thing you can do is go back to old programs, old routines and old shit storms? As I approach my birthday, the process of death, transformation and birth are mingling in my mind. I am reposting one of my favorites today. Not only as a gift to you, my readers. But, also as a reminder to myself. So, today, I tell you this:

1. Trust the Process

2. Be willing to unravel the artichoke

3. Be beautiful in the life of another

4. Be grateful for YOU

5. Kick F-Ing ASS!

As you read on…if you have read it before, read it again while taking in what becomes clearer today. If you haven’t read this one before, enjoy and be inspired. (chips) You got this! Now, Grasshopper… Go ROCK THE VOTE!

“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.”-Joseph Campbell

As many of you read in my last post, Shake, Rattle and Kick Ass, I passed my second and final licensing exam to be an LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) in the state of California. Which is quite the battle and I am very proud of my accomplishment. Thank you to those who have supported and encouraged me along the way. Since then, 10 days ago, I have found my way to this place that is, well it…just IS! This is: THE SPACE BETWEEN. 

What is the space between? No, not the Dave Matthews song…(You’re welcome!)

You all know, if you read me diligently (and I thank you from my depths, if you do) that I love definitions of words. They carry strength. So…Between by definition: “in the period separating (two points in time.) Two points in time…what is in between two points in time? NOW.

This “Between” is my current residence. But, I am going to be the Mayor of this fucking town and callit: FOR-NOW. Who is ready to buy some land and plant some crops in FOR-NOW?  Prices are amazingly LOW because no one wants to live here…currently. So I will take a breath, look around and know that this space is exactly that: FOR-NOW. 

The magical land of FOR-NOW, between where you were last and where you are going…can be scary, to say the least. It can hold an energy of confusion, and or fear. Those fearful moments don’t add to the amazing process we are experiencing in the Space Between. Your free floating thoughts may sound like this: “I’m lost!” Impossible! “I’m stuck!” Nope. “I’m stranded.” Never! “What do I do now?” Be Here. 

My Space Between is filled with inquiries that I don’t have an answer…FOR-NOW. They are evolving. My current habitation is rich in development, so, I sit patiently. Well, most of the time. What will unfold? What and how will I move into this next chapter? Who will I meet that will have a specific purpose to teach me something radical? Or vice versa?

FOR-NOW is a space for letting go of control. Allow yourself to open your eyes and mind to all that is in this space. And then, settle in. Snuggle yourself into the depths of this cozy, warm, perfect place…a trulyexciting place to see what is brought to you! Are you with me? Or are your insecurities and ego getting in the way of what is? Stop for a moment, right now and ask yourself that exact question. Allow the answer to come…

A tool to use for this space: BREATH! I think of meditation within the context of this space. The space between in meditation or prayer is that “place” you go where there is no time. Where there is no space, people, things…just your breath…and YOU. Link to How To Kick Ass in One Easy Step, where I talk about this practice of…breathing.

Raise your hand if you have been in or are in YOUR Space Between? Where you don’t know the next plot on your course. I don’t know where I am going…exactly. But what I DO know: I AM HERE NOW. Trust the process! Enjoy the journey…this exquisite journey into YOURSELF.

And of utmost importance, my FOR-NOW abode is not my FOR-EVER. Nor is yours. That is an important point to make very understandable and clear: FOR-NOW, does not mean FOR-EVER! Life is a becoming. Let your life become what it is to be through this space between.

As Mayor, President, CEO, and Soul-Proprietor of the beautiful city of FOR-NOW, I promise this to you, dear citizens: YOU can take complete solace that the unclear will become clear, the unknown WILL become known, and the fog will lift. Then and only then, will your investment multiply!

FOR-NOW

Population: 1

Who is ready to admit where they are and invest in this ocean front property? 

 

“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day your realized why.”

–Mark Twain

DIG DEEP PEEPS

“What would you do TODAY if you had no fear?” -Rebecca Laser

It’s a dichotomous
life we live at times, isn’t it? Like a leprechaun in search for her pot of gold. Endlessly hunting in turmoil for the end of that rainbow that “they” say you can never find! On a continuous quest to find that bloody treasure, we toil the land, look under places we never thought we could. Coming up with nothing many times, or at least it feels like nothing. Then the bells ring. The whistles blast and the glitter falls from the sky: JACKPOT!

Dear Still Playin’ With It Family…YOU CAN FIND YOUR POT OF GOLD! Even if it is at the end of a rainbow in which the world tells you doesn’t exist. Don’t believe that B.S. Your dreams DO exist. Your goals are achievable. Your BLISS is to be called out. This is where the belief in YOU and YOUR power exists.

It would be so easy at that point to stop. Resistance of the worlds beliefs derails you and your dreams. Aw, the life of the acting world. Do you think Matt Damon and Ben Affleck fell for this crap at some point? Probably. Why keep moving forward when STOP signs keep you blocked? Because (Doc S, JD, and RC) there is a pot of fucking gold to be found! It is your bliss…keep moving forward. Don’t buy in to the misleading guidance of the fearful insinuating that there is no rainbows end. Instead, create it! I am so proud of you.

My friend in LA was chatting with me about a writing job she has. (Oregon girl) She had some fear of how it would turn out, almost not putting the hope or expectation into what may or may not happen. Forget THAT! In If You Build It, I mentioned FEAR being:

False

Evidence

Appearing

Real

She was focusing on the fear of what MAY happen. Per the Universal Law of Attraction: what we think about, we bring about. So, I challenged her with this:

“Imagine what it would FEEL like to go ALL THE WAY and FOCUS ON THAT!” She said that made her smile just to think about. Hmm? To believe in one’s self?! To BELIEVE in the ability of one’s gifts, dreams, and bliss? What a concept! What would it FEEL like to pass that test? Land that acting gig/writing job? Be pain free? OR get a “W”?!!!

The San Diego Chargers, despite their athletic talent, lost to Miami with a big fat goose egg last week. This is a perfect example of the mind game. Where athletes are fighting a bigger battle: Their mind…or too much partying in South Beach. I am going to go with the first. Phillip Rivers, the QB, has a tremendous amount of athletic ability and talent. To get “W“s you have got to have more. You must have the mind-strength, belief and intention to get those “W“‘s. Combined with a TEAM to support you. (Give me a call, Phil. I will help you get more “W”s.)

Setting an intention or goal to WIN is what brings the “W” to life. Eliminate the “What If’s” or “What Mays” by combining “What Is” with the belief.  Belief in the outcome you are envisioning is what creates those accomplishments. In Bump, SET, Spike! I talk about the POWER of setting an intention! Check it.

Life lesson: Small steps lead to GREAT and significant accomplishments! Even in the midst of fear, take a step. I talked about this in Just Do It, my video from two weeks ago. If you have something you want to accomplish, take a small step, or think about what you Do Do (link to Do Do or Doo-Doo, one of my favorite blogs) and NOT what you don’t! (cough! Preaching to the choir!) Was there something you set out to accomplish this week that felt insignificant, yet for you was a victory? Celebrate that! I celebrate YOU!

THE THREE STEPS TO A “W”

1. BELIEVE

2. SET IT AND FORGET IT

3. HAVE A KICK ASS TEAM 

 

What do you wanna get a “W” in this week? Do you have your heart set on this WIN? And do you have a team to support you? THEN TAKE A STEP and KICK ASS! 

 

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” -Benjamin Franklin

IF YOU BUILD IT…

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Joseph Campbell

‘Still Playin With It’ Family…

Today, I set out to write. I am moved. I have been inspired this last week by challenges, educational experiences and MORE than anything…Opportunities For Growth! When an opportunity comes (like I have mentioned before) and it appears to be wrapped in shit, you have two options: Take it or leave it. Who wants to take a present wrapped in pain, heartache or failure? Not many of us would ask for that.

(With a hint of sarcasm…) “Oh please god. IF you really love me, you will give me a ton of painful, life altering, awkward moments, and I will accept them with grace! Pretty please?!”

If we are to be free of the imprisonment of fear, we must accept these truly as gifts, as treasures, as a part of our Hero’s Journey.  As a means to slay the dragon and utilize our hearts cry to discover our bliss. Your bliss! What is your platform? How will you leap to the next level?  In retrospect, so many of these moments were used to catapult you and me into what is next…into what is delicious on the other side of the unveiling…

Fear is a cry of our ego to be heard! “Listen to me!” says your ego.  “I am worried!” Don’t you know that you don’t know what you think you know!?!!!”  (YES! That is exactly what I just said!) YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TOMORROW HOLDS.  There is no evidence to prove what may or may not happen tomorrow, or in an hour, or in a year.

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real 

What would you do today if you had no fear? NO FEAR of what may happen or what may not? What could you do with your life TODAY that would push you a little closer to your bliss if you didn’t tread lightly? What would it look like to live like you were dying?

WHAT IS POSSIBLE? I believe it is ALL possibly, if you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! That is what it takes, SPWI Friends. It takes you believing in the whisper or gong of your heart. What is going to make your heart burst right out of your chest?

I am taking a leap of faith today. I have been hearing the past week: “If you build it, they will come.” Most of us know this line from the movie The Field of Dreams. Today, I am asking for guidance, internal guidance towards my bliss. “I will WRITE. I will TRAVEL. I will TEACH” has been my mantra for 4 months now. I believe this will happen. Mind you, maybe I will be traveling to Stockton, California, or Nepal…not sure…but I BELIEVE it is going to happen…well it already is because it is INSIDE of me!  YES?! You feeling me? “If you build it, THEY will come.” Your dreams. Your visions. Your bliss. Time to start the construction…
I listen to an inspiring podcast from David T. Wood on his podcast series, The Kick Ass Life. Today, Crystal Flaman, of “Inspiring Success” was discussing the move from “Success to Significance.” I desire to be SIGNIFICANT! I desire to make an impact on this world and change the lives of those who didn’t believe it was possible. But more poignantly to me today was that she mentioned the line from Field Of Dreams…”If you build it, they will come.” I got tears in my eyes, looked up and said, “I am ready…I will continue to lay the foundation to build this dream.”

“I will reach, coach and empower people through my teaching and example to live to THEIR optimal potential!” (my mission statement)

And as, Mark Divine says, “I will master myself” in the process. Ever striving to be the best ME I can be!

Still Playin’ With It has been just that: my platform towards creating space for my bliss. A total leap of faith! An avenue for me to make clear the lines that blurred my vision. To accept and know where I want to go and utilize this amazingly supported stage as a catalyst to greatness, my personal greatness. So, I THANK YOU! I thank you for holding this space in your heart and on the web: Twitter, Insta, Facebook, Linked In, Rebeccalaser.com, clients, colleagues, mentors, friends and family…thank you.

And I ask again, please share with me how you are being inspired by Still Playin With It. How have my words, which are merely just the chat my heart has with my head, impacting you?

I have a new practice I would like to share with you: I have a post-it next to my sink in the kitchen. It says:

Drink H2O + Gratitude = Pavlov

If you don’t know who Pavlov is: he was a psychologist, and behaviorist that discovered and theorized about conditioning. Brief synopsis: Through association he found that by ringing a bell, his dog would salivate as if ready to eat. He would ring the bell, feed the dog. And eventually he just rang the bell and the dog salivated with no food. We are the same creatures. We are able to do salivate at the conditioning of our spirit.

FOR ME: This post-it reminds me every morning as I drink my 8 oz. of lemon water, to be grateful, or ignite the feeling of gratitude as I drink thereby training myself. Eventually,  I will have trained my mind that whenever I drink water, I will feel gratitude. GRATITUDE is the most important energy you can store and have access to. Yet it still takes practice.

Invent your self today! What will your “Pavlov-type” training be this week? Please tell me! I will help you create those new neural pathways! You got this!  If you need help thinking of one, here are a few examples:

1. Tickle your arm + think of your partner = touching arm equals thoughts of your partner.

2. Turn on the shower + say out loud, “I love you, Rebecca (your name)” = Shower equals self love.

3. Open the fridge + think of someone you want to forgive. Fridge = forgiveness/love

Eventually the first action will make an immediate association and appropriately trained response.

What a journey into yourself it is! Take it. Take the leap. Take the shit covered present…it will change your life. It will empower you and strengthen you more than you could have ever imagined. I lived it this week. This past week brought a bit of pain and a lot of TRUTH and CLARITY. Unfortunately, it came wrapped in a stinky box of crap. I have lived this journey and truly reflected on it the past two years. I have fallen into, stepped around and landed face first in the cave I FEARED to enter. Oh my! The diamonds inside are so brilliant! I can hardly contain myself! Thank you for being a part of my journey, people. Thank you, again.

I will leave you with a quote from above because I BELIEVE it is worth asking twice!

What would you do TODAY if you had no fear? NO FEAR of what may happen or what may not? What could you do with your life TODAY that would push you a little closer to your bliss if you didn’t TREAD LIGHTLY? What would it look like to live like you were dying?

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” -Benjamin Franklin

Self Contained

“Listen to the beat of your heart.” -Rebecca Laser

In last weeks blog: All In, I built upon the Joseph Campbell quote: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek.” Some of you may have discovered the cave, or tip toed around it this week. I hope you take a leap and jump on in. The treasure is worth the momentary discomfort. This cave will not only give you a gift, it will allow you to see and create new experiences in YOUR life. The ones you may have been dreaming of for decades. Proceed with caution as this cave may be a little treacherous. The number one rule in SCUBA: Always use the buddy system. Same with entering dim, scary, caves! Whether a trusted friend or an amazing therapist…(hint hint!)
Before going to Bali I got my SCUBA cert finished. Thank you for the inspiration Natgeo and KT! When in Gili Trawangan, a killer island off of Bali, I did my FIRST solo dive. Okey, my Indo dive master, did a pre-dive brief explaining the depth we would go to and what we may see. He went over the hand signals for sea creatures we may see such as turtles, sting rays and sharks. He spoke to me as if I knew what I was doing. I was thinking:

“Hey Okey, I dove at La Jolla Shores in California a few times inundated by massive amounts of gear and freezing cold water with little to no visibility. But, hey, seeing a shark sounds cool. I am just glad I will be able to see. Period.”

After my 45 second briefing, I boarded the boat and acclimated my self to my foreign gear. This regulator, BC and weighting system were totally different than what I used in Cali. Holy crap. I was feeling my heart rate escalate. I was completely aware that I didn’t feel safe to enter this “cave.” Then he told me how we would enter the water: “Sit up on the edge of the boat railing Rebecca and when I
 say 3, fall back.” What the hell did he just say? That picture to the right is of me before I fell back…I look freaked out, hey? Because I WAS!! I had to capture this moment on my Go-Pro. (Pics to the right…)

If you aren’t ready to step into the fearful cave, or fall back into it, then at least notice it, observe it and allow it to do it’s job. Maybe take a guided peak inside (buddy system, right?) If the fear is too great, it may not be time. And that is ok! Fear isn’t in our life to make us paralyzed and afraid.  It also serves a purpose: protection. If you are afraid to enter that cave, or aren’t ready, don’t stress. It will be there when you are ready. And remember: if you force something sooner than it is to happen, you won’t see or get the treasure that awaits.

After Okey and I fell back, I floated at the top for 5 seconds, took a deep breath, and down we went. What I then saw was more breathtaking, not literally, than I could have ever imagined. The sea life was phenomenal. The coral was beyond brilliant. I saw big turtles, a Moray Eel, many Nemos, and a few small reef sharks. I had a personal tour guide in Okey, too. Beyond the magnificent beauty of exploring the depths of the sea, I was exploring the depths of me.

SCUBA Lesson #1: Breathe. Just breathe! 

I often tell my Still Playin’ With It family and my clients the importance of your breath. In How to Kick Ass in One Easy Step, I go into the amazement of our breath. I preach it. I teach it in my Pilates class. We do it daily without even thinking about it. When underwater all you have is the moment and your breath. Yes, your autonomic nervous system will control your breath and kick in when you are out of air or aren’t allowing it to flow naturally. But, in order to really flourish in this space, you have got to focus on your breath and allow it to be. What a pure realization for me. Breath is life. Lastly: When the going gets tough, the tough get breathing!

In addition to the pure focus that comes to your beautiful breath when underwater, is the power your breath has within finding your buoyancy. I learned very fast that buoyancy is a key element to having fun down there. Buoyancy is defined as the ability to float in liquid. Finding neutral buoyancy is optimal while cruising around underwater.  Inhale: your lungs expand and you start to rise up. Exhale: your lungs decrease in size and you start to sink. Finding a smooth, rhythmic breath is where you want to be. Allowing yourself to feel that weightless, floating sensation is where the magic happens underwater and in life. This rhythmic space gives you a peace that surpasses fear.

SCUBA Lesson #2: BE PRESENT! That is all you can do. 

Another life skill I teach often is Be Here Now, be aware, be present. When you are a human in the underwater world, all you have is NOW. If something was to go wrong, you have to be focused and present to handle it. If you are naturally focused on your breath and connected to the moment, then you are present, and able to handle the issues that may arise. As well as, enjoy each and every molecule and yummy second! Truly inspiring. Like when I am on my yoga mat, being underwater has taught me to stay present and focused on the NOW. NO WORRIES!

SCUBA Lesson #3: (more of a personal one) I am ALL IN!

I am “all in” in everything I do lately. SCUBA is an example of me jumping in with all I am. No “half-ass” Rebecca Laser here. When I am “all in” I have learned to hear the wisdom of my inner guide, my authentic self, “My-Me.” (Link to Tootsie Rollin) Please hear me: sometimes this “all in” momentum isn’t my first choice. Some rare times, like I spoke of in All-In last week, I need a gentle push, or complete crash to be “all in.” Nevertheless, I AM IN! When YOU are “all in” you are able to hear the beat of your heart. Or as I “profoundly” stated this weekend to an amazing person in my life:

“I think it is when you actually listen to and follow your hearts guidance that the true resonation you are looking for in your life occurs.” (That is for you SC.)

My Next “ALL IN” experience: Getting my first SURF lesson today! Yew!

WHAT IS YOUR “ALL IN” EXPERIENCE GOING TO BE?! Breathe. Be present. Be “ALL IN”!

 

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin

Bump, SET, Spike… Video!

What do you want in your life?  What is your intention for today and for this week and for your future?

Still Playin’ With It Video for YOU! Set it, believe it, create it!

Watch Video HERE!

This is a raw and impromptu video…enjoy 🙂