From the American Museum of Natural History: “The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world’s most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the AMNH. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010.”
I met my friend Sean Stephenson at his office today and couldn’t resist giving him a hard time about being a Sox fan. I grew up on the north side of Chicago, so my allegiance remains with the Cubs, even though I haven’t followed baseball in years. Throughout our conversation Sean, being Sean, asked some super in depth questions and, while they weren’t unexpected, they still tapped into a place in me that felt fragile. He reminded me of the normalcy of “being human.” Apparently, it is all too easy for me to forget…
Hence the topic of this week’s Kniss Connection video:
The Question: What did you start this year that you’re proud of?
I recently started “Kniss Connection,” a weekly video series to kick start the week with a positive perspective. I spend a couple minutes talking about a particular topic each week; it’s quick and easily accessible. I love the idea that, with today’s technology, there is potential to inspire and empower people all over the world. If I can make even one person’s day a little brighter, or give them a tool to manage stress, or build rapport with others, then the whole thing is completely worth it.
It’s been a learning lesson for me too… Not only am I getting to know more about video and sound editing software, but working on this project continues to poke my perfectionist buttons. I’m a 7 on the enneagram, so I’m well aware of how easy it is to take on the negative qualities of a 1 – the perfectionist. These videos provide a consistent opportunity to practice letting go and relaxing, instead of obsessing over every last detail of sound quality, background, what I said, etc… I won’t even mention how long the first video took to create, with take after take, but now, it’s becoming a more fluid process.
Here’s the most recent video, in which I talk about an equation I learned from Jack Canfield’s Success Principles (E+R=O).
If you’re interested, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel and receive an email reminder when new videos are posted.
I am most grateful for the people in my life whose faith in me supports, uplifts, and transcends the faith I have in myself…
When YOU believe in me, it reminds me that there is a little more I can give, a deeper place I can go, some incredible potential to be actualized… YOU inspire me to lift my chin, look my fear in the face and step forward.
I step forward choosing love, and it is your love that lends its strength, helping me to once again discover that strength within myself.
The Question: Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?
There were probably a few nights, now melded in memory, from my last residency at Pacific in June. There was the uncontrollable laughter–the kind that you’re almost concerned about whether or not you’ll be able to take another breath, but the thought of losing consciousness owing to oxygen shortage makes everything even funnier… the kind that makes your obliques hurt more than they have from abdominal crunches.
When I laugh that hard tears stream down my cheeks.
There was that time when Aaron raised his hand, and we just lost it. There were homemade brownies. There was red wine in real wine glasses thanks to Eric. There was that all night conversation… To say that that night, or nights, rocked my world, would be vastly understated.
Pictured here with my fiction writing friends, Jason Sandefur and Alissa Nielsen.
The Question: What book – fiction or non – touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?
I’m re-reading Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love right now and it’s pretty much altering the way I perceive everything — again. Of course there is the famous quote that is always a good reminder…
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
But there are so many other, equally potent gems scattered throughout the pages. My copy is already filled with underlines from the first go-around, but I’m finding new ideas on almost every page that somehow resonate with me in a way that is both novel and familiar.
