PoiPriestess » Ego

Generational Shift

PoiPriestess — Tue, 25 May 2010 01:01:31 +0000

It happened this afternoon. I was with three under 24 year olds — 1 under 20 — and I realized how impressed I was with the things they were saying, the awareness they had (of themselves and the world around them) and the absolute utter difference I perceived between their relationship to the world around them at their age and my own relationship to the world around me when I was their age.

A series of things went through my mind about how this sort of thing probably happens with all generations as they meet the one that follows them; that I didn’t want to be how I perceived the generation before me; that I had a choice in that moment to either could enjoy it and appreciate the way they were teaching me and helping me grow or I could do what I perceive my elders did and fight it.

I was grateful when I opened into loving the process of allowing the next generation to teach me and help me expand my horizons. I think, perhaps, when I stop doing that will be the day that I really grow old.

So, thank you to all of you who I can truly (and lovingly) label, “those kids today.” You inspire me.

Top Tips for Face Care: A perspective from a lay person

PoiPriestess — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:28:00 +0000

As a professional performer who is always doing photo shoots, I am very grateful for the ways in which I’ve taken care of my face over my 40 years. Here are some of the thoughts I have on why my skin looks as good as it does for my age — aside from the generic 40 is the new 20. I actually have a face care ritual that I follow and it’s come up lately, now that I’m in my 40′s, as something to share with other’s who appreciate my really awesome skin — a fair trade off for a big ass if you ask me. LOL!!!

The first section below is about the actual products and practices for external care.

First, and foremost, I always, always, always use a face cream with sunblock during the day. If you’re going to bother to put cream on your face, why not a cream that offers you the extra protection from the sun? I am particularly sensitive to this point as someone who has a sun allergy. I’m a HUGE fan of Murad products. For day cream, I use the essential C line which has SPF 30. It’s super expensive in stores, but you can get an 8 oz jug (which lasts especially well if you use the toner with it and I’ve had for my last one for about 9 months) for about $80 on ebay. If you buy it in smaller tubes it’s like $25 or something retail. It’s completely crazy.
Before I use the moisturize, I actually use a toner. I used to think toner’s were just a bunch of BS. What I found, after trying a sample for a while with my cream, was that the toner actually mixes with the cream and allows me to use *less* cream which more than makes up for the cost of the toner itself. Toner is relatively cheap and long lasting compared to cream, and something about the moisture of the toner I use (also from the Essential C Murad Line) combined with the cream really has me use just pea sized dollops of cream rather than dime or larger sized amounts. It makes a big difference in cost as well as the consistency of the cream as it is applied to my face.
After I tone and also before the moisturizer, I also use a skin renewing product. Generally I use the Essential C skin renewing complex from Murad, though I have used some of the capsules from Dermatologica and even the Walgreen brand capsules. They all work. That said, the Murad Essential C formula visibly reduces the lines on my face within 2 minutes of application. No shit. So while this stuff costs a lot (it’s $95 retail but again, you can get it on EBay for $50-$60 for a 2 oz jar) but goes a long way and has far better results than other face creams I’ve used.
Especially in the winter and when my face is dry, I use an additional night cream. Being the big fan of Murad that I am I actually use their Body Firming Cream. I LOVE it. I figure, if it firms my body, why wouldn’t it firm my face? I said that to one of the women at the Murad counter at PureBeauty and she said that she was surprised it didn’t feel problematic on my face — I guess it’s a more harsh formula.
Home Facials. They are a great way to do affordable self care when you can’t go to a spa and get a professional one — which I absolutely recommend!

Now there’s a whole other series of things which are less obvious about your internal care and how it impacts your face and its aging.

Hydration. Water cleanses every part of your body — inside out. So remain hydrated.
Reduction of daily stress on system. This means healthy drinks — dropping the coffee, the latte, soda and of course low alcohol consumption helps too. Low/no caffeine intake as well as low alcohol intake is one of the things I believe has helped me.
No smoking. ’nuff said.
Daily affirmation. My personal affirmation while I’m cleaning my face as well as applying my skin care products goes something like this: “I am young and healthy. I am vibrant. I have the cell regeneration of a peak performing human body. I look vital.” I have been doing this affirmation for years and I truly believe it has helped me to have the skin I have.

Having been a vegan, vegetarian to different degrees, pescatarian and meat eater, I can’t say that meat consumption has done anything negative to the look of my skin. I also think this is a personal thing. I know I started looking more healthy (less pale) when I reintroduced meat in limited quantities into my diet after taking a 10 year break. That’s just me — YMMV!

Hope this is useful!

Hurray for Weirdos!

PoiPriestess — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:40:23 +0000

Sister Unity begins, “Well of course I’m strange. That’s the whole point.”

I particularly enjoyed the first portion of this video because the message was, IMO, a powerful reminder of how both being in our stability and allowing ourselves to step out of our comfort zone is, in fact, a gift to our development and our lives. Thanks Oliphant for sharing this!

Photos: Chronicles of GlitterGirl: Vol 1

PoiPriestess — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:44:08 +0000

Because I want all these cool photos to rotate in the cool iris widget on the right, I am creating a series of entries that are index to the original article which contain the photos from the Chronicles of GlitterGirl from 2006. It’s inspiring enough to want to make me do another series of the comic book.

Below are photos of the first comic book. Click on the link and you can go to the original article, or press the Archive link to see all the articles I’ve written on my blog in the last few years, including small photos. There’s several hundred articles, so enjoy browsing.

Photos: Chronicles of GlitterGirl, Vol. II

PoiPriestess — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:37:51 +0000

Here’s the photos and link backs to the second volume of the comic book from 2006. Again, the archives are a wonderful quick way to see these hundreds of posts.

June 1, 2006

June 2, 2006

June 3, 2006

June 3, 2006, Part II

Photos: Chronicles of GlitterGirl Vol. III

PoiPriestess — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:51:13 +0000

Photos and links to the original blog entries for the 2nd half of June 2006. Direct access to the articles is available using the archives link on the top of this page as well.

Photos: Chronicles of GlitterGirl Vol. IV

PoiPriestess — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:28:42 +0000

Photos and links to the original blog entries for July 2006. Direct access to the articles is available using the archives link on the top of this page as well.

Photos: Chronicles of GlitterGirl Vol. V

PoiPriestess — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:03:53 +0000

Photos and links to the original blog entries for August 2006. Direct access to the articles is available using the archives link on the top of this page as well.

The Palace, Goenka’s 10 Day

PoiPriestess — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 05:13:00 +0000

In preparation for the December 11 Union Square show, I’m running a fire dancing performance class
with 21 students. We’re holding the class at The Palace of Fine Arts under this really beautiful dome. Seems like a good place to hold a practice, rain or shine, right? Well, it seems like it, but in reality, after 3 hours of practices there (the above class and another meeting with another group of fabulous performers), I found myself with a hoarse voice (even with the awesome megaphone Jim and Anne brought) and wet feet. This led to me getting the sniffles. So here I am, ready to leave tomorrow for my 10 day Vipassana retreat, wondering if I should go.

If you haven’t done one of these retreats, here’s the quick summary. All who attend a Vipassana course must conscientiously undertake the following five precepts for the duration of the course:

1. to abstain from killing any living creature;
2. to abstain from stealing;
3. to abstain from all sexual activity;
4. to abstain from telling lies;
5. to abstain from all intoxicants.

There are three additional precepts which old students — of which I am one — are expected to follow during the course:

6. to abstain from eating after midday;
7. to abstain from sensual entertainment and bodily decoration;
8. to abstain from using high or luxurious beds.

All students must observe Noble Silence from the beginning of the course until the morning of the last full day. Noble Silence means silence of body, speech, and mind. Any form of communication with fellow student, whether by gestures, sign language, written notes, etc., is prohibited.

And you then follow this schedule:
4:00 a.m.—————-Morning wake-up bell
4:30-6:30 a.m.———–Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00 a.m.———–Breakfast break
8:00-9:00 a.m.———–Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00 a.m.———-Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher’s instructions
11:00-12:00 noon——–Lunch break
12noon-1:00 p.m.——–Rest and interviews with the teacher
1:00-2:30 p.m.———–Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30 p.m.———–Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00 p.m.———–Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher’s instructions
5:00-6:00 p.m.———–Tea break
6:00-7:00 p.m.———–Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:15 p.m.———–Teacher’s Discourse in the hall
8:15-9:00 p.m.———–Group meditation in the hall
9:00-9:30 p.m.———–Question time in the hall
9:30 p.m.—————-Retire to your own room–Lights out

The thing is, while you sit during 3 of the 1 hour group sits, for 7 of the 10 days you are not supposed to move. As someone with a running nose, in close quarters to someone else, I question two things: 1. does this make sense for my health? 2. Does this make sense for everyone else’s health?

I’ll sleep on it and figure it out in the morning…

I.D.E.A.

PoiPriestess — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:13:00 +0000

My good friend Jason has lots of I.D.E.A.s he shares through his work at the Institute for the Development of Evolutionary Awareness. He has been a tremendous gift in my world and helped me acquire many of the distinctions fundamental to both my work and my lifestyle. Todays headline is for him and his IDEAS — may they spread far and wide to serve the greater good.

Is it really over?

PoiPriestess — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 22:03:00 +0000

When people saw decompress on my head, they mistakenly thought it was in relation to Burning Man, which I did not attend this year. Subsequently, they asked, “How can you be decompressing from an event you didn’t even attend?” I thought that was funny.
And, while I didn’t go, up until a week before, I was planning to so I had much of the months of preparation and stress associated with that without any of the upside of the experience.

In this case, it was because I was finally done with all the major editing of the footage from the DVD. The rest, which took weeks, was final proofing and DVD production stuff. I was ready to decompress from a summer of putting my heart, soul, time and energy into creating the Temple of Poi 2006 Fire Dancing Expo DVD and I was grateful to get a respite from editing. No doubt about it — iMovie is a great tool. That said, I’m sure, in retrospect, Final Cut Pro would have made the job much easier.

We Need Something… Different

PoiPriestess — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 21:58:00 +0000

On this the 5 year anniversary of 9/11, I still believe we fundamentally need something different in terms of how we as humans interact if we are to survive and thrive as a race. I recently re-read this article about the war in Iraq by Ken Wilber and really resonate with his vision of how we could grow in the future. I hope it comes in my lifetime… though I think that would be optimistic.

Oh yeah, the lettering is in purple for Lexi… in honor of the theme of her trip: different.

Bindis Galore!

PoiPriestess — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 21:51:00 +0000

I was so happy to receive the really awesome bindis Vladlen got for me when he was away in India. In addition to those, I met a beautiful woman who was here from Bombay. She traded me some of these bindis for some poi lessons, so between the two new stashes I received, I was inspired to do less painting and more bindi decorations.

Painted Ram Hawks, Part II

PoiPriestess — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:42:00 +0000

Let the Shavings Begin

PoiPriestess — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:32:00 +0000

This was the inspiration for the November shaving… heehee…