In 1991, on the eve of turning 41,
I decided I was going to live till
I’m 133 — MINIMUM.
A healthy 133 years young…
in mind, body, and soul.
Along with being vegetarian, eating healthy foods, exercising regularly, and laughing in the face of adversity, I thought I’d add a little Law of Attraction to my daily routine to help keep my mojo workin’ for another 74 years.
Before I move on with my plan, here’s a reality check: I already have a ravaged face.
That’s because of the rock’n'roll life I’ve led, the roads of depression I’ve traveled, the sun I’m addicted to, and the load of crummy genes I inherited from my now-deceased mother.
At the moment, the wrinkles around my mouth are the ones that bother me the most. But I’m sure it won’t be long till they blend right in with the ones that are slashing my mug, from my forehead to my chin.
Another thing that makes me look older is my hair.
I got my first grey hair when I was 12; by the age of 28, my mane had turned to salt and pepper; nowadays, well, it’s mostly grey… a very light grey (see photos).
In 2006, sick and tired of my dusty locks which, back then, came down below my shoulder blades, I had my hair coloured a nice golden brown. Two weeks later, realizing that the grey would always pop back to ruin the look, I bought a clipper and shaved it all off.
In September 2008, deep in the throes of another capillary crisis, I had plum-coloured streaks brushed in. After going through the same process in December and once more last March, I have since chosen to drop the streaks and get used to my natural look. Instead of reaching for the clipper, I’m patiently waiting for the streaks to either fade out, grow out, or fall out.
So when I say I want to live till I’m 133,
esthetics are evidently not a priority.
My new motto:
GREY ROCKS!
WRINKLES RULE!
From now on, my mental and physical health, my strength, my endurance, my flexibility, and my humour-slash-happiness are what I intend to focus on in order to stay in top shape.
Enter Deepak…
According to Chopra’s teachings in his book Grow Younger, Live Longer– 10 Steps to Reverse Aging, the “normal” experience of the body and its aging is a conditioned response — a habit of thinking and behaviour.
By changing my habits of
thinking and behaviour,
I can change the experience of
my body and its aging.
Excerpt:
SETTING YOUR BIOSTAT
Close your eyes. Become aware of your breath, releasing any tension you may be holding in your body.
Now, choose an age within the last fifteen years
that you would like to be in biological terms. (Note: I’ll be 59 this year, so I chose 49.)
This means you would like to have the physical and mental capacity of a healthy person at that age, that you would like your biomarkers to reflect that particular age, that you would like to feel and look that particular age.
Just as a thermostat adjusts the temperature in a room to a particular set point, so, too, your Biostat will orchestrate your psychology and biology around the biological age you have chosen.
This will happen through the following mechanisms:
Your intention to stay at a particular Biostat will directly influence your body of energy, transformation, and intelligence. This is because intention influences your biochemistry through its infinite organizing power. This is the principle of teleology, which states that intended outcomes orchestrate the biological mechanisms to fulfill themselves.
Keeping your Biostat in your awareness will influence your thinking, your moods, and you behaviour, and reinforce your intention to maintain your biology at that set point. Once you have identified your set point, begin affirming it five times a day.
We suggest practicing the following ritual upon awakening, before breakfast, before lunch, before dinner, and at bedtime. On each of these occasions, close your eyes and mentally repeat to yourself each of the following phrases at least three times:
Every day in every way, I am increasing
my mental and physical capacity.
My Biostat is set at a healthy __ years of age.
I look and feel a healthy __ years old.
Within a few days of performing this ritual, you will actually begin to think and act from the level of your Biostat. All your habits will be influenced, but even more important, your perception of your biological age and your experience of it will begin to shift. You will start to believe in your Biostat and its organizing power, and your new belief will shape your new biology.
Believe me,
IT WORKS.
Give it a try and let me know how you feel. KEEP ON ROCKING IN THE FREE WORLD
Sheesh… you should have seen me sitting there on the carpet, my Treasure Chest excitement slowly deflating. Hardy har har!
But then I figured this was probably a sign: the Universe didn’t want me to get too excited and worked up about the new year. You see, I have a tendency to get a bit too high, at times; to go full speed ahead and then suddenly crash. Not a good idea.
So I guess I’ll be watching out for the rerouting opportunities if ever my plans don’t work out. And yeah, I’ll be relying on my good humour — it’s what has kept me going all through my life.
Laugh on!!
P.S.: Here’s the rest of the info on Raido — they say it’s good to read the right-side-up version for more enlightenment.
So it was New Year’s Eve and one of the last two rituals
left on my list was the emptying of my Treasure Chest.
Treasure Chest:
Where I hide my
deepest thoughts and wishes.
I had no idea what to expect; all through the years, I hadn’t peeked at all to read what was “in there.” Either I was satisfied the chest contained enough wishes to keep the Universe and the Law of Attraction busy working their magic, or maybe I myself was too busy getting my act together and moving on with my life, but whatever the reason, it sure was surprising to see that most of the thoughts and wishes scribbled on the pieces of paper dated back to 2005.
As I read the 25 little notes, I was struck by how gloomy that period had been for me. I was also relieved, grateful and happy for where I had finally ended up – in a much more positive and luminous state of mind. Glory be to the goddesses in heaven!
After going through the pile, I separated the lot into 6 categories and proceeded to analyse the results:
#1 — Ordinary stuff
New glasses with clip-on (Still have the same frame but in 2006, got new lenses that darken in the sun) *
Flowers/plants for my balcony (Have gotten them every summer) *
Get my teeth fixed (Mission accomplished first 3 months of 2008) *
#2 — Career stuff
New computer with flat screen (Purchased in August 2007) *
Business cards (Yup: Mudd cards in 2006, Oza cards in 2007) *
Find good printer and develop trusting/creative rapport (Autumn 2007 — met 2 brothers, really cool guys, who run Imprimerie MIRACLE on Wellington Street in Verdun) *
Find web designer who will build my site according to the plans in my head (Worked on building this site with Tina Stephen in December 2007; she has since switched to making handcrafted jewelry) *
Legally change my name to Mudd. Confused? Maybe this will help (Haven’t done it. I’ve got more important things to pay for.)x
Start my own business and/or take a web designer course (Did not take the course — way too expensive — but started to do motivational coaching in 2007 and am currently playing around with different ideas/projects. Though none of these are hauling in truckloads of cash, I’m confident the Universe will provide if I keep on working hard and being positive. Yeehaw!) *
Apply massive action in order to write and create as much as I can — books, plays, movies, podcasts, paintings, drawings, clothes, dolls, etc. (I decided to acknowledge my efforts and give myself a star; after all, I have been drawing and writing blog posts — in both English and French — for over a year. But I have to… no, make that I’m ready, willing and able to become more productive. Now that I’ve gotten rid of my perfectionism, I’m having more fun and picking up speed.) *
#3 — Heart, body, and soul
Become healthy both mentally and physically (MAJOR SUCCESS. I am fit, thin, and healthy. I’m also very proud to say I conquered a life-long depression and pleased to see that my happiness increases with every passing day — hip hip hooray!) *
Liberate myself from pent-up anger and make peace with the past (Another MAJOR SUCCESS with a crowningbreakthrough moment: The Door) *
That L. will turn out to be Mister Right (Ha! This one sure gave me a laugh. Had totally forgotten about this guy I met on the Internet in September 2005. No, he didn’t turn out to be Mister Right. I’ll have to tell you about our one and only meeting = too funny.)x
Still with me?
Be brave, I’m almost done…
#4 — Financial fears
Fear of not being able to clear my debts (This is the most recent note in the lot; it was deposited in the chest following the purchase of my computer and the cost of my dental work. I’m still paying the minimum monthly payment on bank loan / credit margin and working towards a better financial situation, all the while keeping a positive outlook and doing the best I can. Living in the NOW!) *
Fear of never crawling out of this hole, this debilitating slump, this deadly boring life (Ouch! See what I was reading on New Year’s Eve? LOL! — Nowadays, even if it’s not always easy, I sure don’t consider myself to be in a “debilitating slump”… though frankly I do get a little bored now and then. But most of the time, I’m rockin’ and workin’ my little butt off to move ahead and make my dreams come true.) *
Fear of growing old and being too poor to afford a comfortable lifestyle (Not worrying about that, either — I will find a way, everything’s going to be okay, I intend to live till I’m at least 133. Yippeeeeee!) *
#5 — Fears for “The Book Yet To Be Written”
(kind of embarrassing to share what follows…)
Fear of not being able to write my book (Well folks, it hasn’t been written. But contrary to how I felt back in 2005, the bum in me is going with the flow — no more pressure, no more guilt, no more driving myself nuts. If it happens, it happens. Que sera, sera, what will be, will be. This attitude is well worth a star, right? And please note that I’m slowly but surely writing the damn thing. No retreat, no surrender!) *
Fear that once my book is written, it won’t get published (Hey… if and when that book is written, and if I do decide to get it published, believe me, it will be published. So that’s another star for conquering another demon. Hooaw!) *
Fear that once my book is published, it won’t sell and will be a total flop (Geez… was I ever heavy back then. But the new and improvedmoi has a plan: once my book is published, I’m going to sing and dance on every corner of every street in every town across the WHOLE WORLD in order to sell it. Star please ) *
#6 — Wishes for other people
For my friend C. — that she not have to take care of her sick neighbour at all hours of the day and night (Neighbour was transfered to a special care home) *
For my daughter-in-law — may she have the strength and patience and health to take care of her two young sons, a.k.a. my darling grandsons (She eventually had a third son — sweet — and her health has never been better — Hallelujah!) *
For my friend J. — may she pass her medical tests without too much pain and may the results show that all is well (All is well.) *
For my son S. — that he control his anger towards his annoying and sometimes violent neighbour (He controlled it like a pro considering how dramatic and stressful the situation became; said neighbour has since moved.) *
For M.’s sister — may she be cured of cancer (Unfortunately, she died — you can’t win ‘em all ) x
FINAL SCORE:
23 *
2 x
That night, it was encouraging to see
how far I had come in the last 4 years.
I felt so proud and elated, so excited for
the new year about to start and for how
prolific and fantastic it would be.
Instead of a MacBook Pro and a ZOOM H4, I got a boil.
And the boil isn’t in any ol’ place either: it’s on my face, in the middle of my right cheek, right under my big brown beauty mark.
Arrrgh!
While I’m typing this blog post, my festive furuncle sleeps soundly under a heavy coat of aloe gel. Good boil. As the pus-filled lump sleeps, a thought gives me the creeps: if I don’t kick myself in the butt and move on with my life, I will continue to ROT.
Which brings us to my next topic…
This website turned one year old on December 18
I went back and read my my very first blog post. I remember how completely drained I was that day. Drained by the months of patience and hard work it had taken for the site to go up. I can’t begin to count the hours spent on Skype with Tina Stephen, my tech guru, probing and testing, day and night, to finally figure things out and make my dream come true.
So there I was, inaugurating my custom-designed site, at the start of what I believed would be a rockin’ road trip through the past.
When I clicked to publish that first post, I was excited — oh yes, very much so. But at the same time, I realized what HIGH expectations I held for this site and that I would have to work very hard in order to keep the dream alive. (DOUBLY hard since I had had the brilliant idea of managing a French version of this blog thus doubling the work… doubling the stress.)
Yes, I was stressed. The stress kept getting heavier and heavier, and things started to become more and more boring as the weeks and months went by. Where had all the excitement and adventure and music and laughter gone? Why was my magical van so slow? Why did I always end up spoiling my fun?
Many times, I wanted to quit and shut down the site. Other times, I wanted to at least drop one of the blogs. Of course, the French blog would have been the one to go because it has the least traffic. The thought of this made me feel bad: How could I abandon my heritage, my culture?
Damn guilt.
All this to say that I’m glad I pushed ahead and pulled through — in both English and French.
I’m now ready to raise the bar and make this place a reflection of who I truly am and of who I want to become. I’m already focusing on getting rid of the perfectionist devil, and I’ll be starting a creativity class soon, but that’s a topic for another post.
I hope you all have some kind of end-of-year ritual. Personally, I find it important to look at where I have come from; to make sure I know where I want to go; and to pack my mind, heart and soul with whatever I’ll need for the journey ahead.
More to come as I count down the hours
that will lead us to 2009…
**The Year of The Oza**
Despite a slight delay due to a) Autumn, b) Boredom, c) Booze,
I’m proud to (finally) present my account of October 15′s Artist Date: WARHOL LIVE – Music and Dance in Andy Warhol’s Work
Lights… Camera… ACTION!
I get to the museum at 5:00 pm sharp. It’s half price on Wednesday nights. That’s $7.50 for a four-hour high. Cheap buzz.
As soon as I enter the first room, it’s party time.
Imagine stepping into a museum of “fine arts” and coming face to face with a life-size Elvis.
Not exactly face to face as the canvas is hanging on the wall, but still… here I am standing in front of a gun-toting Elvis and I’m hearing Judy Garland sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
I think to myself, This is going to be fun.
The second room continues to explore Warhol’s
attraction to music and the stars.
We learn that it all started with a childhood crush on Shirley Temple who was sweet enough to answer his fan letter.
When Shirley strikes the first chords of On The Good Ship Lollipop,
I have to bite my lip not to sing along.
By the third room, we can tell people are
getting comfortable with the whole setup.
Lying flat on a wooden platform in the middle of the room is Warhol’s huge Dance Diagram(2): Fox Trot – The Double Twinkle-Man (1962).
On each side of this work of art, men and women, young and old, are trying to follow the dance steps and keep up with the beat of I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.
It’s just like New Year’s Eve at my aunt Bertha’s.
In the fourth room, what fascinates me most are two
experimental films projected directly on the walls.
On the front wall, there’s Empire — silent film, black and white — which features nothing else but one continuous shot of New York’s Empire State Building for eight hours and five minutes.
Warhol filmed it from early evening, on July 25, 1964, to almost 3 am the next day, from the 42nd floor of the Time Life Building. He even lengthened Empire’s running time by projecting the film at a speed of sixteen frames per second, slower than its shooting speed of twenty-four frames per second, in order to make the progression to darkness almost imperceptible.
With Empire, Warhol wanted to “see time go by.”
Here’s a 6-minute clip. What I saw at the museum wasn’t this dark, so I must have caught the early evening segment.
On the back wall, you have Sleep. This silent, black and white film (16 mm), was shot on Memorial Day weekend in 1963, in the apartment of poet John Giorno, Andy Warhol’s lover at the time.
The movie stars Giorno — sleeping — for 5 hours and 21 minutes.
What I see when I stop to stare is a lower back, a naked rump, and half a thigh — quite a view considering the height and width of the projected image.
I don’t stare too long because hey… big butt sleeping.
Now comes the part of the exhibit where
everyone forgets about museum etiquette.
Reproduced in a cramped dimly lit room with mirror-covered walls is the installation Warhol created in 1966 at the Leo Castelli Gallery. Entitled Silver Clouds, it consists of dozens of large helium-filled balloons dancing in the air.
Sitting on the floor with other curious folk, I observe as people enter the room and turn crazy the moment they see the shiny objects floating over their heads. They start to jump and grab and punch the silver clouds, and eventually the scene becomes a bit too volleyball-ish so I stand up and leave.
Moving on, I walk through a short corridor where I listen to the one and only recording done by The Druds – a short-lived musical group Andy belonged to back in 1963. No comment.
I pass by the Brillo Boxes (two long rows, twenty boxes in all — impressive) on my way to a quaint little alcove at the back of the room where I get to dump my tired body on a kitschy cushy velvet sofa.
For an hour or so, I watch a selection of short films without even bothering to write down the titles. One of them takes place at a party: a cute blond guy dances out of control while another cute guy drips candle wax on his friend’s hairless chest.
All this time, I can’t make out what the actors are saying because music is blaring from the Brillo Box room. I don’t mind, though, as I much prefer the sound of Satisfaction and Like a Rolling Stone.
Next station: the album covers.
Warhol designed his first in 1949 for the album A Program of Mexican Music, and kept designing them till he died, in 1987. The bananas pictured above are three unused stickers for The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) record cover.
All in all, Warhol produced a total of 50 album covers including, in 1971, the Grammy-nominated Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers sleeve which had a genuine zipper.
My attention drifts to the writings on the walls, quotes taken from different periods in Warhol’s life. Here are a few I managed to jot down before my pen ran out of ink:
“I had this routine of painting with rock and roll,
blasting the same song, a 45 rpm,
over and over
all day long.”
“The Tina Turner concert was great.
I thought she was copying Mick Jagger
but then somebody told me she taught him how to dance.”
“Some company recently was interested
in buying my aura.”
“I believe media is art.”
“Publicity is like eating peanuts.
Once you start, you can’t stop.”
“Punk has always existed.
Callas was terribly punk.”
I could go on and on, the exhibit holds 640 works and objects — paintings, silkscreens, photographs, films, videos, wigs… But I’ll conclude here by saying WARHOL LIVE is a darn good trip to take. That’s why I’ll definitely be going back to further enjoy the last part of the exhibit = the wild nights at Studio 54.
Before leaving the museum, I stopped by the boutique and ended up buying the official poster with Liza Minelli’s portrait ($9.95 – also available with Prince or Debbie Harry) and 10 postcards pretty enough to frame ($1 each).
Cool Artist Date, eh?
Don’t go thinking they’ll always be this extravagant. As a matter of fact, last week’s Artist Date was a visit to the hardware store. Sorry, no pictures.
Before I move on with my plan, here’s a reality check: I already have a ravaged face.
According to Chopra’s teachings in his book Grow Younger, Live Longer – 10 Steps to Reverse Aging, the “normal” experience of the body and its aging is a conditioned response — a habit of thinking and behaviour.
) x
About Santa Claus
Many times, I wanted to quit and shut down the site. Other times, I wanted to at least drop one of the blogs. Of course, the French blog would have been the one to go because it has the least traffic. The thought of this made me feel bad: How could I abandon my heritage, my culture?
