Face Up Interactive by Dar Freeland

Shedding

2012-01-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

Face Up • The Art of Recognition • "Taken Back" by Dar Freeland

Ever feel that sense of aggravation, stress or despair when you are struggling against a piece of clothing that simply will not come off?

Has the life of the past taken on this meaning for you?

For some, it feels like the old skin will never shed, despite the most dedicated efforts. A snake will hibernate, feel vulnerable, rub and writhe against immoveable objects to release his old skin. Is that what we are doing? The immoveable objects will help us in moving the old within us – if we use it properly.

Do we grasp old skin unconsciously not wanting to let go of the familiar? Even when it is painful, are the unknown possibilities standing before us bringing up more fear, followed by paralysis? Do we justify that it may be best to keep the old skin because at least we know what to expect?

What beautiful new butterfly is inside of the chrysalis waiting to come forth?

Whether a snake, a butterfly or an old turtleneck sweater – peeling off the old to allow the new to emerge is the task at hand, the path before us. We can choose to thank those objects that will not move, shift or transform – and move ahead anyway.

It is our blessing to leave the old skin behind.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Time - Out

2011-12-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

Face Up • The Art of Recognition • "Time - Out" by Dar Freeland

When it's time for me to stay, nothing can make me go. When it's time for me to go, nothing can make me stay.

- - Buddhist Saying

Fudge Days

2011-09-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

Face Up Blahg • "Who's Happier" by Dar Freeland

Some days are just fudge days. All of the tools we learn, the knowledge, the wisdom of the ages....doesn't help us cope with what unfolds before us. We handle what we are served with grace to the best of our ability, then review, consider and make adjustments so we evolve to another level of our creation the next time.

Surrender. Some days are just fudge days.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Battering Ram

2011-08-10T11:24:00.001-07:00

"After Soooo Long" acrylic on canvas | by Dar Freeland

What could be possible if we approached our inter-relating from a totally accountable perspective - setting aside our justifications (victim stories), pride & finger pointing? It is counter-intuitive to the ego, but consider, what if instead of accusing one "out there" for our unhappiness and constructing a story we lay into cement to justify the blame imposed on another - what if we could see it differently?

Assuming the observer chose to turn his blame of another person off for a second, and look back at Self...is it possible that the observer himself has created the fertile soil for the other person to feel unsafe? It doesn't feel like a place to be emotionally present and loving. Don't we see this in all relating that is derailed with conflict?

May the observer have been the one, blinded by his own pain (and human fallibility) that struck out destructively at another with such ferocity - that a person might never choose to approach the observer again with an open heart? So everyone acts numb. What right then would the observer have, to complain that another is not as warm or loving - when it is they who created the threatening environment?

Could the other person who has been holding back, stop and honor the admission with respect?

Is it possible the observer caused, with rage or destructive behavior the unstable ground the two now walk upon? Could the observer be the one who owes amends, and who needs to earn that person's trust again?

Who is the observer, and who is the other person?

And to make it juicier, how much power would the Self realize, if it chose to take responsibility for having helped to create an unsafe environment in the first place? Of course it takes two to create the dance of chaos while relating - but how empowered could we all really be once realizing that "if I helped to create it, I could take steps to amend it?" Victim story - vaporized.

If true, how powerful may it be for the observer to ask forgiveness, say, “I’m sorry, work to earn back trust? Instead of weaving justifications created from the fabrication of a victim story... then could the observer admit to a loved one, that, "I am human, I messed up and I want to earn your trust back?"

Nothing in this text suggests that a person tolerate abuse of any kind, verbal or otherwise, and that the utmost in self-care and personal responsibility is to cradle ourselves with love, and protect ourselves from those who would wish or cause us harm.

Stepping forward could the humility, coupled with the reclaiming of a sense of power in a situation - then be a foundation for building a new, more strengthened and empowered way of relating? Could another person then feel safe in being 100% open?

If one would approach an impasse with self-love, expressed with integrity and personal responsibility towards a person who may just have built a wall around their heart to protect themselves, then how could our love and mutual respect grow from that perspective?

Perhaps, even the other person's ego will step back, in the light of re-discovering the seductive yet accurate power of accountability, and would take the risk to admit how they too contributed to any breakdown or suppressed feelings of love.

What re-invention is possible from this expressed and empowered blank slate?

-- dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

The Art of Ever-evolving Communication Skills

2011-07-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

"Toolbox" by Dar Freeland

What do we do when a person close to us just doesn’t “get it”? This includes the self to others, not just a “victim” perspective of what “others are doing to me….” When conflict arises, do we immediately get angry, personalize, feel victimized by or fall into the cesspool of blame in order to gain back control or feel bulletproof from a perceived attack?

One question to ask the self: “Is this about me at all?”

Might we consider that another’s pain one day, has nothing at all to do with us? Could it be, that it is just a challenging moment, between a person and the world however he sees it? If coming from love, can we see that the only necessary response may be “I understand, and just trust, it will get better…”

Could we also consider that perhaps what one needs from a loved one, is a skill that he/she has not yet been taught? Perhaps, he/she hasn’t had the need to learn it before now. Maybe if they/or I, had the tool, had learned how to use it we’d be more than willing to use that tool with a loving intent to bring comfort to those painful moments, instead of grasping and waving around the only tools available to us in the toolbox….

To illustrate, how does one to expect to receive the compassion he needs from those close, when compassion is not one of the tools in their toolbox? The ability to have compassion simply isn’t there. How does one expect to have stresses met with calming and neutral reassurance, when emotions and drama were the lifeblood hook of prior relationships, and one has learned to respond with “shields up, load blame, fire….” If one has never been taught, or had the need to learn – how could one reach for that tool of reassurance and use it, when it isn’t even in the box?

And really, wouldn’t we use it if we had it and knew how?

Not possessing the tool or knowing how to use it does not excuse one from being civil, especially in those difficult moments. Basic human respect is built into us, and eroded away by years of self-protection in an uncivilized family, community, country, planet….still, it is our birthright to know how to respect another, and willful misconduct if we don’t. We are seeded to have choice for it to be different.

Our potential to be kind first, will dictate how a person will react - even under the worst moments. That respect and yearning to give and receive true love is hard-wired into us, even though we may be out of practice due to environment, challenging childhoods, hateful adults, mindless behavior….

It is said that the true strength of a relationship is tested when things are challenging, not when things are fun or moving forward with ease. So we all have the personal responsibility to grow our toolbox…to fill it to overflowing with tools that empower, not break down – that say I’m sorry, not “you said…” We can stock our toolbox with tools that are driven by kindness first and join together to find solutions as team, not use the blunt force trauma of blame – and to replace hate, with love, love, love.

Our truest wealth lives here, in this understanding. Time to clean out our toolbox.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

The Illusion of Illusions

2011-05-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

"Boomerang" by Dar Freeland

A devastating moment is here to do to itself what I think it is doing to me. It longs to be reborn to the positive truth it intended to be. Love asks to be seen. We cloud its perfection with self-authored stories and illusions to support being right, winning or crippling a perceived attack we have decided is coming our way.

I am the author of my own tragedies, comedies, dramas and decisions about "how it is" - and once I get that truth, no healing is out of my reach. I am what I say, what I think, what I declare, what I believe - these are all the tools to craft what is.

What meaning do I assign to a thing, what role do I play in my own movie and how may I rewrite it now to better serve what I say I really want?

This is how it can be, to be truly free.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Road Rage of Life

2011-05-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

"Getting To Know You" by Dar Freeland

Who is at the wheel fighting for control right now – is it my Highest Self or my Ego self?

It is valuable to check in on this regularly. Resentment leaves clues, big obvious ones. It is usually bolstered by a firm story, and perpetuated by a string of negative emotions designed by the Ego to keep itself inflamed and justified to be in power.

We can tell we're not in our Highest place, if we are treading in a pool of resentment, fear, anger or attack...

We are all born with an Ego, and it’s our responsibility to feed and care for it with love.

The Ego thinks its only function is to protect us, and it will take us to the mat trying to do so.

Our Higher Self however – knows better, creates stronger and naturally loves with more compassion and fervor than any illusion that Ego may portray.

So, how to dethrone the Ego? It isn't with more anger...that is the Ego mirroring itself. We take back the wheel with love and compassionate action. We intercept ourselves, hold our tongues and look more closely to bust our own story. Then we move into trust and faith that our answers will come.

The first step is to recognize or admit what is happening, who is driving? Then accept it is happening, because stuff happens. What we choose to do with it is our way to peaceful co-existence with the Ego. How we perceive and spin a thing in our head, tells us – through the blessing of our feelings – who is driving.

It us up to us to empower and allow our Higher Self to take back the wheel.

Because life is a wheel.

It will always come back to our starting point.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

In The Spirit Of Gratitude

2010-11-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

"Family Album" by Dar Freeland

How does one sift out all of the extraneous dramas of the holidays and just get down to what is important - that love is bigger than all the smallness that we could muster up for a psychologically dramatic impact? Are we so habitually bored as a species that we can’t make it through one day without letting our whole life history mess up 24 hours together? Why do we so often find ourselves operating with our loved ones before the meal, eating and/or spitting out all of our emotional leftovers?

How do we laser in our focus on what really matters, which is to honor and respect another person - even relatives? Oooooooo. Yes, we are different and that is what makes life juicy, exciting and an ever-evolving challenge. Our differences are our gifts and lessons - our Life School, so why do we choose to misbehave or ditch school entirely? We all know THAT isn’t going to work. Being truant from our relationships only puts distance between our bodies and our stuff - it doesn’t HEAL anything. The old saying still goes, wherever you go, there you are. Our history, feelings, and life stories are locked in our inner library so no matter what the location - they will emerge, with others posing as the mirrors of our family or **gasp** our family itself.

We may not love all the behavior around us - but aren’t we grown up enough now to allow “behavioral” moments to be just moments? Even a lifetime collection of words and deeds does not make a person fixed. The opportunity to become new each moment exists as a choice within us all, so no one can be assigned as “this is who you are….” That determination is for a person and their maker to decide, a private matter that is none of our business. Heal thyself. Is it possible that we focus so much on guarding our hearts, and consequently forget to open them?

Is anyone up for charging ahead and being fearless about love?

So what kind of holiday would WE create, if we truly got it and believed that we were the one creating it? At the least, how will we participate and contribute to a meaningful, thankful, joyful, juicy, playful and empowering time together?

Even in the face of no evidence, LOVE ANYWAY.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

The Inner Mandala

2010-09-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

"Mons Philosophorum" by Dar Freeland

A measure of one’s strength, is to know one can stand in the face of no evidence - and remain the observer despite a crazy environment. He can maintain calm in a sea of chaos - stay intact, when everything nearby is imploding.

One can smile at the wonder of it all.

When one refuses to collapse into those around him, he demonstrates an inner mandala, a self-righting machine. He notices and experiences a network of self unity, certainty and commitment. This inner-empowerment cradles a knowing heart through the deepest challenges and the darkest of nights the soul will face.

And one will smile at the wonder of it.

A healthy person will deconstruct at his own pace - the things about himself that no longer serve him. Remaining at peace, and with grace - through a disciplined mind while letting go, is the greatest spiritual muscle one will ever test.

And the Universe will smile at the wonder of it.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

The Bottom Line

2010-09-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

www.faceupstudio.com/blahg

When distilled down to it's most finite, all anyone wants, is to know they are loved.

Free. Easy.

Simple.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Unmasked

2010-08-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

"Mirror Mirror" by Dar Freeland

How much of our perceptions of the world, our inner thinking, beliefs and self-proclaimed truisms are evident - available for us to see - outside of ourselves? How many of us pay attention to the synchronicities and metaphors presented to us in the gallery of life?

If the Universe had a canvas, (which it does) like an artist (which it is) - would it draw each of us a personal painting of what it sees? (it does every minute).

Would we buy it?

What if we removed ourselves from our cyclical thinking, our patterned behavior, and our “that’s just the way it is” way of seeing things? What possibilities may be served up for us to learn? Can we give up our need to be in charge for long enough to learn anything? Are we all so wounded from the control of our historical baggage - that we will spend the remainder of our lives in the illusion that we can “avoid being controlled” - and therefore remain in a state of habitual calculation?

Do we truly believe that calculating anything, gives us any sort of real power?

We are “controlled” by nothing other than our own willingness to comply - our own giving up of our personal freedoms, diminishing our own muscle we call choice. Are we so convinced that because the world tries to tell us what to do (from its position of perceived superiority) and how it is (from it’s limited self-serving perspective) - that something “out there” is so much clearer about our own truth and inner strength than are we are? How much absolute and genuine control over our own destiny could we realize we have, simply by engaging fully with our own power - through the actions of becoming habitually conscious, discerning, open to exploration and utilizing the infinite resources available to us in a field of unlimited possibilities?

Who is really driving our destiny?

True power comes from surrender…and no, that doesn’t mean “giving up” - it means “letting go”. It means learning how to flow in the waters of life, sometimes the within rapids and if we are blessed and choose to create it as such - bobbing along the adventure in the joyous “brand new every moment” discovery of what is next…the inner tube on the lazy river.

Sometimes we get to lay in the stillness of no movement at all, and look up at the sky, a perfect opportunity for gratitude. Sometimes it rains, and we protect ourselves. Sometimes the sun drizzles its golden rays upon us and tickles our spine until we laugh out loud. This life becomes an adventure within which to invent, explore, create, savor and share.

If we didn’t control life, could we still love it?

Would we really choose to live our entire lives in the literal, mundane, “this is how life demonstrates itself therefore, that’s how I will roll” sort of thinking? How boring would life become if we were convinced that our “my way or the highway” decision about how it will turn out was the exact way it is and will be? If we were aware of it, how much precious life energy would we devote to an endless existence of reruns, the same commercial over and over, one step after the next predictable step. What if we are in charge of this too? Is this what we would choose, if we knew we had a choice?

The soul cringes.

On the other hand, a life lived fearless, without judgment or shoulds - discovered, explored and allowed to unfold…the gift that it beholds could be greater than anything we may have calculated for ourselves. What makes us believe we are so much smarter than the gifts the Universe would compose for us? What if we lived our own personal myth - exactly as it unfolds - if we embraced the metaphors and saw our own truths beneath? How powerful a tool would a metaphor be if we unmasked it?

What would we see…if we were fearless enough to look?

So do we choose the opportunity to decipher the metaphors presented to us at each moment, to look into the mirror at our own personal work on this canvas called life? It is our opportunity to choose between living with our historical self (hauling around our baggage) or live each moment anew.

Can we take our (metaphoric) hints and giggle in the mirror while we create our own personal works of art called “self” - our lives from the pallet of infinite possibility? Do we want to live in baggage claim at the airport, or do we choose to live in the gallery of life?

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Overload

2010-08-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

"Blahg_Somebody Needs to Play" by Dar Freeland

I need a recess. I'm pretty sure that is all I need to write on the subject.

NEXT.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Stains

2010-08-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

"Brew Ha Ha" by Dar Freeland

Relating can be such a challenge this moment in time. Discussions seem fiery and combative, our moods are curt and our stability in the storms around us seem rickety at best. It all feels like a good balancing act is required to keep things mindful and at peace.

How much do we absorb the negativity around us? The first response I hear most often - is that "I don't listen to that stuff or let it affect me...". I believe this to be a thought, versus an actual experience that is conscious. No one really wants to see the level of unhappy that is surrounding humanity right now - yet to deny it exists, makes us part of the problem instead of the source of the solution. "Down" thinking is pervasive at every turn right now - and we need to start looking up, fast. It doesn't mean that to acknowledge our reactions - we are somehow giving up our power or admitting defeat; we are not even taking responsibility - only saying, "ya know, I did feel a little lower after that exchange...maybe I should change things up a bit". If we admit that a thing is negative, even if it is someone or something we love, we aren't betraying it - we are finding a solution to the pain of it, and this is the first necessary step. We absorb, and we don't even know it. For your "evidence", watch a child - they absorb EVERYTHING. The only change that happens with age, is we become capable of spinning our perceptions and words into denial and reasons. We are still absorbing.

For example...the white lace doily from my departed Grandmother's kitchen - it didn't ASK or INTEND to absorb the spilled coffee that made its way into the fabric, and is there now FOR LIFE. It didn't ask or consciously choose, but because of its position and proximity to the spilled coffee, it did what it does without thought or intention, it absorbed the spilled coffee. It is in fact the doily's nature to do so, since it absorbs as a general rule.

We are no different. We absorb what is in our proximity, whether or not we think we do. Our ego will tell us, "hey, got a handle on that" - but it simply does not. Our ego's job is to protect us - and it will tell us everything is under control so we feel secure, but it cannot stop a doily from doily-ing. We are absorption machines, and other people's opinions, silent or spoken judgments and criticisms, praises, put-downs, and general doomsday rhetoric - all makes it into the weave of our psyche and has an impact and eventual consequence. If we are mindful, and watch the results (carrying on a yelling tone with others ie.) - link them properly with their sources, then we have the understanding and power to consciously choose what we want or don't want to absorb.

The world is a toxic place right now, and we need to make clear that our focus, is on removing our precious selves from that toxicity - before we are in fact stained for good.

We can still love coffee, without spilling it down our shirt.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Three Kisses

2010-07-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

"Three Kisses" by Dar Freeland

True Friends love you when they see you hurting. They kiss you when you have a tear in your eye. They keep you warm with a blanket. They say "I love you" over and over until you GET it. They stand as the light while your vision is blocked by your own shadow.

If God gave us everything, then everything we need is here. It is our opportunity and choice to reach out and use what was given. We lack nothing. It is our purpose, to hand to others what we now know.

True Friends. Simple love. No strings.

Thank you Friends.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Empty Nest

2010-07-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

"Meta" by Dar Freeland

RE-cognition.

Identify my beliefs about a thing, identify its function and value in my life. What is driving my feelings and behavior? Check.

Ac-KNOW-ledge.

Admit that some negativity or story is there, and is running me. Do I feel out of control? I must be close to the truth. Check.

ACCEPTance.

Admit that it has been here, it served its purpose. Allow the truth to "be". There is no proving, no conflict. Just "now". Check.

RELEASE.

Stop grasping, stop holding onto illusions, throw old beliefs into the air and watch them float away. Surrender all to healing, with wisdom, open heart and grace. Check.

There is nothing to fear about the "empty nest" syndrome devoid of all my dramas and stories that lived in my head. The silence is bliss. It only makes more room for love, light, new synapses, inspiration, creativity, quantum healing, fun and fierce ideas for making more joy. How bad is that really?

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

About the Art: Original acrylic on raised board by Dar Freeland. 4 piece original for sale at faceupstudio.com in the "four dot" show section of the art directory or single prints available-contact faceupstudio@aol.com.

If you "jack" my art, please give me credit at www.faceupstudio.com. Not stealing is better though.

The "WE"

2010-06-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

"Proving Ground" by Dar Freeland

Can one who is suffering, hear and feel compassion? Can one who is hurting, feel anything unless they receive exactly the help they are asking for?

Today, the mind is bruised with the pain of angry egos and needs unheard.

Today, the heart is blinded by scolding silence and complete abandonment.

Today, the soul gives back to the Father, the sweetest gift ever received.

No time-outs left.

Who wins?

A gentle wind is weeping.

The hawks are silent in the trees above the house.

I think they know too.

On Father's Day. How perfect.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

The Hamster Wheel

2010-06-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

"The Wheel" by Dar Freeland

Guilt, shame, blame, repeat. Don't skip any steps.

What happens when the human hamster wheel we are running on while at our weakest level of consciousness becomes exposed? Our hidden self screams out with anger. Why would we choose something that provides volatility, rage and finally the systematic disintegration of all we've worked to build that is peaceful?...because that is what we do...

Why would we choose to be on this wheel to begin with? Most of the time, we don't know we are on it. But little untruths that emerge are our first clue. We feel we must hide something or be judged for it. Guilt is a huge waste of energy and resources within. But we are taught to feel it to our core, and the challenge to love self beyond another's opinion runs deep. When exposed, many feel anger about not having the strength or resources to remain hidden - so we strike out...and usually the what or who we love is standing too close to our volcano.

We feel guilt about something, then we feel shame, then we blame. Once the arrow of blame has been cast, we feel guilt about it. Then shame. Then we blame some more. We run so fast on the wheel that our egos become extraordinary athletes at it, or fall to the side in exhaustion. Then we feel some more guilt at what we are not. Some jump back on the wheel and push it into rotation again. Some jump OFF. Those are the lucky ones.

When we are always in the truth about ourselves, what we think, feel and do - even if it is unpleasant - we are finally FREE. We are human and imperfect...yet we never need to feel that we have to hide in order to survive or not be beaten down more - a potentially systemic condition. We CAN be imperfect because our imperfection is as impermanent as we are. It is a small moment in time. We know we can make adjustments and do it again until whatever it is - however we want to live and be, is in resonance with who we really know we are. We can say "I don't know" and be at peace with that until we find the solution.

We are already perfect - even and especially with those things we judge as imperfect. Not believing this (from years of conditioning) or trying to prove that we are someone different is what makes us jump on the wheel in the first place. The wheel goes nowhere. Only and always back to itself, until we are exhausted and fall, then we do it some more.

Jump.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

The Path of the One Heart

2010-05-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

"Conversations" by Dar Freeland

Dramas, addictions, illusions, desires, stories - could perhaps be considered the product of a mind unfocused and without discipline.

A person does not need to have things be hard or dramatic - the goal is more to engage in a soft ease of living peacefully with excitement and pleasure. The cherry on top is being able to give to others with absolute abandon.

First, to clear the road, the baggage needs to be removed.

I found that giving up relationship with destructive emotions (other’s projections of shame and blame that I myself have bought into) … this toxicity could finally be released by the four step process I refer to as “Meta”:

1. Recognize (Identify what is the problem - what is it that does not feel like it fits or resonates with me?)

2. Acknowledge (See it is here and allow it to be exposed to self and others)

3. Accept (Embrace the truths discovered - understand its source and consequence-without trying to push it away)

4. Release (I stop grasping for it, buying into the addiction of it, feeling the illusion of its allure, let go)

Once we've taken the issue, and applied the above; the movie shown on the screen of relationship (another person’s actions and reactions) no longer needs to be present in life - and therefore does vanish. Once we see it, the projection has served its purpose and is no longer necessary.

One action that cannot be escaped - is to be accountable for my actions, take personal responsibility. Say I am sorry where it is appropriate. Make amends. This is particularly healing, and speeds the process. It is non-negotiable, because any attempt at healing that involves only blame, will repeat as an unrelenting reminder that the work is not complete and/or in full integrity.

We need to distinguish illusion, self-talk, rationalization, ego - all from what is truly living inside of self. Once we see it for real, we can let it go and open the heart fully. This new space now becomes a place to receive what we say we truly want, instead of a place to store the baggage.

How I choose to fill this void now, is up to me.

In this new moment, if one chooses, any relationship can stay intact. With note of the adjustments needed for healthy self care, and the pain having been addressed - the issues can now transform into empty space, providing the opportunity to fill that space with something more useful, such as love or peace.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

The Bleating Egos

2010-05-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

"One Two Punch" by Dar Freeland

Anger and pain only last a moment, just drama that blurts forth in its self indulgent way. Comes then goes...and we can be the observer, or the catcher. It only stays if we grasp at it then hold on tight. When we make a fist, some stuff may get caught in there, then it is ours forever.

Unless we let go.

Blame and shame at our own emotions...the intolerance demonstrated against our own selves for being human, for losing our way, for being less than perfect - like throwing gas on a fire. True for ALL parties. It never is about anyone "out there" - other people are the screens onto which we project our movie. Can anyone other than anger's author even distinguish between "attack" and "accuracy" - and doesn't the receiver have his own movie playing simultaneously - governed by his own script? Are we so small that a bleating ego can crush a true and infinite love?

So what, now what?

"I'm sorry" is only the starting gun to the race - a sprint to the solution. If we can't hear the gun, we don't even know the race has begun. Perhaps we'd rather lose ourselves in the anesthesia of all that feels nothing, or what we think will feel "good" and will ultimately have us feel more shame...leaving us only to think, think, think.

Stuck on our hamster wheel of thought, our hearts wither and cry themselves to sleep.

I knew someone once. When my life was hurting, he asked permission, then tenderly kissed my eye. Ever since then, I've seen life differently. What magic his kiss.

I wish I had his power, I could just as tenderly kiss HIS eye - so he could see things differently.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

"What The World Needs Now..."

2010-04-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

"Expedition Chess" by Dar Freeland

This morning I've considered many things regarding how we have been interacting with one another. I am speaking of humanity - the World community. America is polarized politically, families are arguing about money and behaviors, people are judging others relentlessly. This is also true among the people of the World collectively. Who is happy?

The Arts, which used to be a sanctuary or respite from so called "literal life"....it is becoming trampled with greed and invalidation - stolen for profit by those who do not create it, to advance their own purposes and shunned by those who would judge it as anything other than the mirror that it is. Art is a beautiful statement of our inside life, the one we don't allow anyone else to see. It is that recognition on whatever medium that gives art its immense value. We see ourselves in it.

One simple statement on that - Art is your MIRROR, world. It is a simple regurgitation of what its creator sees around him.

Art allows us to look in the mirror, and decide again. It allows us to think about life. It allows us to consider, recognize and make adjustments in our paths - because we are the CREATORS of our own lives. If we don't look at our lives, act on what we see, take part in our own evolution, we are just taking up space. Is that the life we want to live? I do not.

To those who would think that yelling is key - all yelling creates, is more yelling and a closing off of people to one another. Person to person, family to family, country to country and beyond. It does NOT provide any sort of SOLUTION. To become informed and educated is important, but not a solution unto itself. It allows one to yell with more articulation, yet the solution remains up to US to implement.

To those who would judge a musical artist like Sting (a prolific humanitarian) or any other artist/musician/creative who chooses to PRACTICE and DEMONSTRATE PEACE instead of going with the "norm" and engaging in an endless stream of bickering, political judgement and isolation - I say think again.

And guess what else...to judge a creative for "taking money" because of the payor's actions in life is ludicrous. If ANY business person assessed/judged and sentenced the actions of the buyer before selling to him - capitalism would cease to exist. A person has to sleep only with himself at night, and taking a stand is an individual right and responsibility - not up for discussion with world opinion. In other words, a personal choice and nobody's business.

All creatives are ENTITLED to make an income from their art. It is called WORK. He is NOT here solely for the world's entertainment. That went out with the Fool who performed for Kings.

Compassion and tolerance is the only key that will set us free from the polarization that is literally tearing the world apart. Assuming that the current trend of World "Scolding" and political name-calling rants on TV or any other place, is going to produce a USEFUL or TRANSFORMATIVE result...I say to all think again. Look in the mirror. What we see is our own ugliness looking back at us and we don't like it. Wake up everyone - we have the power to see things differently. No one else can see things from inside of our own heads...that is up to us.

Why are there so many prominent people leaving the planet? Why are planes falling out of the sky and wiping the entire "chessboard" clean? Why are there so many earthquakes right now? Powerful, jolting, destructive quakes? Is the earth asking, demanding that we wake up from our illusions? Is the movement of the earth its (metaphorical) art - showing us our own inner earthquakes, the devastation to our minds and souls? Is the earth demonstrating that in the face of our refusal to do so on our own, it will INSIST we unite - if not through our own evolution and wisdom, then through its powerful mandate? Let's face it - no matter the worst offenses of man...the earth herself will win.

Maybe if people used the Arts, used their power of discernment and thought...maybe if people stopped yelling and judging, pointing fingers, blaming and name calling - just maybe we could move beyond all of the apparent inconsolable unhappiness around us that we are all contributing to and in so doing - helping to create more of...a World Tantrum.

Maybe we could open a door - demonstrate and welcome some love, tolerance and peace into our own homes - one thought, one sentence, one person, one family member, one topic, one community, country and one world at a time. Jump with me off the anger wagon, choose again. There is absolutely nothing useful about acting or feeling this way. It is a useless waste of energy, effort, resources, choice and our own lives.

When was the last time we felt real, sincere, deeply rooted, immovable JOY? How about today?

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Sunshine or Salt?

2010-03-08T01:23:00.000-08:00

"Love Never Lost" by Dar Freeland

When we are in the presence of someone hurting, do we see outside ourselves to their feelings, or do we interrupt our natural response of compassion? If a child were hurting, would we just shake our head and pass by, yelling "hey! suck it up!" or would we stop and with empathy, love the little one until it feels safe and out of pain? What do we do with the children of the mind? In an adult body, or a shorter young body - makes no matter the size. It is a child's pain in an older frame.

So, when faced with a wound - of our loved one, or our own - are we sunshine that heals, or salt that stings?

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Human Detours

2010-03-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

"Fear Days" by Dar Freeland

Nothing feels more frustrating than to watch a loved one struggle needlessly with their own thoughts. A learning process perhaps - but habitual arguing, defeatist attitudes, self sabotage, literally standing on the freeway of one's own mind....how do we love them off the highway of self destruction? How do we ask; "please, don't allow yourself to be your own orange cone today..."

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Stacks

2010-02-03T22:58:00.000-08:00

"Early Messages" by Dar Freeland

Since we are all contemplating our individual situations of "Love" - it felt useful to share something I learned recently. We've all heard "this too shall pass" - yet I've witnessed for years that imprints collected over a life of emotional wounding - don't "pass." They embed in our emotional memories and arise to ask for healing recognition and release on a regular basis. But do we notice them and respond? Do we honor the past once and for all with our validation or gloss over the feelings, pushing them farther down to emerge again as an "issue?"

Once we acknowledge the source of our pain or aggravation, then the energy of the wound holds no further purpose and will release. This is a concept I've attempted to convey for many years, in teaching how to honor one's feelings. We are not "crazy" or over reacting when we feel passionate about a thing...we are usually reacting to a "stack" of things that have the same energetic fingerprint - a sort of "straw that broke the camels' back." It isn't the one thing we are reacting to, it is the that one thing on top of a stack of history bearing the same imprint.

When something stacks up - our reactions aren't at that ONE thing, it backed by (the unconscious collected evidence) the STACK of things. So taking personal responsibility - and to give ourselves our own power back, we can look at the reaction of a thing and know we are not "crazy" - we can have compassion for self and others for carrying a stack of things, and know the reaction is leading us to our ultimate healing. Once we experience and honor the release of the past...the future can hold and/or express as nothing more than a benign response, or even better, a neutral event.

-- dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Because WHAT Is Number One?

2010-02-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

"The Machine" by Dar Freeland

I'm noticing so many people in anguish about money...creating dramas, wrapped in blames, tied up with bows of sarcasms and hurled angrily at their loved ones. Why?

Why does "paper" and all the significance we attach to it cause this kind of challenge - especially between people who truly LOVE each other? Does money and our perceived problems with, without, or about it - cause love to collapse under the weight of it?

If a loved one had cancer, would we say "f" you? Yet when a loved one has a money problem, we DO say "f" you. The stress of both/either has the potential to tear even the best relationships apart.

So what is the difference, other than money is so much more important in the head than our health? What sense does THAT make?

When we come together in cancer - somehow our love calls forth our passionate strength and we grasp hands, stand beside each other with respect and jump. TOGETHER.

When money problem raises its head and roars, we juggle the reasons and realities, point fingers and blame, then say "f" you. The price we put on how much, or little, or "than others"....on and on...the ego demands that we demolish the cause of the pain, and it since it MUST be YOU - the finger points and LOVE jumps off the cliff.

Why?

LOVE is the one, unshakeable solution, because the only one charge of "losing" it, is us.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Supply and Demand

2009-10-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

"Tuna or Ham" by Dar Freeland

What happens if a gas tank starts to get low and one knows it will eventually run out of whatever it uses for fuel and then it will not be able to move forward anymore? (fuel = "supply" = attention, sex, chosen anesthesia, approval, praise, winning, applause).

Does it fear? (Get angry at everything around it, because it doesn't want the world to see its shame, it's fragility, its imperfection, its vulnerability).

Does the tank do whatever it believes is necessary to fill itself up until it feels full again? (seeks more illusions, the "supply" to fill it up).

Then does it feel good for a time until it uses up the fuel, (supply = illusions, love stories, sex, distractions) then feel fear, (hopelessness at no obvious solution to fill its emptiness) then does it hate itself for being out of integrity, (wag a finger of hate and blame the world outside itself for not filling its expectations and try to cover its own self loathing and belief it is powerless).

Then does it go out and fill itself up some more? (more attention, sex, chosen anesthesia, approval, praise, winning, applause, ego by association)

Is this endless circle the answer....or the running of the engine (endless consumption of distraction, sex, anesthesia, running) until it drops from final exhaustion? Dis-ease, walking dead, death itself...samsara.

What may be possible, if the tank KNEW it would always be full from the inside out? (Faith in healing backed by action and commitment to fix what is "broken")

What would it be like, if it experienced others around it as a constant SUPPLY, (endless, loving, accepting, safe?) What if THAT kind of SUPPLY, the kind it truly deserves and has at its doorstep, does exist - and has been thrown away, over and over?

Would the tank even notice, or is it filled with fear of being empty? (exposed, judged as without value, and discarded). Love and fear cannot occupy the same space.

Isn't this where one would start looking for the inner station, and stop watching the fuel light with trepidation?

The safest place in the world, is sometimes right before our eyes. Yet we don't look up from ourselves long enough, explore it deep enough, or believe it possible enough - to allow it to be. Or maybe "empty" feels just way too comfortable to let go of.

No one but two people in Australia know what I mean, but if they ever read this, they will.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

The Secret of a Confabulation

2009-10-18T23:39:00.001-07:00

"Two Sides of Me" by Dar Freeland

I discovered myself fortunate enough for someone to share a secret with me today. The friend looks deeply into the mirror each day and knows self so well, yet after a long struggle uphill, they confessed to having seen not only a funny new "love" which isn't really so....but also a hostile and confusing place called "the world out there."

The friend told me "If I go one place, I find that the people closest to me act the most intimate with me, but they do not respect me. If I go to the other place, I find that the people closest to me are kind and filled with respect for our relationship, yet they lack depth and closeness and will not be intimate." We scratched our heads. The friend continued - "is it that the people in the first place who act intimate, see me as a person they cannot respect? (and that was explored to the depths)...or is it that the people in the other place who respect me, simply don't know me?" (that too was examined)

Blank stare and some silence.

"Is it that the ones who do not respect me are blinded by a narcissistic obsession with self, and can see me only as a mirror of their own wounds - don't even really take the time to figure who I am?...and the friends who would say we are friends in the other place, could it be that they don't feel safe or worthy to open their hearts to be intimate with anyone?"

We sat in the sun for a time and breathed. Then we exhaled and did it again. We shook our heads. And we made it through one more day.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

In The Stillness, What Do You Hear?

2009-10-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

"Lit" by Dar Freeland

What would I say, if the world cared to listen?

I would say, "listen."

Nothing else in this life will matter nearly as much, to us all.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

A Note To Us

2009-10-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

...a rare re-post from someone's FB page I stumbled upon. I believe it is authored by the name below it.

-- dar freeland

***********

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing?

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for LOVE, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive?

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain?

I want to know if you can sit with pain - mine or your own - without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it?

I want to know if you can be with joy - mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human?

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul?

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy?

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday?

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children?

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back?

It doesn't interest me where or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside, when all else falls away?

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments?

--Oriah, Mountain Dreamer

Letting People Go

2009-08-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

"Cutting Ties" by Dar Freeland

Today, it seems in the air, the realization that people and circumstances are either committed to engage in confrontation and drama with others - or for many, those same persons or events are just dropping back and disappearing.

The recognition appears to be that they simply don't "fit" us anymore. The space is widening between us. Some with combat, some without. A question to self...why would I want to be around those who do not want to be around me? What purpose does that serve...why choose to take ownership of, then "push that boulder" uphill?

Wouldn't I rather put my energy into the authorship of a loving, compassionate, powerful, abundant, fun and engaging life?

Why not choose instead, to put my energy into relating with those who would love and appreciate and honor us both? Wouldn't that choice be more authentic and useful self care?

I will keep my eyes open today for those who would be a good "fit" for me, who sharing time with - I find I feel energized rather than depleted, and loved instead of scorned. This life is far too short, and the possibilities far too rich to be wasted on fear and apathy...so bring on those who passionately engage in the things that uplift us all. Today is a good time to allow those who no longer fit, to slip away with ease.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Emotional Kickboxing

2009-08-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

"Plus Minus" by Dar Freeland

May we all find the strength today to see it differently...

Replace negativity with a positive thought,

See our fixed beliefs with open options for "it" to be different,

Feel our perceived and decided upon defeat, then giggle in its face,

Notice the closed loop of "how it is" and replace it with an attitude of infinite possibility...

If we are determined to act like creatures of duality and opposition, let's make it a plus, not a minus.

Change comes from the inside out, because we say so.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Loving The Best We Can

2009-07-31T09:08:00.001-07:00

"100%" by Dar Freeland

Frustration seems to be coming up for many..."it's not happening fast enough, good enough, the way we want it enough..." The feelings are ranging from anger/rage to hopelessness and everything in between. Bottom line, things feel so out of our control. Guess what...we are discovering that they ARE. So what can we do with that? What would be useful and effective for bringing more peace into the situation? Like it or not, this seems to be the formula:

1. Look at and explore what is real, what is in front of us.

2. Accept that it is there and we can't change it (watching someone we care about who is hurting, or inconsolable for any reason).

3. Explore what our hidden motivation is to "fix" it. Do we support an inner illusion that we are powerful, or part of something, or freeing self from guilt, or [fill in your blank].

3. Shift our own thinking into neutrality rather than "I can fix that". Neutrality doesn't mean "I don't care" - that is disassociation. Neutrality says I observe it, I am not hooked into it, I feel compassion for it, I give what is healthy for me to give.

4. Share Love to/with the person or situation in the following way that demonstrates we've achieved the necessary neutrality to give without ego or other hidden motivation...

a. I love you with all my heart.

b. I can help you/the situation in any way that maintains my own self care and healthy choices.

c. I am there for you in the ways that I am willing and capable to be.

What this demonstrates, is that we Love others and/or the situation...that we Love self and practice good self care by not "care-taking"...and that we will go to the wall for someone/something - as far as it is healthy for us to go.

We acknowledge that we are NOT in control, (which the ego never wants to consider)...that each person/situation is driving its own path and can discover its own wisdom and healing on it, and that our greatest power in it is the choice to give our Love the best way we can. Then everyone is served. Those who are looking for more, or feel entitled to our "care-taking" may not like it, but we will go to sleep at night knowing that we went 100% for those closest to our heart.

Isn't "care-taking" an interesting word?

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com

Welcome

2009-07-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

Dar Freeland

faceupstudio.com | Face Up Gallery | Las Vegas, Nevada

A new place to be heard...may we use our voices wisely and often.

--dar freeland

faceupstudio.com