How to Connect with Julius Caesar (And Other Reasons to Breathe)

In these modern times, many of us communicate (i.e. connect) with the world around us via cell phones and the Internet. Several of us carry computers (via smartphones) in the palm of our hand. Recent estimates show over 50% of us own one. Internet is available to over 94% of the population, giving humans the comforting sense of always being connected. It's real, there’s room for growth, and it’s here to stay. This is all good. They are modern tools used to further our knowledge of, and to communicate with, the world around us. But there is a difference between communication and connection, and it’s important to recognize the difference.

Communication : The imparting or exchanging of information or news; a letter or message containing such information or news.

Connection: A relationship; a set of persons associated together; ‘connection’ as a relation of personal intimacy.

The fact is human beings long to stay connected. We need personal connections to thrive. But we do not need our smartphones and computers to do so. Deeper means of connecting are all around us, and it’s as easy as inhaling and exhaling. No log in required.

It’s known as the Caesars Last Breath phenomenon. It’s a rather complicated yet mathematically proven “folklore” that physics teachers often use a teaching tool to show how atoms are evenly dispersed throughout the atmosphere.

Basically, you are breathing in molecules from the breath of every single person – from Shakespeare to Lincoln, Gandhi to your great-great-grandmother - and yes, Julius Caesar - every time you breathe. So, every inhale, and every exhale, connects you to every living organism both past and present. The oxygen molecules dance and swirl all around us. They enter and exit and disperse and flow through time and space. By simply breathing, I am You, and you are Me.

We take our first breath when we come out of our mother’s womb. That same breath keeps us alive when we are both awake and sleeping. It follows us into yoga class and during meditation, where focus on breath is key. It feeds our soul when we go outside and inhale all of nature. It increases when we dance and sing, run wild, or laugh deeply. It makes our heart swell when we take a moment to inhale the scent of our child’s hair or our lover’s skin. With each breath, we are literally breathing in the universe and all it provides. We inhale the molecules of those beside us, before us, and those yet to come. Perhaps that’s why when we “stop to take a deep breath” we immediately feel better. Could it be that in that moment of deep inhalation, our spirit recognizes that we are truly connecting? I believe so.

Knowing this links us in a way cell phones and computers simply cannot. It’s both comforting and powerful. Acknowledging this connection - literally tuning in and being aware of it - will bleed into all other forms of communicating and connecting. So while I communicate this message to you via the Internet, I connect to you with every breath I take.

Namaste

Zen and a Haircut

http://theseriousstylist.ning.com/profiles/blogs/zen-and-a-haircut?xg_source=activity

Please Remove Your Hats at the Door - A Refection on the Antioch Writers' Workshop

In July of 2012 I attended my first Antioch Writers’ Workshop. I was fortunate enough to receive their Betty Crumrine Scholarship, a scholarship that was created for a single parent “committed to writing and who could not otherwise attend the workshop.”

See, I have wanted to attend the Writers’ Workshop for years. But I wear many hats. I am a mom. An ex-wife. A hairstylist. An employee. A girlfriend. A sister. A daughter. A homeowner. And so on…

I am also a writer.

I knew if I received all or even part of the scholarship I could financially justify this dream. I made arrangements for both my boys to be with family while I was gone. I booked my room in Yellow Springs. I wrote an essay and attached the first three chapters of my book. I crossed my fingers and waited.

I also put aside my self- deprecating belief that although I write, I’m hardly a writer.

Just weeks before the Workshop was to begin, I received this in my inbox:  “It’s my honor and delight, on behalf of the Antioch Writers’ Workshop scholarship committee, to inform you that you have been selected as the Second Place Betty Crumrine Scholarship winner.”

No, Antioch, it was an honor and delight to have you believe in me.

When I packed my bags, my notepads, manuscript and journals took up the bulk of my suitcase. I left all but one very special hat behind.

We all wear several hats. We must. They are essential to our whole being, essential to a rich and diverse human experience. I am thankful for each and every one of mine. But to set aside all these various hats, in their unique shapes and forms, and only wear one for an entire week was quite simply magical.  No one expected anything else from me but to write, and write, and write some more. I had never experienced that before. It’s so easy, too easy, to get lost under your hats. To do the laundry and scrub the floors instead of writing. To tell yourself you’ll remember that line in the morning instead of writing it down right now. To pass out after a long day at work instead of writing a little. To put writing on the backburner, get to it when you have the time...

The fabled time. The elusive bitch. When you wear many hats, you chase her. When one of the hats you wear is Writer, she’s not always willing to play when you are ready.

One thing Antioch gave me was that time. To spend a week sans laundry, sans cooking… to only wear one hat all day, every day. What a gift. I slept with my notebooks and journals around me. I listened to and learned from each and every attendant and instructor that week. Some were well known authors and poets, but most of the writers there were just like me – unknown writers who play with words and follow their lead. Despite our differences and varying levels of “success”, all of us write because we have to. There is no choice. To quote Maya Angelou, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Creative people are needy. We need support. We seek inspiration and community, a safe place. A challenge. Peers. Even when we go inside ourselves and disappear into our craft, we still need and long for these things. I’m ok to admit this need.

The Antioch Writers Workshop was like a giant cradle, holding and supporting delicate, sensitive people and their creative energy. For one week I was raw, vulnerable, yet safe. What a good feeling.

I cried the entire drive home. I didn’t cry because I didn’t want to leave. Quite the opposite. I cried for all that I was bringing home with me. I had so much energy. I was ready to go home, unpack my bags and change my hats as need be. Hug my children and see my friends and family. And, of course, to keep writing. 

MindBodyGreen

I recently published two articles on MindBodyGreen.

Click here:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/wc/carrie-herzner

to read them.

Also, I encourage you to "like" MindBodyGreen on Facebook. Nope. I'm telling you to. :)

Cuyahoga Burning

Cuyahoga Burning 2012 is an online literary anthology dedicated to Ohio writers. I encourage you to read the introduction written by Johnathan Penton, and to take the time to read the poetry and prose written entirely by Ohio writers.

You can read my contribution from Good Luck Bill here :

http://www.bigbridge.org/BB16/features/cb/cbcherzner.htm

here is the intro. and contents page:

http://www.bigbridge.org/BB16/features/cb/cbindex.htm

enjoy.

http://www.bigbridge.org/BB16/features/cb/cbindex.htm

"Father's Day" published in Cuyahoga Burning

http://www.bigbridge.org/BB16/features/cb/cbindex.htm