Reno’s Favorite Improv Comedy Show, Thursday 3/8/12, 7:30pm

Reno’s Favorite Improv Comedy Show, 3/8/12, 7:30pm

You can still catch the best in Reno comedy, The Utility Players, Thursday March 8th, at Pioneer Underground. Doors open at 6:30pm, and SHOW NOW STARTS AT 7:30pm. Tickets are still available online at www.renotahoecomedy.com or you can buy them at the door. Show is recommended for mature audiences. There is a full bar for our 21+ crowd.

The Utility Players – Reno’s Favorite Improv Comedy FamilyDoors: 6:30pm

Show: 7:30pm-9pm

Theater: The beautiful, Pioneer Underground, 100 S. Virginia St.

With: The Utility Players, Reno’s best improv comedy show.

Hosted by: Jessica The-Jester Levity

Produced by: Homeslice Productions with Reno Tahoe Comedy

Sponsored by: Wayne’s Automotive in Sparks, and Taxcrafters

“You’re In My Prayers”

When you say, “You’re in my prayers”–are you then actually taking the time to pray (however prayer looks to you)? It’s something we say, often with good intentions, but are we sure we’re doing it every time? Take a moment to go within and pray; release the old, surrender to Now, and give thanks, and may you raise the vibration of the world just 1 more notch.
Namaste,
The Jester

The Facts are mere Coincidence

Often, people let the Facts of a situation stand in their way of seeing the Truth.

With Love, Light And Laughter,

The Jester

2011: A Call to Community – A Numerological Perspective

[This is a re-post from my numerologist...(ya...I have one). The article is amazing. Enjoy!]

 

2011: A Call to Community

 

A Numerological Perspective

by

Timothy Johnston Glenn

 

In recent years, Indigenous Elders have told us, “The time of the lone wolf is over.” Back in the early 90′s, Proterrian said, “The foundation of the New Earth, for human society, will be intentional communities.  You will find yourselves gathering with like-minded, like-hearted and like-spirited people, who will help each other through The Shift.  Remember: this is the Co-Creation of Heaven on Earth.” Some of us grew up under the influence of the Old School of Rugged Individualism, but now it’s time to evolve beyond such outdated idealisms.  All pretense to separation is being peeled away.

Each of us can be likened to a single cell in a living organism: Earth.  Spirit may surprise us with the adjustments we will make, so we can return to our natural, organic way of existing in the Universe.  And this is a Universal, not merely planetary shift.  Our sector of the Cosmos is now getting back in sync with the wholeness of the Universe.  Galaxies are entraining with the Universal Shift.  Stars within each galaxy are entraining with their galaxy.  Our local star is entraining with our galaxy, so every planet around our Sun is entraining with our Sun.  Earth is experiencing this entrainment.  The little critters crawling around on the surface of the planet will entrain with the Earth, or their structures will simply fall apart.  The very concept of entrainment implies co-operation and cohesiveness; translate: community.

We have played the game of separation to the max, and now it’s time to reopen to our Universal Oneness.  As we individually reunite our fragmented lives, we collectively integrate the energies of the New Earth.  We are transmuting from a fear-based illusion into a Love-based Reality.  Love draws us closer together.  The more we open our hearts to Divine Love, the more gracefully our communities will gel.

2 + 0 + 1 + 1 + = 4

The number 4 invokes energy of grounding, stability and physical manifestation.  4 is about our roots, our foundation, our hearth and home.  Our family.  4 is not an energy that wants to go it alone.

After a rowdy 3 year, we can tap into the stable 4 energy to apply what we learned and accomplished during the previous cycle.  And 2010 was a doozy of a 3 cycle.  Especially since 2010 contained an unseasonal Astrological Storm Season, we can welcome the 4 year with open hearts.

Fortunately, the 4 likes to work and get things done, so there won’t be a need to fight a wave of planetary lethargy.  4 loves to take the creative ideas of the 3, and put them into form.  Some people may think of the Astrological Fourth House in the context of its corresponding sign of Cancer, and regard this as wimpy energy.  But that would be missing the hidden strengths of this rich realm of feeling.  To feel the Power of the Love, contemplate the fourth card of the Tarot deck: The Emperor.  Love is the greatest power.  Where fear would fail, Love will succeed in manifesting.

11 = 1 + 1 = 2

In Astrology, the Eleventh House includes hopes, wishes and dreams.  But it also includes friendships, long-term alliances, and groups of people with whom we associate.  The eleventh sign is Aquarius, which promotes the concept of Universal Family.  Aquarius loves to be social, appreciates camaraderie, and wants what is best for everyone.  The eleventh card of the Tarot deck is Justice.  Genuine Justice facilitates another Aquarian preference, and that is Freedom.

The 11 reduces to 2, represented by the High Priestess.  In the world of form, 2 serves as the primary feminine number.  One facet of feminine energy, is that it is receptive; as in electricity, wherein the receptive current is labeled the feminine current.  When we take the feminine receptivity of the 2 up to the level of the 11, we are still receiving, but now we are receiving at a higher level.

11 is the first of the Master Numbers, designated as the primary number of Inner Guidance.  Envision the 11 as a pair of antennae reaching into the Universe.  You receive input from the Universe, and that serves as your guidance system.  Nothing outside you can show you the way.  It comes from within you, from your direct connection with the Universe, of which you are an expression.  Freedom comes into play here, because you follow your own Spirit as it expresses through your Heart.

As the 11 energy builds through the course of the year, Spirit will move our Hearts toward strengthening our connections with the spiritual communities and families most appropriate for us.  Whatever Spirit may have in store for us, already exists in the Field of Infinite Possibilities.  Through the Magic of Divine Love, it can manifest.

A Work in Progress

Much of this is already happening for us.  Starting this fall, a surprising number of people in the midst of their Birthday/Solar Return Readings would say, “That’s already happening.”  A greater continuity to our flow is being generated as we move through The Shift.  To use a musical analogy, we can dissect a melody and chop it up into this note after that note.  Or, we can surrender to the heart-searing beauty of the melody in the flow of its wholeness. When we become familiar with a piece of music we love, part of our joy in listening stems from our anticipation, or knowing, of what is coming.  What is yet to be heard physically, is already playing in our consciousness.

On the human level, you are a work in progress.  Your spiritual communities and families are works in progress.  The more of the foregoing you can see in your life right now, the more confident you can feel that you are truly on your path.  If there are more connections to be made this year, the windows of opportunity will open for you.  It helps to understand that all of this already exists in Spirit.

Shift or Get Off the Pot

As mentioned earlier, Spirit may surprise us with the adjustments we will make. Here is a personal example.

At age 19, when breaking away from the abusive biological family of my upbringing, I rejected everything associated with it.  Nothing would have any meaning in my life, unless I chose to assign it meaning, period.  That included holidays.  Over the course of four more decades, I avoided holidays like the plague.

In September of 2010, synchronous events led me to sing in the choir at the Center for Spiritual Living in Reno.  The fall season was fun and uplifting, so I stayed on for the holiday season.  It felt odd singing Christmas music again, especially when it came to singing it from the heart.  Being onstage for the Holiday concert came across as utterly surreal.  I kept thinking about people who knew me in the 70′s, 80′s and 90′s, and how they would be stunned if they could witness it.  Another set of synchronicities led me to attend two Christmas parties back-to-back.  I let go, and played with loving friends in the Holiday Spirit, and that’s when the old emotional volcano erupted.

In making the break with the old dysfunctional family at age 19, everything was done in a state of anguish and resentment.  As it turns out, rejection of the holidays became the lock that held so many deep issues in place and prevented them from clearing.  But when the Love surrounding me in the midst of holiday celebration popped the lid off the pressure cooker, well…you don’t need the details.

On December 31, I attended a New Year’s celebration at the Center for Spiritual Living.  I cut loose and enjoyed the evening.  Afterward, a small group of us improvised a series of countdowns, regardless of the actual time on the clock.  The clock wasn’t what mattered.  For the first time in 43 years, I called out “Happy New Year”, and actually meant it.  But no more eruptions followed.  The lock is off, and clearing continues without the volcano effect.

Since 1967, 2011 is the first calendar year I have declared to be a Happy New Year.  And so it is.

Where There is Love, There is a Will

Maybe you will find yourself guided by Spirit to make adjustments you had thought unlikely or even impossible.  You may start manifesting lifestyle changes you had previously assigned to the No Way Department.  But with God, all things are possible. We are living in the Field of Infinite Possibilities.  Where there is a will, there is a way.  Where there is Love, there is a will.

Elements of the old world may resist The Shift.  The road to paradise may give us a spooky ride at times.  The fear may lash out against the Love, but only we ourselves can determine our ultimate course.  It may help us to remember Proterrian’s 3-step formula:

1. 1. Come from a Loving Heart.
   2. Put one foot in front of the other.
   3. Walk in Faith.

    

May each of us reach within our Heart of Hearts, and allow our collective energy of 2011 to help manifest our deepest, most sincere Dreams.  If ever we are to see clear signs of the Co-Creation of Heaven on Earth, let it be Now.  Together, nestling into our synergistic families and communities, we can Love the New Earth into Current Reality.

Blessings,

Tim

http://www.soulpurposereadings.com/

Personal Alchemy

Alchemy is the art of Transformation.

Metaphysical Truisms in Coelho’s “The Achemist”

I just finished reading “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho; I received it as a gift from a friend for my birthday. It’s one of those stories that is almost too obviously metaphorical/symbolic/allegorical, and yet, you love it for all the truth that spills out across its pages, like a gospel. So much truth, in fact, that I decided to

just write a brief description and analysis of my three favorite beliefs woven through this story. When I describe them, they may come across as “complicated” and “philosophical”, as if I thought too much about it. But I experience metaphysical truths very simply; it’s like I can see their truth very clearly in my mind, like solving  Proofs in Trigonometry.

Firstly, in order for me to discuss this book without doing a summary, there is one concept that governs the language in the book, and that is the idea of Maktub. “‘Maktub’ is an alchemist term (arabic word) which literally means ‘it is written’. From mystical point of view, it points to the fact that whatever happens is already known to the One. It signifies that Destiny exists. It points finger to the fact that everything is already known to God” (mysticsaint.info). It’s necessary to understand this because the main character in the story, Santiago, learns to speak the Language of the Universe by entering the Soul of the World, something that transcends words, and yet, the story itself must go on in literarily.

Here are my 3 favorite concepts:

1) “The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it’s all written there” (74).

Yes. Because the Universe is infinite, everything that Is, already Was, and Will Be. Where the past and the future meet is called the Present and it’s the only thing that’s real. We can travel, intuitively, to the past and the future through the present because it is in the present that both of these exist; it feels like a paradox but it’s really not. If you let yourself, you’ll feel this truth intuitively. The Future is History. Wow, now there’s a cool concept. Anyway, we are all connected through one basic thread of the Infinite itself, and therefore tapping into any other space and time is as “easy” as tapping into another part of yourself.  It’s really just a matter of letting go. (Isn’t everything?)

2) “People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them . . . my heart is afraid if will have to suffer.”

“Tell your heart that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity” (130).

Firstly, we’ve all heard the motivational line about not pursing our dreams because we’re afraid of failure, blah blah blah. But what I like in those first lines is the concept that what we’re afraid of is success. Why would we be afraid of success? Mostly because somewhere inside of us we don’t believe we deserve it. This subconscious belief grows throughout lifetimes, much of it happens early in this life as well. I’ve dealt with this frequently throughout my personal evolution over the last few years; I also wrote a blog about it earlier, The Spiritual Ozone Layer; it’s about making sure to remember not to just pray for your dreams to come true, but also for the strength to believe that you deserve them.

The boy then says what we’re all thinking, “my heart is afraid to suffer.” Here’s a metaphysical truth: what you resist persists. By resisting the state of suffering, you suffer. The alchemist reminds the boy, “The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.” Everything is self-fulfilling; what are you filling yourself with?

Then the alchemist tells the boy that by pursing his dreams, his “Personal Legend”, it is impossible to suffer because “every second of the search is an encounter with God and eternity”. This is because there is your will, and there is God’s will. When your will is aligned with God’s will, everything that’s happening is real; it’s taking place in the Soul of the One. Your dreams and desires were planted in you so that you would pursue them, so every second that you are on that path, your heart and God’s heart are One. Amen.

3) “It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse” (151).

Again, this is very obviously clear and true. Everything on Earth can be reduced down to one metaphysical state: existence. To be. You and a Rock both exist. You are, somewhere in the biggest “big picture”, part of One thing. And therefore when you grow in integrity and in spirit, you increase the overall vibration of the Soul of the World, which even though may technically be “minute” in comparison, is still billions of times bigger than you can imagine. When you raise your vibration, the vibration of everything around you raises, and ripples through existence.

O Holy Night – a cappella

Click: O Holy Night to listen, enjoy!

 

“O Holy Night” via Reno

Everyone has their favorite musical artists, mine just happen to be two of my closest friends. That’s the thing about living in Reno, almost everyone’s doing something. The local creative and performing art scene here is a lot of what makes Reno “The Biggest Little City in the World”. My immediate group of friends consists of writers, comedians, thespians, directors, theater owners, drag queens, producers, magazine owners and editors, musicians, singers, painters, chalkboard artists, graffiti artists, poets, ballerinas, B Boys, and burlesque troupes. There’s an open mic night somewhere in the city every night of the week; and it feels like there are as many local theater companies as their are casinos on Virginia St.

Reno is the city where I was able to launch Homeslice Productions- the umbrella company under which so many wonderful creations came to fruition: Reno’s favorite comedy troupe, The Utility Players; Improv – The Musical; The Metacomedy; Sparks’ Got Talent, The Art Bar Cabaret, and many, many other much less successful inventions.

But alas, a dream was fulfilled for me the other night, when my two favorite singers, Ariel Lea and Eric Andersen, came together to do a little collaboration.

I first met Ariel Lea 10 years ago when we were both freshman at Loveland High School in Cincinnati Ohio; she asked me to be her “page turner” while she played a David Lanz piece on the piano for our annual talent show. It was sometime later when I heard her sing for the first time that I told her someday we’d be famous.

8 years later I moved to Reno from Madison, Wisconsin, at almost the exact same time as the one and only Eric Andersen, from… Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. We met shortly after while I was managing a small downtown venue and he came in to book a show. I asked him if he was sure people would come, which, he makes fun of me for now because the show was a huge success. Within the first beats of hearing Eric perform, I stopped bartending and just listened. He plays like he’s been on stage for lifetimes. This kid is going to make it for sure.  In the last year I watched a saga unfold as he put together his first professional album, Plane Rides & Ocean Tides. I was so proud that I sobbed, just a little, throughout his CD Release show, and then bonded with his mother afterward at the bar.

I used to talk to Ariel and Eric about each other, about how much I selfishly wished I could hear them sing together. And then in December of 2009, Ariel told me  that she was moving to Reno to join The Utility Players, compose the score for Improv – The Musical, and complete a demo album.

With big projects behind us and even bigger ones ahead of us, Ariel and I decided to finish her demo album before Christmas 2010 (the perfect Christmas presents). Just as we were wrapping up some basic recordings, Eric Andersen stopped by wearing a flannel shirt and carrying his viola. I like being a producer because I just get to sit back and watch talented friends perform. It’s delicious. I especially love it when they collaborate.  Ariel’s and Eric’s collaboration was really special to me because I feel so connected to both of their talents and spirits.  I just feel so blessed to even get to be a part of it. It’s truly my honor to be participating in any way to the gift of artistic expression.

While Eric was tuning his viola, I played for him the recording we had of Ariel singing “O Holy Night”, a cappella. It was his idea to throw down some harmonies. The result is really beautiful. I decided to post this song as a preview while I finish putting together the rest of the demo, which features Eric on a couple of different songs.

Anyway, here’s “O Holy Night”, a beautiful duet with Ariel Lea and Eric Andersen. You can listen to it streaming or download it here, for free via our new podcast channel, Mind Melodies.

Subscribe to our podcast channel or stay tuned to hear more. Also, make sure to listen to Eric’s album (linked above), which I highly recommend listening to while skiing down a mountain.

Happy Holidays,

The Jester

Out With The Mold & In With The New…

3 weeks ago if you had asked me if I had ever thought about moving out of my little cottage in the alley down by the river in Reno, I would have firmly said, “No.” I loved my little cottage. It was quaint (and by that I mean really, really small), and perfectly located right next to the river in the middle of downtown, the artsy part of downtown. I lived in the basement where it was deliciously cold and dark, even in the summers. I had moved into this house exactly two years ago when I first moved to Reno; it was the only thing I knew. I was attached.

Then one Monday evening, after a long day, I decided to clean my room. Not just the I’m-finally-going-to-put-my-laundry-away clean, but the epic kind–the kind where you bust out the cleaning supplies and you actually move some shit around. Also, the basementy smell which had always existed was beginning to get more unbearable and I was determined to clean to the point that hopefully the smell of “clean” would overrule the smell of ” basement”.

And so I began the journey. Just 30 minutes in and I had already found my favorite bandana which had been missing all summer. I had also found a nest of nastiness which had been creeping its way through the small window that connects the outside alleyway with the cement that begins the basement wall; I promptly unhooked the hose from the vacuum motor and went to town.

I was just about finished and the room was beginning to look like that of a grownup’s again. The overall smell was about 50/50 basement and bleach. I decided to finish by cleaning under the bed. The hose of the vacuum only reached about three quarters of the total space under the bed, so I decided to be an adult and actually move the bed from its resting place against the wall to finish the rest…and that’s when I saw it. THE MOLD. It appeared to be actually coming through the wall from within. It had been stewing for who knows how long, and now there it was, naked and exposed, its blackness so bold against the rest of the white wall. I screamed and called for backup.

My roommates came down, resistant to look because they had assumed some sort of creature to be lying there dead, like a mouse or a giant spider. But instead it was Mold and it left us all speechless. “Umm, I think I once heard black mold is really bad for you,” is the most intelligent thing any of us said. We then headed to the bottom of the basement stairs where I lifted an article of clothing which had been sitting there since it had fallen out of my laundry basket forever ago and it was soaking wet and it smelled. The Mold was there too. What does it all mean?

We didn’t know exactly what to do about it at 11:30 on a Monday night, so we headed back upstairs where I googled “black mold in my house”, and didn’t like what I found. My immediate response was denial. How could this have happened in our perfect little house? Okay, so maybe our house isn’t that perfect, but…what are we going to do? I don’t want to move. We can’t just move. Wait…

Should we move? But what about our lease? Will we get our deposit back? But what if we don’t find a house near the river or downtown? What if we can’t find a decent price? Can we just move without a plan? How are we going to find the time to find a new place? Is the Mold really that bad?

What if we did  move? What if we found a house that was even better? Was that possible? Would we just have to settle? I prayed. Dear Universe, Thank you for my little cottage in the alley. I love it so much. Is it time to move? If so, please lead us effortlessly and easily into a new and even more perfect home. Thank you for guiding me through this whole thing. Please continue to guide us through the rest of this journey. I am so grateful to know that I am always guided, guarded and protected. And So It Is.

I still couldn’t figure out why this was happening, so I did the next best thing to prayer I could do– I posted a status on Facebook asking people why the Mold was happening to me. What was the meaning behind it?

My minister and some fellow church members answered, but my sister of all people said the words that finally hit me: “Either it means you are being given a gift which you need to use to cure the world (a la penicilin) or the thing which was supposed to keep you safe has been punctured. Water is coming in, creating a fungus that can kill you. Life at that home has come to an end, and it’s time to create a new life. Be safe little sis.”

Damn. Gotta love the Truth when it smacks you with a cosmic 2×4 across the face. I was attached, in the unhealthy metaphysical way, to this house. It was the only Home I knew in Reno, and therefore in a way, Reno = that House. But as I thought about my sister’s words, I also thought about how much had lived and died in that home: so many relationships, ideas, art. That Home had done its job, and now, vibrationally, it was time for both of us to move on. MOLD = Move On Little Darlings.  I had my answer. We were moving.

It felt like a marathon, but we did it. It was truly a co-creative experience between the Universe, my roommates and myself. And as I sit in my new and more perfect Home typing this, I can’t even begin to imagine that there was any way I could not be here right now. I didn’t even know how bad we needed this move, even without the Mold, but the Universe knew. And so it sent the Mold as our messenger, and for that we are so grateful. For the first time ever, my roommates and I danced in our gigantic living room. For anyone who saw our last Home, they know the idea of this is hilarious. Our new Home is big and beautiful and it allows us all to open our auras a little bit more so our souls can actually breathe. It’s in a beauitful neighborhood, no longer an alley that the delivery guy can’t find on his GPS. It has a backyard with grass and is just a few blocks from downtown and the river.

Since moving we’ve received our full deposit back, plus some expenses we lost along the way. We’ve heard that the Mold is indeed so bad that the house is not livable and most likely not repairable. The moral of this whole thing is to stay present, to follow your nose, and to remember that the appearance of an enemy can sometimes be just a messenger telling you its time to move on. Don’t be too attached or you might miss the entire point of what’s happening. Thank you to everyone that helped us during our semi-chaotic and highly unprepared time. Most of all, thank you to the Mold.

Dear Universe, Thank you for keeping me safe. I pray that you continue to bless with me things that I don’t even know I need until they’re here. I promise to be grateful for them. I surrender, for you surely know what I want and need more than I do. And So It Is.

With Love, Light and Laughter,

The Jester

The Mold on the wall behind my bed.

“A Pocket Guide to Amish Life” by Mindy Starns Clark (via Daylover’s Blog)

An informative and honest book review, check it out! I really like this blogger’s reviews of books and movies.

*I grew up in the Philly burbs, and school field trips sometimes brought us to Lancaster County an hour West, otherwise known as Pennsylvania Dutch country.  Now 29, I remember little from those trips, other than feeling self conscious that the Amish resented our gawking.  These days, I get my kicks reading about other cultures, philosophies, and religions, etc, so I came across the above titled Pocket guide.  Here's what I had forgotten, or perh … Read More

via Daylover's Blog