[Note: I wrote this post for Tapping Q&A Jan 5, 2010]

Recently I heard a really interesting interview with author Nick Hornby conducted by Jesse Thorn of the radio program “The Sound of Young America”. Hornby was being interviewed about his newest book “Juliet, Naked”.

During the interview Thorn asked about the new movie “An Education” which Hornby wrote the screenplay for. Thorn commented that his wife had said, “An Education was obviously something that had been written by Hornby because it is not about people trying to be better, but instead people becoming comfortable with who they are.”

That is a really interesting thought…Not improving, but becoming comfortable with who we are.

If you were to walk into a bookstore to find books on the types of things we talked about EFT/Tapping Q & A it would be in the self-improvement section.

That is an interesting title…Self-Improvement.

It implies that there is something wrong with us.

I am not saying that I am perfect, but on some level I am perfect.

There is a part of me that is perfect and eternal. I struggle in this world because I forget who I am.

It is good that we strive for better. It is good that we strive to be all that we can be, but I think we are doing ourselves a profound disservice by thinking we always in need of improving.

Much of the peace I have found in the world has come from becoming comfortable with who I am.

Blessing who I am.

Loving who I am.

When I am able to do these things then I am able to be everything I am and appreciated everything that the world is. It is from this place of being myself, not improving myself that I am able to find and appreciate the richness of life. Here is where I find joy, happiness, and blessing.

So I have started tapping to something like this:

I have been made perfectly…this does not mean I do everything perfectly…this does not mean that I can’t strive for more and better…it simply means that at my core…at my essence I am perfect…when I am able to recognize the part of me that is perfect then I am able to become in this moment everything I am made to be…I can recognize the part of me that is perfect and not be complacent…I can recognize the part of me that is beautiful and still grow…I can see the blessings in my life and be open to more…I am no longer going to strive for self improvement…I am going to strive to become who I am in every moment…I don’t need to improve who I am…I desire to be who I am made to be more fully…I am made for love…I am made for connection…I am made to be who I am in this moment…I am not made to be what other think I should be…I am not made to be what others want me to be…the does not mean I am complacent…this does not mean I am stagnate…this means that I am striving to live who I am fully in each moment…I will not do this perfectly…but I am going to strive for this…when I strive to be who I am fully then I will recognize the grace of the moment…I will be filled with joy in the moment…I will be who I truly am

I have resurrected an old blog http://monterastelli.com/prayer. Let me know if you have any intentions you would like me to add. The plan is to update 4 or 5 times a week.
I have created a new blog EFT Q & A. In the last week I had two articles published in the “EFT Insights Newsletter”. I received a lot of e-mail questions from fellow readers. Instead of just answering them directly, I decided to share will the larger community.

Note to friends and family: My e-mail server is down for some reason and I can’t send or receive e-mail. Little hard to communicate with tech support from here. If you sent me a note and it bounced, that is why. Also, I am having a hard time getting responses out to e-mail I did receive.
PAYING THE PRICE
To make amends for my food choices yesterday, I headed right back to the squid stand.
I pointed at the squid. Held up one finger. Got out my money.
They grilled the squid. Dipped it in sesame seed oil. Then asked if I wanted the spices.
Yes! Yes I did!
Normally, they would use the paintbrush and spread a little of the spice on. This time they shoveled it on. The two guys cooking looked at each other and laughed, thinking “We are going to get the silly tourist.”
It was my penance for yesterday performance.
It was hot.
It was spicy.
It was awesome!
HOT! HOT! HOT!
A question from “W” in Casper, WY:

The answer is yes! Here is the hour by hour for today:

And the next 7 days here in Chongqing:

FATHERHOOD?
I heard a phase today that I didn’t expect. “Congratulations, you’re a father!”
We did group pictures today. Not a choice I would have made with 14 babies under the age of 18 months.
We did an everyone photo, a mothers with babies photo, a fathers with babies photo, and 14 babies all together.
There are two single mothers in our group. One is traveling by herself (a heroic task). I am an extra set of hands and have help out from time to time. When it came time for the fathers picture, all of a sudden baby was in hand and I was a “father”.
But for only 2 minutes.
HEROIC TASK
I am having a really good time. I always do. I am also having a unique experience, in so far as my responsibilities. I am a friend. I am hands. I am uncle Gene. Not just for Brad and Joia, but where ever I can.
At the end of the day I return to my private room. English Premier League soccer games on Hong Kong ESPN. Big bed. Quite room.
There are 14 families who are doing an amazingly difficult thing. They are opening there homes and hearts to little girls who’s lives are being turned upside down. In the long term an awesome thing. In the short, scary.
14 little girls with fourteen different personalities. All taking this in different ways.
Some laugh. Some cry. Some are quite. Some poop all the time. Other only with medical help. (I have overheard more conversation about BM in the last 4 days to last a life time).
All of them just want to be home.
But they can’t. The days are filled with waiting. Waiting for paper work.
It would be different if the days were filled with this and that.
But they are not. It is out of all our hands. We are just in this hotel. In a very foreign land. Wanting to be home.
It is an amazing thing to open your family and your life to someone new. I have always been impressed by that.
I now have a great appreciation for these amazing families who are also doing this heroic thing. Two weeks in China, creeping to a normal daily life.
Love them. Thank them. Pray for them. They are amazing people.
I am so blessed to be here.
SELFISH
I needed to add one selfish picture.

…a super big blog is coming. Because of the afternoon adventure I haven’t had time to blog yet and we are about to head off to dinner. (Remember China is 12 hours ahead of the east coast.)
So check back in about 4 hours.
Lots of good stuff!

Only 5 days left to pre-order “before and afterlife” by Joia Farmer at a discount.
[order | listen]

Sorry if the page look a little odd and poorly designed. I am working on a more readable redesign.

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