Jacob Nordby

Founder, Institute for Creative Living. Writer & Creative Guide visit my website to subscribe for updates and essays www.jacobnordby.com

[everythingfox]

His face when he realized he was about to fall

[jacobnordby]

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[livelovelaugh-777]

[freewillastrology]

[pdlcomics]

we're friends

[nervebynerve]

I believe eighty percent of the population eats fast food and loves dumb shit. The other twenty percent are the thinkers, pioneers, and generational talent, but I also believe the twenty percent are in for an uphill battle moving forward because our entire culture seems to have tilted on its axis and wants nothing more than to fulfill the insatiable thirst for the average, the dumbed down, and the lowest common denominator. Superhero movies, poorly written soft-core romance novels, reality TV, and completely biased news coverage, just to name a few. --Dan Milnor

[jacobnordby]

You are asked to choose right now between fear and love.

And that choice isn’t about party lines or religious or spiritual stances, of course. Across the board, from the way we run our economies to how we treat each other, it’s always a question:

“Fear or love? Scarcity or abundance?”

“We have all we need to create a whole, equal world … or we must fight and claw over a shrinking pie until we’ve eaten each other and die.”

This is especially challenging and intense because the beliefs in fear and scarcity run DNA-deep in us.

And that means that each of us must decide whether or not we will do the difficult work of dissolving these old, unquestioned beliefs that have been bugs in humanity’s operating system since time began.

Because if we do — if we will — we have the power to create rapid, healthy change and inhabit a world that is hard to recognize because of the beauty we have made together.

I choose love. You?

Jacob

P.S. This reminds me of what Pierre Teilhard De Chardin wrote so long ago:

“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”

[pdlcomics]

hustle culture

[jacobnordby]

'Spiritual’ Red Flags to watch out for (AND THEIR MEANINGS):

1: To 'hold space' for someone = To sit and stare at someone with emotional issues for an uncomfortable amount of time, then pat yourself on the back for basically doing nothing while your homie has a breakdown.

2: I'm in transition = I'm unemployed and totally fucking lost, so I have created an identity out of being an opportunist. Maybe you have some trim work for me or food? Or a trade? I do crystal readings!

3: I'm processing a lot of downloads from the Universe = I smoked too much DMT and can’t afford therapy. By pretending that my fragile brain is a sacred record keeper, I receive validation for speaking gibberish.

4: I'm a lightworker/empath = I am depressed and unstable and take zero responsibility for my own self-destructive tendencies, and need to focus on condescending your dark shit to avoid my own. (PS: I'll diagnose you as a narcissist)

5: I am a Reiki Master= I crave human contact, And this makes me feel less insecure than Tinder. I can cross personal physical boundaries with ease if I so choose, depending on what my client looks like, or I can think about random things while getting paid handsomely to hold my hands awkwardly over someone’s body.

6: You have an amazing Aura = I would love to bang you.

7: I am writing a travel blog = I don't want to go home, I no longer fit in: I never have. I don't know where I will end up, but I’d like to get paid to figure it out.

8: I'm not looking for a relationship/ only deep soul connections = I have commitment issues and fear of intimacy so I collect partners with compatible insecurities. I understand you will head off to Thailand soon anyways. “Bread-crumbing my love keeps me safe” is my mantra, while I dip my dick like a candlestick in every Shanti ratchet priestess in town.

9: 'Inner Goddess Within' workshops = An understanding of daddy Issues and a way to overdevelop the masculine side to protect the little girl within. Helping participants to surrender to the bias that all men are shit ( all of this for a nominal fee). The level 2 masterclass will teach you how to galactivate your man’s scrotum chakra enough to make him forget that you pay for bullshit workshops with his harvest money.

10: A guru = Someone who has overstepped the threshold of self-development into supreme egotism and found a niche market. Carries a flute and has a name you can't pronounce (though his driver's license says Steve) and chants words he doesn’t understand. But interesting tattoos...right?

11. A shaman = see above.

12: Worshipping the Beloved = Classic scenario where a cluster B personality type convinces you at a festival that you are their twin flame, lost for centuries in the ether. If you have never been loved by your primary caregivers, this is paradise on earth as your fear of abandonment gets spanked with a mala on the magical, mystery tour of self-deception.

13: In the flow = I never commit to anything, especially plans to do anything with anyone, so that I can completely flake out and not take any responsibility for it; ie I didn’t pay my phone bill this month.

14: Co-creating a retreat/gathering = my borderline personality friends and I have exhausted all other means of making an honest income, and have decided instead to use our social media clout (aka naked buttcheeks) to radically overcharge a too-large group of saps for 2-14 days of mediocre vegan food, awkward group encounters, and real-world-style sexual politics.

15; Substance Free Event = Powder drugs are fine but if you bring alcohol, we’ll judge the shit out of you. Tobacco’s cool if you snort it and call it "ceremony" or roll your own.

16: Speaking My Truth = I reserve the right to be an asshole in this conversation and you must honour it, regardless of how deep my delusion may be. I’ll probably use this phrase every time I don’t want to be called out for my phone bullshit, because it’s all perspective man...

(Author Unknown)

[jacobnordby]

[jacobnordby]

Does life seem impossible? That’s normal for most of us at times, and it can help to witness others who have overcome “impossible” challenges to inspire ourselves to stay the course and be creative.

** Not my original content — sharing with gratitude to the creators of this clip.

[jacobnordby]

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"In 1892 at Stanford University, an 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education.

They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck and the boys began to work to make the concert a success.

The big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight.

They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honour the cheque at the soonest possible.

“No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 and told the two boys: “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred.

Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left”. The boys were surprised, and thanked him profusely.It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being.

Why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. And most of us only think “If I help them, what would happen to me?” The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?” They don’t do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do.

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them.

Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help.He heard there was a man called Herbert Hoover — who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people.A calamity was averted.

Paderewski was relieved.

He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.”

The world is a wonderful place. What goes around comes around. Please help others to the best of your ability. In the long run you may be helping yourself.”

[jacobnordby]

I submitted a poem to The New Yorker and The Atlantic this evening.

That’s something I’ve never done before.

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