Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

Something happens when a group of men get together and touch one another. This creates, for me, an opening to the Magic.

When men get together and touch one another and dwell, if only for a few minutes, in their pleasure and desire, magic can happen. It seems as if for a micro-secod the universe opens up.

This something is like magik to me. I feel so blessed and blissed to be a part able to offer and manifest these groups where men come together and get real. The get in the now of their body and they let themselves feel the power and connection that is within themselves to be a part of their desire.

Something happens when a group of men get together and true to tehemselves and real with others.

This is something like magik to me. I leave these groups with a sense of reassurance and feel so very grounded in my love of humanity. Each time I leave one of these events I feel like living my life more fully and more joyfully. It helps that I just completed a group, cleaned up the studio and made my way home. I am left with a sense of openness and delight. LOVE

The next event is on January 26th at the Awaken Studio. Men 4 Men Sensual Touch with Tantric Exploration

When will you ever be over that… ?

Early last December I was out with a friend.  We were in the Gay Village here in Toronto, having a coffee in the late afternoon. We got to talking about relationship and that brought me to speaking about some of what goes on in me and passes through me when I let myself dwell in the pain of rejection and heart ache that I am able to feel in the dissolution of a relationship.

As our conversation developed, I was a bit surprised as I spoke, that the friend that I was with, asked rather abruptly… “When will you ever be over that? … What will it take for you to move on?… It has been so long will you ever be over this?…”

The particular relationship, that I will speak of here, is not what one might expect. This is not about the severing of a relationship between two human beings but the dissolution of the relationship between myself, a human being, and a corporation.

These questions about the way I process my pain and grief  around my separation, left me to wonder and ponder what was going on in me that I could not get over what had happened. This left me to analyze what really did happen and why I should feel so hurt by a business, a corporation.

First, I drew little distinction between the corporation and the human beings that were steering the ship, driving the organization. In my experience, the voices on the phone, the fingers typing the emails were human and not corporate.

Second, I had given, over several years, a lot of my energy, passion, skill and devotion to this company.  I had given my human LIFE force to this corporate organization. Again it never felt like I was involved with a company but with a group of people. I felt I was involved with other human beings. I felt that all was friendly and that I could be vulnerable and continue to operate in my human way, rather than in the defenses of a hard-shelled corporate and very inhumane manner.

Last, I look at what really happened. All of it was business and I simply could not see that the humans I was dealing with could disengage from their money driven pursuit to get to a heart driven pursuit. The humans and the corporate zombies could not be separated. My defenses as a human were compromised and I simply had to close up and wall myself off from the corporate onslaught.

In the face of the dissolution of our once tender relationship, I had to defend myself in the most silent ways. I was threatened, by the other – my former partner, with all of the corporate defenses. These including law suits, the forfeiture of my daily income and finally the threat of unending bullying and threatening if I ever spoke or wrote of the experience that I had with this small and ultimately very predatory and dangerous corporation.

This is the crux of the whole experience for me. That these PEOPLE, fellow HUMAN BEINGS, could not act like the human beings that they looked like; however, instead stayed in their corporate, financial and money driven pursuit. This organization that spoke of spirit, this organization that spoke of heart, this organization that spoke of human integrity and human healing was ultimately unable to operate from a heart centered model and shifted to, what was for me, a rather vicious and hurtful, greedy corporate model.

I wonder to this day what happened to the humans that were involved in the operations of this business. These humans had touched me, showed themselves to me in truly human forms. Part of the hurt and the great sense of fracture in this very painful separation is that the humans disappeared and were replaced by vacuous and dangerous zombie like human forms that were simply robots of American Corporate culture.

So, back to the question, “when will I be over this”?  I don’t think I ever will.

The experience, this rather ugly corporate divorce, has ingrained in me a wariness and deep felt skepticism of corporate culture. The experience has taught me that indeed, corporations are NOT human. This wariness and skepticism has me super vigilant as I work to operate in a heart centered world rather than in a corporate and money centered world.

Everyday this scar that is in me, poses to me the question and offers me the challenge… “Can you live your HUMAN life, and carry on your HUMAN business in life, from a HEART centered model?”

I have determined in my musings and in my stumbling through life that it is my greatest pleasure and my wildest dream to live my life fully from my heart. It is my profound desire to treat each and every being that I encounter in the most humane, kindly, compassionate and loving way that is within me.  -♥-

Here I am everyday bringing forward, my very human SWEET JUICY HEART.

BE well! and Blessed BE! Glad to have a FAERIE name that fits.

SWEET JUICY HEART - www.phillipcoupal.ca

SWEET JUICY HEART – http://www.phillipcoupal.ca

 

Naked Yoga for Men at the Awaken Studio Toronto

Tuesday evenings Join in a Naked Yoga Practice welcoming all men.

The sessions will be held on Tuesday evenings from 8-9:30 at Awaken Studio (270 Carlaw Ave Unit 102).

Gregory Saliba will be leading the session that covers December 2013 to February 2014 We will be welcoming Andy Sinclair back in the session that starts up again in February.

Drop-ins are welcome. Please make sure to contact Phillip and let him know that you will be attending. The space is limited and we want everyone to be satisfied, peaceful and content. This is a quiet, warm and private space to make discoveries and deepen our yoga practice. There is a washroom onsite.

This yoga experience will focus on gentle and safe exploration through an alignment-based Hatha practice. All who manifest male in the world  are welcome.

Please check the webiste for current information: Naked Yoga for Men at the Awaken Studio

Today World AIDS Day. December 1, 2013

Waking up to feeling like the MISFIT that I am. Realizing and knowing that I don’t really fit in, I don’t really belong and I never have. Even in the groups and organizations that I felt like I belonged to and was a part of for so long I realize now that I was simply too different to fit in.

For a long time I felt that being so different was a problem. Being so different made me an outcast and undesirable. Something is different today. Something inside of me has changed.  Something is different and I am finally, after cresting past middle age, realizing that all the stuff that makes me so different and such a MISFIT is actually what makes me myself. I don’t have to be a victim of this MISFIT, QUEERNESS.

Today I feel powerful and I can actually let all that QUEER ENERGY and all that sense of not belonging feed my POWER and my SENSE OF SELF. This is the place where I can make that QUEER MISFIT, into a BEING that is FIERCE and BOLD and full of the wholesome richness of life and love. I do not have to be afraid, ashamed or guilty that I am so different. I can bring that BIG, BOLD and FIERCE, QUEER out into the world and some good and kind and gracious LOVE into the community that I am a part of. 

I finally able, at this point in my life, to look at myself and feel good about what I have done and what I am doing. What is that you ask? What are you doing?

What I am doing with my life these days is creating a space, a community that welcomes and embraces all that is diversity in men who LOVE men. The Awaken Studio is that physical place. A space and place for men to come together and be a part of. A part of what we can create together, a part of what we each put in and a part of what we will each take away. An urban space and downtown place welcoming all of the energy of not belonging. An open, welcoming and hospitable place where men can bring their queer energy.  This queer spirit can be focused and channeled and sculpted  into creating community,events and gatherings for all men who love men.

Check out the Queer Heart Talking Circle, a gathering for all queers and all men who are willing to dedicated themselves and create a safe, welcoming and honouring environment. A gathering where men who love men can come together and share their Queer Heart and LOVING Gay Spirit.

For more information about the Queer Heart Talking Circle gatherings contact Phillip and the Awaken Studio at: phillip@phillipcoupal.ca

Queer Heart Talking Circle - Awaken Studio - Toronto MORE? phillip@phillipcoupal.ca

Queer Heart Talking Circle – Awaken Studio – Toronto MORE? phillip@phillipcoupal.ca

How long will this continue?

How many times do I have to feel the rush of anger and the push of BIG emotions that rise through me as I hear the words over, and over and over again?

“You are irrelevant! Everything that you are doing is IRRELEVANT! What you want for your self, your group and your community are totally IRRELEVANT and what ever we want we will do…”

When I hear this statement going off in my head I begin to get very sensitive. What happens in my head is like the ear worm song that I can not eject, and the ear worm keeps playing, over and over and over again. I am simply left to wonder how many times will this go on in my head, repeating incessantly. I begin to fear that this statement will begin to invade my heart, my passion and my spirit. When I am beginning to be afraid that this statement is taking over my life, my actions and all that I do I simply have to do something intensly relevant, loudly different! That relevant something is usually pretty outrageous, and sometimes boldly daring.

Answering my own Question.

So the answer to my question of how long this belittling and degrading message will continue.

I feel I need to say forever! Or at least until the success, the daring and the brilliance of my self can take root and overpower the dark overbearing and bullying statement that this was.

MY BIG FEAR!

I have been afraid to write about this as when I have spoken of it or written about it in the past I have been threatened, yet again, over and over, often with legal action.

When I have begged the compatriots of this bully to reign him in I have been told, “You will just have to remain silent. The perpetrator is indeed a bully. This is how he has acted all his life and besides he is a number 8 on the “Eneagram” scale and has no control over his emotions.”

I am shaking as I write this. This story and statement feeds into every historical act of outrageous and cruel, torturing and belittling bullying and degrading taunts, punches and kicks  that were perpetrated on me a a child, a young man, a gay boy simply one who could not fit in.

The weird thing of all of this is that my silence perpetuates the story and makes the story more real in my heart. My silence creates more fear and my fear amplifies the story.

What to do to Move Ahead?

What to do… Yes what to do.

All I am left to do is get up off the floor, dust myself off and look around. As I look I seek out those who I am able to align with. I seek out those who have matching experiences. Then I do my best to stand tall, stand proud and deliver all that is my best all that is relevant. Delivering my best and everything that is full of my passion, my zeal and all of the care and LOVE that I can bring to my band of lovers and warriors lets me feel relevant. This action of delivering my best reverberates in my psyche and allows me to rebuild myself. This self is stronger, more compassionate and more generous than each time before.

What I can say about all of this.

Don’t fall into the trap of the bullies! Don’t let yourself be a victim! Offer all you have! Give until you can give no more! Keep searching for those around you who care and who will hear you and see you for all you are.

AND know this! NO human being is ever IRRELEVANT. Every human being matters.  Let your voice be heard.

If you have no place to tell you story… If you have no place to be heard… If you feel unwelcome, rejected, lost or alone… Call me! Write to me! Connect with me and together we can change the world.

Together we can stand in the face of the bully!

One final whisper to the perpetrator of this statement to me… SUE me! Take your legal action… bring it on. Your actions and your words will not kill me or silence me. Your words will only make my actions and my presence in the world stronger and will fan the flames of my passion for community, healing and love of all human-kind.

If this blog stirs something in you? Let me know, I want to hear from you. phillip@phillipcoupal.ca

PEACE and LOVE and ACTION

Silence = Death

How long will this continue... A story about relevance phillip@phillipcoupal.ca

How long will this continue…
A story about relevance
phillip@phillipcoupal.ca
phillip@phillipcoupal.ca

How long will this continue... A story about relevance phillip@phillipcoupal.ca

How long will this continue…
A story about relevance
phillip@phillipcoupal.ca

Celebrating FREEDOM.

An introspection one year after setting myself free. Freeing myself from a business model and a business liaison that was, from my experience, unsupportive to me and the community that I represented, confrontational and blind to working and creating business from a heart centered model.

Today, as I was breathing and enjoying the freshness of my early morning walk, I pondered what this FREEDOM has meant for me. One year later and I am no longer shackled by the constraint of a larger body, domineering, bullying and demanding. In my business I have been able to open to a heart centered, more compassionate and gracious model of carrying on my LIFE work. In this freedom I have had to look to see where I go to exercise discipline and  to remain on course towards my goals.

These goals very simple and include:

  • Living from a SHAMELESS base
  • Enjoying Celebrating my FREEDOM
  • Flowing from my CREATIVITY
  • Being KIND, COMPASSIONATE and TRUTHFUL
  • Walking GENTLY on the EARTH
  • Giving from a POWERFUL place
  • BUILDING and FOSTERING COMMUNITY
  • Offering from my heart, with GRACIOUSNESS and KINDNESS.

This personal and business FREEDOM has not had it’s fair share of challenges. The greatest of these is the sense of isolation I feel when I look around. I sometimes find it very difficult to see others who are living their passion and their heart from a business model that I am able to identify with. I have been working on opening my vision farther and farther, seeking out others who can operate their business and live their lives, opening their heart and offering to the world with, FEARLESSNESS, LOVE and COMPASSION.

As part of my work this summer. I will be building, nurturing and creating a project that I will call the “Awakening Tree“. This will be  tree in which one can place their personal wishes for what they would like to “AWAKEN” in their life. This project is inspired by the YOKO ONO HOPE TREE and the Guggenheim in Venice. For more information about the “AWAKEN TREE PROJECT” contact me at phillip@phillipcoupal.ca . Watch for more blogs about this project.

 

Celebrating my First Birthday and my Emancipation at www.phillipcoupal.ca

Celebrating my First Birthday and my Emancipation at http://www.phillipcoupal.ca

“Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.” ~ Elizabeth Taylor

Today I was looking for some information about the emotional roller coaster that I seem to be on.

Looking around for some reading and realizing that there are several contributing factors to the great waves of emotion that I have been feeling in recent days. These feelings seem to be especially centered around home and the nurturing and creative feelings that I have in my home. Realizing that there is an imbalance in my home life versus work life that creates an out of balance signal. The brilliant realization in this desperate reading effort has been that, smiling helps.

Spending more than an hour reading and searching on the internet. I finally found something that was not so dry… Read through it, everything is there and the zinger is in the last sentence!

It is more helpful if we learn and apply these emotional intelligence skills:

  • Skill 1: The ability to quickly reduce stress.
  • Skill 2: The ability to recognize and manage your emotions.
  • Skill 3: The ability to connect with others using nonverbal communication.
  • Skill 4: The ability to use humour and play to deal with challenges.
  • Skill 5: The ability to resolve conflicts positively and with confidence.

 

I’m a firm believer in the powers of Yoga, having a good work/home/life balance and using humour to deal with some of life’s more difficult moments. I must admit I also like the advice that Elizabeth Taylor once gave:  “Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.”

All of these elements are great and I got the most out of the last sentence and quote… “Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.” This made me smile again and even the simple act of clipping it and re-pasting it into this entry made me smile again and brought yet another shift…

So today, and just for today, perhaps tomorrow… and likely only internally, I will follow the sage advice of the lovely Diva, Elizabeth Taylor. When I make the effort and when I smile, I will know that the time and effort that it takes to smile can spaciously allow me time to manage, getting all those cognitive functions back in order and begin to get myself in place.

Everything can be going to hell in a hand-basket and I can fall into the safety of knowing that I have complete and utter control over my ability to smile, take a breath and get to knowing that everything will take care of itself.

Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together

Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together

This from a very personal outlook today as the warmth and light of spring awaken me with their warmth …

Why am i so very distrustful when those I barely know, speak to me and say things to me about “brotherhood”, “camaraderie”, “shared community”… Both my heart and mind say “Sorry, I have barely met you?… I find myself withdrawing and moving to a place of separation… I can easily find myself… (Yes like Alice) in a place where everything is very unfamiliar.

My imagery and thoughts go to how quickly everything moves in the world that we live in and how very little is left to the nurture and trust that can be built when we take getting to know each other a little slow.

LOVE and LIGHT to all out there..

Slow LOVE -♥- Awaken Studio -♥- www.phillipcoupal.ca

Slow LOVE -♥- Awaken Studio -♥- http://www.phillipcoupal.ca

Holi – a festival of abandon.

References to this event are often made as playing Holi. This festival of colour and a celebration of the riot that happens as Spring takes over the world holds a place dear in my heart.

I love the idea of playing with abandon and letting oneself get into the muck of what is. Playing in all this colour and the riotous quality of what one has no control over can be exhilarating and freeing.  The story of Krishna playing with the milk maids as a lowly goat heard is inspiring… The thought that good can transcend evil and that everything will be okay as long as we remain faithful is a source of strength. God to me is the divine nature and internal source that we all have in our own individual self.

Here is a description of the background of the festival:

Originally known as the ‘Holika Festival’, this ancient Indian festival has been part of the nation’s tradition for over centuries already. It is celebrated on the last full moon day of Phalguna, a month in the Lunar Calendar which falls between February and March. It marks the beginning of the spring season where colors spring to life to beautify the surroundings even more. Furthermore, it is the day when the Hindus pay homage to their legends.

According to Hindu beliefs, Holika is a devil who has the gift of immortality. He was defeated by Vishnu, the main Vedic god of preservation and the universe. It is this story of good triumphing over evil which is the main cause for the Holi Festival. It constantly reminds the people that everything will be okay as long as they remain faithful to their gods.

However, it is not only the religious anecdote in which the whole celebration is based. The act of wetting people with scented water and subsequently dumping them with bright powder colors came from the Hindu belief that the god Krishna is fond of playing pranks on little girls. He loves dumping them with water and bright colors.

Healing through play… smiling helps and the JOY of life to be found in the act of Celebration.

http://www.phillipcoupal.ca

Create Your Own Kama Sutra

Create Your Own Kama Sutra an in-depth exploration and experiment July 14 thru 21 2013 Toronto

One week of BLISS… Share in this event it will be a heart expanding, body opening and mind expanding week…

Right here in Toronto at the Awaken Studio

Your Own Kama Sutra

Your Own Kama Sutra July 14 to 21 Toronto at the Awaken Studio

 

Watch www.phillipcoupal.ca for information and updates all weekend as the 2013 calendar goes live.