planning

T-Minus 287 Days OR 6888 Hours OR 413291 Minutes OR 24797452 Seconds (Weddings)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

At the time of writing this post it is less then ten months until I get married to my fiancee Mysticque Moore. I’m living in that space between potential and reality, what will be and what already is, and for the first time in my life, I’m not really wondering about how things are going to play out.

I know it will be a good day. We’re going to have a practical wedding.

A beautiful and blushing wedding. A beloved wedding. A unique and individual wedding. A story book wedding. A traditional wedding. A masculine wedding. A feminine wedding. An authentic wedding. A glamorous wedding. A momentous wedding. A lovely wedding. A rock ‘n roll wedding. An intimate wedding.

But most importantly, it will be our wedding. And whether all of that hyperbole comes true or not, I wouldn’t want to have anyone else by my side.

You see, dear readers, movies and television make wedding planning seem entirely more hectic and also less hectic then it actually is. Whatever the hell that means. And no, wedding planning, like anything else in life, is not a series of moments strung together in a magical way and which leave you feeling glossy all over. Wedding planning is work and it takes time, but it’s also wonderfully straightforward. Every time you complete one task, there is yet another one to work on. At first this bothered me, but I had an epiphany the other day.

Because I’m working house renos, revitalizing my team at work, and investing more time into timotheories, I’m just busier then I have been in the past. Being tired isn’t an excuse to be in a bad mood though, so whatever I can do to stay positive is essential.

Earlier that day, I was feeling fairly tired. Especially after work; but I was also excited to see Miguel and Mysticque. So I headed right over to her house, and then I quickly found out that she had a hard day too, and was tired as well. On top of that, Miguel wasn’t feeling very good about some classmates and he was restless. We had dinner and sat down for some family time, but because they were both on edge, and I was tired, it didn’t take much for frustrations to come out.

I’ll admit that I was part of the problem, but the bigger lesson I learnt was that much like wedding planning, life is nowhere near as hectic nor as simple as entertainers make it out to be. I should always strive to do what I can, but more importantly I can control my attitude, I cannot control others. Wedding planning is just a lot more decisions being made at a higher pace then normal life, once it’s over, if you look back on it, it’s better to have fond memories then bad ones.

timotheories Summarized

And so I leave you with this theory creative cuties. Treat your daily life exactly like planning a wedding, make decisions, plan the best you can, expect things won’t go according to plan, and most importantly enjoy yourself during the process.

Because once that time has past, you’ll be left with two realities. Either you look back fondly on the planning or with regret about how you behaved during the process. That, and your partner wants you to enjoy yourself too.

Tim!

Dum De Dum Dum Dee Da (David Deida)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

I’m blue da ba dee da ba die, da ba dee da ba die, da ba dee da ba die.

When I was a boy, I thought that was a cool song. But when I was a boy, I thought a lot of things were cool, and boy was I wrong. Luckily for all of us, I grew up, and along the way I learned a few things about desire, love, spirituality, and work.

And thankfully, I am no longer blue. Because who wants to be blue when you can be green? (read: my True Colors test results).

Pursuing knowledge, gaining insights, becoming closer to the truth of the matter. These are the things that those of us with “masculine” energy should chasing after at all times.

Worldwide Trainings

I first decided to pursue personal enlightenment back in 2007, just after I had graduated from University, but before I had really settled into any discernable sort of full-time work. I’ve read books on science, philosophy, business, psychology, sociology, history, biography, and the ever popular self-improvement. Now I’ll admit, the first few years of reading were purely based on whimsy, recommendations from friends, and whatever I came across.

But one summer in 2010, a friend of mine lent me a copy of this book by David Deida, and I realized that I knew little to nothing about anything beyond what I could see.

You see, David Deida is an American author and life coach who specializes in books about relationships between men and women as they relate to each other through spirituality and sexuality. At this point, Deida is an interntational bestselling author with many of his books being published in various languages.

He is also known for hosting workshops on spiritual growth and intimacy, and is one of the many founding associates at the Integral Institute. Some of his more popular books on human spirituality include The Way of the Superior Man, Finding God Through Sex, and Blue Truth and the autobiographical novel Wild Nights.

And back in 2010, he taught me something about women, that I’ll never forget.

Superiority Complex

I decided to reread The Way of the Superior Man this month because I know what my purpose in life is, but oh so many of us refuse to acknowledge it.

Coming to terms with the notion that you may be doing everything wrong in your life is hard to accept, but Deida teaches that it is only when we are in moments of quiet reflection that our purpose presents itself. And it will do this over and over again if we need a refresher, all we have to do is sit in quiet reflection. In fact, it needs to be more important than any relationship you will ever have with a woman, and if you stick to your purpose, the woman you are with will be all the more attracted to you.

Deida has jam packed his book full of tidbits such as this, and while at times it seems overwhelming to read, it slowly starts to make more and more sense.

Masculine energy is about consistency, while feminine energy is constantly moving, it is life itself. He goes on to explain further that no matter what gender we are, we all have both kinds of energy, a sort of yin an yang of sexual identity. Where it gets complicated is in understanding that as a man, in a relationship with a woman (which can easily apply to gay men and women as well as sexual identities) it becomes your responsibility to provide the masculine energy so that the woman may focus on feminine energy, where balance is created in the differences.

Ideas of masculine energy leading the relationship, living according to a persona code, seeking freedom at all times, and seeking challenges constantly are some of the things that Deida expects of an evolved male.

That means learning to enjoy the drama in a relationship, working on your sexual identity and skill-set, while living outside of your personal comfort zone. What that means is allowing the woman in your life to communicate with you. Talk about the problem, but do not seek to solve it. Have fun, bring humour to the situation without making fun of her, and love her as she is.

 

theories Summarized

 

I could spend a lot more time outlining the details of this book, but that would betray it’s intent. It’s about spending time with the ideas contained therein, reflecting upon them, and then introducing them into your own life. I’ll leave you with this thought – You need to be both erect and at peace simultaneously, so that she may crush you with emotion, dance, and sexuality. And that’s no theory.

Tim!motiv

The Man With Many Hats (Byron Martin interview)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

 

There is this common saying that when you are a jack of all trades, you are a master of none.

Now I don’t know if it’s true, but well, that’s what people commonly say these days.

And if you want to be like the common people, you might just accept that misnomer and carry on with your life. That’s what Pulp would do, and it’s definitely what William Shatner would do.

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But if you were to do a little digging, like me, a rebel without a pause, you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that one of the earliest uses of jack of all trades did not include that second clause of the phrase, and that one of the earliest recorded uses of the term was applied towards William Shakespeare by Robert Greene. Greene is famous primarily for a book he wrote entitled Greene’s Groats-Worth of Wit and in which attacks Shakespeare with that phrase.

The more you know eh?

So anyways, there is this notion out there that having many talents and being something of a generalist is bad while being a specialist is good. But creative cuties, let me set the record straight once and for all, rules are made to be broken.

And as I am prone to do with timotheories interviews, I’m going to prove once again that there are many paths to artistic freedom, and that I’m friends with a visionary artist that is capable of more than just the triple threat. That’s right, this gentleman can sing, dance, act, improvise, perform magic, AND do all of the functional components of theatre too. He directs, produces and writes all while running the business of his five year running company Grindstone Theatre.

Welcome to January 2017 dear readers, because I give you Byron Trevor Martin, the artistic director and founder of Grindstone Theatre, and the soon to be owner-operator of the Grindstone Comedy Theatre building located on Whyte avenue and 104 street in Edmonton. Byron is a visionary, pure and simple. And I sat down with him to explain how he’s managed to achieve so much, all while avoiding specialization in the performance arts.

Byron inherently subscribes to the the accelerated learning “20 hour” rule. Whenever he needs to learn a new skill, he squeezes in the essentials and then spends the rest of his time on what he loves – His passion for theatre and community.

A many of many hats, Byron Martin is the perfect incarnation of what jack of all trades should mean, a means to a vision. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you episode fourteen of timotheories interviews.

And as always, if you want to check out more timotheories interviews or the Cross Talk series please visit our YouTube channel.  And please, please, please share this post and of course subscribe to both the blog and channel!

Of course, if you REALLY want to reach Byron you can do so here – Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Lastly my sincerest thanks to Byron for being beautiful, beneficent, bold, and badass. See you tomorrow with an album review by USS.

Tim!

Visionary Storytelling (Byron Martin preview interview)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

 

Every good project tells a story.

A story about goals, its members, deadlines, and what is required for completion. It also requires management to understand the story they need to tell, and to deliver it with gusto. Also, a REALLY good story follows a proper story arc, no matter if it’s an urban myth, a made-for-TV movie, a comic book or a stage play. Heck, even an improvised musical follows an outline to get to where it needs to be.

When you are in theatre (or any professional setting), you have the same kinds of responsibilities as any other business operator. You set a budget, plan out the year, and set meetings to ensure everyone is onboard as things happen.

No matter what you might think, communication and teamwork are at the centre of it. When you have a vision, and you bust your ass to see it happen, time movies along quite quickly. Every self-made business person will tell you this…

Learning to coordinate others and juggle the program is at the centre of it.

If you look at it in a very simple way, there are really seven major steps to consider as the process unfolds.

  1. Define project goals.
  2. Have daily, weekly, monthly deliverables.
  3. Set and then celebrate project milestones.
  4. Build an annual budget.
  5. Assign team members.
  6. Produce progress reports.
  7. Assess risks.

 

It seems like an easy set list, but not everyone is up for the task. Marrying a vision to an agenda is essential.

Byron Martin has a big vision for the Edmonton arts community, and while some of the projects his theatre company Grindstone Theatre puts on, like Henry V, might start out with conversations at a local pub, he’s learned to keep track of his ideas and commit to his vision with a myriad of tools.

He has intimately committed these steps to his vision and can do them without consciously thinking about it, and he has fun at the same time. Another good friend of mine, Byron Martin is a much needed presence in the Edmonton theatre scene.

I hope you enjoy this preview of our chat.

Yes, I am out of theories for the day friends, but I’ve got a vision for 2017 and this upcoming full length Byron Martin interview is a part of it. For now let’s focus on the good things which have been shared, and the exciting possibility of another week with Gord Downie.

That’s right, I just might have another album review coming which features the Tragically Hip frontman. But that could just be a theory.

Tim!

Time To Collect (Harvest Season)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

When I originally decided to write about the topic of “harvest,” which was a super generic move on my part, I thought by the time this Thursday rolled around I would have an answer to this question and the words would just flow like a well churned butter.

Alas, I am sitting at my computer at 10:33PM MST, listening to Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer, taking in the after-glow of my third experience with Captain America: Civil War, and it occurs to me that I could go one of two ways with this post. I could either A) write about harvest time as I understand it, and recount memories of harvest related art or I could B) come up with a metaphor of harvest and where my head is currently at.

So what do you think I should do, dear readers? What makes the most sense based on what you know about me and the overall purpose of timotheories.com?

Well, I’m definitely gonna deliberate and stall for time while you come up with a valid response.

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After all, quite literally, harvesting is a process of gathering the summer’s crop from the fields and if you don’t have an automated process like a large farm does, it’s the most labour-intensive period of the growing season. It usually includes reaping, handling, cleaning, sorting, and packaging. In many cultures and religions it signifies the end of the year, much like how spring signifies the beginning of the year – People hold festivals to celebrate this cycle of life.

But here’s the thing – it’s technically still September, thus harvest time isn’t quite there yet for us Canadians, and Americans have an even longer wait than I do, my friends. Which I guess that means I’ve already decided which direction to take this post.

It’s gonna be a primer for another theory I have about the importance of reaping the rewards of your creative efforts and then looking forward into the next challenge. And if I want to bring it back into the realm of timeliness I guess I’ve been putting off making my own art because of efforts to grow this website. Which means that I now that the structure is there I should start reaping the rewards and begin preparing for the next growing season.

With that said, I fully expect to move forward creative cuties, I wouldn’t be a very good expert if I couldn’t follow my own example, now would I? I’m out of theories for now, so look ahead, keep me accountable, and I’ll see you on Sunday with a new Cross Talk episode.

Tim!