Posted: March 6, 2015 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bike Repair, Bliss, Body Image, Buddhism, cycling, DIY, Identity, kids, kindness, meditation, Omaha, Omaha Bicycle Co., Omaha Bicycle Swap Meet and Expo!, perspective, Self-Help, Spring, Star Wars Rebels, yoga, Zen |
Only the hand that erases can write the true thing-
Do you want to “train” with a riding partner who is hesitant to think that things will work themselves out fine and dandy further down the road? Or do you want to practice next to a Pollyannaish yoga princess who never, ever – never ever thinks that anything could go wrong during yoga class – Until it does, chipped nail polish and all? Have you noticed of late this “spiritual presence” wafting in the air, pressure of having to be positive, jovial, and enthusiastic every stinking moment of the day?!? Even my Son asked me the other morning if I was feeling excited about rebuilding a Cannondale Headshok that exploded on me recently. “What was that little dude?” I said, “You must be kidding.” He paused, looked into my furrowed eyes and simply laughed. He knew he was trying to manipulate me into feeling “something” I was not at the moment, or he wanted to watch Star Wars Rebels?!?. Anyways, he could not help himself. He just had to give this leaky, broken down fork, a fork that was going to bother me for the rest of the mountain bike racing season, a positive spin.
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What’s lost in our “spiritual presence” conquest, constantly needing to be coaxed and persuaded into balance – Is perspective. What is truly lost, is the idea to question the way we experience ourselves and others before we even acknowledge these negative thought(s) or event(s). True spiritual practice kindly offers us perspective. Once we tap into who we truly are, we look at the particular, nuanced daily experiences with wisdom and a gentle heart. We don’t have to take “life” so seriously anymore. Just looking at our inner thoughts and feelings from the perspective of – Being – causes us to find peace and smile. A deeply rooted spiritual practice allows us to observe, allowing the wonders of life to unfold before our very eyes – naturally.
Daily Meditation:
Kids and broken bike parts are wonderful when it comes to offering a new perspective on this “thing” called life.
*Please join me this coming Sunday for the Omaha Bicycle Swap Meet and Expo! Mention that you heard about it here and I’ll be sure to get you a coffee from Omaha Bicycle Co.*
Posted: February 17, 2015 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, family, freshly pressed, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, lululemon, meditation, nature, passion, running, writing, yoga, Zen |
The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for the truth,” and so it goes away. Puzzling-
Meditation is like that. Full of seemingly impossible contradictions! Meditation is tedious and difficult to write about given our connected-analytic nature. Meditation is much easier to explain to someone who habitually thinks poetically. Like the inspired yoga instructor who creates a magical flowing class off the top of their head, or the mountain biker who flows with little effort on tight single-track. Meditation, my kind of Meditation that is … Centers on expanding our logical thinking into poetic and logical thinking. Still with me?!?
How then do we tap into being both a logical thinker, in addition, to being a poetic thinker? This is the essential transformation that a deeply rooted Meditation-Mindfulness practice teaches us.
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Allow me to change logical thinker and poetic thinker into – Mind and Heart.
A few years ago, I decided to attend a local workshop and “learn” to meditate. The plan was to attend this workshop, receive a mantra or whatever and instantly become healthier, increase my focus, and calm my crazy mind in like, 13 1/2 minutes of practice twice a day. That was the promise printed on the meditation workshop website. I was “that dude” at the time before tearing my knees apart. An over-achieving runner, and I prided myself on the hard, mindless work I put in daily. Maybe this mindfulness meditation stuff would help me compete at a higher level?!?
On the day of the workshop, as I signed in and unfolded my freezing yoga mat in the picturesque studio, something began to stir within my mind and heart. I had a warm sense of excitement and anticipation that quite surprised me. I literally had no idea what to expect from this class, however in some “weird” way, I resonated with the people who were presenting the workshop and my fellow class mates – Each one of them had a sense of calm that was palpable and real. I listened attentively to their words and the stories they shared, but it was something far beyond the resonating words that was connecting with me, stirring my soul. It’s as though I had passed through a doorway into a serene, peaceful place where my heart expanded and connected to world spinning around me.
This was the first time that I had an awareness of my mind, separate from the peaceful part of my heart.
Daily Meditation:
There are two ways of experiencing Mindfulness … Mind and Heart.
Posted: January 21, 2015 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: beauty, Buddhism, cycling, Identity, life, love, meditation, Mindfulness, Omaha, passion, Rituals, writing, yoga, Zen |
The best way out is always through-
Early this morning, like most mornings, I eventually wake up (key word = eventually) and so begins a series of gentle actions that are my morning ritual.
As each cold foot plants shakily on the floor, I take a deep breath and smile. I raise my hips from the side of the warm bed and stretch my fingers and wiggle my achy toes while walking to ready the shower. Somewhere between the warm bed and the freezing shower, I set an intention for the morning, smile again and then its time to get moving.
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Starting a daily ritual, even when rubbing eye boogers from your tired eyes can help to shift our focus and energy. Rituals, however small and silly they may seem, are a powerful way to acknowledge and release negative feelings, failure and disappointment. If you spend a fair amount of time “hanging on” to “things” like I seem to do or you can’t quite seem to let go after a stressful day? Peaceful rituals help … Stopping mid-ride to bask in the beauty that nature graces us with. Taking a deep breath as you roll out your yoga mat before practice … Peaceful rituals.
Daily Meditation:
Rituals help to bring awareness and keep us engaged during everyday life. I suppose that’s why I always click in with my left foot first before a ride?!?
Posted: December 30, 2014 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bliss, Buddhism, Equanimity, love, meditation, New Year's, Omaha, passion, peace, WordPress, yoga, Zen |
Nobody can hurt me without my permission-
The dictionary loosely defines equanimity as “mental calmness and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.” Equanimity refers to a mind that is at peace even in the face of stressful and unpleasant experiences.
Many, if not all of us have experienced this dissatisfaction. The absence of peace arises from our longing for our live(s) to be different, even when we have absolutely no control over the particular circumstance(s) in question.
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After sharing my numerous injuries and “circumstances” with you over the past four or so years, I have spent countless posts lamenting, nauseously, for my life to be the way it was before the surgeons incisions healed. The constant complaining found in the archives here, have made me miserable to be around. Gradually, with the help of some amazing and caring people (like you) – I came to witness that our lives have their share of both joy and suffering, and the only way I could find peace again was to stop trying to change circumstances over which I had no control of, and instead, choosing to start where I am at in this beautiful moment.
When I see that I am not just suffering, when I am not just frustration or sadness. When I notice during yoga class I’m not super flexible or the perfect manifestation of a particular pose … Equanimity helps me to calmly wait for “things” to change.
Daily Meditation:
With equanimity, I try to start each day with where I am, looking around to see what life has to offer.
Posted: December 9, 2014 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bliss, blogging, Body Image, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, freshly pressed, gratitude, happiness, health, holidays, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, Omaha, passion, pilates, Self-love, Solitude, winter, yoga, Zen |
Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine.-
When I became chronically “injured” over five years ago, I was forced to trade the exciting life of an aspiring athlete for the isolation of my own mind … The loneliness was dense, palpable at times, it was hard to distinguish between the injury I was struggling through at the time and the loneliness that gripped me all of the time.
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Back in the wonder years, I found being alone anything but glorious, and far from being soothing. It wasn’t even remotely sweet and delicious. Although, a close friends advice that yoga was what I needed – planted a delicate seed in my mind, and so I began to explore the meaning of “being alone.” I realized early on that being alone on my mat, in and of itself, is neither positive nor negative. This profound feedback described a good portion of my life trying to be someone who I was not – The painful loneliness of striving to be better than the person next me on the starting line or the glorious solitude of going home broken and empty-handed.
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The spiritual manifestation of yoga (not to be confused with the physical) and a deeply rooted mindfulness “practice” showed me that if I could let go of the desire to win at all costs, I might be able to open my heart and soul to the possibility that life could be sweet, maybe even delicious?!? I gradually warmed to the quiet calm of my mind, mindfully following my breath entering and leaving my body. My powers of observation, began to bloom – noting the subtle details swirling around me, details that in the past – Escaped me, like the play of sunlight reflecting from the metallic rims on the road as I cycle along or leaves dancing carelessly in the air on a windy fall morning.
Daily Meditation:
Once I opened my heart and soul to being alone, my loneliness did become sweet and delicious. And some days, when all is calm, it’s even beautiful. Cultivating self-compassion more so than anything else, softens my loneliness and pain, which in turn makes me smile.
Rachelle, Jeff, Cheryl – Sandra, Jim, Katelon, Alyssa, Susie – Michelle, Sara and Maia. To all of you who have “followed” my ramblings from the beginning – My sincerest gratitude for your kindness and support. There truly is no way I can accurately put into words how much you have helped me – Thank you.
CultFit 