Come and Find (Me)

The best gifts come from the heart, not the store-

Our core gifts are not the same as our unique talents or killer athletic skills; Core gifts, quite simply are the places within us where we feel and care the most deeply.

Core gifts reflect our true spirit, our generosity to others and a profound sensitivity to feeling(s), Just as your fingers caress your favorite double latte today, our core gifts are as unique as our fingerprints, as unique and amazing as each one of us. When we treasure and become aware of our true gifts, they become the most exciting and straightforward path to whatever we choose to do: Embracing your lover, running with all your heart, surrendering to the moment …

When we surrender and become true to ourselves, we sense in our soul that we have something precious to offer the world. It’s in these places where we feel the strongest. It can be terribly painful when our friends and family, the people we love dearly … Do not value these intimate parts of ourselves. They don’t want to hear about love, passion, kindness, simplicity, surrender – Helping you to heal, to run faster, to bike with all your heart. They want split times, sets, reps, numbers, miles and sweaty, vain self pics … We learn to bury and cover these beautiful gifts we have to offer, we keep them safe, hidden in our heart. With each layer we build, we hide, we take one step further back from sharing our unconditional love of being.

Each one of us can rekindle, find passionate love for whatever (I mean whatever … Sex – Running – Yoga – Get creative) by reclaiming our true gifts.

Notes:

As we start to unravel and open up our hearts, something amazing happens. We find that we start to attract people who love us for who we really are; Not who we are expected be. The more we embrace and live in the power of our true selves and vulnerability, the more attractive we become–without ever losing a pound, stepping on the worn out scale or buying a new yoga outfit.

I was inspired to share this post by a few of you reading this morning (you know who you are). Surrender to yourself and rekindle your love, your true gifts and offer them to the world – Be well this weekend and please take care!

CultFit Night


Hello My Old Heart

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure-

We all have dreams and aspirations. Most of our dreams are left to the dark confines of our mind(s), acting only as seemingly unattainable realities that are nice to think about one busy summer morning in July,a means to escape the daily reality we find ourselves in, right now.

Does it have to be this way?

Each one of us has the incredible ability, the unwavering will and desire that can be a driving force for attaining the most amazing dreams and aspirations we can possible dream up. Why settle for anything less than the life you imagined for yourself?

It doesn’t have to be this way…it doesn’t have to be this way at all.

When we realize the barrier to living our lives in a way (our way) that we feel would make us content and happy sits comfortably between our ears, our own mind? We toss aside the self-imposed limits, socialistic norms, expectations of others!

I want to live my dreamsmy life and chase away the doubts that burden me!

Notes:

Why settle for anything less this on this beautiful morning than that which brings you incredible joy, ecstasy, and happiness … Today, tomorrow and forever?

CultFit Dream


Wide Eyes

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences-

Wanting to get out there, on the road and sharing the adventure with other people is something that I believe each one of us has in common …

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This past Saturday night, with the sun softly setting over Omaha, NE . A group of passionate riders took to the moon lit gravel roads, sharing a sense of adventure …

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The GONG Ride is a self supported, nighttime, gravel road ride that occurs each July “somewhere” around Omaha, NE. Instead of writing some painfully long and bloviated post on why you should delve deeper into seeking out and exploring local events? I’ll let the pictures that follow do the work for me.

I would to take a moment once again to thank the organizers and sponsors that made this truly brilliant event possible, Thank you!

To show your support, learn a bit more about the ride and to see more pictures, feel free to head on over to the GONG Ride Facebook Page.


Being Me*

Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything-

Over the past couple years of writing this blog-o-thing, I have alluded a few times to having chosen vulnerability as a path of spiritual practice for myself. Most recently when I wrote about the freedom of committing to a path, I wasn’t expecting to be pushed back to the very beginning. This is precisely what happened to me last weekend.

Last Saturday I was exposed to a unique set of circumstances that took some effort on my part to digest. Years of gentle practice has enabled me to go beyond my old, persistent way of being too hard on myself, pushing too far and letting my ego roam free. For the most part, I felt enormous tenderness towards the situation I put myself in. Every time I think of the pain I have caused myself and others, I feel an inner cringe. I’m not much fun to be around when I am so preoccupied with my fleeting thoughts; I feel less free, less open, less capable of loving. Where can I go to get relief?

In this moment, writing at ease, calm about the pain I subjected myself to. I am not in the least bit surprised at the events that occurred. One of the areas of challenging ourselves and changing behavior(s) for me personally is that I can revert back, in a split second, when I am under a lot of stress, when I am trying to ask my body to do something it physically cannot do … To a very dangerous place. Looking back now, all it means is that in certain challenging moments, I thought I was more present than I actually was.

I strive to share kindness towards myself and towards others. Why is this so hard?

Notes:

Now, as I am wrapping up this post, the confusion I so often have when I write about my personal struggles surfaces again. Why would anyone be interested in the intricacies of some random old dude’s life? How could this blog be of any meaning to anyone exploring a spiritual path?

Today Dear Reader, I see that new path arises off in the distance: How can I help you (and myself) embrace the possibility that some people may respond with love and appreciation? Please take a moment to read my heartfelt question again: How can I embrace the possibility of love and appreciation? How can I allow myself to take it in, to enjoy it, to rest in it?

* Tired, broken and completely laid bare … I place the future of CultFit in your hands.

CultFit Blue


Of These, (Hope)

Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise-

Giving is extremely simple. The post today is dedicated to you, how’s this for a simple gift? Giving is also extremely easy to get wrong: Handing your beautiful wife a vacuum cleaner for her 10th anniversary or a New England Patriots – Tom Brady Snuggie for her birthday? Bad idea (we learn from our mistakes). When we give to others, its critically important to be kind and sensitive to whom we are giving to. During the process of giving a gift we need to consider what will genuinely make the other person happy, what will make them smile and bring joy into this special moment in our lives.

There is one gift, a gift we give whether the other person likes it or not: It’s the gift of our time and company. While giving my time and company I have found it useful and maybe you will as well … To be sensitive and delicate with how much time we allocate to listening, and how much time we spend jabbering away about some god awful yoga class or the folks at the store this morning. Giving is easy, but doing so with sensitivity, care and a dash of tact takes a lot of practice.

Notes:

The way in which we give reflects in the way in which we receive. Whether it be instructing an early morning class or sharing the company of a friend riding the dusty back roads of Nebraska … Learning to give with purpose and meaning is the same as learning how to receive. The very essence of both is one in the same, giving and receiving are reflected in the other, appreciating the “moment” for everything that it is, receiving warmly – with kindness, we learn that giving a vacuum cleaner is not a good idea.

CultFit Key