: Big Cocoon :
Posted: June 10, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Arts, Authenticity, blogging, Commuting, compassion, cycling, David Foster Wallace, family, freshly pressed, friends, Gadgets, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, NPR, Omaha, passion, pilates, running, trail running, whole foods, writing, yoga 15 CommentsThe parts of me that used to think I was different or smarter or whatever, almost made me die-
Nineteen powerful words by David Foster Wallace that truly defined who I used to be.
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Last night, while making pizza with my Son, I missed an entire meaningful conversation about the new Star Wars movie he was trying to have with me. I was completely tuned out, and not because I was engrossed in making pizza and snacking on tortilla chips, but because I was engrossed in a NPR news story being played through a small speaker attached to my gadget-thing.
Side Note: Men reading this morning, and ladies alike – because as cunning and sly as you may be … I enjoy taking an extra-long time in the bathroom with my iThingy, I use my small arsenal of “mindless” apps as a means to escape the stress and chaos that often seems to accompany me throughout the day.
These periods of mindless isolation normally do not last very long, usually until one leg falls asleep or NPR news starts getting all high-minded and political while preparing dinner. I genuinely welcome these temporary escapes from the daily grind, although, how much is too much? Honestly, I don’t have an answer to give you and I’d be surprised if anyone else does either.
Daily Meditation:
Perhaps, maybe, it would be ideal if we reintroduced “intention” and “purpose” to our gadget use, even during the times when we are not using them. How cool would it be if we motivated each other to unplug at a time we are normally plugged in? Raise your hand if you are on your gadget minutes after finishing yoga class, in the restroom or making dinner?!? – notice my hands waving in the breeze – Just imagine the new sounds, the new encounters that awaken when we expose our true selves, to the very real world we call home …
Jarring Honey
Posted: June 5, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, family, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Nick Norwood, Omaha, passion, perspective, Poetry, recovery, running, trail running, writing, yoga Leave a comment…
Decanting from bucket to pot,
jug to jar, air bubbles suspend
themselves in galaxies:
sucrose solar systems, each
glinting orb a perfect
pearl reflecting light.
The little giants are first
to rise, stately as moons,
toward the surface. They
catch and form a necklace
at the throat, or continue
upward, quickening in that
last few millimeters to bob
in silence on the top, collect
in planetary clusters,
molecular models. Super-
novas erupting in their own
sweet time. Later, a day
or more, even the tiniest
have risen. Some will remain
like distant nebulas, faint
milty pockets of deep space
abuzz with stars humming
with some new kind of being.
– Nick Norwood
A Dark Thing Inside the Day
Posted: May 29, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: compassion, exercise, family, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, kindness, life, Linda Gregg, love, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, passion, Poetry, simplicity, writing, yoga, Zen 3 Comments…
So many want to be lifted by song and dancing,
and this morning it is easy to understand.
I write in the sound of chirping birds hidden
in the almond trees, the almonds still green
and thriving in the foliage. Up the street,
a man is hammering to make a new house as doves
continue their cooing forever. Bees humming
and high above that a brilliant clear sky.
The roses are blooming and I smell the sweetness.
Everything desirable is here already in abundance.
And the sea. The dark thing is hardly visible
in the leaves, under the sheen. We sleep easily.
So I bring no sad stories to warn the heart.
All the flowers are adult this year. The good
world gives and the white doves praise all of it.
: Face : To the Highway
Posted: May 20, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, Innocence, kindness, life, love, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, Roles, running, thoughts, writing, yoga, Zen 8 CommentsHe who has a why to live for can bear almost any how-
Who am I, really?
Would you live any differently than you do today? Would you be any happier, more fulfilled, or satisfied with your life if you could shed the role(s) we so often present ourselves as?
…
Why do we spend so much time and energy, defining ourselves to others? “Hi, I’m Jeremy – I have X amount of degrees, I’m a Father, I work for X and do X things. I drive a Toyota (not a Prius)” … You can probably sense where I am going here?!?
I remember a time when we didn’t define ourselves by “roles“, a time in which we didn’t define anything really, and what a beautiful period of time it was: “I wonder what that Blue Jay is carrying? How long is it before Summer graces us with her warmth? Why does my bike wobble when I pedal faster? What does black raspberry ice-cream taste like?“
A time when small questions revealed our true self. Interesting, to rediscover our true selves we need to be curious and amazed by the small things in life, believing that anything – is truly possible, however out of this world they may be.
Daily Meditation:
I implore you today to substitute your adult “roles“, with “small questions” … Innocence. and what it feels like to be in love – Again.
Life in – Mono –
Posted: May 19, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, harmony, health, hipster, Intention, karma, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, perspective, pilates, recovery, running, trail running, whole foods, yoga 4 CommentsEven chance meetings are the result of karma… Things in life are fated by our previous lives. That even in the smallest events there’s no such thing as coincidence–
Its a beautiful morning and the perfect time to discuss karma.
…
I often hear from different folks (I personally contemplate these thoughts as well) who want to know why they are struggling, when others are not (running specific this morning). The vast majority of them think their training/performance is some sort of “karmic retribution” for a fleeting, bad action in the past – Heaven forbid we eat three pieces of wedding cake the day before a race! Fast forward to limping across the finish line, emotional and sick because “bad karma” doomed them to suffer from the very start.
…
This next bit is a memo to myself: The simple truth about Karma? Karma is about the nature of our intentions, our intentions in this very moment.
When we respond to our intention and action(s), with kindness, compassion, and generosity? We are planting the seeds of change, slowly blossoming into someone who is kind, compassionate, and generous. We are defining our character, which in turn has a pretty cool effect on the world around us.
Daily Meditation:
The teachings of Buddha in regards to karma can be life changing. Each one of us posses the ability to change ourselves no matter how ingrained our habits may be, even blaming a poor performance on wedding cake. As some wise dude once said: “Intending, one does karma.”
CultFit 