Boy at the Window
Posted: March 6, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Buddhism, compassion, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, life, love, lululemon, marathon, Media, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Poetry, Prose, Richard Wilbur, running, trail running, walking, winter, yoga, youth Leave a comment…
Seeing the snowman standing all alone
In dusk and cold is more than he can bear.
The small boy weeps to hear the wind prepare
A night of gnashings and enormous moan.
His tearful sight can hardly reach to where
The pale-faced figure with bitumen eyes
Returns him such a god-forsaken stare
As outcast Adam gave to Paradise.
The man of snow is, nonetheless, content,
Having no wish to go inside and die.
Still, he is moved to see the youngster cry.
Though frozen water is his element,
He melts enough to drop from one soft eye
A trickle of the purest rain, a tear
For the child at the bright pane surrounded by
Such warmth, such light, such love, and so much fear.
Vengeance by Proxy
Posted: March 5, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Body Image, cycling, Dude, Equanimity, Greif, health, Identity, Internet of Things, meditation, Mindfulness, nature, Omaha, philosophy, play, Positive, running, words, writing, yoga, Zen 16 CommentsA modern definition of equanimity: cool. This refers to one whose mind remains stable & calm in all situations-
Raise your hand if you have ever talked to yourself, or better yet, talked to yourself in the third person during a difficult or trying time in your life. Don’t be shy now – I have two hands waving in the air if that matters?!?
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Breathing, positive self talk, calmness, evenness of mind – Chill. The gentle sway of a budding birch tree, daffodils and crocuses awaking underfoot, sharing a smile with a complete stranger as you spin or run on by … All the while talking to yourself, coaching yourself, through a difficult set of experiences.
When talking to myself in the third person I normally recite something like this: “Dude, keep cool, this equanimity stuff? Is pretty damn important! Chill … Breathe … Relax the back of your throat … Eyes forward, Heart Open! Take another deep breath … Breathe … Equanimity is key … Zip it up – You got this!.”
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Daily Meditation:
Here I am, some random dude on the inter-webz, openly telling you that I talk to myself – all of the damn time! And who cares if you do the very same! When we are unable to walk – spin – run calmly away from a “situation“? Remember: This equanimity stuff? Is pretty damn important!
One Too Many Mornings
Posted: March 4, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Ahimsa, blogging, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, Equanimity, exercise, fitness, freshly pressed, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, nebraska, Omaha, passion, running, yoga, Zen 6 CommentsPerform all thy actions with mind concentrated on the Divine, renouncing attachment and looking upon success and failure with an equal eye. Spirituality implies equanimity-
Three laps into a grueling mid summer Twilight Criterium. Sweat, pouring from your brow, the last of your patience – exhausted – three laps ago. All the training, the race prep, the money and time spent for this brilliant moment … And who the hell does this Mustached Cinelli Straddling Punk think he is?!? This Phil Wood spinning bastard better get his ass to the back of the line!!!
Your sympathetic nervous system rages, the surge of adrenaline as you grit your teeth, our fight or flight response shifts instantly into high gear. Equanimity, our parasympathetic nervous system, is waiting back at the car, or is it? There is a way to gently pull the brakes on your fight or flight response.
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My “trick” to finding equanimity during such stressful and annoying moments, is to simply keep the concept of equanimity at the front of my mind (not in the boot of the car). We all know the feeling of anger taking over our bodies, causing our minds to wander and to spin out of control. Our breathing becomes more shallow, our hearts begins to race, we feel the pressure building behind our eyes, goosebumps, a nervous twitch, the veins in our temples – pulse rapidly.
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Whenever and wherever I feel my fight or flight alarm begging to sound? I stop to take a deep breath and place a mental bookmark, a bookmark that reminds me that now is the time I need to bring equanimity back to the forefront of my true-self.
Daily Meditation:
Here’s the no BS deal folks: Training and running a marathon is easy, an ultra distance gravel bike ride is a mere jot around the park in comparison to consciously keeping equanimity at the forefront of our minds. Practicing and learning how to bring evenness to your mind and spirit – Equanimity – Takes a lot of work! Although, at the end of the day … Its pretty damn cool to sit back, chill, watching the world unfold before our eyes. Without lamenting about some cyclist, during some silly ride.
Fisticuffs at Dawn – The Lost Scrolls
Posted: February 28, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Criss Jami, exercise, free range, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, Omaha, passion, pilates, Power Yoga, writing, yoga 5 CommentsPopular culture is a place where pity is called compassion, flattery is called love, propaganda is called knowledge, tension is called peace, gossip is called news, and auto-tune is called singing-
*Continued from Wednesday*
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When I first started to become aware and conscious of what was (is) happening in the present moment, both inside and outside my body: I tapped into a powerful life changing skill. Even more powerful than running a marathon or some whimsical power yoga class and even more powerful than lifting a ton of weights and boasting about my efforts. Mindfulness allowed me to witness my own thoughts and feelings, to observe them as they pass by, like clouds effortlessly floating through the warm, blue sky above. Mindfulness has graciously offered me a front row seat, to a show, that is my own mind, and what a messed up show it can be at times!
When I first started writing years ago, I recklessly held onto judgment, ego and reaction. Little did I care to know about the true purpose of mindfulness … To be able to see what is happening inside, without ownership, judgment, ego or reaction. Instead of simply witnessing the thoughts of my mind, its endless cravings for attention, bitching, and bloated opinions? I reacted to everything, everything that my mind suggested (look up the old posts). I flat-out refused to take a seat, where to place my attention, and consequently, how to live my life.
Mindfulness allowed me to discover the awareness to which my mind’s play appeared before me, in a comfy, velvety seat.
Daily Meditation:
Mindfulness is a tremendously powerful practice and well deserving of the attention it is receiving of late. We should be tread lightly though, mindfulness is more than a social media trend, more that just posting your workout results on Facebook, for the world to marvel at. True mindfulness, the mindfulness I have surrendered to, is a challenge that requires the up most dedication, awareness and humility – But damn, mindfulness is well worth the effort.
Who brought the popcorn? The show is about to begin …
Fisticuffs at Dawn
Posted: February 26, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bless, blogging, Buddha, Buddhism, compassion, crossfit, cycling, exercise, Fisticuffs, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, natural, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Power Yoga, running, whole foods, yoga, Zen 20 CommentsOnly idiots fail to contradict themselves three times a day-
All the talk on the blog-o-sphere and down at the local bodega, is that everyone is “practicing” mindfulness and becoming spiritual folks. Sounds pretty cool to me!
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While any sparkly toe dipped in the practice of “spiritual” awareness is beneficial, there is a trend in mindfulness, which will interfere with and obstruct the full power of a gentle mindfulness practice.
Without awareness of this “trend“, we spend years lost, wandering in yet another prison of our ego, another trap of the mind, and as a result; We miss out on the real gifts mindfulness practice so gently brings us. Mindfulness is trendy, it’s hip and its cool. This is fantastic news! Although, we must be careful that like other trends, mindfulness does not get swallowed up in the next stream of CrossFit, Flavor of the month Yoga, Fixie Bikes and enjoying a Gluten Free lifestyle.
This is why I am worried, and writing these pedantic, bloviated posts of late: These new -mindful folks- are becoming yet another form of their already, inflated ego(s). Prideful and Mindful do not play in the sandbox of life together – Kindly.
With mindfulness on the trendy “social media” radar?!? We cannot afford to miss the chance to change what this powerful practice can reveal to us: Who and How we are, and simply … Being.
Daily Meditation:
Embracing mindfulness is a solid step along our paths in life. However, don’t rest quite yet, and don’t congratulate yourself yet either. For there is still much work to be done …
*Part two of this nauseating post will be posted this Friday*
CultFit 