Midnight :Sun:
Posted: September 23, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Buddha, Buddhism, calm, compassion, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, running, trail running, yoga, Zen 11 CommentsDo not ruin today with mourning tomorrow-
Struggling to eliminate our flaws, tossing abrasive feelings to the side … Fighting ourselves into a place we deem more pleasant and less disruptive. Our instinctual fight or flight response operates in perpetual “autopilot” mode, navigating us toward safety. Although, what happens when we switch our autopilot system off?
…
I quite literally stumbled, and flicked my autopilot switch from “on” to “mindfulness” about five years ago. Mindfulness offered me a very specific and helpful way to accept, and value myself, by gently inviting me to pause … To look within my thoughts, and notice what I am experiencing moment to moment – The polar opposite of killing the gym and running myself into the ground. Rather than conclude something was “wrong” with me for experiencing troubling thoughts and feelings, I simply acknowledged and attended to whatever I happened to notice at the time. Acceptance of who I am is enormously freeing, as long as I pause long enough to recognize that the path forward is awakening to myself, and not who I want or wish I could be.
Daily Meditation:
As the many experiences in life arise and float away, we dip our toes into a pool of stillness that has long sat stagnant.
We Shall Be Released
Posted: September 18, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, happiness, Joesph Stroud, kindness, life, love, meditation, Mindfulness, nature, nebraska, Omaha, Poetry, Spirituality, Zen 4 Comments…
Every afternoon that autumn
walking across campus
past the conservatory
I heard the soprano
practicing
her voice rising
making its way up the scale
straining to claim each note
weeks of work
of days
growing shorter
darker
storms slamming the campus
the semester staggering
to an end
everyone exhausted
drained
heading out and going home
the campus nearly deserted
but the soprano
still working the scales
when I passed under the trees
the liquidambars on fire
the clouds like great cities
sailing out to sea
and didn’t I ascend
with her
my own weariness
and sorrows
dropping away
didn’t we rise together
her voice straining
wavering
at the top of its range
almost reaching
almost claiming
that high
free-of-the-body
final note
West of the : Moon :
Posted: September 17, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, Cyclocross, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, natural, nature, nebraska, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, social media, Star City CX, technology, trail running, yoga 9 CommentsWith enough courage, you can do without a reputation-
Does it seem as though we are constantly defining who we are by our actions? Why is it difficult telling, or explaining who we really are?
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Being distracted, busy and stressed is a choice I often make without a second thought. No one is forcing me to take on all of these responsibilities and activities in my life. Sometimes it seems that being stressed out and busy is a symbol of status in our society. Raise your hand if you have uttered the following phrase(s): “I’m a _____” or “Look at all of these “things” I do.”
I’m a yoga instructor, pilates teacher, and coach. I’m an avid cyclist, a quasi racer and competitive. I’m an engineer of some sort … I …
Whatever happened to just being? I believe our identities have been so wrapped up in what we do that we have forgotten what it is like to just be.
Daily Meditation:
I need to pause now and – be, me.
East of the : Sun :
Posted: September 16, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Big Ring Ranch Enduro, compassion, cycling, Cyclocross, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, nebraska, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, running, simplicity, Star City CX, trail running, writing, yoga, Zen Leave a commentNever to suffer would never to have been blessed-
There’s something deeply ingrained between our ears, that believes if “something” is hard to do, takes us out of our comfort zone or doesn’t come naturally, it’s better to avoid “it” at all costs.
It took me quite a few years to have the proverbial light bulb go on, although I am confident in saying now that virtually everything which creates positive results and change in our lives, will be hard to do. Better yet – Some things will always be hard to get ourselves to do … Coconut water and staying up late on a weeknight instantly come to mind?!?
Thinking out loud this morning after completing the grueling Big Ring Ranch Enduro this past Sunday – It’s a strange phenomenon that our lives seem to ebb and flow with a natural current toward what we don’t want, toward what will make our lives miserable. Much like its easier to sit on the couch, being programmed by mindless TV shows, than it is to spend quality time with a loved one, a close friend, or heaven forbid – To enjoy the richness that only comes when we read a book. We simply stop stimulating our mind and spirit, enriching our lives – Going with the flow.
…
I’m an expert when it comes to hanging out and doing nothing after a long day at work. Packing it in rather than getting up to do something that could be considered productive, such as helping my Son with his homework or going for a bike ride with him. It’s easier to pick up some fast food, turn on the TV and worry about homework in the morning. This is something I need to work on.
My only way to combat this natural ebb and flow is to be determined to swim against the current. I deeply cherish nurturing relationships, whether the person is sitting next to me eating Cheerios, or in some far off land.
Daily Meditation:
I can’t sit back ant wait for my Son to do it, or anyone else for that matter. Yet, sadly … Many people won’t, as they unconsciously go with the flow of – Drifting apart.
*Join us “Dudes” tomorrow evening in Lincoln for the start of Star City CX series*
The Problem of Describing Trees
Posted: September 11, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: art, Aspen, Autumn, blogging, books, culture, Education, Fall, happiness, meditation, natural, nature, passion, Poetry, Robert Haas, simplicity, walking, writing, Zen 11 CommentsFor a Dear Friend
…
The aspen glitters in the wind
And that delights us.
The leaf flutters, turning,
Because that motion in the heat of August
Protects its cells from drying out. Likewise the leaf
Of the cottonwood.
The gene pool threw up a wobbly stem
And the tree danced. No.
The tree capitalized.
No. There are limits to saying,
In language, what the tree did.
It is good sometimes for poetry to disenchant us.
Dance with me, dancer. Oh, I will.
Mountains, sky,
The aspen doing something in the wind.
CultFit 