: 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 …
Golden Light
Posted: June 9, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Authenticity, Being Present, books, College World Series, cultfit, Daily Meditation, Education, emotions, family, Free Will, Omaha, Open Letter, Reflection, Society, Story Telling, time 12 CommentsDon’t waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear-
Shrouded in our arrogance, we often believe time is never-ending. When in fact, the end of time, or at least this time, this moment as we are experiencing it … Is the one thing in our lives of which we can be absolutely certain of. If I may ask you this morning, why then, do we insist on spending these precious moments consumed with how many followers we have on WordPress, or perusing the trending topics on Reddit, rather than being fully engaged in this amazing moment in our lives?
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This morning I woke up earlier than I normally do. I found myself paying more attention to “something” else. Rather than being fully engaged in the fleeting moments lying before me … Moments that, for their own reasons, are even more precious than most … I had my face buried in the screen on my iThingy, lighting up a still dark room. A none too subtle reflection of my enamored face switching between the weather app and the fantasy baseball app, reminded me of unwavering attention to my virtual world, and my increasingly wavering attention to my true self. This moment prompted me to pause, set down my gadget, thinking about just how much distraction we volunteer for in our daily lives, and how much these distractions impact what we have come to consider meaningful in our lives (my fantasy team stinks this season).
Daily Meditation:
Figuring out and deciding what to fill each moment during the day with, is truly, the most challenge part living a life, in the moment.
Glass Palace
Posted: June 6, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Alone, Artsy Wheels, Being, Doing, love, Mindfulness, Omaha, passion, weather 10 CommentsI don’t want to be alone, I want to be left alone-
Why do we feel pressured into always feeling like we are “doing” something, rather than simply “being“?!?
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“Being” involves accepting this beautiful moment for what it truly is. Why? This moment, and the next one … Will be here no matter how much we try to control them. When we begin to chill – relax, and let go of the struggle to form our reality (and others) into our preconceived ideas of what it should be. We gently begin to let go of regrets about past events and fear of what may happen in the future. We learn to extend love, compassion, and kindness to ourselves, and everything around us. Rather than categorizing reality into Facebook Status Updates – “likes” and “follows.”
This moment, right now, sore back and cold coffee in hand – Is just a moment a time, we don’t have to be stuck here forever now do we?
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Daily Meditation:
Speaking of Being and Doing: Artsy Wheels <- amazing story!!!
”Being” lies at the very heart of my mindfulness practice. Oddly enough, “being” has required more practice and training in order to overcome my natural habits and biases … Be well this weekend, and please take care!
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
Its Your VooDoo Working
Posted: May 30, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Being Present, Good Life Gravel Fondo, Gravel Grinding, nebraska, Omaha, Reflection, yoga 13 CommentsThe course of true love never did run smooth–
Letting go of “something” is perhaps the most promising mechanism to discovering your true self, and for me personally, this meant giving up running, being attached to “gadgets” and endlessly abusing my body competing.
Giving up fighting for something that should be naturally easy, can be enormously relieving. I went from wanting to run marathons and ultra events to needing them … Comforting the tenderest of heartache after a sour performance, surgeries, ice packs, and a lingering limp is all the self-knowledge and reflection that I need. Despite my losses – I now know that I have to put my health first. This knowledge has been immediately reparative and began a cascade of positive changes and feelings of well-being that I feel deeply in this very moment: The first sip cup of coffee in the morning after riding to work.
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As I slowly went through the process, grieving the loss of who I thought I wanted to be, and others thought they wanted to be through me by proxy … I also experienced the soreness and pain this “something” brought into my life. Not wanting to experience this pain again, I began to reflect on who I was, and what I truly need for ultimate fulfillment: Family and Friends, a good book, thousands of miles of gravel roads, and a quiet spot to practice yoga – no mat needed!
Daily Meditation:
This kind of reflection, when done gently and over a period of time – Is pretty damn cool! Have a beautiful weekend and please take care!
CultFit 