I’m Above

Happiness is only real when shared

Today’s blog post is all about you and your Top Secret. Your personal Top Secret may never have been told to another person before. It may be too personal or deeply haunting, digging up old thoughts and feelings. Feel free to share your Top Secret in the comments below.

Notes:

You may be surprised that your closely guarded secret is shared with many other people around the world!

I’ll start: Yoga and meditation are brilliant and if more dudes would surrender to their, inner bad ass self? Well, this would not be much of a secret then would it?

CultFit Hot Air


I paid the taxi driver

got out with my suitcase, surveyed my surroundings, and just as I was turning to ask the driver something or get back into the taxi and return forthwith to Chillán and then to Santiago, it sped off without warning, as if the somewhat ominous solitude of the place had unleashed atavistic fears in the driver’s mind. For a moment I too was afraid. I must have been a sorry sight standing there helplessly with my suitcase from the seminary, holding a copy of Farewell’s Anthology in one hand. Some birds flew out from behind a clump of trees. They seemed to be screaming the name of that forsaken village, Querquén, but they also seemed to be enquiring who: quién, quién, quién. I said a hasty prayer and headed for a wooden bench, there to recover a composure more in keeping with what I was, or what at the time I considered myself to be. Our Lady, do not abandon your servant, I murmured, while the black birds, about twenty-five centimetres in length, cried quién, quién, quién. Our Lady of Lourdes, do not abandon your poor priest, I murmured, while other birds, about ten centimetres long, brown in colour, or brownish, rather, with white breasts, called out, but not as loudly, quién, quién, quién, Our Lady of Suffering, Our Lady of Insight, Our Lady of Poetry, do not leave your devoted subject at the mercy of the elements, I murmured, while several tiny birds, magenta, black, fuchsia, yellow and blue in colour, wailed quién, quién, quién, at which point a cold wind sprang up suddenly, chilling me to the bone.
Roberto Bolaño – By Night in Chile

Notes:

Be well today.

CultFit Trail


Loving You Live

And then there are the times when the wolves are silent and the moon is howling-

We can learn so much by looking up at the sky, with wide eyes, in wonder. We can feel deeply when sitting beneath a tree, in stillness after practicing yoga with some close friends. We can experience every sense nature presents to us while lying down in dewy grass after finishing a race. Nature is here to remind us and allow us to become curious about the great mystery of balance, harmony and life.

One of the Gifts that can arise from a recent bout of injuries, the inevitable surgeries, and rehab is a gift that can also be reaped from reading cheeky a poem by Shel Silverstein: Slowing Our Pace In Life.  In the time it takes you to recover from injury so many clouds will gently float past you, you’ll start to take notice of the flowers growing diligently in a nearby field. The words filling the page will take on completely new meaning, depth. This simple act of just “being will ignite a new understanding of yourself, forgiving you for all the abuse you have subjected yourself to.

Notes:

Because of our mind numbing daily pace, we all forget, that sometimes, we are an integral part of nature. Be well today and take care.

CultFit Roots


Don’t You Evah

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be-

Delicacy and intentioned outcome. Could we be talking about: Walking, Yoga, Breathing, Love, Playing with Lego’s? Possibly, let’s narrow our attention on meditation this morning. If meditation is so not cool enough for you? Feel free to empower yourself to change it to whatever you like.

Why meditation talk again? Well, you can do all of the above and more while meditating. Our thoughts shape our reality in ways we all too often take for granted (post from yesterday), the effectiveness of our meditation practice hinges upon our state of mind. Not getting the results you seek through meditation … Take a look at your attitude, paying attention to our attitudes towards meditation and how we meditate, is critical. Some attitudes are especially powerful in hindering the positive and beneficial effects of meditation: Vanity, Ego, Competition. Yet it seems that far too often we fall into these thought-patterns, resulting in us having a unfocused meditation experience with undesired results.

Be at ease, present in the moment

Meditating is not a marathon, warrior dash or whatever competition suites you the best. Meditation is one of those “things” in life where the quicker you try to get it done, the worse the outcome is (any other areas in life where this is true?). Slow down, relax and chill in a tranquil state of mind. No need to rush, study, read up on meditative techniques and time yourself in the act. Time, does not exist in a meditative state. The truly productive “things” in life take longer than a few moments to blossom.

Notes:

I’m hoping the messages here are starting to settle in a bit, making you uncomfortable and vulnerable. Be forewarned: Friday’s post is going to pithy, rich and basically? It’s going to expose what we are all doing wrong in regards to health, fitness, whatever (clues are buried in the prior two weeks posts- FYI).

CultFit Focus Man


Life is Better

But he who has not first turned away from his wickedness, who is not tranquil and subdued, or who’s mind is not at rest, he can never obtain the Self by knowledge-

You belong here, Right now.

We all want to change in major ways. We want to be as thin as a sibling, a co-worker. As beautiful as the latest celebrities and as creative as the producers who make their inspiring films. We want to blaze trails as Kathrine Switzer once did and be still as Buddha.

Ambition in life is beautiful although it does have a Dark Side … All of us harbor the feelings of wanting to be like “somebody“. No outside goal, however noble, can ever make us feel complete in life. I want you to know that today, you are Somebody.

A small “thing” can and will go a long way in your adventurers this weekend. It doesn’t take an ambitious, grandiose goal to create a ripple effect in the stream of Life. Take your socks off and feel free to simply dip your big toe in. Everything is interconnected in life, be brave enough today to take the first small step. This may be ten minutes of yoga this morning or even going for a walk this evening. Immerse yourself in the wonderful effect of simple actions. Ten minutes too long? Maybe we can start by being in stillness, connected to our breath for one minute each and every morning?

Notes:

Today, you are creating a ripple effect in your life, initiating change not only in yourself, but in the stream of life we all swim in. Be well this weekend.

CultFit Hope