There are two great excuses in life:
"I don't have the money."
"I don't have the time."
Is there something important to you that you're putting off by using one or both of these excuses? The truth is that you probably do have the money and the time. It's not a question of whether you have it, but how you're prioritizing it. I'm not here to suggest how you should prioritize your money, time or anything else -- it's yours to prioritize. I point this out just because so many people never really think about their priorities. They just follow old habits, old beliefs and the expectations of others without considering themselves.
I see this all the time with people and their health. They know and want to do the things they need to do, but they invoke "the big two" to avoid making changes in their lives...even if those changes will ultimately benefit them and those close to them.
What are you putting off? You can probbly do it simply by shifting your priorities. Just do it!
You are important right now!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Stop avoiding and start living!
Life is a bike trail...
I love bicycling. Anyone who pedals a bike has encountered a lot of bumps and hazards in the road: rocks, broken glass, potholes, sewer grates, old shopping carts (I speak from experience); you name it. One of the most important skills I have learned for staying upright is to keep my focus on the track I want to take, and not on the hazards I want to avoid. We tend to be drawn to whatever we to focus on. If you rivet your gaze on the jagged pothole in the middle of the bike trail you will probably slam right into it. But concentrating on the path around the pothole will allow you to cruise merrily on by.
When it comes to our health we still worry about obstacles rather than choosing to follow the smooth track. In the last couple of decades our approach to health has evolved somewhat, but we still have not made a fundamental shift in consciousness. More and more we seek alternatives to the invasive drugs and surgical procedures that conventional medicine has to offer, but we do so for the same old reasons—to treat disease and symptoms.
We’re still focusing on the potholes!
Why swerve when you can live? Life will often present obstacles to dodge, but so what? Relish the adventure of your journey.
Stop avoiding and start living!
I love bicycling. Anyone who pedals a bike has encountered a lot of bumps and hazards in the road: rocks, broken glass, potholes, sewer grates, old shopping carts (I speak from experience); you name it. One of the most important skills I have learned for staying upright is to keep my focus on the track I want to take, and not on the hazards I want to avoid. We tend to be drawn to whatever we to focus on. If you rivet your gaze on the jagged pothole in the middle of the bike trail you will probably slam right into it. But concentrating on the path around the pothole will allow you to cruise merrily on by.
When it comes to our health we still worry about obstacles rather than choosing to follow the smooth track. In the last couple of decades our approach to health has evolved somewhat, but we still have not made a fundamental shift in consciousness. More and more we seek alternatives to the invasive drugs and surgical procedures that conventional medicine has to offer, but we do so for the same old reasons—to treat disease and symptoms.
We’re still focusing on the potholes!
Why swerve when you can live? Life will often present obstacles to dodge, but so what? Relish the adventure of your journey.
Stop avoiding and start living!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Focus on process, not progress.
We can learn a lot from little kids.
Last night I was reading the book, Chi Running, by Danny Dreyer, and came upon this passage which really struck a cord with me.
“I would venture to say that most of us could run pretty easily back when we were in grade school and not feeling pressure to perform. But we have since lost that wonderful sense of ease. We often have performance anxiety that makes us uptight and blocks us from feeling ourselves and doing our best. In order to regain this ease and joy we need to consciously teach our bodies how to relax so running can feel as effortless as it once did.”
Although the author is talking about running, that wisdom can be applied to many other aspects of life, including our health. Following Nature’s simple wisdom will always help you to maximize your human potential, whatever that may be. Health and well-being are a lifelong synergy of spirit and action, and not a page of goals, statistics and achievements. “Progress” and “results” are human judgments—nothing more. Simplicity empowers!
Unfortunately, in this high tech world of ours, it is all too easy to lose sight of the simple genius of Nature. Best-selling authors, eloquent speakers, sensible doctors, and well-meaning family and friends bury us under heaps of brilliant, scientifically sound—and often bad—advice. When you become confused and don’t know where to turn, remember that high tech is merely a human design while the elegant genius of Nature is low tech and simple. And Nature’s simple plan always works. When your educated mind is at a loss as to which high tech route to try, go low tech. Instead of fretting over which nutritional supplements are the best for you, go buy some locally grown organic spinach. Rather than stress out over whether you will be able to make it to the gym today, just go out and play.
Nature’s simple wisdom is your lighthouse in the fog.
Last night I was reading the book, Chi Running, by Danny Dreyer, and came upon this passage which really struck a cord with me.
“I would venture to say that most of us could run pretty easily back when we were in grade school and not feeling pressure to perform. But we have since lost that wonderful sense of ease. We often have performance anxiety that makes us uptight and blocks us from feeling ourselves and doing our best. In order to regain this ease and joy we need to consciously teach our bodies how to relax so running can feel as effortless as it once did.”
Although the author is talking about running, that wisdom can be applied to many other aspects of life, including our health. Following Nature’s simple wisdom will always help you to maximize your human potential, whatever that may be. Health and well-being are a lifelong synergy of spirit and action, and not a page of goals, statistics and achievements. “Progress” and “results” are human judgments—nothing more. Simplicity empowers!
Unfortunately, in this high tech world of ours, it is all too easy to lose sight of the simple genius of Nature. Best-selling authors, eloquent speakers, sensible doctors, and well-meaning family and friends bury us under heaps of brilliant, scientifically sound—and often bad—advice. When you become confused and don’t know where to turn, remember that high tech is merely a human design while the elegant genius of Nature is low tech and simple. And Nature’s simple plan always works. When your educated mind is at a loss as to which high tech route to try, go low tech. Instead of fretting over which nutritional supplements are the best for you, go buy some locally grown organic spinach. Rather than stress out over whether you will be able to make it to the gym today, just go out and play.
Nature’s simple wisdom is your lighthouse in the fog.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Your challenges in life are an opportunity for your body, mind and spirit to explore new horizons.
For the last couple of months, I’ve been experiencing a good bit of pain in my upper back and shoulder – intense enough that it has put a major damper on my Ironman training. What a beautiful gift!
Since early in this year of new beginnings, I have been in a new relationship with a beautiful, special woman. My past relationships haven’t been all that great, so entering a new one dredged up a few old fears and insecurities. The pain that I’m feeling is a physical manifestation of those fears and insecurities. The great thing is that, by listening to the pain, I have become aware of things within myself that I need to clear. Had my fears continued simmering away beneath the surface, they may have caused me to unconsciously sabotage this beautiful new relationship. Instead, I have been doing deep inner work that is allowing me to become a more caring partner for the special woman in my life, and a better person all around.
Another benefit of the pain is that it has turned me inward on my quest to becoming an Ironman. Since I’m pretty much unable to swim, bike or run, I have started using my training time to visualize my successful completion of the race. Completing an Ironman is as much mental as physical, so my visualizations are good training in and of themselves – and important training that I have been neglecting up until now.
Don’t fight your challenges; learn from them. They are a gift – an opportunity to creatively expand into a new, fuller life.
Since early in this year of new beginnings, I have been in a new relationship with a beautiful, special woman. My past relationships haven’t been all that great, so entering a new one dredged up a few old fears and insecurities. The pain that I’m feeling is a physical manifestation of those fears and insecurities. The great thing is that, by listening to the pain, I have become aware of things within myself that I need to clear. Had my fears continued simmering away beneath the surface, they may have caused me to unconsciously sabotage this beautiful new relationship. Instead, I have been doing deep inner work that is allowing me to become a more caring partner for the special woman in my life, and a better person all around.
Another benefit of the pain is that it has turned me inward on my quest to becoming an Ironman. Since I’m pretty much unable to swim, bike or run, I have started using my training time to visualize my successful completion of the race. Completing an Ironman is as much mental as physical, so my visualizations are good training in and of themselves – and important training that I have been neglecting up until now.
Don’t fight your challenges; learn from them. They are a gift – an opportunity to creatively expand into a new, fuller life.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
There is no Higher Power. But there is a Greater Power
The power that created the Universe is something we cannot even begin to comprehend yet we all have the power to manifest it. I choose not to describe it as “higher” because that connotes something superior and separate; something we cannot reach; a place we cannot go.
There is a Greater Power and that power is you! You hold the same power that created the heavens. Within you is the artist that painted the aurora borealis and sculpted the Grand Canyon, and the genius that invented honey bees and solar systems. Human beings just like you and I gave us the great pyramids, space shuttles and post-it notes, as well as the Constitution of the United States, the civil rights movement and the Sunday comics.
We each represent an inextricable part of the Universal Intelligence that created us. The Divine is not Him or IT; the Divine is you.
There is a Greater Power and that power is you! You hold the same power that created the heavens. Within you is the artist that painted the aurora borealis and sculpted the Grand Canyon, and the genius that invented honey bees and solar systems. Human beings just like you and I gave us the great pyramids, space shuttles and post-it notes, as well as the Constitution of the United States, the civil rights movement and the Sunday comics.
We each represent an inextricable part of the Universal Intelligence that created us. The Divine is not Him or IT; the Divine is you.
Friday, March 14, 2008
IT!
IT is you!
There is only one health problem it this world.
IT!
We are totally preoccupied with IT.
Fighting IT.
Finding a cure for IT.
Losing IT and keeping IT off.
“Let me kiss IT and make IT feel better.”
IT cetera, IT cetera, IT cetera…
Stop worrying so much about IT. Start taking care of you!
There is only one health problem it this world.
IT!
We are totally preoccupied with IT.
Fighting IT.
Finding a cure for IT.
Losing IT and keeping IT off.
“Let me kiss IT and make IT feel better.”
IT cetera, IT cetera, IT cetera…
Stop worrying so much about IT. Start taking care of you!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
What's Happening?
What you do makes things happen…
But who you are decides what happens.
Do you want to know what you need to do to achieve optimal health and whatever else you want in life?
Well, I'm not going to tell you.
To get the most out of life you must follow the wisdom of be-ing rather than do-ing.
We constantly hear of easy, step-by-step programs or two (or three, or four...) week plans for achieving anything we want. But they all fail to deliver because they neglect what is inside of us – they ingore our essence. Certainly any successful enterprise requires effort. But your doing must be built upon a foundation of being. Where you go as you journey through life is determined more by who you are than by what you do. As you engage in your chosen spiritual practice, eat fresh, natural foods, enjoy physical activities that enliven you, have fun, and follow your passion, the things you need to do will reveal themselves.
Being will tell you what to do.
And remember: you are a being of beauty and perfection.
But who you are decides what happens.
Do you want to know what you need to do to achieve optimal health and whatever else you want in life?
Well, I'm not going to tell you.
To get the most out of life you must follow the wisdom of be-ing rather than do-ing.
We constantly hear of easy, step-by-step programs or two (or three, or four...) week plans for achieving anything we want. But they all fail to deliver because they neglect what is inside of us – they ingore our essence. Certainly any successful enterprise requires effort. But your doing must be built upon a foundation of being. Where you go as you journey through life is determined more by who you are than by what you do. As you engage in your chosen spiritual practice, eat fresh, natural foods, enjoy physical activities that enliven you, have fun, and follow your passion, the things you need to do will reveal themselves.
Being will tell you what to do.
And remember: you are a being of beauty and perfection.
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