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Hour of Power

For some time now, I have been a fan, well I should say a "sometimes fan", of Anthony Robbins. Robbins is a relatively famous motivational speaker who is most well known for Long weekend intensive workshops where people come to learn how to "get rich". But Robbins throws them a curveball when, basically, he explains that getting rich is wanting what you have and having what you want. The reason I bring Robins up is that recently I listened to one of his  workshops on tape. It was a seven CD set. But somewhere within the first CD Robbins talks about the "hour of power". After he explains what the "hour of power" is, he tells you that if you do this every day, forget everything else that's on the seven CD set, you will be a success. What is the hour of power? The hour of power is the first hour of the day. He suggests you get up get dressed put on your walking shoes grab your CD player or Walkman or iPhone or whatever and get outside and take a walk. For the first five or 10 minutes of the walk is warming up, you do what he describes as your "gratitudes". Think of all the things and people in your life that you are thankful for and reflect upon them. Secondly, focus on your breathing. Breathe in for 10 seconds hold for 10 seconds and breathe out for 20 seconds. This activates all kinds of things within your body including your metabolism. It helps to flush the toxins from the system. Once you get your breathing down and activated continue to breathe deeply but also consider your goals, future wants, needs, hopes and dreams. Visualize yourself already achieving these dreams. Remind yourself of your one-year goal five-year goal and 10 your goal. Ask yourself what you're going to do today to realize those goals. This practice helps you to stay focused. And then it's time to crank up your workout. Pick up the pace. Go little faster and as you move faster do what Robbins calls "incantations". Incantations are not positive state positive thinking statements but rather verbal  manifestations of what you want. If you're overweight or if your goal is to achieve better fitness, he suggests you say something like this, "nothing tastes as good as it feels".  You repeat these incantations for 10 or even 15 minutes as you keep your work out at a level of around seven or eight out of 10. According to Robbins, saying these incantations as you move, as you're physically active, gets the idea "into your blood", actually changes your physiology. 

That's it! that's all you have to do To get your day started right and begin the process of realizing your dreams. 

50 pounds passion is not about losing weight

50 Pounds to Passion is not about losing weight, it's about expressing who you are at your core. It's about self acceptance. It's about learning to become the person you were born to be. 

The more I have delved into the process of losing weight, the more I realized how important it is to transform not only my body but my thinking. This process has not been an easy one. It's a painful process to realize who you are, and who you are not. 

It has occurred to me that writing this blog may not be right for me to be doing at this time. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of blogs out there that are much better at giving advice for weight loss than this one. (Caloriecoach.com is one). And yet, I persist. I persist because I know that there are other people out there like me. People who are searching for clarity and passion. 

Last weekend I gave a workshop based on the book by Seth Godin entitled The Icarus Deception. In his work, Godin challenges the reader to express the artist from within and risk the pain that goes along with it. As the world becomes an increasingly complicated, fast-paced place to live, it is ever more important to step forward and define our roles as leaders and "expressionaries". 

One of the key components of the book is not just to read and understand the thing, but also to take action. 

This is a command that is easier said than done. I am currently in the process of struggling to unfold just exactly what that means for me. These considerations take time and effort. It means brutal honesty. It means trimming off the fat with a sharp knife. All I can say at this point is that I hope there is a happy ending. And I hope you stick around for the ride. Thanks: Timo

a whole new twist.

here i am, (left) after leading a "primal body painting" workshop.

when i started this blog a few months ago, i knew one thing, that i felt weighed down. i wanted to walk on this earth with lighter footsteps and suspected that letting go of the stuff that wasn't serving me would lead to a life filled with more passion. i focused first on my own physical weight. i figured that would be the most obvious place to start. i could see that. i could change that (i thought). so i studied nutrition, walked, exercised, breathed, juiced, dieted and everything else i could think of to "lose something", (weight). and i did lose something, and in the process, gained something. i gained a new way of being that was new and different, and one that i was maybe not ready for. 

changing can be scary. it takes you out of your comfort-zone. and that's great. it's where you need to be. but you also have to be aware of what is happening. the trick is changing on all fronts, all at the same time. not just body, but mind and spirit too. because the more fabulous you become, the more fabulous you have a right to be. 

but just as in the "cargo" poem i posted the other day, there's more to it than letting go of the stuff you don't want. you have to unload the stuff you love too! you have to give your gifts, your cargo, away! because carrying the "good stuff" around with you can weigh you down just as much as the other stuff can. 

this is such an important lesson to learn. one that has had me blocked for weeks. finding your passion means giving it away (as fast as you can). it gives "50 pounds to passion" a whole new twist. It means unload 50 pounds of art every day. It means deliver your cargo! Lighten the vessel so you can fill it up again with something new. 

Yes, the other "to do" list is still there. Of course you are going to care about what you eat, how you think and the daily practices that keep your spirit in tune. But now add those things to the mystery of giving of yourself to others in an unbridled way. Unleash your creativity. Be present. And become the embodiment the best person you can be: vibrant, vital and filled with a passion that only comes through giving.

Cargo

Cargo
A Poem by Greg Kimura (for Malidoma Somé)

You enter life a ship laden with meaning, purpose and gifts
sent to be delivered to this hungry world,
and as much as the world needs your cargo,
you need to give it away.
Everything depends on this.

But the world forgets its needs,
and you forget your mission, and
the ancestral maps used to guide you
have become faded scrawls on the parchment of dead Pharaohs.
The cargo weighs you heavy the longer it is held.
Spoilage becomes a risk.
The ship sputters from port to port and at each you ask:
"Is this the way?"
But the way cannot be found without knowing your cargo,
and the cargo cannot be known without recognizing there is a way.
It is simply this:
You have gifts.
The world needs your gifts.
You must deliver them.

The world may not know it is starving,
but the hungry know,
and they will find you
when you discover your cargo
and start to give it away.

50 Reasons Why Being Fit is Awesome

1. because it gives you back your childhood freedom of being able to run, jump, and PLAY
2. because it gives you confidence
3. because confidence is sexy
4. because exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy
5. because being fit tells the world that you care about yourself
6. because it feels awesome to know you look good in clothes
7. because it feels even more awesome to know you look good naked
8. because it feels damn good to put your mind to something and achieve it
9. because knowing that your body can handle just about anything you throw at it is powerful
10. because you will inspire others
11. to do what others think you can’t
12. to do what YOU think you can’t
13. to feel comfortable in your own skin
14. because exercise helps control stress
15. because healthy is the new skinny
16. because good nutrition will stack the odds in your favor
17. because doing something for your health right now feels better than “someday I will”
18. because you’re worth it just as much as anyone else is
19. because putting the right foods into your body makes you feel amazing
20. because you will have more energy than you ever thought you could
21. to sleep soundly at night
22. to wake up every day ready to face the world head on
23. because becoming fit will give you what it takes to tackle any challenge
24. because your children look up to you and will model what they see
25. because fitness and good nutrition is the ultimate anti-aging treatment
26. because you will be able to keep up with your kids and grandkids
27. because it feels amazing to climb a flight of stairs and barely be out of breath
28. because exercising teaches you to live in the moment
29. because healthy food fights cancer cells from ever forming
30. because your chances for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer will plummet
31. because it feels so good not to have “get in shape” on your New Year’s resolutionlist every. single. year.
32. to feel proud at a doctor’s check-up instead of fearful
33. because healthy food makes you feel energized and satisfied instead of run-down and stuffed
34. because sex is more fun when you’re fit
35. because busting through your own walls and limits feels so good
36. because it makes you feel like a badass.
37. to live a long and fulfilled life
38. to open up a whole new world of experiences
39. because it feels powerful to know that you are in control of your body
40. because you are not sentenced to poor health just because of your genetics
41. to know what the best version of you looks and feels like
42. because having muscles makes you feel strong
43. because you might find a physical activity that brings you great joy
44. because it will teach you to make time for yourself
45. because excuses are just fear
46. because real courage is being afraid of something and doing it anyways
47. to know what it feels like to set your mind to something and achieve it
48. because good nutrition and exercise are natural anti-depressants
49. because it makes you stronger on the inside, too
50. because good health is FREEDOM

Written by Deanna Schober 

Today

cloudy morning reflections.

pay attention to how you feel. notice what works and what doesn't work. stay focused on your goals. drink water. walk. hear the birds and smell the air. make a point to meet new people. spend time doing something ordinary with an old friend. make plans for the future that are fun and challenging. borrow something and then return it. treat yourself from time to time. be content with who you are and what you have, then work to make things better. say thank you for dinner. listen to a child. learn to sing a song. take the long way home. adjust your expectations. be carefully what you wish for. be as generous as you can. don't be afraid to change who you are. change who you are.

we should dance

we should dance, we should travel, we should get out of our comfort-zone and try something new. know what that means? scaring yourself. feeling awkward. moving ahead, into uncharted territories. giving the gift that is you. being creative. taking chances. being dramatic. looking someone in the eyes and smiling. :)

be content.

i have decided that discontentment can be a hazardous mindset. always wanting more (of anything) leads to a feeling of not having enough now. which can lead to hoarding, over-eating and sadness. even wanting more health, lusting for fitness or the body you had in high school can lead to a roller coaster of emotions and set one up for disappointment. setting goals to reach the "perfect weight" is setting the sites too high. take a look around you sometime, look at the people in the store, in line at the dmv or at work. probably every single one of them wants to lose more weight, to improve their health, to look like the people on tv. well guess what. that's not gonna happen.
if they are lucky, and if we are lucky, we will lose 10 or 20 lbs. that's it. (for starters.) take it! be happy with it. congratulate yourself! you win! you've done something most people will never be able to do. don't beat yourself up and be dissatisfied that you haven't lost 40 or 100 pounds. that stuff is for made-for-tv reality shows, not real life. don't be confused. be happy. sit with your success for a while. pat yourself on the back. then just stick with your program, because now you feel better and are a success story. BE CONTENT. live with it. then later, when you are bored and looking for something fun to do, challenge yourself to lose 10 more or to hike to a higher place or learn an instrument. but first and foremost: be content! 

and if you think that that is not enough for you, do something nice for someone else and that will multiply your contentment. and maybe the something nice that you do for someone else is to truly be who are. maybe your gift is yourself, a song you wrote, a flower you picked or grew, a funny hat you wear that makes people smile. do your best to do your duty. and let your duty be to serve your community through self expression and love.. all while being content.

you may not be the beauty queen of the prom, or the movie star on the big screen and the person telling jokes in las vegas or the man walking on the moon. but MOST of us are not that. most of us are the guy at the check-out counter who has a band on the side, or the park ranger who loves to watch good films and may dabble in movie-making on the side. be content with who you are in the place you are. take the "i'm okay and you're okay" approach.

here's some information i found at the mayo clinc on happiness:

people who are happy seem to intuitively know that their happiness is the sum of their life choices, and their lives are built on the following pillars:

• devoting time to family and friends

• appreciating what they have

• maintaining an optimistic outlook

• feeling a sense of purpose

• living in the moment

a search for passion is a winding road.

ultimately, this blog is a search for passion. it is a search for joy. it is a search for contentment. i thought that starting with the physical element, by way of nutrition and (i must admit) "dieting", that i would be able to see the change and have a leg-up on bringing body+mind+spirit into balance. i assumed that because i could see my weight in it's physical manifestation that this would be the most logical place to start. now i know that i was wrong. you can't just work on one isolated area at a time, when trying to bring a whole into balance. you need to work on the whole.

changing one's life is a holistic challenge. it's a juggling act. tweak a little here, tweak a little there. it's a process of simplifying. I like this quote that a close friend sent to me this morning:

“The world is so complicated, tangled, and overloaded that to see into it with any clarity you must prune and prune.”  

-Italo Calvino, If on a Winter’s Night A Traveller

to prune and prune is what this blog is about. to simplify. to find foods that heal and eat them with no more interest in the result than knowing that this is the correct action to take. just as washing the car is correct action. focusing the mind is the first step of focusing the body/and vise versa! it all starts getting very zen. there just seems to be no way around it. another item the above mentioned friend sent this morning was this link about the process of meditation.

eating foods that heal is the best "diet" there is.

take action. (my first video post)

coffee vs. green juice

 

i have been struggling to get back on track. falling off the health wagon with a pizza here and some toast there has really screwed me up. having lost the weight, and then re-gaining some back, i really FEEL the difference. in every step and in how i move and think. part of the fall comes in letting coffee slip back into the equation. this is easy to do, as many diet websites encourage coffee as a good choice to drink and  some even suggest it has weight loss and insulin-stability factors. but! i have noticed that when i drink coffee in the morning, i do not drink a green juice. it is one or the other, as they really don't work well together. and missing out on the green juice is a bad way to start the day. coffee is sort of a false start, giving quick (nervous) energy instead of the slow sustained energy my body learns to crave.

here's some news i found on green juicing:

Green Juice

Green juices are a bit different than fruit and non-green vegetable juices in that they are rich in chlorophyll and low in sugar. Chlorophyll is a magical biomolecule, which allows plants to absorb energy from light. Yes, I know how COOL is that. Therefore, chlorophyll is HIGHLY energetic, which is why it is such a valuable supplement to our diet since most all foods are completely VOID of any life energy at all! Yes, if the food has been cooked, or has been manufactured, it is a DEAD food.
Chlorophyll’s ability to make us buzz is not the only thing it’s good for though. With a molecular composition very similar to hemoglobin, chlorophyll helps to purify the blood, build red blood cells, detoxify and heal the body, not to mention provide us with a quick source of energy. In addition, green juices often contain powerful detoxifying agents such as cilantro, which have even been shown to impact heavy metal toxicity. Therefore, the GREENER the BETTER – richer in nutrients, antioxidants, and cleansing properties.

(source: http://www.theholykale.com/2013/01/is-green-juice-the-new-coffee/)

Key To Good Health Is 'Peace Of Mind'

Good nutrition and exercise may be important, but the secret to good health and long life is all in your head, according to the Dalai Lama.

After participating in a Peace Walk at the Peace Bridge in Derry, Northern Ireland on April 18, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, gave a talk at the "Culture Of Compassion" event at Ebrington Plaza. During the discussion, His Holiness -- who quite literally wrote the book on happiness -- shared his wisdom on the importance of stress relief and compassion in achieving good health.

"Warm-heartedness is a key factor for healthy individuals, healthy families and healthy communities," he told the audience.

The Dalai Lama called for early childhood education in moral ethics, or as he calls it, "education for warm-heartedness," and discussed how positive well-being can contribute to vitality and longevity.

"Scientists say that a healthy mind is a major factor for a healthy body," His Holiness said. "If you're serious about your health, think and take most concern for your peace of mind. That's very, very important."

The spiritual leader went on to spread his message of tolerance, compassion and non-violence, and answered questions from the audience on such subjects as poverty, global conflict and the importance of maintaining a sense of humor.

moving out of your comfort zone

as strange it that sounds, once we start to change the way we live, get healthy and lose weight we will begin to move out of our comfort zone. we will no longer be the ordinary person on the street, eating at a fast burger place and watching tv. we will be the extra-ordinary person who eats an enlightened diet, is conscious of who she is and where he's going and active pursuing dreams and passions not watching them on tv. prepare yourself for this. prepare yourself for how great you are becoming every day. breathe into the moment, like a broadway star about to go on stage. this is your moment.

know your reasons. stay in the moment.

we all have our own reasons for losing extra weight and getting healthier.
here are a few of mine:

1. having more energy to do the things i love.
2. clearer thinking in an unclogged mind
3. boost of confidence.
4. improved self awareness.
5. clothes fit better, feel better, and look better.
6. the ability to join friends on hikes and physical activities.
7. correct blood sugar levels, blood pressure levels.
8. more fun at doctors office when getting health reports.
9. knowing about nutrition is cool.
10. improved sex life.
11. sharing "how i did it" stories with friends and strangers.
12. more flirt-ability.
13. enjoying the changing scenes of nature on my daily walks.
14. shopping for clothes and food becomes and adventure.
15. improved self-esteem, self confidence and self worth.
16. relieving family and friends worry about my health issues.
17. the knowing that i am respecting my body as a temple.
18. being an example of health for others
19. dancing the tango is more fun when your thinner.
20. knowing that discipline is an important part of life.
21. not limiting myself: discovering new things and going to new places.
22. more open the possibility of being loved because i love myself.
23. renewing my fabulousness factor.
24. fitting into my seat on an international flight to somewhere edgy.
25. being the best i can be just because i can!


reasons for staying overweight:

1. the comfort of staying the same.
2. the ease of being invisible socially.
3. the glorious feeling of being out of control.
4. fitting in with mainstream america who eats too much too often.
5. i won't intimidate anyone with my good looks.
6. because ice cream tastes so good at night
7. cheap bad food is every where and so it's so easy to eat.
8. i have a good excuse for not being happy.
9. i enjoy beating myself up on a daily basis.
10. being over weight, and out of shape is easy.

look within

If you start your physical transformation from a place of caring about yourself, loving yourself enough to treat your body well and stop abusing it, the changes are so much more likely to be permanent. You won’t be on this constant quest for something you can never find, but instead you’ll just be doing what feels truly good every single day. You’ll jump off the endless cycle of Must-Fix-Self–>Work-Hard-To-Fix-Self–>Yay-It’s-Better-But-Not-Perfect–>I-Give-Up–>I-Hate-Myself–>Repeat. Instead, you’ll fall into a daily routine of self-care, which will lead to a physical transformation that will be permanent and APPRECIATED by you.

find the perfect weight for you.

find the perfect weight for you. accepting who you are means choosing to become the weight that is right for you. don't make your goal an unrealistic one that is only intended to satisfy some fantasy expectation of who you used to be. and don't diet. diets don't work because dieting is not a long-term solution. if you diet to lose weight, you'll gain the weight back once you get off the diet. you need to "behave your way to success". and set specific goals!

• remember that losing weight requires a change in thought and behavior, so set goals for your emotions and weight.
  
  

• don't set vague goals like, "I want to lose some weight." be specific: how much weight do you want to lose? how do you want to feel? close your eyes and visualize yourself after you've reached those goals. use this visualization to feel commitment and inner strength.

the journey

Your journey will be much lighter and easier if you don’t try to carry your entire past and future around with you. Take a break. Let go of your obsession with yesterday’s struggles and tomorrow’s to-do list, and simply enjoy the beauty of what’s right here, right now. Sometimes you have to stop thinking that some new richness will fulfill you, so you can fully experience the richness that's already yours.