Post by Dorothyl on Aug 3, 2005 5:19:59 GMT -5
Hey Ladies, I bring to you from one of my favourite links that shares all good feeling stuff (Sieshindo)
[glow=red,2,300]ENJOY![/glow]
A Story
Do you ever find yourself feeling like a hamster running around in an exercise wheel in a cage? Or perhaps you feel the treadmill you run on in your gym is a metaphor for your life. Lots of sweat and hard work, but at the end of your workout you find yourself standing in the same place you started from.
For me, peace of mind is something I often find myself striving for, rather than simply allowing it to happen.
Recently I was feeling a bit frazzled, and I came up with a creative solution to help me deal with the stress I was creating. It was the first really hot day in Tokyo this summer. The temperature was 95F or about 32C and the humidity was 90%. Truly a day I was not looking forward to.
This is what I did to alleviate my pain- I poured myself a container of juice and filled my bathtub with room temperature water. Next I strapped on my trusty roller blades with the intention of skating much slower than usual, while working out for an hour and a half instead of my usual one hour time frame.
Off I went as I focused on maintaining a rhythm. I developed a four beat mantra and repeated to myself "Happy, healthy, God, love." "Happy, healthy, God, love." Two strokes of my roller blades for each word uttered.
I soon noticed I had a tendency to push myself to go at my usual up tempo speed, even though my intention was to consciously slow down. This realization led me to intuitively change my mantra to "Calm, peaceful, satisfied, happy." Changing my mantra helped me to keep a soft focus on moving at a more relaxed pace.
Needless to say, I lost my train of thought many times, and each time I realized I had lost my way I simply started in all over again. "Calm, peaceful, satisfied, happy."
Little by little I started to feel the effects of the heat and humidity. The more I felt the strain on my physical system, the more often I found myself losing my mantra, as I drifted off into thoughts of hardship and striving. I cautioned myself to stay steady while slowing down my pace. I was fascinated to experience how I habitually pushed myself to go faster, and do "more". Just like my everyday life!
"Calm (stroke, stroke), peaceful (stroke, stroke), satisfied (stroke, stroke), happy (stroke, stroke)." Somehow the whole experience finally started to sink in and make sense. I had moments where I was "only" roller blading, with nothing separating "me" from the asphalt. Nothing stopping me from being who I truly am.
Somehow I felt very liberated, and the road seemed smoother and my path more assured.
After an hour and a half of full engagement I slid up to my front door, went inside, took off my skates, and slowly drank a good deal of the juice I had set aside. Next, I took off my clothes and immersed myself in my tub. The feeling was truly sublime, and I found myself laying there for twenty minutes without a single thought.
As I came back into my more usual frame of mind I realized how wonderful it is to occasionally turn off the thinking mind. To simply be, without the need to do.
No thinking leads to only being. No worry, no fear. No thinking leads to the experience of "Calm, peaceful, satisfied, happy."
My encounter with liberation on a hot and humid summer day in Tokyo, is still fresh in my mind.
Private Sessions with Charlie Badenhop
Atlanta: August
[glow=red,2,300]ENJOY![/glow]
A Story
Do you ever find yourself feeling like a hamster running around in an exercise wheel in a cage? Or perhaps you feel the treadmill you run on in your gym is a metaphor for your life. Lots of sweat and hard work, but at the end of your workout you find yourself standing in the same place you started from.
For me, peace of mind is something I often find myself striving for, rather than simply allowing it to happen.
Recently I was feeling a bit frazzled, and I came up with a creative solution to help me deal with the stress I was creating. It was the first really hot day in Tokyo this summer. The temperature was 95F or about 32C and the humidity was 90%. Truly a day I was not looking forward to.
This is what I did to alleviate my pain- I poured myself a container of juice and filled my bathtub with room temperature water. Next I strapped on my trusty roller blades with the intention of skating much slower than usual, while working out for an hour and a half instead of my usual one hour time frame.
Off I went as I focused on maintaining a rhythm. I developed a four beat mantra and repeated to myself "Happy, healthy, God, love." "Happy, healthy, God, love." Two strokes of my roller blades for each word uttered.
I soon noticed I had a tendency to push myself to go at my usual up tempo speed, even though my intention was to consciously slow down. This realization led me to intuitively change my mantra to "Calm, peaceful, satisfied, happy." Changing my mantra helped me to keep a soft focus on moving at a more relaxed pace.
Needless to say, I lost my train of thought many times, and each time I realized I had lost my way I simply started in all over again. "Calm, peaceful, satisfied, happy."
Little by little I started to feel the effects of the heat and humidity. The more I felt the strain on my physical system, the more often I found myself losing my mantra, as I drifted off into thoughts of hardship and striving. I cautioned myself to stay steady while slowing down my pace. I was fascinated to experience how I habitually pushed myself to go faster, and do "more". Just like my everyday life!
"Calm (stroke, stroke), peaceful (stroke, stroke), satisfied (stroke, stroke), happy (stroke, stroke)." Somehow the whole experience finally started to sink in and make sense. I had moments where I was "only" roller blading, with nothing separating "me" from the asphalt. Nothing stopping me from being who I truly am.
Somehow I felt very liberated, and the road seemed smoother and my path more assured.
After an hour and a half of full engagement I slid up to my front door, went inside, took off my skates, and slowly drank a good deal of the juice I had set aside. Next, I took off my clothes and immersed myself in my tub. The feeling was truly sublime, and I found myself laying there for twenty minutes without a single thought.
As I came back into my more usual frame of mind I realized how wonderful it is to occasionally turn off the thinking mind. To simply be, without the need to do.
No thinking leads to only being. No worry, no fear. No thinking leads to the experience of "Calm, peaceful, satisfied, happy."
My encounter with liberation on a hot and humid summer day in Tokyo, is still fresh in my mind.
Private Sessions with Charlie Badenhop
Atlanta: August