Michael Jordan Inspires: Day 180

Evolution Two – week Fourteen

Friday, August 28, 2009



Hello Folks,

I am still cleaning out the crusties in my eyes from last night. Sleep deprivation is quite a challenge. I figure that everything must happen for a reason or life wouldn’t be that interesting. Since I am a sucker for inspiration I found a video that has that kind of flavor from the back door.

I am like a teeter totter when it comes to hope and despair...well not exactly a teeter totter, but you know what I mean. Since yesterday’s practice of rolling with the punches started off pretty well and ended with a bang I need a little inspiration to get me going again.

I am also a believer in striking a balance...this particular video is a prime example of how attitude is a big part of success...

This post is a little tribute to Michael Jordon for inspiring the masses. It is hard to believe he was cut from the varsity team his sophomore year for being too short.








Exercise: bike 30 minutes, resistance training, ankle stretches (it never ends)

Menu: Protein and veggies



Until next time…



Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up



Dakota



Today’s Mantra: Failure and success are complementary.

Taking A New Attitude Sucks: Day 179

Evolution Two – week Fourteen

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Hello Folks,

I have had one of those days that is tough at work, only because my plans were thrown off by the plans that the universe had for me. It is funny how that works out. I wasn’t supposed to work tonight and I ended up being on call. I decided to take a new attitude and convert a stifling job situation to one of joy.

At first it was easy, because I made a conscious decision to roll with the punches. It was actually kind of perfect too. I just assumed that I was meant to be doing this at that time...and it did work out at first. But then I got thrown more monkey wrenches. You see, usually when I am on call it is not that busy, but for some reason tonight that isn’t the case.

So here I am still trying to blog and about to go out again on call. I am using it as a practice for today, but as you can see I am not as humorous as usual....oh well. I better get going....so all I have left to say is here are my pics...

Exercise: Free, ankle stretches (it never ends), and I biked up a very steep hill, but not on purpose.

Menu: Free day

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Take a new attitude and convert a stifling job situation to one of joy.

Meditation In Motion: Day 178

Evolution Two – week Fourteen

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Hello Folks,

I decided to run this morning for the first time since I sprained my ankle. It was definitely an EXERCISE in the art of meditation. Why meditation? Because I had to stay really present and focused in order to do it. My ankle is not quite to full capacity just yet...getting there, but I fear spraining it again before it heals.

Since I prefer to run on the trails instead of pavement (to save my knees) the chances of mis-stepping go up.

But like a very GOOD meditator I did not falter.....and what is a good meditator? Someone who loses their mind while finding their body (sounds crazy, doesn’t it?). It is amazing what a little fear and focus can do for your practice. I see meditation as a break from discursive thinking...a way to get away from the minds many detours from reality. Exercising and running can bring the mind back to the body---hopefully—otherwise you might sprain your ankle.

Because of my ankle injury, my mind is naturally drawn to the body. The same could be true for any type of pain the body is experiencing. It is hard to concentrate (THINK) while you are in pain.

Fortunately for me, I wasn’t exactly in pain, but just more acutely aware of my ankle than usual....thus my mind was quiet while I focused on the body.

I suppose that is why one popular meditation practice is to focus on the breath (it’s part of the body), and another popular practice is to go into the body and notice what you are feeling when you have thoughts that are disturbing.

The power of now and meditation are soooo easy....right? Just sprain your ankle, watch your breath, have some kind of pain in your body....who needs a meditation cushion and incense when we have all of these other earthly things to drop us into the present moment? And it is One more thing where I can SAVE money (meditation cushion)...hmmm that’s about 40 dollars...enough money to buy Turbulance Training E-book by Craig Ballantyne.

PS: Since I am on a roll I am going to say BODY one more time....ANYBODY Object?
Here are my pictures…


Exercise:run 20 minutes, resistance training, ankle stretches (it never ends)

Menu: Liquid Day

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: In many spiritual traditions, repeatedly asking yourself the question “Who am I?” or a variation such as “Who is carrying this body?” is the central practice offered for awakening. ~ Jack Kornfield

Evolution Two – week Fourteen

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Hello Folks,

I have been thinking....which is nothing new for me or my overactive brain. When I think it can either be hugely inspiring or a total downer. Today it (my brain that is) was inspiring me to plan for my next experiment. As you can tell from my pics I have not necessarily made progress or degressed or is it digressed?...anyway...for someone who has always yo yo-ed with weight, that IS Progress for me.

I have had many emotional challenges recently and still managed to continue on, and the only thing I can think of that is keeping me on track is my desire to never go back and , more importantly, my desire to see more progress....my love of the experiment.

I am now finding comfort with where I am at physically, but, because I love to experiment, I am curious to see what I can do next with my goal. My goal is to see my abs for the first time by my 40th birthday and not starve myself to do it!
Since I was very little I have always been known for my belly. Check out this baby pic of me!

Buddha Belly Baby

Is that not an awesome belly? The primary question being is it a blessing or a curse? Some might say I was a youngster with a Buddha belly...since I am a spiritual enthusiast I might enjoy that kind of association.

But....when it comes to seeing my abs, I have no clue what they would look like! Unless you check out my Face in Hole pic....lots of exposed abs there! Too bad they aren’t really mine yet....yet being the operative word. Since I lean toward the side of optimism I will just assume for a moment that I already can see my six pack....but wait...i don’t drink....so do I really need a six pack?

Who coined that phrase anyway?....probably a beer commercial that went something like “you can enjoy a refreshing drink on the beach and still wear a tiny bathing suit.” (juxtaposed with a shot of two folks with six pack abs holding six packs of beer). A nice subliminal message -- “not only won’t you gain weight drinking our beer, but you will look like these folks with their six pack abs.” --NOT.

Alright, enough with that topic....I am a believer in clean living....eating...sleeping...so back to work I guess and my overactive imagination...for now...


Exercise: bike 30 minutes, resistance training, ankle stretches (it never ends)

Menu: Protein and veggies

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Does Buddha really have a belly?

My First VIP in The Law Of Attraction: Day 176

Evolution Two – week Fourteen

Monday, August 24, 2009

Hello Folks,

It feels good to be back home. Oooh, you know it feels good to be back home again....isn’t that a song? I really needed the vacation; and despite the challenges it was definitely worth the trip and troubles I faced. I still feel like life is an adventure.

So, I have decided to do a little experiment and enter a contest by Turbulance Training Author and personal trainer Craig Ballantyne. He basically is requiring the contestants to do 12 weeks of Turbulance Training workouts and take before and after pics and write an essay about your experience with his program. I might also throw in Eat Stop Eat with Brad Milan for my diet experiment.

I will definitely keep you posted on my experience with these two systems and post my results. Well, I have to mow my lawn and feed the dog...seriously....Hope you all have an awesome day! I actually biked the last three days while watching the movie MILK. Talk about an inspiring movie....Harvey Milk is a perfect example of Never Giving Up. He really persisted despite all obstacles and never settled for anything less...at least according to the movies depiction of him.

Harvey Milk is my first VIP for The Law Of Attraction In Action Forum which states that if you Think, Believe, Act, Adjust and Never Give Up you will Achieve your Goals.


Exercise: bike 30 minutes, resistance training, ankle stretches (it never ends)

Menu: Protein and veggies

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Law of Attraction in Action takes gumption.

Pain And Pleasure Equal Opposites: Day 175

Evolution Two – week thirteen

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Hello Folks,

YES! I am back! I finally made it back from a very interesting vacation! I was recovering from an ankle and back injury and i found out I had an infection and had to go to the dentist ASAP. I am going to need a vacation to recover from my vacation. Somehow I survived and managed to pick up a speeding ticket. If that isn’t a hammer over my head telling me to SLOW DOWN, then I don’t know what is. The Universe has a funny way of sending us messages...whatever happened to a little subtlety, Huh?

Well, not many people GET subtle messages anyway, so why bother, I suppose, just hit us with the big one and be done with it! Now that I am back, my health and immune system seem to be in order again, just in time to go back to work, too. Imagine all those sick days I would have had to waste.

I just had to mention my back at least once, since my back is back to normal, too.

As a tribute to my healing process I have made yet another Youtube video...and I know you just love my long dialogues about what I ate for breakfast, so I thought I would bore you some more with videos of my lovely ankle and all of it s colorful glory!

Feel free to comment on my ridiculously large ankle or my amazing recovery...I like those stories of hope and optimism in the face of hardship and struggle. That’s what life is about anyway, right? A little glory followed by failure or is it hope followed by utter disappointment.

That is why we have hero’s out there doing there best to show us how to unlock “the Secret”...and I do think it is possible to create SOMETHING, despite obstacles that obstruct. The real question is whether to push through, go with the flow or know when to let go...hmmm....that might be why we have psychics out there who can predict things.

Exercise: bike 45 minutes, ankle stretches (it never ends)

Menu: Protein and veggies

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up

Dakota

Today’s Mantra:
Healing is a process of handling pain and pleasure in positive ways rather than self-destructive ways.
Gary Eby, author and therapist

FACEinHOLE

Create your own FACEinHOLE

Evolution Two – week twelve

Friday, August 14, 2009

Hello Folks,

I bet a few of you are wondering why I have this weird picture of my face in this other person’s body. Alright, so it may look like a really silly experiment, but I wanted to share with you one of the things that I have decided to do to motivate me to reach my goals. I found this website through a suggestion made by another blogger who used it to help her lose weight and thought I would give it a try.

This picture does make me look a bit funny (hopefully it won’t have the reverse effect on my desire to workout!). I have been putting up pictures similar to this one in my workout area. I do find that when I am doing cardio or weight training and I look at pictures of my ideal body I start to workout harder. I imagine my muscles rippling. I feel totally shredded! Not!

Since I have a really vivid imagination, sometimes I “feel” as though I look like that! Have you ever had that before where you felt like you looked like someone else? Because I believe in past lives, I think I am able to imagine myself as someone else; and who knows, maybe I was Jane Fonda in past life? Oh, that’s right, I was born when she was alive, and isn’t she still alive? Talk about a fitness leader though, she changed the face of Hollywood, and she isn’t even that buff.

If actors can do it, so can I! Look out GI Jane, here I come!

The real reason I want to try this experiment is because some sports psychologists have concluded that if you visualize yourself doing something really well or achieving something, your brain tells your body it is really happening; like a holographic game. That could be next in the fitness world; imagine being able to step into a machine and look like whatever you want.

Ok, so I am getting a little off track with lofty ideas. The main thing is, I thought that if you are interested in this sort of thing, you might want to try it too.

Visualization has been used in curing all kinds of sickness. There is something about making yourself believe that something is achievable that sets it in motion. Do I think this works for anything?….probably not, reality is very powerful. I suspect that if I visualize something tangible that the possibility will go up.

Though, I don’t think anything can be achieved without effort. So, I decided to change my motto to Think, Visualize, Believe, Massively Act, Adjust, and Never Give Up.

Probably the most important rules are to Massively Act and Never Give up. It makes sense when you look at anyone who has succeeded....Time And Energy Plus Determination Equals Results.....But that’s a whole other blog.

PS: I will be out of town and unable to do long posts for the next 10 days or so. I will, however, be sending text and pictures via my phone for some brief updates. And I will blog while I am away.

Exercise: Interval (40 minutes – biking)

Menu:Veggies and Protein

Until next time…

Think, Visualize, Believe, Massively Act, Adjust, and Never Give Up


Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Time And Energy Plus Determination Equals Results.