Sunday Story...Normality

Sunday Story…Normality

I have over the years been addicted in a number of ways to a number of things. Presently, I have given up my addiction to tobacco and donuts. I am still addicted to the rush of endorphins that I get from a really hard work out; I am addicted to the rush when you jump out of an airplane or off a cliff into the snow. I am an addict…I have issues…I have problems…

Don’t we all. Aren’t we all. I just like mine better than I like yours. They are, after all, mine. But I do need to face them, my issues, my problems, my addictions. And some of these things are worse than others. But again that is a judgment call. Who is to say heroin addiction is worse than alcohol addiction which is worse than a sex addiction which is worse than a food addiction. The bottom line is they are all addictions. Even exercise can be an addiction…although I may actually be addicted to the endorphins and other brain chemicals that come cascading down upon me when I exercise. The addiction becomes a problem when it impacts my life negatively. When other people in my life are harmed by my playing out my addictions. When I go to jail after stealing to support my habit, or I kill someone when I drive drunk, or I cause irreparable damage to my family because I can’t stop inappropriate sexual behavior, or even when I exercise so much that it harms my own health.

Obsessive compulsive disorder is problem unless you learn to manage the manifestations of the disorder. The same is true of many of the other alphabet soup disorders we are familiar with these days. Actually this is one of our “jobs” as humans …to learn to manage our various disorders or problems…including the ones that aren’t considered abnormal.

What is normal anyway? And who decided normality? There was time in the not too distant past that homosexuality was considered a disease by the DSM. And not so far back there was no designation for ADD or ADHD. So our definition of “normal” shifts and changes according to our cultural norms. And what is normal here in America could be mild or extreme depending upon where you are living at the time.

I like to think I am normal. We all like to think we are normal. And we are surprised when the rest of the world is not as normal as we are. But the longer I am around the more I realize that normal just does not exist. At least not in the way that I used to think it existed.

I used to think that normal was how we all looked and acted. That we all shared a common communal thread that allowed our society to hang together. But now it appears that normal is fragmented and diverse. I believe this to be part of what threatens so many people. They are afraid that if the world does not look just like them they will not have a safe and secure place in it.

Yet who is to say that for the man over there that gay is not normal. Or for that woman over there that her decision to not bear children is not normal. Or for that couple the decision to adopt children, or host foster children is abnormal. Or the high achieving Aspergers syndrome person who just can’t stand crowds is not normal. All of these people may be normal. Black, brown, white, yellow, and red are all normal. The color of your skin does not indicate normal or not. Your religion does not indicate normal or not. So how do we decide what is normal or not? Do we have a right to judge normal or not?

We do and we must use our powers of discernment not judgment. There are some things that must be considered abnormal. Killing people indiscriminately is not normal. Cannibalism not normal and we are actually genetically programmed not to accept the eating of human flesh as normal. Intentionally harming people and animals with malicious intent would be another example. But the color of your skin or the bible you read or the language you speak or the belief system you carry, or who you are sleeping with should not mark your passage into normal or not.

The more I perceive people to be different than I am, the more my expectation of normal expands. Before I knew any East Indian people I would have considered their culture and customs as abnormal. But as I got to know them I found that they loved, lived, feared, laughed, cried, and bled just like I do. And I am normal aren’t I?

Our common human experiences are what make us human, both our laughter and our tears. The fact that you love your children and I love mine binds us together in our pursuit of normal. The fact that I want to be healthy and happy and so do you creates a place for us to find common ground. It is in this common ground, in this understanding of our commonalties that allow me to understand and respect the differences that create such rich panoply of experiences that are normal.

Maybe we should move out of judgment and into acceptance. As Rumi said…”beyond right and wrong there is a field. I will meet you there”.

Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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Sunday Story...Food As Art

Sunday Story…Food as Art


I love to eat. I love to prepare food for other people and sit down and enjoy it with them. I love to browse my way through a wonderfully stocked produce section, followed by an amazing cheese selection and then of course there is the butcher’s area. I look for new and unusual foods I have never tried before as well as the tried and true favorites.

I remember the foods my mother used to prepare for us. We weren’t (at least I wasn’t) concerned about whether or not the dish was low fat or low carb, high glycemic or low glycemic, organic, natural, or conventional. A lot
of the food we ate came from our own efforts in the garden behind thehouse. And yes, all of the children
worked at pulling weeds and anything else we were told to do. As we grew older we earned money in the
fields around where we lived. Asparagus in the early spring (back breaking work if you have ever done it), cherries in the early summer, peaches, apricots, apples and grapes as the growing season
progressed. We picked and often ate sunshine fresh from the tree. It was a life of food abundance.

Somewhere along the way the relationship changed. It may have been the food, it
may have been me, and I am not sure where to lay the blame. But change it did. There became a point where fresh wasn’t as common. Canned, frozen, pre-prepared, microwaveable,
all became the norm. And slowly I fattened up as I aged. For those of you who know me personally would be a little surprised if you saw a picture of me 20 years ago. I was well on my way to the normal middle aged weight belt. My health was breaking down. Yet I was exercising (think hamster on a wheel) and eating “right” and getting fatter every year.

I shifted my relationship to food again. I began to eat smarter but I was still ingesting a lot of processed foods but it became protein powders and energy bars and special concoctions designed in a laboratory somewhere to promote health, vitality and strength. Pressed, processed, and fortified with some nutrients I didn’t know I needed and didn’t know existed; these “franken-foods” were supposed to help me become healthy and wise. Certainly not wealthy based on their cost, however! I was in better shape though and had managed to slow if not stop the constant weight gain that seems to come with the passing years (and I have passed a few!).

And today I have returned full circle. I eat fresh food, in season, as much as possible. Yesterday we were getting the planting beds cleaned up for the coming spring plant and dug up 14 or 15 fresh carrots. Quite a reward for an hour or so of work for myself and my fellow workers. Eating a freshly dug carrot in February that you didn’t know would be there…a bit like Christmas and summer all rolled up in a neat little orange
stick. There was a joy and excitement when the kids working with me realized there was gold under the ground. Their enthusiasm for digging increased 10-fold as soon as they realized the pot of gold that lay just beneath the surface. And the bed is nicely churned now and ready for spring vegetables! And
a half dozen or so kids now have a food story that relates to a natural process not an industrial one.

I believe our relationship to food is not just about the food. No relationship is really one
sided is it? A laboratory can create a product that will sustain life. A factory farm can produce food that will nourish our bodies. But when I think about food I think about the people I share it with. I think about
the laughter and the stories and the interplay between the participants at the table. The gratitude expressed through eating food shared with people I love and care about. I may not remember the meal but I will
remember the engagement announcements, the joys shared, and yes, the sorrows.

We eat when we are sad. We eat when we are happy. We eat to celebrate and commiserate. Food and the rituals of eating permeate our everyday life. Even when I eat alone I sit down and eat. I don’t “grab and go”. Breakfast for me is often a grapefruit. I eat it at my desk or in my car. But when I eat it I try and make sure I am only doing that---eating the sunshine contained in the fruit, giving gratitude for all the people and creatures who made possible this delicacy that fills my mouth with taste and my body with nutrients and my soul with joy. It is not just a grapefruit. It is an instrument of both satisfaction and gratitude.

Food is not just about nutrition. Your attitude about the food, your mental state when you ingest it and your compatriots complicit in the ritual all contribute in creating an atmosphere of health and fitness. It matters less what you are eating, and matters more how and why and with whom you are eating it. Your thoughts create your reality, remember?

Namaste

John

“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”

www.martialartsnevada.com


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Sunday Story...What, Me Worry

Sunday Story…What, Me Worry?

Worrying is a waste of time. I shouldn’t worry about the things I can do something about. I should just go out and do something about them. And if I worry about things I cannot do anything about it’s a waste of time and energy because I really can’t do anything to change them. This is a paraphrase of a quote by the Dalai Lama. I have to say he rarely looks worried.

I recently had a conversation with an old friend about business. As you might imagine a lot of the conversation revolved around the current economic “crisis”. This conversation seems to be taking place constantly around dinner tables, the TV news, and well, everywhere. We see businesses with long histories going out of business. People are juggling bills every month, trying to decide who gets paid this time. And everyone is wondering when it is all going to “turn around”.

I am not in charge of the economic policy in this country (or any other country). I can’t raise housing prices, I don’t determine who gets laid off and who doesn’t, and I certainly can’t make everything all better. But I can do a number of things. And so can you.

First and foremost, I can stop worrying about it and I can stop talking about the “crisis” in negative terms and in ways that indicate powerlessness. If I can’t change it, I shouldn’t worry about it, remember. I can, however, change my attitude about it. I can refuse to allow an unseen and unknown force to shape my life and my thoughts. I am in charge of my thoughts. I am in charge of words. I am in charge of my emotions.

Second, I can run my life in ways that empower me. I can make decisions based on reality not fear (False Evidence Appearing Real). I am going to face the challenges that this unseen force places in front of me with an attitude of joy and gratitude. We live in interesting times. We have seen things amazing, fantastic things. And we have seen horrible, cruel and frightful things. It is all exactly as it should be. It is all part of the lessons we are here to learn.

Third, and the most important, is my ability to control my future. When I control my thoughts and attitudes I am creating the future me today. Do I want the future me to be bummed out and depressed? Or do I want the me of tomorrow to be healthy happy, whole and in good humor? Who and what I want to be tomorrow is directly related to what I am thinking, doing, and reading today. If I want to be stronger tomorrow I must work out today. There is no other way. It is the same with my thoughts…if I want to be happier tomorrow I must shift my thought patterns to happiness today.

Fourth, I refuse to be dragged down into conversations about “how bad things are”. I refuse to read news stories about the “crisis”. When I get drawn into conversations around the topic, I get to gently shift the tone and tenor to one of a positive nature. To one of all the wonderful things I see people doing everyday…the generous and giving nature of my friends, family and community. I turn the point of view over to the side of what I can do instead of what can I do.

Fifth, I do the things that serve me and my goals. I keep my eyes focused on what the task at hand is and what the long term goal is. Complaining, whining and moaning are not on the list of things to do that will move my mission forward. Neither is worrying about things I can’t do anything about.

Misery loves company. It is easy to get together and commiserate about how bad things are, share all the hard luck stories that have crossed our paths, and to wallow around in self pity. Unfortunately you won’t get anywhere swimming in that pool of quicksand. It will just keep you stuck in a mire of depression, stinkin’ thinkin’ and inactivity. And that is probably the worst thing: the inactivity. Failure to act is a recipe for failure. You just can’t hit the ball if you don’t swing, it is not possible. Doing it poorly and unsuccessfully is better than not doing it at all.

If you are thinking about starting a new business do the research, make a plan and then go for it. I know a number of people who have done just that in the last few months. They are operating lean and mean and turning a profit right out of the gate. You can too. If you need more education, go get it…even if it means listening to books on tape as you travel. If you need a new job get out there and set that as a priority…if you don’t you will be in the same boat a year from as you are in now---so why not give it a shot.

In many ways this is like a turtle. If he gets scared he pulls his head and legs into his shell and no one can hurt him (he thinks). But he also can’t see when danger has passed. He has no idea of the conditions around him…he is just hiding in his shell consoled by his fear. But behold…the turtle only goes anywhere when he sticks his neck out! Stop worrying and start acting…sooner not later.


Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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Sunday Story...Let's Get Physical

Sunday Story…Let’s Get Physical

As promised…a short treatise on exercise…

But first the disclaimers…get your physicians Ok before you start any exercise program blah blah blah. What you are about to read is radical compared to what many of us believed about exercise until just recently. Including me. But I can attest that these ideas work and work well. Mark Sisson and the Primal Blueprint is to blame for much of what you are about to read…

Remember waaay back in the 80’s? (Well some of you anyway…) Leg warmers, Jane Fonda’s exercise tapes, Richard Simmons and Sweatin’ to the oldies, head bands, Cardio was all the craze! You were supposed to exercise for 45 to 60 minutes, keep your heart rate up in the “fat burning zone” and you would be heart healthy and fit and live to be a ripe old age. This was also about the same time we all went to the low fat/no fat diets. We had to since the amount of carbs to support these workouts on a daily basis was immense.

The problems this sort of exercise causes a quite numerous but include:
Hormonal imbalances due to excess cortisol and lower testosterone and growth hormone.
Injuries are rampant and recurring. Inflammation due to muscle fatigue, repetitive impact increase the risk of injury.
You are burning sugar as fuel and that drives you to eat more sugar. The sugar comes in many forms but certainly includes excess grain consumption. As a side note…when I was running ultra marathons (anything over 26 miles is an ultra btw) I was amazed at the really bad food many people ate and drank, often in excess…warm flat Pepsi or coke, peanut butter on white bread, and boiled potatoes come to mind.
The stress of training like this is hard on the immune system and accelerates both aging and disease risk.
Because you are training in a narrow, minimally functional aerobic manner you are giving up total fitness that includes power, speed and strength.

So here are the three things you must do for total fitness:
1. Move frequently at a slow pace
2. Lift heavy things
3. Sprint occasionally

Very quickly…
Move frequently and slowly. This may appear to be too easy and too simple. And it is easy and simple. Most of us do not move very often or very far. We get up, walk to the car, park as close as possible, get out walk to our office and sit down again. We do not walk up the stairs we take the elevator. We don’t park as far away as possible and then walk to our destination. We sit back down after we get up from eating, if we get up at all. We should be walking around the block, around the office after our meal. We should be riding our bikes to run some errands instead of always taking the car. You don’t have to travel far, but you do need to travel often. I see so many people who could be walking a ½ maile or a mile to work but they don’t because they have “too much stuff to carry”. When carrying that stuff would actually help bring us to number 2.

Lift heavy things. Not go to the gym and move weight around in a limited, specific, isolated range of motion. Pick things up, carry them from point a to point b, put them down, and pick them up again. Walk a mile carrying your books and your laptop. Or get intense for 20 minutes once in a while. Use your body weight to push and pull around. Do pull ups and pushups. Spending an hour or two at the gym in a specific workout regimen is stultifying and unnecessary. Move big rocks once in awhile. Pick up tires and flip them. Tax yourself once in awhile; go crazy for 10 minutes once in awhile. Which leads us to #3.

Sprint once in awhile. You know, the all out, bear is chasing you sprint. On your bike, in the pool or on foot, go really hard and then rest. Go hard again and then rest. This is not about speed as much as it is about effort and intensity. Any one at any age can do this. Of course, you will need to work up to this level of intensity. The effort should only last up to 60 seconds and could be considerable shorter. You only need to do this a few times a month.

To review…
Move more. Slowly and deliberately but move your body more often. Think about the people who came before us…they walked across the United States. They walked miles to school. They did not have any way to get from point A to point B using mechanized transportation. They had to move themselves through time and space.
Pick up heavy stuff. Even if you are moving your own bodyweight up to a chin up bar or your chest down to the floor you want to develop the strength and conditioning to pick something up and not hurt yourself…maybe a 6 yr old child or a 5 gallon bucket of liquid without causing any damage to yourself.
Move really fast once in a while. Taxing your heart and lungs is good for them. They will get better at processing oxygen and pumping blood if you force them to work occasionally. Beside you never know when a bear might decide to chase you and you don’t want to be the slowest one in the group!

Once again the mantra is simple…
Eat Less, Move More

Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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