06 Sunday Sep 2020
Posted in Spread Your Wings
With all the craziness in 2020, here’s another challenge that will help you gain a little peace. Challenge: Meditate 5 minutes for two days this week. It can be anytime you want, and wherever you want. You can listen to meditation music, you can get trial periods for the Calm or Headspace apps, or you can just use the simple method of closing your eyes and following your breath.
In the comments, tell me how it went.
Until next time…
Dave
27 Thursday Aug 2020
Posted in Thankful Thursdays
Tags
Gratitude, heavy metal, Meditation, memories, Movies, Music, Reading, Soundscapes, Thanks, Writing
I have always enjoyed music. It seems that we are all wired to music, in light of how popular it has been throughout history. Music entertains. Music reminds. Music inspires.
I like to listen to music when I read. I can’t listen to music with words, because it is too hard to concentrate, but instrumental music is a common partner when I read. I also enjoy listening to music when I write.
Again, I have to refrain from listening to music with words while I write because it is too hard to concentrate on what I’m doing when I listen to the words. Interestingly, I have found that listening to certain types of music invoke emotions that are helpful when I am writing an action scene or an emotional scene. I can’t listen while I write, but I do listen before I write.
Another type of music I like listening to is trance while I do cardio or heavy metal while I lift weights. Trance helps me deal with the monotony of cardio, while heavy metal helps me achieve the aggression I need when I’m trying to push myself to my limits.
I like listening to Asian music, sound scapes, and other cerebral music when I meditate. It helps my mind calm down, while I concentrate on the breath.
I even enjoy listening to movie soundtracks. When I listen to the music of Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, Star Wars, or even the Godfather, I can see the various scenes play out in my mind. It is amazing how much the music impacts a scene in a movie.
Think about the dark music in the original Halloween movie or The Exorcist. When you hear these songs, you automatically think about these movies. It is fascinating.
So today, I am grateful for music that helps me write, workout, relax, and visualize my favorite movies.
Happy Thursday!
Until next time…
Dave
20 Saturday Jun 2020
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
Tags
Calm, Chaos, Contemplation, going within, Meditation, News, Relax, Stress
The world just keeps getting crazier and crazier. This year has been a whopper so far. How do you remain calm in all of this chaos?
Each of us can go within ourselves in quiet meditation or contemplation. We can sit down and read a book that captures our attention. We can listen to Sound scapes, classical, or some easy listening jazz. The point I’m trying to make is you can be alone, quite, and relaxed, simply by going to your happy place in your home and just suck in the peace of silence.
Those that are hardcore meditators, particularly the Zen Buddhists, call meditation sitting, The simplest forms of their meditation is either following the breath or a body scan. Either technique achieves its end goal—serenity in the breath.
The greatest benefit of this process is learning to “control” the mind. You do so by focusing it gently on the breath and keep your attention there. It is harder than I describe it. Many of us have so many responsibilities, worries, and consume some form of news. The latter is the most stressful practice you can adopt. The news is designed to enrage, frighten, and confuse. If they achieve their goal, they have a person stuck in an endless loop of “soap opera”-type news stories that create a situation where you cannot stop reading to get your adrenaline fix.
Who can blame the news? They have to make money in a very competitive marketplace. They compete with podcasts, YouTube channels, Blogs, books, and social media. The news is on every channel in one shape or another. Even ESPN is political nowadays.
Chop down your news consumption. Treat yourself with loving kindness by taking 10-15 minutes to close your eyes and just listen to your breath. It provides tremendous benefits and will help you deal with all that is going on in the world.
Until next time…
Dave
21 Saturday Mar 2020
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
Tags
Bible, God, Inner Peace, Meditation, Prayer, Religious Practice, Spiritual Exercises, spirituality, The Calm
They say that we seek comfort during times of trouble. Many reach out to friends and family. Others use activities to take their mind off of things. Some turn to their religious beliefs.
It’s hard now because they’ve banned public gatherings across the country. Religious institutions are closed. No one but families in the home can get together. So how do you get comfort?
Some religious institutions are offering worship services online. Others are doing charitable work in the community by delivering food and other items to those less fortunate or at risk. Some will read their Bible or religious tome and rely on the faith they have in their hearts. I fall into the last group. I have a faith belief that all things happen for a reason and that whatever happens is exactly what should happen. “Everything is in its rightful place in the worlds of God.” – Harold Klemp.
How you comfort yourself and your family is up to you. I am comforted by the timeless principles in the scripture I read daily. I am also comforted by the daily spiritual exercises that help me reach the calm within. It is always there—waiting.
I hope each of you finds the calm in your own way. It is a tremendous place to be during calamity, disaster, and chaos, when the world seems to get more frightening daily.
Be safe. Follow the guidance provided by authorities. Take care of each other. We will all get through this together.
Until next time…
Dave
10 Monday Feb 2020
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Daily to-dos, Exercise, Meditation, motivation, Practice, Reading, Repetition, Weekly Schedule, Writing
Like I said, repetition in practice and hard work.
Ask any sports legend, concert pianist, actor, writer, anyone with any skill and they will all tell you they got where they are by practice and repetition. They practiced, and practiced, and practiced.
When I served in the Army, we did the same thing. We practiced. We repeated. We worked on something until you could do it in your sleep. That’s the key. To transform a skill from conscious practice to subconscious execution. Then you practice more.
Repetition can be boring. It is tough to stick with something every day. But for those of you who understand the power behind repetition, you know that sometimes you dread doing something you did yesterday, and the day before. The mind loves novelty and will fight it.
Stick with it. Keep doing it. Don’t stop. Greatness and mastery are on the other side of the boredom and repetition.
Here’s my schedule for the week:
Have a great Monday, folks.
Until next time…
Dave
27 Monday Jan 2020
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Blogging, Comments, Flexibility, habits, Meditation, motivation, rituals, Variety
Hey there!
I was reading through a few blog posts and saw the time. It’s Monday Motivation time. I’ll time this post if I finish early or just post it at midnight. I love the variety in the blogs I follow. One had a family visit to a great tropical resort, another is in Japan, and yet another got to the gym and knocked out some treadmill work. We are all so unique, yet the same. We like to write (obviously), we like to tell our stories, and we like the occasional response to our work. I try to respond to all the blogs I read, hoping folks will do the same on mine. I really enjoy getting comments. It makes my day!
OK. Off we go!
This week I’ll be following my daily regimen. Writing, reading, learning, meditating, coding, exercising, and all the rest. I enjoy my rituals. I schedule enough work to keep me busy and the rest of the day is mine. Rituals are nice because they slowly become a habit. I do not follow a daily schedule, because I would rarely follow it. I get all of my stuff done. It’s nice to have some flexibility in the day and attack what I want to when I feel it.
One thing I do is cluster like tasks together. When I’m done with this blog post, I’ll hit my journaling, posting quotes, sharing articles, and letter writing. Tomorrow during the day when I’m fresh, I’ll do some work on my classwork and coding exercises. I’ll get my exercise in, and I try to meditate every afternoon between 2:30 and 4:30 pm. I like this time of day because there is little chance I’ll fall asleep. I tried morning meditations and before-bed meditations, but I always fall asleep. The afternoon sessions are perfect.
I hope all of you have a great week!
Until next time…
Dave
17 Sunday Nov 2019
Posted in Workout Routine
Tags
30 Minutes, Cardio, Consistency, healthy living, Meditation, strength training, Stress Relief, Vegetarian Lunch, Wellness
This last week was a terrific success. This week we’ll introduce nutrition as part of my exercise routine.
Workouts:
**30 minutes Gym (minimum) – 15 minutes Cardio (Elliptical) – 15 Minutes Weight Training (15 sets) on days when I’m feeling good, I may go beyond these limits, but these are the bare minimums.**
Nutrition:
This week we’ll upgrade our nutrition by going pure vegan for my lunch meal (fruits, vegetables, and a protein (beans, chickpeas, lentils, or nuts and seeds). I like to eat out for lunch, so getting a salad without meat will be easy.
Meditation:
Headspace daily for at least 10 minutes
See you at the finish line!
Dave
23 Wednesday Oct 2019
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
Consistency, Exercise, Healthy Food, Meditation, Sleep, Water
Today’s wisdom is about the wisdom of living healthy. There is so much hype surrounding supplements, exercise routines, and what to take, and how much exercise and what type of exercise to do. Let me simplify health advice for you:
How much water? 8 glasses a day (I try to drink a gallon, but rarely make it)
How much exercise? 30 minutes a day comprising cardio and strength
Sleep? 7-8 hours or more if you can pull it off
Eat enough food? At least 3 meals a day with a mix of carbs (fruits, grains, vegetables), protein(beef, pork, chicken, fish, tofu, vegetables), and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds)
Meditate (10-20 minutes each day)
These things are addressed in hundreds of articles every week. The challenge is discerning what is true and not. I’ve read articles about eggs being bad for you, only to be contradicted a week later. I’ve read articles about red meat being bad for you, only to be contradicted a week later. I’ve read articles about which exercises are the best and worst, how long a person should work out, and on and on and on.
Avoid reading articles about food and nutrition that are not well-cited and supported by serious research. Avoid articles by people who are selling you something or are represented by constituencies like the dairy or sugar lobbies, you’re just asking to be lied to.
After 3-4 years of reading and researching about various aspects of health, I can tell you that 90% of what you read on the web that is not from a trusted authority like the Mayo clinic, are absolute bullshit. Listen to your own body. Pay attention. What benefit does the information do for the author. Does it spur you to buy their product? Does it motivate you to buy a certain type of food? Buyer beware.
I used to love Squats and Deadlifts. After back surgery in 2003, those are both a no-go for me. You can still get the same benefit from other exercises. I’m not a big fan of cardio, but it’s necessary to keep your blood pressure and circulatory system healthy. I love strength training and this is also a necessary component of any exercise program.
If you can’t afford a gym, you can use bodyweight exercises and get yourself an inexpensive bench and some dumbbells. You could also get exercise bands. Anything that provides your muscles resistance will work. Your body is stupid. It doesn’t know whether you are using a commercial-grade piece of equipment or a dumbbell set in your garage or basement. The same goes for cardio. You can get a good workout on an elliptical, cycle, treadmill, or stair-stepper. You can also get the same workout with a walk or jog around the block in your neighborhood. Heck, you can even buy yourself a bicycle or get yourself some hiking boots and hit the trails.
I have always liked Occam’s Razor. I’ll paraphrase. Occam posited that the simplest solution to a problem was one that required the least amount of assumptions. Drink water, get enough sleep, eat enough healthy food, exercise your body, and reduce your stress through meditation. You do these things, and you’ll be better off.
Why does a country as rich as the United States have an obesity problem? We eat too much easy-to-make (processed) food; we don’t get enough sleep; we don’t meditate; we don’t drink enough water, and we don’t exercise and move around. We sit in front of a computer all weekend, sit in front of a computer at work, and our bodies pay the price.
If you want to gain weight, eat more. If you want to lose weight, eat less. I used to be really worried about weight and all the rest. I don’t anymore. I worry about being healthy. I worry about being able to take care of myself and have a decent quality of life as I approach my senior years. I worry about keeping my brain healthy and maintaining my ability to think and learn throughout life. All these things are possible if you take care of yourself consistently. You can’t cram for a health exam. Health is consistency. If you want to feel good consistently, you have to work on your health consistently.
I hope this helps some of you avoid all the things I didn’t. Ignore diet hype. Ignore exercise hype. Ignore supplement hype. Most of it involves you parting with your money for something that most health organizations cannot verify. Some of these companies are even scummy enough to use questionable ingredients that could put your health at risk.
When you read anything online, consider the source and their motivation. In most cases, you’ll find it is about gaining followers for their newsletter, getting your hard-earned money for one of their unverified claims, or convincing you to pay a subscription fee for one of their apps. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against someone making a living. What I am advocating is to let someone else support that person’s living. You stick with the basics I’ve presented here. There is no diet, magic pill, magic supplement, or food that will achieve your health. It is a combination of water, sleep, healthy food, consistent exercise, and meditation. Nothing more, nothing less.
Have a great Wednesday, folks!
Until next time…
Dave
05 Saturday Oct 2019
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
Video provided by Happify and Dan Harris. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/131682712
I enjoy posting these videos. I find them entertaining and hope you do too! Today’s little video is a quick walk-through on meditation. I enjoy meditation because it helps me focus, and it is very relaxing. It is a great way to train the mind.
I hope you have a great Saturday!
Until next time…
Dave
02 Monday Sep 2019
Posted in Labor Day, Motivation Monday
Tags
Blogging, Exercise, Goal Achieved, Labor Day, Meditation, motivation, My Schedule, Reading, Writing
This week’s schedule:
Labor Day – Celebrate!
Tuesday – Saturday:
Goal Achieved – 48 Books read this year. YES!!! (I’ll be upping this to 60 next year and will continue reading one chapter a day or more in 2019)
It’s the little things you do daily that build to big things over time. The above schedule will help me achieve my physical, mental, spiritual, and social goals this year. Get ready to attack your schedule tomorrow!
For those of you who celebrate, Happy Labor Day!
Until next time…
Dave
