A Chance To Do My Personal Best

Today I was having lunch with a dear friend, and the conversation turned to something my yoga instructor had said. I was pondering the idea of "hoarding" and how collecting or keeping stuff in fear of lack sends a message to the universe that I am in fear of not having enough. He said it sends a message that you do not trust in god, the universe or whatever name you put on it to always provide for you exactly what you require.

So I had been pondering this for a little while, and then at lunch today I stated that if someone asks me for something, and I have it, I will give it to them. Then the food arrived and we talked about lots of other things.

After lunch I ran some errands before having about an hour to kill prior to my dental cleaning. I took back roads to the dentist and decided I would fill up my gas tank. Passing several gas stations, I finally decided impulsively on one and stopped.

I filled up the tank and watched as a lady drove up in a bright red expensive something. I admired the car and observed the woman as she got back in. Finally, I finished up and got back in my car.

Still another 50 minutes to kill. I pondered what to do next when suddenly a voice spoke at my open driver's side window.

I was startled to see a girl standing there saying that she is basically out of gas and new to Tulsa and also not sure how to get home and doesn't do this kind of thing but could she...

(Sidenote: As she was saying all this, several thoughts ran through my mind, including how at lunch I had also said I don't like opening my wallet in front of strangers. I thought of people running scams at gas stations, like you see in the movies. But finally, my mind rested on the statement I had made at lunch. "If someone wants something and I have it to give, then I will give it to them." At that moment I decided to give her $10.)

She continued... could she have even just $5 from me and also did I know how to get to (insert address here). I nodded and said yes. I turned to my purse on the passenger seat and firmly ignored the voice in the head that mumbled something about how she could pull a gun on me.

I gave her the $10 and she looked surprised! Then we tried to figure out how to get her home. It was almost funny, as I had been cruising along in my own world and was not entirely sure of where I even was!

After we figured it out, she said thank you thank you and I drove away. I had to smile to myself as I drove. Suddenly I discovered I was in a housing edition and not sure where the dentist was. Still pondering that encounter I took two random right turns... and was shot out a block from my dentist's office with 30 minutes to spare!

I firmly believe that I did a good deed, but also that I got a chance to be true to my word. I had stated my intention clearly and *pow* a chance to live up to it (or not) appeared.

Now I'm off to discover the winning lottery numbers.

I repeat, winning lottery numbers...

PS: The dentist saw me early (they are always fully booked!) and I was out in time to beat traffic on the way home! Bonus!

Michael Moore, Jimmy Fallon, and Capitalism...

I just finished watching Michael Moore's latest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story". Suddenly I am really glad I left the corporate world to work for myself!

At the end of the movie, it shows Michael Moore's website with the words "Do Something!". It got me thinking because everything we do is something. Every day we choose what we support by voting with our dollars, pounds, euros, rand and the like. Every single time we spend our hard-earned money on a product or service, we are (on some level) agreeing and supporting that company or product. Your currency vote says that you are ok with what it is and how it does business. You agree to how that company treats (or doesn't treat) it's employees.

So what are you going to do today? What are you going to support today? How will you vote? I can tell you I'm looking for an ethical banking establishment that discloses how they lend my money.
Let me know if you know of one!



PS: SPOILER ALERT! One part of the movie, "Capitalism: A Love Story" reveals companies that purchase life insurance on their employees, basically making the employees worth more to the company dead than alive! For a list of the companies that participate, please visit this law firm's site. I choose to no longer support these companies. I'm talking to you too, Panera Bread! Bummer, as I really like your soups...

Understanding Time - A Zen Understanding

The following is a repost of a forward I received this morning from my dear friend, Angelique, in South Africa. It was a great message to read first thing in a new day. Thanks Angie!

The original post can be found at www.kristopher-raphael.com

There is a Zen saying, “To understand nothing takes time.”
When in body we have available to us the beautiful gift of time. Time is a wonderful tool but it is a tool we often repel – either we have too much of it, or more often, not enough of it. In a society of instant gratification many have difficulty accepting and using time the right way for their growth and transformation.

Due to time there are things we can do in body that are simply not possible when not in physicality. Due to time we have process. A spiritual path is a process. It is through the process of healing that growth and transformation occur. It is through the process of cleaning, clearing, and healing the human tonal (a Toltec term) or personality that we reclaim our personal power.

It is possible to compress time. This is one of the secrets of a spiritual path. A master gets much done with little effort. He or she does this by compressing time.
How do you compress time? You do it through expanding awareness. The more awareness you have in any given moment, the more time is compressed, and the “quicker” your transformation, the more you will ‘get done’ in a short amount of time. Awareness is like a muscle. The more we use it the stronger and more expansive it becomes.

What most people do is to grasp and repel. They repel the healing, maturing and growth they need to do, due to their fear of pain. And, they grasp at the life they want. The problem with this is that by grasping and repelling they are increasing the time required. In other words they prolong their suffering. By grasping and repelling they stop the possibility of process. Without process no growth and transformation can occur. All they have is motion, like a dog chasing its tail – lots of motion but little movement.

Repelling is a form of avoidance. Avoidance is a shutting down of awareness. When we shut down awareness all growth and transformation stops, we end up living the same painful cycles over and over again.

When we embrace time and process, each moment becomes fuller and more alive. Life literally expands in each moment. Each moment becomes a transformative process.

A practical exercise we can do is to slow down. A spiritual master moves slowly. This is the opposite of what most people do. Many people rush around driving themselves into a tizzy and actually getting little done. When you find yourself in a rush to get things done, slow down and you will get more done. But more importantly, when you slow down and engage your awareness, your growth and transformation actually speed up.

Savor each moment. There is another Zen saying, “Chop wood, carry water.” In other words by fully existing in simple daily activities we enter the state where time becomes our ally and not our enemy.

Love and Light,
Kristopher
www.masteryofawareness.com

The original post can be found at www.kristopher-raphael.com

Jamie Oliver's TED Award Speech

I am personally amazed and inspired by the passion Jamie has and how well he presents these issues.

"Jamie expresses his wish to teach every child about food and fight obesity. You can support his wish here: www.tedprize.org/jamie-oliver"

Why Insanity is Relative

Growing up in rural Vancouver Island was a great experience. Lots of trees and forest to explore, and no cell phones, so kids had a real sense of independence.

During that time, my mom got sick. Over nine years she went to various doctors, but none of them could tell her what was wrong. I remember going to allergy screenings with her. She would tell me about how they did 'scratch tests' on her back, placing things like newspaper, cat hair and other common allergens on the scratches to see if it incited a reaction. Good thing she didn't tell them we had two cats at the time, or they would have said to give them away!

It was also at that time I discovered I had an issue with shots. Mom took me with her to get her weekly allergy shot when I was five. No one told me what was happening, but all I remember was seeing the needle go into her arm. Then I hit the floor. But I think I got ice cream later because of it... That was the last time I went with her.

After nine years of suffering, Mom came across a book written by Dr Jon Matsen called "Eating Alive" that described a patient that had the same symptoms she was suffering from. The doctors had told Mom she had ulcerative colitis. But Dr Matsen diagnosed this patient with a candida imbalance. That patient, under Dr Matsen's care and advise, was cured in three weeks.

So Mom changed how we ate. We became vegetarians. No more white flour, sugar, or dairy. And that was just life as I knew it.

School was another story. When I ate at home, I felt great. The Catholic private school I was attending by this point had milk days where you could buy little cartons of milk. I would buy these on occasion, but it always made me sick later. So I stopped.

When parents would carpool, my friends' parents would sometimes stop to buy us ice cream on the way home. They were puzzled when I would decline. What 11 year old doesn't want ice cream?!? I'm sure they thought I was crazy.

Meanwhile, my parents would come home from their government jobs and meditate each evening for about 30 minutes before dinner. This required absolute silence on my part, and I would play quietly in my room. Of course, most of the time, I would be on the phone when they got home. And so I would have to explain that my parents were going to 'take a nap' and I had to go.

No one talked about meditation, or even healthy eating. I don't even think doctors really even talked about how food affects your health. My mom had to figure it out on her own. And part of that occurred when she was at a supermarket and saw a woman in line ahead of her that looked radiant with clear skins and eyes, and shiny, healthy hair. Mom tells the story of how she wondered how this woman was so healthy, as her eyes dropped to the woman's purchases on the conveyer belt. All fresh fruits and veggies and whole grain items. No meat. No processed foods. And the lightbulb lit up.

For those of you not familiar with this part of Canada, Vancouver Island is kind of a hippy, new age mecca. So my parents did not have to go far to obtain this information that turned around a nine year illness in three weeks. However, it was not at all 'mainstream' like it is now. So small health food stores carried mostly bulk grains and sad looking, pesticide-free apples and veggies. The term 'organic' wasn't even really recognized by most.

Why am I telling you all this, you may ask? Because of my choice of the name of this blog. Because more people are questioning their doctors, rather than just agreeing with what they say. Because people seem to understand that injected antibiotics and growth hormones in their meat may not be good for you. Because no one used to think there was anything wrong with smoking. Because the majority of people in authority used to think the world was flat, and the sun revolved around it, and if you disagreed you were a heretic or insane.

And so, I give you "Insanity is Relative", inspired by the Ray Bradbury quote "Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage."

If you are interested in learning more about my mom's journey to health and beyond, have a look at her lovely website www.ullajacobs.com (which I just happened to design myself! :-)

Deepak Chopra's new iPhone App "Authentic Yoga"

Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" starts March 26th on ABC

And the beat goes on! Can't wait for this series to start. Please share this with people you love and support the show. Ryan Seacrest is producing.

PS: Problems watching this video? Not in the US?
Try clicking here to go to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution site.