I’m Back

​

Hey guys,


I hope everyone is happy and healthy.


I am back from vacation and I feel better. I disconnected from technology, as best I could, and have a clearer sense of priorities because of it.


I had become bogged down in negative thinking. Worried about things I couldn’t control and not focusing on what I could. I got caught up in the media and forgot to observe reality. I began to forget that I have power over my reality. 


I am a big believer in our thinking creating our reality. I mean, if I hold to the idea that I am unintelligent, every success is luck and every failure is reinforcement. Another example, if I believe I am unattractive, whenever I look in the mirror I see ugliness. One more, if I believe that I am a misfit, I’ll never be worthy of kindness or assistance.


This is why I love affirmations and intention focused meditations. Learn to treat yourself with the kindness you show others. For instance, would you turn to a little kid and say, “You're worthless! I can’t believe you screwed up that *fill in the blank*. You’ll never get it right!”. I hope not. Some people say worse things to themselves. I have been known to be extremely hard on myself. In a way I wouldn’t have treated anyone. The first lesson I learnt about helping people lose weight is to create the belief that they are worth the sacrifice. Because they were wonderful as they were and deserved the chance to be better and achieve. Second, create an environment that reinforces the thoughts and feelings fueling the goal. Reinforcement is refueling your energy for the goal.


What we put out into the world comes back to us. If I put love into the world I get love in return. If I put hate in the world, like clockwork, it comes back. On top of that, what returns reinforces the original thought or feeling. 


Think about it and it will find you.


Be well,


Sensei Mike


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Shena Board, DIY build and basic demonstration

The shena board is a length of board raised off the ground by wooden feet. It has been used since ancient times by Persian warriors to assist and give greater variety with push ups and continues to be used by people who practice Pahlavani. This practice uses Persian meels (heavy clubs), wooden shields, metallic archery bows and shena boards. There is also the practice of spinning in circles, where we get the term whirling dervishes from. The exercises performed are done to drumming and chanting which provides instructions to the practitioners and a calm/meditative environment. Shena means ‘swimming’ in Persian. Which describes the tone of the exercise, fluid, wave-like and circular motions. The board provides a stable platform which allows for greater leverage, better range of motion, variety of movement and is easier on the wrists. Materials: - saw - drill - 3 drill bits (1 smaller for pilot holes, 1 larger for countersinking and 1 to screw in the screws) - 4  4 1/2” woo...
Read more

Stoicism

Early on in my service in Corrections I thought I had adopted a Stoic 'Stiff Upper Lip Attitude' philosophy. I would take those stressors, pay them no mind and push them aside. However, to be precise, I thought I was pushing those stressors aside, what I was actually doing was tossing those pieces of trash into a mental closet. Eventually the trash had overrun the closet, filled my metaphorical house and threatened to bring down the structure. Two years ago, after I started my recovery journey, I discovered what real stoicism was. It is an ancient philosophy that was born in Greece. It teaches how to focus on what we have the power to control, our thoughts, feelings and desires. Thoughts; quite often my thoughts would overwhelm me and rouse anxiety and anger. What I learned from stoicism was to take a step back from my thoughts and analyze them. I would take the thought and weigh it against the known facts to see if the thought was appropriate to the situation. When I learned ...
Read more

Meditation

I remember being told by more than a few people "you should meditate, it will help". I would try it but found it ineffective. What I came to discover was that I had not learned how to meditate. I didn't understand what it meant to "focus on your breath". I had to learn what to do with the thoughts constantly bombarding my mind and distracting me from focusing on my breathing. When I think back to all those times that I sat and tried "focusing", I have to conclude that I did not understand what focus really was. At one of the scariest moments in my life a kind nurse whispered something in my ear that sparked my education in meditation. "Download Headspace, it's an app." Thankfully I took her advice. Headspace has become a major part of my meditative practice. It provided a step-by-step guide to meditation and provided a framework from which to experiment. Meditation is simply focusing on only one thing at a time. You exclude everything els...
Read more