Letting Go

Posted on June 18th, 2010 by admin in Kettlebell Training, Nutrition, The Warrior's Path

I recently listened to a great presentation by Richard Rohr, entitled “The Art of Letting Go.”  At the same time, I have been waiting for the right opportunity to read a highly recommended book by Dan John, entitle “Never Let Go.”  Both sat together on the front passanger seat of my car for over week.  It wasn’t until this morning that I recognized the paradox.

“The Art of Letting Go” is a wonderful discussion of Saint Francis and the wisdom with which he lived his life.  The overriding message is refreshing and heartwarming, especially coming from a modern Catholic priest.  One great tidbit that I will share with you has to do with letting go of the conditioned patterns with which we live our lives.  There is a fine line between treating yourself and overindulgence.  There is a great moment in the old television series, “Twin Peaks”, where agent Cooper shares the importance of always doing something nice for yourself every day.  He says that every day he buys himself a gift.  It’s not always something big, it could simply be a good cup of coffee and a tasty piece of pie.  That bit of advice stayed with me for a long time and helped me justify the daily splurge at Starbucks.  However, as important loving kindness is to ourselves and others, this simple act can become a conditioned pattern.  Perhaps, you reach the point where you can’t live without it.  Maybe your happiness depends upon it.  If you don’t get your morning cup of coffee, you are miserable and you make everyone around you miserable.  It occurred to me today that skipping that cup of coffee may be a good thing.  Letting go of that conditioned pattern, that habit, might actual be an opportunity to help myself.  While not having that coffee in the morning might feel like you are torturing yourself.  Maybe you feel like you are really losing out or even dying.  However, it you can sit with the discomfort and not call it bad.  Rather than seeking peace and happiness through a nice cup of coffee, perhaps the act of not indulging can put you in touch with your true self.  If you can abide in the experience of wanting and not having, at some point the veil will lift.  You can be happy without it!  Material possessions, gifts, little treats, etc….  are not essential to your happiness.  Try it and find out.  The true you can be happy now.  It requires no expenditure.

On a nutritional level, you can also do by not doing.  The Warrior Diet is a great example of not indulging and reaping great rewards.  If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it.  It can be a spiritual experience.

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Awareness

Posted on May 7th, 2010 by admin in The Warrior's Path

A friend relayed this quote to me recently, “keep your awareness tuned in, the lessons are always sinking in, every moment is a lesson, and the one you miss is the one lesson you will contemplate as the light fades.”

Everyone’s path is unique, as is every moment.  Chop wood and carry water.  Find the freshness in each moment.  Be aware of your thoughts and how they try to hook you and lure you away.  Avoid your habitual patterns.  Relax and don’t be so hard on yourself.  You are fundamentally not guilty.  Life is a journey which requires resolve.  Don’t worry, you have the strength.  There is no need to hurry, the journey is your destination.

Find the center and live there.

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Guilt

Posted on March 23rd, 2010 by admin in The Warrior's Path

Another consequence of identification with thought is guilt.  Many religions and belief systems cause people to harbor guilt.  We in the West are especially good at feeling guilty.

People’s actions are dictated by their level of consciousness.  People often feel guilty as a result of something that happened in the past.

Rather than feel guilty and carry regret, my recommendation is to take care of the present moment.  You can heal the past by your present actions.  For example, you can apologize for something that you said or did.  If your apology is not accepted, the burden is no longer on you.

Heed the words of Dr. Seuss, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

Consider this if you ever feel guilty, in your essence, you are innocent.  Your fundamental mind and heart are innocent.  Still your mind and find pure awareness.  In that moment, the truth of your being will emerge.

Thoughts are like clouds in the sky.  Carry water and chop wood.  Jettison any guilt or regret.  Take care of the present moment for the rest of your life and you will live abundantly.

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Ineffable

Posted on March 7th, 2010 by admin in The Warrior's Path

Ineffable is an adjective which means incapable of being expressed in words.  Much of the spiritual realm is ineffable.  We can experience it, yet the experience is difficult to put into words.  To make things even more difficult, the spiritual journey is always a personal one and what one person experiences as shenpa may be completely different from the next person.  Similarly, what one person finds meaningful in a leasson may be completely different from the next.  However, even though verbalizing teachings about things like shenpa can be difficult, it doesn’t mean that we should stop trying.

The Tao Te Ching begins with this very topic when it is written:

     The tao that can be told
     is not the eternal Tao
     The name that can be named
     is not the eternal Name.

If you can recognize when something has hooked you, refrain from your old habitual patterns of behavior.  This will allow you to stop kicking the hamster wheel you are on.  The wheel has momentum, so don’t expect it to stop immediately.

Learn to relax in the present moment.  Don’t expect life to be easy.  Be resolved to this fact and keep practicing.  It’s the road, not the inn.  Enjoy the journey.  Don’t worry about the destination.

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Shenpa

Posted on March 2nd, 2010 by admin in The Warrior's Path

The traditional translation of the tibetan term “shenpa” is attachment.  Pema Chodron prefers some alternate descriptions such as “hooked” or “stuck” to describe its meaning.  I believe when Eckhart Tolle describes the “pain body” and the “mindstream”, he too is drilling into shenpa.  It exists in each of us and arises from our thoughts.  More specifically, shenpa arises from the identification with thought.

The first step is to recognize shenpa when it begins to arise.  The second step is to refrain from the habitual action which would normally follow.  The third step is to relax and abide in your experience.  Remember that painful situations are often a blessing in disguise.  Pain can be an opportunity to awaken.  There is a phrase that comes to mind here, “Be grateful to everyone.”  When a person or situation “hooks” you, recognize it, refrain from your habitual response and relax.  Be patient and let your mud settle.  This will allow for shenluk or clear seeing.  Since conquering your shenpa is a lifelong journey, the fourth step is having the resolve to continue this practice.  Staying in the present moment and living in stillness are powerful tools for eliminating shenpa.

Remember that shenpa is not necessarily “bad”.  “Good” situations can elicit shenpa, too.  Any situation which causes the identification with thought is sweeping you into the mindstream and perpetuating the cycle of unconsciousness.

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Wasting Time?

Posted on February 11th, 2010 by admin in The Warrior's Path

Many people talk about the best way to spend time.  You may read that if you are not doing something productive with your time, you are wasting your time.  At best, this is a relative truth.  While time is a practical concern for anyone keeping a schedule, most people get too caught up in the idea of spending time wisely.

For all of us, life in our body is short.  All forms are impermanent.  While our current forms appear more stable than a sand castle or a flower, the reality is that all forms will dissolve.  This reality does not mean that we should have a sense of urgency and stop wasting time.

The important message is that there is no other time than now.  Winston Churchill defined history as “one damn thing after another.”  Eckhart Tolle likes to say that this is the definition of most peoples lives.  Instead of worrying about wasting time, the key is to honor the present moment.  The past and the future loose their heaviness when you become aware of the stillness that exists at this very moment.  Close your eyes, focus on your breathing and stop thinking.  I will wait for you.  Give it a try for a few minutes.

Live this way.  From the stillness comes great inspiration.  You will live an inspired life if you can avoid the mind stream and be present.  Pure consciousness awaits you.

When something unwanted enters you life situation, don’t label it bad or good.  Abide in the experience and respond to the situation out of stillness.  When you are calm, you will have the best chance of seeing things clearly.  Do you have the patience to let the dust settle?  Don’t worry about wasting time, find your inner stillness and keep training for being.

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The Means to an End

Posted on February 4th, 2010 by admin in Kettlebell Training, The Warrior's Path

The key to presence is that you do not resist the content of the present moment.  Furthermore, you will find the fullness of life unfolds when you don’t make the present moment a means to an end.  Forget about the past and the future, give your full attention to this moment and a world of abundance will be yours.

Avoid labels.  When you see a tree, avoid simply calling it a tree and moving on.  If you can truly see it and appreciate it, your life will become enriched.

For hundreds of years, people used to carry water and chop wood.  The Zen Masters adopted this phrase as a deeply meaningful lesson.  If you forget about the past and the future, you can live your life carrying water and chopping wood and you will live abundantly.  When you live in the moment, it is always the first time that you are experiencing that particular moment.  Even if you spent every day of thirty years carrying water and chopping wood, at that moment, it would be the first time.  Each moment is unique.  Don’t make the present a means to an end.  Live your life this way and you will be rich.

Apply this to your training.  Honor each repetition and find pure awareness.

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It’s How You Play the Game

Posted on January 21st, 2010 by admin in The Warrior's Path

While reading Tom Morris’s book, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, I found myself reconsidering the old saying, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.”  In this great book, written circa 1997, Tom Morris explores three modes of motivation in the world of business.  His exploration starts with the mode of motivation most common in the Western world, competition.  When we compete with one another, the motivation is usually to win.  As Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”  While competition can bring out the best in some people, it can also bring out the worst.  In a positive light, competition can cause you to work hard and in the heat of battle, you may perform better than you ever thought possible.  On the negative side, if all you care about is winning, nothing positive is necessarily achieved.  Depending on the competition, the winner may not have achieved their best and the loser may be left feeling worthless.

The second mode of motivation which Tom Morris explores is known as “comparative” motivation.  This mode of motivation, common to Eastern philosophy, involves a great deal of introspection.  The goal is not to win, but to make oneself better.  In the comparative mode, I have succeeded if I am better today than I was yesterday.  The postive side to this motivation mode is that no one suffers in order for me to succeed.  The down side is that no one necessarily benefits, other than me, from my success.  The critics of comparative motivation claim that the practitioner is too self-absorbed.

Tom Morris makes the appeal for “collaborative” motivation.  In this mode, a partnership is formed.  The participants work towards a common goal and in theory achieve the benefits of both competitive and comparative motivation without the negatives.  The parterns push one another beyond their oridinary limits to achieve an end product greater than either could have achieved individually.  Both partners have grown and benefited from the relationship without causing anyone to lose.  In this way, by helping others, they have helped themselves.

This exploration of competition, comparison and collaboration caused me to take a fresh look at the saying, “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.”  I always viewed this to mean that good sportsmanship mattered.  However, I believe that this is saying more than just be sure you play by the rules.

In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu wrote the following almost 2600 years ago:

    The best athlete
    wants his opponent at his best.
    The best general
    enters the mind of his enemy.
    The best businessman
    serves the communal good.
    The best leader
    follows the will of the people.

    All of these embody
    the virtue of non-competition.
    Not that they don’t love to compete,
    but they do it in the spirit of play.
    In this they are like children
    and in harmony with the Tao.

“The best athlete wants his opponent at his best.”  I believe Lao Tzu was recommending that you prepare yourself the best you can and hope that your opponent has done the same.  Give it everything you have – in the gym, in the film room, and on the practice field.  When you play, don’t focus on winning, focus on playing the game the best it can be played.  It doesn’t matter if you win or lose.  This is the way.  This is how you play the game.   If everyone in the game prepares and plays this way, then when they meet on the playing field, the game will play itself.  This is the beauty of play.

The most accessible examples of this in my experience occur in college athletics.  In college, you often have exceptional athletes working individually to be the best they can be.  They join as a team for a common goal.  They leave it on the field against another team that has prepared equally as well.  The end result is a beautiful example of the game.  The 2010 GMAC Bowl, where Troy played Central Michigan, comes to mind as an excellent example.  In the world of mixed martial arts, perhaps the first Ultimate Fighter Finale, when Forrest Griffin fought Stephan Bonnar, is another example of how you play the game.

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Develop a Friendship with the Clouds

Posted on January 21st, 2010 by admin in The Warrior's Path

All human beings are in search of a sense of well being.  As a species, we tend to think that seeking pleasure and avoiding pain will get us to that happy place.  When the clouds come along and the sun disappears from view, most of us have a feeling that something is wrong.  We harden our shells and make life miserable for ourselves and for those around us.  Whatever label is typically used for your clouds, anger, resentment, jealousy, fear, etc…, instead of avoiding, ignoring or running away from them, relax and introduce yourself.  Develop a friendship with the clouds and you they will tell you that the sun is still shining.  In fact, the sun is always shining.  The sun’s warmth is always present.

Bhodichitta is like the sun in this way.  If you stop running and awaken your enlightened heart, you will experience limitless quantities of loving kindness, joy, compassion and equanimity.  Now is the perfect time.

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Awaken Your Noble Heart

Posted on January 19th, 2010 by admin in The Warrior's Path

As we discussed last time, “Bhodichitta” refers to what I think is best referred to as a “noble heart”.  Bhodichitta is a limitless wealth of compassion and tenderness that is within each of us.  While it is in everyone, it often remains undetected.  In our last discussion, I touched on when, where and how to find this tender spot.  Today, I would like to discuss more about how we awaken our noble hearts.

While it is a muscle, cardiac muscle fibers are unique.  They are similar, but different, to the skeletal and smooth muscle fibers which make up most of our bodies.  While not specifically a part of our anatomic heart, Bhodichitta can be thought of in this manner.

When faced with an unwanted circumstance, we often shut down.  Our basic pattern is usually “fight or flight”.  Our sympathetic nervous system governs are primordial reaction to such emotions as fear, anger and resentment.  As human beings, we do have the capacity to step outside of this primitive reaction.  Just as our muscles tense and our hearts race, we have the ability to change our basic pattern.  We can respond to the situation rather than react.  Elite athletes master the balance of tension and relaxation.  Become an elite warrior and relax.  Let an uncomfortable situation touch your heart.  The basic pattern is to harden and tense against an unwanted attack.  Change your primitive reaction and don’t put up a barrier or a shield.  If you do this, an unwanted situation can become the doorway to enlightenment.

Consider that for a moment.  The thing you wanted least in life could actually be the path to your enlightenment.  A poison can become medication.  While this will not be a cure, it has great healing potential.  In this way, when given lemons, you make lemonade.

Relax into the present moment and awaken your noble heart.

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