Early Morning Stress Reduction Inspiration - 6/15/2013
Early Morning Stress Reduction Inspiration - 6/15/2013 |
- Early Morning Stress Reduction Inspiration - 6/15/2013
- 17 Ways To Remove Stress From Your Life Once And For All
- Jesus appears in a pug's butthole. Praise Dog!
- The power of appreciative words: “Mishan’s Garden,” by James Vollbracht
- The power of appreciative words: “Mishan’s Garden,” by James Vollbracht
- Check out "25 Ways To Feel Totally Fucking Awesome"
- 50 years ago this week…
| Early Morning Stress Reduction Inspiration - 6/15/2013 Posted: 15 Jun 2013 11:00 AM PDT  "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." ~The Buddha      Read More @ Source |
| 17 Ways To Remove Stress From Your Life Once And For All Posted: 15 Jun 2013 10:00 AM PDT  1. Stop being so hard on yourself. You will mess up sometimes. Learn from it, and let it go. You're never going to be perfect and get everything right. Stop expecting yourself to. Instead, notice the things you are good at, that do go right, that don't mess up. Notice your funny quirks, little talents and goofy features. Love them for their own sake. Notice all of the ways you're pretty cool and stop sweating the other stuff you're not yet good at. 2. Stop being so hard on the world. Unrealistic expectations are one of the root causes of unwanted stress and pressure. Life will not go smoothly so stop expecting it to. Accept life with all its glorious messiness. Kids will be noisy. Trains will be late and traffic lights will be on red at times. Accept it. You can't control it so why get frustrated by it? Breathe and let it go.  Read More @ Source |
| Jesus appears in a pug's butthole. Praise Dog! Posted: 14 Jun 2013 11:00 PM PDT There's really nothing to say about this awesome (or ass-some) miracle: an obvious image of Jesus appearing in, or as, a dog's butthole. A picture is worth more than any amount of words I could utter in praise of Almighty Dog. (click to enlargenfy) This explains why dogs spend so much time with their noses up each other's asses. They're looking for Jesus! |
| The power of appreciative words: “Mishan’s Garden,” by James Vollbracht Posted: 14 Jun 2013 10:01 PM PDT
This morning I stumbled downstairs, bleary-eyed, having got home late after teaching a class the night before. My six-year-old daughter gave me a running hug and a huge smile. She's naturally affectionate, but I suspect there was an ulterior motive, because a few seconds later she came running back to me with Mishan's Garden in her hands, asking that I read it to her. And so, I did. Mishan is the titular heroine, a young girl who lives in The Village Above the White Clouds, where her father is the innkeeper. Misha is a special girl, whose birth was accompanied by the song of a white bird — a song so sweet it seemed to unite heaven and earth. The land around The Village Above the White Clouds is too cold and barren for anything to grow. The barrenness is metaphorical, since people there say it is not a place where people belong. But Mishan's father predicts that she will cultivate a beautiful garden of hopes and dreams. Mishan dutifully plants seeds in the cold, infertile soil, but those are not the seeds that are to grow. Instead, it is the seeds of goodness in the villagers' hearts that Mishan is to cultivate, watering them with her kind and appreciative words. When an argument breaks out in the inn, Mishan asks a worn-out old soldier to intervene and prevent violence. He says he's too old and weak, but Mishan convinces him that he still has strength, like an old tree whose boughs offer shelter. And so the old soldier asserts himself and puts a stop to the fight. She tells an arrogant and rich merchant that he is like the village stream, bringing life to all who are in need. Her kind words inspire him to be generous, and we see him giving alms to a beggar. She offers kind words to the village children, whom she compares to wild flowers, and to the young girls, whose talk about the beauty of others perfumes the air like the scent of lilac flowers.
Lastly, she tells a white lie to an angry woodcutter who has come to the inn looking for his son, whom he regards as a lazy good-for-nothing. She praises the woodcutter's wisdom in coming to the inn, saying that it is wise to know that there is a time to work and a time to rest and dream, like the vine that grows by day and bathes in the moonlight by night. The woodcutter not only accepts his son's need to rest, but asks him what his dreams are. But Mishan is still waiting for her garden to grow. And distraught that her seeds have not germinated, she becomes seriously ill. But although her literal garden has failed to blossom, around her kindness is blooming in every heart, and the villagers run to help her. The birdsong so beautiful that it seemed to unite heaven and earth is heard once again, and the villagers see Mishan's garden, filled with beautiful flowers, vines, bushes, and trees.
My daughter loved the book, and I enjoyed reading it to her. The story is charming, and open to many interpretations. Does Mishan die toward the end? Is the flourishing garden we see her vision of heaven? Why does she really become ill? Is it because she lied to the woodcutter? Does the white bird's appearance at Mishan's birth and possible death suggest that Mishan is some kind of bodhisattva — a being reborn in order to help others? I rather like all the ambiguity, which allows for much discussion and exploration with children. Janet Brookes' watercolor (?) illustrations are very beautiful, simple, and give a good sense of a non-specific Himalayan culture and landscape, with bare craggy mountains and fluttering prayer flags. I especially enjoyed the sensitivity and love expressed in the faces of Mishan and her father. James Vollbracht's storytelling is poetic, evocative, and beautifully illustrates the power of appreciative speech. Mishan's Garden is 30 pages long, and is the perfect length for a story at bedtime — or for reading before breakfast! Read More @ Source |
| The power of appreciative words: “Mishan’s Garden,” by James Vollbracht Posted: 14 Jun 2013 10:00 PM PDT
This morning I stumbled downstairs, bleary-eyed, having got home late after teaching a class the night before. My six-year-old daughter gave me a running hug and a huge smile. She's naturally affectionate, but I suspect there was an ulterior motive, because a few seconds later she came running back to me with Mishan's Garden in her hands, asking that I read it to her. And so, I did. Mishan is the titular heroine, a young girl who lives in The Village Above the White Clouds, where her father is the innkeeper. Misha is a special girl, whose birth was accompanied by the song of a white bird — a song so sweet it seemed to unite heaven and earth. The land around The Village Above the White Clouds is too cold and barren for anything to grow. The barrenness is metaphorical, since people there say it is not a place where people belong. But Mishan's father predicts that she will cultivate a beautiful garden of hopes and dreams. Mishan dutifully plants seeds in the cold, infertile soil, but those are not the seeds that are to grow. Instead, it is the seeds of goodness in the villagers' hearts that Mishan is to cultivate, watering them with her kind and appreciative words. When an argument breaks out in the inn, Mishan asks a worn-out old soldier to intervene and prevent violence. He says he's too old and weak, but Mishan convinces him that he still has strength, like an old tree whose boughs offer shelter. And so the old soldier asserts himself and puts a stop to the fight. She tells an arrogant and rich merchant that he is like the village stream, bringing life to all who are in need. Her kind words inspire him to be generous, and we see him giving alms to a beggar. She offers kind words to the village children, whom she compares to wild flowers, and to the young girls, whose talk about the beauty of others perfumes the air like the scent of lilac flowers.
Lastly, she tells a white lie to an angry woodcutter who has come to the inn looking for his son, whom he regards as a lazy good-for-nothing. She praises the woodcutter's wisdom in coming to the inn, saying that it is wise to know that there is a time to work and a time to rest and dream, like the vine that grows by day and bathes in the moonlight by night. The woodcutter not only accepts his son's need to rest, but asks him what his dreams are. But Mishan is still waiting for her garden to grow. And distraught that her seeds have not germinated, she becomes seriously ill. But although her literal garden has failed to blossom, around her kindness is blooming in every heart, and the villagers run to help her. The birdsong so beautiful that it seemed to unite heaven and earth is heard once again, and the villagers see Mishan's garden, filled with beautiful flowers, vines, bushes, and trees.
My daughter loved the book, and I enjoyed reading it to her. The story is charming, and open to many interpretations. Does Mishan die toward the end? Is the flourishing garden we see her vision of heaven? Why does she really become ill? Is it because she lied to the woodcutter? Does the white bird's appearance at Mishan's birth and possible death suggest that Mishan is some kind of bodhisattva — a being reborn in order to help others? I rather like all the ambiguity, which allows for much discussion and exploration with children. Janet Brookes' watercolor (?) illustrations are very beautiful, simple, and give a good sense of a non-specific Himalayan culture and landscape, with bare craggy mountains and fluttering prayer flags. I especially enjoyed the sensitivity and love expressed in the faces of Mishan and her father. James Vollbracht's storytelling is poetic, evocative, and beautifully illustrates the power of appreciative speech. Mishan's Garden is 30 pages long, and is the perfect length for a story at bedtime — or for reading before breakfast! Read More @ Source |
| Check out "25 Ways To Feel Totally Fucking Awesome" Posted: 14 Jun 2013 09:00 PM PDT Most of the time I do feel totally fucking awesome. Now I know why. I'm into almost all of the awesome-feeling ways listed by Chris McCombs on his Hardcore Happiness site. Some, though, I suck at. Like #20, Sleep. Chris advises 8-9 hours a night. My owl'ish wife and I usually only get about seven, often less. I'm also not so great at #17, Minimize. I've got too much crap. But I enjoy buying more. Books. Longboards. Crazy Shirts apparel. Sandals. I figure it's better than buying crystal meth, hookers, or fast food. Here's some of my favorite tips for feeling totally fucking awesome. Read them all. The guy has an appealing writing style. Peruse his home page for more Hardcore Happiness musings. 22. Don't KnowThe deepest knowing, is the knowing of "I don't know" Ever noticed there's no such thing as a happy Know-it-All? Thinking we know everything, and trying to make other people realize just how much more we know than they do, is nothing but the miserable little ego trying to make itself all big and puffy. It's a direct line to complete fucking misery. True joy comes from living in the wonderment of it all, having the mind of a newborn, taking things in and staying away from labels, judgements and the dubious feeling of somehow being more of a person because of the shit you know. To fully live and experience life in all it's wonders is to slice open the filter of what we "think" we know, and come at life in each moment completely open to what the moment brings.
5. Accept What Is IS. When we argue with IS we get our asses kicked, but only 100% of the time Everyone's life is crazy, chaotic and loaded with problems. EVERYONE'S LIFE The circumstances of our life are never gonna be perfectly harmonious and chaos-free, with every duck in a row, every dollar in the bank, full of perfect health, happy relationships, kids all acting like little angels in the backseat as we hit every green light on Eutopia Highway. That's just not reality. If we wait for things to be awesome for us to feel awesome, we are fucked. We are all guaranteed our daily recommended dosage of chaos. To resist the circumstances of our lives and internally argue against things, brings massive amounts of stress and suffering If we don't like something about reality, the best thing we can do is accept it and either move on, or work towards creating circumstances more to our liking Nothing outside of ourselves can make us happy, even Reality. The way to true joy is through acceptance of What Is. To feel awesome on the reg, it is highly recommend you become an avid fan of Reality, even when it sucks "Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man." Henry Adams 2. MoveOur bodies are meant to move, our pores meant to sweat, our muscles meant to contract and stretch, and our blood meant to flow. Plain and simply, we were meant to mother fucking train. I don't care if it's power-walking with fun loving Mabel, Gertrude and Marge; sweating to the oldies with Richard Simmons, bodyweight workouts at the park, yoga with a bunch of sweaty vegetarians, mountain biking, Crossfit, Jazzercise or heavy powerlifting sessions surrounded by guys with shaved heads, goatees and giant stomachs in a warehouse-style dungeon gyms full of all things heavy and gnarly If you enjoy it, do it. If you hate it all, find the one you hate the least. Due to injuries and just bouts of laziness, in the last 20 years I've probably been training for 16 or 17 of it and spent a total of 3 or 4 of it not doing any sort of training at all. A year here, six months there, that sorta thing. For the rest of it, I have trained. During times of no training, I absolutely, categorically felt like shit. Agitated, sluggish and moody. I realize sometimes it's hard to pick up anything heavier than the television remote, the big one, ya know, the one that works for your TV, DVD player, Blue Ray, Nintendo and garage door But if you just get up and get your ass to the gym, the workout WILL get done. You'll feel a million times better, actually 1.38729 million times better, but I rounded down for the sake of simplicity If you wanna train, but have trouble actually getting out the door and doing it, Do what I do, lie to yourself. And not just any lie, tell yourself 'Big Chris's Favorite Lie' It goes like this: "I'll just go do a few quick little light sets today, that's all" It works awesome! In fact, I don't think I've ever ended up actually just done a few quick little light sets. Typically after the first few sets I'm fired up and gunnin' hard. Many of my best workouts have been on the days I've told myself that little fib And guess what? Almost everyone who trains has days they don't wanna train, and many of them, just like me, rely on that little lie to get them into gear. And just like me, they have some of their best workouts on those days Do whatever you need to make it happen I don't know how people go through their life without some sort of regular training. They're a strange species, one which can easily be observed in any middle America town. Just go and have a seat at any mall or place where the Mid-West Beings gather and you'll see what I'm talking about Mounds of body fat concealing what can best be described as dead muscle tissue . Shoulders rounded forward, palms facing backward. They look like they're headed off to a Star Trek convention. Add in the look on their face of "If shit went down right now, I would not know how to defend myself from being eaten, so I better look as ugly and unhealthy to consume as possible" … filled with sloth meat, bitter depression and sour discontent. That image right there keeps me training my ass off. That, and knowing how shitty it feels not to train. Now I'm not always in great shape, in fact, I'm known to carry the extra pounds from time to time, like right now actually. But even when I'm drilling new holes near the end of my belt, I'm also training my ass off Because I KNOW where sitting on it gets me, and that ain't no fun There's something magical that happens at the end of a workout that can carry you through the entire day. Endorphins, serotonin, worked muscles, a clear mind and an unbreakable feeling of accomplishment.
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| Posted: 14 Jun 2013 03:00 PM PDT June 11: 50 years ago today, a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc calmly sat down in the middle of a street in South Vietnam in front of the Cambodian Embassy, while a fellow monk poured gasoline over his head. A moment later, he set himself on fire. He was protesting the systemic religious discrimination against Buddhists by the Roman Catholic regime of dictator Ngo Dinh Diem. Although Catholics were very much a minority in the country, they enjoyed majority status and privileges. Buddhists were not allowed to practice their religion in public, serve in the army, and were routinely discriminated against. [Via Death and Taxes] Read More @ Source |
"The greatest gift you can ever give another is to see what is best and unique about them."
When people think of the village now, they think of it as a special place where everyone not only belongs, but where every person has a "special place and their own special dreams." And those who come to the village in search of their dreams hear the song of the white bird, and feel encouraged to keep on with their searches.
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