What My Dog Taught Me About Running

I like to run, particularly events. Having done 9 marathons already, around August I will start preparation for number 10. Only this year, it will be a little different.

Thanks to my dog.

I brought Lightning the wonder dog for his daily walk on Sunday. It was the same 1.9 mile route at roughly the same time I typically walk him. As I was going outside the gates in our community, I noticed someone else was walking their dog, approximately 200 feet in front. Only she was talking away on the phone while the dog was desperately trying to get her attention to no avail. It really struck me, as I had done something similar in the past, probably a bit too often as well.

In other words, I was somewhere else when it would have been better to be present.

For the rest of the walk, I was present, soaking in every magical minute. I saw Lightning for the wonderful creature that he is. I saw the things that interested him such as the squirrels scurrying along the sidewalk collecting dinner. I saw the incredible trees and other foliage that makes Florida a truly beautiful state. It was as if I saw through Lightning’s eyes — the ducks, storks and anhinga that flew by, all catching his attention. These were gifts presented by Mother Nature to those who were willing to be present. Like Lightning.

And now me.

When I would run, there were times I yearned for distraction. Despite being on one of the most beautiful trails in the country, at least mentally, I wanted to be elsewhere. How many gifts did I miss because of an iPod or mindless yapping away about something totally insignificant, was deemed more important.

I have had the great fortune of having some of the very best teachers in the world. From Oriental Medicine to Kinesiology to Herbal medicine to Martial arts. None were better than my furry, 4-legged friend who decided I was ready for one of Life’s best lessons.

Marathon #10, some 7 months away,  is already memorable!

Don’t Bury Your Head in the Sand

Name the major topic and a high percentage of people will bury their head in the sand.

GMO foods. High Fructose Corn Syrup. Congress/President passing bills in the middle of the night. The list is endless.

Some will educate themselves and take the appropriate actions to do, to avoid or to adjust.

Most know, say they don’t know but really don’t seem to care.

Why?

There are 2 major reasons – laziness and fear.

Laziness. This is a word that the PC crowd has all but eliminated. Eradicating a word however, does not eradicate the action. Or in this case the lack of action.

There was a 16th century philosopher that stated all behavior is either movement toward pleasure or avoidance of pain. Lack of action ties in directly with the latter. If I avoid taking action — EVEN IF it is action that will benefit me in the long run — I can avoid pain. I don’t have to change my diet now. I don’t have to worry about government taking away another of my rights. I don’t have to think about using the paint I have on my wall that is now known to be toxic.

If I don’t think, it does not exist. If it does not exist, I do not have to take action. If I do not have to take action, I can use the “I didn’t know” excuse.

Of course, the end result(s) of this strategy are as easy to predict as they are to prevent.

The second issue is fear. Isn’t it always the case that where a problem exists, Fear is to be found?!

Fear shows up as indifference and apathy. If I pretend I don’t know and don’t care, I do not have to look at my actions and thus, their potential consequences.

Fear has several enemies. At the top of the list is Truth. Fear runs from truth the way a rabbit runs from a wolf. It cannot stand its presence and its power.

Be Truthful. Amid in an accurate AND compassionate way, what you are doing and what can be adjusted. If you can do this yourself, GREAT! If not, there are countless professionals happy to help (myself included).

Fear also has the habit of creating stories. “I have been eating XYZand I know this disease and that disease may happen so. . . “

Stop.

Breathe.

You are simply telling a story. Adjust your actions and then start telling and more importantly, living a different story.

You are worth it.

Stay On Top

Ever have one of those moments when you seem to receive information that is just so powerful, so truthful that you wonder where it comes from? It does not happen too often but when it does, it is very powerful.

Most of the time I have had these experiences where during long runs (12-15 miles or more). I am tired and monkey mind is shut down, allowing pure Truth to rise above the noise and present its wisdom. Yesterday was an unusual experience.

I was getting ready to go to sleep but decided to simply sit and be still for a couple of minutes. Virtually every time I do something like this, the end result is a feeling of calmness and stillness. It helps me sleep and wake feeling invigorated. Last night, I followed my typical M.O., sitting still when a thought found me. It just kind of “popped” into my consciousness, effortlessly and very unexpectedly. The thought was simple and one of the most powerful I ever experienced. It was:

“Stay on top of life. Keep life underneath you.”

Instantly I understood what this meant and how life altering it will be once consistently applied. It is not something can be intellectualized. It must be felt.

Think of your problems, worries or challenges as pure energy related to the earth. Perhaps visualize it as a layer of topsoil. As long as you are energetically, emotionally and spiritual above this (these), your life will always be joyous and successful. Yes joyous AND successful.

It is when you get on the same level or worse, below the problems or worries that things get worse. They trap you ala a spider’s web. The energy is sticky and the more you struggle AT THAT LEVEL, the more engulfed you become.

Rise above and immediately things will be better.

Keep this notion close to you. It may be the most valuable “tool” you will ever use.

4 Steps to Reinvent Yourself

Last year was not a good year personally. My 2013 New Year’s resolution was to have much different and favorable experiences. Up until 2 weeks ago, it was a failure of significant proportions.  Two weeks ago or so, I decided to re-invent myself.

Now, my whole life has changed and changed for the better. I am in the Flow and all aspects of my life are going extremely well. Business has significantly picked up and I anticipate new heights. My family is strong and tightly knit. Same with friends. My passions, particularly martial arts have gone through the roof.

Whatever word you think is beyond Happiness, I am experiencing it. Daily. Actually, by the minute.

THIS is the life I want. And it is only just the beginning!

How?

The short answer is that I re-invented myself.

How?

By doing these steps:

1. Take action in all areas.

About a month ago, my wife and I decided to spend the entire weekend and build a website (which would become DocWellnessWorld.com). We started at 8am on Friday and did not finish until nearly midnight on Sunday. It was brutal. My eyes felt and probably looked like some type of lizard, buggy and red. It was not fun. We did it anyway.

On the surface, it was a great start to a new version of our business. We added things that were previously only talked about. In fact, we did everything that we talked about. The problem in the past was talking too much and doing too little. This weekend, we took strong, direct and clear action steps.

I also did this with all major areas in my life. As mentioned, the results have been outstanding.

Below the surface, it was an even strong move. A crystal clear message was sent to the Universe — THIS is what we want and we are willing to put the time and energy into having exactly this.

2. Align Energy.

The following weekend, action steps were taken to align energy.

I trained in the Black Sect style of Feng Shui many years ago and have become very skilled in this area. As such, the following Saturday, I took the outside of our home and revamped it, based upon Feng Shui principles. After about 4 hour, hot and tedious hours, the place looked fantastic. I focused on 2 major areas — finances/wealth region and helpful friends region. Four days later, we had our biggest (profitable) day of the year so far. 24 hours after that, I met several people and will be training in a martial art that I have wanted to learn for decades.

Coincidence?

Hardly. Very predictable. Align energy and great things follow.

The next day, Lisa and I did the same thing for the inside of our home. It was shocking to me how stagnant and dark our home had become over the years. Over the course of about 5 hours we rearranged furniture, tossed out curtains and replaced old with newness.

After time, the inside was in perfect alignment, both with itself and with the outside.

One piece remained.

3. Be Truthful.

I lecture frequently and write even more frequently. One of the topics I feature is language and how words impact our lives. My favorite feature is “honesty” versus “truth.”

Honesty is accurate, but not complete. Truth is whole and pure. No excuse. No back doors.

Step three was to find a place where it was still and quiet, a place where I can find Truth in its clearest form. Few people are willing to do this as it can be very blunt and harsh. I was one of them. I used to live Truth but over the past 15 months or so, slipped back into the land of Honesty. Why? Who cares. It only matters that there was a return to Truth.

Boy was there a return to Truth. I asked the rough questions of myself and heard (and wrote) the unedited replies. This time however, I decided to do this in a different way — a softer, kinder fashion. I decided to treat me the way I treat my dog.

A strange thing happened. I found great answers but without the self imposed criticism or judgement that typically accompanied it. Dare I say, it was actually useful and . . . . . fun.

4. Do What You Love

You were not born to be a doctor or a teacher. You were born. Then you decided to do something. That is how it works (or at least the theory I am sticking to for the moment).

You can choose anything. There is only one single caveat, but it is a gigantic one — it must be something you love.

Right about now, some of you just finished rolling your eyes. I almost lost you. Hang in there for a moment.

You have heard it before. The first time, it made sense. By about the 4th time (second for some), it royally irritated you. I get it. It did the same to me too.

Until recently.

There are things that I love — martial arts, Disney marathon, learning Russian, reading, Shodo to name a few. I have made money with some of them but as of yet, not nearly enough to survive. (I expect this has already changed but this is for another time). Here is the catch — do what you do to pay the bills. . . for now.

BE SURE to do as much of what you love on a regular basis. Ditch the TV. Dial down facebook or annoying conversations with those who pretend to be your friend. Sleep when you are dead.

By doing what you love as much as you can, you will begin to align the energy, much in the same fashion as above.  Plus, you will find new levels of happiness. And creativity. When these 2 appear in the same sentence, great things happen.

Worry and anxiety is replaced by passion and joy. Concern about the future is replaced by happiness in the Now. You are living your life. You are living your Tao.

Yes, 4 steps and you will find a new you. You may look the same, you may talk the same but it will be a new you.

Warning: The happiness, joy, abundance, energy, power, creativity, success. . . . . . . . It may take a bit of time to get used to.

About 4 seconds.

Bringing Awareness?

We are running a 5K to bring awareness to child abuse.

We are doing a fund raiser to bring awareness to cancer.

We are holding a raffle to bring awareness to domestic violence.

The list goes on and on.

Do you really need to become aware that child abuse or domestic violence is a horrific, unacceptable act?

Do you really need to become aware that cancer is a problem?

Awareness is not needed. Everyone is aware of these and other types of problems. The media floods the airways 24 hours a day with such stories, all presented in graphic detail. Awareness is not needed.

Action is.

Don’t tell me you are running a marathon to bring awareness for cancer. Tell me you are changing your diet by reducing sugar and eliminating GMO foods. You and your family deserve better (even if the president who just signed the Monsanto Protection Act thinks otherwise).

Don’t tell me you are against domestic violence. Tell you how you are living a peaceful life, setting an example for others.

Don’t tell me you are upset about the freedoms taken away in Tibet. Tell me how you are protecting your freedoms where you live. Tell me how you are standing up.

Don’t tell.

Don’t bring awareness.

Do.

Simply do.

Sorry Abraham, Not Buying It

You’re not going to like this.

You’re really not going to like this.

- Abraham Hicks “Into the Vortex” CD

I am an explorer by nature. Having a voracious appetite for information, I love to do personal “experiments” to see how many ways I can create a better life. Reading, testing, reading, researching, reading, seminars and reading are my M.O. for finding this information.

Over the past couple of years, I have devoured the information regarding Abraham Hicks. In case you do not know, Esther Hicks is said to channel an entity named Abraham (actually Abraham is said to be a collection of entities). Mind you, I am pretty open about this but I also want proof. To say “this stuff works” or “THIS is the way to go” means nothing, as does “it worked for me. . . .” All that means is that one individual found his or her means to access their innate, internal skills or abilities. It does not constitute proof by any means.

For me, the bottom line is this — If I do XYZ, is my life better for it? 

As mentioned, I have read and listened to virtually all of the Abraham-Hicks materials. It is beautiful. The messages are inspiring, upbeat and spoken (or written) with a kind heart. In the same breathe, I diligently applied this and over the course of the past 15 months or so, my life sank to new lows.

In others words, despite the inspiring messages, I found it worthless. . . for me. Others claim to have healed themselves or increased this wealth. I applied their “approach” so to speak diligently and though I felt great, the end results were utterly horrible. The worst part, I really, really, really believed.

Humans have a tendency to collect information to support their beliefs. Not surprisingly, I recently have found more and more people who have followed the Abraham Hicks way and have had no results or poor results. (Not sure if this actually means anything. I just a little frustrated about the whole thing.) It would be interesting to see how many people considered themselves help by this material or others like The Secret and how many were not.

On the plus side, when a person feels good or “reaches for the best vibration,” using the Abraham Hick verbiage, life is brighter and more colorful. There are seemingly endless philosophers, spiritual leaders, psychologists and “regular” people who have espoused this notion. It is common sense. Is is a great idea. Who wants to go around feeling blue, being an energy vampire or a downer. Not exactly new News here.

Here is the problem. When you DO nothing, nothing happens. You can feel great. You can be in “vibrational alignment” all you like but unless you take action, nothing will change. People will not come to you in this fashion. Money will not come to you by “aligning with it.” You work for it. You get creative about it. Unless action is taken, the only thing you will create is debt.

The older. . . I mean. . .more experienced I get, the more I realize that the only people making money from these approaches are the people who are selling these approaches. In fact, they are making a killing! Books, CDs, DVDs, cruises, seminars. The numbers are staggering. To make money is a great thing. To make a lot of it is a better thing. To prey on others fears. . . . not such a good thing. Sometimes, I think that is what is happening here. You have people who are down, desperate, hopeless and for X number of dollars, you sell them “the answer.”  In their sense of desperation, they pay for the next DVD or book, thinking THIS one will finally provide the answer I want.

I do believe that some who promote these types of materials do so with good intention. In fact, in the absence of hard proof, I still believe this statement to be true.

At the end of the day, we are unique individuals. We must find our unique ways of dealing with life. Even more so, we must take action to achieve what we want.

My wife and I have been logging some 60 hours a week for a while now. I do not know if we are in “alignment with Source energy” or not. I do know that these long hours will eventually pay off, as they have in the past.

Every time.

The Great Crime: Have You Committed It?

They are upset. Really upset.

Others are avoiding you. They will walk out of their way or around.

Some downright mock you. Not to your face, mind you.

That one plays it cool and aloof. Cold shoulder treatment.

The ones hanging out in the corner are the catty ones. Wait until you hear their stories about you, none of which is true of course.

What is it that you are guilty of? What is this great crime that often causes an uproar? 

You spoke your speak. You spoke truth. In other words. . . . you are a Leader.

Few are willing to go this route because of the above scenarios. Leadership is often a tough, lonely road.

Leaders are part of the 10% willing to live life to the fullest. The 10% that is not part of the common, the plain, the sheep. They are willing to do things that most will not. Willing to be different, knowing full well that criticism is soon to follow. It is the “C” word – criticism – that proves too much for most. It is the gigantic Stop Sign.

Leadership – the great “crime.”

Are you willing to commit it?