by miami | Dec 21, 2008
And we continue the story…
And then he tells about Rite Two…
“Like Rite Number One,” continued the Colonel, “this second one is for further stimulating to action the Seven Vortexes. It is simpler than the first one. In Rite Number Two one first lies flat on his back on the floor or on the bed. If practiced on the floor, one should use a rug or blanket under him, folded several times in order that the body will not come into contact with the cold floor.”
“The Lamas have what might be called in English a ‘prayer rug.’ It is about two feet wide and fully six feet long. It is fairly thick and is made from wool and a kind of vegetable fiber. It is solely for the purpose of insulation, and so has no other value. Nevertheless, to the Llamas everything is of a religious nature, hence their name for these mats-‘prayer rugs.’”
“As I said, one should lie full length on his ‘prayer rug,’ or bed. Then place the hands flat down alongside the hips. Fingers should be kept close together with the fingertips of each hand turned slightly toward one another. The feet are then raised until the legs are straight up. If possible, let the feet extend back a bit over the body, toward the head; but do not let the knees bend. Then, slowly lower the feet to the floor and for a moment allow all muscles to relax. Then perform this Rite all over again.”
“One of the Lamas told me that when he first attempted to practice this simple Rite he was so old, weak, and decrepit that he couldn’t possibly lift up both legs. Therefore he started out by lifting the thighs until the knees were straight up, letting the feet hang down. Little by little, however, he was able to straighten out his legs until at the end of three months he could raise them straight with perfect ease.”
“I marveled at this particular Lama,” said the Colonel, “when he told me this. He was then a perfect picture of health and youth, although I knew he was many years older than I. For the sheer joy of exerting himself, he used to carry a pack of vegetables weighing fully a hundred pounds on his back, from the garden to the Lamasery, several hundred feet above. He took his time but never stopped once on the way up, and when he would arrive he didn’t seem to be experiencing the slightest bit of fatigue. I marveled greatly at this, for the first time I started up with him, I had to stop at least a dozen times. Later I was able to do it easily without my cane and with never a stop, but that is another story.”
Chakra Exercise 2 – Leg Lift
To do this exercise lie flat on your back, with your palms face down on the ground. Then lift up your head until your chin touches your chest and lift your legs up in the air. Lower your legs and head, then repeat.
Tomorrow:
The Colonel tells how to do Rite Three
by miami | Dec 16, 2008
And we continue with the Fountain of Youth Exercises adapted from the book by Peter Kelder.
I do want to say that you need to do these exercises for at least ten weeks to realize any major improvement.
Here we go… (more…)
by miami | Oct 18, 2008
My background is self improvement.
One of my core beliefs and teachings is that we each create our own reality.
I am very concerned that many folks are allowing others to take this vital role away from them.
Although I have not had programmed TV in our house for over 17 years now, the ‘news’ still gets to me through the Internet, radio and conversations with others.
What bothers me is the idea that we are all about to crash and burn.
And as I watch the savings of many people disappear in the stock market I have to wonder what the heck is going on!
I think we all need to take a very close look at what tribe we are part of!
In my tribe(s) which include my family tribe, business tribe, friends tribe, etc… – our world is pretty much the same as it has always been.
There is no one panicking that I am aware of. Are some of the members of our tribes going through challenges due to financial challenges? Of course – but that is always happening!
All of us are still doing our best to create our lives the best we can. We are making daily choices to the best of our ability. And most of the folks I know are figuring out ways to take best advantage of every opportunity that arises. And there are incredible opportunities in today’s world!
When you come across someone who seems to be part of the tribe that believes the world is ending – please point out to them they are creating their own reality.
As for me – that world I hear about on the news (it shouldn’t even be called news in my opinion) is not the world I live in. Nor would I want to!
What do you think?
If you feel strongly about this, please post a comment on the blog…
by miami | Oct 8, 2008
One of the best reads I do each morning is marketing guru Seth Godin.
As I continually learn how to write copy for my different blogs, sales letters, and clients, more and more I am turned off by the conventional idea to sell with hyperbole.
Seth’s post this morning sums up my feelings very well…
Here it is…
People really want to believe effort is a myth, at least if we consider what we consume in the media:
- politicians and beauty queens who get by on a smile and a wink
- lottery winners who turn a lifetime of lousy jobs into one big payday
- sports stars who are born with skills we could never hope to acquire
- hollywood celebrities with the talent of being in the right place at the right time
- failed CEOs with $40 million buyouts
It really seems (at least if you read popular media) that who you know and whether you get ‘picked’ are the two keys to success. Luck.
The thing about luck is this: we’re already lucky. We’re insanely lucky that we weren’t born during the black plague or in a country with no freedom. We’re lucky that we’ve got access to highly-leveraged tools and terrific opportunities. If we set that luck aside, though, something interesting shows up.
Delete the outliers–the people who are hit by a bus or win the lottery, the people who luck out in a big way, and we’re left with everyone else. And for everyone else, effort is directly related to success. Not all the time, but as much as you would expect. Smarter, harder working, better informed and better liked people do better than other people, most of the time.
Effort takes many forms. Showing up, certainly. Knowing stuff (being smart might be luck of the draw, but knowing stuff is the result of effort). Being kind when it’s more fun not to. Paying forward when there’s no hope of tangible reward. Doing the right thing. You’ve heard these things a hundred times before, of course, but I guess it’s easier to bet on luck.
If people aren’t betting on luck, then why do we make so many dumb choices? Why aren’t useful books selling at fifty times the rate they sell now? Why does anyone, ever, watch reality TV shows? Why do people do such dumb stuff with their money?
I think we’ve been tricked by the veneer of lucky people on the top of the heap. We see the folks who manage to skate by, or who get so much more than we think they deserve, and it’s easy to forget that:
a. these guys are the exceptions
and
b. there’s nothing you can do about it anyway.
And that’s the key to the paradox of effort: While luck may be more appealing than effort, you don’t get to choose luck. Effort, on the other hand, is totally available, all the time.
This is a hard sell. Diet books that say, “eat less, exercise more,” may work, but they don’t sell many copies.
With that forewarning, here’s a bootstrapper’s/marketer’s/entrepreneur’s/fast-rising executive’s effort diet. Go through the list and decide whether or not it’s worth it. Or make up your own diet. Effort is a choice, at least make it on purpose:
1. Delete 120 minutes a day of ‘spare time’ from your life. This can include TV, reading the newspaper, commuting, wasting time in social networks and meetings. Up to you.
2. Spend the 120 minutes doing this instead:
- Exercise for thirty minutes.
- Read relevant non-fiction (trade magazines, journals, business books, blogs, etc.)
- Send three thank you notes.
- Learn new digital techniques (spreadsheet macros, Firefox shortcuts, productivity tools, graphic design, html coding)
- Volunteer.
- Blog for five minutes about something you learned.
- Give a speech once a month about something you don’t currently know a lot about.
3. Spend at least one weekend day doing absolutely nothing but being with people you love.
4. Only spend money, for one year, on things you absolutely need to get by. Save the rest, relentlessly.
If you somehow pulled this off, then six months from now, you would be the fittest, best rested, most intelligent, best funded and motivated person in your office or your field. You would know how to do things other people don’t, you’d have a wider network and you’d be more focused.
It’s entirely possible that this won’t be sufficient, and you will continue to need better luck. But it’s a lot more likely you’ll get lucky, I bet.
