Why The Physical?
What if you already have everything you need to get everything you deeply desire? What if you are living in Fort Knox but surviving on spare change you pick up off the street?
That's the amount of difference. And if YOU can awaken to your potential, you have the ability to awaken at least ten others.
And together, we can heal the world.
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If you want to have the best year possible in 2023, you need to DEFINE WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN.
A career goal (including getting a new job, if necessary!)
A relationship goal (including loving yourself more)
A physical goal (like doubling your energy)
If you don't have a goal, "bootstrap" yourself by declaring "by the end of 2023, for the first time I will have a crystal clear idea of what I want to do with the rest of my life." Then spend time every day, every week, considering this question.
And PLEASE remember that the core of any activity, any goal, has always been "decrease pain, increase pleasure." The Dalai Lama said it as well as anyone, ever: "the meaning of life is to be joyful, and of service."
Make that your bottom line.
In general, it is reasonable to expect to increase efficiency and effectiveness by at least 1% per week. Then, by studying people who have the characteristics or results you desire, you can figure out what behaviors will, over time, take you to that goal.
But 99% of the time, the change will be something about YOUR behaviors, attitudes, values, beliefs, emotional charges. Your world changes when you do.
And the most basic way to do this is to take control of the first hour of your day, with a morning ritual. What I do is a little different from what Tananarive does, but at the core we are both doing the same things, and teaching those things to Jason. I believe that this, the transformation of a family culture, is the most important factor in his progress:
THE COMBINATION OF PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, AND MENTAL ENERGIES.
That's it. I cannot recommend this too highly. I cannot be too emphatic about its power. The question WHY THE PHYSICAL? Is a valid one, but I have a bunch of fast thoughts about it:
As infants, we begin our journey of understanding by touching, tasting, smelling, and pushing/pulling against the world. We will never learn faster or better.
ENERGY is a primary fuel for life. As we run out of energy, fear and depression increases.
FEAR can be processed by raising the emotion and then engaging in an aerobic activity (the "spider technique"). I suspect that a milder version of this happens even at a lower level of intensity (say, gentle walking). Negative emotion used to drive a positive action becomes positive.
If you choose the activity properly, you can actually get your basic fitness handled at the same time.
The Hawaiian Huna energy workers say that "the body is like a black bag, where we store all our unprocessed emotions." I don't know about you, but I've had old memories pop up during intense yoga or deep tissue work. I do know that if you carry enough extra weight to make another human being, I'm going to assume that the issues are both physical and emotional, that you may not have PERMISSION to lose that weight. You may not feel safe to do so. Or deserving. If you had a hamster, you'd get it a wheel. If you had a dog, you'd walk it. If you aren't engaging with your body, there is a reason.
If you choose the right activity, and it is something you want to get better at, then the "pretender voices" in your head that tell you "this isn't working. You aren't getting better" are proven liars. You ARE doing it. Once you realize the voices in your head are lying to you, you open a door to an entirely different line of inquiry, one that can lead to power.
Chi Gung is about connecting mind, sight, breath, and motion. This is extraordinary, and most people never do this except in emergencies, or maybe sex. It is the doorway to the greatest efficiency and effectiveness of which you are capable, one of the major secrets of advanced yoga and martial disciplines.
There is more. But these seven were the first ones I could think of. Even if all you can do is focus your breath with Pranayama, you can take advantage of this, but you WILL have to move through confusion, lack of self-love, grief, anger, fear, tangled priorities and negative emotions.
When you can do it with love and joy, moving your body at the same time you are feeling joy and envisioning your goals and the mentors whose support will get you there…
That is M.A.G.I.C. my friends. You are on the path to being the best you can be. And no one needs more than that.
Namaste
Steve
(Join me Friday as we discuss 2023 on the FIREDANCE Zoomcast. If you aren't already on the list, sign up at: www.stevenbarneslist.com
