MPOW #27 - Hero

"The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by." - Felix Adler

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."
- Arthur Ashe

Lately I have been inspired by many and have been thinking a lot about the people who inspire me. In schools and camps, people often ask children to talk about their heroes. Sometimes, out of whimsy, I love to pull out such childhood questions and see what the answers are. For this mindfulness practice of the week (MPOW), start by asking yourself: Who is your hero? or Who are your heroes?

This is the first step. The idea is not to choose an idol, but an inspiration. Telling the difference between idolatry and admiration is a second part of the mindfulness practice. What about that person do you find virtuous? What trait impresses you? Once you pinpoint this trait or traits, see what it would take to bring that trait into your life. My heroes are people who behave in ways that I admire but have not yet found the strength to emulate myself. Grove Alexander's quotation parallels the Buddhist notion that environment is just a blink away: "Less than a foot made the difference between a hero and a bum."

After choosing your hero, this is a great opportunity to find that same behavior and virtue within yourself. It is there. You don't need to change yourself or become a better person in any way. Instead you can reveal this for yourself in the same way that a master sculptor reveals the statue in the marble. It is not necessary to accomplish the same feats as your hero, that may actually be counterproductive to your goals. Forcing yourself to do something that doesn't align with who you are is not a change, it is a form of self-hostility. Instead, focusing on the virtue and behavior. Do this gently; you are already perfect and whole.

if you want some more inspiration about heroes, see Paula Grant-LeClaire's Hero Quotations at Bella Online.

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” - Christopher Reeve

“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” -Bob Dylan

This post is dedicated to my heroes, especially the people who have patiently taught me the things that I have been impatient in learning.

MPOW #26 - Nadi Sodhana - Alternating Nostril Breathing

"Breathe. Breathe in the air.
Don't be afraid to care." -Pink Floyd

If I only have a few moments alone to find calm and center myself, I often turn to nadi sodhana, or alternating nostril breathing. "Yogis believe that this exercise will clean and rejuvenate your vital channels of energy, thus the name nadi sodhana (purification of nadis or channels)." From the Yoga Infocenter. For this mindfulness practice of the week, try out this millenia-old breathing technique.

Along with being calming and centering, this technique is often revitalizing. It is balancing. I love to use it on a bus or plane ride, first thing in the morning, or before drifting off to sleep. I also used it between interviews while I was interviewing for my current job. And while out salsa or tango dancing, I will center myself with it during breaks.

The Practice
I describe this technique from the perspective of a right hand, but it is possible to use either the left hand, or anything else that can block your nostrils if the right hand will not work for you.

1. Find a comfortable position with spine erect.
2. Hold your right hand in front of your face, palm facing you.
3. Put your middle and index fingers together, touching them lightly in the center of your forehead. Your thumb and ring fingers should rest on your right and left nostrils, respectively.

4. Use your ring finger to close your left nostril, then inhale slowly and steadily through your right nostril.
5. At the end of your inhalation, release your left nostril while using your thumb to close your right nostril, then exhale slowy and steadily through your left nostril.
6. Inhale slowly and steadily through your left nostril, keeping your right nostril closed.
7. Switch nostrils, and exhale through your right nostril.

Each inhalation starts on one side, and the exhalation completes on the other side. Keep alternating bath and forth. Keeping track of the same breathing count on each side is an excellent technique to keep yourself patient and maintain steady breathing.

Fun Diversion
As you practice this, you will likely notice that one nostril is more open than the other. Yogic traditions have found that the open nostril switched roughly every 108 minutes throughout the day. It will be easier to breath on the right side for 108 minutes, then at the transition equally easy to breath on both sides, then switches over to the left for 108 minutes, going back and forth. It is said that when the left side is freer, this is a more outwardly energetic and excited time, the yang side. When the right side breathed easily, this is a calmer side of your day, the yin side.

This breathing pattern brings the two sides into equilibrium. Laying on your right side encouraging your right nostril to open more, and laying on your left side encourages your left nostril to open more. You can use this information to assist you in going to sleep or awakening.

You might want to play with this yourself to see what you can learn from it.

MPOW #25 - Pain

"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

As I sank deeply into a long held pose in yoga, I felt an intensity in my hips that pointed to muscle blockage, often a flag of an emotional blockage or unresolved pain. Through this, it is so obvious to know the relationship of who we are. It's beautiful that rather than a body with a mind, or a mind with a body, or a spirit with both, we are more complete than that. Several aspects compose into the whole that is us, though none of it is "us" in itself, and anything can change and still be us. I witness four aspects: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Developing these aspects together is vital for an existence of Balance and Moderation.

Often we have a difficult time balancing these, and instead focus on the one with which we identify. Depending on the nature of your identification, you may find focusing on it as easy or fun, or you may find it as a futile uphill battle to plug an insecurity in that area. For instance on the latter, my friend recently told me about a personal growth seminar where there was a multi-PhD Nobel laureate who just realized that he spent his life trying to prove his intelligence after being told he was stupid at a young age. Realizing this and freeing himself from it allows him to be joyful with his achievements and step down off the treadmill of frustration. Either way, there's nothing wrong with such identification, which provides an opportunity for mindfulness and personal growth.

We all know about physical pain, and we've begun to understand pain as a metaphor for our emotional states. These two types of pain are often what hold us back from spiritual transcendence. I see the four dimension shapes as more of a tetrahedron (3-sided pyramid) with the physical, emotional, and intellectual forming the base that the spiritual rests above. When we are unbalanced in the base, when there are acute issues (pains) in the base, it pulls us away from the spirituality in the top.

Eckhart Tolle defines the painbody concept as "an accumulation of old emotional pain...that part of us that is addicted to negativity and unhappiness." Such an addiction is an important aspect to note. In Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald notes on the alluring power of pain: "Sometimes it is harder to deprive oneself of a pain than of a pleasure."

Mindfulness Practice of the Week
As this week's mindfulness practice, please take some time to explore your pains gently and curiously. It will not always be joyful, though I hope you will find it sublime in other ways. Find a physical sensation that is tight and stretch into that (perhaps with a yoga position). A hip stretch or a hamstring stretch is often ripe for this exercise.

My Experience
In MPOW #19 - Exploring Your Edge, I wrote about downward-facing pigeon pose (Adho Mukha Kapotasana). I write about this a lot because it is extremely powerful for me. My hips are probably the least flexible part of my body. A lifetime of overusing my legs has led to very tight legs and hips, and all of my dancing doesn't help! I remember my first yin yoga class primarily because of the pigeon pose. I did not get very deep, and we held this for a long time. I couldn't wait to get out of it, there was so much pain in my hips (but not in my knees, danger danger). Yogini Saiko was gentle and affirming, reminding the room that we didn't need to get to a particular place, we were already there. This moment on the yoga mat, in this pose was our gift to ourselves. As long as we were in this pose, we would gain benefit especially if we could breath normally and stop fidgetting. This was only going to be a short time, so opening up to it was only temporary, but the benefit would be forever. I felt so much pain in my tight hips trying to open that I'm surprised that I heard. Likely this was because I was listening intently for the signal to leave this crazy pose. It felt like forever. It was really 7 minutes. Then, when I thought that we were there, she had us thread the needle to one side. oh my gosh! It went even deeper! I started to meditate on the pain. My entire universe was filled with pain. Eventually, I because the pain itself. This was when it stopped hurting. It's hard to feel pain when that's what you are. You are the pain being inflicted on another body. Eventually, and this was one of the most transcendental experiences that I've ever had, I became pure awareness that was watching the pain and the body from a removed place off to the side. I was witness to pain and stretching, to opening.

When we eventually transitioned to the other leg, I spent a moment experiencing pain again. As I breathed into the pain in the hips, it just deepened and deepened. The pain washed over me. Though, the pilot light was already lit, and my awareness became free of pain and body. I find that the more I experience these states, my mind and body remember how to return to them.

The hips are said to store a lot of emotional pain and stress, and that the process of stretching the hips brings this to the surface. When all of the pains release as one, we may raise to our spiritual existence. Once I became happy with my progress, I returned to my body and the pain returned to it. Ahh, that was conceit, a trapping of the ego. That isn't the goal. Rewarding and loving yourself and others is the goal. The transcendence and complete opening can only come when you don't want it, though have prepared yourself for it.

MPOW #24 - Witnessing Self-Judgment

“Our opinions of ourselves actually get in the way of being ourselves.” -Jon Kabat-Zinn, 2007

My friend and fellow salsa and tango dancer recently shared this. It's such a simple and powerful notion to reflect on. For fun, I'll look at it in the context of a dance class. A dance class can often function as a individual or couples therapy, and like any really effective therapy session often involves a meditative state.

Early in a dance class series, you may already be judging yourself: "I'm too fat." "I'm too weak." "I'm not attractive enough to be here." "I'm wearing the wrong clothes and look sloppy." "I'm the best looking person here." "I'm already a better dancer than these other people; I shouldn't be here." "I'm really good at this already."

Dancing is just an idea here, and you may feel this in any class or any gathering. You quickly catch yourself judging yourself or others. Over time, you may begin to be down on yourself for where you are or over-inflate your internal image and miss opportunities. Remember that Stories Define Reality, so tread cautiously where you enter story-ground.

Sometimes, in a dance class though, if you're eager and comfortable being there, you're often in a wide-open state of learning, receptive to teaching and improvements without judging yourself. This is often referred to as "beginner's mind" or shoshin in the Zen tradition. This is an important state to cultivate at all times, no matter your skill level: "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."

The less that you know about yourself, the less that you box yourself in to a particular definition. Our authentic selves are all limitless and expansive, the more that we form opinions or place definitions on ourselves, the tighter the box that we have created. We begin to limit our infinite nature to something that we can understand or explain. Even if we are being positive, this actually does us a disservice by both making us narrow and also less likely to learn.

The Mindfulness Practice of the Week - Witnessing Self-Judgment
For this week, take some time to explore how you define yourself. You can do this while doing something of any skill level. Likely, it is easier to notice when we beat ourselves up. So, throughout the week, take some time to do something which which you're uncomfortable, such as stripping down in front of a full length mirror, and deeply examine yourself. Are you judging? Are you noticing flaws? See if you can recognize the judgments that you can make about yourself, and let them go. What do you notice as you do this? What are the concepts that you repeat.

Be gentle with yourself as you notice these things. In From Self-Judgment to Being Ourselves Dianna Winston reminds us how normal it is to engage in this comparison:

The Buddha had a word for comparison, the word màna, which means pride or ego or thinking too much about ourselves. A lot of our judgments say “I’m greater than, I’m lesser than, or I’m equal to this or that,” and this is just màna— pride or ego coming up in the mind. The thing that I find so interesting about màna is that 2500 years ago, when the Buddha was alive, people were judging themselves just as much as we do now. They were judging others, and comparing everything. When I remember this I think, “Oh, actually ‘comparing mind’ is normal. Everybody does it.”

See if you can let them evaporate and just be Comfortable with What Is.

This post is dedicated to my friend and dancing psychologist Solomon Kurz.

MPOW #23 - Your Spiritual Task

Once you understand your basic Buddhist Personality Type, you can use this as a vehicle for awakening. I refer again to the Which Buddhist Personality Type Are You? quiz from Tricycle: The Buddhist Review magazine. If you haven't read this already, it's quick, easy, and a bit fun, too. The article defines custom mindfulness practices for each type.

Each type has a spiritual task to accomplish. The spiritual task of the greedy type is to transform the desire for sense objects into a desire to know the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Greedy types need to balance their optimism with an awareness of suffering. Practices that can help the greedy type include: contemplation of old age, sickness, death, and impermanence, meditation on the 32 parts of the body; generosity; renunciation; noticing the ending of experiences; putting oneself in uncomfortable, unpleasant situations (in order to become disenchanted with sense pleasures); slowing down; and taking the Three Refuges.

The spiritual task of the aversive type is to transform the critical mind through wisdom and insight. Aversive types need to learn to relax, question their beliefs about being “right,” and notice joy in addition to suffering. Practices for the aversive type are: lovingkindness, compassion, mindfulness of mind, humor, faith, patience, open awareness, and putting oneself in pleasant surroundings in order to soften the heart and connect with life.

The spiritual task of the deluded type is to transform spaciousness into a state of rooted equanimity. Deluded types need to learn how to reel in their minds. Practices useful for a deluded type include: noting (labeling); mindfulness of the hindrance of doubt; body awareness; somatic experiencing; qigong or yoga; precision; mindfulness of the earth element, and putting oneself in safe and pleasant surroundings to prevent dissociation.

This week, mindfully take at least one small step on your spiritual task each day. We are all created different from each other and no single personality type truly defines. We also change from moment to moment. The personality type is not meant to completely define you. It simply serves as a guide on your path of awakening, or a helpful tool to increase your mindfulness. Have fun with it and bring yourself a little bit closer to your edge.

MPOW #22 - "Gain and victory to others; loss and defeat to myself."

"Gain and victory to others; loss and defeat to myself." - Tibetan Buddhist saying

Pema Chodron explains this powerful slogan to cultivate generosity and vulnerability in Start Where You Are. This writing borrows a lot from that and from my own experience using it this past week. The slogan definitely needs some explaining. A big part of the Words Are Powerful observation is that words are often overloaded or miscommunicated, and this quotation particularly so.

Loss and defeat to myself does not mean to extend an invitation to the world to attack you with slings and arrows. It is not encouragement to submit to having your bones broken and head kicked in. It is a reminder to allow your armor to come down and let yourself feel vulnerable. Every time that something hurts us, including emotionally, we have the tendency to fly, fight, or fortify. Likely this comes from the reptilian center of our brain's fight-or-flight response. Perhaps when we are socially ostracized, we feel that we are going to die. I recently heard Keith Ferrazzi (author of Never Eat Alone and recently Who's Got Your Back) deliver a presentation with vulnerability as a major theme. He spoke about how the feeling of sudden death due to embarrassment--"oh, I could just die"--likely has childhood roots. As young children, we are entirely dependent on our parents and guardians. If we are embarrassed, the mammalian centers of our brains fear rejection that will exclude us from this circle upon which we completely rely, which may leave us without sustenence and loving connection. So, from a young age, we have built up a response to treat even emotional dings from social slights as physical threats.

So, from youth, we build up an armor, layers and layers of constricting mail, a helmet, a shield, gloves, and boots. Every time we put up another shield, it makes our world a little smaller, every layer makes us a little more removed from the world as it is. Our protection in response to our fears makes a weaker version of ourselves hiding in a shell. It's not a bad thing; it's a trade-off. Though, it is a trade-off that makes us less and less flexible, our perspective more and more narrow, and removes the expansive potential of our world. Another thing that we learn over time, is that this defense isn't reliable. It doesn't really work. There's always a chink in the armor, or a time when it's down; we let it down sometimes when we connect with others. Then, we accidentally get hurt only to return to the armory for renewed fortifications to avoid being hurt. And this may work for another week or two.

There's an alternative. For your mindfulness practice, discover your armor, the ways that you protect yourself. See if you can peel off the armor and be as you are. Intentionally and methodically allow yourself to be vulnerable. Challenge your comfort to go out into the world without armor and experience it naturally. Allow yourself to realize that you can survive loss and defeat.

During this time of vulnerability, you have an excellent opportunity to cultivate your generosity. Rather than using your energy to inflate yourself at the expense of others, do the opposite. Put your energy into helping others win. Celebrate their victories. There are many things to notice. Here are three of them that I find curious and charming. First, of the six point seven billion people in the world, there are a lot more victories and gains to celebrate than if you only celebrate your own. The second is that you come to realize your connectedness with others, you find a unity in humanity. The third one is ironic, working toward the gain and victory of others often brings positivity back to you in as possibly a karmic effect of "no good deed goes unrewarded." Be careful of the trap here, though. Remember loss and defeat unto yourself, the point is the gain and victory unto others, not funding your own karmic bank.

For this week's mindfulness practice, keep that slogan in mind through your day and through your actions. This vulnerability is a sweet and elegant thing. It's what I mean when I wrote On Cracking Creme Brulee.

This post is dedicated to my friend Mariko Hosokawa, who loves creme brulee, She is as charmingly vulnerable as can be, every bit of her essence is the creme brulee that she loves so much.

MPOW #21 - Waterfall of Light

This mindfulness practice of the week is one about nourishment and healing. In MPOW #15 - Authentic Self, I wrote about an authentic waterfall that's nurturing and welcoming enough for you to meet your authentic self. This same waterfall can be used to heal your emotional self. We all have blockages, places in our body where we are tight or sore, places were we cannot stretch, places where we store the stresses of our lives.

These places can represent emotional blockages, too. For example, a too-rigid spine, one that cannot physically stretch, may represent how we are inflexible mentally. Both need to release at once. Allowing our vertebrae to have more space goes hand in hand with allowing our minds to be more curious and our hearts to be more open and accepting. Conversely, by releasing what blocks our curiousity and keeps us entrenched in narrow patterns (maybe fear, loss, a limited sense of identity), we also break through new ground in our bodies, feel more comfortable and at home there.

Gently limber up--physically, emotionally, and mentally. This will allow you to free yourself from pains and blockages and give yourself a more living and flexible definition of self.

The Practice
Find a comfortable position, seated or lying. I prefer to keep my head up and facing forward with my spine erect, though you may choose something else. Hold your hands palms up in front of your body. Allow yourself to calm down and relax from your busy life.

You have a simple task for your mind to focus on. Imagine a healing, warm, loving, light-filled waterfall cascading over your body. If you are sitting, it massages the crown of your head and the tops of your shoulders, it soothes your neck and flows down your chest and back, it falls upon your legs and lap, and it makes you feel warm and cared for all over. If you are lying face up, it massages the tight muscles of your face and jaw, your throat, chest, and adbomen, your feet and legs and arms and hands. Or on your back in soothes your neck and back muscles, loosens your buttocks, and relaxes your hamstrings, calves and feet.

Allow your mind to concentrate on creating the universe of this waterfall and all of its sensations. Scan the body as it is touched by this waterfall to identitfy blockages and allow the loving light and warmth of the water to soothe and release them.

This is your own private spa, one that you can come back to any time to show yourself soothing love and healing relaxation.

MPOW #20 - Focus on Your Nostrils

This mindfulness practice of the week is another foundational practice. It is simply paying attention to your breath. Yogini Saiko introduced this to me in yin yoga class on Sunday and I find it a great way to get into a relaxed meditative state, even when I'm in monkey mind.

The Practice

Sit or kneel in a relaxed meditative position with your spine erect. Place your hands in any configuration that works for you if you have a favorite. I suggest hands roughly palms up on the knees. When keeping your spine erect, imagine a string tied to the crown of your head, gently though firmly pulling you toward the sky. During the posture, allow your spine to relax if you feel too tense or extend a little more rigidly if you are losing focus or dosing off. The erectness of the spine is a useful and important element of posture to control in this and many meditations.

Allow yourself to settle your breathing naturally, without adhering to any particular pattern. When you are relaxed, you are ready to begin.

Bring your gentle attention to the front tips of your nostrils. Focus on this part of the body. As you pay attention to the inside of your nostrils, you may notice that your thoughts keep coming in. That's ok, recognize them as thoughts, gently label them as "thinking," and bring your attention back to your nostrils. Your thoughts will continue to come, but as you practice this, you will find more and more space between the thoughts. You are taking this time for yourself as a treat. So reward yourself by not judging your thinking. Use this time to be gentle with yourself and keep returning your attention to the tips of your nostrils.

MPOW #19 - Exploring Your Edge

“If I never explore my limits, my bodymind will gradually tighten and become unconscious. If I regularly explore my limits in a caring and adventuresome fashion, I will expand and grow in a vital fashion. But if I try to push myself past where I am honestly able to go, I will no longer be practicing ‘yoga’ but instead will be practicing ‘greed,’ and I will probably be met by pain and disease. Stated simply, it is the difference between ignoring your self, making love to yourself, and raping yourself.” –Ken Dychtwald, Bodymind

To my great happiness, my yin yoga instructor Saiko has returned from her travels and is teaching yoga in Seattle again. She read the above quotation during a several minute (around five minutes, relaxing into poses distinguishes yin yoga from other types) hold of downward-facing pigeon pose (Adho Mukha Kapotasana). I was stretching into my right hip, trying to maintain the exact right spot and hold there, and this quotation brought me to mindfulness about my relationship to my limits, my edge.

In my physical yoga (asana) practice, I tend to find that I err on the side of pushing the edge to a spot that is aggressive against my muscles. In other aspects, I tend to err on the side of ignoring the edge. Dychtwald's wisdom need not be true for physical yoga alone, as the sanskrit word yoga means "discipline" or "alignment with divinity". So, substitute in any word for an activity or virtue with "yoga" and see where you fall in your explorations. The sanskrit word yoga is often translated to mean "action".

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space." - The slogan on one of my favorite teenage tees.

Mindfulness Practice of the Week - Explore Your Edge
If you have yoga experience, I recommend trying this from pigeon pose. This is a challenging pose and can lead to knee damage if done incorrectly and you push yourself. So if you have never done it before with the help of a yoga instructor, try something simpler like Balasana child pose (toes together, knees on the ground shoulder width apart, butt on your heels with your arms stretched forward.

Tips from the WikiHealth site: (pigeon pose)

• Make sure to stay focused on the breathing as this pose can be intense. If you can, imagine that the breath is opening up space in the hip and releasing the tightness.
• It is not unusual to experience a full range of sensations and emotions, from naseau to sadness and anger. Allow whatever your body is experiencing to move through you and stay connected to your breath.
• It is estimated that the hips store physical and emotional build up/memory. Thus, it is common to experience a strong physical/emotional reaction when we are in the process of opening them.

From the pose, say the quote aloud in your mind and contemplate the ways in your life in which you are on the edge, avoiding the edge, and pushing past the edge. Don't berate yourself for missing the edge, just note it and calmly see if you can bring yourself back to the edge. Remember this as an exercise of loving yourself. Be tender, be gentle, be thorough.

My Experience
As Saiko spoke these words and I focused on finding the edge, I noticed a shift in my hip muscles releasing and allowing me to sink much more deeply into the pose. I have known people to hold a lot of emotion in their hips and cry through and after pigeon pose. I never experienced that myself, though in this session, learning to love myself through yoga allowed me to physically open along with the opening of my symbolic heart.

A meditation this weekend helped me realize that I had gone astray from the path of loving myself. Realizing this was all it took to get back on that path. I have again been able to turn off the mind and find some good rest. It reminds me of How I Learned to Take a Break from Analyzing and Start Loving Myself.

MPOW #18 - You, Artist

The late Gordon MacKenzie, a longtime creative force at Hallmark Cards, once told a story that quickly entered the folklore among designers. MacKenzie was a public-spirited fellow who often visited schools to talk about his profession. He'd open each talk by telling students he was an artist. Then he'd look around the classroom, notice the artwork on the walls, and wonder aloud who created the masterpieces.
"How many artists are there in the room?" MacKenzie would ask. "Would you please raise your hands?"
The responses always followed the same pattern. In kindergarten and first-grade classes, every kid thrust a hand in the air. In second-grade classes, about three-fourths of the kids raised their hands, though less eagerly. In third grade, only a few children held up their hands. And by sixth grade, not a single hand went up. The kids looked around to see if anybody in the class would admit to what they'd now learned was deviant behavior. - From Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind

This mindfulness practice of the week aims to help you learn about your artistic spirit or where it meant. This may be very difficult for you, but the rewards in learning are commensurate with the challenge. Good luck!

Preparation
Gather some art supplies, it doesn't have to be fancy. Just ensure that you have some media. It could be as simple as computer paper and crayons or pencils or you could delve into paints and canvasses. You decide what's appropriate and convenient for yourself.

Also, and this is important: buy yourself a frame that you like to fit your paper or stock. Get the supplies that you need to hang it, and put the hook up in your home. At the end of this, you will have a piece of artwork to mount on your wall.

Make Some Art
Using your supplies, open yourself up to the creative process. Put as much of you as you can into your pieces. I highly encourage you to meditate before you begin with the pieces and then again throughout if there are any stumbling points for you. This is part of the mindfulness practice. See what you notice as you create your art work. Do you find yourself judging the artwork? Do you notice how tightly or loosely you are gripping the writing instrument? How do the textures of the media feel against each other? Do you have more control when you move slowly, moderately, or quickly? Do any memories or emotions rise to the surface?

Don't stop until you have created at least five pieces. You can create more if you so choose. Be mindful about what it means for you to stop and feel complete.

WARNING: Do not read the next section until you have completed this section.

Judge the Art
That's right, see what it feels like to bring judgment to your artwork. Perhaps you have already done so and this will be very obvious to you at this stage. Perhaps you never did judge either positively or negatively through the process, maybe you can get to know what you did feel or why when you bring your discernment into it. We make emotional decisions and choices every day--in fact, some studies show that without emotions, a person cannot tie his or her shoes because we cannot decide which foot to start with--what does it take to do it?

Rank the pieces in order of your favorite to least favorite. At the very least, choose your favorite one and the one that you least like. Perhaps the favorite one is the one that you want to frame on your wall because it is the most technically proficient, most interesting, best use of colors, reminds you of something. Perhaps your least favorite one makes you feel self conscious, makes you despise your own artwork. Now, do the opposite of what you would expect. Destroy your favorite one. You read that right. Tear it to shreds, burn it, draw all over it. Is this easy or difficult for you? If difficult, explore that. If easy, explore that, too. Are you attached to it? Then, frame the least favorite one and hang it on your wall. How do you feel about it when you see it? Does your missed line frustrate you? Do you not want others to see it? Is it hard to look at it yourself? Are you proud of having mounted it?

There's so much to explore and learn about yourself through this.

Happy Practicing!

MPOW #17 - Open Heart Meditation

"Most of us may feel like we are not up to the task of living with our hearts open, and we might begin to close down, little by little, so that we can get through our days without having to feel too much. One thing that can help us turn this situation around is an awareness of the power of empathy. To open our hearts to another person’s suffering is a revolutionary act that has energetic implications." - From Daily Om's Heart Meditation

The heart is powerful on at least three channels of our experience: data/functional, emotional, and symbolic. In this Mindfulness Practice of the Week, explore all of the channels of the fourth major chakra.

At the data/functional channel, the heart is one of our body's marathon runners, a muscle that when healthy pumps 1900 gallons (or 7200 L) of blood throughout our body, supplying every cell with oxygen and nutrients. It has messengers that reach every part of our body over and over again. Imagine how much your heart must know. Marvel how much your heart does.

Along the emotional channel, your heart beat reflects your feelings. When you are scared and excited, it beats faster; when you are calm, it beats more slowly. Your heart becomes an outward physical sign of your inner state. Contemplate how amazing it is to find so much about yourself reflected outwardly.

The symbolic channel is an especially potent one. Countless songs across many cultures link passion, compassion, kindness, resolve, bravery, etc. to the heart. It is a symbol of many virtues and love. Ponder your heart's symbolism.

The heart inspires in many ways. This week, follow a practice that I have adapted from reiki.

The mindfulness practice of the week
Sit or lie in a comfortable position, holding your hands four to six inches apart (or imagine something similar). See if you can feel the space between your hands. Concentrate on this with a loose focus. Play with it. Pull your hands a little apart. Push them a little together. See if you can notice a connection between them even when they're not touching. When you really tune into the feeling, you may feel an elasticity between your hands. Put your intention fully between them and imagine a ball of energy growing between your palms, warming and glowing. Draw this energy from the earth, the sky, and the living world around you. You may need to move your hands to let it expand and feel potent. When you are ready, bring your hands closer together to tighten the ball into a marble of light. Then, fold your hands over your heart, inserting the ball of energy into the center of your being.

Feel the warmth of that energy in your heart. Imagine it filling you with an invincible, purifying light. In time, allow the light to radiate out from your heart. Leaving your hands softly over your heart, use your intention to gather things into your heart. Gather your loved ones there. Gather your loving feelings. Feel how they shine and strengthen. Also, and very deliberately, invite the objects of your struggles. Maybe your hamstrings are sore, invite them in, thanking them for working so hard for you. Maybe a colleague irritates you, maybe there's a family tiff, maybe you are ill, maybe there's political strife. Whatever it is, welcome that object of struggling into your heart. Let it know that you can still love it, too. More importantly, let yourself know that you can love it. Let your heart fill it with warmth and compassion, so that it can flow and turn into light itself.

Give yourself permission to linger here. Invite in the positive, the neutral, and the negative, showing it all equal love. Let the power of your heart bring wise virtue to everything. It is a powerful experience to bring the intention of your heart to all that you encounter outside of you. It nourishes and enriches you from the inside.

"And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say
That the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day!"
-Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This post is dedicated to my loving mother. Mom has the hugest heart I have every known.

MPOW #16 - Sloth Disguised as Productivity

Earlier this week I encouraged us to Make Mistakes of Ambition, Not Sloth. After we're able to redefine ambition as motivation toward production, attachment-free goals, this all sounds pretty good and straight-forward, though we know that motivational challenges are not so easy to overcome. Our own experiences and many spiritual teachings have taught us that being aware of our desires and causes of suffering are the most important step toward dissolving them.

In this mindfulness practice of the week, we take a break from the meditation cushion and instead take a look at random samplings of our lives. During the day, make use of mindfulness bells - sounds or alerts that bring us to the present, once in the present, assess what you are doing, thinking, feeling at the time of the bell. It is an opportunity to break routine and self assess. This is a useful too for many aspects of mindfulness, though this week, we will use it specifically to catch acts of laziness disguised as productivity.

Set up a Mindfulness Bell
Set an alarm to go off 3 times during your work day or productivity period. Maybe you know three specific times when you are likely to just keep yourself busy instead of being your most effective self. Set the alarm to be during these times. If you work in an office, these may be right after arriving at work, right after lunch, and 3pm - as your lunch is digesting.

Or, you might find it more effective to use random times. I found a tool on the following Web site which may be of help (though I admit that I have not tried it yet myself): http://www.mindfulnessdc.org/mindfulclock.html

The Practice - Catch Yourself
When the bell goes off, ask yourself the following hard question, and be honest with yourself. Once you learn to be honest with this, you make be able to break yourself of bad workplace habits that you did not know you had. Choose one of the following questions, or come up with something else that works for you in the same vein:

• Am I doing the most important thing that I can be doing right now?
• Am I procrastinating?
• Am I inventing things to distract me from what's important?

Common work culprits
The following are common office-place culprits that I work to overcome, and likely millions more do, too:

Checking email - it is possible to spend the whole day doing this and still never finish. At one point, I found that I was receiving over 700/day. I have since learned to filter that. It's also possible to just let those toast messages pop up and respond to things constantly throughout the day. Far less time-consuming to batch them up and pass through them once or twice/day. Or less!

Writing email - Same goes with this one. It is possible to edit, re-edit, re-write, until blue in the face. It is also possible to edit every single message and write an email about everything that comes into your head. This just creates more work for everyone. Try to focus on only the highest priority emails to protect your time and respect the time of others. I also like to keep my emails short and sweet. I have adopted a plan to make it easier for me to write email and for other people to respond to my emails. http://five.sentenc.es

Meetings - Are all those meetings really necessary or simply work for work's sake? Do all meetings need to take exactly an hour or always run over? Really? Think about it. What would happen if weekly meetings because once every two weeks? Once every month? Would work cease to be done? What if an hour-long meeting could be replace with a 5-minute meeting, or 2 5-sentence emails? That would save a lot of time.

Drop-in meetings - Oh, I'm really guilty of this one. I find it important to always be available when people need me. I open the door, invite people in, "have a seat." This automatically burns through at least 15 minutes. Close the door to go through longer. I've made the mistake in thinking that I'm only respectful of people if I give them undivided attention whenever they need it. Wrong. I can respect them by saving their time and mine (and the more of my time I save, the more work I can do for them and the company) and keeping things short and to the point. This is possible while still connecting on a real, human level.

Perhaps you already know that these are your bugbears. Perhaps none of these apply to you and you will learn others through this practice.

Good luck. Use the comments box to let me know how it goes.

MPOW #15 - Authentic Self

"The luxury I advocate has nothing to do with money. It cannot be bought. It is the reward of those who have no fear of discomfort." - Jean Cocteau

"To thine own self be true." - Shakespeare Hamlet

The very best, most pure, more authentic version of yourself is inside you at all times, ready to guide you. Whenever you need a bit of guidance, you can turn to authentic self for actions to take. Your authentic self will help you be bold and decisive. He or she will help you be true and noble. Best of all, this is you. You can manifest your most authentic self at any time.

There are times when we all feel "outside". When we know we are not our bravest, most fearless selves--the selves that we are accustomed to being--we may see the world in a haze. I'm optimistic that there's a way through this. We can cut through our lethargy and get to positive action. "Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." (Benjamin Disraeli)

I have found a wonderful journey that helped me meet my authentic self. Now that I have met Authentic Ed, I can bring my intention inward and channel him. Every now and then, I renew my relationship with him. For this Mindfulness Practice of the Week (MPOW), I hope that you can also meet this most precious of Our Guides and Guards for yourself

Meeting Authentic You
The first time, start by preparing an environment for the journey. It's a simple preparation. Put on some relaxing instrumental music. Pour a glass of water. Establish a comfortable place to sit. Free yourself of distractions: phone off, alarms off, no beeping computers, cat shut somewhere quiet. It is nice to choose an environment and music that is easy to recall or return to, because it can be used as a quick portal later.

Sit in your comfortable place, have a drink of the water, and hold your spine erect by imagining a string is pulling you up from the top of your head. Perform a quick body inventory, letting your muscles relax in your face, your shoulders, your chest, your lower back, your hips (you likely know or soon will know your personal culprits - if you have not tried it, I recommend that you Connect With Your Body's Wisdom (MPOW #8)), then back to your face and shoulders again. Sink into the music and allow yourself to explore it subtly.

Then let your journey begin. Imagine that rich, thick rays of sunlight are pouring down on my head and shoulders, a waterfall of pure light. It is so rich and warm and nourishing. It is viscous and clean. It purifies you as it massages your crown and shoulders and pours down over your body. You are sitting on a rock in a lagoon under this waterfall of light. The warm light of the sun showers down around you and into the lagoon.

Ahead of you, notice that someone is approaching. It is you, as your most authentic self. Introduce yourself. Get to know this most authentic version of you. He or she is desperately interested in knowing who you are and helping you in the most effective way possible. Your most authentic self loves you.

You have now established a connection that you can come back to at any time. Your most authentic self is always available to help you, to guide you on what you're going through.

Getting Back in Touch with the Authentic Self
You can always embark on the full journey again at any time to establish a deep connection. Though, now, I find it possible to sit anywhere, whether on the bus, in conference room during a meeting, in the cafeteria, or on an airplane, close my eyes, and bring myself to this place. I imagine the waterfall of light or use the music as an anchor. When my most authentic self approaches me, I know that I can Start Whole with his guidance.

I dedicate this post to Mariana Oskey's most authentic, fearless, super-creative, 360-degree self!

MPOW #14 - Be the Sun

"The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might.
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright.
This was odd because it was
The middle of the night."
- Lewis Carroll The Walrus and the Carpenter

Living in Seattle, it is possibly to go a whole month in the winter without seeing the sun peek through the clouds. Though, I know, when I pay it mind, that the sun is always still shining, whether cloudy or not, day or night. Even when I cannot see it, it still shines. In this mindfulness practice of the week, let us contemplate the sun and how we are like it.

There are a few traits that we can share with the sun:
1. The sun always shines, even if layers of clouds or a rotation of the planet hides this. As such, we always shine underneath, even when circumstances make it difficult for us to shine outwardly.

2. The sun does not boast of its shining. The sun is a massively powerful body, a giant ball of burning gas that sustains all of the life on Earth. Yet, this is what the sun is, and what it does. Likewise, we are what we are, and our abilities, though many and wisely born and often earned are what we are. We can take our cues from the sun and not boast of them either.

3. The sun makes no excuse for shining. The opposite of boasting, sometimes we are embarrassed by our abilities and seek to downplay them or cover them up. Just like the sun, these abilities make up who we are, and we can confidently put them to use for wise growth and kind, generous action.

4. The sun always generously shares its energy with others. It doesn't ask for anything in return, nor mind when it is taken for granted. It continues to nurture the whole planet.

5. The sun does not discriminate. It offers its energy for any and all.

There are many other traits of the sun that you may bring forth in your meditations.

Mindfulness Practice: Be the Sun
If the sun is shining directly, place yourself by basking in it. If it is not seen, recall the sun, know that it is there shining, and be in that knowledge of its shining. Begin in a basic meditation to clear your mind, calm your emotions, and relax your physical body. Form your arms into a curve, as if you are holding the sun within them. I recommend holding them aloft, but you can also rest them if you require.

Focus on the space between your arms and will you attention between them. In this attention, bring your intention to bring the sun in. As you focus your intention, allow this to be your manifestation. The sun will manifest in your arms. This may be frustrating or silly at first, but allow yourself to indulge in this notion. As you hold your arms, feel the warmth of the sun on them. You may need to shift their arc to accommodate the sun. Relax your belly, what the Chinese call the dantien, the Japanese the tanden, many call the second chakra--it has many other names in other languages. As it relaxes, you might feel that this is a battery storing the energy of the sun.

Notice the ways that you are like the sun. You may even become the sun or realize that you have been the sun all along. You may realize that like the sun, you are both part of the same universe. You may instead or additionally notice other things. For instance, you might saturate with optimism, or recognize the properties that you and the sun share in common.

My wish for you is that the sun inspires you to be more like it.

This post is dedicated to Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang, who once wordlessly taught me how to embrace the universe in a single moment.

MPOW #13 - Hitting the Beat

One of my favorite hobbies is dancing, and I love to really put a little mindfulness in different aspects of my hobbies. Lately, I've been trying to pay more attention to patterns of music, and especially the percussion in salsa music. I'm working up to being able to play that for myself - it's very complicated!

My latest practice has two aspects and several parts to each, training my ear to listen to a beat, and training my hands to tap to a beat. I will start with a basic tapping exercise this week. Learning to move hands and feet independently can be difficult if we don't have practice, so the concentration required to do this often shuts worries and other thoughts out of our minds. Only the room for the pattern can fit in.

If you are already a musician, the exercise today will be quite basic for you, so see if you can really get something deeper out of going to a basic. There's a note at the bottom especially for people who find this easy.

The mindfulness practice of the week: independent tapping
Sit comfortably where you can move your hands and your feet. If you have a metronome or a click track, use that to help you keep your timing. I talked a bit about this in last week's MPOW #12: Metronome Breathing. If you don't have a metronome, here's a site with mp3 files.
Part 1: 4/4 timing basics
Count 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, ... Using your dominant hand, tap on every beat. In rock, this is typically hitting the hi hat.

Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
DH:    X X X X X X X X

Part 2: Add in the kick drum
Using your foot, hit on the 1, 3, 1, 3, .... See if you can do this at the same time as your dominant hand hitting the 1, 2, 3, 4, ....

Count:  1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
DH:     X X X X X X X X
F:      X   X   X   X

Part 3: Add in the snare
The snare hits on the 2 and the 4. See if you can do this with your non-dominant hand. At first, you may want to leave the foot out.

Count:  1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
DH:     X X X X X X X X
ndH:      X   X   X   X

Then, when you are comfortable, add the kick drum back in:

Count:  1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
DH:     X X X X X X X X
F:      X   X   X   X
ndH:      X   X   X   X

You are now moving 3 parts of your body independently at the same time. This might require quite a bit of concentration. My hands tend to get rattled in the transition, but then they get the hang of it.

Part 4: 3 beats for every 2.
Here it becomes a little trickier since they're moving in different timing. See if you can figure this one out on your own. With you right hand tap every 2 beats. With your left hand, tap every 3 beats. Leave me a note if you want a tip. I just figured this one out for myself with the help of a friend.

For existing musicians and drummers and others who find this really easy
There are likely 2 ways you can get something out of this:
1. Learn to be comfortable doing something so easy. If you find it boring and tedious, explore that to see what you learn.
2. Push yourself in a new challenge. Likely you already find a state of flow whenever you work on a new rhythm or melody. Find something that's a bit beyond your skill right now or something that engages your entire mind and practice with that.

MPOW #12 - Metronome Breathing

Stop. Take a deep breath. Count to 10.

This is common advice for us to control our anger. It is very well known that breathing can control how we feel and our state of mind. When our busy lives heat up, remembering to breath deeply can be the exact right defusing technique that we need to regain our cool. In this mindfulness practice of the week (MPOW) we take a break from mantras, and switch to a recent favorite of mine: metronome breathing.

Breathing is one of the most profound and direct ways we have of changing or tuning our chemical and biological state to affect our neurology. Within breath is contained life-force (energy, ki. chi, prana, etc.). The assimilation and direction of life-force can be further increased through awareness. (Breathing)

Along with being a simple technique to relax, practice mindfulness, and control our minds, this is also a chance to improve the physical health of the body through greater oxygenation. And if you're a swimmer or diver, this can help strengthen and expand your lungs to stay under water longer. Let's get started.

What you need
Locate a metronome, a ticking clock, or something else that makes a regular, countable noise, not too fast, not too slow. I even found a nifty site with metronome mp3 files for use with an mp3 player--and you can even do this during your commute.

The Mindfulness Practice of the Week: Metronome Breathing
Choose a comfortable place to meditate, start the metronome, then get in a meditative position. Begin by breathing normally, then eventually let your breath align to the steady clicks of the metronome. Once you are there and relaxing, supported by in the unwavering beats, it is time to move on to the breathing practice.

On a click, start a long, slow, deep inhalation, counting the clicks of the metronome as you inhale. How many did you get? Note that number, and on the exhalation, see how many clicks long you can breath out. Many people find that they can usually exhale for a little longer than their inhalation. For instance, if you can inhale for 6 clicks, maybe you can exhale for 8 clicks.

Get into a regular pattern of what works for you, maybe that's 6 in, 8 out, 6 in, 8 out, .... After a while, you may notice that you find this pretty easy, increase the count, perhaps by 2. 8 in, 10 out, 8 in, 10 out. Gradually expand to a level that you can sustain without laboring.

... please try this meditation for yourself before reading about my experience.
At first, I have a hard time aligning to the metronome and timing to the clicks, I overcome frustration by patiently acclimatizing to the clicking. As I do the breathing, I find that it's actually a little easier for me to inhale. My yoga, taiji, qi gong, and swimming practices have really helped me to control my breathing. With this, and my current metronome setting, I can usually inhale for 30 clicks, though controlling the exhale to 30 clicks can be challenging. I often separate difficult breaths with 1 in, 1 out breaths before returning to 30 in, 30 out patterns.

Sometimes I feel panic as my lungs are emptying and no fresh air is coming in. During the inhale, it is often so smooth and easy that I find myself switching to a slight exhale through my partly opened mouth--that's not the exercise, so I correct it--that stirs me into being more mindful.

It takes a while for me to learn to smoothly manage the exhalation to be nice and even throughout. I can do 30 if I pace myself and really squeeze. Sometimes I need to constrict the back of my throat, producing an audible hum or rasp. This helps to slow it down, and also prepares my for a common yogic breathing technique. Eventually, both inhalation and exhalations can be smoothed and balanced, and I find deep relaxation, only to then notice that my mind is wandering, and it is time to again challenge my breathing or focus on my breathing to get back to the blissful state of meditation.

On the whole, though, this tends to really transport me to serenity. It leaves be relaxed and recharged.

This is dedicated to my friend Keri, who took me to a yoga class where they taught different breathing techniques centered around a metronome. I have plenty more in store for later MPOWs.

MPOW #11 - 108 Mantra Recitations

So many people told me that they enjoyed last week's introduction to mantras, so for this Mindfulness Practice of the Week (MPOW), we will focus on another aspect on mantras. Maintaining the count. In traditional Buddhist and Hindu practices, a mala or garland of prayer beads is often used to help keep count. This week I encourage you to practice without the aid of a Mala. This allows you to combine the useful mindfulness practice of counting with that of reciting mantras.

The magic number for the recitation is 108. Why 108 you ask? (Yes, everyone asks.) Destination Om has an excellent post on many answers to Why 108? from many different traditions. Among the reasons:

Swami Muktananda explains it perfectly, clearly and precise when describing the heart as the source of the infinite and our connection with the divine and God. From the heart there are 108 MAIN nadis (veins) that go from the heart to all the [extremities] and after reciting a mantra 108 times you have purified your body. In this way a meditator can see the importance in reciting mantra.

Another interesting one: "8 extra beads: In doing a practice of counting the number of repetitions of the mala, 100 are counted as completed. The remaining are said to cover errors or omissions. The 8 are also said to be an offering to God and Guru."

One interpretation that I really like is described in the Wikipedia article on Buddhist Prayer Beads. For this one, each recitation is for a particular purpose. You may choose to dedicate a mantra recitation to each of the 108 permutations in turn.

In traditional Buddhist thought, people are said to have 108 afflictions or klesas. There are six senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness) multiplied by three reactions (positive, negative, or indifference) making 18 "feelings." Each of these feelings can be either "attached to pleasure or detached from pleasure" making 36 "passions", each of which may be manifested in the past, present, or future. All the combinations of all these things makes a total of 108....

The Mindfulness Practice of the Week
Enter your meditative position, and as you relax, allow your breath to come to a natural pace, where you're not intentionally elongating it nor tightening it. Allow it to free itself of any stresses or obligations. Choose your mantra--if you're new to mantras, I encourage you to read last week's introduction to mantras. Begin reciting, maintaining a count in your head (without help of beads or another counting system). You may practice whether it makes sense for you to count before, during, or after the mantra.

Continue the count until 108. At this point, you may choose to stop meditating, continue in a different meditation, or continue for another 108, for an indefinite period of time, or whatever works for you. I tend to find that after 108 practices of the mantra, that I am very relaxed and have managed to shut off my brain. I then just enjoy that state of meditation (or samadhi) for a while, until I naturally decide to exit. Though I know, continuing to 108 is not always easy, but don't worry about that.

You may lose count several times. It is very natural to do so. If you're feeling very dedicated, when you catch yourself losing count, start over. It is also fine to choose to continue where you think that you left off. An important part of the mindfulness practice is to contemplate why you lost track and how you decided to course correct. What does it say about where you are right now? Starting over might mean that you are very dedicated, or a purist, or a perfectionist, or a masochist, or any number of other things. Not starting over might mean that you are very practical, or on a time crunch, or lazy, or just going through the motions. Debating these things in your mind might be an imbalance of the intellect or ego trying to run the show. I have seen all of these things and more within myself.

This post is dedicated to the folks at Samadhi Yoga studio in Seattle's Capital Hill. This studio focuses on all aspects of yoga, balancing, physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual practices. This studio is where I learn new mantras, including this counting practice today.

MPOW #10 - Mantras 101: "Om mani padme hum"

It is a commonly held belief in some scientific, philosphical, religious, and spiritual domains that the universe began with a single word, a hum, vibrations throughout all of existence. From Sanskrit, the word "Om" elongated is the sound of the creation of the universe that has expanded throughout all of time and place. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1). Many powerful mantras begin with the word Om. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama gave a lecture on "Om mani padme hum" one of the most common mantras of Buddhism. Due to its power and rich history, this makes for a great introduction to mantras.

It is very soothing and beneficial to recite this mantra. In reciting it, you add your voice to the millions and millions of chanters who have come before you chanting this many trillions of times, and the millions and milliions who will come after.

The Practice - Reciting "Om mani padme hum"
From your meditative position, relax, clear your mind. When you are ready, recite the mantra "Om many padme hum." You can say it or sing it; you can do it within your head or aloud. Play with all of these and see what works best for you. Recite it over and over again in a relaxed timing. You may think of it as waves crashing on the shore, a planet revolving, a marquee scrolling. Lather, rinse, and repeat.

"It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast." (Dalai Lama)

This is just an intro to mantras, and I won't be too prescriptive with this one. Just get in there and feel it out. Play with it. Have fun. Over future MPOWs, I will explore different ways to use this mantra, different mantras to use, and explore different mindsets that you can be in with mantras. For now, I recommend starting on the basics, just reciting the mantra over and over again, feel the repetition soothe over you, feel the meaning sink within.

My Experience with this Mantra
I first saw mantras on the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm. I felt as awkward about the idea as Larry David does in just about every situation on the show. I wanted to try it, and I had wanted to try it for a while, but did not know where to start. A few years later, I finally put it into practice.

When I began, I thought that the mantra might be a crutch for not being able to free my mind directly. I wanted to learn the real way, the hard way. I found the sanskrit words goofily foreign. When I began with the mantra, I also felt this was the case, but that it was worth a shot. I sat in half-lotus (kind of painful in the hips) on my couch (which made it less painful). From that position, I started to practice saying the words internally. Ugh, it felt awkward. I was not sure that I was internally pronouncing them right. I was not sure if I should sing them or say them. I am not confident in my singing voice. I noticed all of these things. Overcoming them was an early and important step for me.

I then shifted to trying to say them aloud, even sing them aloud. I did it tentatively at first. What if someone in the adjacent units could hear me? How embarrassing that would be. I explored that for a while as I continued. As I heard my own voice, evenutally my timidity subsided. My voice became strong and rhythmic. I liked the sound of it. It was quite pleasing. I was pleased with myself for trying it and for doing it. This, I realized, was my ego. "I just witnessed my ego! That's how this is supposed to work!," my ego said to me. At that moment, my voice cracked. I realized the trap. The ego had me again. I was proud of my observing skillz, then I was embarrassed all over again. Ego, ego. I watched it fade out. Eventually, I began reciting in a soothing pattern, I continued and continued. I lost track of time. The thinking part of me thought about stopping, but the conscious presence in me just witnessed the thinker and didn't pay him any mind. I was just rolling with it, so comfortably, so naturally, I didn't want to stop. Sure, the words are profound, but they did not mean anything to me at the time. Just saying the words, the rhythm, the power of those 6 syllables, extended from somewhere free of their meaning. Both sound and meaning in the same words, both so important. How efficient! I just kept going and going... give me shades, pink floppy ears, and a big drum. Throughout the day, I would continue the chant while driving, while parking. It saturated me and soothed me.

I dedicate this post to Jo Ann Ong, who has introduced me to many important things in my life, including meditation, Buddhism, and the Dalai Lama.

Request for Comments, please share your experiences

MPOW #9 - Fhqwhgads

Last week, in the middle of the day, I felt very busy and scattered. I needed to be present again, just release my mind. I took a moment to chat to a friend, who was also feeling stressed. The conversation wasn't longer than a few minutes, but it was just what I needed. I meditated, then just punched out some jibberish on the keyboard. jdbadkjbvd;knv;ajs kfjhsgk;ahsvkjbd;kabdjsv; Wow, it felt so freeing to let go, to just air things out. Completely shut off the inhibitions on the keyboard for just a moment. What a recharge. My friend did it right back. We felt so much better.

You can use it, too. This week, in the middle of your workday, take a moment to talk some jibberish. Bang on some keys. If you keep yourself very well-defined and rigid at work, let a little meaningless play in. You may find it has some meaning for you after all. Have your very own, take-your-inner-child-to-work-day.

The Practice - Release Some Jibberish
Get to a place in your life where you are often very stressed or always neat and structured. Sit there, close your eyes and see if you can release your worries. If you can shut your door and not be heard (or if you don't care about being overheard), just speak some jibberish for a while. Then type out some nonsense on your keyboard. When you are done, you've now added some play to your busy space, charging it with a little playfulness.

Need some inspiration? Check out the sbemail "i love you".

MPOW #8 - Word: "Faith"

Throughout our lives, many words have become laden with meaning and emotion. Our past experiences prime us in how we see and interpret words. Words Are Powerful in many ways, and it is valuable for us to use their powers and explore the latent meanings that we have ascribed to them for self-discovery. How are these words loaded with meaning? What does this tell us about our pasts and how can we learn about who we are now?

Jean Smith has written an excellent book called Now!: The Art of Being Truly Present (Amazon) that has collected a number of particularly laden words and provided some context to work through them. I love this book. I find it very powerful. The first word in the book is Faith. I had no idea how I felt about this -- carrying so many emotions and prejudices -- until I meditated on it.

In the section on how to use the book, Smith recommends that "... you take time to really answer for yourself two questions: What does this have to do with me? and How can I make use of this? Use this to shape the practice.

The practice - Meditate on the word: "Faith"
Take some time for yourself. Sit in your meditative posture, and bring yourself to a calm and reflective place. When you are there and peaceful, invite the word "faith" in. Give this plenty of space for exploration. Explore yourself. See what thoughts you associate with the word and the notion. See what images come to mind. Do you ascribe a color to it? A sound? Does a person or quotation come to mind?

See what emotions you feel. Does your body change at all? Perhaps a faster or slower heart rate, a sense of peace, happiness, sweaty palms. Any of these or other physical signs may be noticeable.

Are there any mantras that you tell yourself about the word? Do you view it positively? Negatively? Distastefully? Neutrally? How do you use the word?

When you are ready, answer the following question: "What does this have to do with me?" Explore the answer to your satisfaction.

When satisfied, then answer "How can I make use of this?" Maybe you can fit the word into your life, giving it a new context and a new meaning for yourself.

In closing, offer yourself a prayer. Here's an example from Now! that I use, though you may choose another that you prefer..

May I be graced
with the power of a faith
that dispels doubt,
so that I can open to life's
mysteries and joys
with confidence.

... I recommend not reading on until you have tried this at least once for yourself, otherwise my learnings may be another prime ...

Some of the things that I learned
In my initial meditation on "faith", I discovered much about myself. First, I have a lot of disdain for the word "faith". I see faith as a crutch. I think of faith healers, and I view them as snake oil peddlers, evangelical con men. I think of "blind faith". I think of religion laced with that modern bad word "dogma", something passed down without one's own choosing. This was powerful for me, and knowledge of it allowed me to address it. After spending this time in contemplation, I began to see other ways to look at faith. I can have faith in others, a trust of their good intentions. I can have faith in positive outcomes, seeing it as a kind of optimism. I can be and have faithful friends, true companions on life's journey. There are several ways to redefine and reclaim the word in a positive light. Closing with the prayer really heartens me.

This post is dedicated to my Goddaughter Sara Gilbert, whose birthday was this past week. May she experience the powers of well-placed faith, avoid the cynicism of misplaced faith, and feel out situations curiously with her heart and soul so as to avoid the pitfalls of blind faith and make her own choice's from a deep source of wisdom.

Request for Comments - please share your learnings from your contemplations on "faith".