Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Habit of Gratitude

Gratitude connects us to the joy and riches that are already in our lives.
Make gratitude a habit.
Whenever you find yourself in a bad mood or situation, find at least one positive aspect to this time.
Start a "gratitude journal". Write down five things you are grateful for each day.
Each day make a mental note of something that's "not wrong".
You don't have a toothache today. Your eyesight is good today. Whatever it may be.
When you cultivate gratitude, you become a happier, more fulfilled person.
The more you are grateful for, the more blessings will come towards you.

Enthusiasm

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life,
when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."


Charles Kingsley

An All Senses Meditation

Try an all-senses meditation.

Note gently anything you become aware of through seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, tasting.

The 5 Color Rule

Stick to the 5 color rule.

Make sure you have at least 5 colors on your plate for each meal.
This will help you get all those fruits and veggies in.
Can't do 5?
Start with 3 and work your way up.

Swap A Soda

Swap a Soda

By simply substituting one 12-ounce sweetened soda drink a day with a non-calorie ”unsweetened” beverage, you will save approximately 3,900 calories a month.
This means if you did nothing else but cut out one sweetened beverage a day, you could lose about one pound of weight per month!

Do Better Than Yourself

"Never mind what others do;
do better than yourself,
beat your own record from day to day,
and you are a success."


H. Boetcker

AFFIRMATIONS 83

I am
a forgiving
and loving person.

A Single Step

A journey of a thousand miles
must begin with a single step.


Lao Tzu

Sum of Our Actions

A man is the sum of his actions,
of what he has done,
of what he can do,
Nothing else.


Gandhi

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#33

Usually,
we try to learn something new every day.
But if we want to get right with Tao,
we have to let go of something every day.

We do less and less,
until we end up doing nothing.
And it's when we do nothing
that we get the job done.

Let events take their course,
and everything will turn out in your favor.
If you act on your ambitions,
they will never pan out.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Wisdom Within

We have the wisdom of life within us, and we each have a direct line to that truth at every moment.
If we can listen to and trust our intuition, it will guide us.
It will show us step by step what we need to do and what we need to know.

Self Meditation 79

Look deeply into something until thoughts disappear.

Live purely.

Before you begin to eat, take a few moments to close your eyes and make the meal sacred with thanks, or a purifying mantra.

Craving What We Eat

"You crave what you eat, so if you switch what you're eating,
you can weaken your old cravings and strengthen new ones,"
says Marcia Pelchat, PhD, of the Monell Center.

Chasing Two Rabbits

"If you chase two rabbits, both will escape."

Author unknown

Chasing Fleeting Pleasures

As human beings we chase after fleeting pleasures
like a child licking honey off a sharp knife
or a person carrying a torch against the wind.

Buddha

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#32

You don't have to leave your room
to understand what's happening in the world.
You don't have to look out the window
to appreciate the beauty of heaven.

The farther you wander,
the less you know.
The Masters don't wander around
They know.
They don't just look.
They understand.
They don't do anything,
but the work gets done.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Happiness Through Service to Others

"One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve."

Albert Schweitzer



"Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service."

Henry Ford


The path to your own happiness is usually found in service.

The Elephant In the Room

"The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something."

Randy Pausch


Randy Pausch was 47 years old when he died from pancreatic cancer. He was, as the Independent of London put it, "the dying man who taught America how to live." His book, "The Last Lecture", is an international best-seller and it offers many wonderful lessons about life.
Randy Pausch's "last lecture" was delivered in September 2007, at Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught computer science.


The lecture began with him standing before a screen beaming down chilling CT images of tumors in his liver, under the title..."The Elephant in the Room". He then said to a stunned audience, "I have about 6 months to live." He said, "I'm really in good shape, probably better shape than most of you," ... dropping to the floor to do push-ups.

He went on to say, "I'm dying and I'm having fun, and I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left." He talked about his childhood dreams and what they had taught him about life. He said, "If you live your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself...your dreams will come to you."

Randy Pausch really was a dying man who has taught America how to live.
He died on July 25, 2008, but his wisdom, his passion, and his attitude are lasting sources of inspiration for all of us.

"In the Beginning"

"Where there is a plan, there is intelligence,
and an orderly, unfolding universe testifies to the truth of the most majestic statement ever uttered-
"In the beginning-God."


Arthur H. Compton

Be Here NOW

Be mindful when breathing, "I am inhaling and exhaling and following each from beginning to end."

See and let go. See and let go.

Do mindful commuting. As you first sit in the car, bus, or train, take three breaths. Be mindful and aware of the experience. Notice the environment. Be part of the journey.
Be here now.

Punishing Anger

"You will not be punished for your anger,
you will be punished by your anger."


Buddha

Planning Ahead

Plan your meals out in advance.
Every Sunday, make a menu for the week and include your daily snacks as well.
A planned meal will help you from grabbing unhealthy alternatives.

AFFIRMATIONS 82

Today I open my mind
to the endless opportunities
surrounding me.

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#31

When the world is right with Tao,
horses haul fertilizer to the fields.
When the world loses touch with Tao,
horses are trained for cavalry.

Nothing is more insidious than possession.
Nothing is more dangerous than desire.
Nothing is more disastrous than greed.

If you know when enough is enough,
you will always have enough.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Undiscriminating Virtue

The first practice is the practice of undiscriminating virtue:
Take care of those who are deserving; also, and equally, take care of those who are not.

When you extend your virtue in all directions without discriminating, your feet are firmly planted on the path.


Lao Tzu

Healthy Guilt

If you behaved very badly with someone, it is healthy to feel regret and/or guilt.
You need recognize your mistakes and not forget what you did, but you do not need to be depressed or feel remorse.
However, do not be indifferent or ignore what you did.
Learn to forgive yourself.

If possible, tell the other person that you were unpleasant and ask forgiveness.

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#30

What's more important,fame or your well-being?
What's worth more,your money or your life?
What is more dangerous,winning or losing?

If you are too attached to your possessions,
they will bring you misery.
If you hang on to your riches,
you will suffer substantial loss.

If you know when you have enough,
you will never be disgraced.
If you practice moderation,
you can stay out of trouble.

And that's the secret to lasting success.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Drive Change

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead



"To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there."

Kofi Annan



"We must become the change we wish to see in the world."

Gandhi

Self Meditation 78

Let go at the end of the out-breath, letting the thoughts go.
It is like moving a boulder away so that water can keep flowing.
Your energy and life force will be able to evolve and go forward when you let go.


Want the best for everybody.
Do not wish for anybody to suffer, even and especially those who have done something wrong to you.


Simply stop for a moment, breathe, and come into awareness of precisely what is taking place-then try to act more skillfully, more appropriately, with consideration for all parties in the situation.

Eat Throughout the Day

Eat Often

Spread your daily calories throughout 5-6 smaller meals per day.
This helps to maintain your blood sugar levels, feel satiated throughout the day, speed up your metabolism, and help to achieve a healthy weight.

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#29

The softest force in the universe
can overcome the hardest of objects.
Something without substance
can pass through the space between atoms.

That's how I know about the power of doing nothing.
The silent teachings and the power of doing nothing
can only be understood by a few people.

Failure Does Not Exist

Failure does not exist.
Failure is simply someone else's opinion of how a certain act should have been completed.
Once you believe that no act must be performed in any specific other-directed way, then failing becomes impossible.

Wayne Dyer

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Authenticity 2

"A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble."

Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi


There is happiness and inner strength in being your own person.

Affirmations:
I make my own choices.
I decide what I will and will not do.
I am proud of my independence.

Authenticity

"I do not need anyone's permission to be my true self."

Jonathan Lockwood Huie




"The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all."

Søren Kierkegaard



"To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform."

Theodore H. White

Man's Greed

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need,
but not every man's greed.

Gandhi

Self Meditation 78

Try chewing a single raisin for several minutes and experiencing everything you can about it. Use all 5 senses to fully experience the moments.

Convert taking out the trash into walking meditation.

Watch carefully the turning point between two breaths.

Metabolism and Skipping Meals

Don't Starve

By skipping meals you may think you can lose weight more quickly, but this habit can result in a slowed metabolism.
A reduced metabolism means that your body burns less calories a day and the potential for weight gain.

So the moral is..."Don't starve yourself!"

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Looking For Truth

"If you cannot find the Truth right where you are,
where else do you expect to find it?"


Dogen Zenji

Meditation on Death

Stop reading or whatever you are doing and imagine that you are going to die in one minute.
It brings you into the present moment.
You stop fighting,
you stop needing,
you stop being concerned with physical comforts,
you stop wanting,
you stop achieving,
and you stop maintaining.

You see problems you are experiencing in a truly new perspective.

AFFIRMATIONS 81

I am at peace
with all those around me.

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#28

When a wise person hears about Tao,
he gets right with it.
When an ordinary person hears about Tao,
he tries to get right with it, but eventually gives up.
When a fool hears about Tao,
he just laughs and laughs.
If he didn't laugh, it wouldn't be Tao.

Here's what they find so funny:
The path to enlightenment seems covered in shadows.
The way forward feels like taking a step back.
The easiest path seems difficult.
Those with the most virtue seem debased.
Those who are most pure seem to be grubby and soiled.
The deepest thoughts appear shallow.
The greatest strength looks like weakness.

What is most real strikes us as imaginary.
The largest space has no boundaries.
The greatest talent seems to produce nothing.
The greatest voice is unhearable.
The greatest beauty is invisible.

Tao is hidden to us
and it has no name.
It is the source and the strength of all things.

Adding Fitness To Your Day

Adding Fitness To Your Day

Your personal trainer might give you some homework for between workouts, but there are also a number of things that you can do to make sure that you're making the most of each day. After all, as wonderful as it would be to employ somebody to help you remain mindful about exercise opportunities and posture, sometimes you're just on your own.

Here are a few examples of ways that you can boost your fitness while going about your daily life:
Take the stairs instead of using the elevator. This will give you a quick cardio workout and will also stretch your calf muscles. For added difficulty jog every other flight on your trip upstairs.
Use time standing in line to practice your posture and engage your abdominals.
Park farther away when shopping for an added cardio boost. You may even find that by picking an open spot at the back of the parking lot you save time because you won’t be driving around for 10 minutes looking for the closest space!
Practice balance exercises while standing around, and find seated exercises to do when you'll have to be sitting for long periods of time.
Meet friends at local parks and hiking trails and enjoy nature while stretching your legs and burning calories instead of sitting around eating or drinking.

They're Watching, and Learning

Kids learn from watching you.
Eat the way you know is healthy for them.
They will tend to emulate this same habit.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Nourishing Joy

Joy is the soul made visible.

Pay attention to the activities and people you most enjoy.
What are you doing?
Whom are you with?
When you feel joy, you are closer to the Divine Presence.

Let go of limiting beliefs.
Spirit wants you to have joy, love, and prosperity beyond your wildest dreams.

Picture yourself looking back on your life from your deathbed.
When you look back, what do you wish you had done more of?
NOW, go and do it!

Learn to nurture seeds of joy within yourself.
Ask yourself, "What is one action I can take to increase joy today?"

Dr. Crew's Internet TV Show!

I will be hosting an Internet TV show entitled, "Mind-Body Psychotherapy, Fitness and Wellness with Dr. Crew Lauterbach" beginning mid-April, 2010.

The show will be aired every other Sunday from 1-2pm EST.
You can watch the live broadcasts via Ustream.com.

More information to follow!

Likes and Dislikes=Attachment

Do not become attached to the things you like, do not cherish aversion to the things you dislike.
Sorrow, fear and bondage come from one’s likes and dislikes.

Buddha

Self Meditation 78

Breathe in with a focus on relinquishment,
breathe out with a focus on relinquishment.

Red Wine and Grape Juice

Sipping red wine has long been linked to lower heart-disease risk, but an alcoholic drink isn't the only way to get that benefit.
Purple grape juice proved just as effective at lowering total and LDL cholesterol in animal experiments conducted at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#27

Tao is always heading back to where it came from.
Tao advances by not pressing forward.

Things exist because they are.
They are because they once were not.

Giving "Birth"

Thought and belief, emotions, intentions, relationships, turning points and breakthroughs, environment, and vision must be alive and active in order for any world to be born, not just the new one we want to create for peace.

Whenever consciousness is ready for a shift, you will see ferment and turmoil in all these areas.

The established order will be challenged, and working from the silent and invisible level of consciousness, a new order will begin to emerge. It feels like a mystical process, because no one controls the switch and yet everyone does. A common desire wakes up without people knowing that they are invisibly linked.

The birthing process of the future doesn’t have to be mystical. The needed skills to break with the past have always existed in us. But the new world that is now emerging, one based on peace, will be unique. Other worlds were born because of shared religions (the Christian Middle Ages, for example) or shared technology (Western industrialism, for example), but none was completely global.

The key words that will define the new hierarchy are: Conscious evolution, self-determination, nonmilitary, nonsectarian, global sharing, sustainable economies, and healed environments.

These separate trends are going to link and fuse together as they coalesce. The same thing has already happened to you biologically, only you don’t remember it. An embryo starts life in the mother’s womb as a loose blob of cells, and with time one witnesses increased complexity. Eventually, the embryo is so complex that it has no choice but to be born – a goal that nature always had in mind but that was impossible until there was sufficient order and power inside the embryo for it to become independent. Social orders follow the same pattern before birth.


Deepak Chopra

Conquering Fears

"To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."

Bertrand Russell



"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...It's about learning how to dance in the rain."

Vivian Green



Let today be a day to face life with courage,
with faith,
and with a light heart.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Anticipating and Managing

"Anticipate the DIFFICULT
by managing the EASY."

Lao Tzu

Cutting Calories

Cutting Calories, Not Exercise, Plays Bigger Role In Maintaining Weight Loss


ScienceDaily
The weight loss mantra of UAB’s (University of Alabama at Birmingham) EatRight Weight Management system is ‘reduce calories and increase exercise’. But new research from EatRight suggests that for those who have been successful at losing weight, reducing calories is an effective way to keep weight off, especially when it is difficult to find time to exercise. In findings published in the May issue of Obesity, the researchers report that 80 percent of EatRight participants maintain their weight loss during two years of follow up, and most do it primarily by sticking to a low calorie, low energy density diet.

Our results show that individuals who successfully maintain body weight after completing EatRight consume fewer calories and have a lower energy density dietary pattern than those who do not maintain body weight,” said Jamy Ard, M.D., assistant professor of nutrition sciences and medical director of EatRight Weight Management Services. “This calorie control led to successful weight maintenance despite the fact that these individuals did not meet recommended exercise levels.”

Ard and colleagues followed 89 former EatRight participants for two years. The 80 percent who had successfully maintained their weight loss consumed fewer calories than those who gained weight, and tended to eat a diet consisting of low energy density foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A low energy density diet means an individual can eat more yet take in fewer calories than with high energy density foods.

“While the importance of physical activity is well established, our study demonstrates that adopting a lower calorie, low energy density dietary pattern may reduce the amount of physical activity that is truly necessary for weight maintenance,” said Tiffany Cox, M.P.H., program coordinator for the EatRight follow-up study. “This could have a positive long term effect on weight maintenance by giving individuals a more easily attainable physical activity goal, which they may be more likely to pursue.”

Ard says research indicates that failing to reach an exercise goal can cause a decrease in self-efficacy and self-satisfaction, eventually causing individuals to cease exercising altogether.

“It’s clear that exercise combined with a low energy density diet is the best approach for weight loss and overall good health,” said Ard. “But many people report finding time to exercise is a major obstacle. It’s encouraging to report that weight loss can be maintained primarily through a low calorie diet.”

EatRight, created at UAB more than 30 years ago, is based on the concept of time-calorie displacement, which encourages a substantial intake of foods that have fewer calories by volume such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, while limiting consumption of foods that are calorie-dense such as meats, cheeses, sugars and fats.

The EatRight model includes increasing physical activity and incorporates behavioral intervention to reduce or remove barriers to lifestyle change and achievement of goals. Typically, it is conducted in 12 weekly small class sessions.

The Best Teacher

"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."

Dalai Lama

Always Flowers

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them"

Buddha

Self Meditation 77

Practice recognizing the difference between awareness and interpretations or judgments arising in your mind.

AFFIRMATIONS 80

Today
I embrace simplicity,
peace
and solace.

Hearing His Voice

Pilate therefore said unto him, "Art thou a king then?"
Jesus answered, "You have said that I am a king.
To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.
Every one that is of the truth hears my voice."


JESUS
(John 18:37)

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#26

Since time began,
this is what it's meant to be in touch with Tao:
Tao made the heavens clear.
Tao made the earth solid.
Tao made our spirits strong.
Tao made the valleys fertile.
Tao gave all living things life.
Tao gave rulers authority.

Without Tao, the heavens would collapse.
Without Tao,the earth would crumble.
Without Tao, our spirits would fade away.
Without Tao, the valleys would dry up.
Without Tao, all life would become extinct.
Without Tao, rulers would stumble and fall.

Humility gives us power.
Our leaders should think of themselves as insignificant, powerless,
unworthy of their stature.
Isn't that what humility is all about?

Be strong,
but pay no attention to hollow praise.
Don't call attention to yourself.
Don't make a scene.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Start Where You Stand

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.'
Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command,
and better tools will be found as you go along."



Napoleon Hill

Saturday, March 20, 2010

"You Surprised Me"--(To My Amazing Other Half)

YOU SURPRISED ME
TOOK MY HEART
AND MESSED ME UP

AND I LOVE IT
AND I HATE IT

AND IT IS GOOD
AND IT IS HARD

I LOVE YOU
AND MY WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME


Kristin Jongen

True LOVE and Our Ego

How many couples bond together by forming a “we” that is just a stronger, tougher version of “me”? We can’t be surprised when this happens. If survival is paramount in a dangerous world, two are better at it than one.


Like an individual, a couple can pursue power and money, or at the very least security and comfort. Love gets left behind because it won’t bring material rewards, at least not as clearly as unloving tactics will.

Money and power require toughness, the willingness to fight for what you want. You are better off having a killer instinct, not a loving heart, if you pursue these things. Security and comfort also require looking out for number one. In this case one has become two; nothing else has changed. Long before we fall in love, we know more than enough about our needs. Acquiring an ally to fulfill them isn’t the same as getting free from them. Only love can free us, because its truth is an antidote to fear.


The cynical claim that what people really want is money, power, and security falls apart once we look deeper. The exhilaration of falling in love is an escape from ego, its sense of threat, and its selfishness. This escape is what we really want. Whatever rewards it brings, the ego cannot do two things: it cannot abolish fear, since ego is founded on fear; and it cannot create love, since ego by definition shuts out love.

The reason that ego and love are not compatible comes down to this: you cannot take your ego into the unknown, where love wants to lead. If you follow love, your life will become uncertain, and the ego craves certainty.


You will have to surrender to another person, and the ego prizes its own will above anyone else’s. Love will make your feelings ambiguous, and the ego wants to feel the certainty of right and wrong.


Deepak Chopra

Done and Undone

Pay no attention to the faults of others, things done or left undone by others.
Consider only what by oneself is done or left undone.


Buddha

AFFIRMATIONS 79

With a solid plan
and a belief in myself,
there's nothing I can't do.

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#25

Tao never does anything
but nothing is left undone.

If our leaders could get in touch with Tao,
the world would take care of itself.

Even if they wanted to impose their own ideas,
they'd be drawn back to Tao's nameless simplicity.

When our lives are that simple,
we want for nothing.
We can relax,
and the world becomes a better place.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Self-Discipline

"Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts.
If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do.
Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward."

Napoleon Hill



"If we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions.
It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently."

Anthony Robbins

Positive Thoughts About Exercise and Body Image

Healthier You: Positive Thoughts about Exercise and a Healthier Body Image


Regular exercise not only supports a healthy lifestyle, it also provides a host of other benefits, including a more positive mental outlook, less stress, and a more positive body image.

Exercise helps you feel good about yourself when you see that you're dedicated and disciplined enough to put yourself first and spend some time regularly exercising your body. You'll feel stronger and more fit, not to mention reap the benefits of endorphins-- the powerful chemicals produced by the brain that are natural painkillers and responsible for what is known as the "runner's high", a feeling of euphoria and general state of well-being often experienced by exercise enthusiasts.

When you look better, you feel better, and exercise assists you with both. Regular physical activity not only helps to maintain optimal weight and body composition. Those who regularly exercise enjoy significantly decreased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer, among others. These benefits are more than just short term; those who regularly exercise are sick 30% less often than non-exercisers, and fit people generally enjoy longer lives than their less fit counterparts.


When you exercise, focus on how you feel and you'll likely stick with your exercise program. If the thought of dragging yourself to the gym for weight loss isn't motivating to you, maybe it's your body's defense mechanism, encouraging you to love yourself the way you are. When you exercise, seek activities that are fun and leave you feeling strong and empowered, whether it's a challenging spinning class, a relaxing yoga session, or a brisk walk on the treadmill. Your body will thank you for taking good care of it, and you'll reap the many rewards of a healthier body and mind.

The Momentum Principle of Success

"When you regularly take continuous action toward your most important goals, you activate the Momentum Principle of success.
This principle says that although it may take tremendous amounts of energy to overcome inertia and get started initially, it then takes far less energy to keep going."


Brian Tracy

Risking

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."


T.S. Eliot

Day Starter

Before starting work for the day,
say a brief prayer dedicated to your work.

Acknowledge the value of your tasks.
Offer gratitude for the opportunity to contribute something of value.
Ask for the skills and qualities you will need to perform the tasks to the best of your ability.
Resolve to offer your services out of love.

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#24

To make something smaller,
you need to appreciate its size.
To make something weaker,
you must recognize its strength.
To get rid of something,
you need to hold it tight.
To take something,
you must give it up entirely.

To put it another way:
Sensitivity and weakness overcome unfeeling strength.

Adaptation

"I've learned to become adaptable to the coming of each season
for every leaf that changes color,
changes for a reason."


Linda Ellis

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Pledge

I choose to be caring, compassionate and kind toward all people,
and I also choose to be indifferent to gossip, petty complaints, and idle chatter.
About those, I just don't care.


Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Be It

Be the change
you want to see in the world.


Gandhi

Life Simpler

Life is much simpler than most of us tend to think it is.
We struggle so hard, trying to improve ourselves, trying to grow, trying to become more conscious, trying to achieve our goals.

We need to relax, open up, and allow ourselves to receive from the life force within us and all around us.

Life is always trying to bring us everything we need, but most of the time we are moving so quickly and trying so hard that we don't even notice.

Pre and Post Workout Nutrition

Pre and Post Workout Nutrition

When it comes to nourishing your body before and after a workout, many people think about three big meals a day. However, one of the best things that you can do for your body is to provide it with more immediate nutrition.

Try timing your workout so that it is in between meals with a nutrient and protein-packed snack to bookend it on either side. There is a key 90 minute period in which you want to work out; eating a meal 90 minutes before you exercise, a quick energy and "fuel" meal right before your workout, again right after your workout, and another meal 90 minutes later.

Remember, the point of your pre-workout meal or snack is to provide your body with the materials it needs to fuel your workout. Don't be fooled by weight-loss theories that focus on how many calories you'll burn exercising. Any time you are increasing strength and building up your body, you need to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to carry it through the workout-- otherwise, your body will consume reserve resources in the body, which are much harder to replace.

The point of eating after your workout is to provide your muscles with the materials that they need to build themselves back up. When you do any kind of weight training, your muscles actually break themselves down in the form of small tears in the muscle fibers and then rebuild themselves even stronger in the hours and days that follow your workout. In order to successfully rebuild themselves, your muscles must replenish their resources. Providing your body with the raw materials it needs to rebuild and refuel itself is the entire point of your post-nutrition meals.

The Light of Your Vision

In the light of his vision he has founded his freedom:
his thoughts are peace,
his words are peace,
his work is peace.

Buddha

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#23

When you get right with Tao,
everybody wants to be your friend.

When they're around you,
they can relax and enjoy themselves.
People can be easily distracted by music or good food.
When we try to talk about Tao,
it seems boring by comparison.

It doesn't look like much.
It doesn't sound like much.
But no matter how much you use,
there's still plenty left.

Self Meditation 76

An exercise to help you let go of control first helps you define your reliance on control and also the path of habit.
Let whoever usually leads during close dancing to follow instead.
Let whoever usually initiates sex to be the recipient instead.
Soften your belly and surrender during this exercise.

Be mindful of the implication of karma and your own intention to purify your actions.
Every morning, your first thought can be a wish to devote the day to the good of all living beings.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

MY VOICE

For so long,
it was like a gypsy chameleon
draped in the exotic colors
and dialects of others.

Until,
one day,
it quietly introduced itself
as MY VOICE
and grew roots,
and decided to stay.


Kristin Jongen

The Universal Language

"Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

Mark Twain

The Sticky Repetitive Places

The sticky, repetitive places your thoughts return to are messengers asking for your attention.
Ask yourself, where does simplicity lie in this moment?

Listen to the responses that arise within you.

Choosing

Even a believer in nonviolence has to choose between two combatants; which is less bad or whose cause is just.

Gandhi

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#22

Tao flows in all directions.
It's in everything,
but nothing can contain it.

Everything needs Tao,
so Tao provides,
and never expects anything in return.

Everything comes from Tao,
but Tao doesn't call attention to itself.
It wants for nothing.
Think nothing of it.
Everything leads to Tao,
but Tao doesn't call attention to itself.

It doesn't strive for success.
That's why it succeeds.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Constant Kindness

Constant kindness can accomplish much.
As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.


Albert Schweitzer

Being OPEN to GRACE

We're always in God's love and grace.
Rarely do we realize this.
The kingdom of heaven is upon Earth but we don't always see it.

Grace, the unmerited favor and love from God enters our lives when we don't know how we will get by.

Ask God for His grace: pour your heart out to Him; ask and trust; bear your disappointments and how much you need His grace.

Expand your gratitude for everything you have and you will discover more grace.
Gratitude keeps grace flowing through your life.

Self Meditation 75

Contemplate that awakened people never abandon their work of serving living beings but are never enslaved by that work.

Hunger and Thirst

Eat in Response to Hunger

People typically eat when they feel hungry, but actually it is not common to get confused between thirst and hunger.
Try to drink a cup of water or tea when you feel hungry.

Purity

Purity is the soul's birthright.
Let thoughts, words and actions be filled with this.


Brahma Kumaris

Tao Translation In Modern Words--#21

Knowing things makes you smart,
but knowing yourself makes you wise.

To rule others, you must be powerful,
but to rule yourself, you must be strong.

If you have only what you need,
you have true wealth.
If you never give up,
you will find a way.

If you stay true to yourself,
you will never be lost.
If you stay awake your whole life,
you've really lived.

Monday, March 15, 2010

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Travelling Thoughts

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think.
Words are secondary.
Thoughts live; they travel far.


Swami Vivekananda

A Calm and Compassionate Heart

Greed and anger, ignorance and arrogance, doubt and wrong conceptions.
Even these can be restrained by the heart that is calm and compassionate.

Buddha

Self Meditation 74

The whole of one's life has to become just a story of understanding - no fear, no anger; nothing is needed.
They are unnecessary hindrances to understanding.

You Eat What You Have

You Eat What You Have

Surveys have shown that when feeling hungry, people eat what is in the refrigerator and is close at hand.
Try to fill up your refrigerator with healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, so you will reach for them the next time you want a snack.

Friday, March 12, 2010

You Are In Control

No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.

Barbara DeAngelis