Be Aware!

“Someone once inquired of a Far Eastern Zen master, who had a great serenity and peace about him no matter what pressures he faced:

“How do you maintain that serenity and peace?”
He replied, “I never leave my place of meditation.”

He meditated early in the morning and for the rest of the day, he carried the peace of those moments with him in his mind and heart.”

~ Stephen R. Covey from “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”

Do you meditate?

If not, you should seriously consider sitting quietly for 5-10-20+ minutes a day—connecting with the peace and stillness of your deepest nature and that of the universe.

Let’s remember that the only reason we meditate is to make our LIFE a meditation.

What good is it if we meditate x minutes a day x times per week and we’re an *sshole?

Not very much.

Meditate. Every moment.

Sharpen your focus. Repeat your mantra.

Be Aware. Beware.

Mantra for today: "Slow Down, Be Aware, BUT Keep Moving Forward."

FYI - my friend Ed is running the Ironman with me and is raising money for a local charity called the Tempe Community Action Agency. If you can help in anyway, that would be awesome. Here is the link:

edtheironman.blogspot.com

More Control: A Mantra, Part 2

“The word mantra comes from two Sanskrit words man, (“to think”) and tra (“tool’). So the literal translation is “a tool of thought.” And that’s how mantras are used in Buddhist and Hindu practices, as tools that clear your mind of distractions. Because when you focus on repeating that mantra over and over again, soon the noise will die down and all you will hear is your inner voice.”

~ Russell Simmons, hip-hop mogul from Do You!

Mantra = “Tool of thought.”

So ... what mantra are you knowingly, or unknowingly, chanting in your head?

The cool thing is, when you finally hear your inner voice, you realize all the other voices aren't yours. Hmmmm ...

By the way, one of my mantras, for those that asked, is "Now is the only thing that's real, so be here now!" - The past doesn't exist and the future doesn't exist. It's always NOW. NOW is where it's at. But, the past got you to this moment and your future is decided in this moment, so NOW is where the change is made. The mantra is a tool of the NOW. While training for and racing an Ironman, that mantra, for me, is everything.

I Can part with that.