::Check, Check...check 1...1,2,3....is this thing on?::

I'm baaaaaaa-ack!

So, it's been just over two years since I felt compelled to write here. Up until a year ago, I was doing excellent work to my ongoing health.  Keeping all the weight off, still effortless. I was eating healthy and exercising.

Then my truck broke down. Returning to being a one car family, my exercise immediately suffered. It became sporadic. My eating continued very well, but as anyone who ever tried to lose weight has heard, you have to "eat right, AND exercise!"

As my exercise tapered off, my weight crept on. Not a lot, but more than I wanted. Slowly it climbed and recently it started to bother me.  Not the weight, actually, but the desire to maintain my health and the seemingly endless failures at trying to do so. I kept promising myself I was back at it, then slept in instead of walking. I swore I would go after work, and even packed clothing and changed for a walk, only to find myself at home not having gone to the park.

My view of all this has really been receiving a lot of my attention this last year as I've worked and practiced in the Refuge Recovery community.  I've definitely come to understand addiction much better, and how my food habits always have been tied to this.  But that's a lengthier topic for another day.

Today, I just wanted to post that I recently bought a Fitbit Charge HR and, thinking I was going to find it useless, I have been pleasantly surprised by the enjoyment, utility, and reinvigorating energy it has summoned in me.  Tonight, for the first time in too long I went for a good long walk, MINDFULLY. I've been walking sporadically as mentioned above, but this was the first time I revisited my old practice to the letter. I "invited my ancestors" as TNH says. I used it as a meditation, and I reveled in it.  And I asked myself..."How did I ever let this slip?"

I'll ponder the answer another day. Tonight I'm enjoying the rediscovery.

Zombie Processes And Navel Gazing

While holding and gazing at the slice of organic navel orange, yesterday, I tried to take my time and focus on how the thin skin of the slice felt.  It reminded me of when I was a kid and used to peel that skin off and eat the pulp like individual fruits, themselves.  I contemplated the smell, and the mist of juice, when I bit into it.  I chewed slowly and enjoyed the experience in a way I realized I don’t do as often as I did a few years ago.

As mindful eating went from being a new thing, to being a part of my daily routine, I realize that I started getting mindless about my mindfulness.  Being a techie, it makes me think of the unix world, where a process on your computer is satisfied but still persists on being there, it’s called a Zombie Process.  That’s kind of how we get with our eating habits sometimes.  We finish what we need to eat, but we don’t stop there.  We just keep eating.  We’re on auto-pilot.

It made me realize I was still being more mindful of my eating choices and habits than I used to be, but less present in the actual eating of the food than I was at first.  I realize I needed to get back the old “Beginners Mind” outlook.

This “Orange Meditation” was performed as part of our first M.E.A.L.S. (Mindful Eating And Living Sangha) group.  I read from “The Apple Meditation” in Savor, and then joined in the mindful eating afterward.  While the above description sounds nice, rest assured that just as often as I was enjoying the Orange mindfully, I caught myself chewing and swallowing mindlessly.  BUT, the important thing is that I kept coming back.  That’s where the magic is, after all.  In that moment we wander, we gain the opportunity to come back again as well.

I recognized, in this first M.E.A.L.S. meeting, that I consider myself to always eat mindfully, but I really haven’t been.  Or, more accurately, while I almost always choose my food mindfully, and even eat with a degree of mindfulness, there is nothing quite like truly eating with full mindfulness of the experience.  I’m really, deeply, grateful that people expressed an interest in starting a group such as this, and I look forward to seeing how it brings me back to a deeper focus on my health again.  While I haven’t drifted far, it’s great to be re-energized around health matters again!

The Apple Meditation

Did Nikola Tesla Eat Mindfully?

It's been a while since I felt moved to write a post on mindful eating, but this week I had a great visit with one of my favorite Sangha's and enjoyed a great reminder of the value of mindful eating WITH people, AS a Sangha (community).

As I'm coming up on the end of three years since I discovered "Savor" by Dr. Lilian Cheung and Thich Nhat Hanh, mindful eating is a part of my daily life.  I'm far from perfect, and too often find myself wolfing down my lunch because I'm in a rush, or buying a sweet dessert treat when I don't even want one, but these moments are rare indeed, and only ever when I'm not being mindful.  All in all, the 110 pounds I lost has stayed off, and the lifestyle (both around food, and my Buddhist path) have stuck.  Big time.  So I'm very pleased.  I eat mindfully daily but, due to the nature of my job and life, I often eat alone.  Eating mindfully - WITH - a community of other people also observing mindful eating practice, is something I rarely get the opportunity to do.

So, this past week, I found myself once again in the fine company of the Honey Locust Sangha of Omaha, Nebraska.  When I visited them about a year or so ago, I was welcomed warmly and made friends with Mike McMahon who leads the group.  Mike was very willing and helpful to me with advice on how to run a Sangha, and my own Sangha at that time was probably brand new, or perhaps hadn't fully started up yet.  I can't recall.  True to his, and the Honey Locust Sangha's, history they welcomed me warmly in to their group.

By sheer luck I happened to be working in town the week that they had their teacher, Brother Chan Huy, with them from Canada to lead their annual retreat.  The retreat was coming up this weekend (as I write this) and during the week leading up to it they had a public Dharma talk which fell on the night I arrived in town.  That Dharma talk was wonderful, and even gave me a really great insight, or better way of understanding, Emptiness.  I'll save that, perhaps, for another post as it's not related to mindful eating.

Anyhow, on the second night I was in town the Sangha had a Pot Luck Dinner at one member's home.  They graciously invited me to join them and I was so deeply honored, I was beside myself.  Visiting a Sangha's meditation night is one thing, being invited to their private dinner with their teacher is quite another. It's this very quality that makes them so special and which makes Mike such a good example of how to facilitate a Sangha.

I arrived just in time for everyone to plate up and have a seat.  They announced that we would have a 10 minute "Noble Silence" period during which we would eat mindfully, then we would go around and share some discussion (we shared stories from a member who had recently visited and worked with an orphanage in India, stories from the travels and teachings of Brother Chan Huy and his trip to Vietnam, and they kindly asked me to share some about my own Sangha).  A timer was set, a bell invited to ring, and the mindful eating began.

I bowed, and took a moment to breathe in, and out, and check in with my body.  I sat at the end of the table, between the fireplace and the door to the outside deck.  Each was a few feet to either side of me.  A wintry mix had been falling and the deck was rapidly collecting an inch or two.  Taking stock of my body, I felt the cool left side in contrast to the toasty, wonderfully-warm, right side near the fire.  I felt my feet firmly on the floor. I gained that whole-body-at-once sense that one sometimes gets where I could feel everything all at once.  Then I brought my focus to my breathing.  I breathed in and out a few times, and raised my fork.

All of this had taken place in the space of a few moments, and already the present moment awareness was so clear and intense as to be dazzling.  I think I was the only one who brought a dish not home-made, as I was staying in a hotel and had no time or facility for cooking.  I brought a pretty nice Tabbouleh from Whole Foods, and it was good, but lacked that home-made-quality that the other dishes had.  The other dishes were each amazing!  I didn't get to try everything, but I had a spinach salad that was spectacular, some amazing asparagus with roasted potatoes, some sort of delicious tomato soup I think.  And several other items. Each of them were wonderful.

Even with the concentrated effort at slowing my body and mind down before starting, I found I was eating quickly at first.  I slowed more.  I took a bite, placed the fork down, chewed mindfully tasting the flavors of each of these dishes.  Sometimes I was aware of the overall flavor, at other times I was keenly aware of the flavors individually.  I was aware of the textures.  I was aware of all of the elements and human effort that was contained within each bite.  The ten minutes seemed to last for hours, and I mean that in a good way.  Hours of delicious awareness.

I was aware of the room.  The other practitioners eating at their various rhythms.  The sounds in the house.  The sounds from outside, though muffled by the slushy mix, were present.  My favorite part was the ever present contrast of temperatures between the left and right sides of my body due to my fortunate seat by the fire.  There was the low hiss of the fire.  The feeling of the fork in my hand and the fabric of my jeans in the absence of the fork, as I placed my hand on my knee.

All of this, and much more. And it was beautiful.  Over all of that, like the snow covering the deck outside, was a sense of deep gratitude for being invited and welcomed by this lovely Sangha, also a sense of gratitude for this practice that has so altered my life. And, over the top of even those feelings, another feeling that is more difficult to describe.  I can only best describe it as a connecting energy of some sort.  You often get this feeling when you meditate with a group, I think.  I do anyhow.  This energy is one of the many reasons, and certainly - in my mind - the primary one, which makes a true live Sangha so valuable.

There is a quality to mindfulness as a group of human beings, side by side, that creates a sort of feedback loop.  A sort of humanity fueled Tesla Coil, or Resonant Transformer, that electrifies, intensifies and transforms the energy one cultivates on one's own.

"Tesla Coil (Resonant Transformer): the near field wireless transmission of electrical energy between two coils that are tuned to resonate at the same frequency. The equipment to do this is sometimes called a resonant or resonance transformer."

I think, if you wanted to sound just a little sappy, you could label this poorly with a single word.

Love.

2012 State of the Samu Address

Previously on MondoSamu.com:

2010: I weighed 349 pounds.  I read "Savor" by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung.  I surprisingly, and rather effortlessly,  lost 110 pounds in 11 months by applying it's Mindful Eating, Mindful Living principles. Through "Savor" I was introduced to Buddhism.

2011: Having lost 110 pounds, I plateaued at around 240 and have stayed right around there.  I've continued my healthier lifestyle, as well as my Buddhist practice.  I had hoped to get some health matters handled such as getting a full physical, but I have found many excuses to postpone that one.

2012: And now, the rest of the story....

So, while I failed to do a couple of medical/health things I wanted to this year (so far) I'm extremely pleased with how my year has gone regarding my health and practice.  I am disappointed that I didn't blog more, and I apologize for that to those who enjoy reading here.  I'll try to do better this year.

First, in terms of my health - which is kind of the main focus of why I started this blog - let me update you there, as it's the short part of the story.  As I mentioned, I've leveled off and unless I reduce my food, or increase my exercise, I guess I'm done losing weight.  I still have a goal to lost about 20-30 more pounds, and I will definitely be focusing on that this year. (See the end of this article for my intentions for the coming Samu year)  As for me, I feel GREAT, and I'm happier than ever!  So health is doing well, and I WILL get the doctor stuff handled this year.

Now...the biggest thing that happened in the last year, and the reason for me not blogging as much, is the incredible deepening of my practice.  I said I was going to do it, but I had no idea how deep I would get with it!

First off, I used to post book reviews of various Dharma Books here.  I intended to continue that, and I still hope to do so.  The problem is that I got so deep in to reading them that I have read DOZENS, and before I knew it I was so far behind writing about them that I felt I didn't even really know where to begin.  I'll try to rectify that this year too!  They're one of the most helpful things on the blog I think.  So there was that.

Next, there was the plethora of Sangha's I visited in my travels.  I had the great and distinct pleasure of spending many sits in the presence of numerous loving and welcoming Buddhist Sangha's all over the country.  It was humbling, gratifying and helpful.  So helpful, in fact, that I finally launched one in my area!

After nearly a year of effort, I finally got enough people and resources together with a like mind to launch the Two Hands Sangha.  As a part of that Sangha, we have a steady Mindfulness Meditation Group that meets once per week.  It's hosted in the lovely home and garden of one of our members, and has been a great benefit to all involved, I think.  That progresses well.  I still want to have a secondary group, with a more Buddhist focus (as opposed to the more general Mindfulness group) but it will come.

Aside from the Sangha effort, I've also decided to start attending retreats.  I started getting serious about it, and all of a sudden, a couple of options for a 4 day Memorial Day Weekend retreat popped up.  One in the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition and one in the Against The Stream/Theravadan tradition.  I struggled over both as I love the teachings in each, but ultimately my wife prompted me to do the ATS retreat in Joshua Tree, CA when I shared my thoughts with her.

Joshua Tree, CA - ATS Memorial Day Silent Retreat

I was concerned about the extra time a California retreat involves (an extra day on each end for travel) and a few other things, but I explained to her that I wanted to do whichever one would challenge me the most.  After telling her all about it, she wisely (and lovingly) suggested I do the ATS one.  She was right! I'll do a separate post all about that retreat, but it was definitely the right choice.  While I love the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition, I think the effort I had to put in definitely made the ATS retreat more rewarding.  Anyhow, now that I got my feet wet with a 4 day, I've cleared the way to attend a week or so each year.  I'm really looking forward to that.

As a direct result of the retreat, I also FINALLY went full Vegetarian!!  I was lingering in the meat eater world because I couldn't get rid of chicken, but the exquisite vegetarian food and mindful eating on retreat finally gave me the strength and clarity I needed to push the rest of the way over.  I've been veg-only since May 24th!

Last, but certainly not least, I've had the incredible fortune this year to meet some of my Online Dharma friends in the real world and grow closer to that online Sangha.  I hope, in the near future, to write a post all about that Sangha (or #Twangha as I hashtag it on Twitter), but suffice it to say that I deepened my connections to that Sangha and it has had many, varied rewards for me.  This year I was fortunate enough to hang out in the "real world" with the likes of @DharmaApple (who attended the retreat I was on and has turned out to be a great friend), @Jacklope (One of the nicest guys ever, whom I consider a dear brother and friend, and even teacher at times), @MindOnly (a wonderful human being, if ever I've met one) and many, many more.....too many to mention them all here.  But that's been one of the greatest things for me. I've developed these deep, wonderful friendships thoroughly through the Dharma and it's SO rewarding in so many ways.  I'll explore some of that more in my future post on the matter.  In a couple of weeks, I'll be meeting an online Twitter friend who has already become like a sister to me, @KittyDew, and I can't WAIT for that!

I'm sure, after such a lengthy absence, I'm leaving something out, but I think that's enough for now.  SO...

My intentions for the next 12 months or so are:

• Remain vegetarian. 
• Attend a 7-10 day retreat!
• Continue to deepen my practice.
• Establish better personal health care (routine Doctor and Dentist visits)
• Re-Read Savor AGAIN and see if bringing a little focus back on to it will shed that last 20!
• Cultivate two personal, long-range, Dharma-work-related projects in the right livelihood area that I've in mind! (Ooooh, secret-y!)

So that's it.  I hope you'll hang with me in the coming year, as I explore even more!

_/\_

SavorTheBook.com Interview with MondoSamu.com Part 1

I am extremely pleased and honored to have been interviewed by the great folks over at SavorTheBook.com for a series on my process of losing weight through Mindful Eating, and Mindful Living. 

Please head over there and check it out.  If you like what you see, share it with others.

Thank you for your interest!!

Thank you, Thay!

I started yesterday off giving my daughter a box of 120 crayons (and there is little in life more exciting for a child than that!) and then going for coffee near home.  At the coffee shop she drew pictures for the employees, each of whom always treat her like a princess.  We went home to prepare for her belated birthday party, and while cleaning out the coolers we rescued a little tree frog who spent the day in the bushes outside our house in a meditative pose.

Tremaine, the tree frog, Meditating on life.

We then spent the entire day at the pool for her 5th birthday party.  We had many friends and family around and I spent most of the time in the pool with a handful of 5 year old kids alternately attacking me, then "saving" me, from getting swept away on the "lazy river" tide pool (I guess is what it is).  It was a great day of family and friends and FUN! 

Then I mowed our yard as soon as I got home and we had family story-time before bed.  What a GREAT day!  I'm writing about it because there were two things that were very significant about the day for me.  One was that I was extremely mindful the entire day.  That kind of mindfulness is really wonderful.  To experience it all day, and to be aware of it, was just amazing.  For many, it may sound crazy that I'm even writing about something so utterly mundane.  For some it will make perfect sense.  And for those of us who have lived with obesity, it will sound like a dream.  If you're thinking "So what?!  I am in the present moment with my kids every day and play with them at the pool all the time!" then KEEP AT IT!  Good for you!  Many people live their whole lives without being fully aware of how wonderful it is.  If you're of that obese group, and you've excluded yourself from family fun because of size, self-image or simply lack of energy, then I would urge you to read "Savor" or ANY book by Thich Nhat Hanh.  The simple, clear wisdom he delivers is life altering.  It was for me anyhow. We zip through life so much, so fast.  It is nice, for me, to be learning to slow down, and pay attention. 

The second thing that was so amazing about this day was that 1 year ago, I would have complained all day long about being outside in the 100+ degree heat, would not have budged from beneath the meager shade of the tables umbrella.  I would NEVER have gotten IN the pool.  I would have been mindLESS all day and miserable.  Oh wait...I did....I did exactly that, this time last year.  We had her party at the same pool last year and I was miserable inside, outside and couldn't have been any less so to be around.  Now, one year and 105 pounds later, I'm so different in so many ways, and the day was absolutely amazing! 

And to think...a little bald guy in a robe started all this for me by instructing me to stare at an apple, while eating it mindfully, and see the universe within it.

So thank you Dr. Cheung, for your wisdom.  Thank you Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Buddha before you, for your simple, elegant, eloquent teachings and flicking the switch on in my head!

Five Spare Tires

(I apologize in advance for the crazy length of this post.  I've written and re-written it many times.  I've been struggling to write it and to express what I have to say.  Ultimately, I made the decision tonight to just put it up and be done with it.  I'm sorry it's so much, but it's my great hope that someone out there will find it motivational and that it will encourage them to find their way.  If you're that person, looking for a way, then read on!)

You ever try to visualize what weighs the amount of weight you have lost, or want to lose?  For most folks it would be a small hand weight.  Maybe a good sized bag of dog food.  Here's a short list of items that weigh the same as how much I have lost.  Try to visualize these things, and carrying them around with you, in your head.

~ ONE WHOLE FRIEND OF MINE!
~ THREE of my four year old daughter.
~ FIVE 20 pound bags of Dog Food.
~ FIVE SPARE CAR TIRES!!!
~ TWENTY average bags of potatoes!

 You get the idea.  It's a LOT!  I don't point this out to pat myself on the back, but to illustrate how CRAZY it is that I was walking around with all that extra weight!  It's easy to look in the mirror and just see your "self".  But I promise you that if you look in the mirror while standing next to a stack of five car tires, it really drives it home what you are doing to your body!!!

On July 3rd, 2010, I stepped on the scale as I left the house for a vacation.  I was dismayed by the digits it reported.  THREE HUNDRED FORTY NINE POUNDS!  You can read all about that day by clicking here.  I'm not sure exactly when during this day I vowed to do something about my weight, but I did.  I swore I would never hit 350 pounds.  That's when I discovered "Savor" by Dr. Lilian Cheung and Thich Nhat Hanh.

By the time I finished reading "Savor" I had stopped the train, and thrown it in to reverse.  That train had been gathering momentum for over four decades, so it didn't happen instantly.  It slowed.  It stopped.  It switched gears.  And then, with a shudder, it lurched ahead, back the way it came.  The weight started coming off that first day.
My initial goal, to lose 100 pounds, was randomly chosen just based on one simple thing.  I asked myself what it would take to make me feel like I had a fighting chance of living a healthy life.  At 349 pounds, 249 sounded like a dream, but it also sounded like the most I could weigh if I wanted to live long enough to enjoy my family, watch my daughter grow up, and all the other things I would like to do.  Anything more felt like failure to me, and felt like not being serious about it.  ALL I was really after was survival, which at the time I was seriously starting to question my chances of.

I've blogged before, often, about the various tools I have used to lose weight and assist me on this journey.  The primary app I have used is LoseIt!  When I started using it, it asks if you want to lose 1 pound a week, or 2.  I chose 2 and it calculated that I would hit my goal in one year. Unfortunately, I didn't make a note of what day that would be.  I've always assumed my "start" date as July 3rd, when I saw my 349 pound weight.  In reality it was around July 23 from what I can tell in LoseIt!'s web site.

At first, the weight was coming off incredibly fast at several pounds per week.  Then, once I lost about 60 pounds or so, it slowed to a few pounds, and then a couple of pounds per week.  Ultimately, toward the end, there were some weeks where I didn't lose any at all, and I started wondering if I would hit the goal on time.  What was happening is that my goal was nearing the end, so the calories were pretty
well balanced out with what I was burning.  Ultimately, it took me about 11 months - almost precisely - to lose 100 pounds!  I can't even pretend not to be pleased with myself here, so forgive me that little self indulgent pat on the back now.

So here I am, at about 248 as I write this, and I am definitely still very much over weight for my size.  Don't get me wrong, I look and feel GREAT compared to where I started but I still need to shed a little more.  When considering future goals, I decided not to have any.  What I have found is that throughout this process, I have lost weight without much effort (more on that later).  Since I'm not on a diet, and I'm not doing anything specifically special to lose weight, I decided that I might as well just keep going with what I am doing.  The weight has already leveled off considerably, and I figure if I just keep up the efforts I am making, the weight will come off - or it won't.  Either way, I win.  At some point my body will be at a naturally comfortable weight, and meanwhile I can focus on starting to exercise a little more than my current walking and Tai Chi Routine.

People seem divided in to two camps immediately upon hearing that I have lost so much weight. One faction immediately assumes I'm on some crazy diet.  They can't believe when I tell them I eat whatever I feel like eating, that I finish every night off with a big bowl of frozen yogurt and that I'm NOT on any sort of diet, per se.  The other faction is of the mind that I have super-human strength and will-power, neither of which could be further from the truth.  When they say "yeah, but you're the most strong-willed person I know" or "you have such tremendous dedication" I always have weird reactions emotionally.  I get simultaneously insulted and proud.  Proud, because it feels good to hear this and I like to think it's a little true, although it's really not very true.  Insulted because it's so NOT true that I get a little offended I guess because I'm not getting credit for the proper thing.  They are crediting me with having the will-power to resist eating poorly, but they should be giving the credit to Mindfulness.

When I tell them "Mindfulness", in answer to their inevitable "How are you doing it?" question, they always look at me a little funny and immediately dismiss me as a crackpot, or so it seems to me.  They almost look like they think I'm about to sell them something.  In fact, that's EXACTLY what they think.  Bottom line though, I lost this weight by doing many things, but especially by being mindful as taught to me by Dr. Lilian Cheung and Thich Nhat Hanh in "Savor".

The secondary thing I credit my success to is watching my calories closely which can be done in any number of ways.  The way that worked best for me (and I tried MANY) was the LoseIt! app.  It's worth noting that the app improved massively over time, and especially improved it's web site over time.  The web site can be used FULLY without a phone, so it's really great now for anyone (not just us iOS users). I fully believe that if you use mindfulness, the rest will fall in to place naturally and organically with little to no effort.  The effort will come from trying to implement mindfulness which, to the degree that I have so far been mindful, was fairly easy for me.  When asked, I tell people (to their absolute and utter disbelief) that it was no effort at all.  My standard answer to "How did you do it?" is always the same - "Mindfulness".

While I am not a doctor, and have no authority with which to offer anyone advice on weight loss, I CAN speak to how it worked for me, and that is it.  One of the things I love about Buddhism is that it discourages you from believing what someone else tells you is true, and encourages you to experience it for yourself and then decide if it is true.  "Be a lamp unto yourselves", the Buddha allegedly said in his final moments, directing us to seek the knowledge from within, rather than from external sources.  Or, for you Christian readers, perhaps another way to say it is "The Kingdom of God is within".  Either way...try mindfulness out, and see if it works for you.

It's obvious (and if not I've written numerous blog posts about it that will explain) why I decided to lose this weight.  But what I would rather talk about is the not so obvious reasons why.  I'm grateful that I have lost this weight because:

~ I might live longer
~ I have already become a significantly better father.
~ I like to think I am a better husband.
~ I have confronted the one thing in life I've always felt powerless to defeat.
~ I have gained control over my eating habits.
~ Countless other reasons I can't begin to list.
~ I am more aware of life, and each moment it offers.
~ Perhaps most of all, I'm extremely grateful to have discovered Buddhism through this most unexpected of paths.

So, in summary, Please - If you want or need to lose weight, but think you can't do it - go get a copy of "Savor" and, well, SAVOR IT!  Read it, absorb the information, read it again.  Then just DO IT!  Start with the Apple Meditation and then repeat that type of mindful eating each time you sit down to eat.  You will not succeed every single time at being completely in the moment, but when you are not, just re-focus the next time.  And repeat.  And repeat.  And repeat!  Before you know it, you will be well on your way.

Savor every moment of life that you are fortunate enough to have.  If you do this, I am walking evidence that you WILL lose the weight, and it's NOT some impossible goal that only that other guy over there has figured out how to do because he's some super strong willed guy.  And it's not something that only that other girl over there can do because she's on some crazy fad diet.

But don't take my word for it.  YOU already know exactly what to do, you just have to be mindful so that you know when to get out of your own way, and let your brain and body take care of themselves properly!  You'll likely find that they will.

Best wishes and warm regards to you in your efforts!  And special thanks to all the folks who rooted for me!  It was a big help, and you know who you are!

MS

Lose 100 Pounds In One Year - CHECK!

I'll write at length about this, very shortly, but wanted to announce it right away.  About a week ago I saw the numbers "249" on my scale for the first time in many years.  This is different from 349 when I started!  Anyhow, I gave it a week to make sure and I'm happy to say I haven't gone up and I'm not dreaming.  I really have lost ONE HUNDRED POUNDS!

Again, I'll write about my thoughts and experiences with this, but just wanted to say it here!

Have a GREAT day!

MS

MondoSAMU, Now With More Samu & 26% Less Fat!

I have not been writing as much as I would like lately. There are a number of reasons for this, but primarily it has been my deeper exploration of the Buddhist path.  Since starting this weight loss process, when I read "Savor", I have taken quite an interest in the Buddhist aspect of it, and I have grown in that area steadily.  In fact, I would say that the weight loss has taken a back seat to the exploration of Buddhism in the  last several months as I slowly realized that the weight loss was a simple and natural by-product of my mindfulness and Buddhist efforts.  At the time of my post, some months ago, about my visit to the Dallas meditation center, I saw that I was at a critical juncture in the Buddhist aspect of my journey. 

That experience solidified a number of thoughts I'd been pondering such as my feelings about meditation and how beneficial I thought that it might be for me and my thoughts on Buddhism as it fits in to my life.  Most of all, I now had to decide what tradition of Buddhism I was interested in pursuing, if any. 

With those things solidified, new questions unfolded before me.  To assist with these, I really dove in to reading a lot of books, listening to a lot of audio books and podcasts, and talking with as many other Buddhists as I have been able to.  I also continued trying to find Buddhist groups that I could visit with to see which appealed to me.  When I was last at the Dallas meditation center, brother ChiSing suggested that I do this, and it has been excellent advice.  Specifically, he said that I wouldn't find anything exactly like the DMC but that there would be numerous similar groups and that I should try them all until one felt comfortable.

I'm still in the process of doing so, but it's becoming clear to me that I will ultimately need to try and get a Sangha started in my area if I want a group close to home.  But that's another story.  And a story I am working on!

So, I guess the reason I am writing today is that I feel like I have an overwhelming amount of things to share, and I am hoping to get back to writing here more often.  Due to my submersion in reading, I have tons of experiences and books to review.  Appropriately, I am writing this post as I am 38,000 feet in the air, heading to Dallas, where I expect to visit the DMC again and sit with them.  I'm sure I will write about that experience again as well.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to share my experiences, but at least equal to that was the goal of any readers sharing their thoughts and experiences with me as well.  So it is my hope that anyone reading this will chime in and share their stories, questions and advice as well.  Here's just a few of the things I am exploring at the moment.  Any feedback or suggestion is most welcome.

- What has been your experience finding a Sangha near you?
- If you didn't have one close to home, how have you dealt with that?
- What tradition do you follow, if any, and why?
- How do you use technology and the Internet in your practice?

Lastly, I'd like to share two more things.  Today, I stepped on the scale before leaving for the airport (exactly as I did 10 months ago) and found that I have officially lost 90 pounds of my 100 pound goal so far!  Also, Happy Mothers day to all of the Moms out there!

Be well,
MS

Savor the BOOK!

Last night I did my usual three miles of walking meditation.  When I had finished my usual meditative musings, I turned my thoughts toward an issue that has been on my mind lately.

Maintaining Mindfulness.

I have been very fortunate to have had an extraordinarily easy time losing my weight so far.  There's been a few challenges along the way, but all VERY minor.  The hardest time I have had has been recent.  I had a week long stretch where life simply demanded my time elsewhere and I was not able to do my Tai Chi in the mornings, or my walking at night for almost a solid week.  As those fell away, so did my drive to wake up and meditate in the four o'clock hour every day.  By the end of the week, I found myself struggling to get back in the swing of things.  But I am fully aware that this sounds very whiny when weight loss can be so incredibly difficult for us.  I know, I've been there...my whole life.  BUT, as it has been so easy for me this year, this minor challenge has been a little tough.  Tough enough, at least, that it got me thinking about just exactly "Why HAVE I had it so easy?"  And just exactly "Why IS it hard right now?"

That's when it came to me.  And, once again, I have Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung - as well as their book "Savor" - to thank for it!  The answer was in front of me every time I logged in to Twitter and saw "@SAVOR_the_book" or went to the web site for the Savor Sangha which is www.SavorTheBook.com.  The answer couldn't have been more perfect, if they had crafted it intentionally.  The answer was:

"Savor...the...BOOK!"

Instead of reading the book through, and then forgetting about it.  I recommend that you read it more than once.  Truly savor it!  Over and over again.  Or at least make highlights and notes and re-read those randomly.  Heck, if you do nothing except read "Chapter Two: Are you really appreciating the apple?" before your meals, I think you'll be reminded to be mindful while eating.  (This apple meditation has proven extremely powerful for me personally.)

I will definitely be revisiting my highlighted passages on my iPad regularly.   And, while on that subject, let me just say that the eBook version on an eReader is THE way to go for something like this.  You can gain instant access to exactly the quote or passage that you want, as well as your notes on that passage.  iBooks is kind of made for this.

Anyhow, I really loved this little bit of insight.  It made me smile, and it made perfect sense.  I'll let you know if it helps me maintain my mindfulness.  As for my week off, and subsequent struggles to get back in gear, it seems to have passed.  I'm back to eating healthier than ever, exercising daily and getting my weight moving again.  I am down 82 pounds as of today!

Are you having any struggles or issues, big or small, in sticking to your plan?  What are you doing about it?

MS

Savor: Mindul Eating, Mindful Living is Now In Paperback!

I saw a post on the SavorTheBook blog that they have released the paperback version of the book and they are celebrating by giving it away for *FREE*!

Anyone who reads here regularly probably knows that, while I use a variety of technology (iPhone, iPad, various apps, books and more) to assist with my weight loss and lifestyle changes, "Savor" is the foundation of my entire plan.  I aslo credit "Savor" as being the root of my success.  All the other tools are great and incredibly useful in their own ways, but without the day-to-day mindfulness techniques I learned in "Savor" I would not have been able to lose the weight.  I am thoroughly convinced of this.

Anyhow, if you want to check it out and give it a try for yourself click on the links in this post to go to their page and enter to win your *FREE* copy!  They are entering everyone who joins the Savor Community today, to win a free copy.  You can also "like" their post on FaceBook for a chance to win.

You can find them on FaceBook (SavorTheBook) or Twitter ( @SAVOR_the_book ).

I hope you'll check them out.  It's great stuff!
Regards,
MS

"I Feel Right Comfortable Sittin Right Here"

Man, I am having a great week with regard to my meditation practice! 

I have been reading Brad Warner's books recently (reviews to follow soon) and I have been wanting to start sitting zazen.  Until now, I have been doing all my various meditations in the style I learned from several Thich Nhat Hanh books.  I guess I would characterize it as Breathing Meditation, not knowing if Thay has a certain tradition he promotes.  If he does, it hasn't been evident to me so far.  In fact he seems to purposely advocate "whatever works" from what I have seen, being more interested in helping the masses live mindfully than to have them following a particular path.

Anyhow, I currently do 30 minutes of sitting meditation in the mornings, 3 miles of walking meditation in the evenings and any time I feel like it, I use the same style to just do very brief micro-meditations using Thay's "Breathing In, Breathing Out" style thoughts.

So, recently I decided to start devoting my morning sitting practice to trying zazen.  This has been fantastic so far!  Mind you, I've only done it for four days so far, but the effects have been profound.  First off, the unexpected side effect is that the loss of my morning sitting "breathing" meditation has made my walking meditations significantly more rewarding.  Because I miss the time in the mornings, I am relishing the time in the evenings all the more, plus I think the evening mindfulness is being heightened, in some way I can't quite put my finger on yet, by the zazen.

As for the zazen sitting I'm doing in the morning, it's been extremely interesting so far.  I had been considering this for some time, but wasn't crazy about some of the stuff I read about the Soto and Rinzai Zen traditions with regard to all the protocol involved.  Reading Brad Warner's books is making me realize that I could participate in zazen, and even in Soto Zen, without SO much tradition (although a good bit of it is necessary regardless). 

Nothing that has happened for me this week has been earth-shattering, but it's definitely been beneficial.  First off, and perhaps most exciting for me has been posture.  Until now, I've had ongoing issues attaining a posture that was comfortable.  I did ok, but would not go so far as to call it comfortable.  I had heard Brad Warner talk about the posture (and I am paraphrasing here) being almost like "stacking" your meat and bones up or something along those lines.  It made sense to me, and I made an effort when I started the week to reach a better posture with that in mind.  Immediately, perhaps through dumb luck, I found a posture that I kind of just fell in to that first morning.  I knew I was on to something when I had not slouched after ten minutes, and at a certain point I had the sense that I felt like a high-rise building that moves in the wind but doesn't topple.  Very solidly grounded at the bottom, but flexible at the top.  It's hard to explain, but for lack of a better way to explain it, I'll just say I felt extremely balanced.  I stayed that way for the remainder of my sit and all of them since!  Reading what I've written it kind of sounds very minor, but I was extremely happy about this.  Additionally, my posture seems to have eliminated my leg discomfort at the same time.  Either way, I'm happy about it!

The other development is, of course, just the zazen itself.  I had also heard Brad Warner say that the thing he doesn't like about meditation in which you focus on your breathing is that it works in driving away other thoughts, but now you are just focused on one thought.  You've introduced a thought to get rid of thought, so you've added to the predicament.

With this in mind, I sat zazen and let the thoughts come and go as they pleased and it has been entertaining, and interesting to say the least.  Perhaps most importantly though, it has improved markedly just since Monday.

I'm really actively trying to participate in some group meditation both when I travel and locally as well.  My hope is to build on what I'm doing at home, but also to share with others and help them and myself improve the practice.

I leave you with a picture from my mindful walking in my neighborhood last night.  It was a beautiful evening, and I was fortunate to be walking at sunset.

Warm Regards,
MS

PS - The Lyric that comprises the title of this post is from a song called "Lazy Man" by Brighter Shade.  John Driskell Hopkins was the singer and writer of that song before he was in his current little band, the Zac Brown Band.  GREAT music, check it out if you get a chance.

E=mc2

I don't have a lot to write about this, but I wanted to take a moment to recognize a milestone.  This blog is about learning from one another, and about my self-work, and to that end I wanted to let everyone know where this path I started down seven months ago this week has led.

Seven months ago, I stepped on a scale and saw - to my utter astonishment - the numbers that FINALLY snapped me awake and made me take action.  Those numbers were 3-4-9.  I've written about this before, so I won't repeat the story, but the short version is I weighed myself before a vacation and was positively stunned to see that I essentially weighed 350 pounds!

That moment came after a number of other factors which, I guess, started with a visit to an old friend's place during which the torture he had put himself through in life culminated, during my visit, with him being rushed to the hospital in congestive heart failure.  That same weekend, one of my other dear friends showed up after no contact for 15 years and was significantly heavier than when I last saw him.  He was always rail thin, so this new obese version of him, was unsettling.  Anyhow, point is, that I decided that weekend that I needed to do something drastic about my weight, but it wasn't until a couple of months later when I stepped on that scale that things clicked in to place and I knew I needed to act fast.

On the second day of that vacation I discovered "Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Living" by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung.  This book, as I have written here many times and in many ways, illuminated the path that I had started walking down.  It didn't actually make the decision for me, but it showed me the way, once I had decided, to where I wanted to be.

Today, seven months later, I have lost three fourths of the weight I set out to lose in one year.  With five months still to go on my goal time frame, I have already lost SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS!  I won't go on about that much here as, around the 70 pound mark just recently, I was humbly honored to be featured on the Savor The Book Blog if you want to read about that.

I feel better, I live better, I eat better, I'm happier, my life is changed in countless ways.  My goal is 100 pounds, and then re-evaluation, and I WILL get there.  The truly interesting thing is, however, that I no longer care about that goal.  Sure, I want to achieve it.  Sure I want to be as healthy as possible, but I have already achieved the thing that matters.  I have truly, meaningfully, changed my life!  I make great choices now with regard to food, relationships, health and just my very moment to moment existence!

I do this, every moment of NOW, through MINDFULNESS.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm perfect or my life is perfect, but I've definitely discovered that mindfulness is the key to being truly happy.  I've written many times that if you insert mindfulness in to your life, you will do the single most important thing you can to achieve your goals, because this one act will help all the other things you want to fall in to place.  It's as though your body already knows what to do, and right from wrong, you just have to make your brain get out of the way and mindfulness will do that for you!

At any rate, I am very pleased and proud to be where I am with my journey of weight loss and life improvement and I just wanted to share these thoughts with you.  Please, PLEASE, if you are reading this and have any thoughts, doubts or fears, that you can't lose weight, know that you CAN!  My best recommendation is to start with "Savor", and implement mindfulness. The rest will take care of itself in time.  It reminds me of the ant in that classic Johnny Hart "B.C." Comic Strip, when he kicks a snowflake off a hilltop and it rolls down, picking up mass, and obliterates all the caves and he just says "E=mc2".  Your good choices are the snowflake, and mindfulness is the hill.  You are the ant making the decision to kick the snowflake.

E=mc2!

MondoSamu

MondoSamu Featured On "Savor The Book Blog"!

I am so very proud to say that Dr. Lilian Cheung, Co-Author of the book "Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Living", and her team recently gave me the wonderful opportunity to write a post as a "Guest Blogger" on their SavorTheBook.Com Blog!

It was posted a couple of days ago, and is live on their blog right now.  It's about how I discovered Savor, applied mindfulness and have lost over 70 pounds now.  It also talks about some of the things I have done to get here. My hope is that something there will help you in your own weight loss journey!

If you have a moment, please visit the Savor The Book Blog and give it a read.  I hope you enjoy it, and thank you all for reading here!

My greatest pleasure is to hear from some of you that this site has helped you in your own journey some how.  I had one person tell me that it was "what she needed to hear right now", which meant a lot to me, because it was what I needed to hear when I heard it.

My warmest regards,
Geo

Three Miles of Meditation

For months now, I've been walking almost every day.  I tend to average 2.5 to 3 miles.  Every since reading "Savor", I try to make my walking a meditative time as well.  This has worked wonders for me in many ways.

A couple of those ways are more exercise (obviously) and more meditation.  Like most folks, time is always a challenge.  Walking Meditation makes the walking more enjoyable, less effort and most of all it vastly expands my meditation time which has a ripple effect throughout the rest of my life.

Since the weather has gotten colder, and the days shorter, I have no longer able to fit a nice walk at the local park in to my schedule.  I chose to walk in my neighborhood.  The block I'm on, right in front of my house, is precisely one half mile.  I walk it six times to get my three miles in.  So while walking the last bit of it recently, I had the thought that since it is such a neatly broken down series of laps, it would be easy to describe how I use it for my meditation.

I get asked, a lot, HOW I perform walking meditation.  I have Thich Nhat Hanh's book on Walking Meditation, and LOVE it. 

 

I perform the guided meditations on the CD quite often.  I use that one for when I am severely limited on walking space.  Say, for instance, I am stranded at the office, and I know I will not get the opportunity to walk that day outdoors.  I sometimes perform the guided meditations in the hallway of my office building.  I've even performed these in hotel rooms before.

But when I walk outside, I don't listen to music or guided meditations.  I perform my own style of walking meditation based on the things I have learned from Thich Nhat Hanh's books.  The one in my neighborhood breaks down something like this:

0.5 - Breathing
1.0 - Walking Meditation on My Body and Nature.
1.0 - Walking Meditation on My Family and Friends.
0.5 - Walking Meditation on the World, and nothing at all.

For the first half mile loop, I focus simply on my breathing.  I don't try to think of anything in particular.  In fact, focus on my breathing to help clear my mind so that I don't start solving whatever problems are in my head.  Being a professional problem solver, that's just how my mind works.  Every little thing such as how to get a better rate on my insurance, how to teach my daughter to tie her shoes, how to spend more time with my friends who live far away or how to write better CSS code for a web page that I am working on or whatever.  When I am not thinking of anything in particular, my mind starts solving these problems for me.  So…I try very hard to focus on my in-breath and my out-breath, for the first half mile, so that as I enter the second half mile loop, I can turn my mind toward mindful thoughts for me, my family and my friends.

On the second half mile, I begin focusing my thoughts toward my body.  By this time, I am warmed up with the walking, and I can become keenly aware of my body.  Thich Nhat Hanh, in a couple of the books I have read which talked about walking meditation, suggests a process where you first release the tension in your body and let worry and stress fall away as you walk.  Let it sink out of you and in to the earth, acknowledging it, but releasing it.  Then you can start to give gratitude for your body and health.  I start by saying to myself, mentally:

Breathing in, I am aware of my body. 
Breathing out, I appreciate my body. 
Breathing in I welcome the energy of the universe to my body. 
Breathing out, I send the energy throughout my body and back to the universe.
Breathing in, I keep the energy I need,
Breathing out, I send the rest back to the universe. 
Breathing in, I am aware of my leg muscles,
Breathing out, I am aware of their wellness"

and so on for my entire body.

I usually end this portion of the process with something along the lines of:

Breathing in, I am grateful to my body
Breathing out, I appreciate my body's function
Breathing in, I thank my body
Breathing out, I smile to my body.

If you have never done any of this before, these meditations can sound a little odd, but when you are actually doing it, I assure you that it will feel more natural.  For that matter, and this is important, it doesn't matter how you do it or what you say…these are good guides, but I only do them because they work for me.  I arrived at these by starting with some of the suggestions that Thich Nhat Hanh recommends, but I rapidly evolved the suggestions in to my own things.  Things that matter to me, or that feel natural to my inner mind.  The only thing that really matters, at least in my opinion, is that you are focused on gratitude.  The feeling you get from gratitude (and I mean the chemical reaction your body has to the emotion) and the physical benefits from the walking give you a double-whammy of healthy benefit, and there's hard science to back it up.  (I'll be reviewing the book Buddha's Brain for more on that soon)

Anyhow, once I have finished the laps two and three, focused on gratitude for my body, I spend the next two laps doing the same thing, but focused toward my immediate family.  Basically I do breathing-thoughts (as I tend to refer to them) focused on my Wife, Daughter, Brother and Sister for the first of those two laps, then on my entire extended family and set of friends on the second.

I then spend the next lap (being the final half mile) focusing on nothing at all.  I release all thoughts, I typically spend that time smiling.  I let my mind drift and don't focus on any thoughts.  If I notice that I am starting to think of a particular thing, I give mental thanks for the thought, and ask it if I can get back to it later.

At the end of my walk, I slow down, and if possible I like to end the walk with a very slow walking meditation like the guided ones in the Walking Meditation book, or sometimes I will do some mindful movements that are sort of loosely based on Tai Chi.  They are a great way to smooth the pulse back down to a normal rate and be fully relaxed.

That's it!  I hope that you find some use in this information.  I get asked about it often, and it's rather hard to describe quickly, so I often feel I've not helped people who ask.  Alternatively, I hear myself describing it and realize that the average person might find this all to be a little uncomfortable.

A buddy of mine, whom I recommended Mindful Running to when his iPod died tried it for a while and then called me one day with a lengthy poke in the ribs about it.  The story was too long to tell, but suffice it to say that it ended with him buying another iPod.  Maybe it's not for everyone, but I think if he would have tried his running would be much improved.

Please feel free to post and questions and I'll try to answer them.  Meanwhile if you Google "Walking Meditation" you'll get TONS of useful information, guided meditations and assistance.  I highly recommend the Thich Nhat Hanh book "Walking Meditation" as well.  It has been a great thing for me.

MondoSamu

A Mindfulness Snowball to the Face!

Back on Christmas Day, my wonderful day ended in a wonderful way.

After a LONG day of great family fun, opening of presents, family meals and LOTS of vicarious living through my daughter on her first Christmas where she really understood it and enjoyed it, we were treated to an evening snow.

In Georgia, white Christmases are exceedingly rare. We only got a couple of inches, but it was plenty. It was the perfect, big, fat flakes that make the best kind of snowmen.

Well, my Father-In-Law (a Canadian, it's worth mentioning) stuck his head outside, saw the snow building up, and said he was going out to build a Snowman. My daughter, wife and Mother-In-Law all jumped up and started getting bundled up for some snow fun.

While I was excited, I was more interested in the warm, comfy chair I was holding down. I thought "Ah, I'll check it out later." Ultimately, I felt guilty for not going outside with everyone else, so I sighed a burdened sigh and headed outside with a frown.

When I walked outside, I saw my little girl rolling a big base-snowball for her snowman, as beautiful as it could be! Moments later, a great snowball fight ensued.

As a side-note, I was very pleased to see my little girls first snowball fight was met with great joy and enthusiasm, and not tears. How one reacts to ones' first snowball to the face is a major turning point in ones' life, y'know.

Anyhow, I very quickly lost myself in the joyful, mindful moment of the snowman building and snowball fighting, and it seemed to last forever. It was the greatest thing.

Later, I reflected on the fact that I nearly missed it all. I couldn't believe that I had nearly passed it up. Luckily, I didn't miss it. I took a few moments to think about it, decided I would regret it if I didn't go outside, and I DID go outside. The short time outside seemed to last hours, and was one of the most wonderful moments of the season for me.

It was a Mindfulness snowball shot to the face, and I needed it!

It was a powerful lesson for me. A lesson on mindfulness, and a lesson on joy. If you ever find yourself in need of a little joy, and mindfulness, you need look no further than the nearest four year old. They are nearly always immersed in the both!

MondoSamu

The Longest Night of the Year Went Too Fast!

I just returned from a trip to Dallas, Texas, on business and had a really great trip.   On Tuesday, December 21st, I had enough free time in the evening that I wanted to get out and do something.  When I travel, I try to use the opportunity to do as many things as I can that I wouldn't normally do.

When I eat out, I like to frequent restaurants I have never been to, and can only go to, in the city I am visiting.  I like to visit the less ordinary attractions.  Take, for instance, when I had a local take me to a Pan Yard in Trinidad.  That is something that very few Americans would get to see because it seems slightly (or very) dangerous, and it's not easy to find.  Just getting there would scare off most tourists.  But, that's just what I like to do.  I'd much rather experience something truly unique than see a tourist trap attraction.

So that explains why when looking at the list of local concerts, movies, events and such in Dallas, that the one that appealed to me the most was the "Winter Solstice Celebration" at the interestingly-lacking-in-specific-practice-tradition-name-appended-to-the-beginning "Dallas Meditation Center"!

I checked out the web site, and all the related information, and I wasn't sold.  First off, I'm rather neutral when it comes to solstice recognition.  Meaning, I have a lot of friends to whom it's a big deal because of their particular religions, but not being particularly religiously affiliated myself it's never been something I paid much attention to.  Also, the very thing that intrigued me about them - the lack of a specified "tradition" such as "Mahayana" or "Soto Zen" or whatever - also turned me off a little because they were SO open to all faiths that I feared a distracting mix of beliefs that might make my first foray in to group meditation a distracted mess.

After vacillating back and forth all day, right up to 30 minutes before the event, I finally decided that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.  I put on some white track pants (as the flyer had requested that you wear white if possible) and I set out for the Dallas Meditation Center with my hopes set high, but my running shoes laced up tight in case I didn't like what I found!

By the way, the deciding factor in me finally going was that the facilitator of the event was the founder of the center, Brother ChiSing, who is a student of Thich Nhat Hanh.  I figured , if nothing else, this was a guy I wanted to meet.

Can you tell that I was going in to this with high hopes and low expectations?  I was fully aware of the fact that I was judging this event, this place and it's people without any reasonable cause.  In the end, it was the realization that I was stopping myself before I started - getting in my own way, basically - that made me man-up and go.

When I arrived, the outside of the building was very encouraging.  It was decorated in each window with things like "Tai Chi", "Interfaith", "Interbeing" and so on.  I walked in the front door and there was no one to greet me.  Just when I started feeling kind of like a party crasher, someone walked by and asked if I was there for the event.  I said that I was but didn't know where to go, and they invited me back to get involved.  They asked that I shed my shoes outside the room and directed me inside, where I found a few people sitting already in a meditative state, and a few others just quietly sitting.  It was a little unnerving being thrust in to the room with no real knowledge of what I was in for.

I took a seat, and started doing a little mindful breathing of my own to get myself in the right frame of mind.  It was easy, due to the environment. The room was hardwood floors, large and dark but lit softly with candles and strings of white lights like Christmas lights.  People were trickling in and getting seated, and soon enough Brother ChiSing came in and got things under way.

What followed was the best two hours of group meditation, chanting, talking, mindful moving, relaxation, solstice honoring time I could have ever hoped for.   We started with some introductions, and each person sharing - in a single word - what they were letting go of with the changing cycle of the year and what they were welcoming in.  It became clear that the group had some pain and suffering that they were holding.  The words came with emotion.  Words like "the past", " pain", "loss", "non-practice", "suffering", "judgment", "grief".  Then, the same ones who shared their painful word, shared their word of welcoming for the new year.  These words dwarfed the negative ones with their passion and energy!  These were words such as "new experiences", "practice", "assertiveness", "openness", "non-judgement"  and others.  As sad as some of the emotion was when they said their past words, their future words were full of light and hope!  It was remarkable to be a part.

There were some chants that ChiSing led us in, giving honor to the changing seasons and cycles of the planet and our lives.  They were in multiple languages and honored no particular religion.  There was some "dancing", the prospect of which had me quaking, but in execution it was little more than a circle moving around and singing a little chant.  We did a couple of meditation sessions that were great!  Until that night the longest I had ever meditated was for 15 minutes and in a comfy chair.  This meditation was performed with most everyone on a Zafu and Zabuton (meditation cushion and mat) in a large circle.  This was great for a few reasons for me....first off I really wanted the group meditation experience, so I could decide if I want to pursue the same back home.  Secondly, I wanted to try the mat and cushion, as I have asked for my own for Christmas.   Lastly, I really wanted to meditate for a longer period of time.  All of this turned out to be great!  The meditation was really wonderful, and the group aspect adds a quality, and depth that I am not sure I can adequately describe, but to say that it is very rich.

Without describing it in crushing detail, suffice it to say that the evening went too quickly and was a great deal of fun, very gratifying in many ways and exceeded my expectations by miles!  We did some mindful moving, which was essentially Tai Chi mixed with some thoughtful leadership.  ChiSing gave a heartwarming appeal to everyone to make a choice to say yes - or no - to a mindful pursuit of life over the next two years.  He spoke of the solstice, the cycles of he earth, life and the universe, and of the fact that the planet simply can't sustain people  not living mindfully any longer.  He encouraged everyone to choose to attend group meditations like the one we were having, engage in a mindful life and practice, and stressed that these groups are occurring more and more around the world and that they really matter.  I've done a poor job here of describing it, but the talk was very mindful, poignant and moving.

The night wrapped up with everyone taking a moment to say what they had on their mind, which was very inspirational, and then another group "dance" and chant.

The happiness, mindfulness and sense of Sangha was palpable, and everyone gave hugs and handshakes all around before retiring to the kitchen for some desserts and discussion.

I had a wonderful time talking about "Savor" with a woman who said that my words during the evening about Thich Nhat Hanh and "Savor" were exactly the message she felt she needed to hear.  I really enjoyed this, because I felt the same way when I discovered "Savor"...that it was the right message for me at the right time.  She's now intent on getting the book and applying mindful eating to her own life.  I enjoyed fun and thought provoking discussion with ChiSing and some others about all manner of things.  I felt as though I had made a dozen new friends and was saddened to have to leave them behind.  I took comfort in this though, knowing that we are all connected.  I hope if I am ever back in the Dallas area, I will have the opportunity to meet with and enjoy their company again!

What is the point of all of this?  Well, there are many.  But if i needed to pick a single overriding theme to focus on for this experience it would be "Be open!"

Be open to trying mindfulness in your own life, be open to trying new things that are outside your comfort zone, be open to trying things you might think aren't for you, be open to making new friends, be open to new experiences and even people whom you've never expected you would enjoy or have things in common with.

One of my favorite quotes, which is part of my meditation every single day, is "As I enjoy people, I attract enjoyable people".  I embraced that ideal on the Solstice and was rewarded with infinite kindness, friendship and love from a room full of complete strangers!

I want to tell you more about Brother ChiSing, but I have more to learn about him first.  For now, please take a few moments to check out his various web sites and see what he's doing with the Dallas Meditation Center, then go out and look for something similar in your own area and get involved with it.  At least try it.  As ChiSing encouraged me before leaving, "no one place will be perfection, but just try them all and you'll find one that works for you."

I'll do a follow up story on ChiSing in the future and I will feature his music, and meditation center and more.  Until then, I truly hope that this story has inspired you to look for some similar experience in your own area.

When I was younger I spent countless years exploring and trying various churches.  I was seeking a place of fellowship, and group spirituality, but was constantly disappointed in the people who made up the gatherings.

Not once did I find a place where the group was there for the spirituality of it, but instead I consistently found people who were using the gathering as a networking opportunity or for gossip.  This soured me on religion for many years, until I found my own path that worked for me and eventually accepted and understood what they were doing.

What I found at the DMC,  in addition to all the other great things I described above, was a group of interfaith practitioners who shared a single common desire to meditate and be mindful regardless of their individual religious beliefs.  And no gossip at all!

Thank you to Brother ChiSing, and all of the other kind souls who attended the Winter Solstice Celebration the Dallas Meditation Center, for showing me a great time and extending such warmth and kindness to me. It is my great wish for you all that you achieve the things you are welcoming for the new year!

Warm regards,
Happy Holidays,
MondoSamu

"I'm JUST a Bill"

I write, and talk, a lot about mindfulness. Mindfulness, essentially, is just being in the moment and not being distracted by other things. When you read books like "Savor" about mindfulness they often talk about things like when you eat, you should eat mindfully and enjoy the food, without watching television or listening to music and such. Another example is when you walk mindfully, it's a good idea to not listen to an iPod the whole time, but to enjoy the sites and sounds around you and live in that moment as well.

These things are all certainly true and helpful. I've done them. I used to use an iPod in the airport, when walking, while waiting in lines. I have stopped that, and thus have stopped a lot of music listening as well. This has been a bitter-sweet thing for me. While the quality of my mindfulness has exponentially improved, my time spent listening to music - a thing that I derive tremendous joy from - has greatly been reduced.

At least, that's how it seems at first.

However, when you really get in to mindfulness and improve your practice of it, you may find that when you take time to listen to music mindfully then that is greatly enhanced as well. See, I guess the point the teachers are making is that when you are walking AND listening to music, you are not necessarily doing either one fully or fully enjoying either one.

So, since I started my mindful walking and other mindful activities, I had been missing music a lot. I'm a life-long music lover, and I get tremendous enjoyment from almost all forms of music. So the purpose of this post is to talk about the moment I had recently (and the many times since then) when I realized what they mean by that whole thing about not doing either thing fully when you do both.

I was really wanting to listen to some jazz recently (again, I like all music for the most part, but I was raised on jazz and it's the first music I ever knew). I fired up the 'ol iPhone 4 and Pandora to get my Jack Sheldon Station going.

Jack Sheldon is a living legend. The guy's is a true genius when it comes to music and entertainment. Whether you like Jazz music or not, you are probably already a Jack Sheldon fan, even if you've never heard of him. He's been making incredible music for several decades and is still going strong. Most of us, especially those who were kids in the 70's, will remember Mr. Sheldon as the voice of "Bill" in the Schoolhouse Rock song "I'm just a Bill". Also, he was the voice in Conjunction Junction". He was frequently playing and performing on Merv Griffin, was a semi-regular actor on Dragnet, parodied himself as "Bill" on an episode of the Simpsons. He's played on Tom Waits albums, performed with countless others, and has run several of his own bands as well. Jack has also been an actor, made soundtracks, performed with many other famous artists, and more. The guy is simply incredible. To this day, he still plays live a few days a week in Los Angeles.

Anyhow, I had the Pandora Station playing and was simply sitting and listening to music, while doing nothing else. My only purpose was to enjoy the music. This Pandora Station I created played 1997's "Jack's Blues" from the "Live at Don Mupo's Gold Nugget" record and then some of his trumpet virtuoso work on other songs, and then moved on to other artists such as "Stan Getz meets Chet Baker" and more.

Listening MINDFULLY to this music, I not only liked it, not only enjoyed it, but I lived it! It was FANTASTIC! When you listen that intently to these songs (or any) you hear things you don't normally notice, you get the feelings the music is trying to put across and you are transported - as if by magic - to the place the artist wanted you to go. Ultimately, this is what most musicians want more than anything. They want their music to be heard and felt and understood in this magical way that expresses what they felt when they created it for us. It's something that you can't get when you're doing other things and listening to music as background filler.

This is nothing new, and I am not claiming to have uncovered a great mystery. I just realized that this is something that I haven't done in years...probably since when I first became a hard core fan of music in the first place! For me - a married man, with a kid and a full time job and all the life responsibilities that come along with that - it's easy to forget. It's so easy to listen to music while driving, to listen when working, but to never REALLY listen.

So whether it's Reggie Watts special brand of comedy/music, or Jack Sheldon's virtuoso jazz Trumpet, or Johnny Cash, or Nirvana, or Ben Harper, or Eminem or WHATEVER type of music you love...take some time in your busy day to listen to it only for the sake of enjoying strictly that music.

Then, furthermore, apply that same complete mindful attention to the other things in your life that you like to do but don't ever do without multi-tasking. When you read a book, don't have the TV going in the background. Breathe in, and out, clearing your mind before you settle in to read and marvel at how deeply immersed you get in the world of your book. If you ride a bike for enjoyment, put all your concerns out of your mind before your next ride, and revel in the feel of the wind on your face, and the ground flying beneath your feet.

You get the idea, and it sounds like such an obvious and simple idea. But you'll probably notice when you perform these favorite things of yours, that you will realize how long it's been since you've done these things to the exclusion of all else. I hope it will be as refreshing and enjoyable for you as it was for me.

When poor old "Bill" was lamenting that he was "Just a Bill, sittin on Capitol Hill" he was sad because he was focused on becoming a law. There's a powerful lesson there, one that perhaps wasn't even intended. But I would suggest that you learn that lesson from Bill as well. The lesson that you should enjoy being "just" a Bill. Enjoy every moment IN the moment.

Who knew Schoolhouse Rock was teaching us Buddhist lessons!?

Enjoy Mindfully!
MondoSamu