© R.M.

Ceasing is the same as samadhi,
and contemplation is the same as wisdom.
All good dharmas arise from cultivating these two.
And why is this so? This is so
because ceasing overcomes attachment
while contemplating disentangles one entirely from it.
- Treatise on Completion of Truth

© R.M.

To be free from the passions
And to be calm,
This is the most excellent Way.

- Sutra of Forty Two Chapters

© R.M.

Consider the world light,
And the spirit is not burdened;
Consider the myriad things slight,
And the mind is not confused.
Consider life and death equal,
And the intellect is not afraid;
Consider change as sameness,
And clarity is not obscured.

- Lao-tzu

® R.M.

Motivation can be an elusive, ephemeral thing. It can be triggered by a deep inner voice or a jolt coming from the outside to give a push or lend a hand. There are days when the biorhythms are playing the right tune and the stars’ trajectories are moving in your favor; the motivation is already loaded…just push play. Even on those extra good days when all systems are GO an approach is necessary to get all the juice that’s fit to squeeze.

There are two famous quotes that I just came across again (because they are so famous), which say: “you can never step into the same river twice” and the other is “don’t mistake the map for the territory”.  Everything changes (this fact will not ever change though) and if you have a special map or device that motivates you try not to confuse it with the actual thing that you are trying to get motivated to do. Your motivational plan/map needs to always be updated and revised but you do not need to take it with you into the stream of life because it might get wet.

© R.M.

Take my hand.
We will walk.
We will only walk.
We will enjoy our walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere.
Walk peacefully.
Walk happily.
Our walk is a peace walk.
Our walk is a happiness walk.

Then we learn
that there is no peace walk;
that peace is the walk;
that there is no happiness walk;
that happiness is the walk.
We walk for ourselves.
We walk for everyone
always hand in hand.

Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom under our feet.
Kiss the earth with your feet.
Print on Earth your love and happiness.

Earth will be safe
when we feel in us enough safety.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Don’t mistake the finger for the moon

© R.M.

What is it that makes you GO? What’s in your mojo? There must be something to it because some days you got it and some days you don’t.

“I believe that our organism is so complicated that every time something happens to it, is experienced by it, we are thrown out of balance and at each moment we have to regain this balance. The scientists call this state “homeostasis,” this eternal attempt to regain our balance.” -Fritz Perls

Is the drive that makes you go creating balance or just fueling a search for balance? Is driving, looking and searching going past the point of balance? Homeostasis may best be fueled by more staying and less going.

© C.M.

The Pilates Plank is known around the world,

Can you do it?

Birds do it, bees do it

Even educated fleas do it
Let’s do it…

In Spain, the best upper sets do it

The chimpanzees in the zoos do it,
Some courageous kangaroos do it
Let’s do it…

Some Argentines, without means, do it

People say in Boston even beans do it
Let’s do it…

Romantic sponges, they say, do it
Oysters down in oyster bay do it
Let’s do it…

Cold Cape Cod clams, ‘gainst their wish, do it
Even lazy jellyfish, do it
Let’s do it…

In shallow shoals English soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Let’s do it…

Lets do the Pilates Plank!

(adapted from Cole Porter’s song “Let’s Do It” written in 1928)

© R.M.

I have encountered several people recently who would rather not know the state they are in because if something were to change, if something out of the ordinary were to happen then their life would have to change. Avoidance of an already existing circumstance, willful ignorance of an uncertain happenstance which at first glance seems unequivocally, incomprehensibly insurmountable is much more amiable and easier on the fore-brain. Why bother to look at the Present squarely in the face when it is so much more enchantingly unsticky to give it air kisses?

Health issues and injuries are difficult to deal with but awareness and preventative fitness can help a person stay one step ahead.  If an unexpected situation arises  or you are suddenly on the receiving end of a tricky curve ball the only way to be ready for it is experience, vision and a sense of your own ground. If your knee suddenly makes a noise while on a Sunday jog and then swells up to twice its size it may be best to have it looked at by a doctor and not continue to put weight on it for months until surgery is the only choice. If it hurts to lift your arm over your head it may be best to seek out some kind of manual therapy before it turns into a frozen shoulder.  There are little signs and feelings that can be seen, looked at and addressed which can remedy a situation before it becomes much bigger.

Your own Private Eye is the inner eye of your body-mind that knows your most natural balance and homeostasis. Your body will work very hard to keep itself in balance but it also needs a little help from your inner guidance to keep it on track. The body’s health regulators and vitality maintaining mechanisms work inside the body but have no view of the outside world.  The Private Eye of your health is instrumental for seeing the pressures, stressors and dangers outside the body before it’s too late. The Private Eye is also fundamental in recognizing the best fuel, nourishment, resources and activities that will help the body on the inside to maintain optimal and peak physical condition.  The most important thing in developing your own Private Eye is a desire to know what’s going on inside your body. At first it may be necessary to hire a Private Eye but with practice one can begin to develop the ability to see from the inside out.

© R.M.

It does not have to be about success at all. Success and failure are black and white with no shades of grey. The real thing is to blend not knowing (presumed failure) and knowing (presumed success) into an evolving adaptable and reversible paradigm that can be used in conjunction with more of the same to build a broad landscape with the masterful ability of delving in-between the shades of grey. The in-betweens can be enjoyed by anyone that can mark a spot and say “I am here” and at the same time be aware of an ultimate end point without being worried of ever reaching it…