The Last Lecture

This weekend I picked up a great book from the library. It is called “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch

for more info checkout this site www.thelastlecture.com

A quick and truly inspirational read.

Enjoy

All life is a projection.

What would your life look like if you lived without preconceived perceptions?

Wow this is a big one. Well for me there are a couple of great examples of this that I have experienced lately that I will share. Firstly I am reading “Loving What Is” by Byron Katie. In the beginning of the book she shares an experience where she went into the bathroom after someone who had just left the stall. There was pee all over the toilet seat and she became very frustrated at this and almost went after the person to give a piece of her mind. In the end she simply cleaned off the seat and let it go. When she herself was done she flushed the toilet and the toilet sprayed water up on the seat. She realized that she had created what she thought was reality. In the end she was quite happy that she did not say anything.

My second story I am stealing from a recent conversation with a friend. How often do we look at someone and judge them based on there size or appearance without taking the time to truly connect with them. By connecting I mean stopping and taking the time to really look that person in the eyes and get to know them not what we see. I love this because I think it is so true in society that we judge someone or pass someone over based on what we see. When we take the time to truly connect we can get past all of the surface stuff. My challenge to you is to become aware of this in your interactions. Make someones day and look them in the eye and give a genuine hello. Watch for the reaction.

Projection is about allowing the creative thoughts, beliefs and judgements that exist within us to become reality. The question is, what is reality? Having the awareness to stop & question your thoughts & behaviours can change your experience.

Approach Life With Innocence

What preconceived ideas do you have about your life and the way you imagine it to be?

Well I certainly like the statement and the question. For me it reminds me to play more and be more childlike. My kids constantly remind me of this with their actions. Kids seem to naturally live life in the moment. Something we tend to forget as we grow older. I often try to check in with my kids when significant events happen with them. I ask them questions about how they may be feeling etc. There response is often “nothing is wrong….can I go play now?”. Sometimes I question whether they really have nothing to say. But honestly I think they just move on to the next exciting event in their life. Like water off a ducks back.

The other thing that I think is true is that kids haven’t yet had enough experiences in their life to be able to question and compare and analyze what is happening to them. They accept things at face value. As we get older we evaluate each life experience with all the ones we have had in the past and make judgements based on the memories we have.

So for me I am reminded once again of the importance of living life in the moment. I like to think that I am pretty playful and have fun as much as I can. It also reminds me to approach situations with an open mind and drop my beliefs, judgments and thoughts with childlike innocence. 

Avoid losing yourself in the noise of your life.

In what areas of your life is there too much noise?

First of all I want to say “Thank You to Michael” for the opportunity to indulge myself and use his writing to create dialogue on my blog.

For me this question speaks to allowing. I have been reflecting on the concept of asking the universe for something. The thought of being able to access something from outside ourselves. Or the question of why isn’t the universe providing me with what I am needing. The other part of this is the idea that we are all part of a bigger whole or oneness.

As I sat with these thoughts I came to the realization that if we are one, and if we have access to what we want and need in our lives and that we can manifest in immediate ways. Then if we are not manifesting something must be in the way of this. Where are we out of alignment? Imagine a puzzle of pipes, it is not until the pipes line up that the flow through the pipes can happen. The flow is always there but cannot occur until there is alignment.

Follow this link to play a game that shows what I mean. Imagine the water as the flow of the universe.
http://www.arcadetown.com/plumber/playgame.asp

So how does this relate to real life experiences? Well for me it comes down to values. Think of the value that we call integrity. If you are wanting something to manifest yet we are out of integrity ourselves. The piece of pipe called integrity is turned out of the flow. It is not until you reconcile this piece that you can experience the flow.

In all of this I realize that we as individuals are responsible for creating and manifesting in our own lives. It doesn’t just come or not come to us from an outside source. It is our job to be in alignment and straighten out our own pipes. Once we do we can allow the flow and awareness which allows us to access things that were already there and available to us.

The noise in our lives comes from being out of alignment. The need to re-arrange our pipes. What I love about this is it places the responsibility squarely on our shoulders and not outside ourselves. The universe can’t give or show you what you are not ready to see.

Where are your pipes not in alignment? Where do you have an opportunity to create flow in your life? By fixing your pipes what will you be allowing to flow into your life?

Zen Shredding

I had the pleasure this evening to attend the book launch for “Zen Shredding” which was written by my friend Michael. I have decided to use Michael’s book to inspire some creative dialogue on this blog. Zen Shredding is full of insights and questions. So what I will do is use questions from the book and share my perspective and what it is meaning for me and then you can comment and share as well. Sound like fun?

So tonight I randomly flipped to a page and came to this  insight and question.

Trust and honor your body ~ love your body.

How can you honor your body with more reverence?

For me this question could not be more timely.  The truth is that I have not been honoring or taking care of my body in the way that I could. I am overweight and have been smoking recently. As I sit with this question what comes up for me is that I have it backwards. I have been making excuses in my mind in regards to not being able to focus on these things because I am under stress and have been very busy. What I realize is that by putting a focus on my body and wellness I would actually be creating more positive energy in my life. I guess it’s kind of like trying to get somewhere in your car without putting gas in the tank. When I returned to Starbucks, one of things I have been hearing the most from customers that I have not seen in a while is “wow you’ve lost weight” and I have, which feels great. The truth is that in the last little while I have gained 10lbs…..which doesn’t feel so good. It’s time to turn this around and take care of me. There are some things brewing in terms of exercise that I am excited about. One is that I am discovering that I really enjoy hiking and being in nature. I want to do a lot more of this and frequently. The other is that I want to get out on my Mountain Bike more. I love the feeling of being on my bike with the wind at my back.

Lastly the smoking needs to be gone it is so out of alignment for me and has really been eating at me.

So I am committing to turning this ship around. I know that when I fully commit to something that there is no stopping me. So I am drawing a line in the sand.

Can’t wait to read your thoughts and comments.

By the way if you want more info on Michael’s book checkout www.zenshredding.com