100 Day Gong

This week my blog is about one of my current personal goals that I have been working on. My goal is to successfully complete a 100 day gong this year. Check out the links below if you are not sure what this is or want more information. The idea is to commit to a particular practice daily for 100 days. If you happen to miss a day then it's back to day one and you start over until 100 days has been successfully completed.

For my first 100 day gong I am doing wall squats. I am almost half way through, at 42 days checked off. I didn't actually think I would get this far along with out having to start over on my first try, so I am quite happy with the results. I first started with 5 each day (bad knees) and then have been adding 1 each week. I am now up to 10 each day and will try to reach 15 as long as my knees don't become aa issue.

 It is a wonderful way of not only building focus and determination, but also to ensure that you train regularly. It is a dedicated act of selflove that snaps you out of your daily trance and brings the light of awareness to your consciousness. The more we practice, the more we wake up and the better off we are. Pedram Shojai, OMD

https://theurbanmonk.com/gongs-intention-discipline-leading-to-life-mastery/
http://live.well.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Urban-Monk-Academy-Workbook-Print.pdf

Namaste,

Michele Ward

Overload

I was reminded recently that maybe where I am right now is right where I'm mean't to be. Even though I know this to be true, I needed the reminder. My brain has been stuck on overload and is creating a bit of chaos and when this happens I tend to pull away. I have also started to give some serious thought regarding whether or not to continue with my Kung fu training. There is so much that needs to be worked on and fixed that I am not sure where to even start. There is that little voice inside my head that tells me how terrible I am at Kung fu so why torture myself and my instructors. Then of course there is the other voice that tells me I just need to put in more effort and work harder. The question is: where do I start?

Some of the personal goals that I set for the year have helped to keep me moving forward. I have been able to check off some of my own boxes and that feels good. I have taken a good look at where I am and I know that there are some adjustments that can be made.  I have come up with a few ideas to help create a bit more time to work on my training. Also one of my personal goals this year is to dance for 10 minutes a day with or without music for a minimum of 30 days. This is a goal that needs to be worked on sooner than later as it will help me to quiet my mind and teach my body to move more freely and naturally. I also intend to make some changes to my diet for better health and energy.

I'm ok with where I am at, as long as I take the time to recognize and understand why I am here and what needs to be done to move forward.

Namaste,

Michele Ward

Being Present, Mindfullness & intent. Yikes!!

A very dear friend of mine was given the opportunity to speak at our high school reunion many years ago. Her topic was about being fully present in each and every moment as we live our lives. As she described what that would look and feel like and how it has made a positive impact in her own life, everyone sat up a little bit taller and the room became quieter. You could see and feel the energy in the room change as the audience became fully present and engaged in her presentation. Everyone that choose to attend the reunion that year got much more than they expected and we all walked away with a life lesson that had unlimited potential.

15 years have passed since that night and I am still working on being present in any given moment, but I am farther along in my practise of being present then I would be if I had not attended that night. Mindfulness and being present requires conscious thought, practise and time. Although, lately I find myself looking too much at the week ahead rather than what is right in front of me. Not just because I'm busy but also because I prefer some days of the week over others. Awareness is wonderful!  I have a lot more practising to do.

As usual there is way too much swirling around in this brain of mine. I have intent, mindfulness and being present all converging towards each other making it difficult to separate one from the other. I know they are closely related, but they still need to be their own entities.

First we need to be present, then we need to operate with intent while being mindful. Being present and mindful allows us to make adjustments to our intent along the way. These are all tools to be added to our tool chests. My brain is telling me that intent could be broken done into a millisecond so I need to reign those thoughts in and start with some basic practise first.

Mediocrity, maintenance and mastery: If I am to be honest with myself and everyone else, I would put myself in between mediocrity and maintenance with a dash of mastery sprinkled in here and there. I believe that mastery can be as simple or as complicated as we make it. Unfortunately our North American style of life creates a much more difficult path towards mastery.

Saturday's meeting may have been short, but it was filled with quality content. That content was perfect for me because it reinforced much of what is needed in my life right now. For those that were missing I highly recommend listening to the recorded version.

Namaste,

Michele Ward

Stuck!

Journaling has taught me to take the time to reflect, it has improved my awareness and helped with perspective. This is because I make a conscious effort to take the time to examine thoughts and feelings and work problems out if need be.

I have missed posting a blog the past couple of weeks not because I have nothing to say, but rather I can't seem to get my thoughts sorted out. I feel like I'm either fumbling around in a maze right now or stuck in front of a wall that I don't know how to get around or over. I start to think and feel and then wham! My mind just stops and I'm stuck! Stuck, because I have a big, big problem. And in the past I probably would have just stomped it down and walked away. I'm not walking away this time, but I haven't quite figured out how to solve the problem.

This is extremely hard for me and is ridiculously silly, but it is what it is. It is like peeling back the layers of an onion. There are concepts in kung fu that I am struggling with this year. I'm struggling because these concepts are almost polar opposites to how I have lived my life for the past 50 + years. I understand the concepts very well, but they are anything but natural for me. How do I change how I move, react, think and feel? The thing is, I actually understand which makes it even more difficult. and I know my kung fu will improve and my life as well.

The most difficult part of all this has been the realization I need to peel back a huge piece of my onion and rework everything from the core outward to implement any changes. Just thinking about this tears me apart. How does a person change 50 years of being and living?

Namaste,

Michele Ward