Note:  If you’re hav­ing trou­ble view­ing the video, click here.

Why do you ride?

photo credit: kaneda99

“It is not the moun­tain we con­quer but our­selves.” ~ Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand moun­taineer and explorer

We head out into this life we’re liv­ing, a jour­ney in some direc­tion.  For each of us.  And along that jour­ney, we encounter cross­roads, new paths, paths less trav­eled, paths tra­versed quite well.  These paths — and there are mil­lions of them out there in this world we call “life” — are all direc­tions we can choose to go in.

Choice.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer your­self, any direc­tion you choose.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Today, I am putting the feet that I have into a good pair of run­ning shoes.  I am choos­ing to com­pete in my first marathon.  The Mil­wau­kee Lake­front Marathon.  Octo­ber 3^rd, 2010.

26.2 miles.  That is the moun­tain.  And yet, it will become not this moun­tain that I con­quer, but myself. 

This con­quer­ing of myself will be no easy task.  There will be moments of doubt.  In fact, I know this — as there have already been moments of doubt.  There will be aches and pains that I haven’t felt before (and there already have been).  There may be moments where I ques­tion what I was think­ing in sign­ing up.  There will surely be moments where I won’t want to put in another long run. 

That’s why I’ve brought on the best coach — Coach Lori.  She’s been there.  She knows what it’s like — the train­ing, the time, the aches, the challenges…and the con­quer­ing of ourselves. 

And that’s it.  As amaz­ing as I antic­i­pate it will be to cross that fin­ish line, the big­ger thing for me here, is the going deeper within myself.  This WILL be a chal­lenge for me.  A chal­lenge both phys­i­cally and men­tally.  It’s in this chal­lenge, that — in the words of Sir Edmund Hillary — I will con­quer myself.  And per­haps I have already.  At some level, I have.  With the chal­lenges, the moun­tains, that I have faced already in life.  This becomes a new layer, as I go deeper within.  A new con­quer­ing of myself. 

Per­haps that is really it.  On this life jour­ney we are each on, there will con­tinue to be new chal­lenges for us to face.  Some of these chal­lenges will be ones we bring on, and other will hap­pen by chance.  I believe very much that the chal­lenges we choose to con­quer for our­selves will bet­ter pre­pare us for all that lies ahead. 

Today I choose the Mil­wau­kee Lake­front Marathon as that next chal­lenge, and the next con­quer­ing of myself.

The jour­ney continues…

As it does for all of us.

photo credit: h.koppdelaney

“Heal­ing, Papa would tell me, is not a sci­ence, but the intu­itive art of woo­ing nature.” ~ W.H. Auden

We are energy.

Does this makes sense to you?  And what does that really mean?

We are all on some path, trav­el­ing through this life that is ours.  We breathe.  We move. 

My fin­gers bend to press the keys on the key­board as I type this.  I blink. 

I feel pain.  I feel love.

We are energy. 

The more I fully expe­ri­ence this idea of our being as a source of energy, the more I believe we har­ness so much more energy than we can even begin to com­pre­hend.  Per­haps there is some mind-body-spirit con­nec­tion to this energy.  Per­haps there is some­thing deep within, a some­thing that maybe is not tan­gi­ble — yet is deeply real — that con­nects us to that energy source of us.  I am not here with answers.  I am here with my obser­va­tions, and my beliefs, and my heart.

I recently had the won­der­ful oppor­tu­nity to expe­ri­ence a recon­nec­tive heal­ing ses­sion with a dear friend, Jenny Man­nion.   Jenny is a recon­nec­tive heal­ing prac­ti­tioner, mother, wife, belly dancer, and really just a bright and shin­ing soul in our world today.

First, though, I would like to take a cou­ple of steps back.

I sup­pose this jour­ney really began the day I was born.  A jour­ney that has brought me to where I am today.  Fast for­ward from that first day of life…to where I have reached in my life today.  Moments of awak­en­ing.  Moments of joy.  Moments of sad­ness.  Moments of pain.  Moments of plea­sure.  Many dif­fer­ent expe­ri­ences in the for­ma­tion of “me”.  (just like there are many dif­fer­ent expe­ri­ences in the for­ma­tion of “you”)

Back to this idea of energy.  Have you ever expe­ri­enced the amaz­ing energy we house within our bod­ies?  Per­haps you have.  Maybe it’s been an instant.  Maybe some­thing greater.  Even the talk of all of this has a very “alter­na­tive” feel to it.  Some­thing I have typ­i­cally been not sold on.  This all takes me back to ear­lier this fall, and to an expe­ri­ence I had in which I felt the energy within my body in ways I never have before.  I came away from this expe­ri­ence with a much deeper belief in what power we truly hold within our being.

And that all brings me back to the won­der­ful recon­nec­tive heal­ing ses­sion with Jenny.  Prior to hav­ing this shift in belief in the raw energy within our body, I would have been uncom­fort­able and uneasy going into this heal­ing session. 

What is recon­nec­tive heal­ing?  From Jenny’s site:  Recon­nec­tive Heal­ing™ is a form of heal­ing that  recon­nects us to the full­ness of the uni­verse as it recon­nects us to the full­ness of our beings and of who we are.  For more infor­ma­tion, please visit Jenny’s Recon­nec­tion site.

The Expe­ri­ence

Being that Jenny and I are phys­i­cally sep­a­rated by dis­tance, I par­tic­i­pated in a dis­tance heal­ing ses­sion.  To set the stage, Jenny and I spoke on the phone.  We then ended the phone call, and I found a quiet place to lay down.

(of note:  no two expe­ri­ences are exactly alike, each one being very personal)

Forty min­utes.  My only focus was to relax.

What I expe­ri­enced really began as a deep sense of peace.  There was a tin­gling sen­sa­tion in my hands and feet, and to a degree — in my face.  And then, there were moments of what I would describe as a much deeper sense of peace and con­nec­tion with myself.  In these moments, there was the expe­ri­ence of a glow­ing sen­sa­tion, and a warmth through­out my body.  Usu­ally short moments, each very mean­ing­ful to me personally. 

I went into this not hav­ing some­thing that I was specif­i­cally look­ing for heal­ing from, just a true desire to expe­ri­ence a deeper con­nec­tion with myself. 

And before I knew it, this forty minute win­dow of time was done. 

Com­ing out of this, the biggest con­nec­tion for me, dur­ing the ses­sion was really these moments of deep peace and connection. 

Three weeks have since passed since Jenny and I worked together on this recon­nec­tive heal­ing ses­sion.  There were these real feel­ings that ini­tial day…feelings of peace and con­nec­tion.  Is this some­thing that would last, though?  Or would life just go on as normal?

Three weeks. 

Moments that have been deeply good.  Moments that have been chal­leng­ing.  Moments of uncer­tainty.  Life.

Is any­thing different?

Because, this is great and all — to have that feel­ing of warmth and peace that I expe­ri­enced dur­ing the ses­sion.  Does this really change any­thing, though?

Today

I believe at the depth of my soul that there is a deeper level of peace within my being.  It’s not some­thing I can quan­tify.  Maybe you see it, talk­ing to me…and maybe you don’t.  Maybe you won­der how I can know there is more peace within me?

This I know.  I do feel at peace in my life.  And that peace is greater now than it has ever been.  Can I say for cer­tain that it’s fully (or even, in part) related to this recon­nec­tive heal­ing ses­sion?  No.  Do I believe it is?  Yes.  I believe that all of my life’s expe­ri­ences have led me to where I am today, and it’s a col­lec­tive of all of that.  I have now had two expe­ri­ences in the last sev­eral months that have taken me fur­ther along this path of believ­ing that we are energy.  And we can affect that energy. 

The last cou­ple of weeks have been filled with much con­nec­tion with every­thing that feels right…even in those moments of uncer­tainty and challenge. 

Is recon­nec­tive heal­ing some far-fetched idea? 

Only you can decide, for you.  I believe that a big part of that is what is in our heart.  What do we believe is pos­si­ble?  What are we open to expe­ri­enc­ing in our life?

We are energy.

I keep com­ing back to this, and to the amaz­ing pos­si­bil­i­ties that our bod­ies possess. 

Are you open to these possibilities?

My Take

Recon­nec­tive heal­ing is a deeply per­sonal expe­ri­ence, and one that will be dif­fer­ent for everyone. 

I believe that if you are open to the expe­ri­ence of what is pos­si­ble, then alter­na­tive heal­ing modal­i­ties can be trans­for­ma­tional in your life.  For me, that is a deeper sense of peace in my life.  Again, this isn’t some­thing quan­ti­ta­tive or that might always be vis­i­bly notice­able.  It is a sense, though, that I most def­i­nitely have.  It’s a feel­ing that con­nects me to a deeper part of my soul. 

Per­sonal note to Jenny:  Jenny, know that I am deeply grate­ful for both our friend­ship, and for our time together dur­ing this heal­ing ses­sion.  You have a beau­ti­ful way of car­ing for those in your life, and that I have been touched by your pres­ence is a gift that I hold close to my heart. 

photo credit: mmeiser2

“My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or suc­ceed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obsta­cle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my respon­si­bil­ity; win or lose, only I hold the key to my des­tiny.” ~ Elaine Maxwell

Body mark­ing.  Elites and begin­ners.  Tran­si­tions.  Run­ning shoes.  Wet­suits.  Waves.

Swim.  Bike.  Run.

Life…and Triathlons

Prepa­ra­tion, and Life

“Suc­cess must be felt within before it can be seen on the out­side.” ~ Unknown

The sport of triathlon involves three dif­fer­ent sports, all com­bined dur­ing one race.  Swim­ming, bik­ing, run­ning.  To find suc­cess in this sport takes prac­tice and ded­i­ca­tion.  And this all begins with the men­tal prepa­ra­tion in order to suc­ceed at the phys­i­cal chal­lenges.  Being excel­lent in only one of these three sports isn’t going to win the race for you.  Life Les­son:  In life, we have many things we do.   Those things are “won”, those things are improved in the dark hours when no ones watch­ing.  It’s that time out there, when every­one else is sleep­ing, watch­ing tele­vi­sion, going “through the motions” — that you become who you truly can be.  It’s in how well we’re prepar­ing our­selves — in body, mind, and spirit.

The Swim, and Life

The swim por­tion of triathlon is the most chal­leng­ing part of the race for me.  I con­sider myself a mediocre swim­mer, at best.  And even with prac­tice time in a local pool, I still find this to be the most dif­fi­cult por­tion of the race. 

• Dur­ing the first triathlon this sum­mer, a tragic event hap­pened.  One swim­mer, new to the sport, died of a heart attack while swim­ming.  This was a very sad moment to what was an oth­er­wise won­der­ful day.  Life Les­son:  Life is short.  And we never know when our time will be up here on earth. Seize the moments in your life that give you much mean­ing.  Live each day to the fullest.
• Dur­ing the first triathlon, I was chal­lenged in get­ting a rhythm that worked for me, slow­ing me down, and caus­ing me to revert to dif­fer­ent swim strokes in an effort to get a nor­mal pace going.  In the sec­ond triathlon, I focused on keep­ing myself calm to start with, and it all went much smoother.  Life Les­son:  Some­times in life, as much as we pre­pare — things don’t always go as planned.  And when that hap­pens, we can make adjust­ments.  Change for the sake of improve­ment.  And then when we find some­thing that works, use that as the barom­e­ter of how to do this in the future.

Tran­si­tion, and Life

Between each event, there is what is called “tran­si­tion”.  This is the place where you switch from swim­ming to bik­ing, and then again from bik­ing to run­ning.  Tran­si­tion is just as the name sug­gests — a tran­si­tion from one thing to another.

• I fin­ish the swim — exhausted, wet, bare­foot and shirt­less.  And now it’s time to find my bike and head out.  Get a drink, put on a shirt, hel­met, gloves and shoes.  And go.  Tran­si­tion­ing from one event to the next.  Life Les­son:  This hap­pens in our lives too.  Moments where we have to switch gears, maybe drop one thing and start another. And in these moments, we can some­times get irri­tated, frus­trated, angry.  Or — we can choose to have an atti­tude that is filled with abun­dance.  And in those moments of tran­si­tion, really let the expe­ri­ence of the moment “be”. 
• I fin­ish the bike — put on run­ning shoes, get some more water, a few bites of a nutri­tion bar and head out.  Life Les­son: Proper nour­ish­ment is impor­tant for our growth.  And this is more than just nutri­tional nour­ish­ment to feed our phys­i­cal bod­ies.  This is also men­tal and spir­i­tual nour­ish­ment to feed our souls.  Do this — all of this — and you will be on a path of hav­ing a body that is fed in so many more ways than just the food we eat. 

The Bike, and Life

 Two wheels, out on the open road.  My favorite por­tion of the whole event.

•  Hel­met or no hel­ment.  Gloves or no gloves.  Bike shoes or run­ning shoes.  Road bike or moun­tain bike.  Lots of choices.  Some things are required (like hel­mets — your head is worth pro­tect­ing!), some things add a level of com­fort (gloves, and bike).  Some things improve per­for­mance (bike shoes and bike type).  Life les­son:  In life, you’ll have deci­sions to make.  Some will be for your own safety and pro­tec­tion.  Oth­ers will pro­vide com­fort in your life.  And oth­ers will help you improve your per­for­mance.  All of these are impor­tant deci­sions, and if you can find some har­mony in your life, by giv­ing all of these areas focus — then you’ve reached a spot that brings the con­nec­tion of body and soul together.
• Some parts of the race are just eas­ier than oth­ers — based on ter­rain, per­sonal expe­ri­ence, and pref­er­ence.  Life Les­son:  In life, too, some things we do will be more enjoy­able and fun than oth­ers.  That doesn’t mean the “not so fun” parts don’t have to be done.  Maybe we forge for­ward our­selves and do them.  Maybe we bring in some­one else to do these things (we don’t have to go it alone).  In the end, it is all part of the jour­ney, and even in things which hold great mean­ing for us, there will be moments that aren’t our favorites.  And if it does indeed all mat­ter, then we’ll find a way to do this too.  And our jour­ney will continue. 

The Run, and Life

 The last leg of the race.  A 5K (3.1 mile) run, after just swim­ming and run­ning.  The end is near, yet still so far.

• Some courses are flat (the sec­ond triathlon) and some are not (the first triathlon).  Life Les­son:  In life, you’ll have some days that are easy, and oth­ers that are more dif­fi­cult.  Through it all, you dig deep in those things that mat­ter — and you’ll find within you a way to keep going.  Of those things which mat­ter deeply, the path, no mat­ter how over­grown or scary it seems, is so worth trav­el­ing down.  Keep believ­ing in you.  And keep going after all that matters.
•  Start­ing to tire, the run can prove chal­leng­ing after every­thing else that’s taken place.  Life Les­son:  There will be days where we’ll feel exhausted.  There will be moments where we’ll want to stop.  And in these moments, it’s impor­tant for us to real­ize that we have a choice to make.  Is it worth con­tin­u­ing on?  Only YOU can answer that ques­tion.  And in these moments, this is when we define what has the great­est mean­ing to us, and what’ s worth fight­ing for. 

Post Race, and Life

 The fin­ish line.  Com­ple­tion of the race, what an exhil­a­rat­ing feeling! 

• Cross­ing that fin­ish line, com­ing in at the crowd is cheer­ing you on — what an excit­ing fin­ish, espe­cially after moments that have been chal­leng­ing out there on the course.  Life Les­son:  Being out on the course, or being out there in life, doing our thing — this can some­times be the lonely or less glam­orous part of our life.  And then you reach the fin­ish line — you reach that spot you’ve been striv­ing for — what a place to be at!  And that’s one more step along the jour­ney, and one that feels very satisfying. 
• In the first triathlon, one of the com­peti­tors was an 83 year old lady.  Out there with every­one else, com­pet­ing!  What a shin­ing exam­ple of never giv­ing up.  Life Les­son:  There are prob­a­bly sev­eral life lessons we can take from “Agnes” and what she did.  For today — this young (at heart) lady showed that we can do what­ever we set our heart to — and we don’t have to be lim­ited by what the world tells us the lim­its are.  Set your own lim­its, and reach for the stars when no one believes except you.  And be so awe­some in it all!  You can!

Tri-ing Life

“Only those who will risk going too far can pos­si­bly find out how far one can go.” ~ T. S. Eliot

Life is what you make it to be.  It doesn’t mat­ter what your social sta­tus is, how much money you have, where you’ve been to, or how suc­cess­ful the world thinks you are.  What mat­ters is that which comes from the inside. What mat­ters is going out into your life, lis­ten­ing to your heart, and try­ing those things which have deep mean­ing for you.  Life is full of so many pos­si­bil­i­ties, for each one of us. 

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” ~ Dr. Seuss
 

Go out into the world today.  Be you.  That deep-down you that is your soul!  Let it shine.  Let YOU shine!

Spe­cial Note:  On Wednes­day August 12^th, at 7 PM CDT (GMT — 5:00) — I will be inter­viewed on BlogTalkRa­dio by Amy Jewel of Cirkla.  I’ll be talk­ing about what blog­ging has meant to me and how it has evolved as I’ve been doing this.  In addi­tion, I’ll also be talk­ing about an excit­ing and fun project I have com­ing up within the next two weeks. 

UPDATE:  A recorded copy of the inter­view is avail­able, and can be found right here.