Basic Meditation Experience... (update: 3/24)

3/20 -
I'm beginning my meditational journey w/training wheels using holosync, so I'm listening to the holosync program "prologue."

the first 3 days weren't optimal:
1 - i was disrupted and couldn't get back into state;
2 - did it in the morning but dozed off for about 1-5mins (at least that's how it felt);
3 - actually did it right upon waking up... stayed up too! was interrupted early on in the beginning of meditation (annoying), but got back into it...

when "going into trance," I first noticed something rubbing against my neck. haha... only to find that it was the collar of my shirt rubbing as my head was slowly lowering. well, that was unexpected as i next noticed my muscles relaxing - legs, arms, neck, shoulders. felt completely awake, but just relaxed. initially my mind was wandering on various thots. i noticed that if i didn't intentionally direct my mind, the distractional thots could last longer than i'd like them to, so i had to clear my mind and just focus on the sounds from the headset - which helped... that was when the above physical relaxation process began shortly after.

anyway, just interesting how quickly i could relax naturally w/o intending to and by just listening to the cd.

i guess this will count as day 0 (i'll count day1 when i'm not distracted nor fall asleep)!

****** UPDATE: 3/24 MIDNITE **********

so i've been trying to put in about (2) 30m sessions (once in the morning and once at nite)... but at least fit in once a day for my 30m meditation. it's been about a week now and i can't say i've been quite successful yet at having a "pure" session (where i don't fall asleep or am interrupted somehow). I have managed to avoid further interruptions (that's the easy part). as for the falling asleep part... haha... well... i've been able to do that only ONCE so far (during a morning session). the experience was interesting, but nothing groundbreaking - just felt very relaxed. a few times i coulda sworn i heard things.. talking or movement? weird... but that was maybe only 1 or 2 sessions for a brief moment. other times, i'd fall asleep for about (i'd guess) a min or 2 or 3 towards the middle or end. i know it's towards the end b/c after it ends, i wake up. that's kinda weird... like a light sleep? i dunno.

tonite i had just ZONED.. i don't think i was asleep... but i couldn't really tell. i've tried meditation consistently for a two month period (3x's a week for ~2hrs at a time) and have noticed the same kind of symptoms... i'd go blank (but my eyes would be opened focused on a point in the room)... i couldn't tell (like tonite) if i fell asleep for a moment or not. when i did regain consciousness or awareness, i noticed that my jaw and part of my neck (tonite) was VERY RELAXED... kinda numb and heavy... really weird feeling.

i got a copy of the holosync cd (cd1 -awakening) from a friend, but he has no manual or info. i may just buy the system, but will see how this first cd goes first!

maybe i'll google info about symptoms of meditation just to see what i find - if what i'm experiencing is typical (i imagine it is).

anyone care to share their first experiences or "symptoms" of meditating - aside from the obvious of feeling refreshed, relaxed, rejuvinated?

thanks!

SIMPLE ENERGY BOOSTER Tip #2

this one's also from simpleology:

*******
The Damaging Impact Water Has On Your Energy...

There are some things I'm about to tell you about water that will not only blow your mind, but will also have an almost immediate impact on your energy.

First - most of the advice you get about drinking water is dangerously wrong.

No one really knows for sure exactly how much water you should drink, and the blanket advice we get is pure unadulterated garbage.

Take this example ...

"Drink 8 glasses a day."

Now, that may look like sound advice, but further analysis shows it's an overly simplified "wives tail."

To be more blunt: "8 glasses a day" is actually a well established urban myth.

As recently revealed by the American Journal of Physiology, there is absolutely NO scientific evidence to support the popular 8-glasses-a-day theory.

Now, none of these scientists at AJP are saying we don't need water (that would be silly). It's just that these overly simplified platitudes are not helping anyone's health.

What's needed is real scientific information and not half-truths.

What we do know is that "8 glasses a day" by itself isn't sound advice.

First, you need to drink water regularly throughout the day. Drinking 8 glasses in the morning and assuming you're "golden" for the day is more dangerous than you think..

You should, in fact, hydrate every single hour. (On the next page we'll give you a free tool to help you remember to do just that - and a lot more.)

Many people who simply take up the habit of drinking a glass (or even half a glass - more about that in a minute) every hour notice their energy levels skyrocket.

Why?

Because most of us are chronically dehydrated.

If you don't think you are, try what I'm advising here for 48 hours and see what happens.

Again, this is a statistically valid "safe bet."

Still Feel Drained?

Another safe bet: you're tired all the time and you simply can't figure out why.

Dehydration making you tired?

You bet.

*

Dizziness
*

Chronic fatigue
*

Impotence
*

Hair loss
*

Headaches
*

Low back pain
*

Constipation
*

And more ...

Dehydration has been shown quite clearly to be linked to all of these. (Merck Manual of Health)

OK, so you want to fix this ...

What next?

Before you start gulping down, you need to know that "how much" depends on a lot of factors.

It depends on your body size, how much you exercise, the climate in which you live, and more ...

Obviously if you live in a hot climate where you're sweating all the time (a lot of the sweat is invisible - you don't have to be dripping to be rapidly losing water all day long), you need more - a lot more.

If you exercise even mildly - same thing.

But there's here's something to note though.

You may think drinking more water by itself is enough, but if you drink too much you can actually "overdose" on water.

Warning! Too Much Water Can Kill...

It sounds crazy, but there was even a widely publicized case where people were "holding their wee for Nintendo Wii" for a radio contest.

The contestants were ordered to drink a high volume of water and hold their "wee" for as long as they could.

One of the contestants died as a result.

True story.

Too much water can harm you by either "water intoxication" (as the above Wii casulty, may she rest in peace) or by "electrolyte" imbalance.

Ah, electrolytes ...

Listen to this:

The more water you drink, the more you need to replace your electrolytes.

But before you go thinking you're going to need to purchase some expensive fancy "electrolyte replacement" sports drinks, here's the real deal:

All you have to do is add a tiny pinch of sea salt to every gallon of filtered drinking water you drink and - voila! - you have all the electrolytes you need.

Of course, the sports drink peddlers won't tell you that. They'd have to sell you a whole lot of sea salt to make the same profit off your back!

Not bad, huh?

If you were simply to apply what we have shown you so far my "safe bet" is that you'd see a pretty significant bump in your energy.

(There's a whole lot more where that came from that - when combined in the right effortless away - will give you the energy for even the most demanding lifestyle and "juice" to spare for your wild nights. Read on ...)

But will you actually do it?

That's a darn good question.

The thing about this kind of information is that hearing it is one thing.

Applying it to your life is a whole 'nother animal.

SIMPLE ENERGY BOOSTER Tip #1

This was an article I read from www.simpleology.com - you have to login to find it. You can spare yourself from creating an account and logging in by just reading below. However, creating an acct w/simpleology might not be such a bad idea afterall. anyway, here's tip#1 (this is SO TRUE - as i've discovered for myself):

**********
Why People Feel 'Zapped'...

Did you know that most people aren't aware of the fact that the whole act of 'digestion' actually takes a whole lot of energy?
FACT: We burn over 10% of our available "fuel" every day just digesting our food!

We certainly can't turn off digestion, but we sure can make it easier - freeing up mountains of energy - with this neat little trick.

Brace yourself ... (Remember your promise?)

Chew every bite of food 30 times before swallowing.

Silly, right?

No.

Actually more profoundly life-changing than you can possibly imagine.

On this surface, this may sound like it wouldn't do much, but we're now discovering how many ways this practice unleashes our hidden energy.

For example ...

*

Digestion starts in the mouth. If we skip that process, we only get a fraction of the nutritional value of our food.

Next ...

*

Gulping down partially chewed food puts tremendous stress on our digestion and saps us of our vital energy via several pathways.

And it gets worse, but hold up for a second.

Tune in to your stomach right now ...

I mean it. Turn your attention to how your stomach feels for a quick moment.

You may be aware that it doesn't feel so "right".

Before you jump to wild conclusions, I'm no Kreskin.

I make my 'safe bet' through statistics like these...

No guesswork, no voodoo.

from the National Institutes of Health
(U.S. NIH)

* Over 70 million Americans are affected by various digestive diseases at any given time
* Most disease goes untreated and unreported

You may even recall a case of this from earlier in the day or yesterday.

What's worse is that these digestive problems don't even manifest in a sore stomach - only in fatigue.

This is one of many the easily-avoidable ways we chronically prevent our bodies from unleashing our available vitality.

Ready for a kicker? - Well, not only does it sap our energy, but it weighs on our minds preventing clarity of thought.

Anyone in chronic pain knows this quite well.

You simply don't function as well mentally when your body is in pain.

But ...

Many times, simply correcting our chewing habits can open the energy floodgates by freeing up energy that was already there!

And get this:

This is only one of dozens of little "body hacks" like this that cumulatively can turn you into a "demon" in the board room, on "the courts," and even in the ... (I'll let you finish that sentence so I don't have to say something inappropriate)

As you discover how simple and easy this is, you'll only look back and laugh at how much money we've all wasted on bogus supplements and kooky magic tricks to put sloppy fix-it patches on our health.

Here's one more 0f many more ...

What are you Eating Now? (healthy foods!)

I thought I'd start logging healthy recipes or foods that I come across as well as encourage people to share their recipes and healthy foods they're eating that's alkalizing and/or energizing!

For example, just last nite, i experimented with making raw hummus - i think a few more times til i can perfect it tho.

i don't have exact measurements, so i'll just put up what i did:

TRIAL #1 -
Makes Yo Mama Cry - SPICY, flavorful, raw, vegan Hummus:
(experimental stage right now)

* 2cups of dried garbanzo beans
--> (water soaked over 2 nites changing water daily), then sprouted them over 2 days to maximize nutritional value, washed and drained;

* water;
* lemon;
* tahini paste (found that ground raw almonds with olive oil (or any cold pressed oil) work just as well - after tasting the tahini paste);
* olive oil;
* sea salt;
* red bell pepper (and/or tomato and/or cilantro) for a change of taste!
* half of a small harbanero pepper OR cayenne pepper;

blend in blender til smoothe - add water til right texture.

it actually tasted ok for a first time trial. it's too gritty to eat raw, but i have to experiment more with texture. i had to cheat and cooked half of it (added more water and brought to boil) THEN mixed cooked with raw and the texture came out better. again, work in progress!

__________________

TOYL - DAY2

3/18/09

If you really had more time, what would you do with it? What's something you'd like to do if you had a couple of extra hours a week that were just for you? Two hours, three hours, or even four hours? Take a moment now and jot down what you'd learn, achieve, or experience.

***
If I had more time, I would DEFINITELY:
1. learn and master piano!
2. learn proficient/conversational Chinese;
3. grow my own vegetable & fruit garden;
4. coach others in becoming excellent like I have learned to become;
5. plan fun/big social events!
***


1. THE DIMENSION OF FULFILLMENT: NOT
URGENT, BUT IMPORTANT

What are the things you did this week that you didn't have to do, but you chose to do because you know they were important? What are the things you did that were not on an urgent time line, but that you just consciously decided to do? For how many hours?

***
Things that I did this week that were important but not urgent were:
1. learning more about health fitness and nutrition;
2. created an exercise schedule and log for myself to follow;
3. spent time strategizing and contemplating self-improvement / life improvement - creating the new and improved me!
4. create a system to track my progress..

TOTAL TIME SPENT: I probably spent easily over 25hrs of time on that in the past 5 days of the work week.
***



2. THE DIMENSION OF DEMAND: URGENT AND IMPORTANT

What were the things you felt like you had to do immediately, and were also really important? For how many hours?


***
Things that I felt I had to do immediately AND were also really important:
1. interface web pages for demo of new web application;
2. researching and setting up schedule for business networking;
3. bills and taxes

TOTAL TIME SPENT: i probably spent over 30hrs+ of time in the past 5 business days.
***



3. THE DIMENSION OF DELUSION: URGENT BUT NOT IMPORTANT

What are the things you did and then later on were frustrated because you believe you shouldn't have done them? In other words, even though there are so many other things that are more important, you still felt like you had to do these things because they seemed urgent in the moment (i.e., other people's monkeys), For how many hours?


***
Things that I did and later felt frustrated because I believed I shouldn't have done them:

1. seeing a movie or going out to eat (socializing at the wrong time and before work was done);
2. visiting famly when I should have been working - staying out longer/later than i should have!


TOTAL TIME SPENT: I think about 14hrs during the week
***



4. THE DIMENSION OF DISTRACTION: NOT URGENT, AND NOT IMPORTANT

What did you do to escape? When you're stressed, what do you use to distract yourself? For how many
hours?


***
Things that I did to escape:
1. chat on IM;
2. email;
3. forums;
4. youtube;
5. music

TOTAL TIME SPENT: the time killers were email and forums... easily over 15hrs - terrible!
***



5. Now, HERE'S THE KEY QUESTION ... I'm sure you didn't write down everything that happened last week, but write down the percentage of time you spent in each dimension (targeting
100% as your total). Remember, everything you wrote down is not everything you did. (i.e. there are little things you won't remember, like watching CNN in the background). But having started this
process, what is an honest estimate of how much time you spent in each dimension last week?

NOT URGENT / IMPORTANT: 29.76%
URGENT / IMPORTANT: 35.71%
URGENT / NOT IMPORTANT: 16.67%
NOT URGENT / NOT IMPORTANT: 17.86%


THE POWER OF LEVERAGE

What are the things that you're doing right now that really aren't that important for you to do? Or, even if they are important, perhaps someone else could do them for you?



KEY QUESTIONS (to keep in mind)

• How can I focus on those things I can control and influence in order to create a life that is not only fulfilling for me, but one in which I am contributing to others as well?

• How quickly am I willing to let go of those things that are causing me to experience stress - those things that I can't control?

YOUR ASSIGNMENT


1. Look at the outer ring of the control Model. Make a list of the things you can't control or influence but which you continue to waste time on anyway.


***

Things I can't control or influence but I continue to waste my time on anyway:
1. time spent worrying about what will happen if i don't pay my bills;
2. time spent worrying about if i will be able to pay my bills in full and on time;
***



2. Write down all the reasons why you know it's silly, ridiculous, stupid, and insane to spend time all the things you listed in #1.


***

It's silly, ridiculous, stupid and insane to spend time on the things listed under #1:
1. it's a waste of energy!
2. you only build up stress/acid in your system when you focus on things you cannot change nor influence - this is counterproductive and negatively impacts your health!!
3. the time you could have spent on constructive things (things that you can influence and control) was completely wasted on unnecessary questions/worry;
4. i could be moving myself ahead instead of pushing myself back by sabotaging my attitude thinking negatively and worrying about things;
5. it's inefficient use of time, energy, and emotion!!
***



3. Develop a new belief Write a simple phrase that you're going to start using as an "incan" tation." For example: "This is a 'waste of my time, I'm not going to do it anymore," or
"I've set a new standard for myself," or "I can't control that. Let me focus on what I can control."


***
I MUST FOCUS ON MY NEW LIFE PRIORITIES IN ORDER TO TRULY ACHIEVE MY DREAMS!

***



4. How to create more time now.
A. Identify some activities that are not really important, but because of the sense of urgency you place on them, you spend time doing them-or things that are not urgent or important, and yet they waste your time.


***
1. Worrying about how I'm spending my time;
2. Worrying about how I'm going to make progress on a big project;
3. Worrying if I'll have enough time to get my tasks done;
4. Chatting on IM;
5. Emailing people;
6. Spending time on the wrong priority b/c I'm avoiding doing something I am afraid to do;
7. Surfing the web because I'm trying to avoid something I SHOULD be doing;
8. Doing things that I shouldn't be doing right at that moment that would be better done after the workday is over!!

***



B. Estimate how much time you spend each day or week on these items that don't really matter-or that you could leverage to someone else.


***
8-10 hours a day that my time is misspent!!

***



C. Having found more time for your life by eliminating activities in step A, make a list of the activities, projects, and areas you want to spend time on that would give you more fulfillment. Make the decision right now to spend a specific number of hours each week on those things that matter most to you. You do have the time!


***
Things I need to spend time on that would give me more fulfillment:
(29) 1. Startup business webpages;
(15) 2. Startup business networking and marketing;
(10) 3. Startup business fundraising;
(12) 4. Startup business financials and planning;
(3) 5. Menu for healthy eating throughout the week;
(1) 6. Schedule regimen to follow for exercise

***



5. Don't leave the site of setting a goal without taking the first step toward its attainment. Call somebody, get on the Internet, write a note or letter, or schedule a meeting. but do something to make sure one of those items on your list actually happens.

***
I will define the summary page criteria for the web demo page on my project - first thing tomorrow morning! :)

***

TOYL - DAY1

Decide.

REMEMBER THE POWER OF QUESTIONS

1. What are you happy about right now? What could you be happy or excited about?

My newfound health;
My family;
The startup business I'm putting together;
Having a roof over my head;
Discovering and applying TR principles in my life

2. What are you really proud of in your life right now? What could you be proud of?

Really proud of the progress I've made in my health. I've gone from 205lbs down to an average of 175lbs in less than 2mo's. I'm really proud of the new commitment I have made to improving my life. I'm really proud of the newfound energy I have from my new healthy lifestyle. I'm proud of my son. I'm proud to be a part of a good group of people who have like minded priorities and goals!

3. What are you grateful for? What could you be grateful for?

I am grateful for my family. I'm grateful for my health. I am grateful for having a house, transporation, food, and clothes. I'm grateful for the wonderful weather! I'm grateful for living! I'm grateful for my creativity! I'm grateful for having such a supportive family. I'm grateful for all the wonderful opportunities that come to me. i'm grateful for having the ability to SEE opportunities! I'm grateful for my full mental and physical faculties. I'm grateful for living in a free country! I'm grateful for all the conveniences that we take for granted! I'm grateful for not having to struggle for the basics in life. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to get my life in order and optimize my life to maximize my positive impact in the world!

4. Who do you love? Who loves you? Who could you love? Who could you allow
to love you?

I love my family
I love my siblings and parents
I love my close friends

THE ASSIGNMENT

1. The first secret to creating a change is awareness, so let's find out what you're currently focusing on

• What are some areas you focus on in life that don't really serve you? Are there some things you fear or don't want to experience but often find yourself thinking about anyway? Write down two or three things you often focus on that make you feel stressed or overwhelmed.

Some areas in my life that don't serve me are 1. watching tv; 2. not having a schedule; 3. not having my priorities clear and established... a few things that make me feel stressed/overwhelmed are 1. debt/bills due; 2. scope of project to complete to launch startup; 3. not having a schedule to put everything i want accomplished in my life in order!

2. The way to get more time is to get rid of the unnecessary things that "steal" your time.

• What activities do you do on a regular basis that you really don't have to or that someone else could easily do for you? Write down one or two now. Then write down one or two things that you don't have a sense of real purpose about, that don't give you 'juice,' or relate to an outcome or result you want, and yet you find yourself doing anyway.

Laundry & cleaning the house used to be things that I did regularly that would "steal time" away from me. the things I do regularly now is preparing meals and cleaning dishes. paying bills don't give me a sense of real purpose or give me juice... and i do it regularly anyway! :) other than that, i can't think of anything else.

3. Now let's focus all what you do want (and later we'll create a plan to make it a reality).

• What's something you want to achieve, experience, learn, or master? Take a moment now to write down one or two specific outcomes or results you want for your life-things that once achieved, would really 'juice' you.

1. Have my business fully launched and profitable by the end of the year!
2. Have a great business network of people and resources that I can rely on and am proud of!
3. Be financially independent - not have to worry about bills!

4. This is the most important question!

• Write down why you must master this system called RPM Life Management. What are your reasons? What will it give you, your family, and your friends? What will it eliminate? What kind of stress would disappear if you had a system like this? Write down what it will cost you if you don't take the time to master this system.

I must master this RPM Life Management system because it will help prioritize all the truly important things in my life. This system will help streamline and optimize my life schedule. This program will allow me to reach my goals and potential much quicker than without it! Mastering this system will give me, my family, and friends the priority and time they deserve of me. This system will give me order and structure in my life so I can be a better person and a reliable person to everyone! This system will eliminate my tardiness. This system will elminate procrastination. This system will eliminate my excuses for not getting things done. This sytem will elminate waste and inefficient use of my time. The stress that would disappear from my life would be the nagging thoughts of things I'm supposed to do... stress about the important events/schedules i'm supposed to remember... stress about making appointments... stress from not knowing when bills are due. If I don't learn this system, I will remain frazzled. I will not be a GREAT example to my family, to others... If I don't master this system, I'll always be less than average, or at best, average. I will always be late. I will always have stress which will bring down the my health. I will be a poor example to my kids - and they will have a disadvantage because they will most likely adopt the same poor habits that I will have since not mastering this system. It will cost my kids the edge that they can have in life because they never got to witness firsthand my greatness b/c of mastering this system!! That would just be HORRIBLE - I do NOT want my kids to be at a disadvantage because I could not be a GREAT example that they can follow and have in their own lives!!

Health - Progress

My 8 COIs...

Personally, I have identified 8 categories of improvement (aka: COI) for myself: 

Health
Business/Career
Relationships
- Marriage
- Family
- Friends
- Business network
- Community
Emotions
Personal Growth / Effectiveness / Time Management
Spiritual
Contribution / Service
Wealth / Financials

I am happy to say that I have already gotten a good handle on my health – I will never be unhealthy again. I am working to get a good handle on my financials – I will never be this sloppy or low again. I’ve been working on the business/career aspect – still lots to do, but working with my business partner has helped strengthen focus and staying the course. Anyway, won’t bore you with further details. This year is the year to not just turn things around but to run as far away from the bottom I’ve hit as possible.

Anyway… I’m 38 going on 39… my dream, once upon a time in jr. high and into highschool was to be a millionaire by the age of 30. I’ve always been a late bloomer (and we do tend to fulfill the expectations we set for ourselves)… this time will be my last “late bloom.” so, i guess i've strayed a (large) bit from my original goal of 1MM by age of 30. I finally discovered the technology (TR's system), and look forward to implementing like mad to reach my goal this year! I have a plan (or two or three)… I already know what i want... I just need to lay them down on paper to make them real. will do so in the coming days...

Anyway… enough talk. Time to do… and as quickly and aptly as I turned my health around, I intend to do the same across my 8 COI. 1 down… 7 more to go!

the Challenge: 40 Days and 40 Nights...

My Journey to Establishing New Habits

***

WHY LENT - WHY NOT?
I'm not much of a religious person by any habit of tradition. However, for the sake of a religious tradition, I have decided to take up the tradition & significance of Lent as my premise for installing new & edifying habits to a better me. To me, Lent has historically represented a time for personal commitment and sacrifice - what better time to commit to CHANGE by sacrificing my old/bad habits - trading them in for a set of new/better habits?!

Lent is in recognition/representative of the time when Jesus retreated to the desert spending 40 days & 40 nites where he fasted and was tested/tempted by the devil... these days lead to the culmination of celebrating the Easter - celebrating the resurrection. Again, i'm not religious, but do recognize the significance of Lent - a time of self discipline, meditation/reflection (aka: prayer), and fasting.

On an emotional level and practical perspective, I'm a sucker for symbolic events (i.e., new years, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. - emotional); and I also know that any new habit manifests the rewards and results after a solid 30days of consistent and committed effort. So why not 40 days and 40 nites?! the 10 extra days to commitment can only help ensure a successful outcome of a committed plan/habit/behavior!

Meeting my Needs for Lasting Change:
Framing the start of my new goals/plans with the timeliness and significance (both personal and traditional) of Lent gives me a boost in my need for connection (to my youth -being raised a christian), my need for certainty (personal experience that committed 30days to action leads to the fruits of my labor); my need for variety (i have a score of goals/plans to follow up on for the next 40days and 40nites); and my need for growth (the benefits received during my journey and by attaining my personal goals).

so now we know WHEN and WHY... the next step is to describe WHAT metamorphosis I propose to go thru... something i've been procrastinating for farrrrr tooo long (many, many new years and birthdays past) where I was supposed to define my new life... determine my life plan. and ironically, in the tradition of my old pattern/habit of procrastination... I will define that ... tomorrow!  

Good nite! the practical schedule of sleep & rest for preparation of tomorrow calls.

-sm2009!