A Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Hi everyone; here is my latest update. My idea is to take a mat chat ever week or so and post it in my blog. Enjoy!!

A Christmas Carol in March

Thinking about the line from "A Christmas Carol" where Bob Cratchet is confronted by Scrooge. Scrooge claims there is no value in Christmas Spirit.

Bob says: "Well Ebineezer; while it's never put an extra schilling in my pocket, I believe keeping Christmas has done me good!"

Scrooge says: "Bah Humbug!"

My question is; who was right? Does doing things that make us feel warm and fuzzy inside do us good even though they may not appear to put money in our pockets? Does it make sense to find a way to be kind, to give, and love even when there is a lot going on that seems unlovable?

Here's what I've been working on; I have decided that my number one responsibility in life is doing things and thinking thoughts that make me feel good; (you know; warm and fuzzy inside). That's the reason I write this blog, that's the reason I teach Martial Arts, why I work out ect.

Using feeling good as the model for what I'm responsible for sure makes things easy. You take action based on how it makes you feel when you do it and before you know it you begin to notice yourself more and more spending time doing things you are genuinly interested in and passionate about. As a consequence the feeling of fatigue so many face begins to lift and life starts to get easier and smoother.

By following this simple strategy I've been able to revolutionize my business. I no longer dread Mondays; I actually look forward to them. I no longer go home tired, my biggest problem is sometimes I'm so excited about my day that I can't sleep because of the excitement. - And, while I'm far from rich, money has become so much easier to come by than it ever did back in the days when I thought it was important to make sacrifices in my joy in order to get ahead in business!

So getting back to Bob Cratchet; was he right? Did keeping Christmas do him good?

My opinion from personal experience is YES! If your doing something that's making you happy it can't help but bless you in the long run; and in the short run too.

But then someone might ask; yes but what about Scrooge? By being miserly and cruel, wasn't he also doing what was making him happy?

The answer is NO. Scrooge hated being alone, he was living a miserable life, it's just he had stopped doing what he loved, had given up even the people he loved because he thought that's what he needed to do to get ahead. So he began to focus on his SURVIVAL not his joy. (Kinda the way I used to view my dojo.)

I'm no Doctor, or financial advisor, but I believe Scrooges way of living leads to health problems, mental problems, and the eventual loss of financial freedom. In other words when you sacrifice joy to get something you almost always not only lose your joy, but you also lose the very thing you were sacrificing for!

So here is my non-medical, non-certified, and non degree answer to lifes major woes: Do and think that which makes you feel warm and fuzzy. If something is going on that is "true" but it doesn't make you feel good, try and give it as little attention as you can; keep going back to the warm and fuzzy thoughts and actions. Eventually the good feelings will be so predominate that those wonderful feelings will begin to drown out most of the apparent reality your caught in. You will begin to see problems as small bumps in the road, but your mind will mostly be filled with the satisfaction of knowing you are almost always moving in the right direction.

So the bottom line: If you want to be healthy, wealthy, and wise; get happy and stay there!

BTW: I owe almost all of this message to Esther Hicks and "The Teachings of Abraham!" Check them out!!

Thoughts about freedom in martial arts study

In many dojo's the student teacher relationship is based on fear. Teachers are afraid of loseing students to other instructors, and students are try to force there teachers to give them what they want at the time. (Sensei; can we sparr more? Sensei can we start doing weapons now? etc. etc.)

If a teacher doesn't do what the student wants the student feels the need to criticise; and if the student doesn't do what the teacher wants the students "loyalty" is called into question. It's this basic lack of freedom that causes ugly break ups in relationships and organizations; martial arts or otherwise.

The saddest part about this model is that opportunities to learn are lost by both student and teacher out of fear. Students aren't allowed to even look at other teachers or dojo's; if they do their loyalty is called into question. Naturally teachers rarely look to increase their knowledge and branch out into other arts because it would set the stage for there students to do the same. It also might make the teacher look bad because the instructor is afraid of being seen as a "lower rank" in a new art.

What I love most about the way I teach today is I don't view the students as “my” students. The students I'm lucky enough to teach are students of the “Martial Arts”. My job is just to be a facilitator and share what I know and point them in the right direction. I no longer view myself as a teacher of a "style" but as the sharer of the cumulation of arts I've studied and am continuing to learn.

The absolute best part of my life as a teacher today is that it not only frees the student, but it also frees me. I can study a different style; I can be a “begnner” in some other art. I can expand my knowledge and progress the way I want, and can share what I know with students at a time and place I see fit. If students likes what I do then they stay, if they don't then they go. Either way I'm happy with it and so are they. I have found that making the way I teach and run my dojo match what makes me happy is a full time job. I try not to give one second to trying to make other people happy; it diverts my energy too much.

The lesson learned is you can never really give yourself freedom until first you give it away to others. The more freedom you give the more you get; and that's the way I like it!

A really good question.

I heard this question the other day and like it: "What happend that trained you into your current attitude about ________ .?"

The reason I like that question so much is that it forces you to recognize that your attitude has been shaped by real experiences you've had. Your not making up the things that have happend to you; they are real, and it's those things that to a large extent have shaped your current attitudes and beliefs.

But here is where it get's interesting. It's your current belifes and attitudes that will for the most part make up your future "real" events. When those future "real" events happen you will then be trained by them to a like attitude and so on. What this means is the better it gets the better it gets; but also the worse it gets the worse it gets. And this is an excellent example of what is called the "Law of Attraction".

So if you're wanting positive change in your life what should you do? The answer is to stop focusing on past or even present negative circumstances and direct your mind toward the way you want the future to be. Become a visionary. Speak about, look forward to, write about what you are wanting. Begin to retrain yourself from the perspective of your your imagination as opposed to your memory.

It seems like a tall order, but it's only a matter of practicing what you speak about and think about. Become obsessed with the future; and soon you will see the results, and the results will give you confidence, and you will be on your way!

A nice voicemail.

After I ended my kids class today I decided to give them a talk on how important it is to realize that no matter how bad things "are", everything is constantly changing; so don't give up hope when your really down.

These talks are funny for me because sometimes I can see the kids feeling a little restless and even a few rolling there eyes. I had to decide a few years ago if I was even going to keep giving those little talks; it seemed to me that the kids just didn't care. After quite a bit of soul searching I decided to keep giving the talks. The main reason; I don't care if the kids like them or not, I love giving them and when I give these talks to others it really makes me feel better!

This evening I recieved a nice voice mail from one of the parents of one of my child students. They told me how much they appreciated those little talks, how they get in the car every night after class and discuss what I said. She went on to say that those little talks had made a huge difference in the life of her child; and tonight especially it made a big difference. She said she just had to call to let us know.

It's funny but when you do what you love you can't help but also have a positive impact on others too. Why not do what you love to do today?

posting about my thoughts...

I was thinking today about the word truth. Ehster Hicks (Teachings of Abraham) has said that you can always tell that which is true based on how speaking or thinking it makes you feel. If you are giving your attention to something that is "true" then it will make you feel good!

Based on the above definition someone might ask: “What if my reality is in conflict with the truth?”

This is the basic problem of the human condition because we give way too much attention to “reality” as if reality had some independent life of it's own. But what if reality is always in a constant state of flux? What if reality is being created constantly by our thoughts, beliefs and actions. If reality is constantly the result or our behaviors rather than independent of them then it makes no sense to make too big of a deal out of reality. - This means reality is a result, not a permanent condition.

In other words; reality is not a good enough excuse to feel bad. Just because something is true you don't have to make it into such a big deal because you know things are constantly changing. Begin to change the way you think and behave and you will notice your reality will change too.

What if there is a hidden truth about your potential and nature? What if this truth is so big and so bold that it is totally unlimited by space or time? If this is so, when you tell yourself something that matches the truth of your real nature wouldn't it be natural to feel good? When you tell yourself something that doesn't match your true potential, wouldn't it be natural to feel bad?

One of my favorite lyrics comes from a band named “Reliant K”. The lyric goes something like this...

“Please don't see me the way I am, only see me the way I am.”

I like to translate this lyric as follows: “Please don't look at the “reality” of me, instead please look at my true “potential”. (the truth of me)

So the basic advice; stop paying attention to “reality” and start paying attention to “truth”.

arghhhh a rainy tuesday!

Tuesday is one of those tough days for me. Just seems like the day is so splintered it's hard to get anything done. Maybe I should just chill and not worry about getting things done on Tuesday?

Sounds like a plan to me. 

Still I did get to work with some pretty amazing students today, and if I were to compare my average Tuesdsay to my parents.....well, I guess I'd be a rock star!

I really like this time change!

Changing the time for me over the weekend was wonderful! It seems to me that the time change is the unofficial beginning of spring. It makes me wonder if it's really the temperature that makes winter rough in the midwest or mostly the darkness and the gray...hmmmmm.

Anyway, what a wonderful day. I got to workout twice, and had terrific, highly skilled students who stayed late and rolled with me. I love teaching martial arts and living life!

Village Idiot Acustics for Autism

Just got back from the "Acustics for Autism" event, also callled I AM, hosted at the Village Idiot in Maumee... Amazing! Don't know what the stout beer was but it was great! Event was probably the coolest event, and with the coolest people I've been around in a long, long time. 

Way to go!!!

New music player

I love finding new free way cool internet things. I also love great music. Yesterday I saw a posting from CNET about a new tool that I'm totally in love with. It's called Muziic and it is about the best thing I've seen for music on the internet. It's 100% free, stable, and uses a simple concept. Muziic simply acts as a front for Youtube so you can listen to everything in Youtube (basically everything in the universe) in one organized player with play lists, and full search.

I can't tell you how impressed with this little thing, as I understand the owners of this software are a fifteen year old and his Dad, and I think this concept could literally shakeup the way music is listened to on the web!