Clouds

I am up north this weekend at my country home with my boyfriend. In the afternoon I decided to go out to the dock, lie down on my back and look up at the clouds. I realized that I have never 'really' looked at clouds.

I always thought that clouds move in puffs or bunches across the sky. When I looked today, it was like cotton candy being pulled apart or cotton padding that was being pulled and torn. It was awesome. Something so simple, when I paid attention was awe inspiring and truly fulfilling.

The more I slow down and be in the moment, the more I enjoy and feel a sense of calm and inner peace!

Transformation

Yesterday, I went to see the movie "Transformation". It is a documentary about Werner Erhard. Werner Erhard is the founder of the EST movement which eventually became Landmark Education. I have been involved in education at Landmark for about 5 years. I have found their education, strategies invaluable and have truly transformed who I am and how much I enjoy life.

The movie talked about Werner's life. He dropped out of high school at 18 and didn't continue any formal education. Much of his knowledge came from different disciplines including Zen and the church of scientology. Werner was able to take all of the information that he learned and was able to create an educational platform that helped people look at their lives and transform it.

I am very impressed by what Werner Erhard was able to create and his impact on the world. As my mom would say "Chapeau bas" - "Hats Off". He has impacted my life and 100's of thousands of others' lives. Wishing him continued success and the acknowledgment he deserves for making this world a better place.

Tai Chi and Inner Peace

Yesterday I attended the Richmond Hill Chinese Community Church Family Event. My Tai Chi instructor invited me to participate in the many activities and festivities. Besides the many foods and games available at no cost, my favorite activity was the Line Dancing Activity and the Tai Chi/Chi Kung.

I am a novice at Tai Chi. I started participating and learning about it at my gym about 3 months ago. In the '48 forms' there is a specific move that really grounds me. You watch your hand move from one side of your body, across your body to the other side and then watch the other hand move in the same pattern. You do this 4 times. In the space of the 10 seconds it takes to perform those moves, I am totally present. I am focussed, relaxed, at peace and calm. Everytime I perform those moves, I feel a sense of Inner Peace.

The Queen

A few months ago, my coach dubbed me the 'Queen of not Leaving myself enough Time'. She was right. I was always finding myself rushing from one thing to the next. Trying to get one more thing done on my to do list before leaving for the next activity or appointment.

Since coming back from my vacation in Israel, I have really been relaxed. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have been waking up at 5:30 - 6:00 am and that has left me lots of time to get my work done in the morning before starting with clients. I find that I am relaxed, have enough time to get everything done that I intend to and am really enjoying this easy-going time. I am committed to making this a full-time experience!

Raising Money for Charity

Yesterday I rode my motorcycle in B.A.D. Ride - Bikers Against Despair. This is the 11th year the ride has been run. It is a 160 km ride to raise money for the Distress Centre which provides free counseling and phone support to people who are in crisis.

There were over 1300 bikers participating and we raised over $200,000. One of the best things at this ride is the sense of community. If anyone has a problem or runs off the road, the next 10 people behind pull over and help. I was one of those yesterday. I bee got into my helmet. After desperately trying to ignore the bee I pulled over quickly on some gravel and fell over. Luckily I wear full gear and a full face helmet. Had I not been fully geared, I am clear that I would have broken my nose and maybe some teeth because I landed prone on the ground after the motorcycle slid from under me. The worse injury was my pride :-) and besides that was the bruised tendon in my hand.

At the end they raffled off a Harley Davidson Motorcycle. I put off going home or going to have it x-rayed just to see if I won the motorcycle. I didn't win in - and my hand ended up being only bruised or sprained........all for a good cause!

Perspective

When I was in Israel, I was surprised that when they referred to the year something happened in history, they used 'Before the Counting' to refer to 'Before Christ' and 'After the Counting' to refer to 'After Death'.

Up until this moment, I assumed that the entire world was using B.C and A.D.. When I spent a moment and thought about it, I realized that it all has to do with perspective. In Judaism, Christ is neither the son of God, nor is the 'immaculate conception' a concept that they accept. He is considered a man and is therefore not a pivotal figure in their history. Therefore to use a term that revolves around Christ's life (A.D) would be incongurent with their beliefs.

The Israelis have a different perspective than most of the rest of the world that uses AD and B.C. I assumed that everyone has the same perspective that I do.
Which one is right? 'Before the Counting' or 'Before Christ'? Actually, they're both right. Each perspective is right for the person using the expression.

This is a great example and reminder for us all that when we meet someone with a different and often opposing perspective, that we are both right. We are right for ourselves and there is no one right answer.

The Value of Money

Yesterday I gave my son 8 Israeli coins to go buy himself a snack. Not being familiar with the coins here in Israel, they seemed to me like 8 canadian nickels. After giving him the coins, I began to figure out in my head the value of what I had just given him. I realized then that I had not given him 40 cents but had just given him $8!!!!!.

It was really interesting to me to see that when I didn't realize the value of the coins, I had no emotional reaction to giving him the money. But when I made money 'mean' something, I right away felt a tension inside of me that reflected the thought: "That wasn't 40 cents he's going to spend, but rather $8....and that's a lot of money!!!"

This further validates what Ekhart Tolle said in his book "The New Earth", on the Oprah show, about the impact of labelling things in our lives. When I didn't label the value of the coins, I felt relaxed and peaceful, yet once I labeled the value of the coins I felt tense. The coins never changed nor did it's value....only my perception of the coins changed.