Dear Coach,
Thank you ever so much for your thoughtful reassurance during our recent Phone Consult; it was just what i needed! I have been feeling some pretty intense and unnerving things, so it’s nice to know that they are normal when starting up. For how long do they normally last??
Funny thing about Refuge Routes; after enough noble efforts on them, we begin to develop a weird sense of ownership. It’s like, we kinda think we are Lord Master of this route and all her delights and tortures because we’ve tested our body, mind, and spirit over this same canvas of terra firma countless times through countless seasons of rain, snow, heat, and hail. We know how she feels as the early morning wall of light glints like a string of pearls through the pine boughs or marsh grasses. We’ve felt the fear of upcoming darkness on this route when Grandfather Sun slipped too quickly behind the buttes and cloaked our sweaty body with a shock of cold getting colder.
“the ground of the ordinary mind”…functions like a storehouse, in which the imprints of past actions caused by our negative emotions are all stored like seeds. When the right conditions arise, they germinate and manifest as circumstances and situations in our lives…
“Two people have been living in you all your life. One is the ego, garrulous, demanding, hysterical, calculating; the other is the hidden spiritual being, whose still voice of…”
“ Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built.” ~ Rumi
Campfires are Upa Guru’s of Tapas….ilg has Taught – err, attempted to Teach – you all about Tapas through my words, sweat, and actions for the past 3+ decades. Tapas = Spiritual Sweat which results in Karmic Purification. See the log above? See the smoke? THAT is Tapas. in that wafting, seductive, mesmerizing dance of smoke lies perhaps that most vital Teaching of all warrior athletes, certainly of all yogis. Do you know what that Teaching is?
Despite the fact that the entire place is run like some sort of aging Texan mafia, and that nearly every staff member is a walking heart attack just waiting to happen, they are also all deeply adoring of kids, family, and really, really good southern-style food. And, of course, all things Texan.
Most teachings are for Wholistic Fitness Members only. Some are complimentary.
These teachings are the "Rasas" or "sap" of Wholistic Fitness. You’ll find insights to ponder, student chi to keep your own chi topped off, and plenty of proven training techniques to test on your own body, mind, and spirit! Also, you’ll find my very popular Race Reports, and news of our Sangha’s (community’s) latest transpersonal fitness adventures!
You have access to thousands of posts going all the way back to 2002. The Archives makes for ideal Svadhyaya, and if you don’t know what that important term means ... all the more reason to dive into these amazing WF Scriptural Recordings!
Checking out one or two archived teachings every day or so is an AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE way to stay connected with your Tribe AND maintain consistency and motivation in what matters most: your own practice.
Note: We'll be fixing broken image links, and cleaning up the categorization of archived posts, over time.
Photo of Coach and daughter Dewachen, living the Path (upside down!) by www.jamesqmartin.com
