From the category archives:

Consciousness And Being In The Moment

Meditate to Calibrate

by ki'une on August 30, 2008

calibrate: v 1 “make fine adjustments for optimal functioning”

When I first came across the concept of meditation, like many people in our busy society, I thought it was an incredible waste of time. I mean, after all, it simply required one to sit there and be seemingly “unproductive”.

This all changed after a fortunate series of events brought me to meditation. I met an amazing rock climber in Kentucky, and when I asked her for the secret to her skill, she replied “Yoga”. I immediately took up yoga afterwards, and after doing it a number of times, I noticed the incredible calmness I experienced during shavasana, or the final relaxation pose after a strenuous stretching session.

Meditation in Extreme Situations

If you like extreme sports, chances are you’ve cleared your mind and have had conscious meditative states already.

When I was outdoors rock climbing, especially on difficult and high problems, I became intensely focused on the climb, to avoid the unpleasant feeling of a fall if I made a mistake. Though I would never do a climb where my partner and I weren’t very safe, a big fall is still harrowing nonetheless.

At the time, I couldn’t explain it. All I knew was that I was focused immensely on my next immediate moves, and afterwards, could only explain it as “becoming really connected with nature.” The same could be said if I was white water kayaking a big rapid or speeding through the tree runs on my snowboard.

For a while, I was addicted to these sports, particularly rock climbing, because when I was dangling on rock faces high above the ground, I actually forgot about all my problems. I was in the moment. Focused on every movement. The only thought held in my mind was the climbing route. It might seem to be a rather extreme way to forget one’s problems, but at one point in time, my mind was running around like a headless chicken. My “problems” really bothered me a lot – I would be thinking about them before I got on the climb and after my climbing trip was over.

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Abraham-Hicks Emotional Guidance Scale

by ki'une on August 30, 2008

In their book Ask And It Is Given, Esther and Jerry Hicks strongly encourage using your emotions consciously as a guiding tool for your actions.  That is, if you put yourself into a positive state, then you can manifest your destiny via the Law of Attraction.

It is not usually possible, however, to make a sustained jump across several emotions at once.  That is, you could make a temporary jump  from overwhelment to contentment during a 2-week trip to Mount Kilimanjaro, but once you come back, the overwhelment will rear its ugly head again.

First, identify which emotions you’re consistently in.  Then, use positive thought manipulation to move up the scale, one emotion at a time.  For more details on doing this, read any of the Abraham-Hicks books.

It’s an interesting concept to have emotions laid out and ranked, but worth trying out.   What I find the most useful is to be aware of your emotions.   It is through awareness that we regain control of them and move towards more positive states.

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Climb Your King Line

by ki'une on August 30, 2008

One of my favorite climbing films of all times is King Lines. It features renowned climber Chris Sharma, where after over 100 scary attempts on a route hovering over crashing waves, he finally ascends his project route (unclimbed, unfinished, and spectacularly difficult) . What’s really compelling about this film is just seeing Sharma’s focus and determination, on and off the wall.

In the final scene, after pondering upon the recent passing of his mother and his life ambitions, Sharma reflects, “We don’t know when we’re going to go. We don’t know when we’re going to die, so if something is important that I want to do then, I got to go for it now. ”

Well said, but more importantly, he puts action to his words, returns to his project route, and finishes it.

Our King Lines

Most of us are so caught up in the trials of life that we just live it to get by or to get to the next thing. Our dreams are put on hold indefinitely or even worse, someday – When I have this amount of money in the bank, When my kids finish school, When I am retired. You know what I’m talking about.

The fact is, now will never be the perfectly right time, especially if “the time” is dependent on external factors. It’s not much different from waiting for signs like the planets lining up while the parrot in the pet store mysteriously squawks “Go for it!”

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