Using my tools wisely:)

This post was started a few days ago, after reading it I thought I’d toss it, but I saw its relevance to my sequential journal postings and thought I’d just add a bit and keep it as a page in my entries.  With that said, it may seem here and there and everywhere! It’s not a pretty entry, but I will leave it as is.

I have so much on my mind but don't know what to say.... I'm stressed and bothered.... I'm tired but I'm having a hard time sleeping...I'm lost but with moments of contentment. I feel my life going in two directions... I vision the two paths and see the consequences; a part of me wants to go left and the other right. It is awkward, both paths offer peace but either without sacrifice!  

The irony to where I am at this point is the Rotary Run which just took place last weekend, which I had to miss due to a family gathering in Saskatchewan. The irony is what this run is in support of, “awareness of mental illness and suicide prevention”, and where my mind has all been this past while. To have my mind is such disarray leaves me no choice but to wonder. This is not a foreign topic to me; I have posted on this topic a few times, so I keep it in the forefront because of the need to be aware.  A large percentage of the population is being impacted by stress and mental illness, every second of every day. I’m aware of the need to recognize the symptoms and I’m aware of many ways to alleviate them, however when things start to run wild in ones self, the mind does not function as well as envisioned prior to.

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My new job posting may alter many ways to which I can approach my life. I'm not fully into the swing of this new position yet, but I'm working on it, as a full shift has not yet run through. Until now, I have never thought of my job as a tool to assisting with mastering my life and maybe this has been part of my psychological battle with my balance of and so on.....

 

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The last 20 years in the patch I have prioritized towards my career.... and maybe even before that but just didn’t see the consequences then. This prioritization, which wasn't due to a want, but to a matter of survival and maintaining my job position. I need to change my process, but still need to keep my job/career near the top and I don't want to continue to miss out on the building of my family. I don't want to put off the needs of my boys and my wife or the extracurricular activities that our family has never experienced....or things that I alone have never experienced. I feel my approach too many aspects in my life is off a few degrees. I may be thinking and wanting to head in the right direction, but... What the heck is it, is it past influences that haven’t been resolved?  I spoke with a friend and it came to me, if this is the deal  - that I just haven’t dealt with past issues;  it needs to be dealt with and kept in the fore front, I need to embrace my past issues; they will not be resolved or the damage lessened by avoidance. The problem with unattended issues is, they do not become the past or fade away.

My childhood was short as I started to work as a young man at the age of ten. As the years seem to fly by quicker and quicker and I realize how short life on earth really is and how little I have really accomplished, I'm feeling the need to explore my horizons more than I ever have. The scariest part is I still do not have the ability to read a crystal ball accuratelyJ I don't know if I will wake up tomorrow, so I want to live more in the moment and more fully...easier said than done!  Living my life to its fullest, exploring and doing things that I have only dreamed about is the direction that I'm pushed towards. Again, part of my problem is, I seem to still be living for the future and not as much in the moment as I’d like to be.

Even though from a couple different starting points, this entry does mesh together, maybe not nicely.... but for me there is another path to focus on.

 

Darcy Regier

http://darcyregier.blogger.com/

The Question Remains

What are the ingredients in your toothpaste? Better yet, try to read them on the box or tube. You can't because they aren't there. Sure sodium fluoride is listed and Sensodyne lists the active ingredients, but what are the other ingredients in the toothpaste? Food and soap manufacturers must list the ingredients in both English and French on the label so how come the toothpaste manufacturers do not?

This whole string of questioning began when Dennis reflected back to when he noticed his lungs getting worse. At about the same time he developed a "rash" on his cheekbones and his forehead and when he cleaned his ears with a Q-tip, there was often blood on the Q-tip. He correlated that he had began using Sensodyne toothpaste on a regular basis not very long before he noticed all of these other things happening. But come on, toothpaste?? Let's think about it for a moment.

The mouth is the beginning point of two body systems: digestive and respiratory with the circulatory system being also involved. Anything in the mouth is absorbed into the gut and also the bloodstream as the mouth has ample blood supply. Plus a certain amount of mouth vapor substance gets inhaled into the lungs. Yes we all spit out (or supposed to spit out) the toothpaste, but in reality some remains in the mouth and gets inhaled, absorbed, and swallowed later.

So back to the original question: what is in  your toothpaste? Unless one makes homemade toothpaste, one has no clue what's really in the toothpaste especially if the manufacturing has been outsourced to an other country. In order to acquire a list of ingredients, one has to phone a 1-800 number. But who does? Ah yes, there is fluoride to prevent tooth decay, but does it really? And what else does it do or cause. I suggest Googling "side effects of fluoride" and be prepared as to what you will see.

In response to Dennis' findings, this amateur whole foods chef went on a mission to find a toothpaste recipe to see how easy it was to make at home. I found a recipe that I like and am sharing the blog post and recipe here. Homemade remineralizing toothpaste recipe The toothpaste contains calcium/magnesium powder (for remineralization), coconut oil (anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and just plain good for you), baking soda (cleanser), essential oil (fragrance and taste) and stevia to sweeten if desired.

Only after a few days of use, we have noticed some differences. Dennis' ears quit bleeding and  his rash has all but gone. As for me, my teeth are less sensitive and my newly acquired crown has settled down and not sending me into next week via a jolt of pain when I bite something hard. Uncomfy yes, next galaxy no and yes, I will still have to get my bite checked. A bonus is that my teeth feel clean and it will be very interesting when I have to see the dentist for cleaning as to whether as much plaque removal is needed or not. 

So now our question is if Dennis' aforementioned symptoms have cleared as a result of tossing the use of Sensodyne toothpaste, what else is Sensodyne (or any other toothpaste for that matter) causing? Could it be that the toothpaste is contributing to his lung issues? Good question and one worth investigating.

Sherri Donohue
Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon

GO, GO , GO!

I had convinced myself that I would take it a bit easier this week as I spent a lot of hours training last week.  It's not happening.  I was at the kung fu school from just before 5 last night and left just before 10:00. When I finally climbed into bed last night the muscles in my legs refused to relax.  They felt extremely tensed up and almost like they were vibrating.  Luckily I did crash instantly and slept solid.  I was back at the school at 5 this morning with Sifu Masterston.  Again,  my legs were tense.  I came home and layed down at lunch and they were still pretty pumped.

Maybe I do need to rest a bit more, but I just want to keep going forward with all I have to do.  When my life gets real busy and I feel like I have way too much to do, I think of Sifu Brinker.  He has a full time job, he runs the kung fu school daily, and he takes care of his family.  This always gives me a bit more perspective and I feel less sorry for myself.  It's like that with the UBBT.  When I get feeling a bit tired or like it's too much, I always think of the athletes that compete at the Olympics.  They train hard ALL THE TIME!  So I don't feel so bad with what I have to do. I have always liked to push myself, and yes, I realize I have a hard time staying still.  A curse in some way, I suppose.  In other ways, a blessing.  But I absolutely do not like being  a quitter.

I am glad that so many people know what I am trying to accomplish here, even if they don't fully comprehend it.  This way, I have a lot of people to be accountable to.  My family is cheering me on all the way, and I really wouldn't want them to be disappointed.  I don't want to disappoint myself.  So, I keep going.  Some days, even if it feels like I need a rest.  I don't think I train all that hard anyways.  At least not as hard as I could.  Some days I train harder than others.  Engaged with my kung fu?  Yup, there are days that it feels more like a marriage.  :)  :)  And I mean that in a good way.  ;)

Demo 1.0

I think this is the time to explain my theory behind the demo. Those of you on the demo you've heard it already, but for the rest, this is what I'm trying to do.

I want to primarily take the responsibility off of Sifu Brinker and Sifu Playter. It's not their responsibility, its ours. We need to be up to snuff and prepared. That's our problem, if we want to participate in demos and possibly grade.

I want to give everyone the opportunity to be in a demo. This was a chance- be at the practices and you're in. I can't say whether everyone in the demo is where they need to be, but this is the opportunity to get there and to show Sifu Brinker and Sifu Playter that we are. If we're not, then its an opportunity for further practice and feedback.

As for the song I choose and the time restrictions I've placed on everyone- Sifu Brinker has a theory that fast paced, chaotic music will hide our imperfections. And it does. But, I don't want us to be pretty good, I want us to be amazingly awesome to the point that we can do a demo with no music. Yes, its a high standard, but we are supposed to set a high standard. The quick on-and-off way I've arranged it should show our organization and showcase our best. Sifu Brinker and Sifu Playter shouldn't need a 20 minute demonstration to be able to gauge if we're ready. If we're ready, it'll be obvious. If we're not, that too will be obvious. Therefore, we need to make absolutely sure we're ready. If our forms were ready, then putting them together in this fashion should be easy.

As I mentioned, anyone who wanted in is in. I am not one to judge, I'm your peer. I just created an opportunity for people to show that they are ready and we can do this.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca/

I Ho Chaun -again

WOW! What a great job at the Rotary Run for Life. You guys did an awesome job representing the school. 

Keep that momentum going, the lion and dragon dance is not the finish line, it was just another tool for you to use as you travel down your path to Mastery. Too many times individuals stop short of thier dreams because they set the finish line before the real goal.  

Compare this to the hurdles, if you watched any of the hurdles during the Olympics, the runners didn't stop after they made it over the first hurdle, they cleared hurdle after hurdle until they reached the finsh line.  Everything you are doing for I Ho Chaun are just hurdles before you reach you finish line.

Don't be fooled, by completing I Ho Chaun, you have not reached the finish line. I Ho Chaun, itself is just another hurdle in your journey to Mastery of your life.  Master Brinker has always said that the I Ho Chaun is your journey, how you tackle it will have a ripple effect to all facets of your life.  Your approach has to be sustainable after you finish participation in I Ho Chaun. For a member to drop everything and solely focus on I Ho Chaun for a year, complete everything with flying colors, is absolutely useless because it is not sustainable. Everyone is busy and we all know that so you will have to adjust your life to fit in I Ho Chaun. 

Take the dragon dance as an example, at the beginning we barely had enough members to practice.  As we progressed more members came and we where able to have a rest or miss a practice (or two) and know that there was enough members there to step in and support the team. We had more then enough members at the run. This is how we should view I Ho Chaun. Life is busy and you won't be able to be there all the time but there is enough team members to step in, carry your load and fill you in when your able to comeback.  All I Ho Chaun members are tools for you to use as you strive towards Mastery. No judgement, NO questions, just TEAM. 

You can not change the past but you can choose how your future turns out. 

The Power of Words

I have now been a student of Silent River Kung Fu for almost 6 years.  In those 6 years I have gone up and down in my training, kind of like a roller coaster.  Like most everyone, we have days that things are going awesome and then those where things aren’t so great. 

Last week I had a comment made to me that really hit me.  It had me question the direction I have been trying to go.  It was amazing what affect those few words had on me.  I felt instantly discouraged and felt the motivation sucked out of me.  I know there was no intention of hurting anyone when the words were said; however, perception for one person can be very different for another. 

As I thought about it, I decided I have a choice.  I can either be defeated by it and give up, or I can prove the comment wrong.  I can work my butt off and show that things aren’t always as some may see.  I can’t honestly say that I have forgotten the words, but I have chosen to not let them destroy what I have tried to accomplish.  The power of words should not be underestimated.    What we choose to say we can’t take back.  We have the power to encourage and help build people up or just as much power to discourage and destroy. 

Alana Regier

alanaregier.blogspot.ca

Kung Fu things

I have lots of kung fu things on my mind right now. Demos, performances, volunteering, organizing, fund raising, leadership, mentorship, forms (fitting them to music) and perfecting what I have, teaching, learning.....I could go on and on. I feel fully immersed in my kung fu journey right now and it feels great.
We have been practicing a demo together that has been tons of fun, I love getting together with my team mates and creating something amazing. We feed off each other, share ideas and I am not the only one that wants to do one more rep. And no matter what happens, we always share a laugh!
I have been talking to people about doing a demo for them and I have been pleasantly surprised by how many are excited to have us come out and share a bit of ourselves with them. It has been a great experience so far, I'll keep you posted as the experience continues.
I love volunteering in my community and each year I look forward to shoveling for seniors. I don't mind the shoveling and I fully enjoy meeting the people that we help. They all have a story to tell and I love a good story.
I have discovered that I like fund raising because I have changed my perspective to focus on talking about the charities that we support and not really focusing on the money part. I am glad when people give me donations or buys my tickets but I really feel like I have a winner when someone takes a minute to find out about the charities that we support.
When it comes to leadership and mentorship, I am not really sure that I know what I am doing. I know the type of leadership that I respond to and I know who I want to be like.  I know that when I first started doing acts of kindness, I tried to act as if someone was watching me and counting my actions. Now I am watching me and I tried to act in a manner that I can be proud of everyday. I hope that makes me worthy of being someone's mentor.
I have been thinking and talking about teaching and learning a lot lately. I enjoy sharing what I know with others, young and old. I also enjoy figuring things out with others, like a form or how to help someone when they aren't very receptive to input. I work as part of a team in my career and have recently discovered that I am part of a large kung fu team that are all working hard to preserving our art.  I enjoy learning as part of a team, whether it is trying to reach a resistant teen or figuring out how to do a technique.
Those are the many things that are on my mind.
Until next week, work hard and have fun.

 http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/