100 Days http://100.ultramel.com Details of a path to greater discipline Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:45:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Day 100 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-100 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-100#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:45:20 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=398 Wowsers. What a divine feeling. I think part of me had forgotten how wonderful it feels to set my mind to something and then successfully accomplish it. The last time I set a conscious, that-would-be-frackin-amazing-if-i-accomplished-it goal was four years ago during my senior year of college. In fact, in all of my years thus far, I’ve only set a total of four such goals, and every single one of them was utterly inspiring upon completion.

There is something about setting your mind to something – especially something incredible, something you couldn’t possibly accomplish without putting your heart and soul into it – and really then making it happen. The bigger the goal, the bigger the emotional reward in the end. While this goal was certainly challenging, I know it wasn’t nearly as big as the ones I’ve set previously, because upon completing it I was honestly quite calm – happy, but calm. With previous completions, I felt like I was walking on air, so buoyed up by love and energy that I couldn’t stop smiling for hours and hours, while at the same time feeling completely overwhelmed with gratitude, so much so that I usually ended up crying. Those are the goals I’m talking about. Those are the things that make life feel magical.

Now that I remember what that feeling is like, I want to set a bigger goal. One that I can’t possibly accomplish without setting my mind, heart and soul to it, and one that will astound me when I finish it.

Stay tuned… the next 100 day training is coming, very shorty :)

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-100/feed 1 Day 99 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-99 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-99#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:47:22 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=396 My mind felt wonderfully light at the beginning of my practice – clear of thoughts, calm, patient, accepting. As I started through my bows, my thoughts turned progressively more towards my work and the projects I’m interested in, and I felt my mind become more cluttered and noticeably weightier – not in a bad way, just different. When I noticed myself ruminating over web design, I brought my focus back to my relaxation. Enjoyed today’s practice as well… can’t believe I only have one more day of this.

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-99/feed 0 Day 98 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-98 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-98#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:00:59 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=393 Was grateful for my preparatory work for today. Having a day off can be a useful component to a practice, much like absence can be helpful in promoting presence. I am looking forward to my last two days.

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-98/feed 0 Day 97 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-97 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-97#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:10:26 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=391 Very centered practice today :) Bows were very fluid, and I worked hard to keep my focus on relaxation and conscious movement for the entire session. Noticed that the first 300 bows went smoothly without much effort, but the last 100 bows were noticably more difficult. Today I belieive it was because after the first 300 bows I started to fatigue, so it took more energy to maintain my focus and smooth movement. Used my conscious mind to maintain my focus as best I could. Overall, enjoyed today’s practice very much.

… only 3 days left!!!

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-97/feed 1 Day 96 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-96 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-96#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:19:15 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=388 Bowed after doing yoga… body was warmed up, and my mind was perhaps a little too warmed up because it was very scattered! Did my best to keep my mind in line with my practice. Did 400 again today, in keeping with my preparation for Tuesday morning’s red-eye flight.

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-96/feed 0 Day 95 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-95 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-95#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:40:49 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=386 Again, woke up earlier than expected, (likely because I’m on the west coast operating on east coast time), and since I was wide awake, I decided to start my day and maybe try and stay on east coast time. My bows today were very clear-headed… my shoulders were noticably sore from carrying a heavy backpack yesterday, so I focused on keeping them relaxed as I went through my practice. I also focused on the relaxation sensation in my jaw and neck as I went, which made my practice intensely enjoyable.

I chose to do 400 bows today, tomorrow, and Monday because I’m taking a red-eye fight on Monday night, and I’m guessing I won’t want to do 300 bows at 6am when I get home to Philly Tuesday morning. The higher quantity than usual seems to help keep me focused… helps me take the practice more seriously because I feel like I’m in for the long haul, so to speak. Interestingly, for the first 300 bows, I was very centered and blissed out, and during the last 100 I started to lose my focus and think about the day ahead.

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-95/feed 0 Day 94 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-94 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-94#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:48:23 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=384 Last night around midnight I started getting some painful abdominal cramps, and as they continued for the next hour, I began to wonder if I would be able to secure enough sleep before beginning my jam-packed morning. I figured that if they kept me up until the wee hours, I would consider that a physical constraint worthy of pardon, thus excusing me from starting my bows by 9am, because on this particular morning, I needed to scoot out the door by 9:15, which meant I needed to start my bows by 8am in reality.

I went to bed around 2:30 with this in mind and fell asleep with the full expectation that I’d be doing my bows closer to 2pm rather than 9am. To my surprise, however, I woke up at 8:15am feeling 100% clear headed and awake, so I hopped out of bed and began my practice a LOT earlier than expected. Because of my time constraints, my practice was incredibly focused. And because I was thrilled to be doing them before 9am, my practice was filled with joy. And as I write this entry, I can safely say that I think this experience may have affected my entire day, because today was awesome. Everything went perfectly and was intensely fun and wonderful. Today is one of those days I’ll remember for a long time because everything worked out so incredibly well. I had a perfect day today, and it started with a happy accident that I was grateful to take advantage of.

:D

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-94/feed 0 Day 93 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-93 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-93#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:15:03 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=382 Woke up very agitated from some unsettling dreams. Started my bows in a rather negative emotional state, which I wasn’t thrilled about, but I kept to my rule of maintaining a positive attitude in regards to my bow training.

Despite my beginning emotional state, my bows ended up being surpisingly neutral. I must admit I expected to experience some frustration or long pauses during my practice, but neither paid me a visit. And while my less-than-cheerful mood returned (or at least the memory of it) upon completing my bows, my practice gave me a very helpful break from from my emotions, which surely paid off as I began the rest of my day.

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-93/feed 0 Day 92 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-92 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-92#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:00:14 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=380 Very happy and motivated – had something to look forward to upon finishing my bows which made it incredibly easy to keep my focus.

Smiled almost the entire practice :)

]]> http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-92/feed 0 Day 91 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-91 http://100.ultramel.com/300-bows/day-91#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:55:17 +0000 meL http://100.ultramel.com/?p=378 Tried to keep my focus on relaxation again. My mind wandered a bit, and when I noticed I brought it back to the relaxation sensation around my jaw.

Am happy and excited to be back home… we’re working on recreating our space with more vibrant and more relaxing energy. Change is so lovely to experience when consciously chosen!

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