[Generations - Picture of Bob Cox with my son]

http://www.mimbres.com/MMB209.htm

We've all had those people in our lives that disappear too quickly, too young.  The ones that remind us of the beauty of this place, and it's impermanence.  It is the passing of these young, beautiful people that should instill in us the desire to live brightly - to shine.

My Uncle recently transcended to light.  A blessing that the horrible disease (the BIG C) did not make him suffer as long as it has a tendency to do.  He is highly intellectual (Mensa) and I'm sure he'll figure out how to passage through Bardo.  An eclectic soul, and inspiration, a confidant, and loved.

I recently read in Discover magazine that there's a lot of history in the air. That we are actually still breathing in the very molecules exhaled from Caesar, Luther King, and Lincoln, etc. After hearing of his passing, I took a deep breath in between the tears, and swear I could sense his peace and relief.

I just wanted to post in this blog an invitation to join us over at The Holistic Path POD, to share your practices and personal knowledge of what it's like to be on YOUR path.

There is a litany of information available; a literal "mind-field" of theological and dietary theories, holotropics, yoga styles - a very confusing landscape indeed. I think the best path for any individual is to really narrow down what you try to apply to your life, and carefully align that with your goals and values.

It's time again to think a bit about Time (does that sound familiar?  Are you struggling with the demands of schedule and finding the time is coming out of your hide (your personal time budget)?

Recall that two modes make time a magic carpet:

• Pleasure and
• Effort spent in Flow...that magical state, where time 'flies by'

Have you turned your schedule inside-out, made the  core of your "things to do" list  include the sacraments that truly sustain you as a healthy individual living in balance and harmony? Do you allow (and will you continue or make another try) adequate time for these sacraments of grace and good health?

1. Rest (Remember, Electronic Heroin [or TV] doesn't count)
2. Nutrition (endless challenges here)
3. Exercise (Balance and the right movement for You)
4. Creative Expression (Art, Music, Writing, etc.)
5. Relationships (So? Any progress?)
6. Introspection (Belly Button Time - remember to pat yourself on the back)
7. Quest for Bliss (Meditation works, even in 2 minute chunks throughout the day; sex here too, as well as in [5, 4 & 3] - lucky us!)

Do you  find your productivity, in the extra time and with the extra energy you created, to be astounding? Did it work at all? Maybe another try? I'm struggling with "walking the talk" too, but getting it right for a while can be sweet.

Like any good recipe...repeat this process often. Attach yourself often with your path, review and adjust as necessary, and forge ahead.

Hope to see you at the The Holistic Path POD!

Isn't she beautiful, that box, ever-glowing and inviting - calling us from our paths of creativity and enlightenment?

Electronic Heroin
For what is my infection
but a peaceful eve
to sit in the pale light
of ever shifting channels
waning as the reflection
in the window pane
impale my receptors
with images
of television?

"TV is a medium because it is neither rare nor well done." - Ernie Kovacs...

The Zen TV Experiment will illuminate the tube sucking paradigm.

"Ours is the first society in history of which it can be said that life has moved inside media. The average person, watching television for five hours per day, is physically engaged with - looking at and experiencing - a machine. To that extent, the person is not relating to anything else in the environment. But the environment of TV is not static, it is aggressive. It enters people's minds and leaves images within, which people then carry permanently. So television is an external environment that becomes an internal, mental environment... The situation is so odd that it lends itself to science fiction descriptions." Reference IN THE ABSENCE OF THE SACRED; Jerry Mander, 1991 (also see Mander's Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television or take this quick look)

  "When you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries while you rejoice." - Robin Sharma

The name for this entry, The Holistic Path, was borrowed from my Uncle Bob Cox's (from my mom's [Marion Grinstead/Cox] side of the family) web site, http://www.mimbres.com/HolP/index.htm. 

I've personally set out on a holistic path in search of some balance in life, spiritually and in health. Life had become cluttered, confusing, and purpose (spiritual and creative) was muddied by the daily grind.

There is a litany of information available; theological and dietary theories, holotropics, yoga styles - a very confusing landscape indeed. I think the best path for any individual is to really narrow down what you try to apply to your life, and carefully align that with your goals and values. Attach yourself often with your path, review and adjust as necessary, and forge ahead. Essentially, what I am achieving from staying and straying from this path is a comfortable level of gnosis.

Web definitions for Gnosis
"While the literal translation for this word is "knowledge", it's meaning is closer to "insight" or, to use a more modern concept, "enlightenment". Rather than purely an intellectual understanding then, it is a "knowledge of the heart" (which is not meant to imply mere emotionalism) or wisdom. It is the complete comprehension that comes from both rational and intuited means."

The following is a culmination of suggested books, direction, and healing of the body mind (ref. Dr. Candace Pert, "Molecules of Emotion). Any new path requires commitment, which brings to mind the saying that "Twenty one days makes a habit". This can be challenging at times, and occassionally the horse may not want to be ridden at all - suffice to say that the adverse to the twenty-one-day-rule is quite simple. The mind can be a powerful tool - It takes only a moment to break a habit.

My initial investigation for a more balanced life essentially led me to write a Mission Statement, a framework that most of society reserves as forward-looking business statements. This all requires a certain level and catagorization of self, research into various values, priorities, goals, religions, dietary views, and exercise. I'll begin by compiling a series of information that I think is helping me reach my personal holistic goals and establishing my Mission Statement - maybe they will help you, too:

1. The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle (or his CDs, in particular, a live session)
2. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma
3. Molecules of Emotion, by Dr. Candace Pert (if any of you are using anti-depressants [SSRIs] this is a must!)
4. The Health Ranger, Mike Adams, at http://www.newstarget.com/
5. Your own faith beliefs. Personally, I've reinforced my Christianity with Buddhism, in general, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eight-Fold Path, the Four Bodhisattva Vows, and the Five Precepts (see more below)
6. Vinyasa Flow Yoga, DVD, by Seane Corn - Uniting Movement And Breath (2004)

My 'life statement' starts with the phrase, "My name is Bruce Grinstead, and I'm in recovery from Western Civilization". It further purports various creative outlets, support of personally meaningful charities, exercise and family goals.   Try creating a 'mission statement' for yourself to help as a guide.

This framework is than supported by what Dr. Candace Pert refers to as the future of modern medicine's approach;

1) What you think, 2) How you move, and 3) What you eat.

This is further reinforced by a similar mantra, the "Five Free Therapies" (ref. http://www.mimbres.com/holp/gloss/bla_g.htm)

Diet - Feed the Mind-Body-Spirit trinity
Movement - Walk, dance, stretch, yoga, sports, etc.
Breath - Learn to be aware of your breath. Regulate your posture to use all of your lungs to properly ventilate and to massage the internal organs of digestion.
Creativity - Express yourself
Spirituality - Find bliss and listen to Infinite Mind with meditation and prayer.

Follow this with:
1) Be ruthless with your time 2) Be ruthless with what enters your mind 3) Be ruthless with what enters your mouth

1. Look for the positive in every circumstance

2. Your outer world reflects your inner self - you are a product of how your process events.

3. Stop judging events as good or bad - simply experience them.

4. Quote from Patanjali: "When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces , faculties, and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person then you ever dreamed yourself to be."

5. The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.

6. Direct all your energy towards doing what you love.

7. Use Prayer Beads: For every negative thought, remove a bead and place in a knapsack - a reminder of your journey to master your mind.

8. Your mind can only hold one thought at a time: Instantly replace every negative thought with a positive one.

9. Fatigue dominates those without direction or dreams.

10. The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.

11. Your mind is a garden! Cultivate your mind - it will blossom beyond your expectations.

12. Strive to improve the lives of others.

13. Prioritize your goals and dreams - these are your foundation when life is rough.

14. Happiness is achievement and productivity, but not at a frenetic pace.

15. Stop majoring in minor things.

16. Kaizen [Japanese] - Constant, never-ending improvement.

17. Most people fear change, the wise embrace it.

18. Do the things you fear.

19. Live with Discipline - Consistently perform small acts of courage.

20. Vow of silence - avoid speaking out of turn or gossiping.

21. Wage a war against weaker thoughts.

22. Respect Your Time - Be Ruthless with your Time.

23. Simplify Your Life.

24. "We are Spiritual Beings having an Human Experience".

25. Have the Courage to say 'No'.

26. Quality of Your Life comes from the Quality of your Contribution.

27. Elevate Others.

I thought I would offer up my experience of an Integral Practice in three stages, 1) A Path to an Integral Practice, 2) Putting it into Action, 3) The Practice. Some of this posting is a repeat of another blog entry, but sets the stage for the practice itself.  I'm always interested in how other folks are approaching/apply integral living, so please share with me, too!

My greatest challenges in embracing my Integral Practice are procrastination, fear, and the manic pace of life (I have four sons!).  The fear comes from letting go of what I had become to know as the God Without to embracing God Within; the God with a Face, to one of Vastness - replacing the relentless guilt-ridden manifestation with peace.  Experiencing the Big Mind process via the Genpo Roshi DVD within the MyILP kit was amazing and a fantastic bridge in helping achieve this - a great session as a reminder, too. 

A Path to an Integral Practice:
For a while, I've immersed myself in various readings from Ken Wilber, and Eckhart Tolle, to Robin Sharma ("The Monk who Sold His Ferrari").  These helped to open my eyes on how we see, or have identified ourselves (legs, hands, feet, eyes) - we have this crazy notion of having to label everything.  Then came the task of challenging the perceptions of what I thought God looked like (ref. the Da Vinci Code; Zeus), that I found it hard to return to a more primal, ethereal visage of who we 'are'.  I then stumbled across Dr. Candace Pert's "Molecules of Emotion" on the web, which neatly holds hands w/ Tolle, describing us as mind-bodies and she states that the future of medicine would be based on three principles, 1) how we move, 2) what we think, and 3) what we eat. 

So, now I'm at this stage of a 'god' as residing in us, uniquely linking all of us, and that this life is merely a transition (Buddhism). And not particularly THE transition...just A transition, of many (and no, I don't prescribe to Shirley's world either ;-). Our worldly, material views and manifestations of how things work and are made shouldn't be applied internally; we are unique (but from the same). [Going to] Church isn't going to save us - nothing saves us, but we can alter the transition - make it easier/harder - it's truly up to us, kind of thing (sorta like the Hopi's preparing for the next world...next birth). Acceptance is key...that has been my 'true leap of faith'.  Gnosis.

This mine-d-field of information all helped me to start formulating a plan.

Putting it into Action:
I begin to create a goal sheet and a weekly schedule (sigh...I'm a project manager, and remember, I am also a professional procrastinator) which included the ‘five free therapies' (ref. Dan and Marty Butterfield in Boulder Colorado - Neuromuscular Therapists), 1) Diet, 2) Movement, 3) Breath, 4) Creativity, and 5) Spirituality.  Enter Stage Left...an introduction to AQAL, MyILP and Spiral Dynamics (ref. Graves).

The Practice:
I try to consistently fit into my daily routine (mapped to the five therapies mentioned above):
 1) Live/organic foods, and lot's of them + green teas, etc. (caffeine and fast food out the
      window...well almost ;-),
2) A combination of 1-2-3 (ref. MyILP Kit), Yoga positions, hiking, soccer, biking and
     basketball (some of these I find to be spiritual, too),
3) Vinyasa Yoga,
4) Expressing myself through art and music,
5) Meditate, Tonglen, Mantras (I made a mala...more creativity!), Big Mind, and soon-to-be-
    introduced Shadow work (this will likely be monumental task in itself).

I like to mess around with the written word on occasion - here's a few poems:

Lucid Dream
Entheogens caress
interweaving minds
awakening fears
held firm
by anchored thoughts
and teasing, tossing,
conflicting signs
until
a multitude of days
engulf the vacancies
of rooms filled with
closing walls
and flesh eating
alligators screaming
obscenities in your
ears
giving way to
beautiful fields
of green glades
waving at the sun.
You have arrived.
You have arrived!

Published by the International Library of Poetry, Poetry.Com
"The Silence Within"
(Library of Congress, ISBN 0-7951-5062-8)

Electronic Heroin
For what is my infection
but a peaceful eve
to sit in the pale light
of ever shifting channels
waning as the reflection
in the window pane
impale my receptors
with images
of television?

For You
Enlighten me, love you.
tantalize and smooth
my hubris
with your ruse.
Handle me, hold you.
subdue and conquer
my splentitis
with your suffuse.
I am yours, we are two
in your arms, and you mine
I am mitis,
and you, my muse. 

Kalina
Kalina Branch or Olive Tree?
Doves that flew the Danube's Fate
piously
placed me at a tributary
to choose the Rhine or Iron Gate,
tumultuous underneath my feet,
the sweet angels sang to me
"Berlin Wall or Black Sea?"

Published by the Poetry.com
Letters from the Soul, Anthology, 2002.
(National Library of Canada, Ottawa, ISBN 0-7951-5160-8)

Lover's Nap
Between here and there,
it appears,
I have slipped
a cog, or two
between daylight and night
I have reeled and dipped
with thoughtful recourse,
in slight retrospect,
dancing from petal to pond
too deep, again
in search of truth or fear
and blissfully fond
of passing thoughts,
recanting as I yawn,
not here, not there
but gone,
acquitted and forgiven,
certainly free
but not, quite.

Published by the Poetry Institute of Canada.
Island Moments, Anthology, 2000.
(National Library of Canada, Ottawa, ISBN 1-896965-22-9)
and
Published by the International Library of Poetry, Poetry.Com
"The Silence Within"
(Library of Congress, ISBN 0-7951-5062-8)

God is weary of listening to suffering humanity's prayers. She tells the devil that she'd love to split and hide somewhere on the edge of the universe.

 "They will find you by and by," says Slewfoot, "and as you know, you have all of eternity so it won't be long before they catch hold of you again."

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.  "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.  "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.  One is evil -- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.  The other is good -- he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you -- and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee replied, "The one you feed."