CLEAN

be clean, get clean, clean the dishes, clean the clothes, clean the bedsheets,
clean the body, clean the mind
and begin a...
MASTER CLEANSE!!!!
K gave me the awesome 411 on this one, including:
Day One: Organic fresh squeezed orange juice during day
Evening: Cleansing Tea

Daily:
- Grade B Organic Maple Syrup (cup)
- organic lemon juice (cup)
- Cayenne pepper (pinch)
- high quality water (to taste)

for travel, you can pre-mix the syrup and lemon juice.
Here.
We.
Go.

DANCE

today dance was my mantra. and I still had a lot to do, so Dance influenced HOW i went about doing it. great loving dances, conversational dances, and I even danced my way into a wondrously fun dinner with K. just keep those feet moving. and a quote:  

"In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions. When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop finding comfort in the sweet territory of silence?"

— Gabrielle Roth

WORK

work was my mantra today. and work I did. crunched out a lot of things for discovery science center. too many days not working. work is important. remember the lesson of the trail: 8 solid hours a day, gets you where you are going. wake up at sunrise, work honest, have a social lunch, work some more, find a good place to bed down, and relax.

perfect aim vs. perfect shots

more archery practice today.
less arrows, more focus.

first shot of the day, mantra: "it's all heart"
[note: my bullseye is painted as a heart]

arrow hits the bullseye, and in one of those freak physics moments, hits so hard that it bounces right off, flying 8+ feet back towards me!
perfect aim, wrong mantra?

shocked, i adjust my mantra: "i want everything"

arrow penetrates deeply, right on edge of bullseye.
a mild smile of satisfaction comes across my face.

final arrow of the day, mantra: "show me some power"

arrow flies, perfect feather spiral, hits straight into center of bullseye, with such force that it goes clean out the back of the target and 30' into the grass. YES.
Perfect Shot.

Forward.

splits: the agony and the thrill

As I push, my inner thighs scream. Tendons approach the edge, straining to the limit of their stretch. My breathing gets deep, really deep. My heels hurt, as 90% of my weight rests atop them. And I am closer. Closer. Almost... there.

"There" is a goal I've had for years: the full wide splits. And now as I approach this practice more seriously than ever before, it gets into deep meditation. All I can think about when I practice the splits is my relationships. And splits, duh: its about breaking up. And at the same time, it is some kind of bridge, isn't it? extending the heels wider than any other part of the body can reach? 6 feet, 7 feet? With full strength!??!!

As my width has expanded, I've been practicing muscle tensioning in that extreme position. Tightening the thighs and glutes while gravity does the rest. I think it helps. And then there's the aftermath: crying, panting, headrush... and some strange behavior that I've never needed before, but is totally instinctual post-splits:

I simply cry, lean, and embrace the wall, my cheek in bliss against the cold drywall. And my mind empties... and


that.
is.
all.

limits

Ferrari 599 vs. Chevy ZR1... guess who wins?

i am coming to the conclusion that i am pushing too hard on my aging body...
i've been pushing it pretty hard to start the year right,
and unfortunately i am experiencing a new kind of soreness.
its not the typical "my muscles feel sore 'cause they've been tested in a new way"
its more "my joints feel sore cause they've been excessively strained"

i think i may use this year to de-tune back from my natural form of ferrari (superfast and light, always starts in the lead, but sometimes the engine catches fire and the car explodes) to that of a chevy (powerful and reliable, if a little bit sluggish and heavy, always finishes the race)

how about you?

The Tribes of Man

I have been having a wild array of conversations with humans recently. It seems that purple hair and fur coats really open people up! Awesome!

Tonight I went to the corner mart to buy some beer. Its cold outside, so I wore my fur coat (the best $12 investment *ever*, thrift store c.2003) and my handmade woven hat, a bright orange affair with ponytails. The clerk looks me up and down, smiles, and asks "so, is that some kind of traditional costume you are wearing?" I was fascinated by this take on it, and briefly considered saying "Yes, its Burner."... but demurred, and said "it keeps me warm!" He had a thick accent so I asked him where he was from. "Ghana," he replied. I ventured a guess and said "East coast?," and he kindly corrected me, saying "west coast of africa." then added "In my country people wear traditional coats like that, they are usually made of lion or tiger skin. When they hunt the animal, they preserve the skins and make them into clothing." I was both fascinated at this modern tribal tale and honored that he thought that my jacket might have a similar origin. Indeed, I had just been practicing archery, honing my skills for the day when I will hunt my own food and craft my own clothing, and told him as much. He smiled broadly. A connection had been made. A bridge between cultures and eons. Cool.