The Mindfulness of Surfing

“For me, surfing is as close a connection I can have with being truly alive. To surf, you’re riding a pulse of energy from Mother Nature. And it’s strong. It’s real. It’s there. And you’re dancing with that. You’re connecting with that. You might be the only person in the history of the universe who connects with that particular pulse of energy.”

Xavier Rudd

14 Practical Steps To Bring Mindfulness To Surfing (And To Life):

1. Before entering the water spend 10 minutes of sitting in meditation.
2. Take the time to sit down and enjoy eating breakfast at home.
3. Remind yourself every day of your gratitude for being alive and having 24 brand-new hours to live AND surf.
4. Try not to divide your time into “surfing” and “work.” More time can be surfing if you stay in the present moment and keep in touch with what’s happening in your body and mind. There’s no reason why your time at work should be any less pleasant than your time anywhere else.
5. Resist the urge to check the surf on your cell phone while on your way to and from work, or on your way to appointments. Allow yourself this time to just be with yourself, with nature and with the world around you. Arrange a breathing area at work where you can go to calm down, stop and have a rest. Take regular breathing breaks to come back to your body and to bring your thoughts back to the present.
6. At lunchtime, eat only your food and not your fears or worries. Don’t eat lunch at the beach. Change environments. Go for a walk.
7. Make a ritual out of drinking. Stop and look deeply into your drink to see everything that went into making it: the clouds and the rain, the sources and the workers who made it.
8. Before going in the water, visualize someone very peaceful, mindful and skillful being with you. Take refuge in this person to help stay calm and peaceful.
9. If you feel anger or irritation, refrain from saying or doing anything straight away. Come back to your breathing and follow your in-and-out breath until you’ve calmed down.
10. Practice looking at other surfers as your allies and not as your enemies. Recognize that surfing collaboratively brings more satisfaction and joy than being alone. Know that the success and happiness of everyone is your own success.
11. Express your gratitude and appreciation to other surfers regularly for their positive qualities. This will transform the whole beach environment, making it much more harmonious and pleasant for everyone.
12. Try to relax and restore yourself before going to the beach so you don’t bring accumulated negative energy or frustration with you.
13. Take some time to relax and come back to yourself after surfing and before starting home. Recognize that multitasking means you’re never fully present for any one thing. Do one thing at a time and give it your full attention.
14. At the end of the day, keep texts on your phone of all the good things that happened in your day. Water your seeds of joy and gratitude regularly so they can grow.

Thank you to my good friend Bojana 
for sharing this with us

 

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We Need A Break

“Your lower self sees you as the center of the universe – Your Higher Self sees you as a cell in the body of humanity.”  

Peace Pilgrim

There has been so much narcissism, hatred and vulgarity filling the airwaves, we need a break, a way to reconnect with the good that is within us, the sweet, the kind, the caring, the part of us that has heart and wants to love and connect with life and everyone and everything in it. . . our Higher Self that relates to the vulnerability in everyone and everything around us by being in touch with our own . . . and that also recognizes the tenuously short time we have here on this earth to either respect and protect or to selfishly destroy.

What better way to do this than through observing the trusting innocence of children and animals . . .

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.”

Mother Teresa

Thank you to my good friend, Jim Irvine 
for sharing these priceless pictures with us.

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R.I.P.

“Common sense is not so common.”

Voltaire

An Obituary printed in the London Times…..

“Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

• Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
• Why the early bird gets the worm;
• Life isn’t always fair;
• Sometimes I am wrong;
• And maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student, but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;

– I Want It Now
– Someone Else Is To Blame
– I’m A Victim
– Pay me for Doing Nothing

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing…”

And now I add a few of my own . . .

Common Sense knows that every single one of us who is privileged, got to where we are on the shoulders of or with the help of someone else and that there are times in life when others, less fortunate, also need a helping hand.

Common Sense tells us that until we live in a society based in a win/win philosophy, that until everyone is winning, we all will lose. The poor will continue to rob, the sick will continue to go to the ER and we all will pay.

Common Sense tells us that unless we take care or the environment in which we live, by keeping water and air pure, and significantly limiting the toxins and poisons, we all will suffer consequences.

Common Sense tells us that money does not and should not buy value when it comes to human life.

Common Sense tells us that those who are on the extreme right and the extreme left in politics, who stubbornly refuse to look for solutions that work for everyone, are dangerous to a democratic society.

Common Sense tells us we are the caretakers of the planet and that we know what to do, and when we don’t do it we are shirking our responsibility to protect and provide for future generations.

Common Sense is dying a slow, but certain death. May He Rest In Peace, because if things keep going as they are, no one else will . . .

 

 

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