What Do You Do Every Day?

Livelife365 is all about doing. Doing something positive every day. Something healthy. Spiritual. Exercising your body, yes, but also your mind. And your spirit. When I created livelife365 I wanted to share with as many people as possible helpful tips and successful programs that I have developed through the years, using videos and blog posts, like this one. Most of the successes that I talk and write about are things that I do every single day. Maybe that’s why this site is called livelife365.

What are some of the things—positive, useful, invigorating, creative, important, worthwhile, fun, healthy, entertaining, fulfilling—things that you do each day?

I created a list, but also, of course, a video:



TEN THINGS I MUST DO EVERY DAY

1. Exercise. Break a sweat. Do something physical, be it just taking a walk or lifting weights and riding my stationary bike. Even if you detest working out you can still get plenty of exercise chasing your kids around the yard, doing housework, washing the car, walking to the mailbox, or rolling around in bed with your significant other.

2. Enjoy the great outdoors. You don’t have to live in the mountains or by a beach to appreciate the natural wonder and beauty of the earth. I have to go outside as often as possible during the day. Summertime is easier, but I still see many folks walk from house to car to work to car to house without stopping to smell the flowers or bask in the splendor. Taking a walk is an excellent way to get your exercise in while also listening to the birds.  Plus the sun offers vitamin D, an essential necessity.
 
3.Meditate.  I meditate every morning.  My goal is at least thirty minutes of just sitting in a quiet room, eyes relaxed, sometimes closed, most times half-closed, clearing the clutter from my brain, listening to the sounds around me other than the thoughts in my head.  It’s easier than you may think, and well worth a few minutes of your day.
 

4. Drink green tea. I used to be a soda junkie, drank over five cans of Diet Coke a day. Not only is all that caffeine bad for you, but the other junk they put in soda can remove corrosion from a carburetor…imagine what it does to your stomach. When I gave up soda several years ago I started drinking green tea, and have never looked back. Green tea tastes great, is loaded with antioxidant and polyphenols, which help the immune system and protect against cancer and heart disease. Green tea also settles your stomach, not upsets is like with soda, and it can help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, and even fight tooth decay. Get the idea I dig green tea? You should too. Oh, and by the way, my new music video called “Drink Green Tea Every Day” will be out very soon.

5. Laugh. Sounds simple, sounds easy, sounds, well, rather silly to put on my list, but you’d be amazed how many people don’t laugh enough—especially at themselves. Having a sense of humor goes a long way toward helping heal whatever ails you. And it’s fun! That’s why when I developed this site I included lots of funny stuff to go along with the healthy living and personal development tips, because you gotta laugh.

6. Eat healthy. Easier said than done for way too many people, but enjoying a healthy diet of fresh veggies and fruit, whole grains, beans and legumes, low in bad fats and high in fiber is the fuel that makes me who I am. The best part, besides being good for you and aiding in helping you live a longer, happier, healthier life, is all these healthy foods taste amazing. Don’t let those fast food commercials fool you. A farm fresh tomato on whole wheat is one of the tastiest things you can eat…my mouth is watering already.

7. Pursue my hobbies. I play my guitar every day—sing, write music, just enjoying the sound. That’s one of my hobbies, I have many more: gardening, landscaping, writing, videography, book collecting. We work, we rest, we enjoy time with family and friends, we eat and go to bed. In between you must try to find the time to do something for yourself—hobbies will get you to the place you need to be.
 
8. Read. Speaking of hobbies. I have had a voracious appetite for books ever since I can remember. I love to read. I read every single day of my life. I usually have several books going at one time—fiction, non-fiction, humorous, historical. I also devour newspapers and magazines…not to mention spending way too many hours of my life at my day job, reading endless tomes there. Reading is my great escape as well as my daily bread.

9. Think positive thoughts. I am a firm believer that no matter how bad things get—and life WILL deal you bad stuff—you have to remain positive. You have that power, something only you can control. Even if I’m having a particularly dreadful day for reasons that only astrologers and weathermen can explain, I still try to find something positive inside the gloom. And more often than not my sour mood turns better, and I shake my head and wonder why I was so down in the first place. Again, life is going to get all of us sometimes, but we have the power to fight back with positivity.

10. Floss. Every day. Besides brushing after every meal, I floss every night before bedtime. We only get one set of choppers so we have to take good care of them. Flossing is actually good for your heart, as well as reaching all those nooks and crannies inside your maw that your toothbrush cannot. Like my oral hygienist likes to say, “You only have to floss the teeth you want to keep.”

I’m sure there are a few more things I do each day that didn’t make my top ten list, but it’s a good list. For me. What about you? We all have certain things that we need to do every day to live the life we want and need—these are some of mine. Hope your list is as healthy and happy and as fulfilling as I feel mine is.


Until next time…


peace,

Mike

Meditation and You

Around a year ago, while I was perusing used books at one of those thrift stores my wife loves and occasionally drags me to, I found a book that asserted the virtues of meditation, Zen meditation, to be more precise. I added it to the handful of tomes I was lucky enough to discover, all for the cost of less than a few gallons of gasoline, and toted them home with the same hopes I always greet new books: to add to my always burgeoning collection, with a vow to read them all, whenever I found the time, but especially those that I felt merited special consideration…those, of course, would be put in the front of my queue of books-that-must-be-read-at-once.

For some reason, the Zen book called to me. It was during a time in my life where I needed some change, something different to help me get to my next stage of being, from where I was (unrest and burnout at my current job, uptight and in need of relaxation from a nagging shoulder injury, and fatigue and exhaustion from too many long hours at this keyboard) to where I needed to be.

While I had often considered mediation as a form of relaxation, renewal, focus, and, if possible, enlightenment, I never really tried it. That is, until I read the aforementioned book about Zen and gave it a shot.

Several other books, and hundreds of hours sitting, later, I can now say that I am an experienced and fulfilled practitioner of meditation. I meditate as often as I can, sometimes even when I am not sitting. I have learned that I can meditate while walking. Really. Don’t believe me? Watch this:

WALKING AND TALKING WITH MIKE: MEDITATE WHILE YOU WALK



So, you may be asking yourself, how does one meditate? It’s not as difficult as you may think. Here are some simple tips to help get you started:

* sit with your legs crossed in a semi-comfortable position on the floor
* back straight, shoulders back, head slightly tilted downward
* take two deep breaths to relax yourself
* close your eyes half-way
* focus on nothing
* allow your mind to relax, be free
* count your breaths
* when an outside thought enters your mind, gently push it aside and focus on the moment
* try to be in the moment
* stay in the moment
* embrace whatever is occurring in the moment
* and continue to focus, embrace, live in the moment
* while gently acknowledging outside distractions
* and, again, pushing them aside
* and returning to the moment

I also produced this video that may help you get started:

HOW TO…MEDITATE



Meditating daily has helped me focus on the moment, the here and now, not only while sitting, but during my day-to-day activities. Zen masters call this true enlightenment: the ability to exist in the moment, while doing the simplest of tasks-- walking, eating, cooking, working, living life. That is what enlightenment is really about.

What began with the serendipitous discovery of one book in a thrift shop, has grown into a daily ritual that has helped change my life for the better. Meditation has added to my spiritual growth, which is an important focus of mine in my continued pursuit of managing my triade of balance. I highly suggest giving it a try.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike
livelife365.com

Find Your Self

I recently started meditating, counting my breath, sitting in a quiet room and trying not to think about anything. And you know something? It’s not as easy as it sounds. In fact, you try it. Try sitting still, with your legs folded over each other, your eyes half-closed and unfocused, willing your mind to banish any outside thoughts from entering it. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

You probably discovered very quickly that thoughts, distractions and outside interferences overwhelm your ability to focus, to render your mind a blank slate, to meditate on nothing. And that’s okay, I warned you that it was challenging, maybe even impossible. But that’s not the point of why I meditate, why I sit in a room by myself and try to focus on nothing. I do so to find self. And I have discovered, through trial and error, research and reading, that to find self you have to first lose self.

Huh?

“Huh?” is right. But it’s a good kind of huh, one that makes you think, makes you take note, makes you intrigued, I hope. Makes you want to read on. Or, better yet, watch:

FINDING SELF BY LOSING SELF



I often talk about the TRIAD OF BALANCE, what I refer to as the continuous process of maintaining the harmonic balance between the mind, body, and spirit. I have found that when I have all three of these essentials working and in harmony with one another, then I am at my strongest and happiest, enjoying the most effective way of living my life to its fullest. If one of my big three is out of whack, but the other two are still strong, while I may feel a bit off and not my complete self, I can still do most of what I need to do…only not all of what I want to do to be all that I need to be. That is why finding that balance, working on the mind, body, and spirit all the time, is one of the main focuses in my life, this blog, and my video site.

So to strengthen my spiritual side, after working, of course, on my intellectual and physical areas, I decided I needed to lose self first…to find self later.

Okay, Mike, how does one lose self?

Glad you asked. Meditation is a good start. Let’s go back to trying to not allow any thoughts to invade your mind while you sit still with your eyes half-closed. Even though this is a difficult task, it is possible…if you focus on everything BUT your own thoughts while doing it.


Ummm, you lost me.

Got back to your quiet place, sit, focus, and try not to think. Only this time, if a thought tries to weasel its way into your mind, just gently push it aside. Then, while trying not to let YOUR thoughts back in, allow your mind the freedom to let everything else in.

Huh?

Hold on, I’m getting there. Notice your surroundings. The sound of the clock on the wall, the wind rustling the leaves or tinkling your wind chimes. A car passing by. Your refrigerator rumbling into life. Everything else but YOUR thoughts. Make sense?


Kind of. But what’s the point?

The point is, by allowing the outside world in, while trying to eliminate your internal thoughts, you have, in a small way, lost your self. And this, in a larger sense, helps you find your self.

Finding self goes a long way toward finding your spirituality. And that helps balance your triad.

Hey, by the way, how did you maintain your triad of balance while you were on vacation last month?

Funny you should ask.

HOW TO…MAINTAIN YOUR TRIAD OF BALANCE WHILE ON VACATION


Until next time…

peace,

Mike