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Post by karen on Oct 26, 2010 12:24:42 GMT -5
Has anyone else found exercise to be helpful? I try to hike at my local trail every day if possible - weather and job permitting - and it seems to be my most earnest time of day. Peak Experience by karen90631, on Flickr I wish I could say I am peaceful and serene while hiking, but most the time I hike at a frantic pace. When I began hiking after seeking I would listen to "I AM THAT" or "a course in miracles" with the main goal of eliminating discomfort with the non-dual message by trying to understand it. An intellectual understanding followed which wasn't sufficient. But through it all, was me hitting the hills on my trail. Pouring my frustration of my sufferings into the hills and every little ache and pain (with trekking poles used as ores on land creating a full body workout). I puzzled about how climbing a hill and the pain from lactic acid build up can feel so troubling. But like LM had talked about - it's like an unwinding. At some point I realized that hills were so damn tough to climb because I would celebrate the peeks and loathe the start of a climb. And now I either don't listen to anything, or I will listen to a teacher with the single purpose of a reminder to continue my looking at me practice. The increased body awareness of all the now wiry muscles or just setting a time to get uber serious - for some reason it's seemed to help. I know being in nature is helpful, but I've wondered if anyone else finds exercise itself helpful.
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Post by nasentbuddhist on Oct 26, 2010 16:06:36 GMT -5
Karen, When in the Army we did forced road marches -not fun hikes- I would focus on my breathing and count footfalls. Some marches were in excess of 25 miles and by using the techniques I mentioned I would complete the march relatively at ease, while some of my fellow soldiers would not complete the march as they would focus on the suffering that they perceived. I also found that when lifting weights or other physical exertion I benefited from using the same techniques. Now I deal with chronic pain and nerve damage and use the techniques to get out of bed, cook a meal or drive a car. I focus with mindfulness and when I have pain or such I recognize it and then let it go. This type of practice has helped me cut down on the pain meds which in turn allows me to be more mindful. Next time you are hiking try and let your body set the pace similar to the breath in meditation. Remember it is just a hill and the peak is just a peak, both are impermanent and let go of the attachment and aversion and just be. Hope this makes sense. William
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Post by oneiopen on Oct 26, 2010 16:16:50 GMT -5
Hi Karen, I do yoga in the morning when I first get up and it seems to really prepare me in some way for my self-inquiry, self-attention practice. Just focusing so completely on each pose and breath is a very one-pointed exercise and carries over into the rest of the day. When I don't do yoga, I feel a little more scattered, more likely to get lost in my head. I try to practice self-attention as often as possible throughout the day and, yes, exercise of some sort, (even if it's just a long walk) appears to help.
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Post by peanut on Oct 26, 2010 19:05:48 GMT -5
Karen...anything that gets me out of my head ie not thinking... is helpful...yoga works for me as well as well as walking/being in nature... what can i see and hear this moment?
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Post by zendancer on Oct 26, 2010 20:24:39 GMT -5
I enjoy the exercise, isolation, and silence of mountain trails. I have my own little Arunachula (LOL) forty-five miles away from home, and I love hiking that relatively undiscovered mini-mountain located on an isolated section of the 300 mile Cumberland Trail. I, too, use hiking poles, and the climb is incredibly aerobic (it rises more than fifteen hundred feet in two miles). As soon as I get in my car, I leave my workday world behind and start focusing on what can be seen or heard. Same thing up the trail, resting on the overlook with a 100 mile view on clear days, down the trail, and on the drive back home. It keeps the body in shape, provides enough silence to balance out thoughts from the day, and results in deep relaxation. I rarely see anyone and the weathered rock formations, trees, ferns, mosses, birds, animals, and views are spectacular. One can focus on the body huffing and puffing, the sound of leaves crackling underfoot, the wind whispering (or howling) through the trees, the mists spiraling up from the valley after a rain, the crows, hawks, or buzzards circling overhead, or the occasional wild thing startled by the sudden appearance of a human being (red fox, coyote, deer, skunk, fisher, turkey, etc.). The only thing more appealing would be that trail in Karen's photo! How does one create such an electrifying image?
As a side note, something interesting sometimes happens on long silent hikes, and sensory communion is often the result. When the body gets far more tired than usual, the intellect sometimes loses its usual energy and goes totally empty. When this happens, the senses become exceedingly alive--as if the body and the environment start interacting in some tangible way. Prior to this sense of connectedness occurring, the head often feels as if it is being filled with cotton (a slight pressure is felt between the temples) and sometimes hearing is affected. Is this phenomenon or anything similar familiar to anyone else? Just curious.
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Post by michaelsees on Oct 26, 2010 21:01:52 GMT -5
Hi Karen,
I love to hike and BTW great photo did you use photoshop?
Back to hiking for myself I find hiking in beautiful areas to be sensory overload not that I don't enjoy it for I do very much but never found it to be much help as far as self-inquiry goes. But I am a odd ball please don't take what I say to mean anything.
Now the one thing I have found to help me stay very much in the moment is free climbing. There is something to it. When your hanging on a granite cliff and you need to make your next move and it has to be successful well for me I am never more than in the exact moment. The mind just filters out everything except the task at hand and does so without any thought on my part. The second part of this is more of a memory kind of thing. I am sure you are familiar with the phrase "muscle memory" basically if you do something with your muscles in the exact way over and over again eventually you will come to a place where it just happens with no effort on your part. The same happens with the free climbing experience when done enough it becomes very easy just to sit and become in that state as if you are still on the granite cliff. From this place of presence self-inquiry can yield some deep insights etc
I have no idea if my response was what you were looking for. I really just write whatever flows through.
peace Mchael
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Post by peanut on Oct 27, 2010 20:25:52 GMT -5
ZD....yes have had similar experience...the senses become heightened and hearing is changed..like amplified....( this body is sensitive to sound). It is a unique feeling; this connectedness between form and nature. Can feel it coming on when conditions are right.
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Post by karen on Oct 27, 2010 22:52:54 GMT -5
Thanks for everyone's thoughts.
BTW, the photo was easily taken with my iPhone. The best camera is the one you have with you when you need to snap a pic. The iPhone fits the bill. Plus, with 3rd party apps, I filter and tune images right in the palm of my hand. It's dead simple on the iPhone (or Android).
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Post by michaelsees on Oct 27, 2010 23:38:49 GMT -5
Hi I had a hunch you use your iphone. It's amazing how well photos turn out. Anyone that has a iphone and enjoys taking photos should have this pdf. It's great info Intro: Killer Photos with Your iPhone shows students how to take fantastic pictures using the camera built right into their iPhone. Because of its portability and unique capabilities, the iPhone camera is now one of the most popular digital cameras on the market, and this book shows you how to do everything from taking simple pictures to using apps to snap and create innovative images. You'll find information on the basics of shooting with an iPhone, including how to aim, compose, and focus your shots, as well as shooting within an app platform, and even post-processing. Many of the most popular photography apps are covered, and explained option-by-option with full-color images that allow students to see the progression of the app all at once instead of step-by-step. Covering both the 3G and 3GS iPhone models, this book will have students shooting, editing, and sharing killer photos in no time! So enjoy my copy of Killer photos with your iPhone rapidshare.com/files/427552358/killer_photos_iPhone.pdfThanks for everyone's thoughts. BTW, the photo was easily taken with my iPhone. The best camera is the one you have with you when you need to snap a pic. The iPhone fits the bill. Plus, with 3rd party apps, I filter and tune images right in the palm of my hand. It's dead simple on the iPhone (or Android).
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louij
Junior Member
Posts: 97
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Post by louij on Nov 3, 2010 22:36:02 GMT -5
Walking in our own inner rain, absorbed by the artist that is the creator, observing just how blessed we are in this created fully vibrantly coloured earth ...... one could intuit that we have an interior and exterior designer who has only our absolute joy as focus..... look at the pathway..... or pathways...... sustained by the all of the all of us......
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mits
Junior Member
Posts: 92
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Post by mits on Nov 4, 2010 4:58:54 GMT -5
I find trail walking very similar to sitting meditation; you have to give it your all or otherwise you may slip and fall down a ravine.
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Post by karen on Nov 4, 2010 9:53:03 GMT -5
Yeah that's true. I often will run as fast as possible down a somewhat steep dirt hill. One miss-step and I wipe-out. Or I'll walk as fast as possible on granite rocks and boulders. If you're in your head on those you can easily twist or break and ankle. Here's another pic of my trail: Untitled by karen90631, on Flickr The dam in the back is the granite I walk on sometimes.
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Post by question on Nov 4, 2010 10:54:03 GMT -5
Wow! Karen, you're getting better and better at this.
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