Shift Cast #63, Spiritual Awakenings are Gifts

Posted on April 27, 2012 by yooper

Yooper Notes

This show was inspired by Maria Erving’s blog post…

http://mariaerving.com/shift-in-consciousness-not-caused-by-us/

- Spiritual Awakenings are not our doing…or about “changing your mind” they ARE NOT related to the intellect, or your “free will”

- We don’t decide when we “wake up”, become enlighted, or what have you…it more like “happens to us” as a curse/gift depending on your point of view

- Being OPEN, and in the moment helps you cope and make the best of any situation, or crisis, but can’t induce or hasten a spiritual event

- It happens to nearly everyone as a life crisis that they are FORCED to respond to…or an amazing event that changes you forever…

We discussed the two films below as examples of spiritual awakenings seen as curses and gifts…

- Wake up (the film)

http://wakeupthefilm.com/

- Hereafter

http://hereafter.warnerbros.com/dvd/

Notes from Jindai

Song by the Bellamy Brothers “Let Your Love Flow”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_Your_Love_Flow

The commercial for it is from the UK, I think I saw it on one of the World’s Greatest Commericals shows, and it really is one, it’s for “Barkley Card” a credit type card in the UK, but the visuals and music are definately what I remember. Best commute from work to home EVAR:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdXCcQZB06s

It was also in a Prius ad, with trees and plants flowering as the car drives past, but I’ll let you find that one yourself, it’s not as cool, even though the music is the same.

And folks, the literary device/word I struggled to find so hard during the show is “Allegory” The names of most characters in the bible are allegorical, meaning the names themselves are part of the teaching story. It’s related to the the word parable, but has a more distinct meaning.

And the story I tried to relate from memory, turns out I came pretty close, but way off, too. His name was Simeon Stylites, and he was a Christian, and is now a Saint, and it was 37 years, not 47.

(Still listed as longest polesit on record in the Guinness World Book Of Records 2010)

He didn’t get torn to pieces as I said, he just died. I must have gotten his story mixed up with another in my head. Here’s the wikipedia article, which if you’re interested, is a good starting place. Remember, Wikipedia is not always accurate, but it’s a good enough start.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Stylites

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Shift Cast #62: Connected but Alone

Posted on April 20, 2012 by yooper

Mobile Devices

Has the internet, social media, mobile devices, txting, et al fundamentally changed the way people connect and relate? Maybe…

First, we discuss our limited use of cell phones and txting…Rick and I both have dumb phones and an iPod touch…Rick has a pay as you go mifi device that he uses on the road when the need arises…

We are not addicted to our mobile devices in the same way as many others, but we both still have them and take them with us nearly everywhere we go…hmmm

I (yooper) leave my phone off during school, and don’t use it much…it’s pay as you go…

We have both noted that people that are hooked on cell phones, txting, IMing on mobile devices sometimes interrupt live interactions to keep up…and we both think that sucks…then again, we are probably a little jealous that we don’t have as many “friends” (maybe?)

Fear of Real conversations

The ability to craft and edit everything you tweet, post, text means communication is more thought out and less spontaneous…does this cause the “Skill” of having a person to person live conversation atrophy? Maybe…

In my (yoooer’s) experience, the younger folks in my college program really struggled with doing presentations, some of them refused to speak in class at all…it was pretty weird…

Robot Companions

This is something new to me that the elderly and others in long-term hosptial stays are using robots for companionship…WOW!   That means we are only a few steps away from being wiped out by the cylons!!! :-D

Links discussed in this podcast…

Rick’s Letter to NASCAR to had him trending on twitter

http://jindaihideo.livejournal.com/2012/03/04/

Good Life Zen:

http://goodlifezen.com/2012/04/15/are-we-connected-but-alone/

Sherry Turkle’s Bio on TED.com

http://www.ted.com/speakers/sherry_turkle.html

Sherry Turkle’s TED Talk

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html

Link to Sherry’s Turkle’s book “Alone together”

http://alonetogetherbook.com/

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Shift Cast #61: Cure for Boredom

Posted on April 12, 2012 by yooper

Legal disclaimer: This page and podcast are not a cure for anything…including boredom. This page and podcast are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only.

Notes From Jindai:

Rick admits many of the points that boredom can come from fear, but doesn’t completely jump on board as that is the ONLY source of boredom.  Listen in to this conversation, and see where you stand.

From Deepak:

I Am (Do I deserve to be here?)
I am Blissful! (I can’t feel)
I Will! (I Can’t)
I Know! (I Doubt)
I Act! (I don’t know what to do)

…(more from Jindai) I just want to say, I’m not completely incurious about spirituality, but this is the point I’m at.  If THE TRUTH has been reached, and understood, why should I change away from that truth?  I feel I get it, and I’m done. Feel the way you feel, it’s all good.

Notes from Yooper

This show was inspired by my realization that people are looking for ways to alleviate pain when they buy things…makes sense…boredom could be thought of as a form of pain…okay, it’s not really “PAIN” more like dissatisfaction, but you get the point…

Also, The book linked below by Deepak Chopra served as an inspiration as well…

Distraction is not the answer

Almost all of the top 10 Google results for “Cure for Boredom” include ideas for “doing stuff”…which is fine, but it really doesn’t answer the question of “where does boredom come from?”

From Deepak “We feel bored when we can’t admit that we have desires.”

Rick likes the combination of curiosity and imagination…I can’t disagree…I love curiosity and imagination as well…

When I feel bored I like to use this little tool from Deepak:

1. I am an empty vessel.  Inspiration fills me everyday, but I am not here to hold on to anything that comes to me.

2. I am here to pass energy from one state to another. Hopefully I move it from lower to a higher state, since my purpose is to direct everything toward spirit.

3. I do not have to control the flow of reality.  I bend where spirit bids me.

4. The fullness of spirit, not my ego, provides.

5. If I live from the source of creation, only good can come to me.  Everything from spirit comes from love.

From Deepak

“Passion is the natural flow of emotions.”

Cool little definition of what passion is…if you are bored you must be blocking the natural flow of your emotions…

From Deepak: “Passion doesn’t fade. It must be suppressed.”

Fear, avoidance, distraction are used to block passion, that could fearlessly lead us to our desires…

We create boredom when we replace fear for passion…fear says to stay safe…AND safety is boring…

Fear says:  “You don’t deserve what you desire…you will get hurt, killed, or rejected if you try to get your desires…just stay safe…”

Listening to this voice will keep you safe…and bored.

So, the cure for boredom is to admit that we have desires…large and small…and to little by little do small things that scare you a little bit…smile at a stranger, re-connect with an old friend, take a walk in nature…flinch forward and accept and breath through the fear that is holding you back…

Ask spirit for a deeper understanding of your situation and trust that the answer will come to you when you are present and still.

From Deepak: What makes an infinite moment

You were open to something new.
You weren’t reliving the past or anticipating the future.
You felt optimistic and open; you were not defended.
You let it happen, whatever it was.
You felt connected.

Does that sound frightening to try?

Impossible?

Then fear and the matrix have you…the choice is yours…

I choose open and connected…

The Path to Love: Renewing the Power of Spirit in Your Life

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Shift Cast #60: Journey versus Destination

Posted on April 5, 2012 by yooper

(Jindai) We accidentally took two weeks off, sorry folks, but we’re back! :-D

(Jindai) In this episode, we start with a destination in mind, but go far afield, proving Yooper’s point that the journey is just as important as the destination. Love how that works.

(Yooper) I (Yooper) brought up reading a poem that I thought was part of the Homer’s Odyssey, but it turns out to be by Constantine P. Cavafy…(link below)…how to use your destination as a goal, but the real fun is enjoying the journey…

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ithaca/

Homer’s Odyssey,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey

Ithaca, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithaca

(Jindai) Oh, and turns out Ithaca was THE destination, it was Odysseus’ home. I had forgotten that nugget.

(Jindai) Other books discussed in this eipisode:

The Haj
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haj

Exodus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(novel)

Dune, by Frank Herbert, and the various sequels by him and his son, Brian Herbert, are mentioned quite a bit

Forest Gump, the Novel, by Winston Groom

Piers Anthony, Battle Circle Series, and his other hard Sci Fi books all linked in one specific scene in the
Tarot Series
1 God of Tarot (1979)
2 Vision of Tarot (1980)
3 Faith of Tarot (1980)
Tarot (1987) The series omnibus as a single novel as originally intended) No wikipedia page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Circle_(novels)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chthon_(novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Man_and_Manta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bio_of_a_Space_Tyrant

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Shift Cast #59: Benefits of Meditation

Posted on March 15, 2012 by yooper

This episode was supposed to be a cage match between Yooper and Jindai…but it really turned out quite civil…oh well…

I, Yooper, love to meditate…I think it’s fun, relaxing, and really gets my day started on a healthy note.

Jindai, does not like to meditate.   He does not see the benefits in the practice for him…also he has…like many other people…convinced himself that it is impossible for him to do…

Sooooo for a hoot, I decided to search out some “benefits of meditation” and see if I can sell Rick on the idea…it won’t work…but there is value in healthy and respectful conflict

:-D

Calmer and Happier

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation

This article in psychology today talks about a study in which neuroscientists experimented with people who were trained to meditate over 8 weeks and there was a control group who did not meditate.

The brain scans from the group that meditated showed they were able to use meditation to shift their brain activity from the stress and fear areas of the brain, right frontal cortex and the amygdala to the left frontal cortex, which is much more prone to calm happy activity. The control group was not able to perform this shift.

Health Benefits

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/meditation-heals-body-and-mind

This WebMD article explains how a long list of health issues can be helped with just 20 minutes of meditation:

Lowers Blood Pressure
Boost Immune System
Improve Concentration
Stress Reduction

Stress Management

This Mayo clinic article discuss how meditation can be use to manage stress. It lists the benefits below:

The emotional benefits of meditation include:

Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
Building skills to manage your stress
Increasing self-awareness
Focusing on the present
Reducing negative emotions

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070

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Shift Cast #58, Detox my Life

Posted on March 8, 2012 by yooper

Doing this juice reboot has brought home several lessons about detoxing my life in areas other than just food and letting go of drugs beer, coffee and tobacco.

Physical Level

The detox on the physical level has improved my well-being in many ways…

More energy
Better sleep
More stamina
More calm and relaxed

Yoga for Detox! Some yoga can help support detox!!! I didn’t know that!

Sweating – sauna, hot tubs, exercise

Skin – I found a new soap (to me) at Trader’s Joe’s…it’s all green and good for the environment…and I love it.

It’s call Dr Bronner’s Castile Soap and it can do loads of stuff! So far, I can use it for:

Shaving
Brushing teeth
Soap
Shampoo

there are many more uses that I have not tried yet…

http://www.drbronner.com/

Also on the physical level is air and breathing…shallow breathing doesn’t do a great job of eliminating toxins from your body…so I want to explore daily practices to improve my breathing…like yoga, exercise, and meditation.

Toxic Thoughts

Toxic thoughts are part of everyone’s life, but doing this reboot highlighted many toxic thoughts that I never considered before. I will try to do a better job of monitoring my thoughts and trying to keep them positive and grounded in reality.

Toxic Emotions

Emotions that are negative are better faced and processed…rather than keeping them locked in…and stewing…so, this is another area of life that can be reviewed for detox…

Toxic Relationships

Relationships that are no longer serving you can be healed or let go of. Keeping toxic people in my life is not something I am doing much of at the moment, but this is another area of life for detoxing.

Detox Lessons

- Finding eating triggers – it was difficult to watch TV when I couldn’t eat… I have a habit of mindless eating while watching TV… NOW I know that.

- Before I started juicing, I figured Yayoi would whine about…but she said WOW!!!

- Missed food for strange reasons…during the all juice days…the habit of eating was harder to overcome than hunger

- I didn’t worry about feeling hungry until evening

I bought this detox program, that I never tried, but I did read through it and found loads of great information…

Detox Box

Check out the the witches view…it’s about pagens and witches!!! They are all starting a reboot as well…

http://www.witchesview.com/

If you are interested in the internet privacy…check out the link below…

http://donttrack.us/

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Shift Cast #57 Creating Information Products

Posted on March 1, 2012 by yooper

Reboot Update

I started the reboot early…not 27 Feb as previously announced…so when we recorded this I was on day Day 3…which included food (salad, cooked veggies, and soup) along with some juices.

I was sneezing quiet a bit…not sure if that was reboot thing or just an a new allergy…

Rick’s YouTube Channel has a video of my juicing…

http://www.youtube.com/user/JindaiHideo?ob=0&feature=results_main

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr2pGJEHHIQ&context=C3a098c1ADOEgsToPDskJ9y0Tf9jHhR5BJsLwE_UzT

New Business Plan

I am researching creating information products based on some great training I picked up from Dave Navarro (not the rock star)

Dave’s idea is to first create a audience either by yourself by doing amazing things that people love…I’m still working on that…

Or teaming with other amazing people whom already have an audience…and then create products that they really want or need…

The products themselves can be a ton of work to create and launch, but if there is an audience ready to buy them there is a great chance for success.

Dave Navarro offered a very short-fused $20 deal right before he shut his offer down do go work for Naomi Dunford at IttyBiz…so this offer is no longer available…if Dave ever offers this again and I find out about it…I will let you know…cuz it’s awesome.  Dave old site is linked below along with IttyBiz…

http://www.thelaunchcoach.com/

Ittybiz Naomi Dunford

http://ittybiz.com/

Video Capture Software – Free

http://camstudio.org/

I have been wondering what software folks use to create a video captures of a powerpoint presentations or maybe a mindmaps or an outline…and recording the teaches voices talking you through the training…Camstudio works great…and it’s free….

You can also pick up free mind mapping software that makes great video captured training as well…

http://xmind.net/

One can then create a transcript of the video using a transcription service or software. This can then be edited and saved as a PDF as part of the offer…

The audio track can be recorded as a separate file as well, so your audience can listen on the while driving, or on a bike or exercising….

So Rick and I will be brainstorming ideas to partner will others who have an audience but don’t have time to create products…we will also be creating some free products to give away when people sign up for our Consciousness NOW! newsletter…Stay tuned…

This discussion made Rick think of The book below…

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

New Music

We picked out this new music by Charlie Crowe on MusicAlly together…we both loved it. Charlie played with the country Duo Brooks and Dunn in the past…and he ROCKS! :D

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Shift Cast Promo aka Bumper

Posted on February 23, 2012 by yooper

Here’s our latest and greatest (?) promo…please feel free to download and use on your podcast…if you have your own promo…let us know and we will use it our podcast!!! It’s like a circle of FUN! Weeeee!!!

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Shift Cast #56: Empire Building

Posted on February 23, 2012 by yooper

Completed Psychology Program

http://www.phoenix.edu/

This was a Bachelor’s in Science…in case you think I was working on a Master’s program…my last class felt a little bit emotional. I will miss the weekly interactions and mental stimulation that this program brought into my life. Even though I don’t feel drawn toward a career in psychology now…I am already integrating and applying psychological principles to my life to help me grow.

…Like all things in life…there are many things NOT good with psychology…the focus on victimology, pathology, and using drugs sooner rather than later can be included in this NOT GOOD category…

The positive side of psychology is that it helps people and has the potential to help more people with a few fundamental shifts in perspective…To see some example of the GOOD side of psychology check out…

http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

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Massage Therapy School

This started as a HOOT!  I was looking for something fun to do with the rest of my GI Bill benefits…I found out that I could become a certified massage therapist.  Yayoi and I have been getting massages lately after long car trips…they really help ease the stress, fatique, weariness that a long drive brings…

Also, I have been giving Yayoi massages without knowing how for years…so I thought, if nothing else…at least Yayoi will get some really nice FREE massages from me if I learn how…

Now, I am actually excited to start! I am looking forward to learning about anatomy, physiology, and all the therapies included in the program. I looking into the National Holistic Institute…

http://nhi.edu/massage_school/training/core.html

Juice Reboot Update

I am making two juices in the morning, and it takes an hour or more to prepare, juice, and then clean up.  The juicing is violent fun…here’s a video of me “killing” some fruits and veggies…*evil grin*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr2pGJEHHIQ&feature=youtu.be

Choice Overload – Chunking

Rick learned about choice overload playing a game called Battle Nations on his iPod Touch…

When he was first presented with all the choices of all varied troop types, he experienced choice overall.  So, he looked up a how to play the game, he learned which categories of troops mixed together will lead to the most victories…

When you look at a large number of choices…start putting the choices into categories…or chunks…and then you can reduce the number of choices you have in front of you…

Empire building kit

I bought the EBK from Chris Guillebeau from the Art of Non-Conformity…and I have to say I love it!!!  I am not getting PAID anything by Chris for saying any of this….

The EBK is a kit to take you from wherever you are…working in a job that pays the bills, but you don’t love…or you love what you do, but you want to strike out on your own, so you own the dream you are creating…

The kit includes

- 365 daily emails automated to ship in order
- Video interviews and transcripts
- PDF case studies
- Specific training videos
- Webinar(s)
- (Product) Launch Checklist

I am impressed with Chris’s ability to create value from very simple uses of technology…he is not really worried about making everything perfect…The interviews were recorded as skype calls…sometimes the sound drops out, or the video is really bad quality because of the vagaries of the internet connection that Chris happened to be using from the road…none of that matters…the point is that information is valuable to me and if something was missed…he catches up…then there are always the transcripts and summaries in the emails as well.

This is a great example of busting the thought that every product you create MUST be polished and perfect to be valuable…nope…I think it’s better this way, because it teaches that I don’t need a team of slaves to create valuable information products…I can work from anywhere and get loads done with what I have right now…

If this sounds cool to you check out the link below…

http://unconventionalguides.com/ebk.htm

We also referred to this podcast about branding…

http://publicspeaker.quickanddirtytips.com/How-To-Boost-your-Brand-At-Work.aspx

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Shift Cast #55, Juice Reboot Preparations

Posted on February 16, 2012 by yooper

I am in prep mode for my upcoming juice reboot…this is another progress report.

Quit Chewing Tobacco

On Superbowl Sunday, I picked some nicorette gum to help me quit chewing tobacco.  This is working quite well.  I started chewing the gum like regular gum and started coughing and choking! Turns out, one has to chew nicorette gum slowly…who knew???

The withdrawal symptoms include a little bit of anxiety, headaches, and several energy lulls…

The first few days I chewed loads of this gum…I am slowing tapering down to fewer pieces each day.

My juicer is here!!

This recipe was the 2nd juice I made after juicing two apples just to play around with it…

V28

3 large Red Beets

2 medium Carrots

2 stalks Celery

4 Plum Tomatoes

4 cups Parsley, leaves and stems, roughly chopped and packed into the measuring cup

1 Jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed

12 Red Radishes

I skipped the jalapeno…this is a very savory and tasty juice for afternoon drinking…next time I will get the jalapeno!! :D

I was surprised how violent the juicer is…it is a lot of fun to play evil plant killing doctor…mu-who-ha-ha…die apple!!!! ;-)

Cleaning up the juicer takes time, so I  plan to make at least two juices at once. Preparation takes time as well…washing the fruits and veggies…cutting and peeling…if you try this…plan for about an hour or more to prepare, destroy, and clean up after making two juices.

This recipe is from the site site Reboot Your Life…

http://www.jointhereboot.com/index.php?lang=en

Doctor check up

I went to see my doctor this week for a checkup to make sure there were no issues that would prevent me from proceeding with my juice reboot plan…I still have to wait for the blood work results, but I got a green light from the doc!!

Benefits so far

My mental clarity is improved quite a bit during the day and even into the evening which is awesome. If I get a headache or a lull, I lay down for about 30 minutes and that seems to do perk me up quite well…

I have been eating small meals along with my juices and have noticed that I don’t get the “food coma” after eating when I do this. So it seems that how much you eat can be just as important as what you eat…if I cheat a little bit…I try to minimize the amount of sinful food…like sugar, meat, and dairy…

Also, I have found truth in the idea of eating raw food first during a big meal…make the salad with beans and loads of raw veggies the main course…this will fill me up with the good stuff…then if I want to have a little soup, bread, meat…whatever…I won’t tend to pig out because I already feel full from the salad.

I sleep better…My nicotine habit had me waking up for a dose and then sleeping some more. The first morning I got up and had the nicorette gum…but after that I just stayed in bed and eventually fell back to sleep…this nicotine habit has a metric butt ton of triggers attached to it, so it will be around for a while…

My energy level is improved as well…aside from the lull periods or headaches…I feel great! Part of that is noticing the absence of the food coma from large meals, but the juice/veg diet also just brings a cleaner overall psychical feeling of well being.

Eat to Live

Dr Joel Fuhrman developed this program that I will try after my reboot…

http://www.drfuhrman.com/

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THANKS! to Kevin MacLeod for the Music : AcidJazz (Kevin MacLeod) / CC BY 3.0

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