Finding yourself

A while ago, back in 2003, I was going through some tough times... problems with my ex girlfriend, got laid off from my job and just not happy with the direction my life was going. I decided through all of my camping and hiking equipment hoped into my 4x4 and drove across America.
I decided that in order to find myself.. I needed to be by myself with no one to escape to. If you are with someone.. you would tend to escape yourself through that other person... so I figured I needed to corner myself and confront myself and see what I had to say about myself.
A couple of things I started to do. I asked myself some honest questions. I started from a clean slate and decided that when I get back I would begin life again, sort of a reborn era of Danny. I had to find solitude, away from humans, media, noise and be there in the rawness of nature. That is where you can find yourself, at least myself. There is no hiding from yourself.... you are who you are and that is it. You decide what direction you should take from this point. You have the will power and choice to do what you want to do and where you want to go and only you have that responsibility. No one else will do it for you. You live your life and no one else. It matters to you and no one else. You make that choice. Forget what others thinks about you.. what matter is what you think about yourself. No one knows you better then yourself. You can't satisfies everyone. "He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away." - Raymond Hull


A friend of mine told me the following quote... which I love:
God doesn't give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED. To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.

• Love many, but trust few; always paddle your own canoe.
• You're never as bad or as good as people say.
• Resist the urge to feel like you're the only one going through this:

  All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naive. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: that I am nobody but myself. ~ Ralph Ellison, "Invisible Man"

• Be yourself and make sure no one influences who you are. It will make finding yourself even harder since people are influencing who you think you are.
• Don't be afraid to sleep on it. There's no hurry in making decisions, and you'll be more likely to make good ones if your mind is calm and rested.
• Be forgiving and learn to let go

Take care

Everything Changes

Today's wisdom card tells me:
Everything Changes.
Everything changes..... your body, mind and relationships all change.
When you realize this fact, you can discard useless attachments, and become genuinely humble about everything in life.

Just like the river flows, so those changes in your life.... it is never the same for good or bad but once you accept that this is just the fact of life.. reality become more bearable and will begin to enjoy life more. Things happen for a reason, no one knows why but they show us where to go and what to do.

Acceptance of change will bring inner peace if you let go and just like a river, go with the flow....

Fiery Red, Native Indian Wisdoms

Red in Darkness

As you may know or not know, Monday was a day of hell at work, not so much the people or the work but just the hassle of the production issue we had and that I had to deal with. It is a long story, but to make it brief it was a very frustrating day for me yesterday. I got home, did some work on the computer as usual. I was so involved what I was doing that I completely forgot to watch Heros.
I wanted to paint what I was feeling and my sister mentioned the color red and that hit the spot. That is how I felt.. trapped in Red in darkness, hence the painting above.

Now this brings me to another thought or inspiration that we tend to forget. The native indians had so much wisdom and their rituals actually meant something. All of their ritual were tied to mother earth or your soul and spirits.

I found this somewhere on the internet

Love and the cycle of life were sacred matters to the Native American. Knowledge about his world was passed to an Indian child by his parents and tribal elders, but his true wisdom came from visions, dreams and the whispers he heard from every living thing and element with which he came in contact during his life. His heart and ear were always listening for the soft voice of the wind in the pine, the mournful song of the coyote or the gentle laughter that danced on the ripples in the brook. He heard words in the soft breathing of his newborn child, the stirrings of his sleeping wife, and the wrinkles in the faces of his grandparents. Everything spoke to him and he held great respect for all life. Here are a few of my favorite words of wisdom and love.

I know that I have been blogging more on philosophy and inspiration, but isn't that an adventure in itself? Are we not in an adventure in finding ourselves?
I promise I will be blogging more on my future adventure, training, coaching..and some interesting certification that I am planning to acquire.

Take care
Shine bright lights!!
Danny

I have an eye on you.

Noting that the eyes have long been described as mirrors of the soul, it is one aspect of a person that most people tend to shy away from. It is, no punt intended, overlooked in a person.

When you truly know someone, it is the eyes that tells you volumes about that person. More then words can tell. It is the first thing that I notice in a person.

(the eye is actually my cousin's Bibiana's eye, that I took awhile ago)

This brings me to today's Wisdom card:

Use Life:
You can never know how life began or from where it originated. But you have the right and responsibility to choose how you will use this life and what purpose you will use it for.

"Let your light shine"
Danny

Dreams and Wisdom

Today wisdom card tells me:
You are what you choose: Never forget that you have the power to choose anything. Recover that power then nothing in this world can torment you. all you have to do is live according to your choices. You are what you choose.





This is a drawing I made awhile ago. One of the strangest thing I dream about these red ape like being that are so menacing that they can eat brick from the building. I woke up one day and went out and saw hundreds of these apes like creation eating all the building. They were red in color. I don't know what it means, but I also did not feel any emotions about it. It was one of most interesting dreams I have had.

What is your strangest dreams?

Don't be Trapped in the body

Today my wisdom cards says
Don't be trapped in the body: You are trapped in your body when you are ignorant of the soul.
Your body becomes a tool fo infinite creation only when you become aware of the existence of the soul.

Oil on Canvas - 1990

First Dahn Yoga

I had my first intro class to Dahn yoga. I found it very interesting. I naturally felt the same philosophy of what was taught already in my mind. I was told I am a lot more intuitive then she thought. I am at a much higher level then she thought also. Which gave me hope. We went through several exercises and I am more flexible then she also thought. At one point, I was laying down with two vibrating ball in each hand outward and a warm blanket on the center of my stomach. After several forms laying this way... I started to mediate more on my body and had a heaviness but lightness feeling to my body. As she checked my energy from my mid section, there was a long moment that I felt like my body was floating. I almost jerked to prevent from falling, but realized that I was still laying on the floor. I had to consciously tell myself I am not really floating but on the floor. It was an interesting experience.
The instructor definitely told me that she has not seen someone experience this right away... that I have the mind and the core, but my mind is not connecting to my body. There is tension on my right shoulder and I have a lot of deep emotional pain... that needs to be released.

There is so much energy I felt after leaving... I think this is a good think... so I signed up for 3 month and see what happens....

Finding purpose

Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.
Roosevelt, Eleanor


Yes, today, I am straying away from my usual blog entries of adventures, workout... fitness and moving on to more spiritual and philosophy. It has been some time I made an entries about this topic.
The quote above I love, just read and think about it. Concentrate on each word. Don't just read the words, but understand what it is trying to tell you. Without me realizing it, I give joy to others that I never realized that I do. It is nothing big, but it tends to mean a lot to the person I am giving it. Maybe it is a just a simple smile, or a thought, or a word that brings joy to their heart. I think at a soul level we are looking for some sort of happiness and a need to connect with other. As soulful human we tend to feel the need to belong to something big, bigger then all of us. There is a need of all of us to be accepted without judgement. As human we do anything we can, right or wrong to achieve happiness or acceptance. As I look at the world, I feel pesstimistic but as I look at individual humans I feel optimistic.
There is so much we can give to each other... words of support, words of encouragement, a small token of appreciation, but there is one valuable gift that we can all give and it is the only gift that is consider to be a nonrenewable resource, it is precious. What is it? Its time. Give time to others, giving the gift of interest and your time to them is one of the greatest gift you can give.

What greater way of expressing love, than by devoting time to those we care about and those in need? Walt Whitman, the poet, expressed it this way, "Behold, I do not give lectures or a little charity. When I give, I give myself." When we give to our friends, we draw them closer. When we give to our enemies, we change them into friends.

As a mentor to runners, this is the creed that I follow by.... Give my time is valuable. To me time is an important assets. Giving a choice between money or time, I would choose time. Why, because Life is made out of moments of time that if you bond them together creates experience. Life is bits and pieces of moments of time. It is who you are. You are based on your past and present.

As the holiday approaches, don't be overwhelmed by the commericialism, just focus on the true meaning of christmas and accept, love and embrace your friends and family without judgement.

that is it for me now

Words to live by....

I found this in one of favorite blog at http://trailgirl.blogspot.com/

Ths are truly words to lve by and exactly how feel:

Thanks Catra for those beautiful words


Compassion....Feel the pain of others. Understand their struggles and disappointments, their hardships and inadequacies, and open your heart to them. Realize that everyone is doing the best they possibly can. Judge no one. But rather, cradle all of humanity in your heart

Realizing your capabilities is only the begining

No, I was not angry in this photo.... hahaha, I took it myself with my Treo Phone, just because I dont have any recent pic of myself.
Anyway, the point of this entry is that each of us have so much pontenial then we actually realize. In this society, we are held back to really no what we are made off. Everything is just spoon fed to us. Everything comes easy for us. No one in todays society does not know what real suffering is. This goes on in the same line of my last entry about living life simply.
Have you not felt the yearn to be back in nature? Only those who have experience the real outdoor and have spend sometime in the wilderness will know what I am talking about.
Once you experience this, then you will start to feel the pull of nature and the outdoor. To be disconnected is such a liberating feeling.
That is why, after I save and buy my own house, I am planning to buy some land somewhere in Colorado, Montana or Alaska and start building my own cabin with my own hands.

This entry is just my own random rants....

Just being simple

Me (Danny) at the Grand Canyon hike 2006

Ever since I watched the show "Experiment Alaska" and the more I spend time hiking, camping and just being more outdoor with nature, the more the outdoor calls me back. Lately, I have been having such a craving to go totally basic and primal. What I mean about that is living life down to the simple basics. Spending time disconnected with society and living your life, where you have to be self sustained. Hunt, fish for your food, cut your wood for fire, find water, fix or adapt your shelter, being either a cabin or tent. You work to live. At the end of the day you will have something to show for. If you caught fish, it is you that did that. In today's society we have lost touch with ourselves and are so connected that we have forgotten how to live our lives.

The craving of going back to nature for an extend period of time is eating at me. It feels like a pain on my side I can't get rid off. I have never felt this intense desire to be out there and being disconnected with the world. Living life in a very simple way. What are you capable of? Can you survive out there in the wild? Everything we have today is basically given to us. We live our life simply but yet complicated.

If I don't get into Experiment Alaska show, I can guarantee you that I will, in 2010, either take a 6 month leave, or quite my job and do the thru hike on the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). A 2,650 mile hike that should take me about 5 1/2 month to do. A hike from the Mexican border and California, through the Navajo dessert, through the sierra, into Oregon and into Washington into the Canadian border.

I have been in outings on my own where I come back to civilization and the tremendous amount of sensory is so great, I feel overwhelmed. It is huge sensory overload, the people, flashing light....etc It is such an interesting sensation when you come back from the basics.

Just thinking about our lives here.....

I would be interested to see what other people think about this.... or am I the only one feeling this one?

Experiment Alaska??? What is it

I have mentioned before about this show called "Experiment Alaska" by the Discovery Channel

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/alaska/alaska-week.html

A good friend of mine, Tina, one day called me up and said "Hey you could to audition for this" I have only seen half of one show and was interested, but never seen the whole season 1. I went to the audition, filled out an application and sat in front of the video camera for about 3 minutes.

Basically, this show makes survival look like kids games. This is the real deal, there are no contest, competition or any drama power plays. You get dropped off somewhere in near the Gulf of Alaska in September and have to navigate yourself through the terrain to find you cabin, shack or whatever they give you. There are 4 teams of 3 or for people. Each team are in different locations. You have to survive 3 month in the harsh environment of Alaska. You are only given the basic necessities, a gun and whatever else you need to survive.

You have almost 2 weeks to capture as much salmon as you can before the salmon run ends and your in competition with the bears. Then you can "Can" the salmon and have food for the remaining months. If you fail catching enough salmon then your are pretty much in trouble. Without any protein in your diet, you will lose all your energy and it will become very difficult to function.

You are also given 2 opportunties to hunt and are given a rifle to hunt, one for Goats and two for Moose.

I finished watching the first season and I abosuletly thrilled. This is what I want to do. This is my type of show. I would pay to be on this show.

I have emailed the producer and she has indicated that my Energy stood out and that she crossing her fingers. I should hear something soon. Wish me luck!!

Go with the flow

Picture taken in Sequoias NP

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” - Lao-Tzu

This is so true. Sometime life throws you curve balls, obstacles and burdens and one must find the path with the least resistance. There is always a way around it. There is no reason to be anger or frustrated by these blocks. We can not change things that we have no control in. If we let them get to us then it is going to frustrated us. We must learn to 'Go With the Flow". If it's God's will then let it be and find another way. We have options and one options is not to be anger or frustrated with what life presents us with. Just smile, breathe and proceed.

Roll with the punches that life gives you. Go with the flow and don't mold life the way YOU want it to be.

Just think about these words, they are so powerful in meaning and be a source of achieving some peace of mind "GO WITH THE FLOW"

Happy days are ahead of us!!

Emotional - EQ

Emotions, I believe is the essence of who we are in a deep way. Our emotions can not be denied or escape. It becomes truly who we are. Emotions are what drives us into different direction and help us make decisions.
Being aware and understanding our own emotion is what gives us Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Some people are just born with a high EQ and other has to learn it. Sometimes it could all be related to our own soul (Old vs New, previous blog). Most Old Souls have a high EQ. Understanding and learning from your emotions can provide you with much personal growth and understand of the world around you. We are all emotional being, and learning how to express it and deal with it is what I believe is all about personal growth.
I sometime think that failed marriages or relationship is due to incompatibility of EQ. When you are out of balance in this area it creates a mis-understanding of each other which creates resentment.
As emotional being we need but are not confined to, a desire for love, intimacy, affection, kindness, acceptance, respect, dependability, autonomy, emotional support and empathy.

EQ offers tremendous practical application in all major part of our lives. A touch of EQ at the right time can mean the difference between conflict and cooperation, understanding and disagreement, closeness and distance, love and hate, violence and non-violence, and ultimately, war and peace.

Dreams can come true

I think and have to believe that dreams can come true if you pursue them. Don't just sit there, do something about it. It all starts with you. You know you have the power to do so much. No on will do it for you. You have to do it for yourself. Find the courage to do what is in your heart and what you dream off. It doesn't matter if it is someone you are pursuing or a job you are after. It all just starts with you. I don't think there is nothing that you can not do.

You are more capable of doing what you set out to.

Grab Life

I have been doing a bit of thinking about life. My purpose of this blog entry is to motivate you to take action on creating the life you want. I myself need to do this. If you are dissatisfied with some part of your life, know that you have the power to change it and it all start with your thoughts.

It is an undeniable fact that how you think and what you think about determines the shape and quality of your life.

Can your thinking prevent tragedy and challenges from touching your life? No. We all experience our share of hardship and misfortune. Life is not always easy, but it is wondrous and beautiful all the same.

I know you can eliminate bad things in your life, what can thought do to help in difficult situations? By controlling your thought you can determine how those incidents affect your life. Choose to find the good, find the lessons and you will shape a more positive life for yourself. Remember it is how think about it that counts and determines how you will feel.

So what should you do about all this.

1. when you get up in the morning, and before you get up from bed. Mediate about your life. Think about how positive you will be today. Think about how great it is to breath life in and out. Make sure you get up with some positive thought about yourself.

2. Daydream. Yes, I love doing this. Day dream about your plans for the future. Think about the area in your life which you want to change. Day dream about where you want to go or achieve. This is the first step.

3. Write down your dream down. This put forth a more concret declaration of what you want to achive. You now have it on paper. Don't worry about if it is possible. Assume that anything is possible.

4. Action, what will it take for your dreams to come true. Break it down to monthly, daily goals and weekly goals. How will you get there?

5. Find someone who has done what you want to do or achieve what you want to achieve. Seek advice. How did they handle the challenge? What kind of sacrifices did it take. Remember, life is full of risk and you only have one life to live and with no regrets. If this person suceeded, why can't you.

6. Remind yourself the goal you have set. Put up post it to remind you . Send yourself emails to remind you.

7. What I do is be thankful everyday. Before you wake up, take a bit of time each morning to really appreciate what you currently have in your life that is good.

8. Believe. Believing in the power of your thoughts. If you can think it you can achieve it. It is all up to you. Don't let anyone get in your way of achieving what you set out to.

Most important, take action towards your goal. It only takes small steps that will add up to your achievement. You are all capable of more then you think you can.

Sense of Adventure

How do you define adventure? I believe one sense of adventure is unique. It could be anything from biking across America or Iowa. Hot ballooning above Africa and watching the Lions.

Do you want to push the envelope of your comfort zone and see what you are made off? The kind of adventure where you push your mind and body.
Adventurous trips are those travels that change you, enchant you and ensure memories for a lifetime. Some travelers go for the physical thrills and the opportunities that stretch a body's physical capabilities to the utmost degree. Other travelers would rather use their minds, eyes, hearing and cameras to enhance their experiences.

Take this time and make a list of your Life's Adventures. Where do you want to go and do. Don't limit yourself, ever. You are capable of doing it more then you think you can. You be would surprised at yourself.

Old Soul

Don't really know why I am comtemplating on this today. Years ago, I went to a famous physic here in Chicago, who has appeared in Radio and TV and used to work with the Police Department in recovery bodies. She once told me that I have an old soul. I am not young as far as my soul is consider. Sometimes, this is one reason why I find myself not connecting to anyone that I meet for a mate. I would be attractive to them, but would not connect at any other level. This is my best quess as to why.
What is an old soul and what is this hocus pocus I am talking about.
There are a number of factors to take into consideration when calling one an old soul.
First of all it has nothing to do with ones age in this incarnation.
For example, a four year old child may be an old soul, yet an eighty year old person may be a young soul.
One thing for sure is that an old soul seems to have had many reincarnations on Earth or other places for that matter.
But most important they have brought with them a sense of spiritual wisdom through the learning processes of previous incarnations.
Old souls are also people of strong emotional stability.

The key signs of an old soul
· Giving and caring often putting others first
· Had a difficult romantic life often with much pain and disappointment
· More than likely had a soulmate relationship
· Things just seem to happen to you and around you, often becoming very dramatic through the seemingly extreme reactions of others
· Events repeat themselves
· Have trouble connecting with your family
· Somehow know you're different
· Have some psychic intuition and 'just knowing' things
· Find that you have deeper emotions and passions than most people
· People have extreme reactions to you - some just adore you and some seem to really dislike you yet you behave the same to everyone
· Have an inner creative passion
· Suffer lots of jealousy· Often perceived wrongly
· Feel your don't have much free will, like your life is being controlled by some outside force· Often feel 'stuck' like events just keep on happening to you time after time

Soul AgeThe terms 'old soul' and 'young soul' aren't just descriptions of personality types but do give us a meaningful clue to why we find ourselves in this life cycle…The journey of the soul through many lives is one of growth and learning from the earliest manifestation of that soul in human form - where it's focused on material things, power, ego and the "now", eventually through to the higher levels of compassion, truth, destiny, caring and fairness in later lives as old souls.

I often find myself in search of soul fullfillment, but my thrist for this type of fullfillment never gets satisfied.
I will have more later as I develop my thought more

Regret

I have made it a rule of my life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy... you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in. --Katherine Mansfield

This is great. One of lifes pleasure is to enjoy life without experiencing regret. Do you want to be 80 years old and wonder what if? What if I took that turn? What if I made that decision? I look back in life and sometimes find myself wondering. I have to stop that and say, NO, not today! No Regrets. The decisions you made in the past might not have been the right ones, but those decision you made have made that person who you are today. Be proud of who you are. The experience you have made is what makes you the type of person you are.

Life is so short that you live your life in fear, you would not have lived your life to the fullest. Live life without regret. Take that chance.

What is Regret, it is a sense of loss, disappointment and disatisfaction with ones self or the desision one made. This notion can become very unhealthy and create a very negative enviroment.

I found this great article in Askmen.com Here are 6 ways to avoid regret.

1- Think things throughList the pros and cons when making a decision. This will minimize the risk of potential regrets. Sleep on it and you may find that a decision comes easier after some time has passed. It is true that some things are out of your control, but if you don't plan, you may be setting yourself up for negative consequences.If you move across the country on a whim, you may have serious regrets if you discover a zero vacancy rate, a flat job market and an exceptionally high cost of living. Weighing the positive and negative aspects of any decision won't always protect you from mistakes or adverse circumstances, but taking the time to do an assessment and formulate a plan can help shield you from potential regrets.

2- Be decisive Once you have made a decision, let it go. Be confident and banish self-doubt. If you decide to buy property or stocks, do your research, make an informed decision and live with it. An unexpected drop in the market may be a disappointing temporary setback, but don't let it discourage you too much. "Hindsight is always 20/20." (Billy Wilder)

3- Accept eventsAccept reality. Life is a series of events that unfold before you. Some are good and some are bad, but you must experience the bitter to enjoy the sweet. Woody Allen said: "My one regret in life is that I am not someone else." I hope he wasn't serious. Nevertheless, we all need to recognize things we cannot change and learn to expect and accept the consequences of our actions.For instance, if you were passed over for a promotion or were dumped by your dream girl, accept it. Try to figure out what you could have done differently and then move on. It is really easy to look back and see what you ought to have done, but don't let it become an unhealthy habit. Let go of feelings of regret.Take action and lose the loser attitude

4- Take actionAssess any regrets you have and rectify what you can. If you feel you didn't travel enough while in college, plan a trip now. If you're married, modify your dream trip and bring your wife along. Even if it's not the backpacking tour you wish you had taken after graduation, a trip to Europe as a couple could be an even better substitute.Have you lost track of old friends? The Internet has opened up great opportunities to find lost friends, no matter how long it has been since you've seen them. If something is important to you, don't get stressed over it -- take action.

5- Be positiveChange your outlook. Understand that if you are happy now, it's probably because you have experienced certain things. You are the result of your past experiences and your positive acceptance of them. It is always difficult to be positive in the face of tragedy but, when a friend or relative dies, try to focus on the good memories rather than regretting things you did not have a chance to say or to do together.It's good to grieve but try to be positive, not regretful, in your attitude about life.

6- Lose the loser attitudeDrop the "would have, should have, could have" mentality. We would all be healthier if we could train ourselves to eliminate the words "I should have" from our vocabulary, because they almost always carry feelings of guilt. Avoid mental stress by getting rid of any defeatist attitude.If you missed a deadline at work, accept the consequences and take corrective action. Prepare a timeline for your next project and you will be a winner, not a loser. Maybe you "should have" done that last time. Forget about it. It's over. Move ahead. "Don't let yesterday use up too much of today." (Will Rogers)

don't worry, be happy Everything that has happened to you in the past has happened for a reason. It's good to learn from history so that it doesn't repeat itself, but don't dwell on it. Focus on the present and the future. Worry only about things over which you have direct control.Enjoy life and live every day to the fullest. As Mark Twain said, "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do... Explore. Dream. Discover." For the good of your body and mind, don't live with regret.

http://www.askmen.com/fashion/body_and_mind_60/82_better_living.html

Expectations

Message of the day:

Never expect people to act the way you want them to. You will set yourself up for major disappointment.