Summer break is only a few weeks old and already our family has been busy. We made a goal for ourselves to get out every weekend and have experiences that were fun and incorporated fitness.
The kids built a tent on our deck and have been living in it. Every day is for camping at our house. They’re happy and the energy is great! We’ll see how long we can keep the tent set up and the fun going.
I did two different masterclasses from Mindvalley this week. Both were well done and worth the time.
MINDVALLEY MASTERCLASS: 6 KEYS TO CONTINUOUS GROWTH: VISHEN LAKHIANI
Vishen quotes six of the foremost thinkers in the personal development world during this class, and highlights their biggest message for the students taking the course. All pertaining to the pursuit and importance of continually growing, learning and expanding in life. Dr. Srikumar Roa reminds us that personal growth should be our number one priority in life. Dave Asprey, Bo Eason, Steven Kotler and more all deliver guidance to help us achieve exceptional lives.
After the course I felt motivated, supported in my decision to carry on growing and learning, and inspired by the knowledge that I’m going to grow and evolve in ways I can’t even imagine for myself. The expansion awaiting my mind, and my life is beyond exciting.
The course is worth your time if you can find it still being offered.
MINDVALLEY MASTERCLASS: MICHAEL BECKWITH: LIFE VISIONING
This course spoke about the elevation and evolution of spirit and spirituality. About escaping the confines of thinking and believing that we exist in, in the lower levels of evolution. And how to broaden our acceptance of spirit and our usefulness for spirit in life to rise up and grow into more evolved spiritual beings.
He hinted briefly at this Life Visioning course being offered through Mindvalley. However I find their paid courses to be cost prohibitive and instead bought Michael Beckwith’s book, “Life Visioning” on Amazon.com. Once I read it I’ll report back.
The course was insightful and inspirational enough to get me to buy the book. I hope that some day the paid Mindvalley courses come down from the world of ridiculously expensive to the realm of affordable for normal people who can’t blow $500 or more on a course on personal development.
AB WORKOUT APP – 4 WEEK PROGRAM
I found an ab workout app that’s four weeks long. You do the workouts seven days a week. I’ve had a laser focus on my abs ever since I started working out because they’re one of my least favorite parts of my body. The app looked well done, was free (with ads) and had good reviews.
I downloaded the app to my tablet and it changed the lock screen into advertisements. Meaning any time I picked up my tablet there were ads for google, the app and other things. That felt very invasive to me. No app should feel entitled to change my lock screen to an advertisement and so have deleted the app for the time being.
I may download it again when I’m ready to start the workouts, and then I’ll report back on any results I find. I’m not going to list the name of the app here yet, however, because the ads were intrusive and unexpected and I can’t vouch for any results that are being offered yet.
I’m hoping the workouts give me great results, however. Enough to overshadow the annoyance of the ads.
BOOKS BOUGHT
I started a regular daily meditation practice. I took a box of index cards, and on each card I wrote down a different style or technique for meditation. That way when it’s my mediation time I’m not fumbling around trying to decide how I’m going to meditate. I can flip through a few cards and decide.
I bought the “Meditation for Dummies: Mini Edition” on Amazon.com for $1 so that I could brain storm different meditation techniques. It’s a good little book if you’re looking for Meditation 101. Well worth the dollar.
The next book I bought was “Mini Habits, Bigger Results” by Stephen Guise. I keep coming across these systems for habit forming that have the same underlying theme – baby steps.
“The 1% Rule” by Tommy Baker suggests we push toward our goals by 1% every day. Jon Butcher tells us to define our goals based on life categories and push toward them every day in small ways. Now the same philosophy from Stephen Guise. If it’s working for all of these people, who are living exceptional lives, then it’s likely to work for me as well.
In fact I’ve started a few mini habits of my own on a daily basis. My goals include: one yoga pose a day, read 2 pages a day, look at my ‘to do’ list every day, and meditate for two minutes every day. These are stupid simple goals that sets the bar so low that my brain doesn’t dissuade me from reaching them. And by the time I’ve done one yoga pose, my mat is already out and I’m doing more. By the time I read 2 pages, my mind in locked into a new concept and I’m reading a whole chapter. By the time I’ve meditated for 2 minutes, I’m already in my space and alone and take time to do more.
I already mentioned Michael Beckwith earlier along with the Masterclass. I plan on reading his book after I finish the mini habits, and will report back on anything I learn I feel is of use to others.
SUMMER SCHEDULE – NON-NEGOTIABLE TIME BLOCKS
My family and I are adjusting to being on the summer schedule from school. Having the kids home every day, and trying to schedule activities for everyone takes a lot of time. I’ve decided it’s important to make non-negotiable time blocks for myself so that I include the things in my days that will push me forward to personal, spiritual and professional evolution.
On my daily schedule I have NON-NEGOTIABLE blocks of time set aside for work on Vital Living, for meditation, for fitness (my fasting cardio and workouts in the morning especially), and for learning. Learning includes masterclasses, books that I’m reading, and sometimes just quiet space to sit and think about where I’m going and what I’m doing.
RAISING OUR FAMILY’S VIBRATION
A man started a school in Michigan, and it very quickly become reknowned for producing children who were gifted and exceptional. When asked the key to his success, he said it wasn’t due to curriculum, or the caliber of his teachers or students. He said the key to their success was the philosophy at his school of taking care of “containers.” He explained that when two people communicate, there is a space between them that holds the energy of their conversation. A container. At his school, whether it was communication between student-and-teacher or teacher-to-teacher, they emphasized putting only healthy energy into their containers.
Imagine if it was universally true that everyone spent time and attention to the energy they put into their communication, and worked to keep it healthy.
By healthy I imagine it being kind, accepting, patient and thoughtful. So I’ve explained the concept of containers to my kids, and it’s something we’re working to be mindful of.
They used to fight with each other, and weren’t always very nice. In fact there are times when my kids are downright mean to each other. So we’re putting our time and attention this summer on being cognizant of our containers and learning how to keep their energy healthy.
I’ve seen big changes already, enough to keep the experiment going. In fact it’s me more than them that needs the reminders to keep the container’s energy healthy. With four kids I can get snappy by the end of the day.
I’m grateful for the opportunity for my family to grow together in these ways. I look forward to finding other ways we can grow and evolve together as well.
LOOKING FORWARD
I did two more Mindvalley masterclasses this past week. I need to slow down on my enrollments. They take a big chunk of time on the days when I do them that’s a struggle to accomodate. Fortunately my older kids help take care of the younger ones during that time.
I’m coming to the end of my Body Reset Program through The Fatloss Manifesto. I haven’t lost a lot of pounds, but I’ve lost a lot of inches and am enjoying the results. I’ll talk more about that next week.
There’s more fun and fitness coming down the Vital Living pipe, so stay tuned for more next week as well.
As always, thank you for the time you spend with us. We know how important it is and work to deliver you insight, value, information and things to consider that are tested, tried and true by us.
Becky
xoxox
Vital Living Life 