tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13559989855416177382024-03-08T04:44:30.579-08:00idiot-proofing by idiots!my 21-day chi habits logsolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-89623513982219555452011-01-11T22:49:00.000-08:002011-01-11T22:49:17.564-08:00Some things to remember...From Ed's Book, "The Way of the Wellness Warrior"<br />
<br />
These exercises are simple and can be done anywhere to <br />
Gain the wisdom from knowing oneself and the nature of <br />
forces that prevents one from attaining one’s goals; <br />
Learn techniques from taichi to overcome problems that <br />
hinder us from winning in our daily life battles. <br />
<br />
A. Think in terms of martial games – <br />
1) 21-Day war <br />
2) Daily battles <br />
3) Enemy identification <br />
4) Strength and weaknesses of enemy and your forces <br />
5) Opportunities and threats <br />
6) Strategy & counter strategy <br />
7) Winning finally, losing and learning <br />
8) Training <br />
9) Resources <br />
10) Timing <br />
<br />
B. Identify situations, conditions, events that would stop <br />
you from fulfilling your commitment goals. For example: <br />
1) Woke up too late <br />
2) Too tired to do anything before sleeping <br />
3) Mind too preoccupied with problems and concerns <br />
at work or at home <br />
4) Not in the mood to do this project <br />
<br />
C. Reframe the situation as a martial game and play it to <br />
win and/or to learn event: <br />
1) Each commitment period which you have to fulfil <br />
for compliance is a battle of engagement if you <br />
encounter a resistance; <br />
2) The enemy is the force you have to contend with <br />
and neutralize; Recognize and acknowledge the <br />
enemy to be within you; <br />
3) You lose if unable to fulfil compliance of your <br />
commitment. <br />
<br />
D. How to Score the Game: Winning, Losing & Learning <br />
1) You win because there is practically no resistance, <br />
there is little or no learning here; (1 pt) <br />
2) You win despite of an overwhelming resistance. You <br />
could have lost, but eventually you won only after a <br />
long or difficult maneuvering. There is great <br />
learning and experience here; (3 pts) <br />
3) You lose, but the loss may be investment or not: <br />
4) It is total loss if you did not learn from it and may <br />
have even lost your fighting spirit; (-1 pt) <br />
5) It is an investment if you understood why you lost <br />
and had gained wisdom from your struggle against <br />
an overwhelming force. This is better than winning <br />
without learning. Your spirit is high as you are more <br />
ready for future battles.(2 pts) <br />
To win the war you must be able to gain at least 21pts <br />
in 21 days. <br />
<br />
Learn and use, taichi concepts to win. <br />
<br />
<b>TIME COMMITMENT AS GOALS: </b><br />
When to do: <br />
While this can be done at numerous times in a day, it is best to <br />
make the Journaling as well as Taichi Thinking commitment at <br />
specific periods such as <br />
1) Upon awakening or better even before rising, put your <br />
intention on how best to go through the day <br />
2) Before going to sleep would be the best time to organize <br />
your notes and put them down on your Chi Journal. <br />
3) During work breaks <br />
4) You can do reflection and short notes while: <br />
5) Commuting or while driving through heavy traffic <br />
6) While doing Chi Stances <br />
7) For how long each time: <br />
8) Just set a minimum like 30 minutes for actual writing, which <br />
you can divide up to 3 period of 10 minutes at different <br />
parts of the day. It is helpful to do the last part of the<br />
writing before you sleep to give a closure to your day <br />
activities as this would also help you sleep better. <br />
9) For the reflection and jotting down random notes, this can <br />
be as little as 1 minute to as long as you like as when <br />
commuting long distances.solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-35771960530806138472011-01-05T09:36:00.000-08:002011-01-05T09:36:11.036-08:00In the mood for sleep...Beware Mountain Dew!!!<br />
<br />
I had mountain dew two nights ago because I figured I havent had it for, like, 20 years, and I'd like to ehem, reconnect :) turns out it was loaded with caffeine, more than coffee or even coke, and it left me awake all night, not a tiny bit of sleep! <br />
<br />
I had a really busy morning, which left me all too sleepy after lunch, and I caught a really tiny 45-minute nap, from which my sweet DS9 woke me. Thankfully, that is, because I had to catch a 2 PM meeting, which turned out to be equally sleep-inducing, because I was on teleconferencing, and they were discussing minutae of foliage for the upcoming anniversary. Foliage! good grief! Thankfully I was awake in time for my report, a whole five minutes of it, and maybe five minutes thereafter, of the 2 hour meeting... Nonetheless it was a good show, but believe me when I say that I have no wish to discuss foliage after a day and a half of no sleep.<br />
<br />
Which just shows that my age is showing. I used to be able to discuss almost anything after three days of no sleep!<br />
<br />
Anyway... how goes my Chi Habits?<br />
<br />
I've decided that I will call myself determined. That's my new middle name. Lazy doesnt cut it anymore. I'm determined and I'm doing this!<br />
<br />
But it does take a lot of getting used to. My body is getting spoiled with all the water that I'm drinking, hehe, and all my trips to the bathroom. Thankfully I'm mostly home-based or office-based but when I'm out of my usual haunts it really is somewhat difficult. My standards for toilet cleanliness has matured once I've started cleaning my own bathroom, and I cant stand wet, icky toilets!<br />
<br />
Anyway, my new bag, that DH has chosen for me, has a nice compartment for umbrellas and a nice compartment for a water bottle :) I was wondering what that compartment was for until I tried putting my water bottle there. Perfect!<br />
<br />
With regards to breathing and drinking and food, I've yet to become mindful of my everyday work, but, yep! I'm determined, all right! I'll get there! I'll do it!<br />
<br />
I'm still eating and drinking in front of my work desk (as in., right NOW :) but I'll really try to remember. Just remembering to breathe properly removes the tension from my shoulders, and let me tell you, my shoulders really hurt from tension!<br />
<br />
We're embarking on really exciting things this year, and Chi habits is one of them excitements. I'm happy to do this, and to remember doing this.<br />
<br />
On negative emotions, I get really cranky when I have a toothache, and with this cool cool weather at night, my phantom teeth are acting up. My health is really catching up with me, but I'm determined, DETERMINED to improve it!<br />
<br />
Go me!solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-63318667536941981662011-01-03T08:57:00.001-08:002011-01-03T08:57:59.675-08:00Comfort foodLate night snacks are actually comfort feeding in disguise. I'm hardly hungry, yet I eat!<br />
<br />
Right now I'm eating a corned beef sandwich. Just because!solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-63201760614016959672011-01-03T07:56:00.000-08:002011-01-03T07:56:06.981-08:00A good place for greensI wonder where I should get my veggies? I miss the times when we were almost vegetarian and we had veggies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... I can still be almost-vegetarian by adding lots of veggies to our dishes, like my chicken with lots of veggies soup in Quiapo. the kids are looking for their meat and so do my parents, so in cooking for them we have to sacrifice our own wants a bit, or maybe just accommodate everyone with a few adjustments.<br />
<br />
Maybe I should just monitor my veggie uptake so that I dont feel deprived.solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-61694777644772518592011-01-03T07:51:00.000-08:002011-01-03T07:51:00.797-08:00The Grateful HeartToday was a busy day.<br />
<br />
DS9 developed a bad case of asthma during the night, maybe because of the New Year's Day debris slowly settling toward the ground or maybe because of the dust accumulated around the house, or maybe because of the cold early morning air. Anyway, it left the parents sleepless. I was not expecting such a bad attack, I have all but hidden away his nebulizer because of two years of successful asthma management, and I have been remiss, because I have forgotten where I stashed his nebulizer, and upon finding it, I realized that his ampules were expired! good gads, what a stupid thing to do!<br />
<br />
Anyway...<br />
<br />
We had to sleep later on during the day, leaving us the morning in bed, and then we had to postpone our trip to Manila in the afternoon. Manila was a nice surprise, it was neither crowded nor dusty, and the cool air (even in the mid afternoon) coupled with a sunny cloud-free day made for good walking weather. We had a few setbacks but managed to tick off most of our to-do's. What we forgot was to bring a water bottle so after a while we got thirsty and we were running late so we didnt have time to take a break.<br />
<br />
Anyway, dinner time found us in Quiapo near the mosque, so DH treated me to a chicken place. We both ordered warm bowls of chicken soup, at PhP 60 each. Ten minutes later and still no soup, we decided to try the house specialty of barbequed chicken with a cup of rice each. That order was given to us straight away, with two extra rice for the both of us, which we had to return (yes, no extra rice because we were still waiting for our soup). some three minutes later, our soup arrived, low and behold, each bowl had a ladle (!) and was around 1.2 L each! The soup was pleasantly warm, with vegetables and mushrooms, and we were pleasantly hungry and tired, so it made for a really satisfying feast!<br />
<br />
Sometimes I miss the days when I used to cook :) Maybe I should go and make broth that we can just heat up or something so that every meal will have a soupy dish...<br />
<br />
But anyway, I came home and did this and that, and logged my expenses in my online calendar and I thought, hey I should go and do my chi habits blog... which is when I realized I forgot my Chi Stance (hehe) and my water and my food, and whatever else, but at least i remembered to blog :) So now I'm doing my chi stance and drinking my water, and when I read through the journalling, I realised that I've been wrong in my approach. This journal is for making sense of my world and dealing with negative emotions so that they dont cripple my outlook on life...<br />
<br />
I've developed some negative emotions today, mainly towards the kids (what is this mess?!?), towards my DH (when he complains about my bad habits) and towards DS9 (who is still peeing in his pants!!!) Really it is the little things that drain the chi. Most of the time I just brush off the criticism (that's how I do things, so why should he complain?), or get it out of my chest (as in taking it out on the kids), or end up with a good five minute rant (with DS9). I can actually approach these in other ways, more creative and possibly more effective. I just dont feel like it.<br />
<br />
WHY i dont feel like it is a blog for another day :)solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-34328144892069460262011-01-02T09:49:00.000-08:002011-01-02T09:56:33.707-08:00One year later...Happy 2011!<br />
<br />
Ed wants to re-do the Chi Habits Project and I promised to help him with it. Go Ed!<br />
<br />
Where to start?<br />
<br />
We need this Pillar Content write up on Where and How to start.<br />
<br />
The answer is Right Now with Me!<br />
<br />
What do I want from this?<br />
1. A peace-filled mind<br />
2. Better health<br />
3. Self-knowledge, translating to...<br />
4. Work done satisfyingly, on time.<br />
<br />
What boons do I have?<br />
1. An open mind, a work-in-progress<br />
2. A learning approach<br />
3. Time<br />
4. Hope! (I'd like to say Determination, but am too much of a coward...)<br />
<br />
I'd like to look at this as a means to sharpen my tools so that I can achieve better and with more people :) I'd like to start this Learning Community with public school teachers and am hoping to extend myself in the next year... I'm putting together my stuff for this year and putting together the community site and so on, so that by this time next year we will have 50 or more active members of the community and I would have become a habitual writer/blogger/journaller by then.<br />
<br />
A good advise comes from Seinfeld of, well, Seinfeld: Get a calendar that spans a wall, and put your daily goal in it. Then for each day that you have done your goal, cross that off with a marker. Eventually, you will see a chain forming. The idea is NOT to break the Chain. <br />
<br />
I remember that the first step is to develop the right posture and the correct breathing.<br />
From the book: The 8 Chi Habits work at<br />
1. Gathering Chi<br />
2. Plugging leaks<br />
3. Removing blockages<br />
4. Moving Chi<br />
5. Balancing and Harmonizing<br />
<br />
I am now practicing my Chi Stance and taking note of my breathing. I've adopted an indian sitting position I wouldn't have used if it were one year ago, before I had my Hilot sessions because my hips would have complained back then. Hilot is really good for the body, but I'd love to be able to do something for myself, regularly. Something that is also good for the mind, clearing, and satisfying.<br />
<br />
My diaphragm is tight, and my breathing is not relaxed. My back is tight, and something aches at waist level at the back... I hope to see some improvement on this the more that I do it. <br />
<br />
I'm finally getting my teeth fixed (yay!) and also my kids', with this nice dentist who is really accommodating and doesn't charge too much, just right. Go Dr. Albano!<br />
<br />
Flylady says "Let's Do Seven in 2011!" This could be my Chain-making Goal!<br />
<br />
What will my Magnificent Seven be?<br />
<br />
To breathe<br />
To drink<br />
To hug<br />
<br />
To dream<br />
To plan<br />
To do<br />
<br />
and finally...<br />
To Thank!solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-30139967642304952712009-11-29T18:39:00.000-08:002009-11-29T18:48:14.728-08:00My Notes: 8 Chi Habits VideoBits and pieces of small 11-year old note paper...<br /><br />Notes for Ed:<br /><br />On second video:<br /><br />"Before AwakeNING"<br />"Before GOING TO THE tiolet"<br /><br />On third video:<br /><br />Healing moves, being plural, should have plural verbs: make, decrease, etc.<br /><br />Notes for Me:<br /><br />1. INTENT is the key:<br />a. Move the Energy<br />b. Focus INSIDE the Body<br /><br />I hope there will be a small poster to serve as reminders of the Moves.<br /><br />2. interesting words:<br />a. Power<br />b. Grace<br /><br />3. Goals I can work for:<br />a. Decrease Belly (it bothers me)<br />b. Flexibility<br />c. Flow<br /><br />4. Inner Smile:<br />Against negative feeling<br /><br />5. Heart Kung Fu<br />Thankful heart, Positive attitude/outlook.<br />ended up coughing, pawis. Should wathc the video again. Probably not doing it right.<br /><br />6. Water: + Intention (forgot that!)<br /><br />7. eating:<br />before eating: Calm down, fruit<br />During eating: Chew.solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-42740065812461569252009-11-29T18:02:00.000-08:002009-11-29T18:36:29.901-08:00Day 3.On with the show!<br /><br />I'm continuing with my depression-inducing decluttering exercise...<br /><br />It's a good thing that the 8 Chi Habits video has energizing excercises<br /><br />Last night I made it a point to be in bed BEFORE 12 MN, which translated (of course) to 11:45 PM. So I beat the deadline, Yay Me! Try to be earlier tonight, actually, by setting an earlier bedtime (11:30 this time)<br /><br />Some updates:<br /><br />1. I've narrowed down my objectives, namely<br /><br />a. Declutter my desk (spent 2 glorious hours at this so early in the morning.)<br />b. Identify/list all the things I am "into" at the moment.<br />c. For my Chi Habits, I'm taking the following intentions:<br /> c.1 Do energizing exercises whenever I feel down (as in, right now!!!)<br /> c.2 Do something (I dont know what yet) whenever I feel like procrastinating (like now!!!)<br /> c.3 1 piece of fruit or vegetable a day (whatever is available, and make some available always)<br /> c.4 Drink Water whenever I go to the bathroom (refill after every release). Doesnt have to be a lot, just a little will do.<br /> c.5 Release tension <span style="font-style:italic;">before</span> dealing with the kids.<br /><br />2. Guess what?<br />a. I have 28 things (!!!) in my "I'm INTO" list. I can let go of around 5, but that's it.<br />b. There are issues I should be prioritizing, but I don't, and issues that I actually do prioritize, that I shouldn't.<br />c. I should learn to delegate.<br /><br />3. I did the heart kung fu earlier. THing is, I ended up with a cough (!?!). Bakit kaya? Do I have some blocked energy near my throat? Maybe comes from shouting at the kids :( I DO need to de-stress BEFORE dealing with the kids!!!<br /><br />I've talked to Dempster about homeschool and he's willing to pick up some load. Willing but not really INTO it, in the way that I'm INTO it (Priority number 1 most times, now priority number Forgotten, but Priority No. 9 for THIS WEEK.) But of course that is expected.<br /><br />Today's journal says that "adjustment corrections are perfectly in order". I realize that my priority lists should change depending on my schedules. NOt everything is black and white, and my schedule is one of them.<br /><br />As an aside: I am thinking of interfacing Islamic practices with the 8 chi habits. turns out it's not difficult. Maybe I've been doing the islamic practices with a rigid frame of mind and would just need to adjust to a more fluid frame of mind.<br /><br />Emptiness.<br /><br />"In the beginning there was Emptiness. Everything else is Opinion."<br /><br />-Democritus (paraphrased)<br /><br />I should get the right quotation!<br />I have chronic lower back tightness (waist to hips). What to do?solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-14069953774643752162009-11-29T01:28:00.000-08:002009-11-29T01:33:29.224-08:00Day 2.Here I am again!<br /><br />I had this little depression that left me asleep 4 hours after my regular wake-up time.<br /><br />Maybe because of mom issues, my mom is in the kitchen...<br /><br />Maybe because of hubby issues...<br /><br />I still dont know where my depression came from but,<br /><br />It left me with this back ache!!!<br /><br />My meemo needs attention.<br /><br />My kids are over the hill with playing left for dead (a zombie game)<br /><br />My homeschool is shot right now (has been for 3 months!!!)<br /><br />At least my desk has lost its pile :)<br /><br />Maybe my desk clean-up caused my mini-depression, showed me my "Unfinished Business" business.<br /><br />Actually, its all those unfinished business that was piling up my table (and my life!!!)<br /><br />Which makes day 2's "Defining my Committment" a helluva depressing job (boohoo!)<br /><br />There we go again.<br /><br />So i dont really need space, i need to declutter.<br /><br />Let's say that decluttering my life is my 21 day habit.<br /><br />Insha Allah I can do this.<br /><br />I can do this!!!<br /><br />The bracelet is brilliant BTW.solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-73979775444402258732009-11-29T01:23:00.000-08:002009-11-29T01:28:29.438-08:00Day 1.This was one day ago.<br /><br />Booklet activity: Start by Understanding. I did part of this the day before, but part which I have not done,<br /><br />I had two objectives but did not do them because of this and that...<br /><br />1. Watch 8 chi habits DVD<br />2. WAtch Chi Stances DVD<br /><br />Take down notes.<br /><br />Unfortunately,<br /><br />1. I did not open my computer, and<br /><br />2. I did not have the space in my little booklet to take down notes,,, where to put my notes?!?<br /><br />I have this little notepad what belonged to my sister some 10 years ago (?!?) that I'm using to put down my notes.<br /><br />Realistic time... now where can I get that?<br /><br />Went into a small (micro-sized) depression that left me asleep part of the afternoon, part of the night (so I was not able to do any work), and part of this morning (day 2)<br /><br />I still dont know where my depression came from.<br /><br />my back hurts, tho. slept too much.<br /><br />but that';s news for Day 2, so...solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1355998985541617738.post-91642508030293912452009-11-29T01:19:00.000-08:002009-11-29T01:23:33.910-08:00Day 0This was 2 days ago.<br /><br />Activity: Read Materials and Contemplate.<br /><br />I went through the materials, and contemplated a little.<br /><br />I had to do a million other things, so I wasnt able to look into the DVD.<br /><br />So i wrote down a few things in my booklet, namely:<br /><br />MY OBJECTIVES:<br /><br />1. Pilot the 21-day chi habits booklet set<br /><br />2. Magpakatao!!!<br /><br />(this comes from the Hilot POV, self-knowledge)<br /><br />CHI UP Special Report: Lurvely chair!!!<br /><br />(my husband bought me a chair my back likes. he says that the chair forces him to sit straight!!! haha)solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236580115732958367noreply@blogger.com2