The 3 rules of Intending

Before I share a quick story about intentions and intending, I wanted to give you 3 rules that must be in place in order for the intentions to come to fruition. Three rules that I have found are consistent with creating your reality, and creating the life/situation/experiences that you desire are...  #1- Complete Clarity. What you desire must be fully clear in your mind and in your heart. #2- Belief- You must believe that what you are intending is going to happen. It is not a wish, a hope or a desire. It is a knowing and belief that the outcome is going to happen. No "ifs" "ands" or "buts" about it. #3- Trust- You must trust that once you truly believe and are crystal clear about your intention, that the universe will align for you the people, actions, plans and experiences for this to come to fruition. Intention does not come without action. Intention sets the wheels into motion. Six years ago as I was looking over my finances, I had figured what the amount was that we wanted for "retirement." (don't quite buy into that but hey..) So we figured I would need X amount by the time I was 33 in the long term savings. So I crunched the numbers and said, ok, I need X amount in the bank by the time I am 33. I was totally clear about the objective, I completely believed it was doable, and I just felt a knowing that it would happen and there was really no reason it shouldn't happen. It was 6 years away so I didn't get caught up in any emotion that it was not possible. Fast forward 6 years to three days after my 33rd birthday. I rarely check my bank statement (wife's job : )), but I just happened to see our statement of investments on our dining room table. I looked at it, and when I added up the total of our 3 combined accounts,  it was within $200 of the exact amount I had intended on having from 6 years ago...I was amazed that I didn't dwell on it, I really never focused on it, but it happened almost to the exact amount...And That is how intention works.

Get Present Right Now!

"The past is a concept. The future is a concept. We only have moments to live." Steven Fonso
Yes, you can quote me on that one : )
I wanted to share this thought I had with you to comtemplate.
Where are you living? What stories from the past are influencing your thoughts and actions right now? What fears of the future are influencing your thoughts and actions right now?
Can you pull yourself into right now, the present moment, observe your breathing, observe your movements, observe your position, observe your thoughts, observe YOU. Minus the stories, expectations, dissappointments, or fears. The past is irrelevant. It is now that is important. The past happened exactly as it should have to shape you for this moment. Right now. Can you accept the past and live right now?
If you have some extra time check out this video from Jon Kabat-Zinn www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc  

14 hours of straight meditation

I hear of many patients getting frustrated with their meditative practice, they have trouble making time, or staying focused during meditation time, and they can't seem to get it, or are not good at it. Here is a question. If meditation is about training your brain to stay "present," if it is about going in and out of focus, if it is about being in one single thought, or holding a concentrated focus without other distracting thoughts, then why can't we meditate through our entire waking life? I mean, what if you looked at your entire day as an opportunity to meditate? Let me clarify. Meditation to most means you sit down, and focus. Let the thoughts come together on a single sound, breath, symbol or number. What if that single focus was the person you were with? What if that single focus was your meal, lifting your fork, feeling and tasting the food or swallowing? What if that single focus was groceries? What if that single focus was your body while working out? What if that single focus was the customer you are dealing with? Get my idea? People fret about making time for meditation, and get stressed out that others can do it so well and they can't, but as I see it, from the time you rise, to the time you go to sleep, IS and CAN BE your time to meditate. Your time to be focused and present on the single thing that is in front of you. Imagine a day where you are fully present with whatever is in front of you. Not thinking about where you are going or what happened yesterday. Being completely immersed in the moment of what you are doing or who you are with. That IS meditation. That IS mindfulness. That IS "being in the present moment." Remember people sit down and practice meditation to try to get to that single focus and they bounce in and out of new thoughts. The better the meditator, the better they can hold the single focus. Make it your days mission to do that ALL day. You, at times, will be successful, and other times not. At times you will be able to stay present, and other times not. The same successes and failures are with the meditators that sit for an hour. So go ahead and brag to your friends that you meditated for 14 hours straight!

Run Now, Think Later

From Alternative Medicine, 2006, a study in Lancet Neurology showed how people who run at least 20-30 minutes twice a week during their 40's and 50's, cut their risk for Alzheimer's and dementia later in life by almost 50%! Awesome....now the reality...Movement, as we know to be an essential, will cut the risk of almost every single disease known to mankind. Why? Because movement decreases stress hormones, creates movement and circulation of the organs, stimulates the brain and immune system, and creates strength and mobility. Every major condition and disease we face in today's modern society is lifestyle based, not genetically inherited (more on that in another blog). According to M. Meany, Ph.D. 2001 Stress and Disease: Who Gets Sick, Who Stays Well. Cortext Educational Seminars: "The result of medical research over the past 20 years has clarified precisely how stress can promote various forms of illness." (heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety, and most cancers). The leading killers in society are preventable and lifestyle related! So it is no surprise to discover through research that exercise and movement, an essential to every human being, plays a  major role in minimizing disease and maximizing health. Run now!

Amazing Research for Fitness!

With the continuation of fitness month, I wanted to share some research and some comments on a paper I came across in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It read "exercise and breast health- a matter of life and death." In the article it compared 3000 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. They were categorized by being active versus inactive. What the research found was that as little as one hour per week helped to promote survival, while 3 to 5 hours reduced the risk of death or RECURRANCE by a whopping 50%! I need to comment on a couple of things regarding this study. What is amazing is the power created by engaging in ongoing movement and exercise. In fact, these people were well below the weekly requirement for optimal health, and still managed to achieve a 50% reduction! Imagine if our goal was to be at optimal levels! What a concept. This is not a surprise to the Veressent community, as we are well aware, movement is an essential : ). If you are not moving, your dying. Period.
What boggles my mind though, is the topic of what is being researched. Medical scientists unfortunately look at specific amounts of exercise for specific diseases...Problem! We need to focus on what are the daily movement requirements to be healthy and vital and optimal, not what do we need at minimum to prevent a specific disease. Who the hell knows what you're going to develop anyways?! Could you image saying in ten years, well I exercised one hour a week to prevent colon cancer, but I'll be damned I got heart disease, if I would have known that I should have exercised 30 minutes a day like the research said for heart disease. Do you see how this type of research will never give us healthy people? How are you going to know what disease to pick to try to prevent?? It makes no sense! A family history? Research in the field of epigenetics shows consistently that family diseases are a cultural myth. The very concept disempowers us as human being to have control over our health destiny. You may, through genetics have a predisposition to a particular disease, but the genes for the disease are turned on through your lifestyle choices and your belief about the disease. Only 0.02% of disease are actually a genetic mutation. The rest is through our choices. As Deepak Chopra once stated, there is no scientific evidence that we need to be sick. A wellness based, Veressent lifestyle makes sense. Meeting all the essentials for optimal health, vitality and exceptional living. A healthy structure and nervous system, good eating and essential supplements, lots of exercise, rest and rejuvenation, positive outlook on life and a passionate, exciting, purposeful life. This is what OPTIMIZES your health and life potential. That has to be the focus for future generations if we are to evolve out of this disease treating society. What we are doing and thinking is not working. We need to focus our attention on a life of Veressence! Let's start by maximizing our movement as LIFE IS MOTION AND MOTION IS LIFE.

Veressent Community Connects program

What a great first community connects program we had last night. Thanks for the near 30 people that came out to support the event and our fitness expert Paul Hemsworth. With his vast knowledge on strength and conditioning, he spoke about the importance of movement and movement patterns not only in the gym and training, but in our everyday life. Like all things in life, there are sloppy ways of doing things and efficient ways. Movement of our body is no exception. There are a few golden rules when it comes to achieving what you want and getting the body, fitness and health you desire and deserve. As Paul explained, it begins with the end in mind. For what reason are we engaging in certain activities in our fitness? Then, it is about being mindful enough about the movement of our bodies, to be able to assess if we are moving efficiently(always best with the help of a certified fitness specialist...watch out, they aren't all the same), and then putting in the work, to train hard and time effectively to live a healthy, strong life. Start with the end in mind, be mindful of your body, and train harder than you think you can. The quality of your fitness is going to be directly proportional to how hard you push your body-mind on a regular basis. Our systems like to be challenged. We respond best to being challenged. It is Essential that we push our bodies hard, efficiently, and mindfully.
Check out Paul's programs at http://www.hemsworthstrength.com/ to see how you can benefit from one-to-one coaching or group training. Remember, 90% is just showing up. Once you are there, work hard and feel proud!

This is the experience of Veressence!

Attending a recent healing retreat in New Jersey allowed me to reflect on the concept of being Veressent. The idea that we express ourselves and live "true to our natural state of being," continues to get me excited as I think of the many possibilities and ways for people to experience a richer, greater and more exceptional life. What is it to live in our core nature? Do I still ascribe to what we created at Veressent Life? As I experienced the weekend, a few key things occurred which I understand to be living more in my natural state. The first thing that began, is the level of noise and clutter in my mind began to dwindle. The space between my thoughts began to widen. I almost seemed to become more selective to which thoughts I wanted to think about and contemplate. I also began to engage in much fuller breath, my posture became steadier and much more flexible, and I began to experience a broader range of emotions. As the weekend continued, I found the questions I was asking myself became less about me, and more about contribution to others and engaging in community. As my bodymind gained range and flexibility, I flat out became more in tune with my surroundings, not reacting, but just pleasantly experiencing being a part of what was going on. Judgements ceased, and acceptance grew. Is this the way life is meant to be experienced? I believe it is. 

The standards we have set for experiencing a Veressent Life I believe to be the gold standard for the human experience. This is a Veressent Life.