Ruach
It is not many steps beyond breath awareness that comes a conversation around the spirituality of the human being. Though many people may draw the line here, there will be much missed by stopping short of this recognition. It is difficult to put to words the complexity of the multi-dimensional soul of man and terminology such as self-awareness, awakening and self-care are quickly followed by ideas of divinity, sovereignty and globally unified human consciousness.
When (Not) Helping Hurts
I’d recently come back from my first trip to Uganda, Africa and was desperately seeking ways to reconcile the shock I experienced in the contrast of cultures upon my return home. Africa wasn’t the first place I had ever experienced third-world poverty, but it would become my last.
What is Strength?
We all need something. The human cannot function in its intended capacity alone. For this reason, self-love and self-service are nothing more than a trap to captivate ourselves in a lie of self-centeredness that is isolating and defeating, though it may elicit great sensation of pleasure in the seeking. The essential perspective in finding strength is first, to know where one is weak. Our fundamental weakness is that we cannot self sustain and this means that neither can anyone else.
Love is Alive.
Our experiences - the traumatic, dramatic, surreal and sensual - are often the defining points of our lives and have the power to alter the course of our chosen reality. Yet when we consider the summation of our life and reflect on the quality and reason for what we’ve learned, it’s relationship that matters most - whether we went with or without.
The Forget Men's Retreat: Recap with Erik Thorson
Erik Thorson, a CrossFit Level 3 Trainer, was invited to serve on behalf of Point One Vision at The Forge men's retreat for limb loss in Kauai. We were honored by the gift of his time and the heart to explore the width and depth of the unknown. We asked Erik to respond to a few questions about his time in Kauai and what he learned from this experience.
Mirrors and Magnets: Breaking the Self-Love Culture
Self-love is the culture of self-centeredness, or selfishness, masked in wispy fonts, floral journal covers and rousing conversation about the “true self.” Of course, this doesn’t feel as fuzzy and warm, but Truth is not measured by the subjective ways we feel about a thing.
The only way to discover your True identity will come through awareness of your intended creation, not self-created love. There is no balance of Ego and self-love; they side the same.
Friends of Bethany
The Friends of Bethany annual retreat is about a union and reunion of young women with amputations or limb differences who are made whole in their identity, bonded by faith and made strong in community, fitness and surf.
2020 Vision
If we choose to see the accomplishment of goals as a byproduct in the pursuit of becoming the person we believe our imagine ourselves to be, our task inevitably becomes to live in harmony with the value, rather than the practice, of the goal. In doing so, we diminish the risk of blinding ourselves by the meaningless measure of the task alone.
GIVE Aloha: The Keala Foundation
The Keala Foundation in Kauai, Hawaii are doing something. And they’re doing something... big.
The locals may not be especially keen to tourists, but that's because they're used to having more taken from them than given. And yet even as a guest, the positive vibes of the community are hard to miss. Life is a little slower, interaction and connection are respected and the honor of aloha is more a sensation of the waves than a postcard greeting. You learn that if you give aloha, you'll get aloha.
And yet...
Kauai has a major drug problem.
Abel
Humility at its purest and by its very nature doesn’t take the center stage. Humility may be seen, but it is not seen in the most obvious or given light. Humility does not step up to the microphone, it doesn’t shout and it doesn’t say “look at me.” Humility, if you forget to look for it, is a most beautiful thing that will pass you by.
You are enough.
We find pride and confidence in our ability to carry more and we admire those who juggle the world like a circus clown. We fervently seek after something we don’t fully comprehend, we drive hard and fast to no visible end, yet we find our identity in work ethic or maybe passion of the moment. This badge of honor has become the mask of our culture but what we fail to recognize is that we need no credit, we need no mask.
What is a Coach? - Part II
This isn’t a step-by-step program on “How to be a Coach" - if you want a logistical approach to your duty, this is not it. The summary is that being a teacher is about being genuine in building relationships with others.
What is a Coach? - Part I
True coaching transcends textbooks above and beyond. Being a coach requires a fundamental understanding of human nature and its thirst to have more and be more.
Flexibility vs. Mobility
To understand the difference in mobility and flexibility, we must first define the term ‘range of motion.’ Range of motion, commonly abbreviated as ROM, is the full movement potential of a joint, or it’s total possible range of flexion and extension. ROM can be tested and measured by degrees of movement surrounding a specific joint or body part.
The Sandbag Advantage: Why Training with a Sandbag is Good for Your Soul
Lifting, carrying and moving with odd-objects is natural to our human nature. For most of human history we have carried logs, stones and the fruit of our labor and have evolved thus far. Yet somehow in this evolution, we have also become so far separated from even ourselves - we have made so efficient the manners of forward progress that we've stopped doing the hard things ourselves. Doing hard things is not easy, but it is simple.
Take a Walk
You are made to be strong, confident and capable of doing hard things as a process of being in the flow of who you are created to be. So why is it that when the challenge is physical, when you exercise your body, that you accept panic, pain or punishment? Or do have a list of excuses for why you don’t do hard things at all?
The Art of Learning
Unlike many sports of today, jiu-jitsu does not honor the ego. What might appear a combat sport to the outsider is a test in controlling the temperament of the mind in the flow of chaos - staying one step ahead of Fear. The mark of a great martial artist is the visible evidence of humility and a truly honorable black belt recognizes how much more they have to learn even once they have received the highest rank. The black belt has not become perfect in their principle, but has become a master in the art of learning.
Johnny Souza is a black belt inside and out.
Counting Sand
Exactly two years ago today, I envisioned from my bed the vastness of all the ways in which I could choose to live my life. Like grains of sand, I saw like little packages the reality of every split moment and decision I had and could live by. Faint threads interwove the fabric of all that I could be and I felt this all the way into my very bones.
I also saw that this was the same for every human being. In all the tremendous moments of my own conscious revelation, I also realized how every thread of my being was intimately connected to every person in every moment I ever had or would choose.
I believe this is the moment where most people wake up.