Month: June 2019

My Stars, it’s a book review.

This is a review of the book “One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and The Twelve Steps” by Kevin Griffin. The book was suggested to me by Richard, the store owner at Easy Does It Books and Gifts in Long Beach, California. The author is a Buddhist meditation teacher and a member of a Twelve Step fellowship.

I was interested to see how a Buddhist “no god” religion could be interlinked with a western God concept program. I was also eager to find out more about the Buddhist practice or style of meditation as I travel a path nearby there regularly.

This book is worth the time to read and contemplate. Many concepts are explained with examples of how they applied to the author’s life and how they might be applied to the readers’ life. There are spots in the story that seemed to ramble but that was his life at the time. The author did a good job of marrying the two philosophies.

This was done by reducing both philosophies to the most basic: whether talking about Buddha or Bill Wilson (A.A. founder), there are three characteristics of all existence.

1. Impermanence

2. Suffering

3. Not-self

These are well detailed in the book. The author went through this process of duality in his life to save himself. It was ultimately a practical move on his spiritual path. The Afterword of the book gave me some additional insight into the author as a result of the original publication. Be sure it check it out.

One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

Here is a quote from Goodreads. ”One Breath at a Time, describes the convergence of two vital traditions, one ancient, the other contemporary, and shows how they are working together to create a rich spiritual path for our times.”

Need Stars? let’s go with 4 out of 5.

 

Some things that can change your life

Twitter post from American Nomad

-making time to talk to friends/fam

-stretching

-taking care of your skin

-smiling more

-doing more of what you love doing

-exercising

-being in nature

-hydrating

-long walks

-going to concerts, parks, museums

-reading

-petting animals

 

Be healthy,

Dave

Not A Tie Again

What does he like and what will he use? I looked at several sites to find things of interest.

1.Fitbit Alta HR, Black, Large (US Version) Men’s Health likes it.

2. Kindle Paperwhite – Now Waterproof with more than 2x the Storage – Includes Special Offers. If he already has a Kindle, Amazon has a reasonably priced waterproof case. Temdan Kindle Paperwhite Waterproof Case Rugged Sleek Transparent Cover with Built in Screen Protector Case for Kindle Paperwhite.

3.Stamina 36-Pound Adjustable Kettle Versa-Bell. Another Men’s Health idea.

4.Wireless Portable Chargers 10000mAh, Hokonui Fast Wireless Charger Smallest Portable Charger with High-Speed 18W PD 3.0,QC 3.0 Port and LCD Display USB-C Power Bank for iPhone,Samsung and More -Black. Good price for all the bells and whistles.

5.WHITIN Men’s Quick Drying Water Shoes for Aqua Hiking Trail Running Sport Minimalist Barefoot Wave Walking Beach Swim Surf Outdoor Kayaking Athletic Male Blue Size 13

Be Healthy, your purchase from this site helps support it.

Please make sure you are following; valuable information is pending,

Dave

 

 

My Fit to Fat and Back blog is one year old. That is 27 posts and about 12,000 words. “Back to fit” the journey is not over. The year was my second at watching my weight. I am down 32 pounds total with 22 of those pounds in the last year. I lead a better life in 3 areas: 1. I eat a healthier diet, 2. I exercise more regularly, 3. I meditate and pray regularly.

Area 1. Eating better is the result of being more food aware or food conscious. After I moved away from “fast food” because of its poisonous and additives qualities, I next moved away from prepackaged foods as I learned to do a better job of label reading. I eat both of these things only occasionally. This leaves me with a diet of lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, and better quality meat. I have a limited GPS rule; limit Grains, Potatoes, and Sugar.

Area 2. Regular exercise is still a work in progress. I am dealing with some old health issues. There are old surgeries and old football and wrestling injuries which seems to be aggravated by some activities, weight, and age. I turn 72 this year. Progress is being made by carving out time for activities in my 2 job work schedule. I must get out there and get moving.

Area 3. The area of spiritual practice involves some reading and learning. I practice this daily. Start daily with a prayer of gratitude and hope. I find time to meditate for 5 to 30 minutes daily, beginning by being conscious of my breath. I would like to improve in this area to have a better relationship with all the people in my life.

The mechanics for the blog are still not perfected. The marketing of the blog as a product is still not a smooth seemed item. I want it to reach and benefit thousands and I’m at 30. I still have work to do.

The Pointers for Today:

Read the labels

Practice portion control

Eat fresh, local product when possible, and organic when possible

Exercise regularly, get up and move

Name 5 things you are grateful for in 30 seconds

Have an attitude of gratitude.

Books I am currently reading:

My daughter gave me this one, it’s great. This is really well written.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

This is a re-read for me and great beginners guide to meditation. I have it on my FIRE from Amazon.

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
I bought this one from Easy Does It Books in Long Beach, California. It’s a good read from a great little store.

One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

My next read:

This one comes recommended by my jungle trail running buddy. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery

Be Healthy,

Dave