101 Almost Ready

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Is anyone familiar with a woman named Byron Katie? She was recommended to me as someone who can help people find the core of love and acceptance in their lives. A spiritual teacher who seems to have experienced a spontaneous awakening similar to but more "balanced" than that which Jed McKenna seems to have gone through, she is extraordinarily humane and warm. Her entire teaching seems to flow out of four questions to ask yourself regarding a problem or conflict:

1) Is it true?

2) Can you be absolutely certain it is true?

3) How do you feel when you think about this?

4) Who would you be without this observation or reaction?

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And then there is a fifth part, the "turnaround," where you scramble the pronouns and see how things look and feel from the other person's perspective.

Note that this is another version of the "who am I" or "what is true" questions that will take one so reliably to the core of being. As you strip away your reactions and labels, what remains is a circle without a circumference, or a mass condensed to the point that it's...well, a point. With no spacial reality. The quality of non-attachment flows out of this effortlessly, because there is nothing to really attach to.

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At any rate, one of her CD courses, "Loving What Is," is in my car player right now, and I listen to it on the road. Good, tough stuff. I think that most of us are like James Tyberius Kirk: "I need my pain." Like an artist "needs" their neurotic tendencies to create. Or a comedian "needs" her depression to be funny. It's all so sad. We don't need these things, but our egos sure as hell do: we can define ourselves by pushing against such obstacles.

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By the way...probably by next Monday, there will finally be a sign-up button for the 101 program on this page. This is for Beta testing, and believe me, that is an honest assessment of where we are. We will have the first ten lessons tucked away and ready to go, and will create the others on the "fly". All the information will be there, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are problems. You guys are going to help me debug.

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All I ask is that you post questions and observations here or on the 101 Forum, which you will be guided toward. There are other aspects of the program that just can't be polished without feedback. That's one of the problems with knowing this material well: I sometimes forget what needs to be explained. So...the train is about to leave the station.

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What is the 101 program? A complete body-mind health system designed to put you in better control of your life in ten minutes a day for 101 days. It is designed to put your feet on the path to three goals simultaneously:

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1) A career you love, or to learn to love your current career.

2) A strong, healthy, energetic body that you yourself would be attracted to.

3) Finding your soulmate, or increasing the love and intimacy in your current relationship.

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Three simple goals as inter-related as Red, Yellow, and Blue. Each deeply affects the others.

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1) A happy career means supporting yourself and family with integrity. More joy in your current career means a reduction in lifestress, and probable improved performance. This frees health and energy that can then jump-start your physical program, and give you more joy to share with your loved ones, as well as a deeper connection to community.

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2) A healthy, fit body can be attained in under two hours a week. WAY under, if you're smart and disciplined. Most of fitness is regularity: just moving your butt six days a week. The Tibetans will provide BASIC fitness across a healthy range in an hour a week. But you can add Tabata-style training using clubbells or Kettlebells to take your fitness to a whole 'nother level. This investment of 90-120 minutes a week can change your life. It will give you energy for your career and family, make you a better role model for your kids, and polish the gift you give to your lover.

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3) Loving and accepting yourself more deeply, with a nurturing discipline and a no-bullshit approach to your own lies and evasions, as well as walking your life path with genuine integrity, will send out the strangest "vibrations" you've ever experienced. You will start attracting people you never knew knew you existed. When you broadcast who and what you are to the world with an open, loving heart--while remaining emotionally safe and in integrity with your deepest values--you are on the path to finding the love you genuinely crave, without "settling". You also develop the ability to connect with co-workers and customers more deeply, as well as your own creativity. This feeds beautifully back into your motivations to work out and protect your only vehicle in this world.

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We're about to take this game up a notch. Hope you'll come along for the ride.