I’m having some voice identity issues with SoulFit.  Bottom line is I’m not sure who I am or should be as I write.  Should I be Pastor, Soul Coach or Mountain-top Meditator?  The answer really depends on the objective of SoulFit.  My hope is that it can be a tangible aid for the sometimes intangible aim of spiritual growth.  With this in mind I’m making some modifications.
Originally, I envisioned it a Crossfit-esque weekly workout site with supplementary posts throughout the week – almost a dispassionate presentation of activities.   The workouts won’t change – though I’m hesitant to use weekly in the description. What will change is the addition of me.

Entropy

Part of the motivation of SoulFit was to help me grow. The posted workouts are ones that I’ve done in the past or am doing now.  I know that without focused attention on growing spiritually I tend towards a state of soul-entropy.  Just as in nature, I’ll move from order to disorder if I don’t apply conscious effort to this soul cultivation.  So, rather than keep me out and separate, I plan on including my efforts at dealing with the up and down, order and disorder, roller-coaster ride of my own soul development and thoughts.  SoulFit thus becomes more of what I call “Autoblographical” in nature and less machinated and dispassionate.
I welcome and need your comments, thoughts and inputs as entropy works in an isolated system.  Pull up a chair and come along for the ride.

I heard that the world is coming to an end soon – specifically, December 21, 2012.    The Mayan long count calendar ends on that day and people are speculating (wildly?) that something cataclysmic and world changing will occur. USA Today “clarifies”

Part of the 2012 mystique stems from the stars. On the winter solstice in 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. This means that “whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11 p.m. Universal Time,”

Predictions range from end of the world apocalypse and doom to a new age of love and a dawning “age of Aquarius.” My question, and the SoulFit workout, is SO WHAT?  If the world IS indeed ending 1229 days from now, what will you do differently now?  If you really had the three years or so left, would that affect your actions, priorities, and plans?

Take a half-hour, or at least 15 minutes, to think about this.  Are there things you would regret or places you would have wanted to see?  Are you doing that which is truly important and meaningful?

Workout:  When someone this week frustrates you, angers you, attacks you, belittles you, excludes you, disrespects you, looks down on you, shuns you, ignores you — PRAY FOR THEM.

To be successful in this workout you must be able to take control of your emotions and be aware of your feelings in the moment.  When you find your emotions getting hotter, you have to be conscious enough to “stop-drop-and-roll” on them.  Redirect your energy to praying blessings, good things, positive things for the person.  Look for opportunities driving, at work, the supermarket, at school or in your neighborhood.

This translation of Matthew 5 communicates the idea of being mature enough to pray for and hope for the best FOR those people who won’t be praying for you.

This is Strong Soul stuff.

43-47″You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
48″In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”– Jesus

Workout:  Organize Your To-Do List

Spend 15-30 minutes on an initial brain dump, getting things out of your mind and onto a task list.  Set a timer.  Don’t feel you need to order or arrange or prioritize anything just dump the contents in your head onto a sheet of paper, a spreadsheet or digital note taker.  Categories may help in the emptying process, however, so feel free to come up with tasks from Home, Work, Finances, Email, Phone Calls, Family/Friends, etc.

The next step, according to David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, is to sort your list into “Tasks” or “Projects”, those tasks that can be grouped together or are related/dependent on each other.  Often the way the task first appears on our list is in a form that is not “actionable.”  This may require some re-writes on our part.  For example, my list may include “work on the yard” – which is a good thing according to my wife .  The problem is that “work on the yard” is a multi-task “Project” that I will need to break down into actionable tasks such as “buy gas for mower” and “rake the leaves” and “get the weed-eater back from my friend”.

As your working through your list you may find somethings are not really tasks that you can do or are related to things that don’t belong to you.  Scratch those out.

Now the next step for this workout is – nothing.  You don’t have to do any of the tasks, really.  Toss the list if you like.  Do what you want with it.  Guilt free.  You may find that in the act of creating the list you generated some enthusiasm for acting on items on the list.  Do those or don’t.  It’s up to you.

Some people find that a list like this brings a sense of order and peace.  Just seeing what you have to do on paper, nicely arranged and displayed, provides a sense of freedom.

You may find that the list has done just the opposite and it has increased your anxiety and stress.  Then your next task is to identify the task or tasks that are causing the stress.  Can you do anything about it?  If no, than your stress will do nothing for you.  If yes, ask yourself what is the very next thing you could do towards completing the task.  Then, because you have stress, do it and release it.  Then move to the next thing you could do, do it and release that.

The place where we want to be is acting upon that which can be acted upon and accepting that which we must accept.

In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means:  education and physical activity.  Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together.  With these two means, man can attain perfection. – Plato

Workout:  Challenge yourself physically

There’s such a strong connection between the condition of our body and the condition of our soul.  Seeing changes in the body is sometimes much easier.  This week take advantage of the link and do something physically demanding – at whatever level you are.  If you are a runner than add some distance.  If the only time you’ve broken a sweat recently is when the AC was broken than take a daily 10 minute walk around the block or do 10 pushups.  Look for and feel the relationship between your body and soul.

This made me laugh and be thankful at the same time.  It’s wonderfully done but I don’t know where to or who to give credit to.

What are you afraid of?

Workout:  List and describe your three biggest fears

I read somewhere that if you know what someone is afraid of you know what they need.  The workout this week is not to overcome your fears but simply to name them.  You don’t have to stop at three; you may have more.  Spend some time though in identifying the things you are afraid of.

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Now what are you going to do?

Imagine that you’ve just won 10 MILLION dollars. Feel good?  Feel happy?  I’ve been thinking about this preparing for an upcoming seminar and am considering it a possible alignment diagnostic tool.  If you did won, unexpectedly, lots and lots of money, what would you do differently than you are doing now?  How would your life change? Would you still work at what you’re doing now, live where you’re living now, etc?

Gossip is sometimes referred to as halitosis of the mind. – Unknown

Gossip needn’t be false to be evil – there’s a lot of truth that shouldn’t be passed around.  – Frank A. Clark

Who gossips to you will gossip about you. – Proverb

Conversation is an exercise of the mind; gossip is merely an exercise of the tongue. – Unknown.

The things most people want to know about are usually none of their business.  – George Bernard Shaw

You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.  – Leo Aikmang

What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t witness with your mouth.  – Jewish Proverb