cliffdog.com a blog about living happy and healthy

The Lent Challenge: The value of recognising attachment and addictions

2012-02-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

[Post by Cliff Harvey]

I've often commented on the use of religious devices and festivals as tools for self development. And I think if we cut away the dogma and ritual from them we can see that there were/are valid reasons for them.

Many religious devices compel putting aside time for meditative practice (i.e. the Sabbath) and others such as the fasting periods of Lent, Ramadan and others provide a realisation of our attachment to things (namely food, largesse and our vices.)

In the case of fasting practices after we strip away dogma and ritual we can see that the intention to give up some of the things we have become attached to helps us to realise just how attached we are, and in doing so we can recognise how our vices may be controlling us and affecting the way we act, and the way that we are. We also become aware of how little we actually do need in order to be happy, and how living with less can actually free us from our drive to possess and consume more and more.
This is the reason that I do Lent every year. I find short term fasting and abstinence is a great way to recognise patterns of behaviour and attachment. And I think that this was the original reason for this festival, and in fact many other devices and tools used in any of the world's faiths.

Lent is a Christian period of fasting lasting (generally; there is some variation between denominations) between Ash Wednesday (in 2012 this is the 22nd February) through to 'Holy Thursday' (also known as 'Maundy Thursday) - the Thursday before Easter.

Traditionally Lent involved a commitment to 3 practices:
1. Prayer
2. Fasting
3. Alms giving

The fasting or abstinence aspect of Lent is what most people nowadays associate with the period.

Traditionally this was very strict, and involved variations of abstinence from meat, dairy and eggs and in many cases alcohol, although often these were in most cases allowed on a Sunday. In modern times, particularly in Protestant circles Lent has become a time in which to give up a vice or a luxury.
Either approach can hold a lot of value in our process of greater self-realisation and growth.

Last year I stopped drinking coffee for the Lent period as I had already committed to 6 months off meat, dairy, eggs and alcohol.

This year I am going to engage in a very strict period of fasting, meditation and contemplative exercise, mimicking the oldest traditions of Lent.

My Lent Challenge

Fasting:
Abstaining from meat, dairy, eggs (except on on Sundays)
In addition I will be abstaining from alcohol, coffee, and all sugar and gluten (which I don't really eat anyway)

Meditation/Contemplative Work:
At least 20min of meditation per day

Almsgiving:
Donating 10% of any income derived from this time frame to charity

Who's up for a pretty tough challenge?!
Comment here or at my FaceBook Page and let me know what you are giving up...or if you'd like to join me in the challenge above!

~ Blessings,
Cliff

[Note: Due to my friends at Wok+Wine hosting their latest awesome event on Thursday the 23rd I will be starting Lent 2 days late on the 24th Feb!]

Shoot for the Stars...You Might Just Hit the Moon!

2012-02-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

Benchmarks = Mediocrity

~ Seth Godin

[Post by Cliff Harvey]

Lately I have been getting a double helping of inspiration in the morning from two sources: Believers by my good friend Dr Ian Brooks and Small is the New Big by Seth Godin.

Both are collections of short, inspiring business (and life) anecdotes, and so lend themselves to providing a quick shot of motivation, ideas and energy to a productive and purpose filled day of awesomeness!

I start the day by reading a chapter/story from Believers and then listen to the audio book of Small is the New Big on the way into my office. This morning, after being sufficiently motivated to give my clients and patients the absolute BEST customer experience I could, I was struck whilst driving, by Seth's simple words 'Benchmarks equal mediocrity...'

This simple phrase meshed seamlessly with Ian's take on the current economic crisis. Which (and I am liberally paraphrasing) is that the only way to survive, and thrive in these lean economic times is simply to provide a superior customer experience.

I think at the end of the day any of us who are in a business or activity that we love are on the most basic of levels simply providing a conduit for our clients/customers to be happier. This is the essence of a positive customer experience in my opinion.

Was my client happier as a result of their experience with me?

Were they overjoyed with the experience they had?....

Were the enchanted and blown away by the experience?!

- If they were you can guarantee that they will be back as customers and that they will tell others about it (according to Ian, research shows that they will tell an average of 9 people about the experience!)

If on the other hand we satisfy ourselves with arbitrary bench marks of standards and service, rather than striving to enchant our customers and overwhelm them with a joyous experience we may simply be shooting for mediocrity.

The danger of course in setting bench marks as a target is that often they are simply not big enough. They are not the 'Big Hairy Audacious Goals' (I stole this from super-heroine activist Sarah Jamieson) that drive us to achieve at levels we previously thought impossible.

The little goals we often don't even achieve because they don't create that fear...that 'Oh F**K!' feeling that setting and making ourselves accountable to a really big goal does.

The bigger the goal the more we will be driven to achieve it because we need to steel ourselves, commit to a higher degree and we feel an imperative to work harder and more consistently.

It is easier to slack off when we 'know' that we can achieve a goal quite easily.

And at the very least if you shoot for the stars you may hit the moon. If you shoot for the moon you may not even leave the ground...

Living (and Dying) Without Regrets...

2012-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

{Post by Cliff Harvey]

Australian nurse Bronnie Ware in her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing recounts her years caring for those with less than 12 weeks to live (note: I haven't read the book yet)

She encountered the top 5 regrets amongst the patients she cared for:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Several words spring out at me when reading this list, and provide a call to action for how to live a life without regrets:

Courage and more specifically the courage to live for you, not for what other expect of you.

Work - and not working for works sake, but to work instead doing what we love, and in order to provide ourselves with the means for having joyous experiences. As importantly allowing ourselves the time to fully appreciate the range of experiences that are part of our life of passion and purpose.

Staying in touch.... The people we love are our greatest asset. Not things, not money. Nothing can be more important than the people we love, and the currency we share with them is our time together. When we sacrifice that time we are cheating ourselves out of life's most joyous moments.

Allowing happiness... The way this is framed is really interesting: 'I wish I had let myself be happier...
I was just this morning working with a client, and one of the themes that I kept revisiting with them was 'getting out of their own way'.
So often we let the inconsequential get in the way of what is really most important. We allow the perceptions and expectations of others be our driving forces, rather than focussing on the intrinsic motivators that are most in line with our values, ethos...and ultimate happiness.

So let's flip these regrets into a simple intention list for living a life without regrets!
(Here are some examples, feel free to rephrase these in any way that is meaningful to you.)

1. I have the courage to live a life true to myself.
2. I give myself the time to experience all the joys and wonders available to me.
3. I have the courage to speak my truth and express my feelings.
4. I honour myself by creating and keeping strong connections with those I love. I give these relationships time in abundance!
5. I allow myself to be happy...I am happy! Happiness is my birth right! :)

~ Blessings
Cliff

Love: The Ultimate Intention

2012-01-30T10:31:00.000-08:00

Love.

One simple word with so many meanings.
We perhaps overuse the word love to denote what we like, but love; true, unconditional love, is the greatest felling-thought-emotion that we can ever know.
Unconditional love is all encompassing. It requires complete forgiveness - of both self and others - and total compassion for all.
When we connect to unconditional love we can feel as if we've been set free on the beautiful flow of life, no longer tethered to ego driven grudges and petty animosities.

That's why I love setting the simple intention: LOVE.

http://wegotthatattitude.tumblr.com

Daily intentions are often based upon more specific things we want to work on or achieve, but sometimes the simple intention of LOVE can be all that we need. In fact sometimes I wonder if we even need to bother with anything else...

Try taking that one simple word into the forefront of your mind today, and whenever you may feel lost and alone, stressed out or anxious, or frustrated with others and the world around you, simply bring that word 'LOVE' to your attention.
God is in the word - what we think becomes our reality...
So what better reality to create than one based upon love?

~ Blessings
Cliff

When Did You Stop Singing? When Did You Stop Dancing?

2012-01-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

I felt like giving her a good shake and yelling "What the hell are you doing?!"

...and perhaps it would have been justified. Perhaps that's what some of my spiritual warrior friends would call righteous anger...

I was sitting, chilling, drinking a cup of Joe and watching an Andean folk band perform at Granville Island in Vancouver. A few very young kids got up and began dancing in the way that only kids can. Moving simply to move, without fear or embarrassment.
There is something so natural about the way kids react to music, and something so beautiful in the purity of simply moving physically to something that moves us on a deeper level.
What better example of the interplay of the psyche and the soma?
A few more children got up and started bopping around to the primal sounds of the drums and flutes, until there was a veritable toddler dance party occurring.

Unfortunately I could see that some of the parents started becoming a little embarrassed by their children and one by one began corralling them and telling them to 'stop' or 'sit down', 'be still'.
For me at least it was so sad to see spontaneous expression curtailed like that.
Many of you may be thinking "Hey, it's no big deal." But I think that it is.

How many adults are afraid to express themselves? How many adults have lost the joy of movement? How many adults would benefit so very much from being more able to simply do what feels GREAT without fear of what others may think?

It is the subtle conditioning we receive, especially when very young, that shapes our actions throughout life. We can of course choose to change and co-create a new reality, but the more conditioning and patterning we have to battle against the harder this can be.

This scenario reminded me of something my friend and mentor Darryl Gurney once said: "When did you stop singing? When did you stop dancing?"
This was something that he had in turn been told by a Shaman in South America.
And what a great call to action!
When did we stop expressing ourselves for fear of what others think? When did we stop doing those things that feel so wonderful because they are not the 'norm'.

Live. Laugh. Dance. Sing. LOVE!

Be content being unconventional, because if the 'norm' is boring, and if the 'norm' doesn't let you express yourself in a way that makes you and those around you happy...then quite frankly being normal sucks!

Being Alone vs Being Lonely

2012-01-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

[Post by Cliff Harvey]

I think we have all had the experience of feeling lonely in a crowded room, and conversely have been completely alone and yet not felt lonely.
Being alone and being lonely are two very different things. The presence of people does not mean we will feel less lonely, and being without the immediate presence of people does not entail that by nature we will be lonely.

I have experienced the extremes of sitting on a particular beach, on different days (in the early hours of the morning) and being nearly completely alone, but in some instances feeling lonely and isolated, but most often feeling connected and loved.

The feeling we have of loneliness comes from disconnection. When we disconnect from others, and develop a feeling of being disconnected from the earth and the world around us we are likely to be lonely and feel truly alone. However when we reconnect and realize that we are all one, and can only ever be one, and that every thing and being is connected we can never be truly alone or lonely!

Knowing, and more-so truly believing that we are loved, unconditionally, is a key component of feeling connected. When we constantly require constant and visible signs of love and appreciation from others we are lacking the solidity of self love, and we will never truly believe that we are loved when these reminders are removed. Consciously of course we know that there are people who love us, on a grander scale we know that there is universal love, and we can never be disconnected from it...we can only choose at times to close ourselves off from it.

I have had many realizations of the universal truth of love. Some have been spontaneous whilst out walking or surfing, others through meditation, transformational breath work, yoga, and two of the most amazing experiences during a Psych-K 'Life Bonding Balance' and another as a result of a workshop/retreat I attended.

Part of the 'Life Bonding Balance' is to imagine your best and worst case death scenarios. The interesting thing for me was that in both scenarios that I imagined, I was alone. However in one I had the unshakable faith that I had helped make the world a better place and that I was unconditionally loved.
In the other I knew that I had deviated from my path of passion and purpose and was alone, lonely and without love. (I recount this experience in Time Rich Cash Optional: an unconventional guide to happiness).

The workshop/retreat culminated, after a weekend of self-work, with a period of reflection in which to allow a resolution or breakthrough to occur. As I contemplated in silence the beautiful realization that I am loved sprang into my mind and infused throughout my entire being, seemingly connecting me to all the universe around me. This realization...not simply knowing consciously but truly, deeply knowing, believing and understanding that I am loved provided one of the most deeply calming moments of my life. A moment that has infused itself through every subsequent moment.

Using the belief statement: "I am loved" as a daily intention or personal mantra reminds us day-to-day and moment-to-moment that even if we are alone, we need not be lonely, because love is always held for us in the hearts of those who we in turn love, and provides the wonderful threads that bind us all in a loving universal embrace.

~Blessings
Cliff

And here's a bonus for you! 'Alone' by my boys in Like A Storm

You Gots ta Have Hugs!

2012-01-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

[Post by Cliff Harvey]

I remember a short time after moving to Vancouver, Canada in 2007 that something didn't quite feel right.
This didn't surprise me - I had moved to a new country with all that entails: new friends, colleagues, sights and sounds; and not surprisingly there was a sense of at times disconnection and loneliness. But I couldn't help but think that it was more then just those cosmetic changes.
I soon realised that one of the things I was missing - that I had lost in the process of moving cities, was all the hugs I was used to!
Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a pretty "huggy" person. I love to hug my friends, my family...in fact anyone that I'm close to (and that's a lot of people!) and there is nothing like cuddling with a special someone. But when we move to a new place we inevitably have a period of re-establishing personal dynamics with those around us, and the intimacy we once had may not be immediately available.
This is a natural and normal consequence of finding our comfortable position again amongst others - but if we are not careful we can forget to re-introduce the things we have (temporarily) lost; not least of which is the importance of human contact.

As soon as I realised this lack of contact, and the effect it was having on my psyche (and no doubt soma) I made an intention to bring others into my personal physical space and to have AT LEAST 1 hug per day.

I have used this (1 hug per day) exercise with clients, and many are surprised at how much effort they need to apply in order to break out of their comfortable (but ultimately self limiting) isolation and achieve just 1 hug, each and every day. They are further surprised (as was I) when they realise just how many days they go without a hug,or any meaningful contact with others.

The benefits of physical contact for reducing stress and encouraging feelings of wellbeing are well known, and your body will thank you for making the effort to create that valuable connection with others.

I write about the value of connecting meaningfully with others in Time Rich Cash Optional: an unconventional guide to happiness as a crucial facet of creating a life of joy, passion and purpose...and there is no more meaningful way to create heart-felt connection with someone than through a beautiful, warm embrace.

Challenge:

Have at least 1 good, firm hug EACH and EVERY day!

Learning to Sit Alone, in a Quiet Room

2012-01-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

[Post by Leo Babauta]

‘All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.’ ~Blaise Pascal

Think about some of the problems of our daily lives, and how many of them would be eased if we could learn to sit alone, in a quiet empty room, with contentment.

If you’re content to sit alone quietly, you don’t need to eat junk food, to shop on impulse, to buy the latest gadget, to be on social media to see what everyone else is talking about or doing, to compare yourself to others, to make more money to keep up with the Joneses, to achieve glory or power, to conquer other lands or wage war, to be rude or violent to others, to be selfish or greedy, to be constantly busy or productive.You are content, and need nothing else. It solves a lot of problems.

Can you sit alone in an empty room? Can you enjoy the joy of quiet?

Most of us have trouble sitting alone, quietly, doing nothing. We have the need to do something, to check our inboxes and social media, to be productive. Sitting still can be difficult if you haven’t cultivated the habit.

I’ve been learning. In the morning, as my coffee is brewing, I sit. Even for a few minutes, at first, it is instructive. You learn to listen to your thoughts, to be aware of your urges to do something else, to plan and set goals. You learn to watch yourself, but to just sit still and not act on those urges. You learn to be content with stillness.You learn to savor the quiet. It’s something most of us don’t have, quiet, and it takes some getting used to.

When we’re driving our cars or out exercising or eating or working, we have music playing or we talk with people or we have the television on. Quiet can be amazing, though, because it helps us calm down, contemplate, slow down to savour the emptiness.An empty room, too, is a luxury. I try to empty my room of clutter, so that it’s fairly bare. That leaves only me, and the room is a blank slate ready to be filled with me, my creativity, my silence. I love a Spartan room.Being alone is another pleasure we too often neglect. When we are alone, we go on the Internet or TV to see what else is going on, what others are doing or saying, instead of just being alone. This isolation is a necessary thing, that allows us to find ourselves, to learn to be content with little instead of always wanting more.

Can you practice being alone, being still, being quiet? Just a little at first, then perhaps a bit more. Listen, watch, learn about yourself. Find contentment. Need nothing more.

Check out some of Leo's e-books at www.katoahealth.com

Recap: Top 3 Posts of 2011

2012-01-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

In case you missed them, these are the 3 most viewed posts from 2011. Enjoy!

The Feminine Ideal - Frailty or Strength? ~ March 3rd
A call to action for women to be strong and empowered!

Am I Vegan Paleo? (and why I eat the way I eat...) ~March 2nd
A look into they way that I eat and why, and a caution to not define yourself by arbitrary nutritional dogma.

Some Saturday Kettlebell Fun in the Sun! ~ February 18th
Off the cuff article on one of my random Saturday workouts that garnered a lot of interest.

How to Set the RIGHT New Years Goals and Resolutions

2012-01-03T20:07:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when people sit down to focus on the year ahead, and inevitably that entails setting goals and resolutions...which famously few seem to stick to!

It's the time when gyms do a bumper trade and diet fads, detoxes and productivity systems sell like hot cakes...

The biggest problem that I see around this time of year (and when I work with people on goal setting in general) is that people often set the absolute dead wrong goals!

People miss THE key step in setting and achieving the goals that really matter and that is: to identify the life you want to be living!

This seems to be simple step, in fact a step so simple as to be unnecessary, but without actually taking the time to think about and connect with key aspects of the life we want to be living we have no idea whether our goals are leading towards that.

The question that most people ask themselves when setting goals is 'what could I do?'
In this respect goals give direction, which is exactly what they should do...but if the direction is not congruent with your values and ethos (in other words your best case life) the direction will be all wrong!
So rather than simply asking 'What could I do?' we should perhaps ask 'What would I love doing, and what would be congruent with my highest purpose in life?' (Lofty goals eh!?)

Starting the goal setting and resolution process with a Value Setting exercise helps us to set the right goals, the goals that matter and that are congruent with our highest values and ethos.

This value setting can be as simple as taking the time to think about your perfect life: what your environment is like, how you are, how you treat others and are treated, how you live and what you do day-to-day.

[Interested in discovering your Value Set, Setting the Goals that Matter and connecting with your life of Passion and Purpose? - Like our Facebook page for details of upcoming Life and Purpose workshops - Details TBA]

http://www.facebook.com/cliffharveyauthor

Check out last years posts on how to keep your Resolutions!

Freedom and Independence in Relationships (it comes from within!)

2011-12-25T12:47:00.000-08:00

[post by Cliff Harvey]

This year, for whatever reason, I have worked with many clients individually but for challenges that were affecting their relationships and greatly affecting their lives.

A common theme that presented time and again was that of freedom and independence within a relationship.

A fear for many is the loss of freedom and independence in a relationship.

The key factor in this, is that if you don't believe that you are free and that you are independent, you can never feel that you have that in a relationship, and particularly a relationship that is a close and intimate one.

However when you do have that internal solidity of self belief you have the comfort of truly knowing that you do have freedom and independence, whether in a relationship or not. Because freedom is being able to make the choices that we want to make, and a great relationship is a choice that you want to make!

A close, intimate caring relationship can be more of a struggle for someone lacking self belief in their own independence than a more 'arms length' and uncaring one, because they by default have more 'space'.

Freedom and independence for both parties are essential to a healthy relationship. But the drivers for this must come from within. When we realise that we are the co-creators of our reality, have a partner that knows this, and we start from a basis of trust and open communication this is actually very easily achieved.

Unfortunately I have seen on several occasions clients and acquaintances of mine reject healthy, intimate relationships in favour of cold, uncaring ones because it is easier to have a feeling of 'freedom' when you are not truly engaged with your partner. These types of relationships are very transactional (and sadly often defined by the material) and present all sorts of power imbalances and patterns of subtle abuse that are ultimately destroying for the self-worth and happiness of those involved.

Freedom is life. Independence comes from being truly authentic, having trust (in oneself and those we love) and creating lines of communication defined by the intention of unconditional love and compassion.

Hungry Ghosts: What we crave most we lack within....

2011-12-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

[post by Cliff Harvey]

Image from zendirtzendust.com

In Buddhist mythology there is a forlorn figure known as the 'hungry ghost' (or Preta).
In the Tibetan tradition this figure is usually shown with a tiny mouth and an enormous belly, symbolizing his insatiable hunger - a hunger that can never be satisfied, no matter how much he tries to consume.

This is a metaphor for the futility of trying to satisfy our cravings for what we lack within.

When we lack self-respect, unconditional love of self or self appreciation for example, we try to get these from the people around us. And we tie ourselves up in a never ending cycle of needing attention, craving the gestures that show appreciation and seeking constant validation.

I discuss the ideas of extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation in Time Rich Cash Optional: an unconventional guide to happiness. And just as motivators that are solely external are ultimately unfulfilling, seeking the extrinsic quenching of what we lack within is just as self limiting and frustrating. We simply cannot fill a void of lacking within with validation from without. We may try...but the void remains unless we cultivate our intrinsic strength and honour ourselves with love.

When we cultivate a strong sense of self-worth, love and appreciation, our happiness is no longer predicated on the futile quest for validation from those around us, and instead simply 'is'.
In this 'space' we vibrate at a higher level of happiness and compassion. We are more able to appreciate and enjoy when people do show us respect and give us gestures and gifts of love.
By releasing our attachment to 'needing' these things (and constantly craving more) we can truly begin to be more present in the moment of receiving with love and appreciation, not need and desire.

And this is when we can truly say, without pretense "Thank you. I love you" and have that be enough...

Blessings
~ Cliff

So that was 2011... [plus a special Xmas gift!]

2011-12-23T21:42:00.000-08:00

Wow - what a year!
It was a little over a year ago that I arrived back in Aotearoa after a little over 3 years in Vancouver and nearly 5 years spent mostly overseas.
The experience in Vancouver and wandering the globe had provided a period of unprecedented personal growth. Unfortunately at the same time I had invested heavily in a venture that didn't pan out and also fell victim to a combination of the global financial melt-down and my own pig headed stubbornness (AKA trying to hold on to too much for too long) and in the process lost the majority of my property, shares and other assets.

The dire nature of the situation hit me upon landing in New Zealand and going to my local Star Bucks for a coffee. "Sorry sir that card's declined"...yep..that's right. My very last card with any money on it declined for a $3.50 coffee...

Basically the situation couldn't have been any worse financially, but thankfully I was able to lean on my family for support, especially my Dad and wonderful sister Charlene who has been a rock for me on so many occasions.
That first Christmas back in New Zealand was really hard. Not being able to afford presents for loved ones especially was really stressful. I was blessed at that time to spend a lot of time with my God Father David Walden and his family and their presence was a much needed incubator for my motivation and confidence.

Hitting rock bottom can be soul destroying. You feel like a failure and you feel that you have little to offer. This is especially true for guys I think, and it was fascinating (in retrospect) to have to re-evaluate my relationship with time and money. I am not a materialistic person, but I was shocked at how much my self valuing and self worth was affected by my relative poverty (relative to the modicum of success and wealth I had achieved in the previous years). This was a learning that I was blessed to have.

There is though something strangely powerful about hitting rock bottom...
There is no surer way to avoid the choice conundrum. Your options become extremely limited and you have no choice but to work hard, work lean and work smart to achieve your goals.
There really is no way to go but up, assuming that you actually knuckle down and do it!

Not to say that it's always easy to haul yourself up. This year has in fact been very difficult but in looking back on the last 12-15 months I can now do so with a huge amount of pride.

Some of the things I am most proud of from 2011:

The publication of my second book Time Rich Cash Optional: An unconventional guide to happiness - a book that I am really proud of, and that garnered great exposure and reviews on TV, radio and in nationwide magazines in my home country and abroad.
Re-establishing my clinical practice in Auckland and having that continue to grow over the year.
Being able to re-establish a speaking presence in New Zealand and being invited to speak to many groups and organisations.
Getting traction for FightNutritionist.com in New Zealand and having the honour of working with several of NZ's top fighters including: Doug Viney, Richie Hardcore, Joe Hopkins, Steve Heremaia and Ben Sisam.
Working with some fantastic people in a new venture launching several amazing products next year (can't wait for release!)

There are also little goals that I set and achieved for my own peace, sanity and happiness. Little things like buying a new surf board and buying a car, just a few of the 'things' that help to provide for joyous experiences, and things that weren't an issue several years ago, but that grew in context when approached from a standpoint of $2.30 in the bank, high debt and no cash flow!

So I feel very happy, and very comfortable with a great 2011. It's been challenging, and there has been a lot of hard work this year. And I justifiably feel that pleasant, comfortable tiredness of a job well done.

2012 promises to be amazing!
In the coming year I will be rolling out several brand new products that I am really excited about, and that will provide opportunities for me and my network of health professionals.
I also have a Life and Purpose workshop series launching in 2012 that draws on the exercises and themes from my books, articles and from the experiences of my clinical mind-body practice and that will help people to connect with their life of passion and purpose, to set real, valuable goals and achieve them and much more!
And there will be some very cool charity projects on the board too. I'm looking forward most I think to giving back now that I'm in a stronger position again to do so.

Thanks to everyone who was part of this amazing year of growth and transformation: My readers, friends, whanau and clients and patients.
Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. I love you all!

And to thank you all for your support and love this year I am offering Time Rich Cash Optional: an unconventional guide to happiness completely FREE for 4 days from Xmas day onwards (kindle format from Amazon) here: http://www.amazon.com/Time-Rich-Cash-Optional-ebook/dp/B00556W908/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AZC9TZ4UC9CFC

Blessings
~ Cliff

Daily Intention: I live this day with love and compassion.

2011-12-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

[Post by Cliff Harvey]

I love intentions that incorporate love and compassion.
When we hold a strong intention of love and compassion as the 'razor' for our daily actions we begin to allow ourselves a small window of opportunity before we react out of hurt, anger or ego and instead are able to understand and forgive.
Understanding after all is the first step in forgiveness and forgiveness is synonymous with unconditional love.

Bringing the intention that all our daily actions will rest on a base of love and compassion is one of the best ways to open true heart felt connection with others.

As Philo said: Be kind, for everyone we meet is fighting a great battle...

What better way to recognise this, and honour ourselves and those we meet by setting the intention:

I live this day with love and compassion

That Peace

2011-12-20T23:21:00.000-08:00

That peace when you utter that word - enough.
And you know that it is...enough.

That peace of a field left, and a battle fought hard,
and perhaps won.

That peace of knowing that after all this...
there are two arms waiting...

[Cliff Harvey circa 2010]

Motion

2011-12-19T23:15:00.000-08:00

Motion, constant.
That reckless, whirling, diving of us.

Us all around.
Fast forward, a freeze frame blur.

Lights expose,
map my still form.

Quiet, the eye of a storm,
nucleus calm.

Closed eyes, closed heart.
Opening

Content...
While those around
spin....
spin....
spin...

[Cliff Harvey circa 2009]

Born Anew

2011-12-18T23:10:00.000-08:00

Born anew each moment,
The me that was fades,
as quickly as he arose.

Looking back through foggy mirror,
barely recognising this me -
that I know?, or moreso knew,
But no longer feel,
for that body has left me.
Left me anew

Battered,
through and through.
Weathered,
by the very water I drew,
Shattered,
by blow after blow.

And yet I squeezed,
too hard.
Drained that precious reserve.
Til now,
that bitter vinegar of memories held
too long,
is all that's left to lie with a pain
born, born again
anew

[Cliff Harvey circa 2009]

5 Reasons Why Holidays Make us Happy!

2011-12-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

[Post by Cliff Harvey]

1. They Offer a Change of Perspective

One of the crucial elements of happiness is really knowing what we want out of life.
Sometimes in the day to day hustle and bustle we can lose track of what is really most important to us; in terms of the type of person we want to be, how we would most like to act and engage with people and what type of life we want to be living.
The perspective shift of a holiday can help us to see what is most (and least) important to us in life and when we return we can integrate that into our lives...and begin to set the goals that really matter.

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.

~ George Moore

2. They Give us Time to be Still

Our lives are often defined by activity. We seek to be 'doing' things constantly and stillness can actually be quite uncomfortable for people if they feel that they should be constantly in action, performing and completing tasks. But many of our greatest realisations about life and spirit come whilst we are being still and mindful.

The mental and emotional 'break' that we give ourselves when we are on holiday can allow us to chill out and let go of our attachment to activity for activity's sake; in the process reducing our stress and anxiety in the moment, and with a carry on effect that can make us more mindful in our daily lives.

Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.

~ Eckhart Tolle

3. They Provide Joyous Experiences!

I've always thought that one of the defining points of a life well lived is what I call 'joyous experiences'.

These are the moments of joy and wonder that leave us breathless and they are the very moments that we will often cherish for a life time. These wonderful, rich experiences are those we have when we are on holiday, and there is no better example of this than the richness of experience we have whilst travelling.

The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page.

~ St. Augustine

4. They Can Offer a Simpler Kind of Life

Holidays are often on some level a simpler form of life for us.

We may travel somewhere to be pampered and looked after in an exclusive resort, or we may choose a rustic holiday on a beach in a hut with nothing but a pair of board shorts and a surfboard (my favourite!) but either of these two disparate scenarios simplify our lives.

We can become overly stressed out and anxious due to the physical and mental clutter that we accumulate in our lives, and holidays remove us from those distractions. They also provide a wake-up call that perhaps we can remove (at least some) of our day-to-day stress and anxiety by cutting out extraneous things from our daily routines.

Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.

~ Author Unknown

5. They Give us Something to Work Towards

When we plan for a holiday we really can see the 'light at the end of the tunnel'.

It is a reward that we have set in place and so is a very real way in which we honour ourselves (something we could all afford to do a lot more!)

Taking regular breaks is crucial for optimal happiness and life satisfaction. Too often people live according to a 'deferred life plan' where they work hard, and long, for a long period of time in order to (hopefully) enjoy their retirement. Unfortunately by the time many are of retirement age they are sick and tired and unwilling or unable to do many of the things that they had wanted to do in life.

The idea of 'mini-retirements' (which are in essence holidays based around interesting and varied experiences) is that we make a decision to begin to live the life of our dreams right now. Subsequently if there are experiences that we would like to enjoy we plan for them and make them a reality in our short term future, rather than putting them off.

We often fall into the trap of waiting for 'the right time' to take a holiday. But this can lead to us never actually taking a break and having some of the wonderful experiences we could have.

There will never be the 'perfect time' to do anything, but there is the right time to start living and having joyous experiences...and that time is now!

Daily Intention: 'As I Give, So I Receive'

2011-12-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes what we 'need' or want, and the pursuit thereof seems to take up a lot of our mental space.
Especially in these times of financial hardship, for many not having enough, wanting more and working hard to attain those things is preeminent.

But this can blind us to the help, support and care we could be providing to others...and if we are blinded to this too long they in turn will begin to turn away from us.

This is the law of reciprocity in action. We do for others, not necessarily so that they will do things or provide for us, but simply because we want to as part of our life of love.
The side effect of course is that what we give flows back to us.

I like to think of financial abundance in these terms too. It is a flow. If we hold on too much, and are too focused simply on what we can get, and not on giving to others, like a pool it stagnates and the inflows can be negatively affected.

'As I give, so I receive' is a daily intention that I have set many times this year.
It feels great to simply take some time to focus on being of service to others, and it is even quite de-stressing to do this.

I find it a great way to reduce the worry we sometimes fall into of thinking too much about whether our efforts will bare fruit and instead simply focus on living in the present and giving to others and doing for others.

A great action to tie in with this affirmation is to accept ANY request for help.
If someone from a charity asks for a donation, you give what you can. If someone asks for help moving, you do it. If someone needs someone to talk to - you are that person.
While we can't always acquiesce to every desire others have of us, this exercise can be useful in showing just how much we can do for others, and how enjoyable it is to be of service to those in need.
By making the decision to simply say 'yes' to requests (even if only for a short time) we remove the stress of thinking "Should I, or shouldn't I" - because we've already made the decision!

Give it a go!

Take this beautiful intention of flow and reciprocity and see how it can change the context of your day.

~ Blessings
Cliff

Daily Intention: "I have all the time in the world..."

2011-12-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

These past 18 months have been fairly hectic for me, and have been a time summed up pretty concisely in one word: Change.

Leaving my friends and colleagues in Vancouver to first go on a road trip with my brothers in the phenomenal rock band Like A Storm (www.likeastorm.com) and then coming home to Aotearoa just over a year ago to finish Time Rich Cash Optional and set up my practice on Auckland's North Shore. Along the way I found a renewed passion for training, social activism and became involved in 3 other exciting new business ventures.
Suffice to say it's been busy...
And while one of my ongoing challenges is to hold myself back from trying to do too much, the other is to keep a sense of rationality and context around life and the way we relate to it day-to-day.
Because let's face it, life is crazy nowadays. We are driven by stress. We often work hard and long...and a common theme I see every day working with my clients is that there never seems to be enough time in the day.

With all that's going on in business, training, love...LIFE...it is easy to become overwhelmed.

A daily intention I have used many times throughout this year is:
"I have all the time in the world!"

This to me is such a powerful reversal of the resigned mind-set we often fall into. The mindset of "There just isn't enough time in a day!"
We all have the choice to change our lives, and if we don't like that we don't seem to have enough time, we can choose to change what we do....OR choose to relate to what we do differently.
And this is what I often decide to do.
I really love what I do, and thrive on the variety provided by having different challenges and utilizing different aspects of my skill-set. So there will very often be a lot on. I have made that choice.
So the context of how I act changes subtly. No one is taking time from me I choose to spend my time.
It is perfectly true that I have ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, and I choose to spend it doing things that I want and need to do.

Simply reminding ourselves when become overwhelmed that I have all the time in the world immediately relaxes and calms us. We realize that WE are accountable for our situation, and that we have time, that we spend time, and how we spend that time is up to us.
We become more in tune with the 'flow' of time, and have the epiphany that we are simply walking life's beautiful path, not simply spending some 'thing'.

We cannot hold on to time. We can simply be IN it, and be WITH it.

Stop. Relax. Breathe.
You have all the time in the world.

~ Blessings
Cliff

Setting Daily Intentions

2011-12-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

Setting Daily Intentions is one of my favourite strategies for encouraging a more positive, optimistic approach to life.
A daily intention is a way to take stock through the day and refocus on what is most important.
The intentions we use are themes that are congruent with our values and ethos, and not only help us to stay on track, but also define aspects of the person we are, and the highest self we seek to become.

The best time to set a daily intention is first thing upon waking, or immediately after any morning practices such as yoga, breath-work, balancing or meditation.

Simply sit in stillness (perhaps after a short mindfulness of breath meditation) and let a few choice words, or a phrase come into your mind.
I have found in my own work, and in using intentions over many years with clients, that if we simply allow something to come up, what comes up is really what we need at that time in our lives.

You will often see that what comes up mirrors a real need in your life situation.

Remember that intentions, like belief statements and affirmations should always be:
1. Present Tense
2. Personal
3. Powerful
4. Emotionally Compelling

By framing what we say to ourselves in the present tense we start to enable what we want to be true and bring it into the present. This is a more effective way to encourage sub-conscious change (as the sub-conscious is a linear, present tense processor) than saying that we 'want' something to be true, or that something 'will' be true.
Instead we can say that it is true! For example if I had been feeling weak (physically, emotionally, mentally) then rather than saying "I am going to be strong" I would say "I AM strong!"

Of course our intentions should also always be positive and powerful - there is no point reinforcing negative behaviours!
And remember that to say we 'don't' want something doesn't really work because we end up thinking about the thing we are not wanting and potentially reinforcing neural circuits associated with it! (Think of the analogy of saying to yourself: "I will NOT think of a pink elephant..."
What happens? You think of a pink elephant!

During your day if you feel under stress or pressure, or simply feel that you are losing mindfulness or focus, simply breathe, relax and repeat your daily intention to yourself a few times. It is amazing how freeing doing this can be.

[I will be posting examples of Daily Intentions that I and my clients have used, so stay tuned!]

Less is More...

2011-12-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

Yes it's a cliché, but like most clichés it becomes so because of it's universality and truth.
I know that I have felt at my greatest ease not when I have more but when I have less.
And by less I don't mean just things. But less worry and less responsibility for the unimportant.

I guess the strange dichotomy of the modern world is that we strive (and stress) to free ourselves from stress. We attempt to release 'things' that have a hold over us to reduce stress on the one hand, and yet with the other we accumulate more and more 'things' that compel us to do something with them.
We accumulate in the vain attempt to provide a level of happiness that material things alone can never provide. If we continue to be extrinsically motivated (by things, and by the expectations of others) that happiness we seek can never be found, and can never be lasting.

Certain of life's things we can have in abundance of course, and those by and large are intangible, and are what I consider to be the stuff that life's made of! Love, laughter, and moments of joyous experiences.

What we have should be determined by these factors. Otherwise we are simply putting the cart before the horse.
We should ask ourselves: 'Am I trying to achieve happiness by possessing this 'thing' (or person...)?...or does this thing help me to have great experiences in my life of wonder and joy?
The difference whilst subtle is enormous.

There is only one thing in life that we can never have too much of...and that is unconditional love.

A Holistic Look at Cancer

2011-11-29T22:02:00.000-08:00

[Guest post by Allison Brooks]

When training for a marathon, or competing in an event, an athlete must nurture his/her body with the correct supplements to produce the best outcome. Without the right amount of certain minerals, vitamins, or electrolytes, the body becomes weak and cannot function to the best of its abilities. This is the same with any scenario. One does not need to be running a race or playing a sport to eat healthy and aid function. This holds true with patients battling a chronic illness or cancer.
In my eyes, natural facilitators are to cancer patients like Gatorade is to athletes. Gatorade is not needed for an athlete to perform, but it gives them the nutrients needed to produce positive results. This is the same for cancer patients. Herbs and certain natural extracts are not needed to overcome cancer, but they do give the body added strength for the battle ahead. Normally patients diagnosed with an aggressive cancer or one with a low survivability rate, like pancreatic cancer, mesothelioma, or phyllodes tumors, adopt a natural compliment for conventional treatments.
The usage of tonic herbs functions as a fantastic complementary/alternative treatment protocol for cancer patients. Tonic herbs can also be consumed on regular basis. Panx Ginseng, Reishi mushroom, Rhodiola rosea root, and Schizandra berry are adaptogenic in nature and thus strengthen the homeostasis of the body and promote immune system health. In addition, hormonal and neurological balance is also achieved. These herbs work by strengthening your bodily systems so that the resulted weakness from conventional cancer treatments can be combated. This can improve the quality of life, physically and mentally.
Another fascinating tidbit about natural health is the use of mistletoe with cancer treatment. Iscador is probably one the most unknown, mostly used plant extract for cancer out there. For over ninety years this direct derivative from mistletoe has been used to boost the immune system and stop cancer cell growth. There have been many controlled studies and clinical trials that have shown remarkable outcomes. With the combined use of this extract and conventional treatments, patients live 40% longer.
Though this piece only exemplifies a small sample of holistic treatments for cancer, it sheds light on the importance of incorporating natural remedies with treatments and recovery. It is important to remember that the human body is made of nature, so replenishing it with its natural counterparts is the best way to allow it to function appropriately.

Allison Brooks studied at the University of Mississippi where she earned a degree in biomedical anthropology. She is currently studying in the field to complete an ethnography on the effects of biomedicalization on Bolivian cultures.

The No New Gifts Holiday ~ By Leo Babauta

2011-11-23T14:53:00.001-08:00

[Post written by Leo Babauta.]

Are you ready to participate in the mad shopping frenzy that we partake in every year, not only on Black Friday but all holiday season long?
Are you ready for an incredible burst of spending, for racking up credit card debt, for the stress of buying things for everyone on your list?
Are you ready to consume an insane amount of resources, to have a huge impact on the environment, to work long hours to pay for all that?

Yep, it’s the holiday season again, and with it comes the worst season for consumerism ever.

I say, let’s opt out. My family and I are issuing a challenge to all my wonderful readers, to the world:
The No New Gifts Holiday Challenge.

What is this crazy challenge?
It’s simple — follow this rule:

Buy no new gifts during the holidays.

Wait, whaaat?
Don’t fret, there are alternatives:
- Make gifts, like crafts or construction type gifts.
- Bake or cook consumable gifts like cookies.
- Give the gift of your service — wash cars, give a massage, babysit, clean a house, mow lawns, etc.
- Buy used gifts at thrift stores.
- Donate to charity, as a group.
- Volunteer at a charity together.
- Have a shared experience together.
- Create something, together, instead of consuming.
- Give to others things you don’t need (a good sewing machine, etc.).
- Find gratitude for what we already have.

Are you in?...
Take the challenge!
It’ll be fun, you’ll save a ton of money, and your family will get creative. Read on.

The Tradition of Traditions
Many people will scoff, and say they love giving gifts. It’s a tradition, after all!Well, sure. But new traditions can be made if the old ones aren’t working out. And I’d argue the tradition of buying gifts is broken. [Read: The Case Against Buying Gifts.]

Do we really want to teach our children that giving is really all about buying?
Do we want to teach them that to show love, you must buy something?
Do we want to set an example of consumerism instead of creativity?
Are we saying that the only way a family or friends can get together is if we spend a crapload of needless money?

No. Let’s be more creative. Let’s create new traditions.
What kind of traditions?
What if families got together and played games? Built things? Went outdoors to hike, play games, swim, play in the snow, camp out? What if families taught each other how to make things?What if families got together to help others? Volunteer at a soup kitchen, help others build houses, clean up a neighborhood? Show that giving can be amazing, but it doesn’t have to involve consumerism.

Get creative. Get healthy. Get constructive. Get compassionate.

But the sales!...All the money I’ll save!
I think you know this already, but it’s worth reminding ourselves that when you shop during a sale, you aren’t saving money. You are spending it.The best way to save money is by not buying at all.Sure, there are some necessities that we need, but holiday sales are not about necessities. They’re about convincing you that all these TVs, iPads, Kindle Fires, iPods, video game systems, clothes, power tools and more are necessities. You can’t escape buying all this stuff, because it’s Christmas dammit!
So come down and save some money, and sign up for store credit while you’re at it.
When retailers offer you a major sale, this is a good time to run in the other direction. They’re trying to trick you into buying something you don’t need. When you see an advertisement for something, anything, it’s a good time to shut off whatever you’re watching, or go to another website. You don’t need it. Opt out of Black Friday, at the very least. (We’ll talk about next year later.)

But … my family won’t!
First, your whole family doesn’t have to do this. Just you. You’ll be an oddball, and some people won’t understand, but you’ll be leading by example. Send them a link to this post, and tell them Leo made you do it. Just because everyone else is doing massive consumerism, doesn’t mean you have to.
Second, don’t be fatalist. Your family might be willing to change, if you at least start the discussion. Again, send a link to this post. Ask them what they think. Challenge them to get creative.This could save your family thousands of dollars, and be incredibly gratifying in the process. Instead of spending hours of shopping apart from each other, you could be spending hours together, doing things. Celebrate the holidays simply.Talk about the benefits of changing, and the problems with the way things have been done.These holidays weren’t always about massive shopping.
What did people do before department stores and malls and online retailers? How did they ever survive?Let’s try to remember.

Dealing with Difficult People
Some friends or family members absolutely won’t join you. That’s OK. You don’t need to force this on anyone.Remember that everyone will change at their own pace, and not everyone will embrace changes like this. They’ll feel threatened, or criticized. You need to try not to come off as critical of others, but more positive.Tell them that they are not required to join you, but that you want to do this for your own sanity. You are trying to save money, but mostly you want to move away from consumerism. Ask only that they respect this.Others might insist on getting you presents. Politely ask that they don’t, but if they do, don’t be ungrateful. It can be awkward — for years I’ve asked family not to buy me presents, only to have some of them buy me stuff anyway. I don’t buy them anything, so it’s weird. But these days I just smile, and say thank you, and appreciate the effort. It’s a long education process, trust me.In the meantime, you can still suggest starting other traditions, like playing games or going outside or volunteering.Be patient. Others don’t like to be forced into change, so just be the change you want to see in the world.

Cliff's Note:
I love Leo's take on this, and I will be doing a variation on the 'No New Gifts Holiday' this year. The reality is that Christmas should be about giving and receiving love, not things. I don't have any issue with presents...in fact i love giving them and receiving them...but my major issue is with all the waste!
Making things, giving the gift of service and donations to charity are a better way to go in my humble opinion than simply buying something for someone out of obligation.
If you know that someone really wants...or more importantly needs something then sure - it's a great gift but buying something that ends up collecting dust is just a waste.
I think that many people only really give on Christmas and Birthdays. I'd rather create a culture of giving and we can still set aside the time to be with our family and loved ones at Christmas.
It's one reason that when I was living in Canada my favourite holiday was Thanks Giving. It was simply a time to sit, eat, drink and be merry with those that you love. Almost like Christmas without the materialism and stress!

Leo's e-books, and my own books are available at www.katoahealth.com

Do One Thing at a Time (AKA Multi-Tasking Sucks!)

2011-11-22T16:33:00.001-08:00

Many have the mistaken idea that (trying to) do more than one thing at a time is an effective way to increase efficiency.But all it serves to do is distract our attention, and we cannot do any of the tasks with any great precision.
We end up doing things in a haphazard and sub-standard manner, or taking more overall time to complete the tasks.
Having a single focus at any one time is a great way to preserve that attention to detail that allows us to do exemplary work... and it's also a great exercise in mindfulness...
One of my favourite mindfulness reminders is to ask "What am I doing now?" and then to simply do that one thing, whatever it is, to completion, and with complete attention.
It's a great way to bring joy to mundane activities and attention to the things that really matter.

Overriding the Natural: How medicalization has separated the human body from the natural realm

2011-11-15T21:51:00.001-08:00

[Note: This is a guest post by Allison Brooks]

In this day in age, it is hard to give a good definition for the simple term, “nature”.
There are many “go green” projects and there are even aisles in grocery stores that are labeled, “natural foods”. But what is natural? Isn’t anything from mother earth natural? It seems that with our immense knowledge it should be easy to distinguish from what is natural and what is not. But if there is a new way to label our food as natural, what are the rest of the food goods in the market; a bag of processed nuts and bolts that take the shape of corn?

My point is that, as technology increases and the more science imposes itself on the natural world, it blurs that line between natural and not natural.
Though it is hard for human beings to swallow, they are part of the natural world and their bodies follow the laws of nature. All circumstances are placed on them just as they are on the animals in the wild. The processes of natural selection take place, and people are born, people live, and people die. But with our grip on technology humans can thwart many of these natural occurrences. And with this grip, they hold themselves above the natural world, and view themselves in a new light. I am not saying that humans are robots, but the human body, in today’s age, does blend between the natural and the non-natural world.

The technology of today, gives rise to a new vocabulary, most bound to the medical realm.
One of these words is medicalization.
This is the main process in which humans question themselves and nature. In my opinion, medicalization is a way to simplify the chaos in everyday life. When there is a name to every problem or symptom, it is easier to diagnose the disorder or how to cope with the problem. Though it is not a bad thing to simplify symptoms and certain diseases, medicalizing the natural world makes one dependent on the medical profession world. Since medicine has become related to basically every aspect of human life, it has had wide ranging political and social consequences. Its growing influence reflects an increasing unwillingness to rely on religion, natural remedies, and law to provide an accurate definition of the meaning of life and health. With this increase of technology and the body, our understanding of what is natural and not natural becomes vague. Before vaccines, contraceptives, prenatal care, and organ transplant, humans thought they knew how their body functioned.
Now, even the simple tasks of the body are questionable.

Not only are the basic aspects of human life questioned when medicines are forced on a civilization, but so are the traditional cures of that group. Many people in the U.S., Bolivia, Africa, and the entire world, are coerced or made to feel guilty about practicing traditional, natural remedies. Since science and technology are not involved, these proven practices are made to seem obsolete. Herb remedies, meditation, yoga, or other homeopathic or naturopathic therapies have had long histories of success. Many doctors in modern times even recommend using these therapies as an integrative treatment. They have been recommending patients with a low-survivability rate cancer, such as non-hodgkin’s lymphoma or pleural mesothelioma, to adopt a complementary therapy to go along with conventional treatments. Many patients have claimed to recover faster or that the symptoms of treatments are alleviated from certain traditional techniques.

Allison Brooks studied at the University of Mississippi where she earned a degree in biomedical anthropology. She is currently studying in the field to complete an ethnography on the effects of biomedicalization on Bolivian cultures.

10 Simple Tips for a Better Night's Sleep

2011-11-14T21:08:00.001-08:00

A client and I were speaking about his poor sleep quality, a problem that I help many, many people work through. As I was outlining some suggestions I realised that I had never written a blog post on this topic!

...and so here it is - Cliffdog's guide to getting a better sleep!

Why is sleep so important?

It’s probably fair to say that most of you reading this don’t get enough sleep.
In fact since 1910 the average amount of sleep we get per night has fallen from an average of 9 hours to 7.5 hours.
Most of the people I see in my naturopathic practice initially have either; trouble getting to sleep, poor sleep quality or they wake up feeling like crap!

But the fact that sleep rates have fallen doesn't necessarily mean we aren’t getting enough sleep, and the amounts we need vary widely from person to person.
Some people function perfectly well on as little as 3-4 hours sleep per night. Most of us however need a lot more than this.
The recommended amounts of sleep for various ages are:
Zero to 24 months: Thirteen to seventeen hours.
Two years +: Nine to thirteen hours.
Ten years +: Ten to eleven hours.
Sixteen to 65 years: Six to nine hours.
Over 65 years: Six to eight hours.

So most of us should really be shooting for at least six hours of sleep per night.
If we exercise or are highly active in our work, or in a high stress environment our needs may be greater and elite college athletes have shown a positiuve correlation between performance and increased sleep hours (to 9 hours) even when those were not continuous (in other words they used napping to get to 9 hours per day.)

What happens if we don’t get enough sleep?
At it’s most extreme sleep deprivation is fatal! Lab rats when denied sleep completely, die within two to three weeks.The brain’s ability to function deteriorates markedly as a consequence of too little sleep. Speech may slur, cognition decreases and thought patterning becomes more rigid. It’s like the brain without adequate rest goes into ‘auto-pilot’ mode and has much more trouble being creative, problem solving or troubleshooting.
Emotional disturbances result from sleep deprivation too. The transient anxiety and irritability we all feel from the odd late night can develop into more serious anxiety and depressive disorders with prolonged sleep deprivation.
Physical performance also drops in response to inadequate sleep. Endurance and strength levels begin to drop, ocular function deteriorates, fine motor control and co-ordination deteriorate and glucose metabolism is less efficient (not good if you want to get and stay lean!).
In fact a study in the British Journal of Occupational and Environmental medicine showed that driving after less than six hours sleep was more dangerous than driving over the legal breath alcohol limit!

Some of the more common reasons for lack of sleep and sleep quality are shift work, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, diet and emotional stress.
Luckily these are all things that we can begin to deal with.

Shift work is something that is a fact of life for most people, but sticking with regular sleeping hours (at least 6 and optimally 8-9) and times will help to reset the bodies internal clock (even on days off when we try to ‘catch up’ on sleep. It’s a better idea to still try to keep with the same pattern.)

10 Simple Steps to a better sleep:

1. Ask yourself: "Why am I having trouble sleeping?" (AKA 'How is this serving me?')

Rather than just launching into 'treatments' for insomnia, we are much better served by looking at the reasons why we don't sleep well.
Usually we have things on our minds and often these are coming from work, relationships or other 'stressors'. The important thing to note is that it is not the stressor that stresses us out! It is our relationship to it. If we simply remove the stressor we will soon find another situation arises that provides stress for the same underlying reason. Usually our stress driven relationship with these situations results from aspects of security, self worth, loss or attachment. Consulting a practitioner who can help release self limiting beliefs and behaviours (such as yours truly!) can help ensure a great night sleep.

2. Create a ritual

Sometimes we simply continue in a 'work-day' mindset even when we are at home. We haven't really 'disengaged' from our day and provided a signal to our body-mind complex to go into relaxation mode.
Creating a ritual helps to do this. It is a somatic and psychological signal that it is now time to stop thinking and worrying about the concerns of the day and instead to put them aside and focus on recovery and relaxation.
This is one of the reasons I often counsel my clients to do a short meditation when they first get home. It provides a 'bookmark' to the day and can really help to settle into a much more relaxed state. Other great rituals include: breathing exercises, yoga, whole brain exercises, and one of my favourites - making a cup of relaxing herbal tea. (Peppermint, chamomile, valerian, passionflower and skullcap are all relaxing herbs - check with your Naturopath or Medical Herbalist to see what is best for you.)

3. Turn the damn TV off and don't stay on the computer too late!

Our daily rhythms are heavily affected by light intensity. In a natural state as light intensity drops (as the sun goes down) we begin to change our balance of hormonal biochemistry in favour of the relaxing and sleep inducing hormones rather than the diurnal stimulatory hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine.
TV and computer screens emit a high light intensity that can practically fool the brain/body into awakening! The heavily stimulatory themes on many TV shows add to this effect.
I have seen profound results with clients sleep quality when they stop watching TV before 9pm and remove the television from the bed room!
(Note: The bedroom should be a place for sleeping, reading. relaxing and having sex only!)

4. Read some fiction

Reading fiction seems to do just the trick for relaxing the mind and helping sleep. While non-fiction can cause us to plan and begin to project into the future - driving a moderate stress (fight or flight) response. Fiction seems to do the opposite. Heavily violent or disturbing themes may do the opposite though so be aware of what works best for you.

5. Have a bath

A warm bath or shower is relaxing in and of itself, but the primary sleep benefit of taking a bath or shower before bed is the drop in temperature that occurs afterwards. This drop in temperature is both associated with and causative of sleep. Of course you can get fancy and add some relaxing essential oils, put on some Barry Manilow or whatever else floats your boat. (Hey whatever you do in your bath is your own business!)

6. Meditate

The mind's constant buzzing and whirring is the biggest obstacle to sleep, so many people attempt to try in vain to 'switch the mind off'. This is an exercise in futility..and in my opinion a devaluing of the wonderful properties of the mind! But we can simply let the thoughts be, and not either: try to repress them, or get carried away with them. Either of which provides energy to the thoughts and prevents us from sleeping. Using mindful, contemplative exercises like a breathing meditation can allow the mind to become more still, more calm and we can simply let the thoughts arise and fall without attachment. (For tips on meditation see: Time Rich Cash Optional: an unconventional guide to happiness)

7. Don't take your work home

Leave your work at the office. If you bring it home there is even more of an imperative to resume unfinished tasks, and even the mere sight of it can drive subconscious processes associated with adrenal stress response. By leaving it at the office you have both 'out of sight, out of mind' and you have created a clear delineation between work time-space and home time-space.

Try some gentle herbs and supplements
The herbs already suggested can be gentle aids to a better sleep. Other nutritional supplements (especially magnesium and melatonin) may also be useful for many people. Again I always suggest that you see a Clinical Nutritionist or Naturopath for advice on what would work best for you.

8. Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed

This is a complete no-brainer! Caffeine is obviously a stimulant, and even if you don't think that late cup o' Joe is affecting your ability to sleep or quality of sleep it is probably providing a more restless slumber. Avoid caffeine at least 6 hours before bed (and many of my clients report that at least 9 hours is best.)
Alcohol also affects quality of sleep. Although we may be able to get to sleep easily as a result of a wee tipple we are less able to enter the deepest states of sleep. I know that if I have a few wines my sleep will be less effective and more restless...but sometimes there are beautiful women needing to be regaled over a fine glass of Mendoza Malbec...but you play the game and pay the price (gladly some times!)

9. Watch out for those Meds!
Remember many medications can interfere with sleep patterns including asthma relief medications (as they are stimulatory to the CNS), pseudoephedrine containing cough and cold remedies and antidepressants. If you think your medications may be affecting your sleep talk with your health provider about ways to limit the effect they may be having (but try to avoid sleeping pills, they don’t give a good quality of sleep and may develop dependency.)

10. Don't eat too much before bed

Eating too much can simply upset digestive processes. This is very individual and context dependent but I like to avoid food for about 3 hours before bed. Having a high sugar/high GI-II carbohydrate meal can also sabotage sleep due to the effect of the blood glucose spike and converse crash.

If you are having trouble sleeping and feel that stress and other life issues may be playing a role drop me a line for an appointment (info@cliffharvey.com) or check out some of the life strategies in Choosing You! and Time Rich Cash Optional: an unconventional guide to happiness ~ http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004JBBX66

Blessings
~ Cliff

F&*K Fabric Softener [a rant...]

2011-11-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

I was watching TV (something I only rarely do) with my sister - and an advertisement for fabric softener came on.
It got me to thinking about how on earth we got to a point where we have innumerable choices in fabric softener and that something so banal can be part of the way that we define ourselves.
Think about it....if you actually care about what fabric softener you use, and if you have a favourite brand you are in some way defining yourself by that. You have become in part defined by what brand of fabric softener you use. Wow.
I could state the obvious that there is so much more to life than fabric softener, or that (cliche as it is) there are children dying in Africa. But it's even more than that...IT'S F%^KEN FABRIC SOFTENER!

"Really..." I said to my sis "how fucked up has this world become that anyone would even give a shit what fabric softener they use? It's fabric softener for God's sake!"

I have never used fabric softener (could you guess?)
And while I get that your favourite brand may a) smell nice and b) make your shirt oh so divine to wear - the advertisements are not even about even that anymore.
They are about beautiful people jumping around like commitable lunatics, altogether with any combination of cartoon flowers/animals, babies and other wonderful things...
I guess if I lived in CandyLand instead of Auckland's North Shore it might be a little more relevant to me...but seriously; F'n Fabric Softener?

I wonder what fabric softener defines me? Excuse me while I go and contemplate that while standing on the railing of a very high bridge....

[feel free to replace 'Fabric Softener' in this post with almost any modern consumer item ;) ]

...

Productivity NEVER Outweighs Humanity

2011-10-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

An oft heard argument for continuing with many abhorrent practices, particularly in the field of agriculture, is that to change will decrease productivity and efficiency (and that this will increase the cost of products to the end user.)
This misses the vital and immutable point that productivity NEVER outweighs humanity.
There is a point that comes when the right thing to do simply must be done, irrespective of any reduction in efficiency or increasing in prices.

The same argument was used by slave owners in the American South as a justification for slavery. Of course we now (almost) universally accept that any production and cost benefits of keeping slaves can not even be considered in any sense to be 'worth it'.

I contend that the same is true of practices such as factory farming of beef, crating of sows and battery farming of eggs.
Cost can never be solely measured in dollar terms. Basic, fundamental humanity and compassion, and social and environmental costs are not even 'as' important...but exponentially more so.

The right thing to do is simply the right thing to do, irrespective of production, efficiency and monetary cost.

...

The Key to Changing the World is Changing Oneself

2011-10-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

[Excerpt from Time Rich Cash Optional ~ an unconventional guide to happiness]

Our current paradigm is not working.
We have fooled ourselves into thinking that accumulating more and more possessions will somehow, at some stage, provide happiness in our lives.
I think most of us realise that this is futile, and yet we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. They say that making a mistake is one thing, but repeating it is madness … so perhaps we have all gone a little mad.
It certainly seems that way when we look at how we are depleting the Earth’s resources at an ever-increasing rate, polluting our beautiful planet, enslaving other living beings and treating them with appalling cruelty, and becoming, as a species, sicker and more tired.
There’s got to be a better way!
And there is.
But to create the change necessary requires more than simply changing actions within the same paradigm we have created. It requires a ‘conscious shift’ out of the current norm of consumerism and materialism to a mindset of greater simplicity, a mindset where giving is more important than receiving, and a mindset where we have allowed ourselves to dream the lives we want to be living and have rationally evaluated what is really necessary to bring that life to fruition.
The economic crisis of the last few years has brought this to the fore for many, and I have seen in clinical health practice and in my lectures and workshops that the people I speak to have really begun re-evaluating what is most important in life. This may well have been the silver lining to the cloud of our most recent economic depression.
We need to re-evaluate life and how we live on a greater scale, and perhaps now we are at a time where a real conscious shift is happening, as more and more people rebel against the norm of working long and hard for little real reward and instead focus on increased happiness and satisfaction.
Our motivation is the primary driver of what we do and is unfortunately provided by the conditioning of the prevailing world paradigm, which is clearly shaped by consumerism and materialism. In fact I would go so far as to say that the prevailing mentality in the modern world is greed.
And whilst actions of conservation, charity and connection are absolutely crucial to even begin to enact change in the world, there must also be a fundamental shift in consciousness to change the paradigm of how we live. We need to begin to recognise what is most important in life – not just that there are problems in the world – and begin to live our lives according to what is most important.
We must absolutely begin to live our lives in a way that does not conform to the processes destroying the planet and reducing the potential of happiness in the world. Our very survival depends upon it.
We need to realise (in the epiphanic sense) that happiness and joy come from joyous experiences – joyous experiences provided by the acts of connection to others, connecting to the world around us, and ultimately connection to that which is greater than us. This aspect of that which is greater than us may be called, in esoteric circles, the super-conscious or divine, but it is being proven more and more regularly, within the realms of emerging sciences such as Noetics, to be an integral and tangible aspect of the physical universe.
Perhaps when there are enough amongst us who are more concerned with people than Prada, a ‘tipping point’ will occur and the prevailing paradigm will change.
A paradigm of thought is only so because a majority of people believe it, therefore profound, paradigm-shifting change in a very real sense can occur when enough people believe in its possibility and begin to act in concert outside the norm. This fundamental change in perception away from status, ego and greed must occur in order for us as a species and for the planet as a whole to survive.
The modern sciences are proving again and again that we are all connected and we are, in turn, connected to everything else on the planet and in the universe. By honouring this we are, by extension, honouring ourselves; conversely by honouring our own health (not just physical but emotional, mental and spiritual) we honour and improve the health of the whole.
I have been asked countless times about my seemingly simplistic attitude that happiness is the goal of an objectively desirable life.
As a health practitioner I have seen that health is equal to happiness! Health of the body is happiness of the body, health of the mind is happiness of the mind and health of the spirit is happiness of the spirit.
And so, although this seems simple, I wonder:
Why not?
Why can’t we all be happier?
What is stopping anyone from being healthier and happier?
We all live out our own karma. Certain things must occur because events of the past have precipitated them, and often they provide for the learning opportunities we need to experience in this lifetime; and yet we can still feel victimised when calamity befalls us. But we have the choice in any given moment to act in ways that improve our circumstances, and we also have a choice to begin to engender more and more the conscious shift that can literally change the entire world and the universe in which it sits.

There is beauty in simplicity. I invite you to be part of the beautiful change.

[Excerpt from Time Rich Cash Optional ~ an unconventional guide to happiness available at www.katoahealth.com and Amazon]

...

Lover-Fighter

2011-10-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

People always say "I'm a lover, not a fighter" as if they are mutually exclusive...
I don't see why there has to be a distinction?
I love.
And more than that I strive to love unconditionally and completely, and yet I fight. I fight in a literal sense, having competed in various combat sports and martial arts since I was a little kid, and I fight with my mind, words and actions for what I believe in.
I fight with love in my heart.

I'm a lover, and a fighter.

...

"What if?" versus "What's Now?!"

2011-10-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting conversation with a client the other day.
A common theme for her, and in fact many of the people I see is the tendency to not just think about, but become consumed with the thought 'What if?'

In relation to most situations that arise in life, many of us spend an inordinate amount of time thinking of all the possibilities that could occur, and often in the negative. And whilst having time and allowing ourselves time to plan and prepare for eventualities is crucial, when it becomes our sole focus of thinking and we begin to think about it unduly, in spite of having done all practicable analysis and planning, it becomes paralysing.

My advice to this client was to focus on "What's now?" vs. "What if?"
This thread is very similar to asking oneself "what am I doing now" – a strategy I discuss in Time Rich Cash Optional.
Stopping ourselves in the midst of worrying and paining ourselves over what could be, and instead focusing on what is, and what is occurring this very moment, and indeed what we can affect in this moment brings us back to the present. The beautiful, wonderful present...the only time that we can live.

When we constantly put ourselves in a mental state of 'if' and 'when' we never give ourselves a chance to live truly and presently. Quite simply we worry the shit out of ourselves instead of living the shit out of life!

...

7 Tips for an Easier Life....[By Leo Babauta]

2011-10-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

1. Do less. This is my productivity mantra, and it’s counterintuitive. I actually don’t believe in productivity, but instead believe in doing the important things. Do less, and you’ll force yourself to choose between what’s just busywork, and what really matters. Life then becomes effortless, as you accomplish big things while being less busy.

2. Having less is lighter. Start asking yourself if you really need everything you have, or if you just have it out of fear. Start to let go of what you have, so it doesn’t own you. And then, as you have less, you feel lighter. It’s wonderful.

3. Let the little things go. People who struggle often fight over little things. We obsess over things that don’t really matter. We create resistance instead of letting things glide off us. Let the little things go, breathe, and move on to the important things.

4. Clean as you go. I haven’t written about this for a long time, but early in the life of Zen Habits I wrote about the habit of cleaning as you go. Instead of letting the cleaning pile up, put things away when you’re done. Wash your bowl. Wipe the counters clean as you pass them. Sweep up dirt when you notice it. By cleaning a little bit at a time, as you make messes, cleaning up becomes a breeze, and it’s never difficult. By the way, this applies to everything in life, not just cleaning.

5. Make small, gradual changes. Most people are too impatient to follow this advice — they want to do everything at once. We have so many changes to make, but we don’t want to wait a year for it all to happen. As a result, we often fail, and then feel crappy about it. Or we don’t start at all, because so many big changes is intimidating and overwhelming. I’ve learned the hard way that small changes are incredibly powerful, and they last longer. Gradual change leads to huge change, but slowly, and in a way that sticks. And it’s effortless.

6. Learn to focus on the things that matter. This is implied in the items above, but it’s so important I have to emphasize it. Swimming (or any physical activity for that matter) is best done when you do only the motions that matter, and eliminate the extraneous motions. Stop thrashing, start becoming more efficient and fluid. You do this by learning what matters, and cutting out the wasted activity.

7. Be compassionate. This makes dealing with others much more effortless. It also makes you feel better about yourself. People like you more, and you improve the lives of others. Make every dealing with another human being one where you practice compassion.

Download Leo's e-books Zen to Done and The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life at:
http://www.katoahealth.com/e-books.html

...

Pride and Shame Must be Recognised in Equal Measure

2011-10-10T23:01:00.000-07:00

Many people will attempt to negate the grievances of native peoples and other oppressed minority groups by saying "I wasn't there, how could it be my fault?"

Which in many respects is a fair point.

However they will in the same breathe often say "I am proud of my heritage" and list the successes and achievements of people of their race, ethnicity or national identity. (As if achievements are a racial issue anyway...)

I can however understand being justifiably proud of our forebears. As a Pakeha New Zealander I do feel a fondness, and yes a pride for the tough men that went before me into this country and fashioned a life for themselves through grit, determination and hard work. This for me is more of a pride in my own familial line - one that is distinctly anchored in the working classes - but I grant that for many it is a pride in one's race and ones ethnicity.

But this pride may be misplaced if it isn't mirrored by at least an equal measure of appreciation of the negative aspects of our respective cultures, and of injustices that were committed.

the catch cry of "I wasn't there...it's not my fault!" is equally applicable to the successes and achievements of those of the same race, ethnicity or national identity that went before.

I didn't personally cheat or swindle land off anyone, but nor did I with my own hands build the fledgling infrastructure that helped to make this the nation it is now.

Neither the good, nor the bad was by my own hand and so I have 2 choices: I either leave both firmly in the past, or I appreciate both the rights and wrongs of the past, with part pride and initially some shame, honouring the entire morphology of my familial roots, stretching back in time.

And come to a point when I am able to forgive those that have gone before, of all races, for their errors and honouring ALL people, simply people (not races) for their achievements.

...

F**K 'em!

2011-10-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

A client came to me after having been severely criticised by someone they hardly knew. My client was quite distressed about it and wanted some guidance.

I started by asking (as I often do) if the criticism was justified, as often there will be some kernel of truth in a criticism that can be taken and used as a valuable learning opportunity.
But in this case my client swore that it simply wasn't justified and that the person really had no right to say the things he had said.
So I said plainly "Well f@#k him then! Are you going to keep beating yourself up about something someone said that has no justification at all?"

His criticism wasn't justified, there was no learning to be taken from this (except perhaps showing that at times we need to simply let go and not be so worried about what others think and to also not buy into other peoples criticism when we know our course is justified.)
...So f@#k him and what he has to say.

And this is by no means an aggressive stance. Saying simply 'f@#k it!' is a great way to just let something go in a powerful (and kind of funny) way!

So instead of hanging on to resentment, frustration, stress and anxiety...F@#K IT - let it go!

...

Add a habit of joy to your life

2011-10-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

[Post adapted from Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net]

Choose one little habit to add joy to your life. Just one, and tiny is miraculous.

It can be writing or painting or making music for 2 minutes a day. It can be a ridiculously easy walk or jog or enjoying a bowl of fruit. It can be 2 minutes of meditation or reflecting in a journal.

Enjoy the hell out of it.

Create this one habit, and you have a success. This is a foundation, a first step, to build on.

Then you can do a second, and a third, but you can’t do those without a first.

Don’t change your entire life. Just change this one little thing.

You’d be amazed how much that matters. I was.

Several of Leo's e-books are available here: http://www.katoahealth.com/e-books.html

...

Jumping Out the Window

2011-09-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

We often hear people say that when one door closes another opens.
If this were true wouldn't it be great?! If at every challenge in life a clear opportunity presented itself we wouldn't have any problems.
But things are seldom that easy...
I think a better analogy is that when a door closes there is usually a window. Opportunities may not always be staring you in the face like an open door but they are always there, although you may need to squeeze and contort to get through and in some cases force it open!
This 'window of opportunity' requires that you change your approach and use your strengths and nous to realise the opening provided. It's not easy, but it's doable.
The biggest challenge when presented with a failed or closed opportunity is to see the new opportunity and take the plunge and do the uncomfortable. Simply walking through the open door is seldom an option. But jumping through the window is...

This metaphor became plainly obvious to me sitting at my gate at Sydney Airport, about to fly to Auckland after a fantastic weekend of meetings. An opportunity that I had been involved with had fizzled out, and initially myself and my business partners were very despondent.
However in looking at the greater opportunities we realized that we could do things differently, more effectively, and although it would require more work and capital, the results would be much, MUCH greater both for our clients and to our eventual bottom line. It was a win-win that resulted from what we all thought was initially a great loss. To get to the point of realization we simply had to stop focusing on the closed door and instead look through the window to what could be achieved...and then jump out of it!

...

How to Deal With Criticism

2011-09-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

Today I had a minor 'disgreement' with a guy I was sparring with at Jiu Jitsu.
He didn't like my sparring style (no one I've ever sparred with has had a problem with the way I roll) and told me in no uncertain terms, and in what I considered to be a very belittling and condescending, way what he thought of it...to the point of 'asking' if I wanted to settle it 'upstairs' (there is a boxing/kickboxing gym upstairs from my Jiu Jitsu dojo) with a spot of boxing!...
Not sure if he knows that I've done a little glove work myself...
To be honest I was pretty pissed off, and I'm not someone who gets angered easily. So when I got home I figured that it was the perfect opportunity to put into practice the techniques that I have so often used over the years and that I teach my clients and patients.
Because let's face it, when we hold on to anger it is like letting someone live rent free inside our heads.
Release, release, release.

Whenever someone criticizes me or after any situation of confrontation I always reflect on the situation. This is like a 'personal audit' and has two major benefits: It allows us to learn and grow from the experience; and it allows us to let go of the situation (not continue to carry around anger, resentment and all those "I should have done this...and should have said that" internal monologues!)

Is it Justified?
The first question I ask myself always is: : "Is the criticism justified?"
There are times when there just isn't really any justification for what someone is saying. In these cases we are really just beating ourselves up if we continue to carry it around. Simply asking the question "Is it justified?" and answering "No" is enough for us to have some sort of resolution and be able to let it go instead of reliving it over and over.
However on many occasions people do have a valid point of criticism and sometimes the confrontation that they initiate is valid in it's basis (although more often than not the way people approach these confrontations is counterproductive, confrontational and in some cases violent.)

When we ask ourselves this simple we question we will often be able to pin-point a justification or rationale for the other parties actions. Realizing this justification for the other parties position (and for their anger) helps us to understand them, and understanding is the key to forgiveness.
If we are able to see where they may have a point we can then go a step further and think "Am I prepared to do something about it?"
Often there will be an opportunity for growth and change that we may not have realized, and so the confrontation or criticism has already served a valuable purpose. The growth and change can then stem from the ways that we decide to change our actions and outlook so that this doesn't occur again.
However this must be within our value set. Some things just aren't important to us and our world view, and if that is the case we need to recognize it, otherwise we may end up simply trying to change to meet someone else's expectations - not changing in order to live a life of greater passion and purpose.

I remember for example that someone I used to live with would often get frustrated by little things I would do. I wouldn't even notice them and to be honest they were things I didn't think were important. Some I wouldn't change anyway because they are either so inconsequential OR are part of my value set.
But when she would bring them up I would thank her and explain that I understood that it is an issue for her but that it simply wasn't for me, and could we come to some sort of accord - not just about the action that was frustrating her, but also about our differences in what we considered important. That understanding alone made everyone in the house more considerate of the others values, and therefor more forgiving.

Decide on Actions
If you've decided that there is some justification in the criticism and you are prepared to do something, you simply need to think of what that thing, or things are!
A few simple action steps can completely change interpersonal dynamics, and simply having a greater awareness of how we have acted in ways that aren't congruent with our highest values and purpose can give us the awareness to not allow it to happen (or at least as much) in future. In doing so we can begin to change our patterns of action and come closer to that 'perfect' life of purpose we desire.

Say "Thank You!"
Our greatest teachers are often the most frustrating people, and those that we have conflict with.....IF we use the confrontations as an opportunity for self reflection and growth.
As the conduit for our continued growth the other person should be thanked!
They brought to a head a circumstance that allowed us to become better, and hey perhaps we brought that element into our lives, because it simply had to be.

[I did thank the guy that I had the disagreement with today...but he was more intent on challenging me to a fist fight than coming to an accord!]

Never make it personal & never make it about something else...
This is THE key to communicating with others in confrontational situations.
Asking the question "Is it justified?" in response to someone's criticism is in itself a great way to subvert the temptation to make it personal (like replying: "Well you're ugly!) or about something else:
"You didn't put the dishes away!"
"Well you never clean the bathroom!"
It is always better to not attack the person - you don't mean to anyway, it is simply the heat of the moment, and any mature communication based around non-judging compassion and love precludes this.
Personal attacks only make future relationships with that person more challenging.
Changing the subject to another issue is also counter-productive. It is a form of personal attack, and it is simply a diversion. It is better to defuse the situation at hand and to learn and grow when necessary and where able. If there is another issue that needs addressing, do it separately, preferably at a later time and outside of a heated or confrontational situation.

Breathe deeply, relax, sit in silence, smile...

Exude love and compassion to your adversary and RELEASE!

I will be hosting conscious, compassionate communication and meditation classes starting in the Spring. Email or DM me if you would like more information, and stay tuned for details!

Blessings,

~ Cliff

...

Headaches - Are You Repressing Anger?

2011-09-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

Often one of the first things that is asked in a mind-body clinical setting regarding head aches and head tension is about repressed anger.
Physiologically this makes a lot of sense as the emotion of anger creates a lot of physical tension as a result of the contractile nature of the stress hormones (such as epinephrine, norepinephrine) and the 'posturing' that we take on as a result of the physical readiness we take on to respond to threats.
A great question to ask yourself when you get a tension headache is; "Is there anger?" and if so "What is the anger?" (Who, what, why etc) and also "Where is the anger?" (Often there will be a place or places within the body that you feel or experience the anger/tension.)
You can then work to release anger by many means. Some of these may include a physical release, such as hitting a boxing bag or having a hard work out.
You may also find value in mindfulness meditation. These can help to gain some perspective and rationality around the anger and allow it to be released and to break the cycle of thinking and worrying about the anger and instead simply allowing it to 'be', and subsequently be released.
Recognising the areas of the body that you feel the tension or anger can also help in the releasing process.
'Breathe into', these areas and on the out breath imagine actively releasing any and all tension in the area.
By releasing physical tension we may inversely release psycho-emotional tension.

Basic mindfulness and meditation techniques can be found in both Choosing You! and Time Rich Cash Optional.

Available at Amazon.com and direct from the publisher at www.katoahealth.com

...

Toss Productivity Out ~ by Leo Babauta

2011-09-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

Post written by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.

For at least a couple of years, Zen Habits was one of the top productivity blogs, dispensing productivity crack for a nominal fee (your reading time).
I’d like to think I helped people move closer to their dreams, but today I have different advice:

Toss productivity advice out the window.

Most of it is well-meaning, but the advice is wrong for a simple reason: it’s meant to squeeze the most productivity out of every day, instead of making your days better.

Imagine instead of cranking out a lot of widgets, you made space for what’s important. Imagine that you worked slower instead of faster, and enjoyed your work. Imagine a world where people matter more than profits.

If any of that appeals to you, let’s look at some traditional productivity advice, and see why we should just toss them out.

1. Get Organized.

Sounds good, but getting organized is just rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. It does nothing to stop the ship from sinking. Instead, simplify. If you have a desk with 5 things in it, you don’t need to organize. If you have a closet with only a handful of clothes, it doesn’t need a closet organizer. If your day has only one or two appointments, there’s no need for a detailed schedule organizer. Simplifying means making important choices about what’s important, rather than ignoring that question and just trying to cram everything into your day (and space) in a logical way.

2. Keep an Idea List.

The idea is that whenever you have an idea, you should write it down. Then you’ll never lose an idea, and you’ll always have a list of ideas that you can come back to. Sounds great, right? Except in practice, the idea list is never filled with your best ideas. That’s because when you have a really great idea, you get so excited about it you jump up and want to work on it immediately. Your best ideas are ones that you can’t put off until tomorrow. That’s how you know it’s a great idea. The ideas that go on the Idea List are not your best.

3. Set a Lot of Goals.

Only five years ago, I had a long list of goals for each year, and I was pretty decent at getting them done (better than 50% at least). Then I experimented with three goals a year, and I was even more focused. Then I did One Goal, and that was amazing, because it really helped me focus everything I did. Now I do No Goals, and it’s best of all. I let go of future-focused thinking, and focus on what inspires and excites me now. I get even more accomplished, but let go of all the time I used to spend on goal administration (it’s more than you might think) and all my mental energy is freed to do what I want to do right now. You might not want to do No Goals, but try One Goal or three goals.

[Cliff's note: This minimalist goal setting strategy is similar to what I recommend in Time Rich Cash Optional]

4. Track Everything.

If you want to change it, you have to measure it, right? If you want fast results, you need to track it. Except that’s complete crap. Why do you need such fast results in the first place? And who says you need to track something to change it? I’ve found more meaningful, lasting results when I don’t track, but focus on enjoyment of the activity. For example, if I focus on enjoying running, that makes me want to run more often, and that’s a habit that lasts much longer. If I focus on tracking the running (mileage, speed, VO2 max, intervals, etc), that takes the enjoyment away from the activity (running) and focuses on the results. If you are so focused on the results, the activity becomes only a means to an end. That makes the activity less enjoyable, and therefore less sustainable over the long run. I’ve become fitter than ever by not tracking, but instead enjoying being active. I’ve grown my site more now that I don’t track stats, but instead enjoy the writing. Over the long run, not tracking is better.

5. Be Productive.

When You’re Waiting. Lots of people do this — you bring a laptop or mobile device or some papers to do some work while you’re waiting at a doctor’s office or at DMV or on the train or in traffic. There’s nothing wrong with this, really, except in the philosophy behind it: that every second should be filled with work, or it’s wasted. I object to this. Sitting in a waiting room, doing nothing but sitting in silence or watching other people, is a beautiful way to spend your time. Reading a novel on a train, or taking a nap, is also wonderful. Waiting in line at DMV or the post office and eavesdropping on other human beings, or making conversation with someone, or just soaking in the sounds of humanity, is arguably more important than doing more work or reading work-related documents. Life isn’t only about work, and productivity isn’t everything. Try some unproductivity instead.

6. Keep Detailed, Context To-Do Lists.

In the early days of Zen Habits, back in 2007, I did exactly this — I kept a series of contextual to-do lists for home, work, phone calls, errands, someday, and so on. This became too much work for me, and so instead of organizing, I simplified. I now focus on one or two things to do each day, and if when I get them done, my day is golden. Everything else I do that day is gravy. And the to-do lists gather dust, which turns out to be a very productive thing for them to do.

7. Work Hard in Bursts, with Frequent Breaks.

Work hard for 10 minutes and take a break for 5! Or maybe 12 and 3? Maybe 30 minutes of hard work and 10 minutes of break? The exact numbers really depend on your flavor of productivity, but at their heart they miss the point: you shouldn’t be forcing yourself to work hard on something you dread doing, and then take a break to reward or relieve yourself from that dreaded work. You should work on stuff you love, so that you can’t wait to do it, and taking a break is just a matter of enjoying something else (maybe a nice walk, a nice book, a nice conversation with a friend). Life where you work hard in bursts, with some breaks, is dreadful. Life where you’re always doing something you love is art.

I've always enjoyed Leo's blog (in fact it's recommended reading in Time Rich Cash Optional. While I don't agree with everything I definitely agree that we can paralyse ourselves and end up being productive and 'efficient' for the sake of being efficient...and in the process waste time that could otherwise be spent doing things we love. KNOWING what we REALLY want is crucial to being able to live the life of our dreams, not simply doing things in the supposed best way. For more tips on lifestyle design check out Leo's blog and books, Time Ferriss' 4 Hour Work Week and my own Time Rich Cash Optional.

~ Cliff

All the books listed can be found at www.katoahealth.com

...

Good Health's 'Happiness Project' unveiled on the 15th August!

2011-08-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

MEDIA RELEASE

WHAT HINDERS THE HAPPINESS OF KIWI WOMEN?

An online survey conducted by Good Health magazine to establish how happy New Zealand women are has revealed some surprising results*.

30% of Kiwi women are concerned about their level of happiness, and 34% don’t know how to increase it. Appearance plays a big part in their unhappiness, with 34% of Kiwi women saying they aren’t happy with the way they look, and 56% claiming they would be happier if they lost weight.

Women’s happiness was hindered by feeling guilty in a range of areas, including: not exercising enough (64%), eating too much (46%), not achieving as highly as they should (37%), letting people down (34%), and not having enough time with friends and family (27% equal).

66% of Kiwi women have experienced high levels of stress with almost half having felt depressed (47%) and suffered from some form of anxiety (45%). Money was also a big feel-good factor, with 33% stating winning a million dollars in Lotto would make them happy, and 26% saying lack of finances makes them unhappy.

Full survey results will be published in the September issue of Good Health magazine, along with Part 1 of a 3-month Happiness Plan. Written by New Zealand’s ‘Happiness Coach’ – naturopath, nutritionist and mind-body therapist Cliff Harvey – the plan is a simple, effective way for every New Zealand woman to reduce stress and worry, and improve day-to-day happiness.

“The survey resulted in a lot of positive feedback, but also identified what makes Kiwi women unhappy,” explains Editor Shelley Ferguson. “This meant we could create a tailored, positive and practical plan to get more Kiwi women smiling,” she says.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Shelley Ferguson – Editor: (09) 308 2673; sferguson@acpmagazines.co.nz

Jackie Campbell – Sales & Marketing Manager: (09) 308 2846; jacampbell@acpmedia.co.nz

*Source: ACP All Woman Talk Panel (May 2011) n= 1583

ABOUT Good Health

Good Health New Zealand Is a magazine for people with a healthy attitude to life! Our aim is to make NZ Good Healthinformative, up-to-date, relevant to women's lives and fun. Every issue is packed with information – cutting-edge health and medical news, psychology, relationship advice, fitness, kids, food, fashion, beauty and much more. Above all, we want to empower our readers with a sense that they can do something positive to enjoy a long and healthy life.” – Shelley Ferguson, Editor, NZ Good Health

Launched June 28th 2010 with huge success into the New Zealand market, NZ Good Health magazine has achieved a strong 6-month circulation figure of 15,025 and a fantastic readership result of 118,000.

Source: Nielsen CMI (Jul-Dec 10)

Finding the Perfect Teacher

2011-07-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry to disappoint, but it ain't gonna happen...

Anyone who has worked as a trainer, nutritionist or naturopath will have experienced sitting down for a quiet coffee or beer and have someone say something along the lines of; "What are you doing?! I thought you were supposed to be 'health guy'?"

This line of thinking highlights the pervasive mentality of thinking that our teachers should be perfect.

We will not only be perpetually disappointed when we fall into this trap, but also run the risk of never learning valuable tools that will allow us to progress.

Surya Das, Ajahn Sumedho and others have spoken about this. Should we reject a wise spiritual teacher who drinks alcohol? Would we fail to take lessons from someone who smokes?

While we may see a failing, personality flaws or weakness within these, by rejecting what learning we could acquire we are limiting ourselves.

We also fail in our own humanity when we do this for are we not all flawed?

The human condition itself is one that is fundamentally flawed.

It may be ultimately perfect, but in a pragmatic sense, day-to-day and moment-to-moment, no-one can be perfect. We may strive for it, but each of us is engaged in our own wonderful process of development, growth and evolution if we were perfect there would be nothing to grow towards...

When we meet someone we must recognise that they are at a particular place on their own path, and they will be battling their own demons.

Be kind for everyone we meet is fighting a great battle.

~ Philo

In fact to even seek the 'perfect' teacher devalues the universal truth that we are all teachers, and all students. Any person, even the most dull, ignorant, or annoying has something to teach us...and often the leanings we take from our interactions with the most uncomfortable of people are the most valuable. Whilst we may see the person as far from perfect, the lesson we learn, and the knowledge we co-create as a result of our dynamic with them is...

Blessings,

Cliff

...

"Nature Meets Science" at Pantene 'Brunch and Learn' Event.

2011-07-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

I think we all consciously know that science is the way we explain the world around us, but so often we frame the ideas of 'Nature' and 'Science' in the terms of nature vs science. We equate science with progress and nature simply with the way things are now, the natural order of things, and that these come into conflict.

Speaking at Pantene's recent 'Brunch and Learn' in Auckland I investigated this concept and posed the challenge that the alternative and the orthodoxy in health care can and should be complementary, and offered examples of emerging science explaining principles of both Performance Holistic Nutrition and Mind-Body-Spirit medicine.

This fantastic event organised by Impact PR showcased Pantene's new 'Nature Fusion' range which combines their Pro-V technology with the Cassia flower (a botanical shown to improve hair health). TV garden and design host Xanthe White spoke about the flower itself and TV3 style guru Tracey Dalton was on hand to highlight how nature lends inspiration to the fashion world.

Contact me via: info@cliffharvey.com if you would like me to speak at your event.

Newsflash: I'm a white coward

2011-07-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hot on the heels of finding out that I'm not a real man (http://cliffdog.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-currency-of-man-being-douchebag.html) I find that I'm also a white coward.

At least that's the opinion of former ACT and National creative director John Ansell - who recently quit ACT amidst controversy about his proposed advertising campaign for the party.

He has gone on the attack in posts and message boards with comments such as:
"The problem with New Zealand is it’s full of white cowards who are too frightened of being called names to stand up for the truth."

Ok...I'll bite...
What realistic point is there for us "legions of white ‘useful idiots’" in providing a state in which Maori are given greater privilege?

The reality is that there is none. And so by extension Mr Ansell assumes that the many liberal leaning New Zealanders (myself included) who campaign for social equality are stupid.
How else could we be manipulated in this way?
Perhaps we are simply trying to provide for a more equitable society, and for a vital, encompassing (non-assimilatory) culture? But what would I know - I'm probably a 'useful idiot'.

Do I feel "guilty for the supposed sins of our British great-great-grandparents"?

No. Not in the slightest. I wasn't there.
I would feel guilty however if we weren't actively seeking to address clear cut grievances and provide redress. I would also be guilty if we were to simply ignore the fact that Maori and other groups in society are underpriviliged, and to expect that the myth of capitalist egalitarianism will be a universal panacea. Sorry my friends on the right...it just ain't going to happen.

Mr Ansell speaks of "state suffocation, Maorification, feminazism, National socialism, teacher unionism" and "the other evils that are dragging our country into the third world".

It seems to me that he's pretty scared.
Should I be scared of all these crazy: women, lefties and brown people too? (I'm sure the gays are out to get him too...)

By aligning himself with the views of sacked EMA boss Alisdair Thompson and with comments like "ACT is the party of the strong father, not the soft mother." He shows his latent bias to not just a eurocentric world view but a misogynist one too. He qualifies his statement in the most pathetic and apologist way by saying: "By strong father I include strong women like Rand, Richardson and Thatcher, and by soft mother I include weak men like Key." Implying that the archetype of the woman is weak and that of the man is strong, but women can be strong like men and men can be weak like women.
Hey how about just being a strong person irrespective of gender? The gender bias shows much about where your true feelings lie.

"Let’s just tell the truth, shall we?" - Yes John let's....

"Maoris have worse social outcomes because too many of them were too bloody lazy to listen to their great leaders like Ngata, Pomare, Carroll and Buck.

Those great men basically said, “Don’t blame the white man for the Treaty.
After all, we signed it. Just focus on beating him at his own game.” "

Of course that is the reason why Maori are over represented in crime and poverty statistics. They are too bloody lazy. I've always know that those brown fullas are too busy playing guitar and drinking Lion Red to make a fair go of it in the white man's world.

In Mr Ansell's world if you have had grievances committed against you, you don't seek redress but instead you just simply forgive, move on and 'beat the white man at his own game'.

Except that outside of the white supremacist's fantasy land of make believe it's not the white man's game. It is life. Modern life. Modern Aotearoa.

Mr Ansell - is there really a "volcano of rage on the street about the Maorification of Everything"?

I think not. In fact I think everyday New Zealanders are more concerned with putting food on the table, having affordable housing and addressing the growing gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.

Do "Years of social (really socialist) studies in school brainwashes New Zealanders into becoming make-believe Maoris"?

I haven't been conned mate. I LOVE the Maori culture, I LOVE the Maori language - not because I am a make believe Maori, but because I am a Kiwi, and I am proud to be from a country that has forged a unique partnership between two peoples. And in spite of many teething problems we have a vibrant and vital shared culture, of which Maori aspects make up a crucial and large part. I make no secret of the fact that I want my kids (when I finally have some!) to speak te reo and to know about tikanga Maori.

Mr Ansell - not only do your comments put you "out of sync with most of the party", but they put you out of synch with most of New Zealand. Because most Kiwis are not scared of your boogeyman Maori under the bed and are more concerned with the real challenges we face - economic, ecological and societal uncertainty. Your comments though will find you a small and vocal support group amongst the likes of Kyle Chapman and his National Front cronies. I'm sure you'll be comfortable in your fatigues.

[John Ansell comments taken from: http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/07/acts_new_ad.html]

...

Sexist Comments by EMA Boss Plainly Offside

2011-06-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

People may already be getting sick of the debate and furore following Alasdair Thompson's comments on radio about inequity in pay between men and women.
But I'm pissed off.

He reasoned that women were paid less was because they are less productive and take more sick leave, stating:"Why do they take the most sick leave? Women do in general. Why? Because once a month they have sick problems. Not all of them, but some do."
To my knowledge statistics are not kept on sick leave and gender differences thereof in New Zealand, therefore his contention is at it's most basic an assumption. One has to assume a large amount of gender bias to even make this assumption if it's not coming from any sort of statistical basis. And while he may claim anecdotal evidence I think many (I hope most) of us who have worked with, employed and worked for both men and women will know this is simply a Victorian fantasy coming from the mind of someone trapped in the stereotypes and bigotry of a bygone era.

More concerning to me than the comments was the half-hearted 'apology' of Mr Thompson after the fact.
In my humble opinion an apology to simply cover one's arse and provide for PR damage control is not authentic - it's a waste of breath and an affront to civility and humility.
His apology was framed as to 'apologise for causing offence' whilst also not retracting his comments and in fact saying that he stood by his position - ergo giving with one hand simply to take away with the other.
This also points to a superior, and dare I say sexist mentality.
Apologising that it causes offence?
If you truly believe what you have said then stand by it and don't apologise! Don't try and sugar coat it to preserve your position and placate the people who have been angered by your comments.
If you realise the error of your ways then apologise, but only then, and do it authetically and taking repsonsibility for yourself and your actions.
Basically MAN UP BRO!

The EMA has also defended their boss stating that: "If you take the comments in context, we don't believe they were perhaps as outrageous as has been painted."
That an organisation representing Employers and Manufacturers here is not concerned by their leader and spokesman's comments points to a culture of misogynism that is repugnant.

Is the EMA simply an 'old boy's' club? I'd hazard a guess that it is. It is not representative of New Zealand as a whole, and certainly not in line with simply what is right. (Although the EMA is very...very 'right')

Time Rich Cash Optional ~ In-store event and signing.

2011-06-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

TIME RICH CASH OPTIONAL BOOK LAUNCH EVENT
With Cliff Harvey

At Goodeys Bookstore/Wise Cicada

Tuesday 28th June 2011 – 6.30pm for 6.45 start

Please book by phone: 524 5000 or email shop@goodeys.co.nz

Or check out the facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=224994157513588

Cliff will be giving a sort talk about Time Rich Cash Optional and answering reader questions.

The old ways of materialism and consumerism have not made us happier. In fact it seems that more of us are getting tired, sick and less happy. Cliff Harvey, a naturopath and mind-body-spirit coach, presents the simple premise that the point of a desirable life is to be happy. He then leads us on a winding journey showing how we can fill our lives with moment after moment of joyful experiences and happiness. Using examples, reflections, anecdotes and his own inimitable style and humour, Cliff weaves disparate concepts of simplicity, life purpose, mindfulness and eco-sustainability into a cohesive system to achieve our goals and find fulfillment and life satisfaction.

In Time Rich Cash Optional you will discover how to:
• Embrace the unconventional to find your life of passion and purpose
• Fill your days with moment after moment of wondrous, joyful experience
• Uncover your creativity and playfulness to become a 'Life Artist'
• Integrate work, life and play so you'll never again have to 'work' to make a living
• Simplify your life and discover more time, money and energy - Define your dreams and set the goals that really matter

About the Author
When CLIFF HARVEY isn’t wandering barefoot, having epiphanies whilst surfing or regaling beautiful women with fanciful tales over a glass of fine wine, he is a naturopath, author and speaker. In over 13 years in practice he has helped thousands around the globe to live happier, healthier lives and continues to inspire through his writing, speaking and personal spiritual and life purpose mentoring. Cliff came back from the ravages of Crohn's disease to win two IAWA weightlifting world championships and set several world records for feats of strength. When not lecturing, writing and in clinical practice you might find training with world level and professional MMA fighters, bouncing at bars, or road managing rock bands. It’s all experience … and that’s the stuff life’s made of! And if all else fails you’ll find him blissfully dozing on Takapuna Beach, Auckland, New Zealand or Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC.

...

Forgiveness

2011-06-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

Forgiveness is perhaps the most crucial part of the process of recovering from any trauma.

We often have very natural feelings of blame for others as well as guilt, self-doubt and many and varied other aspects of these emotions.

I have always believed that forgiveness is synonymous with unconditional love.

Universal, unconditional love is that most empathetic of positions where we realise the divinity in everyone, and the ultimate kernel of goodness that resides within all, even those for whom it is mired in greed and narcissism.

Forgiveness is the action of Universal love.

It does not excuse the poor actions of people, and we do not have to stop fighting against injustice. We need not forget that certain people are perhaps dangerous to us, but we can forgive them their trespasses, and in doing so we stop wasting our precious energy in the moment through worry and anxiety of what has been, and instead are able to be more present in the now, for what is.

When people treat us poorly, or hurt us they are in effect withholding their love from us, and forgiving them for withholding their love is a crucial step in feeling free and released from the shackles of our past.

I'm reminded of the quote "Holding a grudge is like letting someone live rent free in our mind", and any form of resentment, doubt about our past actions, and self loathing is also the same type of pattern.

Most important perhaps is to forgive ourselves for our actions, and for the love we withheld from others.

We can (and must!) learn from our past mistakes, but once we have: a) recognised where we have acted poorly and b) taken the learning from it; we then need to forgive ourselves.

Because at the end of the day it is about giving the same love to ourselves that we give to others. They are worth it because they are aspects of the beautiful and perfect divine...and so are we.

Honour, love and value yourself. YOU are worth it.

...

Doug 'Vicious' Viney on working with Cliff....

2011-05-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

In the short time I've known Cliff he's helped me to become leaner, lighter and stronger. By showing me a better, healthier food plan that was easy for me to follow, I noticed dramatic changes to my body and improvements in my body-composition.
Thanks Cliff...where were you 10 years ago?!

~ Doug Viney 2007 K1 World Grand Prix Champion

A note from Cliff:
A lot of the readers of my books and blog don't realise that I started out in the field of performance nutrition and still work with many top athletes and especially fighters - through my business www.FightNutritionist.com

It's been an honour working with Doug since returning to NZ. Great guy and a great fighter. More about Doug can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Viney

...

About Time Rich Cash Optional ~ excerpt from the new book by Cliff Harvey

2011-05-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

From Time Rich Cash Optional; an unconventional guide to happiness. Available worldwide now.

Going Beyond Actions to a Conscious Paradigm Shift

Our current paradigm is not working.

We have fooled ourselves into thinking that accumulating more and more possessions will somehow, at some stage, provide happiness in our lives.

I think most of us realise that this is futile, and yet we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. They say that making a mistake is one thing, but repeating it is madness … so perhaps we have all gone a little mad.

It certainly seems that way when we look at how we are depleting the Earth’s resources at an ever-increasing rate, polluting our beautiful planet, enslaving other living beings and treating them with appalling cruelty, and becoming, as a species, sicker and more tired.

There’s got to be a better way!

And there is.

But to create the change necessary requires more than simply changing actions within the same paradigm we have created. It requires a ‘conscious shift’ out of the current norm of consumerism and materialism to a mindset of greater simplicity, a mindset where giving is more important than receiving, and a mindset where we have allowed ourselves to dream the lives we want to be living and have rationally evaluated what is really necessary to bring that life to fruition.

The economic crisis of the last few years has brought this to the fore for many, and I have seen in clinical health practice and in my lectures and workshops that the people I speak to have really begun re-evaluating what is most important in life. This may well have been the silver lining to the cloud of our most recent economic depression.

We need to re-evaluate life and how we live on a greater scale, and perhaps now we are at a time where a real conscious shift is happening, as more and more people rebel against the norm of working long and hard for little real reward and instead focus on increased happiness and satisfaction.

Our motivation is the primary driver of what we do and is unfortunately provided by the conditioning of the prevailing world paradigm, which is clearly shaped by consumerism and materialism. In fact I would go so far as to say that the prevailing mentality in the modern world is greed.

And whilst actions of conservation, charity and connection are absolutely crucial to even begin to enact change in the world, there must also be a fundamental shift in consciousness to change the paradigm of how we live. We need to begin to recognise what is most important in life – not just that there are problems in the world – and begin to live our lives according to what is most important.

We must absolutely begin to live our lives in a way that does not conform to the processes destroying the planet and reducing the potential of happiness in the world. Our very survival depends upon it.

We need to realise (in the epiphanic sense) that happiness and joy come from joyous experiences – joyous experiences provided by the acts of connection to others, connecting to the world around us, and ultimately connection to that which is greater than us. This aspect of that which is greater than us may be called, in esoteric circles, the super-conscious or divine, but it is being proven more and more regularly, within the realms of emerging sciences such as Noetics, to be an integral and tangible aspect of the physical universe.

Perhaps when there are enough amongst us who are more concerned with people than Prada, a ‘tipping point’ will occur and the prevailing paradigm will change.

A paradigm of thought is only so because a majority of people believe it, therefore profound, paradigm-shifting change in a very real sense can occur when enough people believe in its possibility and begin to act in concert outside the norm. This fundamental change in perception away from status, ego and greed must occur in order for us as a species and for the planet as a whole to survive.

The modern sciences are proving again and again that we are all connected and we are, in turn, connected to everything else on the planet and in the universe. By honouring this we are, by extension, honouring ourselves; conversely by honouring our own health (not just physical but emotional, mental and spiritual) we honour and improve the health of the whole.

I have been asked countless times about my seemingly simplistic attitude that happiness is the goal of an objectively desirable life.

As a health practitioner I have seen that health is equal to happiness! Health of the body is happiness of the body, health of the mind is happiness of the mind and health of the spirit is happiness of the spirit.

And so, although this seems simple, I wonder:

Why not?

Why can’t we all be happier?

What is stopping anyone from being healthier and happier?

We all live out our own karma. Certain things must occur because events of the past have precipitated them, and often they provide for the learning opportunities we need to experience in this lifetime; and yet we can still feel victimised when calamity befalls us. But we have the choice in any given moment to act in ways that improve our circumstances, and we also have a choice to begin to engender more and more the conscious shift that can literally change the entire world and the universe in which it sits.

There is beauty in simplicity. I invite you to be part of the beautiful change.

Time Rich Cash Optional

an unconventional guide to happiness

Now available worldwide via Amazon & CreateSpace

In New Zealand order from the Publisher
(www.katoahealth.com)

Available at:

Goodey's Bookstore
(23 Crowhurst Street, Newmarket, Auckland)

Pathfinder Books
(38 Lorne Street, Auckland Central)

...

Time Rich Cash Optional (an unconventional guide to happiness) has arrived!

2011-05-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

This is an unconventional guide to happiness...

We are at a critical junction in our development.
The old ways of materialism and consumerism have not made us happier; in fact it seems that more and more people are becoming sick, tired and less happy.

Stop simply being alive...and start really LIVING THE SH%# OUT OF LIFE!

In Time Rich Cash Optional you will discover how to:

Embrace the unconventional to find your life of passion and purpose
Fill your days with moment after moment of wondrous, joyful experience
Uncover your creativity and playfulness to become a ‘Life Artist’
Integrate work, life and play so you’ll never again have to ‘work’ to make a living
Simplify your life and discover more time, money and energy
Define your dreams and set the goals that really matter

In stores from the 27th May

Available NOW at Amazon and other online retailers

...

Hunting and Fishing for 'Sport' - cruelty by any other name

2011-05-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

I was brought up hunting and fishing.
As a kid I loved nothing more than heading off into the bush with my old man and bringing back a goat, or a rabbit or two for the table. We had a well stocked freezer and much of what we ate was what we had shot in the bush.
People may debate the killing of animals for food. My thoughts on this are well known and I am not going to delve into that area in this post.
I was always taught by my Dad to only hunt for the table. If we shot it, we ate it. And once we had enough for the table we called it a day. One deer could feed us for a long time!
We did the same with fishing. We went out, caught fish and ate them. We didn't tag and release, and we didn't keep catching fish once we had enough to feed the family.

We never hunted solely for the 'sport' of it. And never fished for sport either.

Hunting and fishing for sport is cruel and unnecessary. Particularly fishing for sport is to me abhorrent. Ensnaring another living being with a hook through it's lip or jaw (or worse if 'foul-hooked' or deep-hooked) and dragging it, against all it's struggles to the boat or shore, only to release it cannot really be anything other than cruel (to cause pain and suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it according to Oxford dictionary online).
The argument that fish do not feel pain has little merit. Researchers at the University of Guelph, Edinburgh University, Purdue University and others have independently concluded from their respective studies that fish feel and respond to pain in very similar ways to humans.
People will say though that fish are 'dumb', as if intelligence (or lack thereof) were some sort of excuse for cruelty. Maybe I could go fishing from the top floor of the mall for stupid people?

They may say that it is better to fish and release than to kill animals. I would say it's better to just not fish at all if you're not going to take it in and eat it, and to be sensible in that respect too. Once you have a reasonable amount landed then chill out! Have a beer, have a coffee, sit, relax, go home. Why keep fishing?
The mortality rates of released fish vary by species and method. BUT there is always a percentage of fish that will die as a result of sport fishing.

A 2 year study on sport fishing off Baja California showed that nearly 1/4 of the Marlin caught and released died within a short time (about 75% of these with 2 days and 94% within 4 days).

Over fishing is already a huge problem. Sport and recreational fishing is also a huge activity. Even if people continue to fish, the collateral damage of fish mortality over and above what is taken for food must have a detrimental (and unnecessary) affect on fish stocks.

Just this weekend I was talking to a good friend of mine - an archetypal hunting, fishing Kiwi. He was appalled by the recreational fishing quotas that are allowed. In the northern region of New Zealand for example I could take a total of 20 fish per day. That amount is outrageous given that there is compelling evidence that fish stocks are becoming more and more depleted.

Simple things we can do to affect change:
- Stop sport fishing
- Eat meat less
- Eat fish less
[Use vegetarian options more]

...

The Moment of Realising Dissatisfaction

2011-05-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

We arrive at an important junction when we realise that we have been consistently feeling a certain way that we would rather not feel.

These moments of realisation allow us to begin to engage in the actions that allow us to adjust our 'set point' of thought, feeling and emotion.

There is a huge importance in 'framing'. How we frame things has a huge effect on how we feel in the future. Think of it in terms of training. You don't do a run and then suddenly become an athlete - it is a process of training the body, and to creating a positive mental environment is also a matter of training.

This is the importance of recognising amongst other things negative self talk.

In the moment you can see where a negative train of thought is occurring and you can help reverse that for future moments by repeating positive affirmations that are as you WANT to be, not what appears to be true now.

...

Words that Inspire - An adaptation from Romans

2011-05-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

"Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of all; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Never avenge yourselves...

No, if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Tools and Intent vs Blind Dogma

2011-05-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

The value of religion and spiritual traditions is in the contemplative tools that they provide us, and the 'calls to action' in the realms of morality and ethics.
Of course there are justifications found in scripture for abhorrent actions too, and so that must be taken with a grain of salt and we must with our own judgement separate the wheat from the chaff. The danger of being a zealot is that you take the words of men as a literal interpretation of the word of God and apply no reason or rationality to your actions. Blind faith is the very worst kind.

In my humble opinion 'God' has no words, for God is the superconscious, the divine, or perhaps with even less religiosity that energy or connection that we all share. What has been wrapped around the concept is superstition and ritual, some bad and good - but only good or useful if it provides for a personal (not transmitted by a priest or guru) experience of the interconnectedness and oneness of all. That direct connection to source is indescribable and so we must use allusion to elucidate. But that allusion will always suffer from being inescapably indeterminate.

The benefits that I see in having come to my own piece with the idea of religion, is that if you aren't hung up on the idea that 'my religion is the right one', or that 'the way that I believe God is, is the only way' then you can see the benefits for what they are, and take a pragmatic approach to your own spiritual practice.
You recognise that tools such as prayer (which is really just positive affirmation) and meditation as well as more esoteric 'energy balancing' techniques are simply time honoured exercise to allow for greater peace, calm etc. In fact the religion itself become inconsequential as a dogmatic vehicle, but beneficial in that it may have a codified system of contemplative techniques that have been honed over a long period of time.

I see Religion like language. Saying that your religion is better than someone else's is like saying that your language is better. It just doesn't make sense. They both are frames within which we try to elucidate concepts that cannot be adequately explained and may contain elements which are either practicably unprovable or in some cases yet to be proven quantitatively.
Another analogy I am fond of is that religion is like a sport. You may enter a sport to improve your physical health for example. The sport provides for an improvement in health. But to believe that it is the only way to improve health, or the only valid sport is naive and ridiculous (notwithstanding that some in certain circles such as kettlebells, pilates, cross-fit etc may disagree with me!)

One of the biggest problems with some 'religious people' that I see is that they aren't DOING anything. They simply blindly follow the words in a book, or the words coming from their priest, guru, imam or holy man. They spend no time contemplating the nature of life. They spend no time using prayer as it was intended (as a vehicle for eliciting real change in belief structures).
They are simply taking a superior stance by believing (blindly) that there way is the right way and that they will have salvation because of something they believe. Well in my humble opinion it is not that easy.

Forget about salvation, forget about 'enlightenment'.
Instead get on with the work of being a happier, more loving, more connected person. Use tools if you must to help you on your journey but don't get hung up on them. Do you worship a spade when you dig in your garden?

...

Don't Call Me White

2011-05-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

I was never much of a NoFx fan back in the day, but I always dug this song and in light of my blog posts about Waitangi Day and race relations in New Zealand I found myself singing this song, out of the blue after years of not even hearing it...

I made a note on my writing board - where I write all my random ideas for books, e-books and articles the simple words "Don't Call me White!"

And I don't actually mind being called white...I mean it's just a simple descriptive value right?
But the funny thing is I've never actually considered myself to be 'white'. Even as a little kid I never thought of myself as white, because it never occurred to me to think of myself as anything - even in spite of societal and cultural conditioning to do just that. Of course I didn't consider myself 'black' for quite obvious reasons, and of course if I had claim to that it would merely be another label.
Now when I think about it there is still a strange resistance from deep within to labeling myself as anything.

A compounding factor is that I don't really know my family heritage. The only things I do know are that my paternal Great-Great Grandfather came across from England to Aoteroa and my Mum was born in England. What makes up 'me' is an unknown picture of potentials and family myth.
On my Mother's side we are probably at least in part Romani and/or Spanish and on my Father's we have a family lineage stretching back to Brittany and Normandy by way of England and Ireland and of course the ubiquitous other Romano-Celtic, Anglo-Saxon blend that makes up the history of the British Isles. And what happened here in Aoteroa is somewhat of a mystery too, given that the family tree has more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese...

And I'm guessing a lot of Kiwis are in the same boat - in fact many people born into settler families in countries like NZ, Australia and Canada may have the same lack of firm ties to, and community with, any particular ethnic groups.

I have often wondered if this is one of the reasons many 'white' people in these countries can feel a little baseless. They don't feel like they belong in countries that they know they have lineage from, and yet the only country they know, they may on some level feel as if it is not quite 'theirs' either.
They are trapped in the morphology of being part of a settler culture (and may be still marked as an outsider by some) in spite of the place where they stand being the only place that they truly feel they belong. I remember as a child telling a teacher in a Maori studies class that although I may be considered Pakeha I felt as if I was drawn from the depths of the very earth of this land we call Aotearoa.
But in spite of this I have traveled and wandered like a leaf drifting over foreign soil, blown by a wind fueled by doubt and frustration that would only be exhausted by the search itself.

And this - my hybridity, my mongrel, my path, my wanderings; have led me to feel like a universal everyman. And one still not comfortable with the label 'white'.

There surely must come a time when these labels cease to have the same level of meaning and identification (by self and others).
For the time being there is work to be done, because where there is still racism and xenophobia the labels themselves do have a need. But as we become, more and more a greater tribe of humanity, I for one hope that perhaps we'll no longer be white, black or brown as an identifier of who we are.

*

My Beef with Vegans...

2011-04-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

What...you're surprised that I have beef with Vegans?
Well on the whole I actually don't... But militant, angry Vegans...I certainly do!

I can relate to them, having been a militant and occasionally angry vegetarian in my teenage years, but I guess with age I have become more pragmatic, and infinitely less angry.
My beef with Vegans is essentially the same beef I have with anyone who is an extremist. My simple premise is that if you are an extremist in your views you will inevitably paint yourself as a hypocrite at some stage.

Take Veganism for example. I consider the reduction in meat consumption and the reduction in egg and dairy intake to be an important part of reducing our impact on the planet, and it is for that reason that I eat a primarily (almost entirely) Vegan diet. But many Vegans are so militant about their views that unless you are the perfect Vegan you are considered part of the problem, not part of the solution. I see this strikingly when Vegetarians are criticized by Vegans.
Aren't we all part of the same team here?
Are you really as perfect as you claim?
My view conversely is that if you are making an effort to reduce your impact on the planet and are doing it in real and practicable ways you are making yourself part of the solution.

You are only a hypocrite when you preach something and then act counter to that argument.
There are several things I have run across recently that are examples of these hypocrisies.

For example many militant Vegans that I know have dogs. Dogs eat meat, and so if the dog is being fed a healthy and appropriate diet then the Vegan dog owner will be buying meat to feed it. Now I understand the dog needs to eat meat to be healthy, and that it would be cruel to feed it a Vegan diet - and that is something I am absolutely not suggesting as an alternative. My point is that the Vegan does not need to own a dog. Dogs are a luxury item in terms of pure resource usage.
I love dogs, I have had dogs and will again in the future - so I have no issue at all with keeping dogs, I am simply making a comparison based upon the 'choice' argument as a rationale for Veganism when confronted with arguments about natural eating patterns, essential nutrients and taste. They (militant Vegans) say that is a choice to eat meat (and thereby kill animals) and that if the choice can be made to limit killing then it should be taken.
If this is your rationale does this not also apply to forsaking your enjoyment of owning dogs to reduce collateral killing and resource use?

I have also had the experience of being somewhat berated by Vegans for my (very) occasional consumption of meat or eggs. Some of these very Vegans are very into their own particular brand of fashion and have a lot of clothes, accessories and many pairs of Vegan shoes.
The hypocrisy in this example is that having all those 'things' and in particular shoes surely provides for collateral damage to the environment which has an effect on the wellbeing of animals. Sure they are Vegan, but they are created from petrochemicals that require a lot of resources to extract, that result in pollution and cause environmental damage.

A final beef is with Vegans who use fly-spray or otherwise kill insects. I simply do not kill insects. I can't remember ever having killed insects. I don't see the point. They can't hurt me and so I simply leave them alone and they in the main do the same with me.
It has come to the point where if I am bitten by a mosquito I simply let her drink her fill and then fly away - knowing that she won't bother anyone else for a while. She gets a meal and I feel good about having been able to feed another being for the night! (Simply being aware of our aversion to mosquitos is a great exercise in mindfulness too BTW.)
When a Vegan uses fly-spray and in one fell swoop kills dozens, perhaps hundreds of insects I just don't get how they could then judge someone else.

The greatest change we can make in my humble opinion is to over time become more aware of the effects of our actions and try to reduce our environmental impact and the impact that we have on the lives of sentient beings. And a way that we can begin to do this is to commit to a more simple life of joyous experience instead of being focused on having things, and labeling ourselves with limiting definitions.

Cliff's next book Time Rich Cash Optional (an unconventional guide to happiness) will be available in May! Order links and info at www.timerichcashoptional.com

The Strength Coach and the Newbie Part 1.

2011-04-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Newbie approached the Strength Coach and asked "Is it possible to put on muscle and lose body-fat at the same time?" to which the Strength Coach replied "Sure it is!"
"OK - Can you tell me how to do it?"
"No problem, but it's kind of a secret - before I tell you I need you to do a few things..."
"OK...."
"First of all I need you to back-squat heavy at least twice a week"
"Is that all! No problem - I can do that!"

A few weeks later the Newbie comes back to the Strength Coach and says "I did what you said, I've been squatting heavy twice a week. Can you tell me the secret to putting on muscle and losing fat now!?"
"Nearly, nearly....There might be just a few more things I need you to do first. Firstly I want you to eat at least 6 servings of vegetables per day, 5 meals a day and have a protein food with each meal. Eat plenty of food...but make sure it's all natural, whole and unprocessed stuff!"

Another couple of weeks go by and the Newbie approaches the Strength Coach: "Mate - so much for all your 'secrets'. I've been putting on muscle and losing fat for quite a few weeks now...looks like I don't need your advice after all!"

...

This too shall pass...

2011-04-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

All is transient.
"This too shall pass" reminds us that everything will pass, good and bad, thoughts, things, feelings, emotions...all will pass.
It reminds us that when we are at our most hurt that we will heal; that when we are in our darkest hours that there will be light.

It compels us to live for the moment, to not treat life like an ever retreating mirage that is always two steps ahead of us.
To live the shit out of life because all will pass and we must live the moments of joy, and experience the wonder of life now, for soon any moment of wonder will be a memory.

The phrase appears in the works of Persian Sufi poets, such as Sanai and Attar of Nishapur. Attar records the fable of a powerful king who asks assembled wise men to create a ring that will make him happy when he is sad, and vice versa. After deliberation the sages hand him a simple ring with the words "This too will pass" etched on it, which has the desired effect.

It was not long ago but perhaps the details are hazy...I've never been one for remembering the details, but for feeling the intent and the emotion...
I was with my wonderful friend in one of my last days in Vancouver. Simply doing what we do and chilling, talking and spending time with her equally wonderful family.

We went out to get some sushi for dinner, and whilst waiting in a nearby park for our food to be ready she presented a package which enwrapped a ring, beautiful in it's simplicity and with the equally simple inscription...

This too shall pass

For more of the beautiful work of Melissa Lawrence of M3 Designs go to: www.m3designs.com

...

The Finger Pointing to the Moon

2011-04-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

If we become fixated only on the finger we never see the moon...
But perhaps without the finger many will not see the moon?

I have been fascinated by religion and spirituality ever since I was a child. I was always also fascinated by science, and at least when I was young I never really saw why there was such a divide between the two.

But in spite of an upbringing (or perhaps as a result of an upbringing) in which I was exposed, but never expected to practice or adhere to, many spiritual traditions and religious tenets I became through my teenage years extremely anti-religious.
I could see that so much evil had been perpetrated in the name of religion. I reviled at the literal interpretations of what appeared to me to simply be myths and legend and most of all I reviled at the absolute rejection of all that was not in one's religion and the exclusion of people who had done nothing wrong, to the point of hate.

Over the years though I began to see that what I was repulsed by was dogmatism and extremism, and this occurs in the most modern of religions - science - every bit as much as the theist tenets.
Religion in and of itself is not the problem. As with any system there is one simple fault - and that is greed.
Greed drives the hunger for power, the hunger for 'things' and the hunger that is perhaps the most powerful - the desire to be right.

But if we strip away the desire to be right, if we strip away extremism and dogmatism we are left with in religion, simply a set of devices; tools by which people can begin to connect directly with that which is greater than us.
If we agree (and I'm not expecting you to agree with my interpretation) BUT if we do agree that there is something more than us - call it universal energy, the divine, the super-conscious, God or simply LOVE, and that we are ultimately and intractably connected, then how we connect, how we begin to actually realise that is of some importance. And the experience of the divine can only be experiential. We cannot understand quantify in it's entirety the greater power that we have as human animals, the power of self-belief and most importantly the power of universal energy. To seek to do so is analogous to a cell in your body seeking to comprehend the entirety of your being. That cell is an intractable part of the whole, it is a facet of your own personal super-conscious. It feeds into, and is in turn fed by this consciousness, but on it's level the greater is unable to be comprehended.

People seldom realise the value of a moment. They seldom are able to have a moment of simply being as one with all. That experience - often called the 'direct experience of source' need not have any conduit to it. It may be spontaneous, it may be something achieved through simply being, or through the arts, or science or loving relationships, or simply watching seagulls drift across the sky. But those moments do often come through the tools we use to connect; the tools of prayer, meditation, contemplative exercise and other religious or spiritual devices. So why throw out the baby with the bathwater and reject wholly the valuable aspects of religion and spiritual traditions when the problems actually arise from the actions of greed?
They are not the moon - they are simply the fingers pointing to the moon.

Because I sit a certain way or I chant a certain word, or because I call that consciousness that we all share a particular name does not make my way right; it simply means I have found a way that makes sense to me - a path that resonates with my history, with my conditioning and that melds itself into my personal legend.
That path may change, it may shift, but in the experience of source one can only realise that all paths lead to the same place. It is then that devices seek to have importance and there simply is the man and the way and they are one.

The Value of Play

2011-04-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

One of the books that influenced me most as a strength athlete was The Development of Physical Power by Arthur Saxon (arguably the strongest man to have walked the planet).

The great Arthur Saxon performing
a 'two hands anyhow' lift

In this book he outlines some of his training, nutrition and exercise methods (all from the early 1900's I must add) and one thing that struck me was how much of the training that he and his brothers (also famous strongmen) did was basically play.
They would go into their private gymnasium and 'play' with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells and Indian clubs, along with other heavy objects, for hours on end, fueled all the while by what could be one of the first sports drinks - heavy cream, stout and sugar!

I have seen the value of this approach to my training, and whilst a more structured approach is beneficial for a large part of our training, one cannot underestimate the importance of simply walking into your gym, backyard or garage with no preconceptions and to simply try out new exercises and feats of strength, and do it all with joy and non-judgmental compassion for self.

For example; I don't usually train on a Sunday, but yesterday I felt like I wanted to PLAY.
So I grabbed a 24kg kettlebell and went outside in the sun and had a great old time. I had no preconception of exercise, reps or sets. In fact that is the beauty of occasionally training on an 'off' day - you need not worry about pushing yourself to your prescribed volume and intensity and can simply do it for the love of being active, healthy and strong.

I worked through a variety of fun exercises, from bell up snatches to bell up clean and presses, into a variety of cleans, snatches, single bell clean/press/tri extensions, single bell curl and press (high reps), swings with a pause at the top (brutal!) and full overhead swings. I finished it all off with some of my favourite shoulder/core strength/mobility drills: KB orbits from the waist, 1/2 orbits (behind head) and full orbits.

"Life should be a playfulness not a purpose..."
~ Osho

A Drunkard's Prayer

2011-04-03T23:09:00.000-07:00

You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time

You're the hunger
On my bones
All the nights
I sleep alone

Sweet intoxication
When your words
Wash over me

Whether or not
Your lips move
You speak to me

Like an ocean
Without waves
You're the movement
That I crave

And in that motion
I long to drown
And be lost not to be found
You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time

~ Drunkard's Prayer by Over the Rhine from the Album Drunkard's Prayer

Empower. Your. Self

2011-03-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Life seems to come in themes...

As we do new things and meet new people it is natural that we begin to notice more and more of certain 'themes' of media and communication.
Lately on returning to NZ to complete my next book I have been working with several inspiring women helping them to break out of the pattern of eating disorders. I have serendipitously connected with a lot of women in many areas seeking to empower themselves. They've inspired me and I feel blessed to be able to be part of the process of positive change.

But I've also been reminded of how we frame so much of what we strive to do for our highest good in a negative way...and this can be ultimately self defeating.

In social media, on the web and in articles I still see time and again negative and dis-empowering threads and themes. These dis-empowering themes are almost always rooted in extrinsic motivation (or wanting to be a certain way because it is expected by society, and because we have been conditioned to think others will react in a positive way to the image we are trying to create.)
This can be compared with the intrinsic motivation that comes from doing the things we truly want to do, and becoming the person that we really want to be. This is a truly powerful, internal force that leads to continued growth of self - it is eternal...extrinsic motivators are however by nature transient and the likelihood is that we will 'fall off the wagon' and never reach our goals.
It could be said too that even if we 'reach' those goals that we have set (to try and please others) we will never reach any great level of satisfaction or happiness, and as I have written in Time Rich...Cash Optional! this means that the goals we have set are the wrong goals! (The right goals for us are the ones that lead us closer and closer to our highest good!)

The worst examples I see of this are:

Calorie Counting...
I have lectured on numerous occasions (at universities, colleges and major conferences) on the importance of QUALITY of nutrition over QUANTITY. And to be honest if we eat a diet that consists of natural., whole and unprocessed foods we in almost all cases need not worry about calories.

Calories in vs calories out is an outdated model that has little bearing on health.
The inverse negative aspect of calorie counting in food is the counting of exercise calories. PLEASE realize that the calories you expend doing exercise do not equate to how much fat you will lose and how your body will end up looking! (Resistance and high intensity forms of exercise for example, although utilizing less calories and less 'fat calories' in session will result in 9x more fat loss than steady state cardio - when time adjusted!)
I have no clue how many calories I ate today and I have no clue how many calories I expended. I don't care and it isn't important.
I can tell you that I eat a lot of great quality food and I train really hard and I stay lean and strong year round.

STOP counting calories
If it's pressed into a funny shape don't eat it!
Close your eyes and imagine you are walking through a forest - if you see it around you, you can eat it.
Eat when you're hungry, until you are full and when you get hungry again...eat!
Focus on honouring, loving and suppporting yourself by eating great quality food!

(For the purpose of this post, and for health I don't care whether you are vegetarian, vegan or omnivorous - just eat natural, whole, unprocessed, organic food!)

Counting calories and depriving yourself is creating a starvation/deprivation mind-set. Counting calories from working out is simply the 'purge' part of a 'binge-purge' mentality that is not empowering.

I had a great conversation with an inspiring Cross-Fit athlete in the weekend. She told me how she doesn't follow any particular diet. She just trains hard (because she loves it!) and eats LOADS of great quality natural food (because she has to eat a LOT to fuel herself for her training and life in general!)....and yes....she was lean and in fantastic shape.

Comparisons with others...
I'm seeing this so much with young women I work with.
Constant comparisons with so called feminine ideals (images which I often find unattractive because they are skinny and unhealthy looking to me....but I digress) and saying things like "I wish I were her" or "I'm in pretty good shape...but...I wish I had her abs.."
When I hear and read things like this it breaks my heart. Every time we say something like this we devalue ourselves. We dis-honour and dis-empower ourselves.
It's so sad to see beautiful women post pictures of themselves next to someone they consider their supposed ideal and wish that they were them. (Refer to my previous post - You Are Beautiful Now!)

I understand the value of having role models but people we look up to are quite different to people we wish we were because we undervalue ourselves. Role models provide people that we look up to as guides who have travelled a particular path that we are alsp in some way travelling. Our own sense of self image and worth is left intact when we have positive role models.

I have many role models. I have people I look up to and their guidance helps me. Their exploits and achievements inspire me....
But never have I wanted to 'be' that person. I am me, and in spit of my flaws I'm pretty great! :)

Be happy with YOU
Love YOU
You need not be 100% satisfied with where you are...but at the very least be HAPPY and be PROUD of who you are and what you've achieved.

Everyone has fought, and is still fighting great battles.

Honour these by tasting the sweet fruit of your victories ~ no matter how small.

Learn from your defeats and take the learnings to make you stronger.

Our greatest defeats can teach us our greatest lessons and can drive us to even greater accomplishments.

Above all create a powerful mind-set. A mind-set where you are worth honouring. A mind-set where you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are worthy of the very best that life has to offer!

☺ Blessings,
~ Cliff

The Feminine Ideal - Frailty or Strength?

2011-03-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

While flicking through my Tumblr feed I noticed a great comment from a young woman (someone on a journey of battling her weight and becoming more healthy) along the lines of "I don't want to be a skinny girl with bones sticking out....I wan't to look strong, not empty and frail..."

I thought about this a lot...

So much of the modern archetype of women involves looking looking frail and weak (aka dis-empowered).

This doesn't make sense!

In a natural setting a woman would be physically active and would therefore show the effects of regular, varied physical activity (including walking, intermittent running, pulling, pushing, lifting, dragging and carrying things).
So anthropologically we can assume that a woman looking healthy, fit, functional and strong should be the norm. We obviously don't live in a primal world anymore though (probably on balance a good thing!) but like many other areas of modern life we have taken the 'good' that progress has given us, whilst losing the benefits of more natural living and embracing much of the negative (sedentary living, poor food, lack of connection with nature). In essence we've thrown out the baby with the bath water.

We have perpetuated stereotypes of beauty that dis-empower women, and these should be changed. Thankfully now many women are taking this upon themselves.
I am loving seeing the huge growth in women's kettlebell lifting, All-Round lifting and Cross-Fit.

At our own peril we ignore the fine interplay between the mind and body:
mens sana in corpore sano (a sound mind in a sound body) is not only a call to develop the mind and the body optimally, but I think also serves as a reminder that the health of the body affects the health of the mind and the health of the mind affects the health of the body. The morphology we create in either also has a marked effect on the other, and the physical strength, power and wellness we create within the body must by extension affect the mind and the emotions (positively).
It contributes to a 'power mind-set' and this is so much more powerful than vague and hokey notions of 'girl power' ('girl power' seems a little condescending and contradictory anyway...I mean I loved seeing the Spice Girls jump around in lycra back in the 90's...but powerful? Ha ha ha...)

Women worry that if they train with weights they'll become masculine.
- They won't. They will simply become lean and muscular (in a very feminine and sexy way!)

Many of my patients come from a generation that was told: "Girls just don't do those sorts of things" [physical activity]
But who on earth decided that?
A: A patriarchal society that had a systemic culture of oppression of the TRUE feminine. A culture that decided that women were second class citizens...

So who cares now what was said, and why do we continue to carry around the vestiges of this system?

In the words of the great Zac de la Rocha "Yo, we gotta take the power back!"

Ladies - it's time for strong...

Strong, healthy and functional is the new sexy.

...

Am I Vegan Paleo? (and why I eat the way I eat...)

2011-03-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

I know what you're saying...there's no such thing as 'Vegan Paleo'...

And you know what? That's fine by me because to be honest I think we define and compartmentalize ourselves way too much.
In my bio section I mention that it's sometimes hard to answer the question "What do you do?" and that's because I live an experiential life. I love to try new things and get involved in new, different and exciting things (or new forms of the things I already do.) So when someone asks the ubiquitous meeting question of "...So....what do you do?" I could easily answer "I'm a weightlifter", or "I'm a Naturopath" or "I'm a Mind-Body-Spirit Coach" or as my good friend, entrepreneur and vagabond Julien Emery from Vancouver, BC said: "Cliff you're a happiness coach!" All of these things and more would be true, but nothing quite encapsulates what the essence of someone is. And no one thing can define the totality of someone's existence.
Which is cool too!

We in some instances need to define what we do, purely so that others get an inkling about where we stand, what we do, and why we do what we do! In that way it alludes to some of the important things about us, and allows others to relate and connect to us. But when we get 'hung up' and attach too much to our own labels we can easily paint ourselves as hypocrites if we decide to move slightly outside the bounds of what we consider ourselves to be.

When people ask what type of diet I follow I have to say that I am primarily vegan. They often ask : "Well what does that mean? You're either vegan or not." To which I reply "Well I don't eat meat, eggs or dairy as a rule..." Which confuses them even more....

You see the reality is that I don't see an absolute problem with eating meat in the broadest sense.
We have evolved to eat meat and we cannot get all that we need solely from natural vegetable matter our entire lives, although as adults we need not eat meat. (That may seem contradictory but it's not).
I grew up hunting and fishing but decided to become vegetarian at the age of 15 and followed a vegetarin diet for the next 7 years.
I resumed eating meat as a way (at the time) to aid my recovery from Crohn's Disease and over the last 4 years I have gradually eased back into a vegan diet.

However what I do have a problem with is:
1. The inhumane treatment of farm animals in industrialized farm models
2. The collateral damage (wasted lives) caused by the industrialisation of farming (such as the male chicks killed as a result of the egg production industry)
3. The lack of accountability for lives taken (how many people would be vegetarian if they actually had to kill the animal themselves?) It is enshrined in law in many countries that paying for someone to be killed is on the same level as murder. So is buying it the same as killing it but with the accountability removed?
4. Overfishing
5. Over use of resources to produce meat, dairy and eggs (especially petrochemical inputs)
6. Public health effects of industrialised farming (grain feeding of cattle for example - leading to distorted omega fat profiles - a major co-factor in heart disease, cancer and other illnesses)
7. Collateral pollution caused by a reliance on animal protein foods (esp 'greenhouse gases' such as N02 and methane)

I'm not here to convince anybody of anything, and I don't deride others for their opinions and eating habits. I do however encourage people to become more aware of the effects of their eating habits.
The easiest way for me to help be part of the solution is to not eat meat, dairy and eggs AND to eat natural, whole, unprocessed organic plant foods.

....But enough of that, and back to the title of this piece....

Am I Vegan-Paleo? Although the Paleo crew may have you believe that you can't be Vegan-Paleo I think that the key to eating a good diet is simply to eat natural, whole and unprocessed foods be it omnivorous, vegetarian or vegan.

Paleolithic man would have most certainly eaten meat to survive - about that there is no doubt in my mind.
But would he also have eaten sprouted legumes if he found them?
Absolutely!
They can be eaten raw and so easily fit the mold of the Hunter-Gatherer model of eating. They are also extremely nutritious and low in any anti-nutritive factors and irritants.
Would he also have eaten nuts and seeds when available?....
Yep! and fruit...and veggies...and berries!

So my diet - which is based on eating veggies, fruit, berries, nuts and seeds; and with a major protein constituent coming from sprouted lentils, mung-beans, chickpeas etc (almost all eaten raw) could almost be considered Paleo minus the meat!
And seeing as I am lean, strong, muscular and healthy it seems to be working!

Maybe I am Vegan Paleo? - But then again I'd hate to have to put a label on what is simply effective, healthy, natural eating. :)

~ Cliff

You are beautiful! Yes - Right Now!

2011-03-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

I've had the pleasure of connecting with a lot of really cool people lately in lectures and via my blog here at www.cliffdog.com and over at my Tumblr blog (www.cliffharvey.tumblr.com).

A lot of the people I've been connecting with lately via these media (and those who are coming to me as patients) are women wanting to improve their physical condition and health. I'm continually inspired by these amazing women, many of whom are in the process of coming out of the darkness of depression and eating disorders.

It's all too simple (as anyone who has actually been clinically depressed will know) for people to say "Why can't they just 'snap' out of it?" or especially in the case of eating disorders "Can't they see that they are too skinny?".

Of course are that people who are in the depths of depression most often wish they could simply 'snap out of it', but like any other condition affecting the body-mind complex the influencing factors are many and varied and it takes an integrated approach to treatment. The good news is you can recover from depression and live a happy, joyous, experiential life!
And in the case of eating disorders - no - often the person affected actually can't 'see' that they are 'too skinny' and although they may realise that they are hurting themselves, the pattern of control that the manipulation of food provides, is a 'treasured wound' and has become (on a subconscious level) a survival imperative.

The point of today's blog though is not to delve into the multi-factorial causes, effects and influences of both depression and eating disorders....it is instead to say:

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Right here and right now!

I don't care if you have just woken up and haven't put your make-up on yet....

You are beautiful.

I don't care if you are carrying 15 (or 50!) excess pounds....

You are beautiful.

I don't care if you have a birthmark or a scar...

You are beautiful.

Whatever people say of your glasses, your braces, your tattoos, your piercings, your muscles (or lack thereof), your dress sense....

It just doesn't matter - because YOU are beautiful.

We may not always be satisfied with where we are in life. We may not always be satisfied with our health and our physical condition, and this dissatisfaction can be a powerful driving force for creating positive change to move closer and closer to our perfect, ideal life of love, joy and wonder.

BUT - we can be happy, we can be happier moment to moment. And although we may change, progress, grow and evolve over time, we are, in the present moment ALWAYS beautiful.

Embrace the positive change, focus on loving and honouring yourself - not starving and depriving. Focus on the process, for if we live each moment of the process to the full, our goals will be achieved.

Laugh, Love and LIVE THE SHIT OUT OF LIFE!

...

Kettlebell Training in the Sun! (Part 2)

2011-02-23T15:35:00.000-08:00

I awoke to (yet another!) beautiful sunny day in Auckland, NZ.

Looking forward to a heavy squatting day tomorrow with former Commonwealth Games sprint cyclist (and beast of a lifter) Dave Fitzsimmons, I figured I would play around with the bells at home again...

After my last post a few friends and colleagues in the strength training field mentioned the Secret Service Snatch Test. This is a test to see how many kettlebell snatches you can do in 10min with a 24kg bell...

Here's how it looked:

Secret Service Snatch Test (24kg bell) - As many reps as possible in 10min = 170 reps
O'Head Kettlebell Press (24kg bell) = 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps
Pullups = 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Pushups - As many reps as possible in 2min = 112 reps

The SSST certainly tore up my hands - especially after the damage they sustained in the weekend! Looking forward to squeezing out quite a few more reps when the hands attenuate to endurance KB work again.

Give it a go and see what you can do!

~ Cliff

...

Some Saturday Kettlebell Fun in the Sun!

2011-02-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

I never really 'plan' to train on Saturdays...

Even in my hardest training phases I like to 'front load' my training week and get all my heaviest and most challenging work done earlier in the week.
But with that said I almost always do train on Saturdays - but because it's not planned I simply get out amongst it and do something fun!

This is never so evident as when I have been doing some research and reading on new training methodology, or if I have picked up a new training implement...

It's been a little while since I have trained consistently with Kettlebells, and so I was absolutely stoked to get a surprise from my friends at One Rep Max (www.onerepmax.co.nz) - a brand new 24Kg RKC style bell!

Of course I couldn't wait to see how it handled and so this morning, on awaking to a beautiful, sunny Auckland day I decided to play around at home with the new bell.

Many of you will also know that if I do timed work I like to time my sets and exercises by song, rather than by the clock.

Todays workout would consist of 6 songs in total. 4 songs would comprise the work component with 2 songs left for the mobility section at the end.

I would attempt to do as many reps as I could (switching hands when necessary on the one arm lifts) in the time allowed by the song, and immediately switch to the next lift at the commencement of the next song. The only rest I allowed was BETWEEN songs (usually only a few seconds) in order to reset grip and quickly slap on some chalk.

Here's what I did:

'Alone' by Like A Storm (2:49) One Arm KB Snatch - 60 reps
'Attack' by 30 Seconds to Mars (3:09) One Arm KB Overhead Press - 60 reps
'Bottom' by Tool (7:14) One Arm KB Cleans - 156 reps
'Brena' by A Perfect Circle (4:24) Pullups - 33 reps

I did Pike Arches, 3 Point Hamstring/Hip Flexor Stretches and some Sun Salutations to finish whilst listening to 'Change Tomorrow' and 'Galaxy' by Like A Storm.

Total Training Time (including mobility work) = 26min

Give it a crack and see how many reps you can do to your own play list!

...And f course at the end of the workout I loaded up on some Vital Greens, Vital Protein, fruit and berries! ~ Ethical, Vegan, alkaline sports nutrition for Veggie fueled warriors!

Order Here: http://www.vitalhealthnz.com/shopping.html

Use coupon code PP2005C for a special 'friend of Cliff' discount!

...

My Thoughts on Waitangi - Our National Day

2011-02-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

In the wake of our national day in Aotearoa (New Zealand) I had some very interesting discussions with friends and whanau about Waitangi Day.

For my international readers, Waitangi Day is considered our national holiday - similar to Independence Day in the US or Canada Day for my Canuck friends.
The significance of 'Waitangi' is that it denotes both the place of signing, and the name given to our nation's founding document - The Treaty of Waitangi.

A few significant points were made to me by several different people in the wake of our latest national day.

1. That people are sick of Maori protesting
My reply to this is - fine. be sick of Maori protesting. But before rejecting the images you see, and the words you hear, THINK about whether there is any justification for the protest.
Have there been injustices perpetrated? Has there been systemic assimilation of Maori, particularly through the early and mid 1900s? Are there elements of previous law and governmental decision making that run counter to the letter and intent of the treaty?
Yes, yes and yes.
So is protest justified?
Yes.
Protest is also a vibrant and graphic example of our freedom. It is a clear and marked indication that we have, for the most part, a free and democratic country with freedom of speech and freedom of press. These two factors are really the ones that separate freedom from tyranny and so even if we don't agree with the message we can at least value the expression.

2. That we should have a 'true national day' (like Australia has...)
We HAVE a true national day....
It is called Waitangi Day and it celebrates the (albeit imperfect) founding of our nation and an agreement between the founding peoples of our nation to co-operate. What could possibly provide a better substitute?
The call often goes up for us to replace Waitangi Day with 'New Zealand Day'.
My question is why?
As mentioned we have a perfectly good national day that recognises the importance of Maori. I can only wonder whether it is the vestige of a desire to assimilate Maori and tikanga Maori that is lurking behind the desire to 'white wash' our national day.

Several people mentioned Australia Day as an example of a fun and festive national holiday that we could emulate...
Seriously? Would people really want to emulate the national celebrations of a nation that completely rejected the native populace in a systematic and entrenched culture of assimilation? (and ostracisation and destruction when assimilation was not an option.) Australia Day is really a celebration of white/settler Australia. It is not a day of cohesion for a nation, but one of division.

3. That people are sick of Maori being given 'hand outs'.
Oh...that old chestnut. The cheeky hories are putting their hands out again...
Many pakeha have a latent fear that they will be put at an economic disadvantage if Maori are given land, money and resources.
Maori have traditionally been at an economic disadvantage due to many factors, not least of all loss of land and resources, underrepresentation in the early days of the colony and nation' and the cultural effects of having to fit into the supplanted British culture that took root here with colonisation.
Many pakeha further worry (in the case of land ownership) that they may be 'stolen from'.
This fear is not justified. The government won't allow wholesale taking of private land for treaty reparations. I have faith that the treaty process is, on the whole a fair and just one and that reparations are accorded where there have been injustices commited.
If you have been stolen from, or there has been nefarious (and illegal) activity that has caused you to be disadvantaged in some way, you would too seek reparations in court and no-one would say that in being given recompense you are getting a 'hand out'.
The treaty grievance process is analogous to this.

It's not a 'hand-out' (or the patronising term 'hand-up' - i.e. 'let's give the poor noble savage a hand'...) But is justified pay-back. Plain and simple.

An interesting occurrence is happening now....
Iwi who have been beneficiaries of treaty settlements are beginning to reap the rewards of sound and solid investments.
There is a mistaken assumption on the part of many Kiwis that Iwi have squandered their settlements and misappropriated funds. But on the whole this is not a reflection of the truth!
And who hasn't made a bad investment here and there anyway? I certainly have made a few...(maybe my poor investments of the past were due to some of the tiny sliver of 'brown' genes of various types that I have inherited!)....
It smacks of bigotry when people assume that Maori and other groups who have traditionally been over-represented in poverty statistics are less able to succeed financially (leave the money making to pakeha and the touch-rugby to Maori).
I can see that there may be a rising 'white fear' in response to the growing wealth of Iwi. And sadly I have heard it said that this wealth is due to 'us' (who are 'us'? - I hope I'm not included in that) giving 'them' a hand-out.
Firstly this US and THEM mentality has to stop. We are one nation. We are ONE nation founded by an agreement between two peoples.

Assimilation and white washing do not make for unity - respect and diversity do.

Secondly if by prudent investing an Iwi is able to increase their wealth base, then good on them! It certainly puts paid to the antiquated and racist notion that the noble savage is no good with his money.

Thirdly I have heard that at least one Iwi will be at a point soon of ensuring higher education for all it's members, and many are ensuring that money is invested in health initiatives. What a great example of collectivity and community! We could all learn something from that. Sound collective economic strategies to ensure that their community members are healthy and have greater knowledge and skills to succeed in the world - Tino pai!

We dishonour ourselves by not knowing, honouring and valuing the cultures that have made our nation what it is, and that can make it so much more.
Aotearoa CAN be so much more than it is! We can be even more vibrant, more unique, and more wonderful in our mutual appreciation of one another. We can replace fear (from ignorance) with love and appreciation (from knowing).
I think a lot of that appreciation needs to come as a result of pakeha learning more about NZ history, te reo Maori and tikanga Maori. Because if you don't, you're not a New Zealander...you're simply a settler.

The Treaty - Super Brief
Te Tiriti o Waitangi was something of a rarity for the British Empire at the time and laid out an agreement between the signing tribes and the crown for co-operation in this new colony.
The reasons for this were many, and I am no historian - but there was certainly the desire by some of the Maori chiefs to ensure a greater degree of governance over the increasing numbers of settlers, rather than risk lawlessness on the part of Pakeha. The specter of French colonisation is also often quoted as a rationale behind the treaty - I think for Maori perhaps a case of 'better the devil you know', and for the British a way to ensure Maori co-operation as allocating the resources for subjugation by force alone may have been too risky due to the already stretched nature of logistics and supply lines across an empire that literally reached around the globe.

Not all tribes signed, but within a fairly short time it became assumed (by the British at least) that New Zealand was a colony of the empire.

The treaty itself in brief allows the British government (now the NZ government as the crown) the right to rule New Zealand, whilst guaranteeing the use, ownership and possession of land and property (in the Maori language version of the treaty this definition is broader as 'taonga' or 'treasures') by the Maori owners, and imparts the full protection of the crown to Maori - with all the rights and privileges of British subjects.

That the treaty was almost ignored until the 1970s does not change it's crucial place in NZ history and that we should honour and value it now.
It may well be that many of the reasons behind the treaty- particularly from the crown point of view were a subterfuge to solidify power in New Zealand, BUT the document itself can still be taken as written, and not-withstanding it's imperfections, as a foundation of mutual co-operation and understanding.

The treaty, imperfect as it was has a kernel of co-operation and aroha that we can use as the basis for us to move forward as one.

The New Currency of Man = Being a Douchebag.

2011-02-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

Unless you're living under a rock (or without access to television, web and radio....perhaps not a bad idea!) you can't have missed the resurgence of 'man-dom' in the media.
Products designed (supposedly) for men, and images and archetypes (more correctly - stereotypes) of what is considered to be 'man-stuff'. As a man (yes I just checked underneath my sarong and I have all the equipment required....in spite of wearing a sarong) I see so much of this as just plain stupid.
I'm not offended by it, I just think we do us all a disservice by painting ourselves as a bunch of brutish Neanderthals shotgunning beers and consuming copious quantities of meat whilst driving unnecessarily large gas-guzzling automobiles (amongst other archetypes of what it supposedly means to be a 'man'...)

I mean does any of this really matter? And does the perpetuation of stereotypes and social conditioning that perhaps prevent us from improving society and the world around us really serve anyone's highest good?

A great, and tragic example of this is the Man Points Day campaign by the beer brand Lion Red. It's touting 'Man Points' as being the 'New Currency of Man'. In other words the new currency of man is to be a douche-bag.
Apparently "The modern man is in a state of turmoil: a variety of surveys show men are spending more on facial cleansers, moisturisers and other beauty products than ever before; are more comfortable ironing than under a car bonnet; and most disturbingly, more Kiwi men watched the season finale of New Zealand’s Next Top Model than the Bledisloe Cup final on free-to-air television..."

Gee - that sounds serious. We really need to do something about this....I might have to stop worrying about things like the fact that women make up more than half the population but hold on average under 20% of positions of power, or that we are destroying the planet we live on, or that we are still trapped in an economic paradigm that values 'things' over people, and instead focus on this impending threat to manhood.

Here's an excerpt from a press release about the day:

"Traditional male values are being eroded. It’s time to restore those values – and the only way to measure something’s value is to give it a currency. Manliness will now be measured in ‘Man Points’. Obviously, someone has to hand the Man Points out, and as the manliest beverage in the universe, who better than Lion Red?

Let’s start rewarding those moments and actions that proudly represent traditional Kiwi blokes! Lion Red wants you to get involved, look around, and award and deduct Man Points as you see necessary."

Yeah! - Who better to hand out points for 'manliness' than Lion Red!

The award for manliest man goes to......Jake Heke!

The press release goes on to list a few of the ways you can win or lose points. So in honour of 'Man Points Day' (on the 15th of February) I'm gonna see how I go on this 'man test'.

I'll award just one point for the supposedly manly things that I do and take one off for the 'unmanly' things.

Five easy ways to gain man points:

Eat a pie for breakfast

Probably right now would NOT do this. I have had my share of pies in my life - but am currently eating a primarily plant based diet (this will no doubt affect my manliness). No Points

Build a deck

I could do this, but only with the help of a mate or my old man.... I think due to my need to get help from some 'real men' sadly in this case again. No Points

Go fishing with your mates

Potentially I would do this, and I grew up hunting and fishing from the time I could stand (or earlier)....but might have a few qualms due to my move back towards vegetarian/vegan eating....Hmmm - I do however IF eating meat or fish prefer it to be taken by my own hand soin this case I'm going to give myself +1 point!

Own a Ute

I think driving a Ute (a 'pickup' for my N. American readers) is stupid and uncecessary unless you need it. I drive a small station wagon that is fuel efficient but still allows me to go camping and fishing. I guess to be a man I should have bought the Holden instead of the Nissan.... No Points

Wear a league jersey

I just don't dig league! Sorry but I'm a Union guy...so... No Points (I don't wear Union jerseys either)

Subtotal - 1 Man Point

Five easy ways to lose man points:

Ask for directions

I do this regularly if I don't know where to go and want to get to where I'm going on time. I will even ask women or homosexuals for directions! -1 Point

Pick the vegetarian option

I do this regularly too. This whole vegetarian/flexitarian thing is really getting in the way of me being a 'man'! -1 point

Own a poodle

I don't like poodles so I'm safe on this one. Poodles traditionally are actually hunting/retrieving dogs and are considered by many to be one of the more 'game' breeds. I guess the fact that they are shaved (in such a way as to preserve temperature whilst in cold water but enabling them to swim more effectively) makes them 'unmanly'. No Points Deducted

Wax anything that’s not a board

I don't wax. I do wax a surfboard, so I'm safe on this count too. I do on occasion pluck stray hairs though. Does that make me less of a man? No points deducted

Spend over $20 on a haircut

I've paid for 2 haircuts in my life (both more than $20) the rest I have cut myself or my very cool cousin has cut it for me. I guess by default I scrape through on this too! No points deducted

Overall Total - Minus 1 Man Point (out of a possible total of 5)

What does this mean?

Does it make me a woman, or simply some sort of androgynous, amorphic non-man entity?

I think it's hilarious to see the facade of 'manliness' that is co-created by us and the media, and perpetuated through our collective societal conditioning.

Who ever decided that eating meat was manly? For that matter how many men who think that eating meat is 'manly' have actually taken responsibility for taking the life of an animal by their own hand, butchered it and carried it down the mountain (for the record I have)....

Who decided that being vegetarian or vegan was not manly? I guess whoever decided that could tell it to Bill Pearl (one of the greatest bodybuilders and strongmen of all time), Jason Ferrugia (the renowned Strength and Conditioning Coach) or perhaps take up a discussion with UFC fighter Mac Danzig?

Who decided that being homosexual isn't 'manly'? I know plenty of gay guys that could kick the crap out of most straight guys. Maybe have a discussion about manliness with Ian Roberts or Gareth Thomas. They may not be able to fit you into their schedule though, what with having to be some of the best sportsmen in their field (Rugby League and Rugby respectively) all the training, business activity and of course poodle walking and make-up buying.

And what about strength? Being 'strong' is undoubtedly 'manly' right? But I guess going to the gym is pretty 'gay' too... Well whether it's manly or not I wonder how many beer swilling, pie eating, pot bellied 'men' of Man Points fame ever set foot in a gym and lifted REALLY heavy, consistently and with dedication to become truly strong? (And I don't mean what most people consider 'strong' which is actually pretty average...) Or better yet - how many lift heavy rocks, stones or put in any sort of hard, physical work?

Fighting is manly too I'm sure. But is walking away from a fight more manly? - I'm getting really confused by this whole man business!

How many 'men' have fought because their lives (rather than their status or appearance) depended on it?...and more importantly how many have stood up and fought for the rights of others and for the benefit of our planet?

Maybe we should add some other things to the Man Points list:

Beating your wife 2 Man Points

Come on - she deserves it, and I think it may even say in the bible that it's OK! (Hold on - is religion and spirituality 'manly'? I'm beginning to lose track...) Add one more point if you are drunk at the time (having just shotguneed a dozen Lion Reds)

Beating up homosexuals 2 Man Points

All gay men are eyeing you up right? I mean it's not like we have a problem with them...so long as they don't do anything around us! They also ALL quite obviously spend too much money on their hair, nails and cosmetics and I'm pretty sure that every homosexual has a cute (non-manly) puppy dog in his purse. So they are really just 'non-men' masquerading as men.

Getting in a Bar Fight 1 Man Point

Fighting is not only cool, it also makes you tough. Feel free to add points if you are fighting over important issues like whose favourite sports team is superior or whether someone did in fact get 'eyes for Christmas' (translation looking at you 'funny'.) Also add a point for beating up homosexuals (or people who you think are homosexual, or who are with, or in close proximity to homosexuals) and ethnic minorities (although you may have one type of ethnic minority that you will feel OK towards due to the fact that they 'work hard' or 'make great food' or are 'not as bad as the rest'.)

Non Man Points

Writing Minus 1 Man Point

I mean READING is bad enough (especially if it's some type of flowery novel or self help book!) but writing is completely over the line.

Speaking another language Minus 1 Point

Real men speak English. Enough said.

Yoga, Pilates, Meditation, Prayer etc, etc... Instant disqualification as a 'Man'

These are all for your wives because women are a) weak and b) they need the 'crutch' that spirituality provides. Real men lift heavy things (although as discussed I'm sure you don't actually do any sort of activity) or they watch sports rather than 'do' them (it's easier that way.)

Spiritual stuff is for chicks. Men don't need to learn how to be mindful, caring, connected and heart felt in their lives. That might not leave enough time for drinking, pretend fighting and bigotry.

He tao rākau e taea te karo

He tao kī e kore e taea te karo!

(A wooden shaft can be parried, Not so a verbal one!)

To hear Cliff have a very 'unmanly' conversation on the Mind-Body-Spirit connection and what it means to be a 'real man' listen to his interview on The Every Day Spirits Radio Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/everydayspirits/2011/01/27/everyday-spirits

Cliff is a Naturopath and author. He grew up hunting and fishing, playing rugby and is a 2 x IAWA weightlifting world champion, world record holder and competitive boxer and submission wrestler. He has coached dozens of world and Olympic level and professional athletes.

He meditates, does yoga, eats a primarily plant based diet and reads anything he can get his hands on. He has even been known to cry at the movies.

He is quite obviously due to his lack of Man Points, not a man.

The Superhero Within ~ Guest Post by Leah Allinger

2011-01-31T11:02:00.000-08:00

I remember being 8 years old, sitting in front of the tv completely fixated on and enamoured with She-Ra: Princess of Power. I’m not sure if it was her beauty, her strength, or the idea that she could totally take care of herself, but she was special… my superhero.

For those that don’t remember, She-Ra is the alter ego of Princess Adora and the twin sister of He-Man. She was abducted as a baby and grew up as Adora… a seemingly normal girl (not unlike myself of course…!). When she discovers her power and transforms into She-Ra her destiny is uncovered and this normal girl becomes “The Most Powerful Woman in the Universe”.

But She-Ra was more than just a warrior. She was nurturing in nature (as opposed to her brother’s more aggressively-based powers), was empathic, understanding and was able to communication with animals.

Not a bad role model to have, right?

I don’t think that I’ve thought about She-Ra since I was 12 or so. Today I walked by a Lululemon bag that said “Unwrap your Super Powers” and of course she came to mind. Which led me to the question: what happened when I started growing up that I forgot that I once had this character that I dreamt about being and perhaps even truly believed in at some level? Did I replace it with something else or did I just stop imagining?

I’m not sure what the answer is, but something tells me that it’s a combination of both. I have a feeling we are encouraged to get “realistic”. Do we stop believing in the magic of transformation and do we cease to see our own unlimited possibilities? Maybe we start to succumb to the societal assumption that we can only hope for that which our parents had, only experience 50% of our marriages being successful and grind our way through our 30′s,40′s and 50′s in hope of security only to realize that we forgot to truly live life along the way.

And while I had a relatively awesome childhood I still struggle to see past some of my own limiting beliefs about myself. I notice that I sometimes buckle to my own insecurities and the more I do it, the more normal it becomes. Many of the people around me do the same thing and it becomes so engrained in who I become that I stop seeing that it is not true, it’s just the reality that I’ve surrounded myself with.

See, the thing about She-Ra was that I let her into a place in my imagination that defied my own reality. And I think I knew deep down that I didn’t have the magic that would transform Spirit into Swift Wind (a talking winged unicorn), but it opened up a part of my mind to start believing in things outside of my own experience, circumstances and existence.

One of the most unusual and creative sport psych tools I have ever heard about was with the sliding team prior to the 2010 Olympics. They individually met with a Shaman who helped them connect with their own spirit animals. John Montgomery, skeleton Gold Medallist had a turtle. With the symbol placed on his helmet, he visualized the turtle sliding with him down the track- smoothly, effortlessly and quickly…

I think there is something about stepping outside of what we consider our own limits, our own bodies and our own minds. In times where our inner excellence is tested, a fear is being realized or a limit is being set on us, what if we connect to our own inner superhero? Whether it is one that already exists that possesses all of the qualities that we yearn to have, or perhaps one that we create on our own, why not step into their world, even just for a moment, and see if solutions appear and goals are met. AND at the same time creatively play in this world!

So in my life, She-Ra has been rediscovered. I see her differently now than I used to. Where I used to take her battles at face value, I now see how similar they are to my own. I see how she never uses her magic sword on the offensive, but only to defend herself if need be. She never hurts human beings, and she always finds time to connect with family and animals. Sure, she is beautiful, but it’s no longer about her long blonde hair- her beauty is more about how she finally knows who she is. And lastly, where I used to notice what she was doing, I now notice how she was doing it. There is an art to the way she moves and the way she handles a challenge.

So what is my Super Power? Today it is unleashed imagination! I’m not sure that Swift Wind will show up on my doorstep, but the fact that I don’t know what will show up means I’m on the right path…

Leah is a professional beach volleyball player, motivational speaker, trainer, crossfitter and designer. She is based out of California but spends much of her offseason in Vancouver, BC. She loves animals, randomness, friends and family, being inspired, stunts, and singing (badly) to the Dixie Chicks! Her dislikes include raw tomatoes, anyone flaky and mustard on her hotdog.

Her fun, inspirational, heartfelt blog can be found at: http://leahallinger.wordpress.com/

She is currently training for the 2010 AVP and FIVB world tour, designing sexy swim-wear for active women with www.vivvos.com.

Keeping Resolutions - Part 5

2011-01-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

The Importance of Mindfulness...

[From my upcoming book - Time Rich, Cash Optional!]

"Mindfulness is seeing things for what they are. It is being open to what is going on around you, without attachment and without ‘reaction’, moment to breaking moment.

It is developing the ‘watcher’ or the ‘observer’ within. Our minds are perpetual motion machines that create thought after thought. Mindfulness is recognising that these thoughts are transient and these thoughts are not us.

By observing our thoughts and emotions and by developing the ‘watcher’ within, we can see that our thoughts are not us. There is something deeper than this. We know this simply because we can become mindful, we can ‘watch’ our thoughts and emotions arise…and so we know that they are things that happen, and are in fact things that we ‘do’ and cannot therefore be ‘us’.

Developing mindfulness is essential for maximising our enjoyment and appreciation of time. If we are not fully in each breaking moment how can we hope to enjoy it?

It is also essential for realising what things are important for our deepest happiness and on the other hand what things we are doing or trying to posses merely to boost our ego.

From Choosing You!:

Developing mindfulness can be very basic. Meditation has been used for centuries to develop mindfulness. Many eastern (and also western) religions and many schools of philosophy and psychology include mindfulness in some form as either a fundamental goal or tenet.

There are several ways that you can encourage mindfulness in your life. I strongly recommend you put some time (as little as 10min) each and every day into one mindfulness activity. You can do the same activity every day at the same time, at different times or perform different activities as you feel like it. An activity that suits one person will not suit everyone. Be a power unto yourself…the main thing is that you do it!"

Mindfulness helps us to stick to our resolutions by allowing us to see in the breaking moment that we are about to make a reactionary decision, that perhaps is not in line with our goals. If we can develop greater 'critical awareness' we can instead CHOOSE to make a different decision that is more in line with our goals.

Blessings,

~ Cliff

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Keeping Resolutions - Part 4

2011-01-18T21:37:00.000-08:00

Self Sabotage & How Our Vices Serve Us

Many of my clients often wonder why they self sabotage.
They start into something with all the gusto in the world and it almost seems too easy...
This is the initial phase when our reserve of will-power is at it's greatest and we seem to have limitless resolve to do the things we want and need to be doing...and to avoid the things we know we shouldn't be doing!

However often after a short time the compulsion to NOT do the good things and the compulsion to derail ourselves through negative action can become almost overwhelming.

This springs from a couple of behavioral patterns.

One of these is that we are considered to only have a certain amount of willpower to devote to anything at one time. It can be quite difficult (with our reduced neuroplasticity) as adults, to institute new patterns of behavior and we do require a large degree of resolve or 'will-power' to do this. However we really only have a certain amount of energy to devote to this, and so if we try to change too many patterns at one time we will be less likely to succeed in any of them due to a diffusion of energy and effort.
If we instead focus on only one or two changes and see them through to the point at which they become ingrained patterns of behavior we are much less likely to 'fall off the wagon'.
This also happens if we are suddenly inundated with stress; and I see this a lot with my college age clients. Around exam time for example they are exerting SO much will-power to stick with an intense study and exam schedule that the energy and resolve required to exercise and eat well is often lacking.

The other, and perhaps MOST important factor in self sabotage is a survival one.

Anything, be it a movement pattern, a behavioral response or an emotional or psychological pattern, is to a large degree learned.
We can 'learn' many things, and once they are patterned to the sub-conscious level as a 'belief' they are part of our survival imperative.
If someone for example is told that they are fat, and they begin to believe this, and even reinforce it by telling themselves that they are fat this belief will become their natural, safe and appropriate set point.
The body-mind complex on a deep level believes that this is a safe place to be, and to move outside it could potentially be dangerous.

IF we then try to DO things that will take us away from this natural set-point (for example by eating well and exercising) the body-mind will believe that we are perhaps moving out of our safe and comfortable place, towards a place of potential danger and will begin to bring to conscious recognition things in our environment that are conducive to us NOT achieving the goal of weight loss.

We only bring up into our fully conscious faculty a tiny proportion of what we actually 'see', 'hear', 'smell' etc in our environment, and what we bring to cognition is what is deemed to be most important for survival.
SO if we see potential danger (a threat to survival) in losing weight we may be that much more aware of the chocolate cake at the work function we are attending - and feel compelled to eat it!

This is why so often with weight and body related goals we hear that "I didn't even really 'want' it...I just felt like I 'needed' it!" or "And the silly thing is I NEVER usually eat that stuff!" - of course you don't - because the survival imperative wasn't there!

Some of the perpetuations of this we call "treasured wounds". I have treated many people who either perpetuate physical disorders or injuries in response to life situations.

A professional athlete I worked with for example always had hip issues arise when he had a major career decision to make, and another client suffered with terrible abdominal pain that debilitated her whenever she needed a break from the self-imposed demands of her family, church and work because she hadn't developed the ability to say 'no' to people.

Reducing the presence of 'treasured wounds' and finding the negatives that serve us...and releasing these self-limiting beliefs and behaviors can really help to reduce the amount of will-power we need to exercise to achieve our goals, and make the process of goal achievement that much easier.

I work with my clients to identify and reduce negative and self limiting beliefs and behaviors and help them to encapsulate their dreams and set, and achieve the goals that really matter.

email: info@cliffharvey.com or visit www.cliffharvey.com for more info

...

Keeping Resolutions - Part 3

2011-01-09T23:17:00.000-08:00

The "It's Broken so I'm Giving Up Mentality"

How often do we set resolutions and then launch into them with gusto.
We decide to not drink, to give up sugar and to exercise...
And then at some stage we find ourselves gorging on donuts at Tim Horton's at 3 in the morning after a night out boozing and decide it would be a good idea to NOT go to the gym in the morning...

So often one simple slip up can be enough to completely derail someone's efforts.

But hey - ONE MISTAKE IS NOT FAILURE!
It's a slip up...

Who cares? Move on, get back on the horse and do what you need to do to live the life of your dreams.

I remember being called by clients in a state of utter distress:
"Cliff I ate an ENTIRE chocolate cake!!! I've blown it completely!"

To which I usually say something like. "OK Stop. Now think about it - Have your goals changed? Do you still want to look, feel and perform better?"
(Their inevitable reply is that their goals haven't changed and they still want to look, feel and perform better!)
And so the ONLY option for them is to continue with the process. Either that or give up on living.
Yes I'm that serious - being alive is easy....it's the default. You woke up - congratulations, now you want a medal?
Living - REALLY LIVING is a little more difficult - it's simple but actually doing it requires a bit of effort.
So we are in this skin a long time. There will be calamities along the way. But if we really want to improve, if we REALLY want to achieve our goals we simply must stay in the process and honour ourselves enough to keep on keeping on...even if we feel as if we've blown it.

Blessings,
~ Cliff

Keeping Resolutions - Part 2

2011-01-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

Avoid the 'Check Box' Mentality

So often people mistake the 'action' associated with achieving their goal with the goal itself.
They may not do this consciously but often deciding to do something, or taking the first steps (or step!) is all that people do...and they subsequently don't reach their goal...

An example from my own life comes from my Naturopathic practice. One of my specialist areas is nutrition and as a nutritionist I've helped thousands around the world to eat healthier, and have consulted to dozens of Olympic and World Championship level athletes.

Often when people make a resolution to eat better in order to achieve their health, performance or aesthetic goals they may decide that they 'need to see a nutritionist'. This is obviously a great step to take!
BUT it can become almost a replacement for actually going through the process of change.
So many times people make such a big deal out of 'seeing the nutritionist' that once they have done it they seem to sit back, check it off the list of things to do...and then fail to follow any of the recommendations!

I call this the 'check box mentality'.

Don't be content to simply 'check the box'. Remember that the action steps you take to achieve your goals are not the goals in and of themselves ~ they are merely a small part of the process.

Honour yourself and honour the process by taking one small step after another, knowing that by being complete, present and total in the moments of action within the process (and standing up and doing what must be done!) you can achieve most everything that your heart desires.

Blessings,
~ Cliff

Keeping Resolutions - Part 1

2010-12-31T15:42:00.000-08:00

Making the Decision to Change Once

One of the biggest reasons for people failing to achieve their goals and stick to their resolutions is that they think they make the decision to change just once....

In reality making the big changes that really matter to our lives means making the decision to change what we do and how we act literally THOUSANDS of times.

Do you think for example that if you decide to stop smoking that you simply make that decision once and then 'hey presto' you won't smoke anymore?
As anyone who has actually beaten addiction knows - achieving this goal requires making decisions many times per day to avoid the temptation to smoke.

With any goal that is important we need to reset our resolve almost constantly to avoid falling into old habits. We are after all creating new ones, and thankfully as we make the decision over and over again to stick to our guns and continue to progress toward our goals (even if we may fall off the wagon at times) the new habits and behaviours that we continue to ingrain become our new natural set point and we need to exercise less and less willpower to stay the course.

2010 - A Year to be Thankful.

2010-12-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

Never have the words from Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities' been so true...
For me at least the phrase 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' so aptly sums up 2010.

I know many for whom the financial calamity of the last few years was further compounded this year (and I wasn't totally exempt from that!) and yet this economic cloud provided a silver lining for so many. In the depths of financial loss, many were able to reconnect with the things that are so much more important than what money can buy: The laugh of loved ones, the quietness of a calm day in natures solitude, the timelessness of a lovers arms when nothing more is needed at that beautiful moment of embrace, and so you linger...

And perhaps we're not out of the woods yet, but if we can keep our heads - and more importantly - our hearts about us there may well be a greater good from these challenges.

2010 provided change in abundance.
A change in home and the chance to live with a group of people who will always now be in my heart (Zorba-Buddha House Alumni I'm talking about you!)
A brief and transitory change of persona (into 'Rock Cliff') and the opportunity to be on the road with my best friend working with the altogether way too talented dudes in Like A Storm - an opportunity that afforded so many new friendships, and was I hope not a once in a lifetime experience! (I'll be back!)

And finally the equally heart wrenching and heart warming decision to move back to Aotearoa to finish my next book 'Time Rich ~ Cash Optional'.

The one thing that rings loud and clear when I think of 2010 is thankfulness.
I am thankful to everyone who came into my life and helped to shine light and joy on what has been a great year of living and loving life.

From the inimitable collection of wonderful souls at Zorba-Buddha to the amazing vegan eco-activist who challenged me to be more and do more.
The one person I have met who could beat me in a fight and on the chess board (and taught me more than he'd ever realise along the way.)
My brothers in iron who let no one come between those bonds forged over steel, Guyanese rums and Timmie Ho's.
And my sisters in spirit - who became my companions as we all climbed the crazy tree to even greater heights!
My brothers in rock and the friends met at shows and festivals and seedy bars....
And most of all those certain of you who were always there when I needed you and are there still.

I love you all.
Thank you.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....
and man what a trip it's been!

2011 - here we come!

80-20 Nutrition

2010-12-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

I re-posted the following on my tumblr blog (www.cliffharvey.tumblr.com) a few days back:
“The American diet consists of 62% processed foods, 27% animal products, and 5% french fries and ketchup. That’s 94% of our diet, right there, leaving only 6% for fruits, vegetables and nuts.”
~ Dr. Fuhrman
Via one of my favourite Tumblrs veganlove

And it got me thinking about just how disgusting that is!

The reality is that we need not be perfect.
In fact 'perfect' is the opposite of progress for the simple reason that it can't be achieved and it therefore drives dissatisfaction and unhappiness because if our sense of satisfaction is predicated in achieving 'perfection' (an impossible goal) we will never in fact be satisfied.
However by simply doing 'most things right, most of the time' we can achieve extraordinary health results.
The 80-20 rule could well provide at least some basis for good eating, just as it is so valuable for other things in life....and it would certainly make a vast improvement over the figures above if we were to eat well 80% of the time...

So my challenge to you:
For the next week - in any given day - make at least 80% of what you eat natural, whole and unprocessed food. This could be vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, berries, eggs, fish and meats when you eat, how much etc etc is up to you - simply stick to natural, whole and unprocessed food (preferably organic) 80% of the time....It's that simple...

Notice the change in how you feel and yes how you look!
80% isn't so hard after all....

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The Night Before The Day

2010-12-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

The night before the day; when we are so brash and full of bravado.
So strong. So headstrong. I will! I can! I shall...and I will start tomorrow...

And yet with the morning's light, and it's cold reality, we forget it's warmth (or perhaps we simply choose not to feel it) and we shrink from ourselves. We shrink from our bluster and retreat to our distractions for one more day...until the solace of our day's night.

The day's night in which we again take centre stage in our own play - and become the hero for one more night.

Is this why old Paulo calls them 'The Warriors of Light'?
Because only in the light can we fight the good fight, and stand up, and do all those things we have promised to do... the things we promised ourselves in the night, before the day...

...

Rushing vs Speed

2010-12-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

The other day I was going (as we say in NZ) 'flat tack'... [Translation - doing things really fast!] - one of my good mates was around at the time, and said: "Whoa! Slow down bro!"

Whenever I get a criticism, complaint, or simply a suggestion, it is a habit of mine to ask "Is it justified?"
And in so many situations in life we can see, through this simple 'razor' some degree of truth in whatever someone is saying to us, and so take a learning from it, and thereby grow and evolve.

On this occasion I wondered - "Am I rushing?"....
And at least this time around I had to answer No.

There is a big difference between 'rushing' and moving fast. The difference between the two is mindfulness. We can be mindful of what we are doing. We can be present and complete in the moment and yet still be moving fast.
This is something I noticed particularly when competing in weightlifting. There is no way to do a clean and jerk slowly if you expect to do it well!....but the very best lifts in anyone's career are those in which you are so engaged in the process and so completely present that the lift almost seems effortless; it simply flows and there almost ceases to be 'Cliff' and a 'lift' (or any other frames that we may usually wrap around it) but instead there simply is the 'lift as process'...one beautiful synchronous moment.

However when we rush we are attempting to move quickly, or more precisely 'complete' things quickly, without being mindful.
In this way we are attached almost solely to the outcomes and we are not engaged in the process. We lose not only the value of the moment but we also are prone to doing a sloppy job and one that is not at all close to what we are capable of. We are sacrificing quality of time, and by extension quality of work simply in an attempt to reduce time to outcome - an outcome that without the enjoyment of the wasted moments of the process leading to it, is often unsatisfactory in it's realization.

The idea of 'rushing' vs 'speed' is analogous to the idea of really 'doing' what you are doing.
The Buddhist philosophy of eating when hungry, and sleeping when tired and simply 'doing' those things without distraction for example, can become equated with only doing those things at one time at the exclusion of all else.
Now this of course is a way that we can develop mindfulness (by for example only eating and not doing other things whilst eating - such as watching television), but it is not in and of itself 'mindfulness'.
I remember a story about a Zen master who was eating toast, drinking tea and reading the paper. His horrified students asked incredulously what he was doing - thinking that he should simply be eating or drinking tea - to which he replied "I am simply eating toast, drinking tea and reading the paper."

The tools of the practice of mindfulness must not be confused with mindfulness - just as mere velocity must not be confused with the errors inherent in the blurs of rush and haste.
There may be clarity with speed...and clarity without, just as there may be a lack of presence in even the slowest drudgery.

...

Choosing Performance!

2010-12-12T18:10:00.000-08:00

Fire Fighters Challenge Competitors
Mental Conditioning and Goal Achievement Lecture
Millenium Institute of Health and Sports - 10/12/10

Reply to Comments at "Natural 'Cures' for Cancer May be Nearly as Ineffective as Chemotherapy!"

2010-12-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

Note: This is a reply (too long for the comments section) to a comment left at one of the most popular posts here at cliffdog.com [Read the original post and the comments thread here FIRST!]

Sorry I missed the last comment left at this post some time back but am rectifying that now!
I am in no way suggesting that medicine is solely based on placebo effect. However as in many cases a placebo can be effective as a treatment for an illness, even if not AS effective as a treatment (often the difference is minor) it does show that some of the curative effect of a drug is 'placebo' (doesn't this at least indicate the wonderful healing power of the mind? Something that is not addressed well in orthodox medicine).
That there is an additional effect is not in question.
If any harm resulting from the drug used is outweighed by increase in quality of life and/or length of life the treatment is justified. If there is only a minimal increase in 'curative' outcome (especially in the short term) but a risk of long term complications, I do not believe that drug treatment is always justified.
Also there are many cases where a treatment simply should NOT be applied even if effective. Take the class action lawsuits against the makers of 'Accutane' a treatment for acne which is now indicated as a causative factor in the incidence of Crohn's disease (something I know a fair amount about!)

The study mentioned above (re: Arthroscopic Knee Surgery) is so interesting to me, as stated, because it shows the healing power of belief. Remember that this was for years THE most common knee surgery and is only now beginning to not be performed. It was simply assumed that it was effective because of the curative effect. No one thought to evaluate whether surgery was acting as placebo....but it was in this instance.
There have not been thorough evaluations of many forms of surgery vs. placebo so there is potential that other surgeries may also be ineffective in and of themselves but are in effect working on the placebo principle.

Anti-biotics are not effective against athletes foot as it is a fungal infection (there may be varieties that could be effective based upon the fairly recent evidence that some anti-biotics have been effective against certain fungal infections in amphibians - but to suggest that ABs are effective as a treatment for tinea pedis in humans is a stretch). However yes - anti-fungals will be effective against it. However they do not address underlying health factors that have precipitated the infection. In this case so called 'placebo' therapies and other forms of complementary treatment could be much more effective especially in reducing chronic perpetuations and relapse.

'Belief' is a powerful factor in healing. 'Belief' in less esoteric terminology really is just the subconscious/autonomic patterning that we have. This can affect immunological function and the perpetuation of disease and disorder. I'm simply suggesting that there are fields outside of orthodox medicine that can be valuable complementary therapies.
Without these we are simply waging a battle against symptom profiles and seldom addressing multi-factorial environmental (internal and external) influences on illness.

Appendectomy in all likelihood does not rely on placebo!...however there may well be some degree of placebo also acting through this. I would suggest that if there is, it is merely in terms of providing a belief that there will be viable healing and this positivity could encourage a greater recovery. HOWEVER there have to my knowledge not been any studies done evaluating whether a 'mock' surgery would have the same benefit as an appendectomy. It would be cavalier to do such a study but as a scientist you could not rule out the possibility (albeit small) that it is placebo.

There is a misplaced faith in much of what is provided to us in a health care setting by the medical community. Notwithstanding nefarious misrepresentation of data by pharmaceutical companies there are theories that are promoted as fact in spite of lack of evidence.

For example one of the most recent research reviews has concluded that SSRI treatment is no more effective than placebo for the majority of depression cases [http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/303/1/47.short?home] - Therefore the most prescribed treatment for depression, and one of the most prescribed drug types for one of the most common disorders in the western world is no more effective than placebo and therefore IS acting as a placebo.

Now you could say that this treatment then isn't effective, but the medical community continues prescribing SSRIs in large numbers to people for whom it is no more effective than placebo, just as they prescribe statins to reduce cholesterol in spite of no discernible increase in long term survival or incidence of acute events related to heart disease.

What is wrong with using the basis of belief, positivity etc if it is effective?
If in fact it is as effective as some medical treatments without the risk of drug side effect is it a poor choice?

You state placebo only works through subjective outcomes such as pain relief. However it has been shown that placebo therapy in depression (which is effective) causes real changes in brain function (http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar02/placebo.aspx) which, as I'm sure any neuro-physiologist will tell you will cause real functional AND structural changes within the brain (Check out Norman Doidge's 'The Brain that Changes Itself'). I'm sure there are other structural changes that result from placebo.

But even if placebo only caused a change in pain and mobility indicators so what?
A lot of what is traditionally indicated as being 'important' in treatment outcome is not so.
Take for example that over 75% of back pain is idiopathic, and that as many people presenting with pain and pathology are pain free with pathology (in other words they have pathologies of the spine that are thought to cause pain and immobility but don't have it) then doesn't that cast a shadow over some much of what is done in a treatment sense? Is it fair to say that the 3/4 of people with back pain minus pathology are somehow 'making it up'?
Do they perhaps have some type of 'treasured wound complex'? (Probably - and this too has a sound biological basis)

Does that mean 3/4 of them are 'crazy'?
No - it simply means that we are only scratching the surface of what can be achieved through the greater co-operation of orthodox and complementary medicine.

~ Cliff

Choosing You! Now available at Goodey's Bookstore - Newmarket, Auckland!

2010-12-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

Before I was an author and coach I was a reader and seeker.
I'm still of course a reader...and we all never stop learning...

As child I used to love wandering around book stores.
I had an enquiringly mind and a fascination with philosophy, spirituality and the more esoteric tangents of science, as well as the traditional sciences.
And so it was always a wonderful adventure to go into Goodey's Bookstore, initially with my first spiritual teacher ~ My Mum ~ and later on my own, to browse for hours and dig up the words of wisdom from some of the great spiritual teachers of our time.
I think I picked up my first copies of books by luminaries such as Surya Das, Alan Watts and Osho from Goodey's back when I was beginning my own wonderful exploration of life.

I'm now honoured to have 'Choosing You!' available at Goodey's.

Goodey's are now in Newmarket, and I must say it is a cool little shop!
Housed within the same building as an eco-organic food and health store, cafe, and natural health clinic; it is a veritable gem of a place just waiting to be found.
It's the kind of place you just want to go and chill for a while....
That's the way shopping should be!

Check out 'Choosing You!' at Goodey's:

23 Crowhurst Street
Newmarket 1023
(09) 524 5000

http://www.goodeys.co.nz