Beach Walk 602R – Magic in the Mundane

Most all religions and also a big chunk of the new age movement imply or implore that we follow a strict regimen of behaviors in order to be happy, to have grace shine upon us, to get those parking spaces, and to live happily ever after.

I don’t buy it. I think happiness can be found by finding pleasure in the small things, the little mundane aspects of life that themselves are gems of pleasure. By focusing too much on the big things, or holding out happiness until [fill in the blank here], we miss the pleasures in the now.

This is classic #2 vs #1 stuff. The #2 is only impressed by the new, the large, the grand. The #1 can learn to find contentment just about anywhere.

For Lexi, every toss of her ball appears just as wonderful and compelling as the previous, or the next!

P.S. Shane and Rox are traveling this week so please enjoy some of our Beach Walks Classic Episodes! This was originally aired as Episode 206.

Hawaiian word:
Hoʻokalakupua: magic

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Beach Walk 601R – Making Up Stories

Amanda Congdon and Andrew Baron are experiencing some public disagreements regarding their video blog, Rocketboom.

Gut feelings and instinct are great tools…except when they turn out to be wrong! And especially after engaging in a course of (mis)guided action. (It can sometimes be the sneaky work of the #2 personality – see show #102 for an explanation). So here’s a catchy little concept I learned to help me step back from the brink of getting emotionally invested in situations before I know the facts:
# Making up stories
# Pretending they’re true
# Having feelings about them
# Acting on those feelings

It’s human nature to want to speculate and to have opinions. But consciousness is the opportunity to stop there, claim one’s feelings as personal and subjective, and sit with all the discomfort that accompanies them without having to pretend that the hunches and feelings are facts. You can watch a wrenching example in The End of the Affair with Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore, where he made up stories, pretended they were true, and the ending is tragic.

Spread da aloha.

P.S. Shane and Rox are traveling this week so please enjoy some of our Beach Walks Classic Episodes! This was originally aired as Episode #134 and there are some good comments on that page.

Hawaiian word:
Hoʻomeamea: pretend

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Beach Walk 600R – Ignoring Muscle

One of my favorite workouts: building the ignoring muscle.

That’s when I tell my brain (and my #2 – see Show #102 for more info) that all is well and they can ignore whatever irritant may be in front of me. Noisy neighbors, office gossip, tics and quirks of friends and family. You get my drift.

How do you workout your ignoring muscle? I do a combination of talking to myself and deliberately moving my attention onto something else.

P.S. Shane and Rox are traveling this week so please enjoy some of our Beach Walks Classic Episodes!

Hawaiian word:
Nānā ʻole: ignore
ʻIʻo: muscle

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Beach Walk 598 – Come Join with Me

I cannot stop watching this episode!

It was shot by moi, on the little Sanyo Xacti, there are water drops on the lens, it is a little over-exposed and a lot shaky, and of course I wanted more shots. But there was magic on the beach with Lexi this day. Then I heard this beautiful song on Dave’s Lounge #106 and I had to put these ingredients together. Sometimes the energy is so much more than the technique – this is true for me, today.

This episode is dedicated to each of you loyal viewers, who so generously receive whatever we share, who shower us with love and affection, who even travel all the way from Canada (and soon from the UK I hope) and share some of your precious vacation time with us.

I don’t know how to thank the Shanghai Restoration Project featuring Di Johnston for this beautiful song. I already purchased two copies of the album on iTunes. I hope you will purchase their music to encourage more of this in our world. As for Dave, I have listened to his podcast from the first episode, and he stands in rare company to have been so focused from the start, and he only gets better.

Story of a CityThe Shanghai Restoration Project feat. Di Johnston
“Preface” (mp3)
from “Story of a City”
(Undercover Culture Music)

Hawaiian Word:
Pili: join

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Beach Walk 597 – Pushing the Buttons

Shane and I are going to the mainland and my loving sister Barbara has arrived to care for our darling Lexi.

Both girls are happy about that and it would appear Barbara also brought some amazing weather with her – the scenery today is absolutely stunning! This morning we were talking about buttons – the kind that trigger confusion and reactions in each other. I may want the other person to stop pushing, but in reality, the button resides with me. Barbara has a tip for getting a grip on the experience of “stop pushing my buttons!”

Hawaiian Word:
Pihi: button

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