Set Higher Standards by YogiRavi

Bridge outside the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. I went to this place on a spur of the moment, a quick decision I was happy to have made!

Decision making can be tough. At the end of the day our time and energy are our most valuable resources. The ability to make clear and powerful decisions is therefore a gateway to reducing wasted energy on unimportant things and providing a focus towards those things that really matter. Even just the act of decision making can itself suck the life out of you if you let it. Just think about the last time you deliberated over what to eat for dinner, what movie to see, what shirt to buy, what job to take!

I was reading Derek Sivers blog (he’s the founder of CD Baby and a great writer) and he illustrated a powerful tool for decision making. Here is his advice:

Those of you who often over-commit or feel too scattered may appreciate a new philosophy I’m trying:

If I’m not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, then say no.

Meaning: When deciding whether to commit to something, if I feel anything less than, “Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!” – then my answer is no.

I tried this advice out over the last few days and it has been incredibly powerful. In fact, you can apply this philosophy too all sorts of things. From figuring out what to eat for dinner, what activities to do or even who to hire. As an example of the latter, I was recently having a conversation with a co-worker about a potential candidate for a position on my team.

The co-worker was wondering if a recent interviewee would be a good fit. I simply said to consider if having the person on the team would get you excited and make you say ‘hell yeah, I want to work with this person.” If no, then there probably isn’t a good fit. The co-worker was clearly not super enthusiastic about the candidate, and this simple question just made his answer more clear to himself.

I also used this philosophy to decide on whether to go out last night. It was already 10pm and I was pretty tired from a long week of work, but I also wanted to see some friends I had not connected with in a while. They were all meeting up and it was sure to be a late night. I asked myself if I would have fun reconnecting with these folks…and of course the answer was “hell yeah.” My decision was made, even though my body was pretty tired. I am glad I went.

Try this little tool out for a week and see how it improved your own ability to make powerful and clear decisions in your own life.

I’m a huge fan of the Vibram FiveFingers (VFF’s) as I wrote about in my previous post. Watching The Raw Food World show on Youtube, I saw that Matt and Anglea swung by the Vibram offices and had an impromptu discussion with their President. In the clip, they will scan over several models (including some new prototypes) of the the FiveFingers.

Vibram’s President also announces that they will be releasing a brand new version of the VFFs for running in February 2010! I can’t wait! Below is the full clip.

Lynnwood Artesian Well - at 164th Street

I have been reading up on water. First a great book, “Your Bodies Many Cries for Water” by Dr. B. Then a bunch of videos from Daniel Vitalis about the importance of finding good and clean sources. Our bodies are over 70% water. While many of us spend plenty of time worrying about what we eat, we are far better off first thinking about getting access to and drinking the best water ever!

I am lucky to live in Bellevue, WA (near Seattle) which is home to some of the cleanest water around. In fact, our tap water is rated to be among the best municipal water in the country. I also live in a fairly modern urban environment – so don’t worry too much about rusty and old pipes or other potential issues in getting water from source to tap.

However, the water is treated with Chlorine and other things, and there is also the potential structural impact that overt processing has on water. If you have not checked our Masaru Emoto’s work, you must. His book “Messages from Water” will transform the way you think about water – and your own way of being. Water that has been processed, stored and taken out of its natural environment is spiritually and energetically dead. If you don’t buy the whole “spiritually dead thing,” that is OK…the scientifically proven health benefits of fresh and clean water is enough of a reason to care.

Water from Fujiwara Dam before offering a prayer. From www.wellnessgoods.com

Water from Fujiwara Dam after offering a prayer!!! From www.wellnessgoods.com

There is also the reality that Chlorine and Fluoride can kill off beneficial bacteria in our body, and cause other long-term health effects. I think that in most cases clean city water is OK, but this blog is all about finding even better ways of being and improving our standards of living – so seeking out an even better water source just makes sense to me.

I also think that consuming water that is more natural and less processed just makes common sense, so I decided to seek out the best way of doing so. There are of course so many different types of water out there, which made my search more complicated than one would think for a substance as simple as water. The following are some of the types of water you can find (according to DS Waters, one of the largest home and commercial water distributors):

Artesian Water: Water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a water-bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer.

Spring Water: Water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth.

Purified Water: Water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or other suitable processes.

Distilled Water: Water that has been vaporized into steam, then cooled to re-condense it back into water. The water’s minerals are left behind, leaving only pure tasting steam-distilled water.

Mineral Water: Water that contains no less than 250 parts per million (ppm) total dissolved solids (TDS).

Sterile Water: Water, also known as sterilized water, that meets the requirements under Sterility Tests, in the United States Pharmacopeia, 23d revision.

Carbonated water products (soda water, seltzer water, sparkling water, and tonic water) are considered soft drinks and are not regulated as bottled water.

I started going to Whole Foods and my local Co-Op and purchasing filtered (reverse osmosis) water. I figured that was a good place to start – at least the stuff is free from contaminants and Chlorine. There is some debate over distilled water. Some think it is healthy, while others think it actually strips the body of minerals…so I have decided not to consume distilled water. It is really meant for teas and other medicinal purposes (or potentially for a cleans/detox program).

What I really wanted was natural spring water…but didn’t want to pay and arm and a leg for bottled spring water (which sits around for a long time in plastic bottles on store shelves). I also wasn’t sure where to find a good local spring.

Just today, however, I discovered a fantastic site – Find a Spring.com. This site lists public springs where you can fill up on totally natural and unprocessed water, for free! There was only one spring listed near Seattle, so I headed to the store, bought a massive 5 gallon jug and headed up there. I really wanted to use some large glass jugs, but didn’t have any available (I’ll need to hit up a recycling center and find some large house wine bottles to use).

Several others had the same idea as me!

The spring was super-easy to find (in Lynwood, just 10 minutes north of the city). There were about 6 cars there when I showed up (on a sunny Saturday at noon). Looks like my secret discovery is no secret to those that live in this area outside Seattle.

At this spring, the Lynwood 164th Street Well, there are two spouts, each flowing 5 gallons per minute of crystal clear and ice cold natural artesian well water! This well is tested several times a month and is completely clean and open to the public (there is a little parking lot and a shelter over the well spouts. This particular well is 400 feet deep and tops out at 120 feet. The city drilled down to 200 feet to access the water.

I strap the jug in like a passenger to keep it from moving around. Just pull your belt so it locks into place and make a loop over the spout!

The water tastes really good and I’m so lucky to have finally stumbled upon such a find so close to the city! I highly recommend that you check out Find a Spring.com and look for a spring near you.

My spring water setup at home. I bought the ceramic base and polycarbonate 5-gallon jug from Whole Foods. Total cost was $50. Water was free though .

Hiking is a great way to get your mind out of your way

You are capable of doing far more than you think you can do. So stop thinking.

You brain will take you out of the game if you let it, so don’t! I spent the past week as an assistant at a yoga teacher training. I was witness to literally dozens of transformations during the program. I saw people get into poses they didn’t think they could do, find deep stillness and happiness and uproot lifelong bad habits.

Most of the magic happened halfway through the program. By that time, the marathon yoga classes, lectures, meditations and disconnection from distration (like phones and computers) had created an environment where people could let go, stop thinking and just be. Like magic, once the mind was put to bed, the real work began and people lit up and really found their personal power.

Our minds are wonderful tools and knowledge is valuable, but finding your own truth and personal power is not a journey of thinking by the mind, it is a journey of your being. So put your mind to bed – go for a run, practice yoga, meditate, play with your kids, go for a hike – do whatever it takes, and let your journey begin.

We never lack resources just resourcefulness. The next time you think you don’t have enough time to do something, just consider how much time you spent thinking instead of doing. There is always enough time, money or skills available if you are willing to put aside excuses.

I always am at my best when I am super busy. Working on a bunch of challenging projects at work, training for an Ironman Triathlon, doing a yoga training or traveling. Having a lot going on forces me to be more resourceful with my time, money, energy and skills. It takes the slack out of life and helps me to operate in a way that is far more efficient and effective. I find that this way of being carries over to the more relaxed periods in my life as well. I’m able to get more done in less time and spent the extra resources on relaxation!

Next time you think that you don’t have the means to get something done… try being more resourceful. Think about places in your life where you could save time and money. Think about people you know that could help you out with needed skills and resources. Most importantly, stop telling yourself that you don’t have enough, and start telling yourself that you have more than enough – and the way forward will make itself known.