Reverend Kusala posted this on his Facebook wall today and I thought it was perfect. Today I’m officially 39 years young. It’s funny, Dawn and I were talking about ‘getting older’ last night and we agree it just doesn’t seem real. Even though we are each that age, there are times we admit we still feel like kids.

And you know what, in a way, I intend to keep it that way. It isn’t to say we don’t want to be responsible adults, but to me it is more about trying to live in the present moment. Age really is just another classification we force upon ourselves and others, with very little meaning. The present moment is what is important; whether we are working at our jobs, coaching a soccer team, sitting in meditation, lifting a 500lb deadlift, or just taking a nice stroll along the beach. Being present.

So that is what I’ve been reflecting on today, between my back to back meetings at work; not worried about being 39, 59, or even 99, just being.

I hope you enjoyed this, now a message from me in a former life:

The Dude, the Reverend, and the Zen Master.

Yes, in my humble opinion this is a more appropriate title for the amazing talk given, but I may be slightly biased.

I’ll just quickly go through a few of the many wonderful things that happened that evening, in no particular order:

Meeting friends

Meeting Shepard Fairey

I also met and shook hands with Moby, but no picture.

Singing a ’round’ of row, row, row your boat with Jeff, Bernie, Danny, and the entire audience. No words!

And above all else, watching the good reverend interview two good people. I think that is what I was the most excited about, because I know how much of a Lebowski fan my friend Danny is and how you could tell he was having an amazing time up there with them. That will always bring a smile to my face.

Luckily, they recorded it! Have a look here:

An Evening with Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman from ALOUDla on Vimeo.

Cabezon Dinosaurs

Dawn, Ian, and I have fun visiting roadside Americana

view our album here

LA Fit Expo

Ian and I attend the LA Fit Expo most years and this time, Dawn joined us which was a real treat. Watching the Strongman competitors is always the best part, and this year they did not disappoint. Motivation!

view our album here (with videos)

Iron Lotus

Had a great time posting to Iron Lotus with a lot of good people I consider my friend. Five Buddhists keeping up training logs and their thoughts on strength training and the Dharma is something I feel was pretty special and unique. The site had a good run but we all came to the agreement that it was time to close up shop. Who knows, maybe it will have another incarnation as something else one of these years, always good to leave options open.

I may get my own training log going again soon. Training hasn’t been as consistent as I would prefer, but that is OK.

Soccer

And last, but surely not least; lots and lots of things to do for soccer. I’m currently Spring Coordinator for our AYSO region, U10 Division Coordinator, web content coordinator, and of course, Coach. It’s somewhat like having a second job, but also a lot of fun. Our team is doing well so far this season.

and that’s most of it. I’ll try to write more when time allows.

Driving there I started to think I would be late. I had given myself an 1 hour and 45 minutes for the journey to Los Angeles, but traffic is not something I am a great judge of any more since I don’t hit too much of it living so close to work. When I arrived it was perfect timing and they started a few minutes after I got there. The Last Bookstore was standing room only, which was great to see.

Joshua and Ryan spoke about their own journeys to minimalism, the trials that got them there, and how it has had an amazing impact on their own lives. Then they answered questions from the large audience. One of the things that stuck out for me was Ryan’s discussion on his Mother and gift giving. He worked through her love of gift giving in his own way; essentially working to a solution of no gifts. This worked for him. The topic of gifts is something I can’t help but think of lately with Christmas so close. This year, if I was asked what I wanted, I would say something like t-shirts, almonds, or coffee. Things I do enjoy, and know I would use. (I don’t know if this is more of the minimalist, or, the old man in me though.) My own family enjoys gift giving very much, so this is an approach that works really well. Plus, we love giving them presents they will use.

In both his writing, and the evenings discussion, Joshua often talks about getting down to the things that add value to your life and I think that is an extremely good way to look at things. It isn’t about getting down to the fewest number of items possible, though one does thin out their possessions, it is about honestly looking at what adds value to your life. Being satisfied with what we have, the time we spend with others, and life itself.

I don’t often ask questions but felt compelled to this time. I explained that I was just starting out on my minimalist path, but didn’t expect that my wife really would; and that I was completely fine with that. I wondered if they had come across any others with a similar situation and if they could speak to that. Ryan first commented that it was really good that I didn’t care whether or not my wife also started working towards minimalism. They often hear the opposite, and it quickly becomes an issue with most couples they know of. (I really couldn’t see it becoming an issue for Dawn and I, we are as much a happily married pair as we are individuals whom love and respect one another’s views.) Ryan and Joshua went on to state that as I continued on my path, never go about “showing what I’ve done, what I’ve gotten rid of” but more to “show the benefits of how minimalism has impacted my own life.” Again, this is something I wholeheartedly agree with. I couldn’t help but to relate the sentiment to my Buddhist path.

In listening to them, as well as meeting them afterwards, I couldn’t help but feel like I was speaking with old friends. They truly are wonderful people, working to show others the benefits of minimalism with their own lives.

Speaking with the crowd before their talk

A great discussion

Joshua and Ryan were signing, but I buy their books on the Kindle.

Reminding Joshua of a comment he left on my blog.

Great to meet these two wonderful people.

While you’re here, I recommend adding TheMinimalists.com to your reading list, and, go check out the books they have authored.

I showed Mike the item and told him my idea, and he said he’d be able to do it in no time. He’s a good guy and wouldn’t take money for it, so, I do owe him lunch. (thanks again Mike!!)

What I really loved about this, besides the minimal aspect of the item, was that Ian and I could write personal notes to Dawn for each day. Here is the little man crafting his priceless notes to momma. I love what he wrote for her.

We each crafted notes; things we could do for her, personal notes, and shared memories. I know I enjoyed writing the notes, and I could tell the little man did as well. He can be so creative.

The advent calendar, full of notes.

Then, we made her sit at the table so he could place it in front of her while she had her eyes closed. He, of course, had the notes in a very specific order; planning exact days he wanted her to open specific ones he’d written.

I think she enjoyed her surprise, and will be able to enjoy it all month.

Image from a retreat conducted at Hsi Lai temple in Sept. 2012.

On Saturday, October 6th, I marked 365 consecutive days of consistent sitting practice. Obviously, being a Buddhist, I had sat before this, but like many I know I hadn’t found I was being as consistent as I would prefer. Sure, there were times when I would sit every day, but there were also times when I would sit once a week, and, occasionally less than that. I had always found that ‘life would get too busy’ to sit on a consistent basis. I would be tired, too busy watching a TV program, working, or just plain forget. After beginning this challenge I had made for myself (I believe I had only mentioned it to my wife, and maybe in conversation with my friend Rev Danny) I found something about my previous way of thinking I was too busy; I was wrong.

Most who read this will have likely heard the old Ch’an/Zen saying “you should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day, unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.” In my own practice, I have found there is a lot of truth in this. This saying says a couple things to me.

One – Find the time! No matter what you are doing in life, there are always a few minutes in your day that are free to sit. Twenty minutes is great, an hour even better, but, who can’t spare 10, or even 5 minutes to sit and breath.

Two – Sitting will, more often than not, have a positive effect on everything else you do. In my own experience, having a consistent sitting practice develops many things, concentration and calmness are two that come to mind now that help in daily life. Another that I experienced was an overwhelming sense of acceptance. Not in the sense of just accepting things as they are and forgetting about them, but, the ability to accept situations in one’s life, evaluating them with whatever wisdom one can muster up, and moving through. Mindfulness.

Developing a schedule for myself to sit was key to being successful in this personal challenge. I incorporated it into a nightly routine we already had in place for my son. Most nights, as he would do his nightly reading, I would go into the office and sit. However, this was not always the case, if I was out of town, I would sit beside my bed before going to sleep. If I was at a friends home, I would find a quiet place to sit (and yes, this got interesting at times). There were even a few times when my wife and I would be out late and she would drive us home so I could sit in the car. Meditation in a moving car is a challenge to say the least, but, I’m very grateful she allowed me to do this. In summary, I didn’t allow my location to become an excuse for myself to not sit, I looked at it as a tool to work on my practice. I can always use improvement.

There is an old story that i would like to end with;

A monk, coming out of a monastery under the leadership of Rinzai, met a party of three travelling monks belonging to another Buddhist school over a river on a bridge. 

One of the three ventured to question the Zen monk:

“How deep is the river of Zen?”

The Zen monk, fresh from his own interview with Rinzai, who was noted for his direct actions, lost no time in replying.

“Find out for yourself,” he said, and offered to throw the questioner from the bridge.

I’m no Zen monk, but I will offer to throw you from the bridge, into the river of daily meditation.

I would also urge you to read words from Venerable Master Hsing Yun on the topic. A great place to start is his ‘Buddhism in Every Step’ series, booklet 41 ‘Meditation’, which is available for free, or for a small donation, at http://blpusa.com/41-meditation.

(I wrote this for an upcoming edition of our Buddha’s Light Magazine, offered at Hsi Lai temple. As we are not yet launching the electronic edition, I decided to also post here. I hope you enjoy.)

I’m going to attempt to post at least once a week.

Click through and follow the instructions. What a wonderful project.

Over the weekend I had a few hours to myself. This is a rare occurrence and instead of sitting down and watching TV (something I don’t do too often anyways), I turned on some music and went to work on my side of the closet.

I had been meaning to do it for some time and was happy to able to work on it. Going through what I had in there was funny; I guess I had forgotten all the clothes I owned. After not much time at all, I was able to clean out my side of the closet and rid myself of 1/2 of what was in there. This felt great.

An added bonus to this was previously I thought I needed to go shopping for a few shirts. Well, I found shirts I had forgotten about that fit great, so no shopping trip needed.

Now, I’m not convinced I’ll ever ‘qualify’ to really be considered a ‘minimalist’ but it was a good start. What little time it took make a good impact and I plan to continue with other areas of things I own (some of which may very well own me when I really think about it, but that’s another topic).

Here is a list of the ‘Minimalist’ sites I read fairly regularly:

• The Minimalists
• zen habits
• mnmlist
• Unclutterer
• be more with less
• becoming minimalist
• SIMPLE. ORGANIZED. LIFE.
• Slow Change
• Rowdy Kittens – social change through simple living
• The Everyday Minimalist

I’m curious, have any of you gone through a similar change in thinking? Any other sites you recommend on this topic? Would love to hear.

July 22, 2011 – San Diego, California, U.S. – Dressed as ”The Mario Brothers,” Kris Freedain, of Laguna Niguel, enjoys a moment with Ian Freedain, 7, while taking a break from Comic-Con International 2011 at San Diego Convention Center on Fri., July 22, 2011, in San Diego. Over 100,000 people are – Alamy Stock Images at Dijitalimaj.

I don’t actually remember seeing this back then, but what a fun time we all had. Also, looks like this is a ‘stock image’ site; weird.