Gonna Climb a Mountain

There’s an old saying often used for those trying to recover from years of slothfulness:

No Pain, No Gain…

As a colloquialisms go the phrase is overdue for retirement but the message remains timely. So after about three weeks of blissful easy reduction, I’m down around 12 lbs and purchased size 36 jeans for the first time since 1994. This was a big thing for me, given that I was filling up a size 40 a year ago. Of course now the real work starts. I’ve begun riding the mountain bike daily, trying to get in a dozen+ miles a week. Wary that I am of injury I’m setting very small goals for myself rather than try to knock myself out. In addition I just hung the 100-pound bag with which to resume martial arts training. Quite a trip it was to dust off my boxing gloves again. ‘Though not quite as fast, the jab-hook-cross that is my family trademark is still there.

The interesting thing about boxing and biking is that they both involve rhythmic breathing. As obsessed as I am with breathing in my esoteric studies, I’m finding that it’s really enhancing my training. I had some of my first Gnostic experiences while distance running and these days it easy for me to go there while biking up to the Angeles Crest. Getting Practice in with my training is time well spent.

What I am learning is the interesting role pain plays in the transformational process. The first weeks of any serious workout routine are always the most painful. I'm getting a good taste of the ‘dark side’ of Abraxas in the midst of all this. At the risk of sounding inappropriate, I'm experiencing quite a bit of transcendence from pain lately and I find it intriguing. Mind you, I still prefer trancing out in ways that don't hurt me, but there is something to be said about what pain can remind the soul...

...and on that note, I gotta go get my gloves on so I can "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"...




...stay tuned I have some recipes to share soon...