Day 30 of 118:

Got my bodyfat tested on the "industrial Tanita" scale today. Again, I don't put a lot of merit into its accuracy, but I'm going to use it for the duration of this training program and back it up with skinfold calipers.

Total Weight: 134.21 (no change since last time...not even a hundredth)
BMI: 22.3 (no change due to no change in total weight)
BMR: 5896 kJ (1409 kcal) (no change, again due to no change in total weight)

Impedance: 493 to 463 = 30 ohms less resistance
Fat %: 18.9 to 17.0 = -1.9%
Fat Mass: 25.41 to 22.81 = 3 pounds of fat lost
Fat Free Mass: 108.81 to 111.41 = 2.6 pound increase in lean mass (all that is not fat)
Total Body Water: 79.61 to 81.61 = 2 pound increase in water (just came off my time of month) (sorry for the TMI)

Subtract the pounds of water from the pounds of lean mass and you get the ACTUAL MUSCLE MASS:
29.2 to 29.8 = .6 pound increase in ACTUAL MUSCLE

It's that last calculation that really tells me if I'm gaining actual muscle or retaining water. Is 6/10's of a pound good? I really have no clue. It's progress nonetheless and I flexed my lats today like I will on stage on May 1st and I was actually impressed for the first time in my life with my lats without having to turn my palms up and roll my shoulders back to spread my wings.

Spiritual Insight with a coincidental twist (or God-wink)

First the God-wink: I've had the third book in the Celestine series written by James Redfield sitting around the house for a LONG time...since September, and haven't even cracked the cover. Don't know why, just didn't. However, got this last book in the meantime and began reading it immediately upon receiving it. It was a great introduction to the basics of sychronisity, destiny, and quantum physics. Then I finally decide to dive into The Celestine Visioin that's been lying around, and low and behold I discover that the book is not in story form like the others, but rather a more scientific approach to the research and thinking behind the Celestine Prophecy series that James Redfield has written, including deep and heavy discussions on the forefathers of quantum physics like Einstein and like 8 other names I can't remember that he mentioned. So this is just how this "stuff" works. I wasn't ready for that book, so it sat around because I was not drawn to it yet. In the meantime this other book gets sent to me unintentially because I forgot to reject my monthly selection of my book club, and I start reading it IMMEDIATELY because subconsciously (the underlying universe of it all) I know I need to help catch up and prepare for the bigger more indepth discussions. LOVE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS! And it's happening more and more in my life.

Now the spiritual insight I want to share with you (get comfortable because this turned out to be a Jeremy moment, but I promise you it is worth your while to read)

At the end of my last book, The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire by Deepak Chopra, there is a set of readings/exercises to do for each day of one week. He calls them the principles of synchrodestiny. The first one is an acknowledgement of the underlying intelligence in the universe and in all things. That we each contain that infinite intelligence, (in a Judeo-Christian teaching, that God is in us. That He made us in His image. That Christ dwells in us, and around us) that we are a part of that infinite intelligence, that it connects us all. The core of my being is the core of your being. We are each a ripple in the fabric of this infinite intelligence. That our thoughts and dreams really aren't our thoughts and dreams, but the thoughts and dreams of the total universe. And upon realizing this "you can relenquish your desire for control and let the miraculous life you were born to lead unfold." (In Judeo-Christian teaching, "Let Go and Let God") Try to grasp that concept. That the universe really does want the best for me, to fulfill my dreams, to serve my true purpose....and also learn the lessons and overcome the challenges I'm supposed to as well.

The second principle really hit me hard.
"Through the mirror of relationships I discover my nonlocal self." Nonlocal self was defined as something like the soul, the part of you that observes yourself in life, the infinite intelligence that resides in your body. Chopra says that relationships are the most important key to synchrodestiny. Makes sense since that's usually how coincidences are delivered. He scolds Western thought for pop-psychology that aims to manipulate relationships to help us get what we want. He says that "creating positive relationships is more than just a tactic: It means providing the human environment in which synchrodestiny can take place. (coincidences, like I said)

Where the first principle focused on the personal point of view that each of us is a part of the universe, this principle suggests that each person is also a mirror of the world around them. We are all same. The way I view the world is a reflection of who I am. For example if I am depressed I may see the world as cold, dreary, and hopeless. If I am at peace, I will also see the calm, connected, and purposeful world around me. "In relationships, we are all mirrors for others, and we need to learn to see ourselves in the reflection of other people. This is a tool for spiritual evolution, with the ultimate goal of reaching unity consciousness. We are all the same, but the real breakthrough is in recognizing that in our everyday lives."

We are all part of a web of different relationships: "parents, children, friends, co-workers, romantic relationships. All are, at their heart, spiritual experiences." "We you are in love you feel a sense of timelessness. You are, at that moment, at peace with uncertainty. You feel wonderful and vulnerable, you feel intimate yet exposed. It's a spiritual experience."

Here's a deeper part to this:
The mirror of relationships reflects back at us both the positive and negative, those whom we love and those by whom we are repelled. We are attracted to those who share the same positive traits we have. We want to be in their company, but subconsciously we feel that by being with them we will manifest more of those traits as well. I also see this as a sign that a positive relationship is also an acknowledgement that I am a good person, because I possess those traits too, and what those traits to manifest in my life more. It helps debunk the negative self-talk.

"By the same token we are repelled by people who reflect back to us traits that we deny in our own selves. So if you are having a strong negative reaction to someone, you can be sure that they possess some traits in common with you, traits that you are not wililng to embrace. If you were willing to accept those qualities, then they wouldn't upset you." If you are repulsed by someone who is lazy, you may find that you fear the capacity for laziness in yourself. If you are repulsed by prejudice, then you are not acknowledging the capacity for prejudice in youself, like you have never distinguished someone unjustly because of a trait like color, religion, political affiliation, disability, class, etc. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Every relationship is a tool for evolution. The next time you are attracted to someone ask yourself "why?". It is beauty, or grace, or elegance, or influence, or power, or intelligence? Whatever it is know that that quality is also blossoming in you. "Ofcourse, the same is true of people who repel you. In becoming more fully your true self, you have to understand and embrace the less attractive qualities in yourself. The essential nature of the universe is the coexistence of opposite values. You cannot be brave if you do not have a coward inside you. You cannot be generous if you do not have a tight-fisted person inside you. You cannot be virtuous unless you also contain the capacity for evil."

We spend much of our lives denying that we have a dark side to ourselves, and then end up projecting those dark qualities onto other people in our lives. Finding a person you dislike is an opportunity to embrace the paradox of the coexistence of opposites, and to discover a new facet of yourself, another step toward developing your spiritual self. When you're with people who recognize and own their negative qualities you never feel judged by them. It's only when people see good and bad, right and wrong, as qualities outside themselves that judgements occur.

And he ends with a Sufi story.
A man entered a village and went to see the Sufi master, the wise old man of the village. The visitor said, "I'm deciding whether I should move here or not. I'm wondering what kind of a neighborhood this is. Can you tell me about the people here? The Sufi master said, "Tell me what kind of people lived where you came from." The visitor said, "Oh they were highway robbers, cheats, and liars." The old Sufi master said, "You know, those are exactly the same kinds of people who live here." The visitor left the village and never came back. Half hour later another man entered the village. He sought out the Sufi master and said, "I'm thinking of moving here. Can you tell me what kind of people live here?" Again the Sufi master said, "Tell me what kind of people lived where you came from." The visitor said, "Oh, they were the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate, loving people. I shall miss them terribly." The Sufi master said, "Those are exactly the kinds of people who live here, too."

One of the exercises:

Namaste (nah-mah-STAY) means "The spirit in me honors the spirit in you." Whenever you make eye contact with another person, say "Namaste" silently to yourself. This is a way of acknowledging that the being there is the same as the being here. When you do this, everything about you - your body language, your expression, and your tone - will be recognized by the other person at some profound level. Even though this greeting is silent, the other person will consciously or unconsciously register the respect implicit in your greeting. Practice this exercise for a few days, and see if you notice a difference in your interactions with other people.