Intimidating?

So I rode a 3 hour leisurely pace with a work associate. It was a good "get to know ya." Well... she quickly concluded that I would sure be intimidating to date (I think because she sees a lot of me in her). Hmmm. Honestly, I asked..."why?" Michelle quickly said, you live life big, your brilliant and you have done so much. Hmmm. So I ask... would the following be intimidating to date (and this is not an attempt to be grandiloquent, but rather more of a my own stream of conscious to better observe what people first hear/see from me) - in no particular order really...

1. Cycled much of Italy including (Sicily, Tuscany, the Lakes Region, Mediterranean Coast, Dolomites) - 5 separate trips;
2. Cycled most of the major French Alps and Pyrenees and summit most of the major mountain passes (including Alp d' Huez, Tourlemet, Galibier, Col de Mente, Col de Aspin, Crox de Feur) AND Cycled to top of Mont Ventoux and barreled down back side at speeds in excess of 50 mph. (not to mention eating and drinking my way through France - yum).
3. Ski Toured sections of the Haute Route in Switzerland including a 5,000 foot vertical ski down on the face of a glacier facing Mount Blanc, then rappelled off the toe of the glacier for closure;
4. Completed a 50K XC skiing race within my first 18 months of learning xc skiing - then competitively raced for 2 more years shooting for world masters before I fractured a rib;
5. Scuba drift dove Cozumel and completed 90 foot DEEP dive off coast of Miami without too much narcosis.
6. Competitively raced mountain bikes for 3 years with only 1 broken rib and 1 dislocated shoulder
7. Fixed the wax ring on my toilet - well because I had to;
8. Hold my own in the kitchen never following a recipe inventing flavors and experimenting daily;
9. Built up four (4) high end road bikes;
10. Skunked the dudes at fish camp bringing home three (3) 30+ lb King Salmon;
11. Mountain biked across the Denali Highway in Alaska;
12. Have been & visited (not just a plane stop) to EVERY state in the Union except Hawaii.
13. Lived in LA, SF, Boston, Miami, Tucson, Seattle;
14. Could probably earn an honorary degree from Bastyr in nutrition;
15. Can recite the sanskrit terms for most of the major Yoga poses;
16. Earned two master's degrees from MIT;

I know I'm forgetting lots... as this only deals with the physical landmarks rather than any emotional, social or spiritual. But heck, its those physical things that people notice first.

Alvin

I'm exceptionally fond of Alvin Toffler. He is a brilliant change commentator. His quotes that are hitting me at the moment are as follows:

The illiterate of the future are not those that cannot read or write. They are those that can not learn, unlearn, relearn.

Like adequate education, freedom of expression is no longer a political nicety, but a precondition for economic competitiveness

AND my current favorite:

Profits, like sausages... are esteemed most by those who know least about what goes into them.

Female Rocket

Congrats on the Gold Kristin....
But, forget the medal, I want one of those Cervelos. Check it out with its rings and all.

Beauty by Einstein

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He, to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead. His eyes are shut."
- Albert Einstein

Woo Woo Shop

I wandered into the East West Bookshop on Roosevelt yesterday on one of my long neighborhood strolls; I often call the store the woo woo shop. I like to wander through this store because there is so much consciousness present in the pages that fill the shelves that it just allows me to feel it.

Well, I'm not a tarot card person, but I just allowed my hands to grab the stack and THEN asked mother divinity, the holy spirit, guider of the universe, or the prana within (whatever be out there) to guide the selection of two cards for me. My eyes landed on two; the death card and star card. Gasp! - I thought. But when I studied the meaning of theses cards its was fascinating. Death is actually the birth of something new, the release of an old pattern. Hmmm. Actually wiki says:

• Transition into a new state ----- Psychological transformation
• Finishing up ----- Regeneration ----- Elimination of old patterns
• Being caught in the inescapable ----- Good-byes ----- Deep change

Wow. Ok. Now the Star card:

• Calmness ----- Free-flowing love ----- Trust
• Tranquility ----- Peace of mind ----- Pure essence
• Hope ----- Serenity ----- Inspiration ----- Generosity
• Thinking positive ----- Joy ----- Faith ----- Regeneration
• Good will ----- Optimism ----- Harmony ----- Renewal of force

Now, honestly...
BEFORE I went into the woo woo shop, I was feeling that I'm on a path of HUGE change, AND it is so freeing, calming and full of intense joy. Cool. HOWEVER, I didn't really need some tattered old cards in a funky book shop to tell me that - but it doesn't hurt.

Learning this week

As I round out my staycation, here are some things I pondered and were revealed to me this week.

1) I'm smart;
2) At 39 my body can still heal really, really fast;
3) I love breakfast smoothies of lemon, avocado, agave, banana, blue green algae & coconut water.
4) I am developing my ability to better observe my egoic mind with ease;
5) I love Seattle;
6) I have cool friends;
7) I miss riding my bike;
8) I have a cat that lives at my house (sorta) that is from another planet;
9) I'm ready for big challenges;

Not to brag, but...

I just took the IQ test from research labs.
First, you need to have the patience to complete it. Second you need to have faith they aren't phishing for your email (so I gave bogus emails for offers). Thirdly, you can't seek answers on the web (or at least I didn't). Fourth, they suggest they know the IQ scores of people like GWB (124) and Madonna (140) and Hilary Clinton (140) and Einstein (160) - hmmm. Well, my score? - and I don't think they were pumping my ego because I saw blogs with peoples results...

Straight from the results page (after doing 20-30 easy, medium, hard questions)- and i found the questions be be very mathematically visual (plays to my strong suit):

• Your score: 172
• Top 5% of Population
• People that score in this range are genius or near genius.

Hah! Go figure. Must be something wrong with that test!
:)

My Ayuvedic Reminder

The central concept of Ayurvedic medicine is the theory that health exists (and thrives) when there is a BALANCE between three fundamental bodily humours (a latin word linked to temperatures of the body) termed doshas, namely Vata, Pitta and Kapha. We are often labeled one of these doshas based on where we have the greatest tendency to be out of balance:

Vatas = AIR element, lighter in body frame, easily effected by environmental change;
out of balance Vatas are SUPER busy making (never sitting still) - like most bike racers I know;

Pittas = FIRE element have medium builds, sharp focus/concentration;
out of balance Pittas can be easily agitated.

Kaphas = earth element, steady, loyal, larger body frame
out of balance Kaphas suffer from inertia or inactivity.

There is no question I'm largely Vata given my desire to move, do, be - never sitting still; although I test a Vata-Pitta, suggesting that I have keen focus in my busymaking (creating great success), yet when imbalanced, I'm exhausting, sleepless and manage to avoid all feeling (getting on the treadmill of life as I say).

Why does all this matter? Well, I find myself suffering with this NEW hand injury as it represents a painful sentence and penalty; a timeout of sorts in STILLNESS. STILLNESS is like medicine to Vatas; bitter, avoidance in taking it, yet good for us and best for our health. Today I was forced to do restorative (non-active) yoga poses that held me in positions for 10-15 minutes. I fought it. I complained. I cried, all along saying I'm going for a run after this is over (think of a kid that chases its cod liver oil with kool-aid and pop tarts).

So my lesson? STILLNESS is where we experience real learning, real listening, real growth. STILLNESS allows us to feel and we need to commit to being in the pose of STILLNESS for it will provide balance to the rest of our busy, busy lives. We think STILLNESS is nothingness, wasteful, fruitless - but it is probably the richest activity our busy minds and bodies can embrace if we are going to bring about genuine health and real balance to our dosha, our life, our health and our community.

I am STILL. I am feeling. I am listening. What are you doing? I pray nothing.

Namaste.

Bathroom Complete (almost)

BEFORE

AFTER

How many people do you know that...

So, I'm home on a little forced "staycation," that overused word (mine forced from a little mishap) with some free time.

I ponder and must ask my readers...How many people do you know that WILL 1) shop whole foods/or similar fresh market daily; AND 2) be attracted by fresh sardines from Oregon in the fish case; AND 3) decide to whip up on a solo night home - freshly grilled curry and thyme rubbed sardines over sauteed calmyra figs and pink pepper corns and a side of ancho pepper chili - to enjoy for oneself?

I can only think of one.
I submit the evidence, yet I'm not a food photographer (damn it was good!).

twas the night before RAW

Saturday was the day before RAW, the annual ride around washington state; a week long adventure of riding 75 to 100 miles a day from Sunday through Friday evening. This year's tour is the tour of the volcanoes (rainer, helens, adams, glimpses of hood then back). It is epic. I got my worked lined out, bike tuned, food prepped, clothes packed, headed to get a mani-pedi (some chick stuff before the ride). I just needed to get the last bag in the car before I drive to Packwood, WA to camp out.

Then I received a VERY STRONG message; "Lisa you are not to go on this ride" OR the message was saying... "you are to go on this ride and surrender, ask for help"... that is to be in a place that you are forced to ask for help. That message was loud and clear as it came in the form of this...


A seemingly random innocuous fall carrying the last bag to my car. Yup, so random and so real that it made the message very potent. The tumble off my back stair had me land squarely on my wrist, bending it back in a direction that it is certainly not intended to go (stressing tendons and tearing a ligament). I picked myself up quickly, ran to the kitchen grabbing a bag of frozen mangoes... saying... no, no, no, yet there was a message over-riding it saying YES.

Now THINKING the message was go and surrender, I drove the 2.5 hour drive to packwood in pain and a baseball for a wrist. Waking the next morning (yes I asked two very loving friends to pitch my tent) trying to mount the bike like all the other tour de france dudes with wrist injuries... I realized, well... if I had Soigneurs I too could do it (well maybe). Nope. I'm meant to stay home this week. And I'm excited by it - as there is lots of learning (internal). There are lots of things I'm thinking and feeling and thus will finally have the time to dwell on it and potentially blog it if my wrist is up to it. look out readers!

Cycling Switzerland

So Zana and I did a quick spin yesterday morning along the gorgeous glacial fed lake. Well... we thought it would be quick and then we got caught by this little herd of goats mowing the berry bushes (see image below). Little did we know that when cycling the alps of Switz in the gorgeous sun filled skies and we would attempt to cross the gorgeous yet BIG bridge near Verbier and...
THEN blue angels would BLAST by our heads and ring in our ears! Okay... so it was the south end of lake washington and the goats were in Renton, near the airport eating blackberry bushes (eco maintenance). Z and I were forced to peddle another 45 minutes of unexpected time to the 520 to grab a bus to cross Lake Washington given i-90 was closed and we had places to be, people to see. We made it... had a great chat and it was a GREAT ride.