The book Becoming a Supple Leopard was written by the man who began Crossfit. It’s huge… like a massive hardcover coffee table book. In it, he teaches us how to take the best care of our bodies. We no longer need professionals and experts. We have enough knowledge at our fingertips that we can do it ourselves. “The dam has burst, the the personal biological revolution is here!” While I was reading this, I thought the same thing has happened in the spiritual and religious world too. Over the years, I have discovered, and am still discovering, as I experiment, what works for me and my body… my overall health. Let me give you a few examples. I ruck. I put a backpack on with 40 pounds of weight, and go walk for 5K. It’s an amazing workout. I upped my weight to 50 pounds. But I noticed something happening. My right hip would start to have problems, and my lower back would screw up. So I went back down to 40, and there’s no problem. I’ve discovered that the best way for me to control my weight is with intermittent fasting. I eat between noon and 6 pm. Although I prefer a Keto diet, I call it Cheato because I cheat a little, I can eat pretty much what I want within what’s considered healthy and I maintain my preferred weight. When I maintain all my disciplines: breathing exercises, meditation, stretching, cardio, weights, contemplative reading, writing in my journal, keeping my diet, drinking lots of water, controlling alcohol, etc… then I operate at my prime. I feel good, I feel good about myself, and my creativity and productivity flow. When I don’t maintain these things, everything suffers. I’ve learned this through trial and error. Lisa’s regimen is different, but she’s discovering her optimum health regime and benefits from it. What’s strange is that in the spiritual realm, even though I’m continually discovering what works for me, even saying that provokes a strange sensation in my stomach… a mild trigger… that I’m fulfilling that ancient prophecy: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, and each of us has turned to our own way…” (Isaiah 53:6) This was ALWAYS used to enforce obedience and submission to spiritual authority. The only way we could prevent doing things our way was to do it his way. But, since I realized it was up to me to decide how to be spiritual, and how to achieve optimum spiritual health, I’ve discovered what works for me. Lisa has what works for her. Does this mean we don’t consult fitness, health, or medical experts? Does this also mean we don’t consult spiritual experts either? No! But we now decide whether or not what they have to say applies, and how we can integrate that into our lives. The dam has burst, and the personal spiritual revolution is here! Do you feel free to live that? How are you living that?
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