This is #56 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny and delicious moment at a time!

#56 of 108:   Learn How To Handle a Short Runway

Following are the 5 Most Dangerous Runways in the World

#1. Kathmandu Airport, Nepal

Sirens inform folks for miles when an airplane is landing here, and as you would suspect, only helicopters and Twin Otter type planes can handle the 2,000 foot, uphill runway that is fenced off at the end, to protect you from the edge of a mountain cliff.

#2. Saba Island Airport, Netherland Antilles

The locals claim that this is the shortest commercial airport runway in the world. There are not any overrun areas on either end of the paved runway where sheer cliffs immediately drop off over 200 feet into the sea.

#3. Saint Maarten Airport

The airport is famous for its short runway at only 2,400 meters it is barely long enough for heavy jets to land. Therefore, incoming airplanes approaching the island have to fly extremely low, passing only 10-20 meters over relaxing tourists on Maho Beach.

#4. Lesotho Airport, Africa

The runway in Lesotho is perhaps the most frightening in the world. Not so much the altitude (2,300 meters) and the short length (400 m) is a nightmare, especially the 600 meter deep cliff at the end is amazingly scary.

#5. Courchevel Airport, France

Courchevel’s airport has a certain degree of infamy in the aviation industry as home to one of the shortest runways in the world. The airport has a dangerous approach through deep valleys which can only be performed by specially certified pilots

*******

What’s with the short runways, you ask?

One yogi writes, “The last moment of your life is the totality of all the years you have lived. That is the time, that is the moment you decide, when you make your destiny for the next lifetime.”

That is why Gandhi, in his moment of death, said “Ram, Ram, Ram” or “God, God, God.” It was as if, having been shot, Gandhi was left with no time and no runway, but being the masterful pilot of his destiny, he managed to touch down with Grace.

I like to expand upon that and consider the first and last moment of each day as the most important.

We each have a small window, a short runway in those moments when we wake up and just before we go to sleep, to start and finish the day with a touch of beauty.

In those first and last moments, we choose:

• Upon waking up, do you set the tone for the day by taking off with positive vibrations and powerful visions of the day to come, even if the kids are screaming, the gadgets are buzzing, and everyone is awake before you?
• Before going to sleep, do you land softly and smoothly with an evening ritual or mention of gratitude, even if the conditions are harsh and the landing strip is short?

As English poet William Henley famous wrote, “You are the captain of your ship, the master of your soul.”

Before we can take flight and achieve the New Years Resolutions we all dream of…the weight loss, the better business practices, the deeper relationships…

…we have to learn how to take off and land.

NEED PRACTICE WITH YOUR TAKE-OFFS AND LANDINGS? 

The landing strip for the soul takes place at home.

That’s why I’ve decided that most of my retreats in 2013 will not take place in a faraway destination, but rather in the comfort of your living room.

My In Home Retreat takes place January 25-26. It’s all about taking a few days to get warm and cozy in the middle of Winter.

No major commitments. Only $75 for a retreat to the most exotic place in the world with possibly the hardest to reach landing strip of all.

Curious?

1:11

On January 11, The Momenteer Movement springs to life. The mission is simple: to show up fully for the moments that matter most. Be ready for the big launch and the very simple commitment of taking a minute each day at 1:11pm to celebrate life.

This is #55 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny and delicious moments at a time!

#55 of 108:  Be Eloquent…In Your Own F*cking Way!

I took a GREAT yoga class this past weekend. The teacher was a lot younger and had a mystique of coolness, a true Spiritual Gangster.

“Loved your class!” I told her. “Fantastic!”

“Thanks. I was nervous because there was so much people,” she responded.

Oooooo.

Bad grammar.

I let it pass.

“You’ll be seeing me again,” I told her

“Thanks, what is you name?” she asked.

She did it again, saying “you name” instead of “your name.” Maybe she was British? Or hard of hearing? Or just a hard core New Yorker?

“My name are David,” I told her, trying to speak in her “lingo.”

Not a good idea.

She looked at me as you would look at a waiter who told you in front of your 7 best friends at Sunday brunch that “your credit card was declined.”

If a conversation could be described by a scent, ours shifted from “sage-inspired-apres-yoga-mood-lifter” to “upper-deck-men’s-bathroom-at-a-Raiders-game.”

*****

A recent Forbes Magazine article reported how bad grammar amongst the younger generation of employees is a problem: “Younger employees are bringing the vernacular of emails, Twitter messages and casual conversations into the office.”

And the Wall Street Journal mentioned a survey of 430 employers taken earlier this year, in which 45% said they planned to increase training programs to improve employees’ use of grammar and other skills.

Good luck with that.

As I learned in my encounter with the yoga teacher, the type of people who walk around telling you to mind your “p” and “q’s” are generally the type who hear a lot of “f’s” and “you’s.”

The greatest wordsmith of all, Shakespeare, said, “action is eloquence,” something seen so clearly in the abovementioned yoga teacher’s finely sequenced class.

To each her own expression of life.

If you can’t speak, then move. If you can’t move, than paint. If you can’t paint, then run.

Get it out of you!

A wise one said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away.”

There is no right or wrong way to say it!

“It is the stillness that will save and transform the world.”  Eckhart Tolle

This is #54 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny and delicious moment at a time!

#54 of 108:  Know The Treadmill Tragedy

Lately, I have been running on the treadmill (see pic) to beat the cold and get in shape for my very first marathon in 2013.

Various yogis have warned me that running systematically destroys your muscles and joints. But I’m a sucker for the endorphin high and the sweat.

So I keep running and to be honest, I’m enjoying it.

Here’s the problem. I feel like something is not right about running in place on a treadmill, which is not too different from a hamster wheel.

The truth is, we developed long distance running as a matter of survival.

According to one science journal, “It’s known that ancient tribes such as the Australian Bushmen and the Navajo Indians would catch faster prey such as zebras and pronghorn sheep by chasing them until the animals were exhausted.”

But people on treadmills are not trying to catch prey.  So running is an escape. We are running FROM something we don’t want to deal with.

I know, I know, I know…I can hear the runners out there screaming at me to stick my nose in some other hole. But hey, I’m with you. I love running!

You get in shape by running, just like smoking pot gets your brain in creative shape. You liberate yourself from stress by running, just like drinking lots of alcohol liberates your inhibitions.  Point being, running is another addiction.

As goes the quote, “Before you die, you must answer these questions: what are you running from, what are you running to, and why?”

In some way, we are all running…escaping…avoiding…some part of life we don’t want to deal with.

If it’s not lacing up the shoes and hitting the treadmill, than maybe it’s buying a six pack, or going crazy shopping, or getting way too deep into that pint of ice cream.

It’s why Adam bit the apple. It’s what we humans do.

BUT…there needs to be a moment each day when we STOP RUNNING. And most of us don’t have that moment.

That is why it’s important to become a Momenteer.   Because we all need to catch our breath.

The Momenteer journey begins January 11.

Become a Momenteer. Show Up Fully.

Email me at yeahdave@mac.com with the subject ‘Momenteer!’ for more information.

IN-HOME RETREAT  (January 25-27, 2013)

I believe a winter weekend at home with candles and wine is all you need to have the most exotic retreat adventure.

My In-Home Retreat will deliver this to you right in the comfort of your home. No need to take time off, or hop on a plane and travel thousands of miles.

And best of all, my In-Home Retreat will be LIVE. But if the scheduled event times don’t work for you, no worries. You will be able to download and experience at your convenience.

Sound like something easy and beautiful and just what you need?

Email me at yeahdave@mac.com with the subject ‘Bring it Home!’ to receive early registration info.

“You have to believe to receive.” 

 This is #53 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny and delicious moment at a time.

#53 of 108:   Take Down the Grinch

When I was young, I got to know an invisible rabbit friend named Harvey.

Actually, it was my dad’s “friend” and he would lean on Harvey for “important information.”

I would ask things like, “Dad, I’m hungry how much longer til the food comes?”

And like clockwork, my dad would summon the invisible rabbit friend, “Harvey, can you go back to the kitchen and see what’s taking so long?”

Harvey “would return” with an answer and all was good in my world.

But then it all came crashing down in 2nd grade. My friend Josh came to lunch with us and promptly declared, “There’s no such thing as invisible friends. There never was and there never will be.”

This took place at an age (7 years old) when it’s hard for a father to perpetuate the myth of invisible friends.

“David it’s true. Harvey is made up,” my dad said, pulling the curtain on the make-believe era.

I must have looked as if someone was waxing my gooch, such was the pain of this discovery.

It happens to each of us, the loss of innocence.

But to have someone like Josh spear the legend of Harvey right in the heart…was on par with a young child being told there is no Santa Clause, or that his hero Justin Bieber is actually a 34 year old lesbian.

******

ABC News reported that a 24 year old man was arrested this week in Toronto for being drunk at a Christmas parade and yelling at all the kids in attendance, “Santa isn’t real!”

As one parent in the crowd complained, “There’s too little magic in the world as it is” and therefore, we must keep the legend of Santa alive for as long as possible.

No matter your age, there’s something to be said for those magical stories and myths that give us an excuse to…

LOOK UP!

In fact, the NYC authorities have strategically placed these words, LOOK UP, on sidewalks and placards all over Manhattan to prevent “textwalkers” from getting hit by cars

It is a sign of our times that we are looking down, not just on the streets, but in our stumbling quest for meaning and purpose.

Deepak Chopra once told his son, “The most important thing you’ll ever learn is how to tell great stories.”

And that is a message not just for moms and kids.

As screenwriting legend and business consultant Robert McKee said, “A big part of a CEO’s job is to motivate people to reach certain goals. To do that, he or she must engage their emotions, and the key to their hearts is story.”

So once in your day, make it a habit to LOOK UP.

That’s where you’ll find Santa, Harvey the Invisible Rabbit, and the hidden meaning in every myth and fairy tale that ever was and ever will be:

Something does not have to be real, to be TRUE!

MOMENTEER: THE COUNTDOWN IS ON

It’s been years in the making and we are approaching Launch Day for The Momenteer Movement. I am deep in the process of bringing this baby to life and I look forward to the big day in January when I get to invite you to go Momenteering.  If you could use that little kick in the tush to look UP and show UP fully for your life…

IN-HOME RETREAT  (January 25-27, 2013)

I believe a winter weekend at home with candles and wine is all you need to have the most exotic retreat adventure.

My In-Home Retreat will deliver this to you right in the comfort of your home. No need to take time off, or hop on a plane and travel thousands of miles.

And best of all, my In-Home Retreat will be LIVE. But if the scheduled event times don’t work for you, no worries. You will be able to download and experience at your convenience.

Sound like something easy and beautiful and just what you need?

Email me to receive early registration info.

“An attitude of Thanksgiving is hard work.” –Anonymous

This is #52 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny and delicious moment at a time!

#52 of 108: Sniff Some Gratitude

There’s nothing like a good scent to get your attention.

And the only thing more intrusive than a good cologne saying “Check me out! I’m in the room and I SMELL!” is something you shove up your nose and SPRAY!

Have you seen the Gratitude Inhaler from Earth Solutions? GENIUS.

It should be a requirement for any of us who complain about life.

We can talk about gratitude all day long but the truth is, gratitude is morally and intellectually demanding. It takes mental fortitude to see what is awesome in your life instead of what is not awesome.

And therefore, for some of us, not all, but some of us…abrasive action is needed to divert those neural pathways etched in negativity.

Enough of the sweet loving poems and gratitude blogs.  Just take that f*cking inhaler, shove it up your schnozz, and blast some gratitude where the sun don’t shine!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

And for those friends you have, the real whiny ones who drive you craaaaazy, forget trying to help them by suggesting the Tony Robbins seminar or a shrink costing $500/hour…

…a blast up their beak and they won’t be able to speak.

And for the relatives who drive you insane and cause you great pain,
because their demands are tough and you don’t make enough,
just give them a whiff, a gratitude LIFT!

The science states that “gratitude is not for wimps.”

So this Thanksgiving, step it up a notch…

After your meal, when your tummy is round
When it gets real quiet, food comas abound
Take a gratitude sniff, and lead from the heart
As you prepare to release…that Thanksgiving fart!
 

N-HOME RETREAT  (January 25-27, 2013)

**This experience is ONLY for people who need to relax. If you do not need to relax, this is not for you.

If you are ready to have a super healing weekend that does not require you to travel to faraway lands and spend thousands…

…but rather establish some love and peace in the comfort of your own home…

…you are going to LOVE my In-Home Retreat taking place in January.

I will lead you through an audio experinece rich with storytelling, inspiration, yoga, and deep relaxation.

And best of all, it will be LIVE! However, if the scheduled times don’t work, no worries, you can download and listen later at your convenience.

Email me at yeahdave@mac.com with the subject Bring It Home! to receive early registration info.

“Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”  –William Goldman

This is #51 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny and delicious moment at a time!

#51 of 108:   Feel The Pain

Way back in 2001, I took a yoga class from a teacher who urged on her students by clapping.

“Warrior 1, c’mon guys in the back!” [CLAP CLAP CLAP]

“Triangle pose! Straighten your leg. Extend your arms isometrically!”

BTW, what the f-ck does that word mean?

“Reverse triangle everyone! Peel your hip back, legs straight, Reach high! C’mon Mike! C’mon Sandra!” [CLAP, CLAP, CLAP]

Clapping and yoga go together like a strict Catholic mom and Starbutts. That is not a typo. STARBUTTS.

Just one clap of the hands during warrior 2 sends your yoga soul crashing to the ground like a million Jenga blocks.

It hurts.

****

You may have read the article about the girl with an extremely rare genetic disorder that prevents her from feeling pain. Ashlyn Blocker, 13 years old, has been that way her whole life.

Only a few people in the world have this disorder, and most have died.

For instance, a boy in Lahore, Pakistan had the disorder and on his birthday, he wanted to show off for his friends so he jumped off the first floor roof of his house. He got up, brushed himself off, seemed to be OK but died a day later because of a hemorrhage.

A pain-free existence might sound intriguing but wait until you hear some of the awful experiences Ashlyn unknowingly “endured.”

• She reached into a boiling pot of water to retrieve a spoon she had dropped. NO PAIN, but she “mysteriously” saw white scars suddenly appear all over her hand from the burn.
• As a 2 year old, she “playfully” put her hand on the muffler of her father’s car. Her father ran over to stop her but when he lifted her hand off the muffler, the skin was seared away.
• She was swarmed and bit over 100 times by fire ants while saying “Bugs! Bugs!”
• She ran around on a broken ankle for 2 days before her parents finally realized something was wrong.

It’s a downright dangerous existence and gives you a deep appreciation for pain as a protector.

But in a strange way, unless you are an HEB (Highly Evolved Being), we all suffer from a related disorder. Why? Because most of us don’t feel the pain of negative thinking.

The yogis will tell you, your thoughts have immense power.

Much like Ashlyn Blocker walking around on a broken ankle, pain free…a negative, nasty thinker effectively breaks the ankles of her soul and is left to hobble through life, pain free, but wondering why everything is so difficult.

So next time you catch yourself in a frenzy of negative thinking, take a moment and do yourself a favor. Inflict a little pain on your wise, yoga soul with a harsh CLAP of the hands.

Wake up!

Realize NOW what will take most of humanity another thousand years of evolution to assimilate:

Only she with magnificent thoughts can lead a magnificent life!

IN-HOME RETREAT  (January 25-27, 2013)

A wise one said, “The only Zen you are going to find at the top of a mountain is the Zen you bring up there.”

Healing, love, and peace begin at home, not in some faraway retreat destination.

On that note, I am excited to present an entirely new and completely awesome healing experience.

In the heart of winter, we all love to designate a perfect weekend to “whole up” and dive in.

For 3 days in January, I’m going to present an IN-HOME YOGA RETREAT, a live audio and video experience that you will tune into on your computer or mobile device.

Just like a retreat, you’ll know when class begins, when it’s time for a guided meditation, when it’s time for a fireside chat. Except you’ll be doing this in the cozy creature comforts of your den, living room, or deck.

Break out the candles and wine. We’re gonna set the scene for just the right mix of storytelling, music, inspiration, and yoga to create a supremely cozy and grounding weekend.

And best of all, it will be LIVE! However, if the scheduled times don’t work, no worries, you can download and listen later at your convenience.

If you are loving the idea of inviting over a few friends, or taking a weekend to yourself to go deep with soothing stretches, beautiful tunes, and my special style of inspiration…then email me at yeahdave@mac.com and write BRING IT HOME! in the subject to receive early registration info.

“What a way to live. Fearless and strong. Honest and true. Relaxed and at ease.” –Brian Leaf, author of Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi

This is #50 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny and delicious moment at a time!

#50 of 108:   Gangnam? Try Jersey Style!

Last year after a yoga class at Exhale in NYC, a student came up to me and said, “I just want to carry you around in a papoose.”

I didn’t know the word “papoose.”

I couldn’t tell if it was a compliment, or a critique, so I said, “I weigh like two hundred, I don’t think you’d want me on your back.”

She looked at me in the way you’d look at someone you thought was a little bit, ah…well…um…stupid.

So I made sure to learn the word “papoose” (see pic of mom with her baby in a papoose).

I am reading a book right now that is so so so so so good, that I want to carry the author around in a papoose, and have him tell me funny stories while walking around NYC.

Yes that would be weird, to have another man on my stomach in a papoose, but you get the point!!!!

I am loving every second of Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi. The author, Brian Leaf, feels like the greatest of friends, the one you will never, ever lose touch with.

He is honest, humble, spiritual, and f-cking hilarious.

I parse out a few chapters each night before falling to sleep, so as not to let this journey end too soon. And I cannot tell you the last time getting in bed to read was the highlight of my day.

A few of my favorite lines from the book:

• “Usually I felt like a brain on a stick, and I welcomed moments of being present below the neck.”

• “It takes a pretty intense person to have a goatee. After all it’s the worst of both facial hair worlds. You still have to shave everyday around the goatee, just like a bald-chinned person, and yet you have to periodically trim the goatee.”

• “But yoga invited the whole me to show up, and really I’d say that was the first time that the whole me had been invited anywhere.”

The book shares Brian Leaf’s “quest for health and happiness–visiting yoga studios around the country” after falling in love with the ancient practice way back in 1989.

The journey takes you to a time, maybe the current time, when you first fell in love with yoga. Oh what a feeling! (I remember when I first fell in love with yoga…and Seane Corn…back in 1996, but that’s another blog)

The book’s short chapters leave me always wanting more, like the yoga class that is so perfect, so finely sequenced, so fun that you never once look up to check the time.

The irony of timelessness is that it’s usually fast and fleeting.

Such are the two adjectives I choose to describe Leaf’s tale, just so that those of you with ADHD who haven’t read a book in years…do yourself a really, really big favor, and start this journey NOW.
MY MORNING IN CENTRAL PARK

I was walking this morning in Central Park (see pic).

There are still glorious glimpses of Fall, yet I had a hundred things on my mind, and my buzzing iPhone in my hand, which is obviously how I took this photo.

For just one awesome moment today, I decided to go about life differently, to put away my phone, to turn down the volume on my worries…

…and show up FULLY to this moment!

How else could I truly enjoy New York City in its most glorious season!

We’re talkin’ bout a new type of courage to, at least once in your day, put the screaming demands of life into the background…and show up FULLY!

THE LOVE WEAPON 101 is the first in a series of one week online courses I will be offering in 2013.  It all starts in January.

“Love is a weapon of light!”

Email yeahdave@mac.com and write MOMENTEER! in the subject to receive early registration info.

“Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It’s about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.”  –Steve Jobs

“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow.” –Charles Bower, American cartoonist

“The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions.” –Anthony Jay, English author

This is #49 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny, and delicious moment at a time.

#49 of 108:  Open a Republican Yoga Studio

The yoga economy is also enduring the grinding recovery process.

Studios are keeping wages low because there is a glutton of yoga teachers.

Therefore yoga teachers are having a hard time making a living.

Not to mention, there are too many yoga arm balance workshops, too many yoga retreats Tulum, too many 500 Hour Teacher Trainings.

It’s time for some INNOVATION!

We have to start thinking OUT OF THE BOX.

What about a chain of GOP friendly studios called “Republican Yoga,” a place free from the Bohemian ooze that permeates the yoga world like armpit hair gone awry.  Not to say I don’t love the “ooze,” but it’s not for everyone.

If Obama wins on Tuesday, I think it’s safe to say the yogis among us who vote Romney will want their own place to practice…for the next 4 years.

Hey, I’m just thinking like a business person.

And if you are feeling the economic pain…

…then thinking like a businessperson is what it’s gonna take.

HELP THE YOGIS IN JERSEY

If you are living far from the East Coast, I just wanted to bring it closer to home. I taught last year at a studio in Long Beach Island, NJ. It was totally gutted by Sandy. Yoga studios have been flooded and destroyed, not to mention homes, businesses, lives.  This storm was a B-TCH.

Let’s help today. Please go to https://sandynjrelieffund.org/index.html.
LOVE WEAPON 101:  New Year, No Fear!

Fear is an epidemic in our culture. Everyone is afraid of something.

A recent study reported that 92% of what we fear never happens.

So the issue is not to eliminate fear but to understand it better, to leverage it, to have the tools and techniques to put it to good use in your life.

In 2013, I will be leading a series of week-long online experiences. The first one starts in January and is called: Love Weapon 101.

It’s a choice you have to:

Forget Everything And Run

or

Forget Everything and Rise!

Email yeahdave@mac.com and write Momenteer! in the subject to receive early registration info.

“The Hudson River came in and filled half of Hoboken like a bathtub.”   Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer

“I heard the sound of thunder that roared out a warning; I heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world…and I’ll reflect from the mountain so all souls can see it…t’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard. And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.” –Bob Dylan

This is #47 of 108 Ways to Livin the Moment. Let’s take back our lives one beautiful, funny, and delicious moment at a time.

#47 of 108:  Listen Carefully to Bob Dylan

As I look out my window at Hurricane Sandy’s shadow looming over New York City, I have to remember there is a force much greater than anything created by our military might or technology.

In fact, the NOAA reported that if a nuclear bomb were detonated in the eye of a hurricane, it would have zero impact. Such is the power of Mother Nature.

But Sandy isn’t just a hurricane, she is a “Perfect Storm,” with conditions so rare that meteorologists everywhere are bustin their britches.

Spiritual types would argue this type of Storm making landfall directly in the nation’s most populous region is karma, similar to how Hurricane Katrina was shedding karmic light on the Gulf’s gap between rich and poor.

The Native Americans would say that “the forces of nature are always in alignment with the Great Spirit’s will.”

Just something to think about it:

If you live in Sandy’s strike zone…or are like me, fascinated by big weather events…

…consider…

…that the message today is not to listen to the meteorologists, but to Mother Nature. Through her rumbling and raining and squalling, maybe she’s trying to tell us something.

HOW CAN YOU LISTEN BETTER?

If you share the sense that there are messages we are missing because we don’t know how to listen…

…I invite you to join me for a series of week-long online sessions I will be leading in 2013.

There is a Native American saying, “Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf.”

We all do it. Too much talking, doing, acting…and not listening, trusting, healing.

It’s all about becoming a Momenteer! It’s all about getting back in Touch.

To express interest…email yeahdave@mac.com and write Momenteer! in the subject.

The first of these sessions begins in January.