So, I just finished my second week of the Strength for Life Transformational Training Camp.  I started a week later than intended.  All seems to be going well.  I missed one FIT session, so need to buckle down on making sure that I go over my program each morning so that doesn't happen again. 

I'm feeling a lot of Love for Life right now.  There's a lot of uncertainty in my future, at this moment.  Yet, the stress that this may normally cause me is giving way to acceptance, bliss, and beautiful release.  Every moment is a reminder that I have control over nothing but my own actions.  I can choose to respond to life's obstacles with Love and Embrace and Healthful healing, or with fear and avoidance and shadowy denial.

If you are reading this, I thank you.  Really.  I have so much gratitude for your existence.  I know my life's purpose is to serve you.  It serves me when I serve you.  I'm considering getting my personal trainer's certification, so that I can share my own success and love for life and accomplishing personal goals with the world. 

But along with that, I want to hold space for you.  I want to honor where you are right now and the beauty in the fact that you want to achieve something more.  This is what I do for myself, and it brings me such great Joy on a daily basis.

My plan is to give free personal training sessions to as many people as possible while I work on my certification.  If you're interested let me know, and I'll let you know once I get started on my certification program.  My hours would be after work hours, obviously.  Hopefully, that would work for you :)

Hmmm... what else?  I'm sitting at Barnes and Noble right now with a Bill Bryson book on my lap.  Have you read any of his stuff?  This one is In a Sunburned Country.

Let me know if there's anything I can do to honor your beautiful existence, today. 

Isn't Life just an absolutely breathtaking experience??  I think so!

So, I met this girl on Gaia Soulmates not too long ago, and I couldn't be more impressed.  We e-met only a week and a half ago, and we both feel like we've known each other forever.  It is quite astounding to me!  Here I am, working for gaia, and I happen to find this person on a site that we run.  And it's not like I'm not on other dating sites or that I'm not dating locally in Boulder.  I AM doing all that!  And yet, I discover this beautiful, amazing, deep person on our site! 

I can't tell you too much about her yet.  It is too soon.  But I can tell you that I really am quite amazed that the intention of our soulmates site is working.  It's nowhere near the biggest dating site on the web, but it may already have some of the greatest depth out there. 

I hope others who are seeking deep connections with kindred spirits will join up.  And when you do, I hope you will have similar experiences to mine :)  It is truly wonderful to feel this way!

To Love!

1) What is you favorite room in your house/ apartment?
My bedroom.  It's where I work and play.

2) Who do you feel at home with? (friends, a partner, family, a pet)
My dog and cats and everybody who is kind enough to visit me at my home :)

3) What colors do you have in your home?
off-whites and browns and blues and greys and greens and hmmm... others.

4) If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Gosh, do I have to pick one?  I would love to have vacation homes on the East and West coasts in the States, and in many countries around the world.  But I like my home to be in Boulder :)

5) Finish this sentence in two to five words: Home is where the .....
~Matthew is!

On February 7th, 2009, I made a body fat % goal for myself.  According to a pair of $3 calipers--that I purchased for the express purpose of keeping track of this goal--my body fat at that time was around 24%.  So, I made a goal to get to 15% body fat by May 7th.  The number is insignificant.  My real goal here was to, over time, see that number decrease. And the more appropriate number to look at, in order to achieve that goal, was the skin fold measurement.

So, I fashioned a workout / nutrition program for myself.  And once per week I took my skin fold tests.  Once every three weeks I weighed myself to gauge how much fat I had lost and how much muscle I had gained.  Here are the results (click the image to see the enlarged version):



I'm very proud to say that I met my goal :)  I'm now starting the Strength For Life challenge (with a few minor adjustments--based on my experience--that I'll talk about at a later date) that Shawn Phillips has developed, and I'm in my first week of Base Camp.  I'll be starting the Transformational Training Camp on Monday, May 25th.  At that time, I'll try to blog regularly about my progress / struggles.  It should be fun!

1) What did you have for breakfast?
Scrambled egg whites with tofu, onions, green peppers, carrots, and tomato.  Two pieces of Spelt toast with Earth Balance.  And a banana.   Plus a giant glass of water.

2) Have you grown your own food?
Yes, last year I had a garden and we grew all sorts of veggies.

3) What is your favorite beverage?
Water!!!

4) Do you like to cook?
Yes, but I don't like coming up with what to cook.

5) What is your favorite vegetable(s)?
Hmmmm... it depends on how it is prepared.  Ethiopian food is delicious, and I just love the way they make their beats at Ras Kassa's.

It's the second "Friday the Thirteenth" in a row, today.  This can ONLY happen when first Friday the thirteenth of the year falls in February on a non-leap year.  I wonder how rare it is.  In any event, here is my Friday Five:

1) Do you have a lucky charm? (socks, coins, small rubber chickens?)
I don't believe in lucky charms.  But someone close to me got me a pink crystal that's supposed to help attract my True Love to me.  I mentioned then that I don't believe in such things.  Still, every now and then I'll hold the crystal in my hand and indulge the magical vMeme that is inside of me... inside of all of us.

2) Have you ever found a four-leaf clover? (and what happened?)
I don't think so.  I might have found a mutated three-leaf clover once, though, that looked kind of like a four leaf clover.

3) Do you throw coins into fountains for wishes?
Yes, sometimes.  Although, I give more meaning to it as being an act of non-attachment.

4) Do you have any quirky or unique superstitions?
No.  Sorry for such a boring answer.  But I don't.  I suppose I could make one up though.  How about this?  Drinking green beer on St. Patrick's Day cures what ales ya.  (Get it?  "ales" ya, instead of "ails" ya.  It's beer.  Ale.  Get it?)

5) Have you ever seen a shooting star? (did you make a wish?)
Yes, I love shooting stars.  In the summer time.

Space dust, a rusty nail, five aglets, and a hand-written note that simply says, "Welcome to the future :)"

I consider it more as a body-mind than two separate things. 

Today?  Probably chocolate watermelon.  I don't know about tomorrow!

1) Who has served as a role model in your life?
My dog

2) What book (s) have inspired you?
My Brain is Open

3) What are you excited about today?
That I can sleep as long as I want

4) Does music inspire you?
Yeah, I like Kan'nal, Stuart Davis, and some other good tunes.

5) What qualities inspire you in others?
Integrity, Openness, Compassion, Listening Skills, Understanding, Empathy