Meditation, Me, & an Ancient Bench

An Origin Story

What? Me guru? I don’t think so. Call me “coach”. I can accept that. And I like it. But after a lifetime of living, I wound up with a lot to share on spirituality, meditation, and even weight loss! :__)

The author at play

Contents
— A Strange Path to Spirituality (or typical?)
— A Meditation Bench is Born
— I Shed Some Weight
— A Coaching Career Begins

A Strange Path to Spirituality (or typical?)

Running had always been my meditation — a great relief from stress. Going out, I was shedding tension and worries. Coming back, I was filled with ideas and positive energy. It was great.

I took pride in my athletic ability, too. That ability only appeared after college, when I took up weight training and began pursuing athletic endeavors. But that was probably a blessing . I didn’t “burn out”, like so many school athletes do, never to pursue athletics again. Instead, athletic activities remained a lifetime activity, right up until it was no longer possible.

The “tragedy” that ended my athletic career was one of two that may have been a blessing in disguise, depending on how you look at it. Because together, they set my feet on a spiritual path.

The first was an arthroscopic surgery that removed a bit of cartilage from my knee. Never mind running, even bird watching was too painful (so much walking!). Then came a failed business venture.

It was the business venture that sparked my interest in spirituality. I knew without a doubt that the only reason the business failed was me. There was nowhere else to look. So I knew some kind of improvement was needed. I didn’t know what exactly, but I knew there was something. So I started looking.

Fast forward 30 years. I have engaged in not one, but three powerful spiritual activities — -a martial arts practice that turned out to be unexpectedly focused on heart-opening meditation and inner growth, and two internal-energy meditation practices.

A Meditation Bench is Born