Native Americans Code of Ethics

NATIVE AMERICANS CODE OF ETHICS:

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

 2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

 3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

 4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

 5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

 6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth - whether it be people or plant.

 7. Honor other people's thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

 8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

 9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

 10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

 11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

 12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life's lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

 13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

 14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.

 15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self - all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

 16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

 17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others - especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

 18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

 19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

 20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.

DISCIPLINE, DESIRE, AND DEVOTION IN OVERCOMING FEAR

So many of us allow fear to control much of what we do. Much of fear can be found in ignorance, simply, the lack of knowledge or understanding in a given area, to know or perceive any differently. Hence, before moving forward in any area you desire to achieve success, first understand it, educate yourself on it, know it, and 'own' it.

To help you gain a better understanding of this, I've put this together in a simplified way:

Today's blog is about understanding the roles of:

1. DISCIPLINE:
• the controlled behavior resulting from discipline: he was able to maintain discipline among his men.
• activity or experience that provides mental or physical training: the tariqa offered spiritual discipline | Kung fu is a discipline open to old and young.• a system of rules of conduct: he doesn't have to submit to normal disciplines.
2 a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education: sociology is a fairly new discipline.
2. DESIRE:

A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen: [ with infinitive ] :  a desire to work in the dirt with your bare hands.
verb [ with obj. ] strongly wish for or want (something): he never achieved the status he so desired | (as adj. desired) :  it failed to create the desired effect.
• archaic express a wish to (someone); request or entreat.

3. DEVOTION:

Love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause: Eleanor's devotion to her husband | his courage and devotion to duty never wavered.


I'd like to sum up these terms in a manner consistent with reaching the goal of today's blog: 
Using these characteristics to overcome fear(s).
DISCIPLINE / DESIRE / DEVOTION = PERSONAL MOTTO
I will seek activities that allow me the opportunity to control my mental and physical capacities, by disciplining my thoughts, words, and actions, to reach my desired outcome.
I know nothing comes to pass by wishing, but rather through my actions and efforts. Therefore, the path I traverse maytake many a mile, cover many terrains, a variety of habitats, and a plethora of obstacles. In my mind, I envision but one straight path leading me to the goal. Although the path be bending, the mind will not. Rather, all my thoughts, words, and actions will remain on one straight course.
My devotion is to something of a greater, which words alone cannot express. It's weaved throughout the tapestry of my  being. 
One must remain steadfast on their journey, as it does not end. It is only through growth, our vision expands, and understanding deepens. This is when you may understand fear for what it is, and look past it. 
For you are the Master of your journey.
And so with this, my amazing friends, you develop yourself. You take control of your future, your  dreams, and your goals. 
You ultimately, take responsibility for yourself, your life, and everything in it.

Life is similar to hiking a long mountainous path, where we desire to reach the peak. There are places along the path the sun shines ever so brightly, and others where it's quite dark.Places of life and liveliness, and others where there is not much wildlife, and plants are scarce. Places where the terrain is tasking, and we literally go step by step, and other places where we feel as though we've entered Paradise itself. 

This place, we call Paradise, is where we often sit to rest, take in nourishment, enjoy the view, the silence, stillness, and listen to the wind, plant and animal life 'talk' to us. This is where we contemplate who we are, our 'place' in the world, and seek inner guidance, and direction. We take pictures to 'make the moment' last, and we wish we could stay, and live there forever.... But just as in life, we cannot stay in one place and hope to somehow get to another. We must keep plodding along. Chin up, and confident in the way.
So many of us stay where we are comfortable, thus almost avoiding growth, for the ease of the way. One does not haveto 'leave' of a place, physically, to grow. One merely needs to  take the initiative to produce growth somewhere in their life. Only you can decide where this growth must take place. You are the sole person responsible for your growth, be it academically, spiritually, emotionally, or physically.  In each of these four areas alone, lies an infinite array of opportunities for growth. Will you take them? 
Begin today. Fear not, but move forward courageously day by day, thought by thought, action by action. You will indeed succeed, and overcome any and all which may come your way, and come off the victor.
Health!

STRIVING

Better to strive and climb,
And never reach the goal,
Than to drift along with time,
An aimless, worthless soul.
Aye, better climb and fall,
Or sow, though the yield be small, 
Than to throw away day after day,
And never strive at all.

-Margaret Sangster

GRIP STRENGTH

BENEFITS OF GRIP STRENGTH:

Improves weight training movements by maintaining proper grip and wrist position. Especially lifts such as the bench press, overhead press, overhead squat, deadlift, snatches, pull-ups, jerks, and so forth. Even wrestlers are wise to develop their grip strength.

Improves sports performance by allowing batters a cemented grip on the bat, quarterbacks a grip on a football, hockey players to their hockey stick, lacrosse, and so forth.

Makes for a more efficient lifestyle as you carry, move, and pull things on a regular basis throughout your life.

All those in the armed forces can attest to the importance of strong grip strength.

Grip strength is fast becoming a 'marker' of good health. Using a dynamometer, an assessment can be made of your general muscle mass strength. For instance, when you have a lot of muscle in your upper body and can squeeze the dynamometer strongly, it suggests you have a lot of strength in your lower body, as well.

EXERCISES TO IMPROVE GRIP STRENGTH

Farmer's Carry: Make these heavy! Keep your knees slightly bent, and balance on the balls of your feet. Try to maintain a nice level, consistent walk. No bouncing.

Plate Carry: Relatively heavy. Hold a plate in each hand, around the rim of each plate. Carry as long as possible.

Holding Pull-ups: Pull yourself up high enough to get your chin above the bar and hold until you drop off. Do this with all variations of pull-ups, and chin-ups.

Rope Climbs: Use your feet if you must. As your grip strength improves, use less and less feet until you eventually get to using your hands only. This is tough! If you're currently carrying a few extra pounds, this will quickly encourage you to do something about it. 

Rope Pulls: Attach a heavy, thick rope to a sled. Load the sled heavy. Sit the rope's distance away from the sled, heels into the ground and pull the load to you several times, or until failure.

Sledge Hammers: Handling a sledge is great grip work. Keep your swings steady and try to keep a steady cadence, adjusting your grip as necessary.

Squeezers: For lack of a better term, I refer to these as squeezers: tennis balls, 'stress' balls, grippers, etc. Anything you can squeeze firmly will improve your grip.

Oversize/Odd-shaped objects: Suitcases, sandbags, equipment of sorts, heavy pieces of fallen trees, anything that can work your 'open' hand grip, meaning, you can't quite get your fingers all the way around the object, so your hand is still somewhat open.

There you have it! Now, get a grip on it! Your forearms will love you for it, and turn to boulders.

Health!

Friends

FROM ONE FRIEND TO ANOTHER
 
I've learned ....
That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
 
I've learned ....
That when you're in love, it shows.
 
I've learned ....
That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.
 
I've learned ....
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
 
I've learned ....
That being kind is more important than being right.
 
I've learned ....
That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
 
I've learned ....
That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
 
I've learned ....
That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
 
I've learned ....
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
 
I've learned ....
That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
 
I've learned ....
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
 
I've learned ....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
 
I've learned ....
That money doesn't buy class.
 
I've learned ....
That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
 
I've learned ....
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
 
I've learned ....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
 
I've learned ....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
 
I've learned ....
That love, not time, heals all wounds.
 
I've learned ....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
 
I've learned ....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
 
I've learned ....
That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
 
I've learned ....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
 
I've learned ....
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
 
I've learned ....
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
 
I've learned ....
That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.
 
I've learned ....
That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
 
I've learned ....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
 
I've learned ....
That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
 
I've learned ....
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
 
I've learned ....
That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

    

CHOCOLATE COFFEE SHAKE = THE BOMB!!!!

I'm not a coffee drinker by any means, however, every now and then, a nice hot cup of decaf on a wintery day is wonderful!

This recipe is one of my favorites, anytime. It has no fat, and depending on the protein powder you choose, it can have no carb's as well, or perhaps, for post-workout, you may wish to use a protein powder with significant carb's, or try adding a 1/2 frozen banana, or a cup of frozen strawberries, or 1/2 c. oats, or....or....or....hahaha!

Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE COFFEE SHAKE

- 1 c. fresh decaf (you can go regular, too)
- 1 heaping scoop of your favorite chocolate
   protein powder
- 1 dropper full of Sweet Stevia, liquid stevia, 
   toffee flavor
- 10 to 12 ice cubes

Put all the ingredients in as listed, ice last, and immediately blend on high until well mixed, color will be a light brown.

Pour into a 32 oz. cup and enjoy!