C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Some Thoughts and Musings on Why I lift and Why You Should Lift (with a Little Help from Budo and Zen)      Over the years that I have been lifting—going on almost 4 decades of training at this point—I have been asked a number of questions.  Most of them are in the “how” category.  How do I gain muscle?  How can I increase my bench press?  How do I get big arms?  And, from primarily women, the most often asked is how do I lose weight?  Or how do I get in shape?  Occasionally, however, I have been asked the why question.  Why do I lift?  Why do I train?  Now, usually, though not always, this is a what question.  As in: what are my goals?  What am I trying to achieve?  Though there are times when the inquiry is deeper .  Especially as I get older, sometimes folks want to know why I still do this lifting thing.  After all, I’m not preparing for powerlifting meets anymore or getting...

Entering Deeply into Practice Bodhidharma (a.k.a. Da Mo), first patriarch of Zen*       “ While you are continuing this practice, week after week, year after year, your experience will become deeper and deeper, and your experience will cover everything you do in your everyday life.  The most important thing is to forget all gaining ideas, all dualistic ideas.  In other words, just practice zazen in a certain posture.  Do not think about anything.  Just remain on your cushion without expecting anything.  Then eventually you will resume your own true nature.  That is to say, your own true nature resumes itself. ” Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind      In a past blog entry on Zen, martial arts, and building muscle mass, I made a brief mention of entering deeply into practice .  But what does this mean, to “enter deeply into practice”?  First, and for some odd reason this seems to be a poi...