Alan Christiansen

I was in my wood shop today working on a little project and needed to make a quick angled cut on my table saw. Without thinking I started cranking away on the blade angle adjustment without first removing my zero clearance insert. The top of the blade remained vertical and the bottom side went on its way. Not good. I had spent good money on this blade only a few months ago with hopes of getting many years of use from it. The bend in the blade is irreparable and it will never make a clean and straight cut again.

After cooling from my initial upset I started thinking about how I had muddled this simple task I’ve done so many times before. Why did I miss such an important step and in my haste ruin a perfectly good blade? The answer is that my thoughts and energy were focused on other things. In that moment I needed to adjust my saw for an angled cut. But, I wasn’t focusing on the saw and what I needed to do to make that cut, I had already jumped ahead to how I would use that piece after it was cut. My thoughts were out of sync with my present actions. Now I’m out a $75 dollar blade and it took well over an hour to get my saw back in working order with a spare blade.

I’m reminded of an article from Leo Babauta on the importance of each moment. Even the small ones like making a quick adjustment to the blade on your table saw. After re-reading that article I’m left wondering what other things I may have missed in rushing to get that project done. What other insights or enjoyment in the making went completely unnoticed?

I was thinking today about my recent blog posts and I don’t want you, dear reader, to get the wrong idea about me. It may seem on the surface that I really have my shit together. But the truth is, some days it’s all I can do to stay sane and on track. I struggle almost daily with low self-esteem. I have dreams and ambitions a plenty, but summoning the confidence to take the necessary steps toward making them real is a constant battle. Ironically, this recent string of posts has done wonders in boosting that self-esteem. Looking back on what I have written gives me confidence that I do actually have something worth sharing. It is my fervent hope that I can leave this world a better place than it was when I arrived. I yearn for a life of meaning and purpose. If I can do something to relieve suffering or sorrow in others, I will count this life fulfilled.

Kindness Update

If you remember in my last post I threw out a challenge to lend a helping hand this weekend. I wasn’t out and about too much so had to settle for some quick anonymous yard work for a neighbor. Their grass is always nice and trim, but their weed trimmer has been out of commission for a while now so the drainage ditch out front hasn’t been getting the same love. As I went out Saturday morning to give my own grass a cut I decided to slip over and get their drainage ditch cleaned up first. It didn’t take long and it felt good. Easy. I hope some of you had a chance to help someone out too.

One leg of my daily work commute involves a short half mile walk. It is early morning, quiet, and I have the road to myself. I’ve turned this short walk into a time for me go through a simple prayer and mantras I’ve written for myself. I find that these ground me, set the tone for the day, and act as a reminder of what is important to me. These embody the kind of person I want to be. One statement from my prayer is a wish that I would have “authentic love and compassion for myself and others”. Today in particular it hit me that this is an area in need of improvement.

I feel compelled to move this compassion from a mere feeling into action. It’s my intention to look for any opportunity to be of help or service in some way this coming weekend. It’s pretty easy to be kind and helpful as we go about our daily routines. But how often are we willing to go out of our way and incur some inconvenience or discomfort in order extend that kindness? How often are we willing to change our plans or forfeit something we were looking forward to in order to help someone else? That is the kind of help I want to provide. Honestly, I have no idea how this will play out our how this opportunity will manifest. But I’m ready, willing and looking for the chance.

Anyone else with me?

I have been practicing meditation in various forms off and on for many years, and I am fascinated by the results. Let me explain why.

Even after all this practice and experiencing the positive effects first hand, I am still guilty of thinking the ‘right way’ to meditate is in a place of perfect solitude and tranquility with a perfectly still mind and body. Not so! More often than not, as I am meditating my mind is wandering all over the place. I do try to bring the focus back to my breath each time I realize it, but in a typical 15 minute session I could be off in the weeds and back to the breath a dozen times or more. When this happens I think to myself that this couldn’t possibly be helpful. And yet, after only 3 or 4 days the benefits are clear and significant. My stress levels begin to go down and my thought trains of negativity become recognizable and manageable. The greatest benefit for me is the clarity I get on my own thoughts. It becomes easier to recognize when my thoughts and worries have become irrational and out of control. That for me is priceless, because trust me, there is some crazy shit going on up in there sometimes. The benefits of meditation go far beyond what I have mentioned here. I’ve only touched on how my own life is improved by the practice.

I firmly believe that meditation’s rewards can be had by any one at any age in any situation.

If you’ve ever considered trying meditation but shied away because you thought it was too hard or you weren’t capable of meeting that perfect form I mentioned earlier, please reconsider. I firmly believe that meditation’s rewards can be had by any one at any age in any situation.

When learning to meditate the guidance of a teacher is helpful, especially if you have little or no prior experience. If learning in a local class is an option for you, go for it! If that isn’t available to you or it doesn’t fit with your schedule or circumstances there are fantastic resources online and in apps for your phone. I have tried many of them, some free and some paid, and there are two in particular I would recommend; Calm and Headspace.

Both of these services have introductory content for free, but the real value comes in the paid subscriptions. Both services cater to the novice, but also have options for the seasoned practitioner. Headspace is the service I use now. In the Headspace app you can choose between a wide variety of topics for your meditation ¹ such as; stress, anxiety, sleep, self-esteem, patience, kindness, acceptance, creativity, focus, balance, motivation, etc. There are also quick activity based meditations such as; walking, running, commuting, fear of flying, eating, etc. They even have meditations specifically for kids from under 5 to 12 years old. Cool! I wish I had known about this at such a young age!

Bottom line, If you are a human being and you are reading this right now mediation is for you.

1. If you prefer silence instead of a guided topical meditation there are also options for simple custom length timers. ↩

I’m reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. I’m only about a quarter of the way through but so far there are two key steps to tidying that keep repeating; first discard the excess then organize what’s left. As I have been reading I’ve been charging ahead in my mind about what I could discard and how I might organize things when I’m finished reading. Well, today I read a section that brought all that thinking to an abrupt halt.

Before you start, visualize your destination

It’s important that the actions we take are congruent with where we want to end up. It seems so obvious, but case in point, as I was thinking about discarding and organizing all my belongs I hadn’t looked much deeper than the simple desire to have less clutter. I hadn’t gotten down to the core ‘why’ of it all first. When it comes time to do the actual work of tidying, answering the question of “Do I need this?” will be so much easier to answer if I understand the why behind it all. The method Marie outlines for getting to those underlying motivations is to, “visualize the ideal lifestyle you dream of”, then identify why you want to live like that. Then repeat the sequence of asking and answering “Why?” three or four more times. Only when you get to your base desire are you ready to start the process of decluttering.

I believe this logic applies to any goal or aspiration. If you are struggling to get traction towards your goals, perhaps it would help to pause for a moment, get to that root need or desire and make sure the tasks you’ve set for yourself are in line with them.

Are you feeling stuck or uncertain about how to move forward? Have you ever considered casting runes for guidance? No? Bear with me, it’s not as crazy as it sounds.

Several years ago a friend introduced me to the power of runes. She had a full set with her and allowed me to give them a try. Their use is pretty simple. Begin by holding a specific question in mind, pull a rune from the set, then read the interpretation of the symbol you’ve drawn. As you read, you will often find some nuance or particular phrasing in the interpretation which applies to your question. In almost every case I am surprised by the relevancy and insight of the drawn rune(s). We could debate all day about how and why this works but an excerpt from the preface of my rune manual of choice covers this very nicely.

…play with the possibility that [these runes] can provide “a mirror for the magic of our Knowing Selves,” a means of communication with the knowledge of our subconscious minds.

Remember that you are consulting an Oracle rather than having your fortune told. An Oracle does not give you instruction as to what to do next, nor does it predict future events. An Oracle points your attention towards those hidden fears and motivations that will shape your future by their unfelt presence within each present moment. Once seen and recognized, these factors become absorbed into the realm of choice. Oracles do not absolve you of the responsibility for selecting your future, but rather direct your attention towards those inner choices that may be the most important elements in determining that future.

How can random selection of marked stones tell you anything about yourself? Perhaps these Rune interpretations are simply so evocative that each contains some point which can be accepted as relevant to some part of what is happening at the limits of consciousness any day, any time, to anyone. That is the easiest possibility to accept from a strictly scientific standpoint. Nevertheless, my own play with these Runes has shown coincidence piled upon coincidence and an apparently consistent “appropriate-ness” in each Rune reading which is difficult to explain by the mechanism I have just described.

Can there be other factors that distort the expected randomness of Rune selection so as to provide a language by which the subconscious makes itself and its expectations known? For myself, I maintain an open mind, reminding myself that observations should not be discounted simply because their underlying mechanisms have not yet been satisfactorily explained.

— Quoted from The Book of Runes by Ralph H. Blum

This passage captures my feelings and experiences with runes precisely. Last evening I sat down with them and cast some helpful guidance for my current situation. I love doing this!

You can buy runes online, but I decided to make my own as I wanted something more personal. The runes can be made of wood, stone or anything else that suits you. I made my mine from stones I gathered from a beach near my home. I formed them into runes using a Dremel and small diamond point bit to carve the symbols. It was meaningful and I had fun doing it.

If you choose to make your own, and I hope you do, the main requirement to keep in mind is each finished rune needs to be of uniform shape, size and weight. Each rune symbol must be painted, carved, engraved or otherwise formed on one side. When finished, place them in a bag or bowl and they are ready for use. The only other item you need is a way to interpret the symbols you’ve drawn. A little more guidance on how to work with runes than what I provided above would be helpful too. As mentioned earlier, my recommendation for this instruction would be The Book of Runes by Ralph H. Blum.

If the opportunity ever arises to work with runes I hope you would be open minded to it. They are so good at helping tap into your own internal guidance system that often goes unheard.

After several days of being off my mindful eating plan I decided today was the day to get back on track. I packed a nice lunch and sat down a little after noon to eat. Despite having packed the perfect lunch and having the best of intentions, I was completely lost in thought for a good two minutes before even realizing what I was doing! As soon as I caught myself, I started up a guided meditation on eating. It helped to slow me down and focus on the eating and not the hundred other things that had been bouncing around in my head.

I actually ended up having a lot of fun with my lunch in the process. Seriously, I’m not kidding. Turns out I had packed the perfect combination of foods for lunch time play. The mix of grapes, hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers, cheese, tomatoes, and ham all covered with fresh ground pepper provided an interesting harmony of flavors, smells and textures. As I was listening and eating I was at first paying close attention to each item individually, but by the end I was layering things together and getting all sorts of new tastes to explore. Good times at the old office desk.

There are many sources for mindful eating meditations available online and in apps for your phone. I’ll have a post out soon detailing where to find these along with my impressions of each. I’ve even been considering recording some of my own and sharing them here too. If you can’t wait, you can try asking Google for a few links.

Sometimes all we can do is ‘Go through the motions’.

After you’ve made a commitment things will often get in the way or time will slip away such that you can’t do what you had set out to do. I committed in the last few days of March to begin writing something here every day. I’ve been doing great up until today. I’m at 12 days in a row now! There are only a couple hours left in the day and I still haven’t published anything. I still don’t have any ideas that seem worth sharing. But I made a commitment and I intend to keep it. Ha! I am actually going to post what I am typing right now! It would be so easy to go to bed and try again tomorrow. But I know that if I miss this one day, I’ll be far more likely to miss again in the future, or worst case stop all together. Sometimes it is best to just go through the motions. Even if in the moment you don’t feel the work is effective or up to your best, the act of carrying that momentum forward will keep you on track to bring your best work forward in the next. And sometimes (this is a case in point) going through the motions will in fact bring a good idea to light that you hadn’t thought of. So often great ideas are born within the struggle, not outside of it.

Here’s to going through the motions…