A Creative Way to Deal with You Inner Voice

 How are you doing with those conversations going on in your head?  I'm primarily referring to the negative voices trying to stop you from all you have planned for the day.  You know them well... "You don't need to go outside today, it's too cold."  Or, "Why not call in sick so you don't have to deal with all that traffic on the icy roads?"  Well, I have an idea for you that may help.  Give a name to the source of your inner voices.  If you name him or her, you can take charge and make great counter-arguments as if the voice is a real person.  

I'm naming my voice, Hank.  Hank is a bit of a loser.  He doesn't like it when I set goals.  Hank is a champion of making excuses.  I want to improve my life.  Hank wants the status quo.  Hank has a vast circle of secret friends no one else can see.  His friends are invisible.  Somehow, Hank communicates nonverbally with his friends attempting to form some kind of a coup to overthrow any attempts to make positive change.  I'm fairly lucky because I cut Hank off from his sources of information, like TV.  Hank thrives on negativity.  My job every morning is to make sure Hank doesn't get the upper hand.  When I meditate, Hank is always lurking.  He tells me I'm wasting my time sorting my thoughts, perhaps because my meditation time is dedicated to keeping Hank at bay.

Give your inner voice a name and remember who's boss.  Should you fail, try again tomorrow.  If you win, you have the life you dreamed of.  Allow your inner voice to be in charge and you will be destined to a life of status-quo.  You deserve better.  Not Hank.  Have a great day.

Date Day Today

Our fun date day is starting out at the gym.  I'm testing out of my second six-week spiritual boot camp this morning with 2 minutes of max pushups, 2 minutes of max stomach crunches, and a 5k run.   Then it's a fabulous lunch at Monica's followed by a movie with my Valentine sweetheart.  The outside temps may be approaching -30º today with the windchill factor but that won't spoil our date day.  Time to layer up.  Have a great day.

Testing the Lower Limits of Human Capacity Today

 The current temperature reading in my town is -6º right now.  That doesn't count the high winds.  The weatherman tells me it feels like -27º and that number may go even lower as the gusts pick up.  The coldest I've ever experienced is -34º and I know exactly how that feels.  I'm planning on multiple layers as I head out to my day job.  The roads are icy from last night's snowfall so the drive will be on the slow side.  Have a great day.

Why Living in Gratitude Allows You to See Better

 Today's story is one of the best lessons I've ever learned.  Your gratitude allows you to see better.  The opposite is also true.  Lack of gratitude shrinks your opportunity to see the blessings in your life.  Gratitude increases abundance.  It expands your vision.  I don't know the reason why but I do know firsthand that I have improved my vision when it comes to spotting the good there is in this world.  This includes the days when I'm driving in a blizzard.  Yes, there is always good to see.  Give living in gratitude a try and see for yourself.  Have a great day.

Can You Survive a Cytokine Storm?

 The cytokine storm may be one of the most dangerous storms mankind will ever face.  Few have heard of it, perhaps because it cannot be seen by the human eye.  It's a storm that strikes inside our bodies.  In my opinion, it's one of the worst-case scenarios we may ever encounter in our lifetimes.  

Imagine you contracted COVID-19.  You're in the hospital on a ventilator.  The doctors are doing everything in their power to keep you alive but your body is fighting itself and you're dying.  You may be one of the 5-7% of patients in the danger zone because your own immune system is out of control.  That means your healthy cells are under siege.  How do you survive?  I have good news.  Hold on a moment...I'm having a flashback moment from the time I played Nathaneal in a play about the Last Supper many years ago.  My line, right out of John 1:46..."Can any good thing come from Nazareth?"  Okay, I'm back now for the answer to the question and it's a resounding YES, something very, very good is coming from the Promised Land.  It appears there is modern good news from the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.  EXO-CD24, an experimental inhaled medication, has cured 100% of the patients in Phase 1 of the trial.  This is an inhaled medication that calms the "cytokine storm" inside the body.  Once the body is calm, it ceases attacking itself.   The body heals.  I'm super excited to share this news with you.  Please pass it on to anyone concerned about getting sick from COVID-19.  Have a great day. 

Teammates Volunteer Time for Essential Tennis Video

Four of my tennis teammates traveled to Milwaukee recently to meet with the men who run Essential Tennis, an online instructional company.  I spend hours on the courts with these men weekly.  Take a look at the video.  My team captain, Jim, is featured along with his doubles partner, Steve.  The guys on the other side of the court are Fred and Paul.  All four of these men have helped me over the years to improve my game.  I'm thankful for their friendship.  Have a great day.

Conversations with God

 I discovered a correlation between the quality level of my conversations with God.  When I'm in periods of danger, my petitions are most dire and I find myself listening more intently.  For example, three years ago when the ambulance was transporting me to the trauma unit at the University of Iowa Hospital, I was praying fervently.  That prayer was continuous for almost the entire time I was in the hospital.  My injuries led me to believe I would be there for a long duration.  My prayers were for healing.  The doctors were unsure about surgery, waiting to see how my body was handling the injuries.  Much to my surprise, my spleen was healing almost immediately.  In fact, it healed enough to call off the surgery and I was released within 24 hours!

Flash forward to another great need for a conversation with God.  It was Thursday, February 4, last week.  I was in the middle of a blizzard on my commute home along I80.  Visibility was almost a zero.  My prayers for safety were so intense that I was almost having an out-of-body experience.  This song I had never heard before came on the Christian radio station by King and Country.  The song title is "Amen."  The music inspired me as if God was speaking directly to me.  I looked up the video on YouTube when I got home and was surprised by what I saw.  The video starts with darkness and a singer is holding a lantern.  It was similar to being in the SUV when my prayers were being sent like an SOS call to God.  Take a look at the video and picture yourself stranded in the darkness like I was during the storm.  Picture God talking to you.  I hope you get a small glimpse of how awesome our God is, not only in those times of danger when our senses are more receptive to hearing God speak.  Have a great day.