The Projects List…started
by stacia on August 16, 2010
in communication, fitness, marital arts, meditation
So, if you read my previous post, I’ve started working on the UBBT already. If you know me, you know me well enough to know when I find something worth doing, I tend to jump into it with focus and passion. While I need to figure out the whole vlog thing and learn how to not mind being on video…I’ve gone ahead and started my projects list. I’m up to five 
- Everything Self Defense (ESD) Book Search, Consolidation, Review Writeups, Author Recruitment, and top 10 list.
- ESD & the100 press releases and article database – write up everything we can and post it every WHERE we can.
- Mindful Breathing video & curriculum for kids
- MBS Program for At Risk Youth.
- DOJ grants – helping the100 uses gov’t grant money to get martial arts teachings into the schools – anti bully, sound mind, sound body, etc.
I’m sure these will adapt and change over time. But this is my start 
I keep adding/changing the list as I go. Change is good, and modifications mean we’re learning and growing.
~S
Surprise – and then there were two!
by stacia on July 28, 2010
in meditation, silence
Mother Nature's Creativity
Nick asked me to shoot a few videos of him for the upcoming USANA convention and another one of our sites. While I was waiting for him to get ready, I wandered over to our Butterfly bush and tried to capture Mother Nature’s artwork. I love having this right outside my office window. When the bush is about 6 feet high, the butterflies go crazy with it.
I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination, sometimes I just happen to get a great picture.
I’m shooting away, trying to capture a good shot of the butterfly there to the left, and Nick motions for me to follow him around the side of the house. I follow, wondering why on earth we’re heading to the back yard.
Behind our shed? Well, the guys had been throwing the clippings back there every fall when they cut the bush down. Now? HUGE butterfly bush and so many colorful butterflies flitting about. Who knew?
What a beautiful surprise! We’d thought we lost the one out front due to the snow storms, but now I have TWO! Lesson, be open to your surroundings and unexpected surprises.
PS – If you’re a writer and missing the Romance Writer’s of America Conference in Orlando, then head over to Savvy Authors! There’s a summer symposium and I’m running the Muse Workshop from now thru Sunday.
Meditation for Martial Artists
by stacia on July 25, 2010
in marital arts, meditation
I’m behind in my reading.
It might be because I have so many book laying around the house and office that I forget which ones I’d been so focused on at the store. If you read my blog over on www.sybir.com you know I have a problem with bookstores, I just can’t get out of one for under $80. Pricey if I get too near Borders once a week.
I’ve been focused on my freelance work lately, and have neglected my writing focus for MBS Works. Writing focus for here? Yes, that includes:
- This blog
- Researching Self Defense authors and books for Everything Self Defense
- Co-writing a book with the experts over at ACSS Transitions
- and a score of other things that I try to keep up with….
You should see my to do list.
Black Belt - Sept 2010
In reading an article, “The Inverse Pearl” in Black Belt magazine today, I was reminded about why and how I use meditation in my life. It reminded me that on the days I keep meditation in my schedule, I get far more done in less time. I’m more focused in the dojo or the gym. This is true for me in life and training.
While training for my black belt, I used my hypnosis training and recorded several hypnosis sessions to listen to nightly. I needed to increase my focus and my speed during sparring sessions. I’m little, so I had to use every training advantage I could so I could land my hits on larger and stronger opponents.
Did it work?
YES. My awareness is actually heightened as well. I’ve been known to grab a fork from mid-air when pup’s accidentally flipped it out of his ice cream dish. Shocked silence greeted the table one night at a local restaurant. Nick, my husband, glossed over it with a comment about “mommy’s got mad ninja skills”.
I’ve been meditating since around the age of 12. It’s been one of the best skill my mother taught me (although she’s taught me a lot).
Meditation helps to increase awareness and focus. It can help power through a workout and manage pain. Athletes use visualization techniques all the time to help improve their natural abilities. Meditation, or no mind, helps you to achieve a balance in body and mind. As Stephen Blazac points out in his article, “Zen Buddhists describe it as a mind of no hesitation, no interruption, no mediacy.”
Can you imagine what a skill this is to have in any martial arts encounter? Can you imagine being able to teach that skill to your students or even your children?
