Portage
February, 2002 Newsletter
from Deb Martin, Transition Coach making life an adventure and transitions flow smoothly at http://www.portagecoach.com

Welcome
Welcome to my Portage Newsletter. 

I've been busy. The lake ice if finally safe so it hasn't been all work. Yippee! And I'm still managing to get the dogs out for a couple of walks a day. Last weekend it was with a minimum of clothing in 50 degree temperatures. This weekend is a different story. 

Last month I offered chocolate to anyone who was willing to test the lake ice for me. I had no takers. Imagine that! But I did get this response from Coach Andrea Wistar:
“I'm so struck with your waiting for good ice and how the bad ice this season is really an opportunity for you as it is a metaphor for how you may be preparing for change. For me the ice represents a set course—frozen. In your personal change process, you aren't ready for it to be set in stone (ice), and you are in the prep phase, whether you want to be or not.” 
She's good, eh? Andrea always gets me thinking. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts, insights and understandings. deb@portagecoach.com

In this issue...
1) By The Seat of My Pants
2) Quotes
3) Coach's Challenge

By The Seat of My Pants
Most of you know how important I think our bodies are to our intuition and ability to express ourselves. Sometimes the mind just interferes with what we “know.” Overemphasis of the brain is often at the expense of other parts of our total consciousness.

I was watching an instructional video on canoe camping the other night. One part of the video was trying to explain paddling strokes. I watched and listened while sitting in my over-stuffed chair and noticed I was getting very confused. I knew I could execute all the draws, pulls and other strokes being demonstrated. I've been doing them for years with efficiency. But when I tried  to watch and listen as the narrator broke down each stroke to its various parts in order to demonstrate execution, I was getting frustrated and confused. I felt that all this listening and watching was somehow undoing everything my body already knew about paddling a canoe. It pissed me off!

I realized that when I paddle, it's very much from the seat of my pants (my balance point during that activity), not intellectually or even visually. In fact, I best get into my paddling rhythm on long trips if I spend the first few minutes of each day paddling with my eyes closed.

So I turned off the video, closed my eyes, put my balance back where it belonged, and paddled that chair back to peace.

“A Zen abbot once set before an American aspirant two sets of small leg-less Japanese dolls, one pair weighted in the bottom part, the other in the head part. When the pair weighted in the head were pushed over, they remained on their sides; the ones weighted in the bottom bounced back at once. The abbot roared in laughter over this illustration of the plight of Western man, forever stressing the thinking at the expense of his totality.” From a very old book on my shelf, The World of Zen.

Quotes
"I used to think the brain was the most important organ in the body, 'til I realized yeah, look what's telling me that." ~Emo Phillips

"The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it." ~Biologist P. B. Medawar

"People are adventurous in direct proportion to their shortness of memory." ~Ned Gillette

"Look at me! Look at me! Look at me now! It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how!" ~Dr. Seuss

"If the terrain and the map do not agree, follow the terrain." ~Swedish Army Manual

Coach's Challenge
Everything has its own physical balance point. You have yours, I have mine, and they may be different. If you have not yet used Yoga or a similar discipline to find your physical balance point, do it. Then approach every challenge from that balance point first. You'll be amazed and pleased at how different that challenge feels.
 

Portage is published 12 times a year and distributed monthly by e-mail. Comments, submissions and suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to forward any or all of this newsletter to those you know will appreciate it and encourage them to subscribe for themselves. I am always pleased to receive your suggestions as to what type of material you would like to see here. 

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Copyright 2002, all rights reserved.