First of all, many thanks to those of you who took the time over the last few days to let me know what sort of stuff you’re interested in seeing here. I really appreciate it, and will keep on going more or less as I have been.
At the risk of sounding even loonier than I usually do, a couple of days ago I was thinking about asking higher forces for some advice on getting rid of a few extra pounds. To head off any questions: I didn’t get round to it; I’ve never pondered doing so before; and the forces in question were strictly non-religious. I spent a few minutes wondering what would be the best way to try to transmit the question, what sort of potential reply I might possibly hope to receive, and whether I was at any risk of accidentally giving myself a nasty wasting disease — necrotizing fascitis, for example. I then fired up Neverwinter Nights 2, and forgot the whole thing entirely.
Yesterday I was at a crowded bus stop, not one of the ones I regularly use. A fairly full bus pulled up, but the electronic display claimed that there was another one just a minute behind, so I decided to wait. So did an Indian guy. Everyone else heaved forward and jammed onto the bus, grunting and moaning at each other. I shared a smiled ‘people, huh’ look with the Indian guy.
He then smiled, pointed at my stomach, and said “So, what are you going to do about that, then?”
He wasn’t being unpleasant in the least — he sounded curious and sympathetic — so I told him that I was doing some low-carb stuff, and trying to get as much exercise as my arthritic bits permit.
“You should do the breathing exercise,” he told me. “It’s amazing. Works like magic. My brother in law lost twenty pounds.”
The Chakra Wheel by Artwerk
The next bus rolled up, and we got on. The chap then proceeded to give me instructions on how to perform this exercise, and said that it worked through a combination of strengthening stomach muscles, stimulating blood flow in the area, and — to paraphrase — activating the stomach chakra. Then he wished me luck, and got off the bus at the next stop.
If you’re interested by the way, the trick apparently is to stand up straight and force out your belly, without allowing your back or chest to move. Hold it for a moment, and then pull it back in again, still keeping your back and chest still. Allow the motion to pull breath down into your lungs, and expel it as you contract again. Do this twice a day, doing as many repetitions as you can without pausing, until you’re out of strength. It sounds a bit like it might derive from Hindu techniques of pranic breathing — I’ll look into that and report back if I discover anything interesting.
I’ve never seen this guy before. I’ve never had strangers start totally spontaneous conversations with me about my weight before. I’m not impressively obese or anything. He didn’t have any sort of product to push, axe to grind, or even website to pimp. And it was less than 24 hours after I’d imagined — just imagined — how I might set about asking for help with my weight.
I’ve had a few suspicious coincidences in my time, but that really is just taking the piss.
It’s funny how things ‘just work’ sometimes ;) The mind and intent is a powerful thing. (Of course, knowing what you actually want can be the hardest thing).
*grins* you did ask. There doesn’t have to be a big ritual involved. You put it out there, and got an answer.
Sounds like an interesting exercise! Let us know how you go. :)
I certainly will! Guess I should get some scales, now… :)
Universe can be an interesting place to be when you are ‘awake’ enough to appreciate it. You know that the goddess (eris) moves in mysterious ways…at the moment she is probably walking like at egyptian.
Synchronicity, duplicity or parallel evolution? Dave C becoming a trend-setter?
http://twitter.com/IQXS/status/4867431170
I once got it in my head I must read Hamlet’s Mill, so rushed off to Central Library, (Liverpool, UK), but, on getting there, the flaming thing wasn’t where it was supposed to be.
I now spent 20 frustrating minutes verifying the index number and systematically going over and over the section concerned in as many different ways as I could conceive, (even checking nearby sections in case it’d been misplaced); but the moment I gave up I heard this almighty bang several shelves down, as if someone’d flung an encyclopedia to the ground with considerable force.
Angry at the thought of someone mistreating a book, but chicken in case it was yobs looking for trouble, it then occurred to me I was the only person on that particular floor, so went to investigate…
Finally, there was the book on the floor – but without a gap to indicate where it’d tumbled from, I just shoved it in the first place it looked like it’d fit – until I spotted its title: Hamlet’s Mill.
That’s marvellous! It must have been a thought-provoking experience. Thank you. T.
This is such a great post, Ghostwoods! I just love this story! Thank you so much for sharing it. I would be honored to include it in a future issue of my RealityShifters ezine, with your permission, as it’s just the kind of story that would be greatly enjoyed by our readers. You can see previous issues of RealityShifters posted at http://www.realityshifters.com/pages/news.html
That’s a very generous comment — thanks Cynthia, it’s much appreciated. Please feel free to include it in RealityShifters; looks like a fascinating zine.