March 22, 2006 Issue: #335

Just Be Yourself

. . . No one can do it better!

PLUS . . . . . .

       Isn't Life Just Great?

       New Era for Old Age

       Dance or Die!

       and other News, Humor & Fun Stuff

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
--- Dolly Parton (Internationally Famed Country Western singer and actress)

* Skip to Isn't Life Just Great: Jack LaLanne
* Skip to New Era for Old Age
* Skip to Dance or Die: Survival of the Fitest
* Skip to Live Long and Prosper
* Skip to Cosmic Quotes

Greetings

Just Be Yourself!

As children, we didn't realize that the people and events that came into our lives back then helped to mold our viewpoints and eventually made the crucial difference in the choices we made a long the way. Then there were those special circumstances and those extra special persons that sparked an inner recognition of our uniqueness.

For sure, we were born with certain inclinations that were already an intrinsic part of our nature. Each one of us was born unique. And in spite of other factors that existed while growing up that may have critically thwarted our uniqueness, certain circumstances and certain people appeared to all of us at varying times throughout the years as triggers to jog our awareness of our true nature.

However, if these were characteristics that were not apparent in other family members, such traits were often discouraged or ignored.

When these triggering events appeared, we sometimes responded strongly, enthusiastically and acted on them: while at other triggering events we may have missed the mark completely and forgot all about it, negated the importance of it or believed it to be an idea far beyond our reach . . . until another circumstance or person came later to once again trigger our awareness.

Some folks broke through the restraints of old conditioning and ignorance to become more true to their nature while others didn't. What makes the difference?

Our life journey is all about becoming. We become, unfold and grow into our true nature which has been called Self-Realization, the return to the Divine Self or the Authentic Self. It has also been called the Return to Innocence.

It's interesting to note that the ancient root word of "innocence" has as one of its meanings "to be free from sin" ---- and that the ancient root word of "sin" means "to miss the mark". And when we have lost touch with our true nature - which is intimately, essentially and eternally united with the Divine - we have missed the mark --- which I believe is the real meaning of "sin".

The unfoldment of our nature lasts a life time. It's a process of development that can be delayed, stifled or squashed - or it can be supported, enhanced and boosted. Over all, the rate at which we reach our naturalness largely depends upon the amount of awareness we have as well as the amount of available supportive climate when these special circumstances and special people come into our lives.

Special people - by their very presence, words or actions - trigger a memory within us that ignites some recognition of its relevance. After that, we either move towards our true nature by making different choices - or we don't move towards our true nature out of fear, uncertainty, disbelief or lack of encouragement and support.

Recognition comes by way of an instance of inspiration or enthusiasm. It lights up something within us that we often remember for a life time. These experiences are large or small, short or long and are countless: we could never keep track of them all. But sometimes the memory of these past events will suddenly rush to the surface of our awareness ... as if to say "Remember this? It was one of many events that made a crucial difference in your life and helped set you on the path to become who you really are."

Although I now have my own theories and ideas as to where my soul originally came from, I had long wondered why I ended up being very different from the rest of my family. Even though there are still some similarities with family, the major thrust of my life became - and continues to be - propelled by factors that seem to present itself only to me and became the driving force which helped to mold my maverick views and lifestyle.

I was attracted to and passionately drawn to certain ideas that no one in my family ever spoke about nor showed any interest in. And yet, when I was exposed to these ideas as a child, I lit up inside with a blaze of lucid wakefulness that grabbed my attention and would not let go.

These were the moments that would forever leave their imprints on my heart, mind and soul. Though I may not have been able to act on those ideas as a child, the ideas - like planted seeds - remained as latent possibilities in waiting --- for a time in my future in which my longing for truth would be so strong as to germinate those ideas, wake them from their dormant state and provide the impetus to put them into action.

Recently, I was reminded of just such a set of inspirational circumstances that captivated me as a child: circumstances which greatly influenced my adulthood in miraculous ways.

At the time, however, who would have thought that a famous television personality would become one of the most important catalysts for the ideas that would later help me achieve healing from a number of chronic health conditions present in my infancy: conditions severe enough to be considered life-threatening and which continued to restrict me in many ways for more than thirty years.

Many of you will remember the ultimate fitness icon, Jack LaLanne. Back in the 50's and 60's he had a popular television show which was live and came on in the mornings. I don't remember how often I turned it on, I only remember that I loved to watch Jack LaLanne ... his bubbling enthusiasm, joy in healthy living, his strong faith in God and his awesome vitality captivated me even as a child. He was a true pioneer back then, speaking on the virtues of eating healthy foods, vegetarianism, juicing, faith and proper exercise.

I was not a strong child due to my illness and so I didn't really do the exercises he demonstrated. What I really enjoyed was his vibrancy and enthusiasm while listening intently to his viewpoints about health and fitness. He always had loads of fun doing his show and his energy was greatly uplifting. I didn't know it then, but the uplifting feeling I experienced after watching his program was inspiration: I was inspired!

Although there were other circumstances that came later on in my young adulthood which further nudged me toward changing my eating habits and lifestyle, I am certain that what I gleaned from Jack LaLanne way back then was an important seed planted in my young fertile mind: he triggered an awareness of something in my being that was already there ... but had not yet surfaced to express itself.

Now, decades later, I am once again inspired by Jack LaLanne. He is 84 and still vibrant, healthy and enthused about life! I came across an article about him - an interview conducted by Andrew Cohen (one of the world's leading evolutionary spiritual teachers and founder of the acclaimed What Is Enlightenment? magazine).

I was so pleased to find that Jack LaLanne has not wavered from his healthy lifestyle and obviously had reaped the rewards from a lifetime of service and contributing to humanity in a healthy, positive way.

Jack LaLanne's life is a perfect example of how it can be for all of us .... not that we're supposed go out and be famous, inspire millions of people, build a fitness empire and make a lot money. Nor is it about aggressively getting what we want. Its about BEING true to who we really are: because when we are true to who we really are, then everything else we need to support our true nature will follow. The appropriate circumstances, motivation and the right people will always appear to help us remember and motivate us.

When those opportunities show up in our lives, how they come and in what form they come may be a surprise or a mystery. Nevertheless, whatever shows up will be unique for each of us. After that, its our choice.

Namaste' ~ Paula Peterson

* Skip to Isn't Life Just Great: Jack LaLanne

(The usual features - HUMOR BREAK, FUNNY PHOTOS and other FUN STUFF - are further below)

C O S M I C Q U O T E S

Life is not always about winning or bringing home the bacon, as if it's the only way for us to be happy or make our loved ones proud.

Oftentimes this leads to desperation, pressure, disappointment, broken spirit, or the worst ever --- losing faith.

The mere fact you knew you did your best is all that matters. And surely, your loved ones will understand.

--- James Padilla (President of the Ford Motor Company)

Isn't Life Just Great!

An interview with Jack LaLanne

by Andrew Cohen
--- publisher of What Is Enlightenment? magazine

"Living is tough, it's hard, and most people, especially religious people, spend too much time on their spirituality, hoping that this spiritual thing is going to do something for them. It doesn't work that way! They've forgotten all about honesty and integrity and really getting down to the nitty-gritty." ---- Jack LaLanne

Jack LaLanne is the ultimate example of a Self Master. But I had no idea, when his name came up while we were talking about this issue of WIE, what a truly remarkable man he is.

The health and fitness guru of 1950s and '60s television fame is currently eighty-four years old and bursting with vitality. His radiant health, as remarkable as it is for any man his age, is overshadowed by the sheer joy that emanates from every fiber of his being.

And his energy! "Either he's enlightened or he's crazy," I thought to myself as LaLanne, sitting across from me in the living room of his southern California home, pounded the side of his chair, shouting, "I've got to help the people!"

To speak in spiritual terminology, his energy, his transmission, is one of relentless and overwhelming positivity. "Anything in life is possible, if you make it happen," he said to me, grinning from ear to ear.

This American icon, who claims to have been "reborn" after hearing a talk given by a nutritionist in Oakland, California, when he was fifteen years old, has not looked back since. His infectious enthusiasm for that which changed his life—diet and exercise (he has "systematic, vigorous and violent" two-hour workouts every morning starting at 5:00 a.m. and never ever misses a day)—is unwavering.

Not only was he literally decades ahead of his time in championing the lifesaving benefits of proper exercise and nutrition, but he is also the founding father of the modern health club and single-handedly designed and created the very first weight machines ever built. (He has a small museum in his house with the original models still intact. His energetic and equally gracious wife, LaLa, claims to use the antiques in her own workouts.)

Jack (who didn't approve when I tried calling him "Mr. LaLanne") never cheats on his low-fat, supplement-intensive diet and is a living example of everything that he speaks about. Although most people under thirty may not know who he is, everybody thirty-five and over can't help but be familiar with the ever encouraging man in the skintight jumpsuit.

"Why did Jesus perform miracles?—to call attention to his profession. Why do I do these incredible feats?—to call attention to my profession!" Since age forty, Jack has performed a series of incredible feats of strength on his birthdays. For example, at age forty-five he did 1,000 pushups and 1,000 chin-ups in one hour and twenty-two minutes, and at age seventy he swam handcuffed and shackled, towing seventy boats and seventy people, for one and a half miles while fighting strong currents!

Although to some people an interview with Jack LaLanne about enlightenment and its relationship to self-mastery may seem incongruous, the remarkable thing about this extraordinary man is that he may indeed embody many of the unusual qualities of those throughout history who are presumed to have been enlightened. Although he himself

had no concept of what is usually meant by the word "enlightenment" and always reduced the solution to every human problem to his perennial prescription of diet and exercise, his ferocious and unwavering single-pointedness of mind seems to have produced in him that one human quality that speaks louder than a thousand words—joy!

A true yogi in the classical sense of the word, Jack LaLanne might have impressed Patanjali himself as a rare example of concentration, self-discipline and integrity. Renunciation and self-control, the pillars of any real practice of yoga, are Jack's intimate friends, and while he appeared to be at a loss whenever asked about spiritual depth, lightness of being seems to be his natural state. So, is Jack LaLanne enlightened? No, I don't think so. But this Self Master has more than a little to offer any and all who are interested in self-transcendence in any form.

"Thoughts are things. Negativity is what kills you," Jack often says. And he means it! The vehicle of the Self Master is control over the mind and emotions, and Jack is indeed a master. For him, self-control is the key to liberation: "It's tough to do, but you've got to work at living, you know? Most people work at dying, but anybody can die; the easiest thing on this earth is to die. But to live takes guts; it takes energy, vitality, it takes thought. . . . We have so many negative influences out there that are pulling us down. . . . You've got to be strong to overcome these adversities . . . that's why I never stop."

Jack's one-dimensional yoga is one-dimensional, but his example is indeed remarkable. While surrender and spiritual depth almost never seem to be acquaintances of the Self Master, the utter simplicity and indomitable spirit they embody may pose almost as great a challenge to the ego as enlightenment itself. How many of us can claim to know the peace of mind and purity of heart of one such as Jack LaLanne?

The [actual interview is] an entertaining adventure where two worlds collide. It became obvious almost immediately that Jack, true to his Self Master status, was the one who was going to remain in control! I tried my best to draw him into what would generally be considered to be a more "spiritual" context for our investigation into the relationship between enlightenment and self-mastery, and while I'm not sure I succeeded, he definitely convinced me that he is the real McCoy.

To view the entire interview in WIE magazine click here:

http://www.wie.org/j15/lalanne.asp

Visit Jack LaLanne's website and see some great old photos of his rise to fame:

http://www.JackLaLanne.com