Aimee's March Soapbox
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March 2008: A 15-Year Long Opportunity
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Greetings Groovy Soapbox Readers!
You may not realize it, Groovy Readers, but a very cool cosmic event is providing you with a fabulous opportunity to make some great changes in your life.
Some of you might know that I am a certified astrologer (and now all of you know it). Every now and then I like to share some astrological insights with you, even if you don't "believe in" astrology. At the very least, some of this information might make you think of new things or at least see things from a different perspective.
Recently, the object-formerly-known-as-planet-Pluto moved into Capricorn. (What this means is that the now-dwarf-planet Pluto appears as if it is inside the constellation of Capricorn. When we say "sign" we are really referring to a constellation.)
Pluto is one of those slow-moving guys. Think ultra- marathoner and not sprinter. When he moves, he goes at tortoise-pace and stays put for a while. In fact, Pluto moves only every 12-30 years. So when Pluto (or any of the other outer planets) moves, we should take notice.
Pluto will be in Capricorn until the year 2023. In astrology, we seek to understand the symbolic meanings behind the signs, planets, and movements. An astrologer takes those symbolic meanings and tries to sum it up in a nutshell.
So, in order for you to understand the impact of Pluto in Capricorn on your life, you will need to understand what Pluto and what Capricorn each mean. Pluto was the god of the underworld in mythology, so you might not be surprised to learn that Pluto represents our "dark side," or things that we keep hidden and feel guilty and ashamed of. Capricorn symbolizes many things, including structure, prudence, discipline, and the father-figure.
How does this apply in your lives, Groovy Readers? First, think of some Capricorn-related questions:
1. Where do I need structure and discipline in my life?2. In what ways am I rigidly adhering to outdated structures in my life?3. How could I be a better father figure to my children or to myself?4. Am I too critical of myself or others? 5. How can I work smarter and not just harder?
The good and bad thing about Pluto is that he makes us take those things we'd rather keep hidden and bring them up to the light of day for examination. Think of the phoenix, which is a symbol for Pluto. The phoenix (as any reader of Harry Potter can tell you) rises from his own ashes to be reborn. Pluto encourages us to do the same. Bring up those old, scary, cobweb-y things from your inner basement, torch them, and replace them with something better.
I would like to suggest to my athletic Groovy Readers to be a better father figure to yourselves and find out where you can improve your training structure. Are you chronically overtraining? If so, exercise some prudence. Are you inconsistent with your workouts? If so, then it's time to be more disciplined.
Start "Capricorn-ing" your athletic endeavors, and I bet that you will find the influence spilling over into the rest of your day. Enjoy your 15-year opportunity!
Previous Soapboxes
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spring Training is Upon Us!!!
We've got loads of new shoes and everything you need to start preparing for your next goal - be it simply getting back into shape after the chilly winter, revving up for your first 5K, gearing up for Broad Street, or preparing for a marathon!
Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: info2@happyrunning.com
web: http://www.HappyRunning.com
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Saturday, April 12, 2008
Aimee's April Soapbox - April 8th- Ockham's Razor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aimee's April Soapbox
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April 2008: Ockham's Razor
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Greetings Groovy Soapbox Readers!
Get out your Latin phrase books, Groovy Readers. I want to share with you my favorite tenet of the reductionist philosophy of nominalism: "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatum." In other words, "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best."
You probably already know this phrase as Ockham's Razor (also spelled as Occam's Razor). A 14-th century English logician and Franciscan friar named William of Ockham gets the credit for this observation that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible. This principle is often expressed as the lex parsimoniae, or the law of parsimony or law of succinctness. In other words, "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity."
Sadly, all too often, most of us feel that "more is better." We supersize our meals, overtrain ourselves to injury, and gulp down twenty vitamins when three would do. Why do we tend to complicate things for ourselves, when we can see that "nature does not employ two instruments where one suffices," as Thomas Aquinas said? Why not simplify?
I would like to propose three ways to Ock-ify your life. We all complain of overwhelming stress and too much to do and too little time. So here is a perfect opportunity to streamline.
1. GIVE YOURSELF ONE DAY OFF PER WEEK. Don't you have enough to do and worry about during the week? It's OK to ease up on yourself once in a while. Why not give yourself one day a week not to exercise, to eat whatever you want, to turn off your brain from its relentless whip-cracking. Cut yourself some slack and be OK with mellow. In the big picture, the rest you give yourself will pay off much bigger than any workout or dessert-skipping ever will.
2. LET GO OF THE SMALL BATTLES. Often times, we type A's feel that we have to have control over every situation, win every battle, follow every plan to the letter. But in actuality, Mother Nature bats last. She has the last word, not us. So even if you WANT to be in control of everything, it's not even possible anyway! So let go of the smaller items that really don't mean anything in the big picture. Save your energy and your passion to fight the battles that really matter.
3. DO THE RIGHT THING, DO THE THING RIGHT. I have said this one before, but it bears repeating. Trying shortcuts and cutting corners doesn't always work out the way you want. Often times, you have to go back and fix stuff anyway. And in the case of health and wellness, trying a diet pill or doing 8-minute abs in the hopes of looking like a supermodel just shortchanges you of nutrition and real fitness. So take your time, do it right, you can do it, baby (apologies to the S.O.S. Band).
Simplicity is the key to the championship, honestly. Give yourself a month to try streamlining, and see if you don't feel a little weight lifted off your shoulders. Happy Spring, everyone!
Previous Soapboxes
-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spring Training is Upon Us!!!
We've got new shoes, fun clothing and everything you need to start preparing for your next goal - be it simply getting back into shape after the chilly winter, revving up for your first 5K, gearing up for Broad Street, or preparing for a marathon!
Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: info2@happyrunning.com
web: http://www.HappyRunning.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 2008: Ockham's Razor
-- -
Greetings Groovy Soapbox Readers!
Get out your Latin phrase books, Groovy Readers. I want to share with you my favorite tenet of the reductionist philosophy of nominalism: "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatum." In other words, "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best."
You probably already know this phrase as Ockham's Razor (also spelled as Occam's Razor). A 14-th century English logician and Franciscan friar named William of Ockham gets the credit for this observation that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible. This principle is often expressed as the lex parsimoniae, or the law of parsimony or law of succinctness. In other words, "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity."
Sadly, all too often, most of us feel that "more is better." We supersize our meals, overtrain ourselves to injury, and gulp down twenty vitamins when three would do. Why do we tend to complicate things for ourselves, when we can see that "nature does not employ two instruments where one suffices," as Thomas Aquinas said? Why not simplify?
I would like to propose three ways to Ock-ify your life. We all complain of overwhelming stress and too much to do and too little time. So here is a perfect opportunity to streamline.
1. GIVE YOURSELF ONE DAY OFF PER WEEK. Don't you have enough to do and worry about during the week? It's OK to ease up on yourself once in a while. Why not give yourself one day a week not to exercise, to eat whatever you want, to turn off your brain from its relentless whip-cracking. Cut yourself some slack and be OK with mellow. In the big picture, the rest you give yourself will pay off much bigger than any workout or dessert-skipping ever will.
2. LET GO OF THE SMALL BATTLES. Often times, we type A's feel that we have to have control over every situation, win every battle, follow every plan to the letter. But in actuality, Mother Nature bats last. She has the last word, not us. So even if you WANT to be in control of everything, it's not even possible anyway! So let go of the smaller items that really don't mean anything in the big picture. Save your energy and your passion to fight the battles that really matter.
3. DO THE RIGHT THING, DO THE THING RIGHT. I have said this one before, but it bears repeating. Trying shortcuts and cutting corners doesn't always work out the way you want. Often times, you have to go back and fix stuff anyway. And in the case of health and wellness, trying a diet pill or doing 8-minute abs in the hopes of looking like a supermodel just shortchanges you of nutrition and real fitness. So take your time, do it right, you can do it, baby (apologies to the S.O.S. Band).
Simplicity is the key to the championship, honestly. Give yourself a month to try streamlining, and see if you don't feel a little weight lifted off your shoulders. Happy Spring, everyone!
Previous Soapboxes
-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spring Training is Upon Us!!!
We've got new shoes, fun clothing and everything you need to start preparing for your next goal - be it simply getting back into shape after the chilly winter, revving up for your first 5K, gearing up for Broad Street, or preparing for a marathon!
Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: info2@happyrunning.com
web: http://www.HappyRunning.com
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