"Mind Diet"

During my time as a university student I have spent a great deal of time and effort in strengthening not only my mind but also my body. As some of you may know I spend a good deal of time at the gym, sometimes more than I should when it's basketball season. I am constantly trying to make gains by one-upping myself. One more rep, one more pound, one more set. Over the years I think I have gained a certain knowledge about exercising that only comes with experience. One bit of knowledge I have gained is the grand importance of diet. So many underestimate the importance of healthy eating. The mentality is usually "figure out how much weight will kill me then cut it back a little, then drink this stuff." To make significant gains takes time and consistency, neither of which do a whole lot of people want to commit to.
Something more important that I've come to discover is how much our brians work and grow the same way our muscles do. Have you ever worked out so hard you hurt the next day and LOVED IT! I crave that. That's happened to me several times while studying for finals. My mind hurts and I become addicted to studying. The more we study, the more we understand but without consistency, our recollection weakens. Our brain suffers from knowledge atrophy just as our muscles do when we don't use them. "Bigger, stronger, faster" goes along with athlete and genius alike. Both are constantly training what they want to improve whether it be lap time or understanding.
Now something even more important that I am trying to put more emphasis on is what I'm thinking about. It's actually one of my goals right now. My wife has been such a huge example to me of mental conditioning. I know I am a man of few words and don't contribute much to social gatherings but I do have thoughts and questions going through my mind.... most of the time. Felicia has told me on several occasions that when she's not thinking about what she's learning at school, she's thinking about religion. She's not much of a social butterfly either but if you ever get the chance to get inside her head a little you'll find that she doesn't waist any of her hard drive on unimportant garbage. She's not interested in gossip, who was in what movie, types of cars, or who got voted off American Idol. You'll have to ask me if you have any questions of that sort. She can explain to you how a certain disease works, the order of the rainbow, explain the solution to a math problem she hasn't seen in years, tell you what Dr. Chung taught us about a certain something in Human Anatomy two years ago, or explain to you cell biology, which she first learned while reading in the back seat of her parents car on a family vacation at age 9. Her key to remembering.... she's always thinking about it.
While watching again the movie "A Beautiful Mind", one of her favorites, the star of the show explains how he copes with his schizophrenia. He said he has to block out certain thoughts and images. A diet for the mind. It made me think of my patriarticle blessing which says to "raise my thoughts to high levels of spirituality". It will greatly help me control the all aspects of my life. I waist so much time thinking about pointless garbage. The reason I have a high percentage of being able to identify a car solely based on it's headlights glaring in my rearview mirror at night is because I like to study and think about cars. Now to be able to not only live worthy to have the constant companionship of the spirit but to be able to recognize it and heed it's promptings. I will have to strive to raise my thoughts to new heights, ponder what I study in the scriptures, what I learn at church, what is said in conference, and what I hear my wife, family, and leaders ask of me. Elder Neil A. Maxwell once said while talking on faith, patience, and being in control of our lives, "The Lord twice said: 'And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life' (D&C 101: 38, Luke 21:19) Could it be that only when our self-control has become total do we come into true possession of our own souls?" I believe our minds are the key to unlocking many doors and to gaining understanding and control of our lives. We must first be in control of what goes in and what we spend our time thinking about. So I'm on a mind diet.

Ben Lomond Peak

Chay and I recently went on a fall ride to the top of Ben Lomond Peak. The conditions were perfect! The air was brisk, the ground was moist (which = no dust), and the leaves were turning. We were just about the only ones up there. It was one of those trips I was glad I had a bike (thanks Scottie) and a good friend who also had one. You just cant experience that stuff the same way in a car or on foot. I'm one lucky guy to have the means, a beautiful location, and a life-long best friend to enjoy an afternoon as much as I did. What a place we live in! You can put that on the list of things to do Scott L. It is accessible with four wheel drive.

New Home Sweet Home

Okay, here I am. As most of you know Felicia and I got to move three times this past summer. That's right, three. Every move was a blessing. You've probably all heard the story so in a nut shell, Felicia and I were on the verge of having very little to no work at all so we had to act fast as our rent was going to eat up all our money. So we moved in with Mom and Dad for six weeks and it was really nice, it was. It's just better to not live with anyone if you're married, I found that out. We were not chosen for an apartment management job we were hoping for and had to make a quick decision on a place to live, including find that place. We did in a matter of two hours on a saturday. Rent was cheap, the place would do, and I borrowed a gun from Dad and kept it under my bed. Okay, so the gun part wasn't so good. The reason for and the item itself made Felicia uneasy. We slept there for one night, went to the Browning's for two, and then slept one last night there. We had finally received the long awaited call from subsidized housing that a place was available immediately. The unit we moved into was the very, former unit of the people who beat us out of the apartment management job. We moved in the weekend before school. Just in time! I will have to brag because I'd feel I wasn't giving credit for our huge blessing that is helping us out so much. Our rent is $68 a month, utilities included. BAM! In the words of Mike Landrum, "you can't rent a gameboy for that cheap". We couldn't be more happy with it and with out neighbors, which mostly consists of fellow ward members. It was nothing short of a miracle to much prayer and fast. Come and visit. We have a spare bedroom. You'll have to bring your own bed though.

This post is simply to promise a real one real soon.  ;)

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

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One Year Later

A year and a month ago I was living at Aunt Janet's home to get away from too much congestion.  Too many peoples thoughts, concerns, and emotions had my head cluttered and my heart confused.  I needed time and I needed space.  Felicia so happened to be staying there also and I'm sure that caused even more concern but a better environment I couldn't find.  There I was, with a quiet house, a beautiful, tranquil yard, relatives who just wanted to listen and feed me, and the one other person on earth I needed by my side.  I spent most of my time pondering my past, present, and where I wanted my life to be.  

 

After a long terrible day of mixed feelings, I got on my knees and pleaded for an answer.  I'd prayed countless times before  in searched for guidance but the Lord knew I was at the end of my rope.  I opened my frustrated and teary eyes and picked up a book I had been reading.  I flipped to a random page and read a highlighted quote that said, "Don't pray so much to have what you'll love, pray to love what you have."           

Felicia and I celebrated our one year anniversary this sunday.  Can you believe that it's been a year already!  Time sure flies by when you're having fun with the one you love.  I remember being asked several times if I was nervous, scared, or anxious.  There's no doubt I had questions before making the decision to ask Felicia to be my wife but after I knew my answer, and I knew it, everything that followed just seemed natural.  I never felt home sick, or out of place in my new apartment and new life.  It was what I was suppose to be doing and my heart nor mind ever questioned again.  I love her so much!  

 

What a better way to celebrate your anniversary than to give a talk in church with your sweetheart.  Funny how things work out.  The Lord has never stopped answering my question.  

I'm going to attempt to attach our talks.  Felicia's is a must read.  Mine is a bit long but the last page or so has a funny story about how I fell in love with Felicia worth reading.  By the way, she did such a great job.  She had many people thank her and even got a hug from a touched lady in the ward.