FunZen Bakery

Introducing: The Miracle Diamond

2011-07-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

Scroll down ☞ Mindful Walking Tips update 9/1/11

I assure you, that Thomas Carlyle's wise words "No pressure, no diamonds." was heartfelt in this short youtube presentation.
Thank you for joining us practice being in the "Eye of the Storm."

The simplest and most meaningful idea to me is,
the miracle is a sign that the mind has
chosen to be led by Love. Dr. Sheryl Valentine, Author, Chiropractor

I am delighted to present this impromptu youtube video of Grace and I sharing my mentor/friend, Helen Fleder's masterpiece and priceless treasure,
"The Miracle Diamond."
This is the final segment from our Triple L,
Love, Luck, & Laughter "lunch bunch" talk.

There are many meanings of the word "Miracle". One meaning is "that which is divinely natural but must be learned humanly." According to the self-study curriculum, A Course in Miracles; "A miracle is a shift in perception from fear to love." I contribute that miracles happen when we shift our posture from gloom (slouch) to bloom (stretch).

Our inner dancer knows that when the body lifts, the mind shifts and the spirit soars.

"If you concentrate on breathing and posture, the attitude of mind automatically comes
right and wisdom is manifested unconsciously." Zen Master, Taisen Deshimaru

The simple zen soulution of Getting Centered with Mindful Breath Alignment is the most passionate and practical message that I'm delighted to share with you. My own personal struggle with dancing in pointe slippers and learning to surrender with non resistance to reach inner harmony, has been a hard earned and poignant life learned lesson.
My journey of over 25 years has led me to this point.

The Miracle Diamond is an effortless approach to standing upright in balance to defy gravity. When we are out of alignment, we have to fight gravity, thus feeling out of sync and uptight. This is called resistance. We are working harder, not smarter, with growing frustration and failure. The brilliance of The Miracle Diamond is in it's simplicity. It gently reminds us to to be posture aware and straighten-up. We joyously discover how to both rely on gravity for structural balance and defy it to elongate our spine. The best part is that it's a beyond pilates, portable workout.
You can feel elegant and confident like a dancer at anytime, anywhere, and at any age.

The body is a sacred garment...and it should be treated with honor. Martha Graham

Artist, Dancer and Author, Helen Fleder has studied with 2 legendary names in the dance world, Martha Graham and George Balanchine (in picture). She created this supernatural, portable dancers workout that helps us become tall, light and firm. Using Helen's diamond shape ♢ imagery, with repetition activates our muscle memory. By grounding our spirit, we learn to take root and fly with her skillful instructions "lifting up gets you there" and "lacing up keeps you there"

I am a cloud – in trousers. ~ George Balanchine ~

"Exercise is only as beneficial as the posture in which it is performed." Best-selling Author, Dan Millman

Without further ado, absorb what is useful. Give yourself the experience of being magically upright by using The Miracle Diamond. If I would have had this awesome posture tool a few years ago when I was asked to dance in a European Ballet Company, (Royal Ballet of Flanders, Belgium) I wouldn't be here today. Actually, sharing these enlightened living tools, to find balance in the dance of life, keeps me on pointe and is far more meaningful to me. Thank you profusely for reading this blog and for helping us make a positive difference one person at a time.

Please take note of Helen Fleder's web page and check out her awesome book "Shape Up!!"

Teaching Kids FunZen and Parents

to be Mindful.

"As parents, then, what we teach our children is no different from what we must

keep teaching ourselves." Deepak Chopra

The Miracle Diamond (mindful breath alignment tool) helps us train our bodies to feel magically upright by feeling embraced and uplifted. This awesome tall, light and firmed-up feeling of good alignment also applies to sitting, lying down, standing, and walking. The supporting power of our lower abdomen (hara) and pelvic muscles responsible for balance (stabilization) and control naturally come into play as we breathe into and from our center or core. Consider, with this awesome posture tool you'll instantly feel a confident boost.

*I personally want to thank my dear mentor, mommy friend Vicki Kirschenbaum for helping me tap into my confident swagger (lol) in presenting The Miracle Diamond.

For teaching kids FunZen please click here Magic Mood Tools

Miracle Diamond Pointers for Mindful Walking

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle." Thich Nhat Hanh

Inspirational Recipe:

Walk Our Talk Trail Mix (photo Martha Stewart)

Miracle Diamond Heart & Soul Steps

♦ Exhale, (whoosh) press your zen button to mentally reboot, relaxing into the precious present to re-focus. Inhale fresh energy or imagine drawing in a lovely lavender scent. Allow your breath to flow in and out through your nose and mouth as you establish your own pace of grace.

♦ Take your time...gradually extend your exhalation, Just say Ahhhh (long breath out) which helps you activate both your diamond core and quiet strength of non resistance.

Consider YES rhymes with both bless and stress. By simply learning to say yes to stress, you can dismiss any resistance and affirm I am too blessed to be stressed.

i.e. A bit of gratitude can go a long way, especially when we get easily bothered. Instead, of reacting negatively we can remember to feel grateful for the situation. This mindful approach gently reminds us to say yes and feel less stressed. Now, we can nonjudgmentally return to the simple truth of our breath to ground and center us in the moment.

♦ Taking one Mindful Breath and Step at a time helps us shift from a worrier to a warrior with present moment awareness. As we learn from practice, using our miracle diamond posture tool helps us to experience this essential element of love...☞Love truly embraces & lifts us up.

♦ Once we are uplifted it is easier to open our heart wings and see the world in a whole new light.

For more insightful instruction visit Blog "Angels Fly Because They Take Themselves Lightly" (scroll down a bit to zen upliftment recipe and click here for ☞ Mindful Breath Mood Tool Tip

❧In the words of Toni Morrison, "If you surrender to the air you can ride."

Zenjoy your Journey!

Please visit any earlier Blog ☜ click here for sweet smells of

shal-om bakery air, free smiles, food for thought;

Inspirational Recipes, Mindful Moments, and Mental Fitness ordering information.

Life Coaching...questions, comments, praise, and suggestions

are always welcome. Remember, Your childhood must never end;

Fun never ends, FunZen is for everyone.

I teach kids FunZen and parents to be Mindful.

In Gratitude w/Love & Hugs ❤

FunZen Girls OX

Michiko (lil mama) and Grace

Contact: (805) 490-2391 Twitter: @Zenmommie Email: mjrolek@aol.com

Silly Is Good For You

2011-06-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

❤

This blog was inspired by the true definition of the word silly (selig) which Grace and I share on the youtube video which is about 60 seconds long or a FunZen Minute. The word silly has its roots in the word selig, meaning "blessed, prosperous, healthy, & happy."

"Silly is Good! It's Worth Pursuing." Jim Henson & Jim Lewis, Doodle Dreams (picture, Muppet Movie)

In the previous blog I mention the importance of laughter and our lovely reminder from G.K. Chesterton's quote "Angels fly because they take themselves lightly." Here also, we're presenting a Simple Zen Soulution and keeping it short, sweet and to the point on how inspired silliness strengthens your emotional resilience, our ability to access comfort & joy even in adversity.

As I was snooping around the internet I found these illuminating words from
Rev. Richard Stone (Selig Leadership) regarding The Science of Wellbeing, The Art of Silliness and how it relates to leadership from the heart.
❤

"I am a professional laugher." His Holiness The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet.

"If today's leaders can embody the spontaneity and silliness of children, they will discover they will set the tone for the creation of very different kinds of organizations—ones where creativity flourishes, personal initiative is embraced, the thrill of pursuing a big idea far outweighs the safety of sticking with the status quo, and team members feel blessed, prosperous, healthy, and happy to play a role in creating something that really matters."

Being lighthearted and silly in leadership involves trusting yourself and not taking yourself too seriously. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson "Self trust is the first secret of success...the essence of heroism." Humor empowers us to grasp Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki's wisdom; "When you can laugh at yourself, there is enlightenment." When the eastern wisdom of humor and enlightenment meets the western business model of success we build Enlightened Leadership.

Here's a couple of notable spontaneous silly moments that I've experienced. Grace and I were laughing our heads off one day about how I would make-up stories to explain what I teach. When a director or other voice over actors would ask about "getting centered" jokingly I would call it taking scuba diving breaths or doing zoo-ology research; "Finding zen in the zoo of life. A favorite silly drill that gets all the pent-up tension out of the body is "The Fish Fry." Standing up or lying down, you just wiggle, shake and shimmy all over. Afterwards, you feel more blessed with the healthy release of stress leaving your body.

Driving home one day after working on a commercial, out of the blue, Grace (6yrs.) called our whole silly, yet disciplined approach, "FunZen." Hearing the words "FunZen" left me spellbound. The world looked different. Everything shimmered with magical pixie dust. I truly felt empowered with the playful practicality of Mary Poppins yet inspired like a passionate leader of the pack.

"The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence." Denis Waitley

Almost everyone I've worked with loves the silliness and relates to the effectiveness of these words;"Long Breath Out Ahhhh, To Center our Spinning Tea Cup Mind."This brings a sigh of "good grief" and relief when we feel anxious and easily angered or bothered. Consider this. Words are tools for transformation. Grace made up this centering charm for when she feels overwhelmed; "Fear out, Fun in, with FunZen." With these simple words, we activate her Roots to know where home is & her Wings of lightheartedness to fly. Getting a FunZen Tune-up consists of taking a few Centered Breaths along with posture adjustments to help her ground her spirit. This allows her to not only focus better but remain fluid and flexible under pressure.

As some of you know, Grace is a voice-over star. She is Louise on Disney Jr's. "Lou & Lou's Safety Patrol" and currently the voice of Lucy in "Happiness is a Warm Blanket, CharlieBrown and click here for more.

My point is that I trust serving you what I share with Grace, my "back to brilliant basics,"mindful tools, & inspirational recipes, that bring out our best. Before she was born I shared these secrets mostly with celebrities, performers and executives as mentioned in my Bio. A few years ago, I planted the blessed lotus seed of intent that I would share these awesome tools beyond the limited audience I had already reached. Thanks to you my twitter family & new readers, things are looking ahead, and I continue to grow, glow and give back. I'm truly in it to win it from within for the kids and the heroic kid in all of us. After all, I assure you, shining from within is possible for everyone.

Grace enjoyed Yoga with Marsha Wenig, Founder of Yoga Kids when she was 3-6 yrs of age.

Marsha says; "The ultimate gift and what parents want, is to help children find their inner light."I wholeheartedly agree, and add you have to know where to look and how to switch on the light from within. Let's start with clarifying what enlightenment means from a zen perspective. The zen premise is that the light which is love (pure positive energy) is already inside of us. We all have the ability to see things as they really are, with a clear mind, peaceful heart. I'm drawn to the wise words of John Friend, Founder of Anusara (flowing with grace); "The way I define enlightenment, as the experience of "being in my heart."

Great leaders lead by example, connecting the dots between intent, commitment, and action steps. "The American Lama" Lama Surya Das was recently in Pasadena sharing an inspired "interactive talk" straight from his heart on bringing the ancient wisdom of "making peace with time" into our busy modern lives. (click here for his Mindful Moment Insights) I asked him from my "Beginner's Mind" how we can bring his message of light to our kids? Their lives appear to be crazed with multiple distractions, not to mention the "texting" frenzy of social media overload. He simply said "By Being It Yourself".

I humbly thought of the fact, that yes, parents are leaders. In most cases, we hope to draw the best out of our children. I loved The American Lama's answer that the key is leading by example. The mindful living skills offered here are for encouraging ourselves to be an example of enlightened leadership one little step at a time. When we forget, and get caught up, we can be mindful and remember the fact that we're authentically human.

"
The attitude you
ha

ve as a parent is what your kids will learn more from than
what you tell them.
They don't remember what you try to teach them.

They remember what you are."

Jim Henson

We can choose to demonstrate that it's okay to goof-up, and slip & fall. Reminding ourselves to

be forgiving, affirming; "Slip but don't Quit." Consider, little children are also teachers, they demonstrate being silly and spontaneous, effortlessly moment to moment. Watch and Learn.

"Zen is to have the heart and soul of a little child."Takuan

Before hearing Grace's words "FunZen" I recalled often feeling apologetic and even sad when others would comment on my kindness, comfort & joy level being too high. Simply being in the moment and getting any job done at home, school, or professionally was actually fun for me. Well, most of the time. So part of cultivating silliness is celebrating what we see around us. By appreciating beauty around us we generate pure positive energy. I was delighted to receive as a gift, a Cat in the Hat t-shirt that said "Trust me, I'm a Doctor." In the spirit of Dr. Seuss, I am reminded of his whimsical yet wise words "Fun is good".

Our purpose is to not only share that "silly is good for you." You get an awesome bonus gift from being a bit more mindful. By simply smiling and following your heart home on your long breath out ahhhh you activate your greatness muscle, now your body can drink in Gratitude on your inbreath. Being grateful organically boosts your happiness where you need it most, in the moment. The magical result: you are less stressed and more blessed, and that empowered feeling of selig:happiness, health and wealth...is always there within you. It's simply a sip of air, and a breath away.

Tweeted 6/18~ Here's my #Hello Kitty Miracle of #Mindfulness Moment...According to the@DalaiLama Bestselling Author of "Buddha Standard Time" Lama Surya Das is our beloved "American Lama" ❤
Now you know: I heard from a friend and Hello Kitty fan that HK doesn't have a mouth because she speaks the language of love from her heart. She was designed with this eastern element of zen like calmness and compassion to be relatable universally. ❤
Sweet retweets @mushyola When a #heart is true, there's no need for words; because even in silence, love can be heard...Sending much love & hugs ♡X to my Berlin Girl who put The Triple L (love, luck, laughter) Event together @AnneMerrem My Angels in Disguise ☞☞☞
@JenuineHealing
@JulieShanti from @intentdotcom
have helped me activate more self loving and self healing.

Thx Jen for your awesome reminder to be self-encouraging, "Bambi Get-Up" ❤ There are many more angels who hear in silence my heart whispering Thank you and Ti Amo.

"Meditation is intentional concentration on one thing..." Dr. Joan Borysenko

In a Single Breath we can access the magic of meditation. I'm not concerned with the quanity or how long you meditate. It's the quality of being fully present in the moment, for an up to 15 second breath cycle, 1 to 5 minutes or an hour and beyond.

Inspirational Recipe:
Know It By Heart Cookies (one bite at a time)

❤

Exhale,

Pressing your zen button to reboot (whooosh)

❤, Inhale (deeply)
eyes closed or keep them half closed,
soften your face, neck & shoulders, Feel your kokoro (heart) smiling.
❤ Long Breath Out;
Center-up between your eyebrows to Lighten-Up, revisit a situation that makes you want to LOL (laugh at loud) Be Silly, allow your insides to giggle (belly laugh) as you tickle your funny bone. (watching my precious pet Chado, an eternal puppy, doing down dog yoga (shimmy, shake & stretch) makes me smile and LOL.

That was your taste of "Let's get Zen, with FunZen."

Remember when we meditate we activate & brighten our inner light. If there is any negative thought or emotion, watch it evaporate in the clear blue sky of your breath awareness.
Take this golden child of wisdom nugget with you: Smiling ;) from the inside out is the beginning of Laughter which heals and reminds you that Being Silly Rocks!
Click here or Here to order my Clear Your Mind Manual "Mental Fitness" Foreword by Leonard Cohen, endorsed by Louise Hay, Dan Millman, Iyanla Vanzant, Michael Beckwith, O.C. Smith, Richard Carlson and many more...

In Gratitude w/Love & Hugs ❤
FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace
Contact: (805) 490-2391 Twitter: @Zenmommie Email: @mjrolek@aol.com
(love to hear about your mindful moments please share w/us, comments, @zenmommie, or email mjrolek@aol.com)
I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Angels Fly Because They Take Themselves Lightly

2011-06-05T00:22:00.000-07:00

"When we can laugh at ourselves there is enlightenment." Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi

So far, from the Triple L blogathon we've served up Love, Luck, and now it's time for a favorite of mine, Laughter. By keeping a Simple Zen approach; Be Brief, Be Bright, this will help me get to the point quickly and Be Gone.

In my book Mental Fitness, the Nourishing Roots & Wings chapter pg. 41 is where I first mention the G.K. Chesterton quote that I am using in the title of this post. "Angels can fly because..." From a life long learner point of view, many of us have heard that the only thing we really have any control over is how we choose to look at something. By keeping this outlook in mind, we can clearly see how humor heals when we lighten up, and take ourselves less seriously. Consider, as noted by Erma Bombeck, "If you can laugh at it, You can live with it."

Scientific studies have documented that laughter is the best medicine. A tiny shift in perspective is where our spirit of joy is accessed even in adversity. I will graciously remind you that from a zen perspective, you are already enlightened. The light is within us. Learning to trust it is what we must learn for ourselves.

"Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity to heal." A Course in Miracles

In a previous blog, I mention my Starbucks Kismet experience of talking to Jerry Seinfeld about his brush strokes with Zen Improv. This is a perfect example of how I had to not take myself too serious. People always ask me this question "Did you tell him about your book and famous zen lineage?" The answer is no, I forgot (just kidding) . I chose to empty my mind and just show up in the moment, unattached to my history.

This insightful gift is found in Takuan's words of wisdom, "Zen is to have the heart and soul of a little child." Watching children at play, we can see that there is no agenda to discuss affluent or non-affluent backgrounds. Kids have no need to talk about themselves or take themselves too seriously. They simply want to have fun.

And that is exactly what I experienced with Jerry. In our short and bright talk, I resonated with Jerry's words that "Zen is just looking at something from a different perspective, and that's what comedy is." So in conclusion, laughter helps us restore our perspective and Simplify to F.L.Y. F.inally L.earn to (love & laugh @) Y.ourself.

Zen Upliftment Recipe: Piece of Angel Cake

(picture from Martha Stewart)

Angel Zenergy Steps: Begin within, (dolphin smile) turning up your mouth corners to soften your focus, face, neck and shoulders.

Laughing and singing activate a long breath out: Mindfully or nonjudgmentally, kindly observe your one pointed exhalation as you build-up your Pilates 101 core strength one breath (Exhale, tighten-up Inhale lighten-up) at a time.

Mindfulness Magic Mood Tool Tip: Whenever you note (breath-holding) stress building or critical monkey chatter getting louder towards yourself or others. Press your zen button (whoosh) exhale, smile ;) LOL for awesomely catching yourself in mid-air and mentally start over, feel your feet on the ground and keep your head to the sky.

(love to hear about your angel zenergy moments please share w/us @zenmommie or email mjrolek@aol.com)

Click here for information to order my Clear Your Mind Manual "Mental Fitness"
Foreword by Leonard Cohen, endorsed by Louise Hay, Dan Millman, Iyanla Vanzant, Michael Beckwith, O.C. Smith, Richard Carlson and many more...

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace:

Contact: (805) 490-2391 Twitter: @Zenmommie Email: @mjrolek@aol.com

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

How to Activate Your Lucky Charm!

2011-05-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Sweet Science and Art of Luck

^{In my last blog, I introduced The Triple L's, Love, Luck and Laughter. I focused on the element of Love. Today, I want to discuss Luck and look at how each and every one of us can become an awareness architect of constructive change and create a charmed life.
The study of something that interests us, like physics ("everything is connected") is called a Science. The practice or application of that interest is known as the Art. Scientific documentation from Dr. Richard Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor reveals that "Lucky people create, notice, and act upon the chance opportunities in their lives. He adds, "...being in the right place at the right time is actually all about being in the right state of mind." (in picture Anne Merrem us & Robbie @BeautyofWisdom)
By placing your attention on gratitude, what you are grateful for, the positivity will naturally outweigh any negativity, no matter what the day dishes out. This is because the right state of mind is naturally geared toward being positive or happy-calm. The first step in activating your lucky charm is believing in a favorable outcome. As you will see with my daughter Grace, by being prepared she ignited a brilliant performance.
I am delighted to briefly share a living example of this very idea and how it worked with Grace. In this short video clip from a luncheon we spoke at on April 28, 2011, Grace talks about getting into her FunZen zone and the Luck Factor. (in picture, us, awesome Wendy Winks) She shares her successful steps of how preparation met opportunity while preparing for a recent voice-over job; the iconic role of Lucy in the brand new Peanuts movie, Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown.

It's one thing to talk about activating your personal lucky charm. It's another thing to offer you the know-how and life skills to empower you to become lucky and reach for inter-active mastery.
"When the student is ready, the teacher appears." Zen saying}

When I wrote Mental Fitness in the mid-nineties, my intent was to cultivate the innovative idea of turning our knowledge into action. Turning what we know into what we actually do is the activation of our will; the power of personal choice.

American Buddhist nun, Pema Chodrun, in the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa, eloquently reminds us that "This Moment is the Perfect Teacher." With Mental Fitness, we prepare ourselves to access our spiritual zone where every moment offers an opportunity for us to make, or as we like to say at The FunZen Bakery, bake our own luck. Afterall, using our head and following our hearts compass to live a charmed life successfully is, at it's root, a spiritual matter. We're here to encourage and inspire you with insights to wear your invisible toolbelt from your tool box. You make your own choices.

Living in the 21st Century, the intention of being mindful in this moment is more relevant than ever. We cultivate the miracle of mindfulness by paying attention, non judgmentally, to the present moment instead of obsessing over the past or worrying about the future. Studies show that luckiness is the result of being positively present and expecting a miracle. The living art of devotion is affirmed when we remember that a miracle is a mental shift from fear to love (pure positive energy). Fear deactivates your luck and pushes away what you want. Love attracts and draws in what you want, making you a miracle magnet.

"I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity."
Oprah Winfrey

The four-leaf clover is an uncommon variation of the common, three-leafed clover. It is said that such leaves bring good luck to their finders, especially if found accidentally. According to legend, each leaf represents something different. The first is for faith. The second is for hope. The third is for love. And, the fourth is for luck.

Our power to attract and boost good fortune is more about choice than chance. Let's glance at the four-leaf clover and look at one leaf at a time. I've infused each leaf with an inspirational quote to inspire and prepare you to activate Living Under Correct Knowledge. I encourage you to find your own inspiring quotes and sayings and use this centering tool for immediate activation to live, love and evolve.

Keep in mind that marrying your intent and any inspiring thought, focused with mindful breathing will instantly activate your lucky charm and center you on pointe with purpose.

Faith: "Faith is the courage to live as if everything that happens, and every choice we make, is for our highest good and learning. Faith is also nourished by the higher understanding that every decision eventually leads to wisdom."

~ Brilliant author, Dan Millman "The Four Purposes Of Life"

Hope: "Hope is an emotion which brings richness to our everyday lives. It is defined as 'the feeling that … events will turn out for the best.' When we exercise hope, we 'look forward … with desire and reasonable confidence'. As such, hope brings a certain calming influence to our lives as we confidently look forward to future events."

~Steven E. Snow

Love: "Love is the answer to my every need. The problems in my life are simply opportunities to give forth more love. As I pour love on each situation, the problems all become answers. "
~Inspired author, Jack Addington "The Perfect Power Within"

Luck: "Everything in life is luck."

~ Donald Trump

"Live by law, and you are lucky. People will start to say about you, 'Everything just seems to come her way.' Or, 'He is always so lucky."
~Leslie Householder

Inspiration Recipe Quote

“It is your job to ask, to believe you are receiving, and feel happy now. Leave the details to the Universe on how it will bring it about.”

~Rhonda Byrne

Lucky Charm App (Activation): Eleven Heavenly Seconds, Breath Meditation

(On the Spot, Centering Tool whether you're standing, walking, waiting, living, learning, laughing...)

Joyful Heart Steps ❤❤❤-

❤ Stop: Whooosh, Exhale (pressing your zen button) Relax to refocus into the present moment.

❤ Breathe: (One Mindful Breath Circle) Inhaling mantra sound "Sa" (direct air to your core)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

1/2 note, space

Exhaling mantra sound "Ha" (firming-up core)

6, 7, 8, 9, 10,

1/2 note, space

(11 heavenly seconds) ♬.

❤ Feel: Clear Mind, Peaceful Heart (centered) Activate our worrier to warrior (warrioress) spirit...

Gentle Reminder: It doesn't take more time to get centered, thinking on our feet. It takes intent. It's always an empowering choice we can make to live in what Author, Eckhart Tolle, calls "The Power of Now." Right now, is where choosing to activate our lucky charm of mindful breathing unlocks our ability to live a Charmed Life.

One breath, One moment, One step at a time.

Click here for information to order my Clear Your Mind Manual "Mental Fitness"
Foreword by Leonard Cohen, endorsed by Louise Hay, Dan Millman, Michael Beckwith, Richard Carlson and many more...

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace:

Contact: (805) 490-2391 Twitter: @Zenmommie Email: @mjrolek@aol.com

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Girls Just Wanna Focus, Flow, and Have Fun!

2011-05-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Love is the Answer

Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Very recently (one week ago to be exact), my daughter Grace and I launched a new discussion series that we hope to continue on a regular basis. We examined the timeless wisdom found within our initial topic, "What's Love, Luck and Laughter got to do with living your best life?" Thanks to my awesome student, loyal friend, Anne Merrem (Lil mama, Anne my Berlin girl and Grace in picture) who put the "lunch bunch" together, we were able to share our exciting tips, tools, and know how, with about 22 amazing individuals. The ladies got to taste the magic of mindfulness (non judgmental observation) and an instant confidence boost with the empowerment of posture awareness.

Whether we meet and greet you in person or you're reading this blog, our pure intent is to ignite the brilliant performer within you. The method begins within by re-seeding your attitudes with new creative ideas. Then, releasing old ones, to inspire you to soar and explore, seeing your world in a whole new diamond light.

What's love got to do with it? Put simply, Love is what inspires us to exercise our courage to face and erase our fears and confidently follow our hearts compass to live our dreams.

Here's a pivotal soul story from my personal journey. I share my soul in process to illustrate learning to love me, which zen refers to as complete self acceptance. By taking a few baby steps at a time, this issue to insight is how I learned to be comfortable in my own skin. Taking action steps to love, respect and appreciate myself, has lead me to stand tall, light and firm and share these blessons with you.

I share with you, "Ti Amo."

Getting right to the point, back in the eighties, I met German born, beautiful actress, Natassja Kinski at Capezio's Footwear in Hollywood. During this time, I was dancing on pointe daily and was set to become a professional dancer. We talked about local dance classes and she asked me where I was studying ballet. To my surprise, she showed up at the dance studio bright and early the very next day. After class, she asked me if I could help her learn ballet.

Looking back at this time in my life, I certainly didn't feel good enough to teach or even befriend Natassja (in picture from, Stay As You Are her movie). I totally lacked self acceptance of my body. I was convinced that my butt was too big, making me often feel like a moving violation in ballet class. I constantly heard my ballet teachers say "drop your hips". My lack of perspective made me buy into the limiting beliefs of the If, Then, Plan.

If, I worked harder to have the ballerina body (that my teachers told me I didn't have), Then, I would truly be empowered to celebrate life, make new friends and enjoy myself more.

The whole situation was deflected by telling Natassja I was too busy to help her. There was an inner knowing that I missed the opportunity to work with her due to not being emotionally ready to jump in with both feet. The last time I saw her, I followed my heart and asked how to say I love you in Italian. She said "Ti amo." Those two small words with a very big meaning, "Ti Amo" became my password, tatooed in my heart to say to myself everyday.

Go Within or Go Without: We can learn our enlightened living lessons so we are not the ones holding ourselves back. From this experience I gleaned; "My body was a prison of self hatred, until self love set me free..." By keeping our hearts open to unconditional love, starting with ourselves,we can create space to both be heard and heal instantly. (click here ❤ for more self-healing love from my brilliant tweetheart friend @ValenciaRay M.D.)

"The basis of fear is not trusting yourself, not loving yourself. In a nutshell, you feel bad about who you are." Pema Chodrun :) The Smile @ Fear Teachings, my personal favorite ♡

Inspirational Recipe: Pie in the Sky

1-2-3 Easy As Pie (German Chocoate)

Step 1. Whooshhh. Smile, Relax & Re-focus, Catching a Gratitude Breath Wave… Slowly exhaling... to reach inner stillness and brighten your inner light.

Step 2. Look inward. Visualize your mind calm like water… Then, deeply~ Inhale~ Pure Love which waters your roots of learning to trust and love yourself.

Step 3. Long Breath Out…Ahhhh. Tighten-up the core to Lighten-up. Spread your heart wings to remain Upright instead of uptight, wearing your miracle diamond of mindfulness.

Now take this dancer's secret posture tool with you one mindful breath at a time to Focus, Flow and have Fun.

In the words of Grace Rolek, "Fear out, Fun in, with FunZen."

In upcoming blogs, I will discuss Part 2 Luck and Part 3 Laughter.

Mental Fitness Foreword by Leonard Cohen still available: Amazon, Bodhi Tree Books

In Gratitude w/Love ❤
FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace

FunZen Bakery: 805 490-2391

Contact: MJRolek@aol.com

Twitter: Follow @Zenmommie

The first 22, callers, emailers, that mention this blog and Girls Just Wanna Focus, Flow, and Have Fun! tag #Fun ❤ will get a complimentary Hearts Compass Life Coaching session ❤ 805 490-2391

Special offer: Signed copies available, Mental Fitness: what I'm currently referring to as a: Clear Your Mind Manual (one yogi tea sip at a time)
I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Freeing Your Inner Swan, Part 4

2011-04-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Take Your Bow

"I want you to open your hearts and see the world in a different way. I promise this will change your life for the better." Oprah Winfrey

Thank you for keeping an open mind and opening your hearts to see things differently.With these swan lake steps you can free your inner swan of beauty, serene strength, and transformation.

As you may have noticed, Oprah's quotes have illuminated some of my previous blogs. I share her passion of bridging the gap between Eastern Teachings (i.e. Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth online class) and immediate Western concerns that we hear or read about in the media. I call her the zen queen of truly starting the conversation. This caught my eye when I was pregnant with Grace 14 years ago. It has continued to be a source of empowerment for me as a mother. My life changing "free your inner swan" experience happened two years ago when Oprah was in my house with Jani Schofield. click here to read more

A recurring challenge I've come across from tele-coaching and emailed Q & A sessions is how to deal with doubt and uncertainty.

Two of my tele-coaching students, who experienced a shift in perspective, shared this similar question.

Q. Why does uncertainty creep into my thinking even when things get better? As soon as I start to feel good, I'm hit with a fear of failure and this looming doubt that something bad will happen.

A. The negative thoughts and emotions are like clouds in the sky that are there to be dismissed not entertained. From a zen perspective, when some thing like an unexpected occurance is bothering you, step back, stand tall inside and breathe mindfully, with non judgmental observation. The disappointment is seen with appreciation as a teacher not a tormenter. This empowers you with self-love to really feel and neutralize any negative feelings that arise and are now being released. To help you embrace this discovery process, I am honored to share these brilliant insights from @ValenciaRay MD. She left comments on Free Your Inner Swan Part 1 and 2 that inform us that ego based doubt is an "Enormous Growth Opportunity.” Worry is only negative focus on what you DON'T want. Be informed; the brain sees images and ignores "don't." Attention= I Want, period."

For a bit of clarification (essence of zen), the two students I mention are committed to our Zen training. Our main concern is connecting our knowing and doing. By turning what we know into what we do, we become an artist of life. It's perfectly okay to simply read and perhaps study these new ideas or seeds of enlightenment. They can trigger an aha moment with your gift of insight and inspire your transformation process. For example, the wisdom based teachings of Abraham-Hicks can help you to deepen your spirit and awaken Self Realization or Oneness with ideas of non resistance. For instance, "Appreciation and self love are the most important aspects you could ever nurture. Appreciation of others and the appreciation of yourself are the closest vibrational matches to Source Energy of anything we have ever witnessed anywhere in this Universe."

The 6 stages of change begin with pre-contemplation and the foundational tool called self acceptance. It is the fertile soil for growth and change.

But, it is beyond the scope of this blog to dive into these deep waters.

Zenlightened Living begins with remembering to remember that we don't change lives. We only plant and cultivate wisdom seeds of light. Our original nature handles the rest with divine timing.

Mental Fitness was written to help anyone get grounded in the brilliant basics. With it, if you choose, you can embody Legendary Artist, Misha Baryshnikov's wise words; "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun." FunZen embraces our artist side (inner child) that wants to have fun learning and the Zen disciplined side (inner parent or coach) that establishes a work ethic to be successful. To soar and explore this topic visit Author, Julia Cameron @the_artists_way. Her vision is found in this quote from Pablo Picasso "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

The "Taking Your Bow" Inspirational Recipe: giving you the best tools and the right know how to have a clear mind, peaceful heart and joyful warrioress spirit.
Here we go, Close your eyes (or softly focus) Open your Heart

1st Step: Exhale Whooosh (pressing your zen button) to re-focus in the present moment relax and soften into your authentic self. Breathe deeply to and from your core naturally. Allow the Centered Breath to take care of itself (p. 22 Mental Fitness)

Affirm: Go within or Go without: I am Going Within for my life lesson to feed my faith, and starve doubt with what I truly envision for myself. On the other hand, I Go Without my Insight (aha blessing).

By simply making this choice with intent, we can shift from worrier to peaceful warrioress or warrior.

Shout Out! Author, Artist. Warrioress, Janet Jackson's awesome book "True You" shares the blesson of taking her bow with Honesty Heals and how it helps to build trust, self esteem and quiet strength or real confidence. She reveals her painful journey of finding and loving herself which embodies the message of Freeing Your Inner Swan @JanetJackson, Amen. Namaste.❤

Please visit previous blog for information on Mental Fitness: what I'm currently referring to as Yogi Tea for the Mind ❧ Foreword by Leonard Cohen.

Many Blessings w/ Love,

FunZen girls OX

Michiko (lil mama) & Grace Rolek

Contact: 805 490-2391

mjrolek@aol.com

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

FunZen Bakery: Food for thought that empowers kids to shine brilliantly from within.

Freeing Your Inner Swan Part 3

2011-04-03T01:22:00.000-07:00

"Only the still pool reflect the stars." Zen saying

From a zenlightened perspective, which is seeing with a clear mind, peaceful heart; I resonate with Jon Braeley, Director of "The Zen Mind" who mentions that the intent of zen training "is to rid the mind of ego and self doubt, to reach satori or self realization."

In this blog, Freeing the Inner Swan (part 3 ) I wanted to briefly address striking a yin/ yang balance between a healthy ego which involves (self esteem and confidence) and an aspect of ego (inner toxic critic). The distinction that has brought me clarity is the subtle difference between self esteem and confidence. Self-esteem is related to caring or loving who you are being no matter what you are doing. Self confidence is knowing you are good at what you are doing and believing in yourself. By witnessing this contrast I've worked with many successful, wealthy people who are excellent at what they do, yet seem to not truly love who they are or feel good about themselves. The word independent is key here to observe as inward dependence on our Beingness, Spirit, or God. Once we connect to our spirit or being through centering exercises like meditation the doing has a chance to fall naturally into place. A healthy ego is when our self esteem or being and confidence doing are working together in harmony.

When I was doing research, I asked the question "What is a healthy ego? " The name Carolom showed up with her illuminating suggestions and a reference to Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth message board from Oprah's website. I have reprinted it for you here.

"Wholeness is a return to identification with the origin of creation; a return to contemplation of the field of consciousness itself; a return to what is referred to as God,Beingness, or Spirit." Eckhart Tolle

You know you have a healthy Ego when...by Carolom

*You have transcended the state of duality and opposites and are living a fully integrated life

*You are clear on why you are here, what you are to do and have embraced the unique gifts and talents you have to fulfill your Earth walk, enjoying your unique gifts and talents as a part of that

*You recognize that 'love, light and nice' is not always the answer...sometimes the difficult conversations and powerful Energetic cross currents require firm and assertive action

*You are comfortable in your role within the One whilst also embracing the individualized aspects of it...(the "Me" within the "We' )

*You take time to grow, develop and nurture your inner Self whilst contributing to the external world and its manifestations - including developing a healthy relationship with Egos call of the Self

*You love and honour all aspects of your Being by recognizing the Ego's immature state of selfishness and narcissism prior to the mature Ego state of a strong sense of identity and purpose..'make peace not war' within.

*You are comfortable immersing in the Ocean of Abundance and enjoying the fruits of lifes ventures whilst sharing with others the lessons and blessons

*You take responsibility for your snarky moments and blurky bits, embracing them with open arms and lightness of being

*You recognize the role that Ego plays in the development of the individual...individual ... as opposed to the Ego being the re-scripted version of the Devil and God battle and dualism and opposites story of old.

* You have evolved beyond the 'children of a loving Father" story and accepted your role as co-creator with Creation and the responsibilities that come with that

*You have identified your boundaries and are comfortable challenging their transgression and meeting discord with firmness and resolve (especially when working amongst violence and crime)

*You are comfortable with the intellectual combativeness of others...and your own....and choose whether to engage or not engage in all of the scenarios that life presents

*You no longer talk one way and act another...the inner and outer realms are in alignment and harmony

Inspirational Recipe: In One Bite,~ Yin Yang Cake Pops (repeat one breath at a time as often as you wish)

Here we go. In One Breath, let's glow with the flow: Exhale, Whooosh (pressing your zen button) to relax and reset diaphragm~with comfortable upright posture. (Mental Fitness gives you the right know how to be upright in total command of your body soul instrument)

Inhale: Deep blue ocean breath, Catching the wave. Let it rise gradually from your core cradle (hara) to your heart center ❤.

(Pixie Pause for Peace)

Exhale: Long Breath Out~ Soften your chest and start to feel the core tightening up (roots of self support) as you lighten up (wings) with the deep cleansing action of exhaling impurities, stress, and unwanted tension.

After you Exhale completely, rest in the thought free space between the notes.

Ahhhhh ♪ Musical ♫ Pause ♬ Let it Be

Zenjoy finding balance (do be do be do) in the dance of life. With your bite-size sweet/salt taste, you can take One Healing ♡Heart Step ♥ at a time to transform and reach wholeness.❧

What is a Healthy Ego? is a conversational starter. Part 4 will address your questions and perhaps i'll share a couple of soul stories about my re-integration process. Recently I spoke with an amazing lady, her name is Wendy, she helped me articulate making peace with my broken heart pieces. I hope to embrace this hot topic with you to satisfy curiosity, and clear confusion, including any doubts about how we can all spark our own innate beauty, truth, love and goodness. My intention is to share ideas about deepening our connection in building a healthy ego which honors our Beingness, Spirit or God...please tweet, dm or email ??? comments, suggestions, so looking forward...

Mental Fitness (Foreword by Leonard Cohen) is available: Amazon, Bodhi Tree Books , or contact me for Complimentary autographed copy and free gift (up to 22 minutes) telecoaching session by mentioning you read this blog "Free your Inner Swan"

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace:

Twitter: @Zenmommie Email: @mjrolek@aol.com

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Freeing Your Inner Swan Part 2

2011-03-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

"Zen is Clarification..." Author & Mystic, Manly P. Hall (The Secret Teaching of All Ages)

How to Detach From Negativity

This blog will deal with taking a complex subject like "Facing the Music" or dealing with the harsh realities of life and provide a simple Zen Solution called Detachment. Here's a concrete example. The other night, hearing the rain pounding down hard brought both delight and dread. The sheer joy of splashing in puddles and dancing in the rain always makes my heart sing. Yet, on the other hand, grabbing buckets and bailing rainwater from our flooded garage and patio was devastating. In exercising detachment from the outcome, I saw that everything that was destroyed is gone. Yet the peace of mind that the rain storm subsided brought immense gratitude. In this contrast lies the acceptance of what is, is.

In Yoga, the Sanskrit word, Swadhisthana is the second chakra. In Zen and the Martial Arts, it is called the Hara. Located about 2 inch below your navel, your second chakra is responsible for centered control, balance and bubbling energy. It houses all your feelings. Water is the element associated with emotion (energy in motion). Consider, Bruce Lee's wisdom "Be like water..." water takes the shape of whatever vessel it is in. It adapts to any situation.

The previous blog goes into more depth regarding the Black Swan (our shadow) and White Swan (virtuous side) and living in harmony between both sides. In Sanskrit, priya is the word for freedom which means being in a state of love. Freedom is possible through holding your intention to choose being a non judgmental (friendly) observer and completely accepting whatever you are feeling. You detach from negativity by allowing fearful thoughts and emotions to flow through your mind and body without letting them throw you off center. In western culture, processing our negative emotions as an inner compass to feel=heal and return to our true self has not been popular until the last century. With groundbreaking research on East meets West Teachings, Energy Medicine, and Positive Psychology, the future looks promising.

Inspirational Recipe Quote; "A confused mind cannot understand simplicity." Inspired from A Course in Miracles, Best-selling Author, Gerald G. Jampolsky MD of "Love is letting Go of Fear"

Take a moment to visualize a stressful situation; perhaps a relationship issue, or turbulence at home or work. As I like to say, DGMS (don't get me started). The ego (Edging Goodness Out) part of our minds can become a toxic critic, inviting the monsters in the cupboard (my new favorite expression) to keep our minds spinning with distraction and doubt into depression. When we listen to this constant monkey mind chatter, we get disconnected from our Loving Source or Divine Love and find ourselves out of Integrity. Surely a sign that we are off center is when we find it difficult to keep our word to ourselves and to others.

My intent is to give you the support you've been asking for and show you how to activate your own self supporting power. These zen tools will help you directly experience for yourself being Centered in the moment. In the present moment, your breath anchor has a chance to ground you to taste Serenity Now. You will be gently guided to remind yourself to re-focus on your purpose with presence and passion. Spinning, with anxiety into the future with an attachment to outcome, can keep us stuck. When we have past regrets our minds get polluted with blame, shame and guilt. Right nowness, is where comfort and joy is patiently waiting to welcome you Home Sweet Shalom to a clear mind peaceful heart.

Zen Pointer: Let's connect the dots between your spiritual being having a physical experience of doing the right steps with the right know how.

In the spirit of FunZen: "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun."

Mikhail Baryshnikov (in photo Mikhail and Gelsey Kirkland)

Inner Swan Lake, 2nd Heart Step: Emotional Detachment from Negativity

In this moment, smile. Close your eyes (when you can). Soften and center up between your eyebrows. Simply visualize yourself becoming Water. Now, emotional baggage and stress can pass right through you from top to toe.

Remember to remember your self supporting power and roots

of "love and trust thyself" are found in your Hara (2nd chakra). Serene strength lies in the power to go with the flow, moment to moment, allowing negativity or difficulties to pass through us harmlessly.

Inspirational Recipe: In One Bite,~ Swan Lake Cake Pops (repeat one breath at a time as often as you wish)

Here we go. In One Breath, let's glow with the flow: Exhale, Whooosh (pressing your zen button) to relax and reset diaphragm~with comfortable upright posture. (Mental Fitness gives you the right know how to be upright in total command of your body soul instrument)

Inhale: Deep blue ocean breath, Catching the wave. Let it rise gradually from your core cradle (hara) to your heart center ❤.

(Pixie Pause for Peace)
Exhale: Long Breath Out~ Soften your chest and start to feel the core tightening up (roots of self support) as you lighten up (wings) with the deep cleansing action of exhaling impurities, stress, and unwanted tension.

After you Exhale completely, rest in the thought free space between the notes.

Ahhhhh ♪ Musical ♫ Pause ♬ Let it Be

Zenjoy finding balance (do be do be do) in the dance of life. With your bite-size sweetsalt taste, you can take One Healing ♡Heart Step ♥ at a time to transform and reach wholeness.❧

Grace says "Kid Friendly FunZen is Awesome to Celebrate Daily." Please Join us in the Soiree (celebration) of spreading these ideas that I hope are worth sharing on your part.

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace:

Twitter: @Zenmommie Email: mjrolek@aol.com

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Free Your Inner Swan

2011-03-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

The Sanskrit word for swan is hamsa or hansa, and it is the vehicle of many deities like the goddess Saraswati. In Hinduism, Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती sarasvatī) is the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. The swan is not just found in beloved fairy tales and ballet. For thousands of years, the swan has been a symbol of enlightenment and an elegant example of serenity, spiritual strength, and transformation.

The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference."

I had an idea a few days ago to mention Reinhold Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer and after spontaneously seeing the psychological thriller Black Swan, I was inspired to share the zen-like connection between the two.

Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet has both the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan. In the film, one dancer, Nina (Oscar winner, Natalie Portman), is a perfect fit for the White Swan. While Lily (Mila Kunis) has a soulful personality that matches the Black Swan. When both ladies compete for the parts, Nina not only finds a dark side to herself, she was succumbed by it.

There are many issues that surfaced after watching this film with it's beautiful backdrop and scenery of the ballet world, especially my longing to wear pointe slippers again yet I don't miss the aching toes. One issue to insight though, that I'd like to address here, is the delicate balance of beauty, self image, and confidence. It is beyond the scope of this blog to go into depth regarding these issues. But I will glance at how a zen perspective gives us the confidence to see clearly and establish a beginner's mindset that changes how we look at things.

My book, Mental Fitness, provides the tools to train your instrument into the beautiful swan of transformation. Freeing your Inner Swan is accepting the people we cannot change and the self compassion and courage to change the one we can and the wisdom to know it's ourselves.

My Zen approach honors the brilliant simplicity of being part of the solution, not the problem. The solution is awakening our Inner Swan by making peace with our shadow or dark side. Acknowledging that we have a shadow or an inner monster is the beginning of taming it. Groundbreaking, bestselling author of "The Shadow Effect..." Debbie Ford, provides awesome tools that teach us to Be Authentic by embracing and eventually loving and healing the parts of us (self-punishing patterns) that we've wished to hide.

Seeing Black Swan made me appreciate my work with Tyra Bank's T-Zone, which helps to build a sisterhood movement and raises awareness about issues girls are faced with today, for example, self esteem, body image and social pressures. The FunZen perspective tool that I shared with the girls, parents, and professional counselors, and look forward to presenting to you, worked like a magic wand; restoring order from emotional chaos to inner calm.

Inspirational Recipe: Black & White Swan Cupcake:

1st Step: Zen Perspective: Close your eyes (center-up between your eyebrows) to Open your heart, by choosing to step back for a mindful moment...You will see the world in a whole new light as a non judgmental observer... I promise this will empower you to be a positive change agent. I will be adding 3 more heart steps to this blog "Free you Inner Swan."

Make the Connection: Press your zen button by Exhaling, whooosh, to mentally start over anytime, anyplace you need to free your mind from the past and future and get back on Pointe in the present moment.

Bake= Concentration Power: Sitting or Standing upright instead of uptight, Let's Inhale clear blue zenergy. Feel your tummy rising. Exhale, riding the breath wave. Tummy falling, flattening and firming up towards your spine:
Catch 3 Breath Cycles to relax from top to toe, releasing anxiety to experience serenity and spiritual strength.

Now, Breathe, at your pace of grace, with each centering long breath out. (see page 26 in Mental Fitness)

Decorate Your Way: Congratulations. Without baking your cupcake, by staying focused with the previous ❤ steps, you cannot put the sprinkles on and zenjoy your treat. Likewise, by using your magic mood tool, Zen Perspective, you are building quiet strength to weather any dark storm.

Stay Tuned In for the next Inner Swan Lake heart step ❤: How to Detach yourself from negativity.

I must say, after seeing Black Swan, I felt immense Gratitude for my book Mental Fitness. Being a dancer in ballerina pointe slippers myself, I struggled with some beauty & self image issues. Today, I treasure cultivating a clear mind, peaceful heart & the soul of a warrriorette. What is sweeter, is sharing these Resilience Skills for life with my daughter and other kids, to help them find their center in the cyclone.

Grace says "Kid Friendly FunZen is Awesome to Celebrate Daily." Please Join us in the Soiree (celebration) of spreading these ideas that I hope are worth sharing on your part.

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace

r: @Zenmommi

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Hallelujah! Leonard Cohen

2011-02-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

"She has made some important matters wonderfully clear, and every page is informed by a sweet concern for the well-being of her reader." Leonard Cohen

Foreword and Afterword with Joyful Heart Praise!

In the mid nineties Leonard Cohen wrote the foreword to my book Mental Fitness which on a light note, I now see as sipping yogi green tea to "chill & reach stillness." At the time, I wasn't ready to accept the awesomeness of what he wrote. I actually shared his foreword in a previous blog (Get a Sip of Zen in the Zoo of Life). This post is a new perspective.❧

In keeping this short, sweet and to the point, DGMS (don't get me started:), I've made absolute peace with the divine timing of my daughter Grace Sakura being born a few months after Mental Fitness was published from Weatherhill now Shambhala. In short, I'm a late bloomer in promoting myself, realizing that being a mother was more important and to this day the most sacred honor to uphold. As stated in the quote above from the foreword, I resonate with "every page is informed by a sweet concern for the well-being of her reader." The expression "sweet concern" reminds me of the Sanskrit word "Madhuvidya" which means sweet knowledge, and the simple act of infusing spirituality into our everyday lives. I am honored to share with my readers delicious ways to restore well-being. ❧

On a side note ♫ Neil Pasricha's The Book Of Awesome helps us infuse those tiny little sweet moments into our lives empowering us to play our A game of Awesome. We attain Altitude with his 3A's; Attitude, Awareness, and Authenticity as mentioned in a previous blog.

Indeed, the intent of this blog, and my work which Grace calls "FunZen" (making mindfulness and breathing fun & imaginative) is to cultivate sacred moments aka itsy bitsy joys that sweeten our daily life. Thank you for joining me in a rebirth of Mental Fitness where I'm onboard to help you embrace your original nature and turn what your soul already knows into joyful heart steps in the dance of life.❧

FOREWORD

My old teacher, Joshu Sasaki Roshi, has asked me to say a few words about the book which you are holding. He never really learned English, and he has forgotten much of his Japanese, but he knows a good thing when he sees it, and he wanted me to thank Michiko Rolek, on his behalf, for her very helpful instructions.

I live with a number of bewildered souls on a mountain in southern California. The place is called a Zen Center, and it probably is, but it is also a kind of hospital for people who have forgotten how to breathe, or sit, or stand, or walk. Michiko has developed a simple and effective approach to these fundamental activities. Some of us are breathing better already.

This workbook may not solve the Burning Issues of Your Life, but you sure as hell can save yourself a lot of trouble by looking into it. You might even be able to skip having to visit a place like this, or if you are already in one, perhaps with this valuable information you can slip away.

In any case, we want to join Roshi in expressing our gratitude to Michiko for her kindness in presenting to us her manual on Mental Fitness. She has made some important matters wonderfully clear, and every page is informed by a sweet concern for the well-being of her reader.

Thank you.

Jikan Eliezer

a Mt. Baldy monk

(Leonard Cohen) ❧

Inspirational Recipe: Making Mindful Breathing a "Staple"

Gratitude is the Mother of Lovingkindness & Joyfulness

(Pure Joy comes from our Spirit) "Joy is prayer~Joy is strength~Joy is love~Joy is a net of love by which we catch souls..." Mother Teresa

Heart❤Warmer Spiritual Exercise: Breathe in slow and deeply: ❤ Opening your heart, (expanding lower ribs)

Breathe out: Expanding your net of pure love (firm-up core on exhalation) ❤

(perform 3-4 breath cycles) repeat connecting the heart ❤ dots at your pace of comfort & joy through out the day one ❤ breath at a time... (gentle reminder, we forget a lot, i'm simply here to offer little hints helping you refresh & re-center, perhaps making the miracle of mindfulness your daily ritual...;) ❤

Listen-up and Zenjoy!

For this blog, please ask about special offer for Mental Fitness... Thank you.

Looking forward to hearing from you...❧

Contact: Michiko (lil mama) Rolek

Twitter: Follow @ZenMommie

email mjrolek@aol.com

Life Coaching: (805) 490-2391

Keep Calm and Have A Cupcake

2011-02-18T01:22:00.000-08:00

Having your Cupcake and eating it too with Zen-like Calm!

I did some research on where these expressions " To have one's cake and eat it too" and “You can’t eat your cake and have it too, originated. They appear to be English idioms from the 15 th century that are similiar to the phrase "you can't have it both ways" or take on more than you can handle..." However, at the FunZen Bakery, you can have your cupcake and eat it too. We celebrate life lessons to grow on. On our journey there will be disappointment, highs and lows when things don't go our way. By learning how to find our center, we calm down and start to see things in a whole new light. Remember you are not built for guilt, blame or shame. Zenjoy this moment. We go to the FunZen Bakery to nurture our inside child's joyful spirit and quiet strength of a warrior. ❧

We will keep it short, sweet, and to the point to help you taste stress free simplicity. Our awe-some Centering Charm is inspired from Author, Meditation Master Thich Nhat Hanh to take with you wherever you go. Just Imagine going to a Cupcake Bakery and your number is finally called.

This time with your yum cupcake is your added bonus; the inspirational recipe below to celebrate taking a moment of zen to not just talk about keeping happy calm. But actually walking the talk, by experiencing the message of this popular saying "Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake!"

Mindful Breathing Inspirational Recipe:

from Mental Fitness aka Yogi Tea for the Mind pg. 36

Begin within with the gratitude of a joyful heart, eyes closed (center-up between your eyebrows) or gently lower your eyelids...Exhale Whooosh (press zen button, pixie pause) to re-focus and relax from top to toe, sit, stand or lie down feeling grounded yet tall, light and firm from the inside out.

On each Exhale ahhhh your core naturally strengthens, Inhale soften and expand to receive abundantly, allowing you to give more in an endless circle of love, laughter, (tears) while living in the moment no matter what life dishes out.

Buddhist nun and inspired Author Pema Chodrun reminds us that "Breathing in and out opens our hearts and is the most kind and loving thing we can do for ourselves." To deepen this idea of loving thyself is an empowering link from brilliant author, Valencia Ray MD who says "Part of what I do is; help women entrepreneurs lead with the power of their True Self so that they can heal the world."

Zenergized Centering Charm:

Breathing in, I calm my emotions.

Breathing out, I smile, :) centering the spinning mind.

Breathing in, Being in the miracle of the present moment.

Long Breath out, Ahhhh I know this is a wonderful moment.

Now, repeat as needed to Keep Zenergized Calm to Carry On with your Centering Charm❧

Gentle Reminder: "Fun is good, here, there and everywhere" (pure joy from Dr. Seuss)

Check this out: Do Nothing For Two Minutes

Curious to hear any thoughts or questions about Stop doing, Start being for 2 minutes ❤

Here's a shout out to mention a few favorite tweeps who have shared their awesomeness with us and supported our vision of Cupcakes & Inspirational Recipes are sweeter when shared...@StressFreeKids @julieshanti @spiritedwoman @drbenlo @JenuineHealing @Beautyofwisdom @CrissyBayless...❤❤❤

Thank you profusely @JRavenHawk for being a zen rock of steady support for Mental Fitness training and being an earth angel respectful of boundaries while helping us spread creative ideas about adding a bit of zen- like calm to the Spinning Tea Cup Ride called Life ❤❤❤

The first few callers, emailers, that mention this blog "Keep Calm & Have a Cupcake" and tag #cupcake ❤ will get a complimentary Life Coaching session ❤ Signed copies available, Mental Fitness: what I'm currently referring to as Yogi Tea for the Mind ❧

FunZen helps you get upright to find the right words at the right time, to spread your heart wings to take root and fly...

FunZen Bakery contact: 805 490-2391 ❤

Mental Fitness Foreword by Leonard Cohen still available: Amazon, Bodhi Tree Books Zenjoy!

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace

Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391
Contact: MJRolek@aol.com
Twitter: @Zenmommie

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Yoko Ono's commitment to spread Imagine Peace elucidates the meaning of a zen mommie; give peace a chance to begin with the me in mommie.

Happy Ageless Beautiful Birthday Yoko (ocean child)

Feb. 18, 2011 ❤

Your Zen Tune-up Experience

2011-02-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

"One can appreciate & celebrate each moment there’s nothing more sacred."
Pema Chodrun

I recently read Author, Host, Tom Bergeron's superb book I'm Hosting as Fast as I Can! Zen and the Art of Staying Sane in Hollywood. When he mentioned "giving himself a Zen tune-up backstage to find his center" I was spellbound. Tom fondly mentioned an Alan Watts quote "If you hold your breath, you lose it." In that moment of reading that quote, I instantly recalled a "A Single Breath" meditation exercise I learned at Cal Arts from legendary Zen poet Gary Snyder. He was friends with philosopher, Alan Watts (also a student of my great grand father Sokei-an) and studied Zen at my family's First Zen Institute in Kyoto, Japan.

Without further ado, here's a quick on the spot application you can use to find your center, in the gift called the precious present, your Zen moment to be zenjoyed, that's what gifts are for. Consider Phil Jackson's wise words " The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single breath. Here we go...

Inspirational Recipe; Snow Globe Cupcakes

One Breath Meditation (Centering technique)

Consider a Snow globe turned upside down and shaken about. When it is set upright, the snow begins to settle and the scene is clear once again. Think of your mind the same way. We get tossed about by the stressful events but in an instant of the miracle of mindfulness, with One Breath, we get ourselves upright, our thoughts begin to settle and our mind becomes more clear.

Gentle Reminder; Stop (press your zen button, Whooosh) Breathe, Feel (Centered) ; Clear Mind, Peaceful Heart activation of your warrior (warriorette) spirit... It doesn't take more time to get centered, thinking on your feet, it takes intent. It's always an empowering choice we can make to live in what brilliant Author, Eckhart Tolle calls "The Power of Now."

Thank you straight from my heart inspired author of Along the Winding Path: A Little Personal Journey, a mind-body-spirit work ...@JulieShanti for being my cheerleader soul angel and inspiring me to post this to share my best and highest good, Ti amo... ❤ Brain storming with you is refreshing, like tasting zenlighten-mints.

Starbucks Heartwarmer quote: "Friends are like snowflakes: each one different and beautiful..."❤

Mental Fitness (Foreword by Leonard Cohen) still available: Amazon, Bodhi Tree Books or, contact me for an autographed copy.

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace

Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391
Contact: MJRolek@aol.com
Twitter: @Zenmommie

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Yoko (ocean child) Ono's commitment to spread Imagine Peace clarifies the meaning of a zen mommie; let a little peace begin with the me in mommie.

What's Luck Got to Do with It?

2011-02-01T23:22:00.000-08:00

My intent is to share my kismet experience of meeting and sharing a pith meaningful conversation with Jerry Seinfeld at Starbucks in Burbank California. Beforehand, let's look at L.U.C.K. as an acronym: (L)abor (U)nder (C)onstructive (K)nowledge meaning with a solid work ethic or discipline, knowledge applied (wisdom) and preparation (foundation) will allow good things to happen for anyone. From a zen perspective consider that resistance or fear pushes away what we want and non resistance and love magnetizes and draws our best and highest good to us. Basically, it's the right attitude, not a random fluke that leads to making your own luck and living a charmed life.

The words that danced through my mind when I spotted Jerry Seinfeld sitting at a table near the front door talking to his colleague who looked more unapproachable than Jerry was "he looks too busy, play it by ear". I only had a couple of minutes and was actually almost late picking up my daughter, so thinking fearlessly on my feet meant I had milliseconds to respond (from my soul) or react (from my ego) and pretend I didn't notice him.

When I quieted down my monkey chatter with a few mindful breaths, I trusted my intuition and just took some heart steps over to his table. Blossoming where I landed, I uttered "this is a Shy to Hi" moment. He smiled and I whooshed feeling comfort and joy that he appeared receptive to my inquiry. I asked him how Zen influenced his "show about nothing" comedy ... He said he was flattered that I asked and shared that Zen had inspired him. He added that he'd read many books on Zen... I mentioned how Grace & I started the FunZen Bakery and shared it's message of light, to help kids shine brilliantly by going within for life lessons or going without their blessed Aha's.

He smiled with a simpatico (friendly) sense of resonating with the point to offer kids and parents Perspective Life Skills. I felt this yin yang creative tension of appreciation that Jerry was open to discussing a bit of zen, yet a strong urgency that I had to go get Grace. It is beyond the scope of this blog to share more details about my Lady Luck experience. Perhaps in a future blog I'll share more awesome details on this idea of Zen and The Art of Jerry Seinfeld which is an actual chapter in a Biography, Jerry Seinfeld, Much Ado About Nothing by Josh Levine that I researched after I met him.

"Zen is just looking at something from a different perspective, and that's what
a lot of comedy is". Jerry Seinfeld

For now, what is key is that you carry the vibe that you can Be your best and make your own luck. With this one thing: Trust your Intuitive Heart which knows how to blossom where you land, with your unique "Shy to Hi" zen moment of; asking a challenging question, meeting someone new, listening to your inner wisdom and shifting away from: what if (future worry) what was (past) to the sweet acceptance of reality or what is (present).

Back to the opening? What's luck got to do with it? It appears that luck has to do with Oprah Winfrey's common sense wisdom; "I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity."

Inspirational Recipe: Lady Luck Cupcakes

Following your heart begins within with setting aside a little Quiet Time for Getting Centered.

3's a Charm Stay In Your Heart Interactive Steps:❤❤❤

1) ❤ Blossom where you land by feeling your feet pressing down (root lower body) and gently reach up (rise) through your heavenly crown, eyes closed (center up between your eyebrows; or lower your eye lids) keeping your head to the sky, shoulders ( heart wings) spreading soft and wide.

2) ❤ Mindfully (non judgmentally, be kind to your mind) Observe your breath flowing out and in...up to a minute or so. Gradually deepen your breath by feeling the rise and fall of your tummy ~Ride the waves ~(Discover Centered Breath in Mental Fitness pg 22)

3) ❤ Ignore and dismiss any (monkey chatter) self defeating thoughts like doubt and regrets sweep your mind clear with your long breath out. Welcome the compassionate heart thoughts that inspire you to aspire and take action for your highest good.

Here's your Lady Luck Centering Charm to make or bake your own luck. This is one that Grace (daughter) and I use often to zencourage positive thinking, raise our energy and deepen our fearless faith.

Exhale, relax and refocus, Breathe in ~I am (pixie pause) Long Breath Out~

Being my best and allowing God (Divine Love or Spirit) to handle the rest...repeat 3 or more times. Note starting to sense zen-like calm to carry on... comes naturally.

As mentioned in the previous blogs Got Zen? Becoming A Resourcerer, we are exploring ways to activate brilliant author, Neil Pasricha's 3A's of Awesome, Attitude (way of being) Awareness (mindfulness) Authenticity (return to your original nature) using Mental Fitness to get your head in the A game.

Any suggestions or questions: tweet me, call me, email me, facebook awaits; How can I help you empower yourself to shine? Looking forward... Let's start the conversation.

Mental Fitness (Foreword by Leonard Cohen) still available: Amazon , Bodhi Tree Books , or, contact me for an autographed copy and free gift telecoaching session. Share with your friends and Zenjoy!

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko and Grace

Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391
Contact: MJRolek@aol.com
Twitter: @Zenmommie

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Yoko (ocean child) Ono's commitment to spread Imagine Peace clarifies the meaning of a zen mommie; let a little peace begin with the me in mommie.

Becoming a Resourcerer

2011-01-22T01:22:00.000-08:00

Becoming a Resourcerer is about recognizing that you are your greatest resource. Building your home library with books or zenlightened living tools you'll use like quotes, inspirational recipes, and app's will empower, embrace, and uplift you to live authentically. In the words of Wayne Dyer "Sorcerers live of the loving Source."

Your Magick (the"k"represents knowledge) Wand is your intention and free will to create the awesome life you want.

In my previous blog Got Zen? I enthusiastically shared Author, Neil Pasricha's 3 A's of Awesome and The Book of Awesome. Meditation Master, Author Rajinder Singh of Spiritual Pearls of Enlightened Living provides inspiration to shift from being easily angered and anxious to angelic and serene. Consider, from a Zen perspective, you are asleep to the supreme experience that you are already enlightened. Returning home, is an inward journey to awaken your self realization of Oneness with Divinity. Zenlightening tools are provided to help you improve your knowing of unity with Divinity and diversity. True treasures are within. Gentle Reminder, our greatest wealth is wisdom or knowledge applied. Nobody can steal it.

When I heard that the Dalai Lama described Zen as "Mental Fitness Training" I had an Aha moment that brought clarity, comfort and joy. In translation by Dr. Alexander Berzin, His Holiness also shared that... mental fitness is the mental factor of feeling totally fit to do something – in this case, remain totally concentrated on anything. It is both exhilarating and blissful, but in a nondisturbing way.

The study of something that interests you, like physics ("everything is connected") is called a Science, The practice or application is the ART.

The intention of Mental Fitness is to nurture your creativity to discover that Zen Begins Where Talking Ends and Turning the Matter of Your Life into a Work of Living Art Starts Right Here and Now! We begin within with our Spirit- Being connected through our mindful breathing. Our mind, zen-like calm to carry on with laser like concentration on what we are Doing ( performance brilliance). Having stability and stillness which brings centered control of our Body/Soul. The essence is about learning to gain total command of our divine instrument. I gleaned these insights from many years of professional dance training and working with famous musicians and artists.

I'm here to help you reach your level of skill mastery of the brilliant basics with an all new perspective; Live it, Breathe it and Be it. In the words of Goethe; "As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live."

Translated from the Introduction of Mental Fitness (Foreword by Leonard Cohen), I mention how we gather information (and quotes) on how to transform our lives... yet we tend to get stressed and stuck in our thoughts so nothing changes. Wisdom is applying or using what we already have. An illustration of this ideal can be seen in the characters from the Wizard of Oz. Each one of them already had what they were seeking within themselves , Clarity, Compassion, and Courage and the Perfect Power Within to go Home. Author, Frank Baum's wonderful "Oz" story hit a chord in me and I am grateful to glean on its message of light and share it with you. I'm also honored to be a part of restoring the Character Ethic for Humanity (human family).

The innovative idea of an iPhone App occured to me after watching my daughter become a wiz at accessing them. What I would like to do here and in future blogs, is not only share books that have helped me to connect the dots but take a brief and straightforward approach to clarifying the application of foundational tools like: The Art of Breathing, Posture and Centering. Let's explore the inner mechanics of breathing life into any noteworthy quote. With this Inspirational App we'll transform each quote into a "we make our own luck" Centering Charm.

Let's start with Oprah Winfrey's zen moment of clarity: "I had to hit burnout more than once before I understood the wisdom of balance of coming back to my center for rejuvenation."

Revisiting my miracle workers blog re. working with the Schofields in Jan. 2009 titled "East meets West and Struggles to Find its Balance" reminded me of that quote. Oprah actually came to my house to interview Jani Schofield to globally share her battle with childhood schizophrenia. Oprah leads with her authentic presence, and demonstrated her wisdom to not struggle but return to her center in trying to encourage Jani to sit still and do the interview...

Without further ado, let's take a breath of fresh air and activate Oprah's revised quote: inhale I am long breath out Centered and stress free like a deeply rooted wisdom tree.

FunZen App: Back to Basics, Recipe for Deep Dish Pie Crust 101

Posture Pointer: 1st things 1st Gently remind yourself to bring your head back in line with your spine (center line) like the core of an apple.

Exhale Whooosh pressing your zen button (right below your navel almost 2") to simply relax, refocus and restore balance.

Breathe in nurturing air power slowly and deeply through your nose, mouth pursed open (feel your core, your belly rise from the bottom up) mentally affirm:

~ I am~(pixie pause) Long Breath Out ~Centered and stress free like a deeply rooted wisdom tree.~(thought free space) (firming up below navel to spine, Hara)

repeat: 1 to 4 times (4-stability a foundational number) as often as you like all day strong...

May you use your FunZen App to commit and follow through with your choice to Carry your Making My Own Luck, Centering Charm with you~ I am, Centered and stress free like a deeply rooted wisdom tree. (Bob Marley says "The one who feels it, knows it." from Mental Fitness pg. 43☙)

Any questions: tweet me, call me, email me, facebook awaits; How can I help you empower yourself to shine?

Mental Fitness (Foreword bt Leonard Cohen) still available: Amazon , Bodhi Tree Books , or, contact me for an autographed copy and free gift telecoaching session. Share with your friends and Zenjoy!

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko and Grace

Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391
Contact: MJRolek@aol.com
Twitter: @Zenmommie I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Yoko Ono's commitment to spread Imagine Peace elucidates the meaning of a zen mommie; let peace begin with the me in mommie.

Keep your Head to the Sky & Stay on your Feet

2011-01-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

As Jon Kabat Zinn says: “We can't stop the waves but we can learn to surf'.

A few years ago I was honored to teach and share a savory taste of Mindfulness with champion surfer, Kelly Slater. At the time, to be honest I didn't know who he was, yet sensed his great presence. His Attitude (Kelly link) and laser beam focus was impressive yet I quickly observed that riding a mental wave for Kelly appeared to be just as challenging as a big kahuna wave. ❧

Mindful Inspirational Appetizer:

(Bobby Flay's Yum Cesar Crostini)

Find your Zen moment of Awe-someness to use everyday noises like birds chirping, phone ringing tones, a beep, favorite song, as your Mindful Fitness reminder, to tune out distractions (monkey-mind chatter) and tune into your Whooshhh outbreath... For now, simply ride a few of your breath waves, (your body's wisdom knows what to do, take 1-5 out and in breath cycles), we'll discuss inner mechanics from Mental Fitness another time.❧

When you hear these sounds as a reminder, ride your breath waves to Relax and let go into the present moment, which is all new, always available here in the now. This is your opportunity to mindfully flex your Get your head in the A game for Awesome, using Mental Fitness as our Playbook. Consider this: having a great attitude with altitude activates this brilliant idea from Inspired Author, Neale Donald Walsch "Masters are those who have chosen Only Love. In every moment." What helps me re-center is to remember that love is for-giving, especially when I fall off my inner surfboard again and again and get back up on my feet, making it up as I go...

On pg. 74 in Mental Fitness, I mention returning to your centered breath to anchor your attention in the present moment as you learn to ride your mental surfboard. Surf's Up!

Mental Fitness (Foreword by Leonard Cohen) still available: Amazon, Bodhi Tree Books, or, contact me for an autographed copy and free gift telecoaching session. Share with your friends and Zenjoy!

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko and Grace
Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391
Contact: MJRolek@aol.com
Twitter: @Zenmommie

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Get a Sip of Zen in the Zoo of Life

2011-01-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

The idea "Got Zen?" was an inspired Aha! moment, after I took author/friend

Dan Millman of amazing book series "The Peaceful Warrior"

suggestion to heart and watched Neil Pasricha's "The 3 A's

of Awesome." The light bulb has stayed switched on...My daughter Grace was also awestruck and couldn't wait to get and soak in "The Book Of Awesome."

Now, it's your turn to discover for yourself the pith and bright story about Neil's award winning 10 million-plus-hit blog "1000 awesomethings.com".

The expression "Got Zen?" reminds me of the fact that everyone has zen or buddha nature but many rarely realize it. Essentially zen means meditation, it is the art of mindful living with non judgmental observation moment to moment. It is multi-layered and beyond the scope of this blog to discuss the various means of energy (light) work, prayer and meditation for returning home to our original nature of enlightenment or oneness. I am grateful that the essence of Zen can be found in understanding that the art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity.

The Zen mind Beginner's mind element that I see and admire in Neil Pasricha's perception of simple brilliance; is the celebration of our senses and the wonderment of being a child again. He also acknowledges the sweet simplicity of zen mastery. To see the world as if you were seeing it for the first time, doesn't require a New Year's resolution, or more time to fix and change anything about yourself. To directly experience Awesomeness is your choice to grab an Aha! moment and get a sip of zen by catching a breath wave and riding your ahhhh long breath out.

When Leonard Cohen wrote the foreword to my book Mental Fitness aka "Yoga off the Mat" in 1995 (see below) I wasn't ready to accept the awesomeness of what he wrote. For brevity dgms (don't get me started), let's just say being born into a zen lineage is easier now. With zen gaining more popularity; the perspective is more accessible. For instance, my zen mama tweeps and soul cheerleaders have helped me see that my message of reaching zen-like calm to carry on smack in the middle of life; is like helping each other find the rabbit's foot that's hiding in the bottom of our pockets.

FOREWORD

Thank you.

Jikan Eliezer

a Mt. Baldy monk

(Leonard Cohen)

Inspirational "Staple" Recipe:

Gratitude is the Mother of Lovingkindness & Joyfulness

(Pure Joy comes from our Spirit) "Joy is prayer~Joy is strength~Joy is love~Joy is a net of love by which we catch souls..." Mother Teresa

Heart❤Warmer Spiritual Exercise: Breathe in slow and deeply: ❤ Opening your heart, (expanding lower ribs)

Breathe out: Expanding your net of pure love (firm-up core on exhalation) ❤

(perform 3-4 breath cycles) repeat connecting the heart ❤ dots at your pace of comfort & joy through out the day one ❤ breath at a time)

Got Zen? will be an ongoing daily/weekly blog in 2011. My goal is to continue to support cool topics that clarify ideas like getting our head in the A 4 Awesome game with Neil Pasricha's 3 A's using Mental Fitness as a playbook while we Talk and Walk in Gratitude with Grace and Grit ❤❤❤ looking forward to your input to keep the ball rolling.

Mental Fitness (Foreword by Leonard Cohen) still available: Amazon, Bodhi Tree Books, or, contact me for an autographed copy and free gift telecoaching session. Share with your friends and Zenjoy ❤

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko and Grace

Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391
Contact: MJRolek@aol.com
Twitter: @Zenmommie
I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

A Slice of Heavenly Peace

2010-12-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world” ~Sadako Sasaki` (Children's Peace Memorial, Hiroshima)

Free-up your Glee Power with us in 2011. This "Noel" Christmas blog is dedicated to Noelle Feldman my original Zen Mommie and best friend who is an awesome baker. Whenever we connect-up she reminds me that the right words at the right time can give our ❤ hearts wings. She helps me to remember this bittersweet truth; knowing and discussing what to do mindfully isn't the same as actually doing what we know in our hearts. For instance, many of us have heard and resonated with the lyrics "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me." Being an example of peace begins within with a bit of discipline equals respect and love thyself. Discipline is mindfully being committed to singing your kokoro (heart) song that wants to be heard in the world.

In honoring the guiding principles of Zen; Simplicity, Serenity and Harmony let's discover how to activate Gandhi's inspiring words " Be the change you wish to see in the world.

Peace, It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. ❤ That may sound impossible, yet with Zen that's where you begin within in the quiet center of the storm. Where we can access our clear mind peaceful heart, one zen breath at a time
.
Your Zen Moment: A Slice of Heavenly Peace

In one simple breath you can activate your zen moment. Now, lets inhale clear blue zenergy, feel your tummy rising, exhale riding the breath wave. Tummy falling, flattening towards your spine. By using this magic mood tool we are building quiet strength to weather any storm. Breathe at your pace of grace.

The Gift that keeps giving is a precious gift of Sweet Peace that any mommie can give herself by capturing a present moment to take a Deep Breath to revitalize her spirit. Here's your magical zen charm; "I am allowing peace to begin with the me in mommie here, right now." This zen verbal charm applies to everyone including girls who can benefit from learning to embrace their inside child one ❤ heart step at a time to brighten their inner light.

Mental Fitness still available: Amazon, Bodhi Tree Books, or, contact me for an autographed copy

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko and Grace

Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391
Contact: MJRolek@aol.com
Twitter: @Zenmommie
I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.

Blessing in Disguise

2010-11-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

My Zen Experience: From Cursed to Charmed

Recently I was asked by Ogun and Jennifer @UFamilyMatters to be on their talk show to share how (Grace and I) practice Zen (the art of present moment living) and apply it to parenting. It may sound simple on the surface. Well, as the expression suggests still waters run deep. I trusted my vibes to dive in deeper and share a bit of honesty re. my family history. What inspired the idea from "cursed to charmed" is the enchanting Bestselling author, Victoria Moran. Her writing is an inspiration for me, she has said "In fairy tales, being charmed was the opposite of being cursed."

Those simple words reminded me of the mother of Zen, Taoism, which reveals that everything is made from its opposite. Sending a wave of Gratitude to @MarthaBeck for helping me realize this insight... For instance, if we ask for strength, we get weakness. If we ask for confidence, we get lack of believing in ourselves. Looking back, being born into a Zen legacy felt like a huge burden yet a blessing. My heritage on my dad's side is Afro-European and Japanese on my mom's side. This East meets West contrast has been a blessing in building a bridge of appreciation for the rich tones of music and dance while honoring the zen-like silent space between the music notes of life.

During the almost one hour @UnityOnlinRadio interview, I opened up and shared a few pivotal moments of growing up in a home where we kept the fun in the dysfunctional. The toxic drama or ill will and envy continues to this day...

Without further ado, my grateful heart is overjoyed for the opportunity Rev. Jennifer and Ogun Holder has given us to share our vision and voice of renewed Hope. We are honored to be on the same music page with their timely message

of "Spiritual Parenting" by divine design vs. default.

From a Zen mind, Beginner's mind, parenting perspective I've gleaned from being a life long learner to practice the wisdom from My friend Laura and Editor of @DailyWordMag ; Let go, Let God. I mentioned on the show that my beloved mother set the example when she was well, to lead from my presence with passion and purpose. Those character values modeled the first 5 years of my life and have helped shaped me into who I am today, choosing to teach Grace and myself to live a charmed life. The FunZen Bakery was created with the intent to help ourselves to help others shine brilliantly from within.

Gleek Inspirational Recipe of "Greek Honey Cookies" to nourish Being a Cheerleader for your Soul:

In previous blogs we've shared inspirational recipes with easy to do heart steps to reach for that miraculous state of BEing Centered to access feeling Grounded in Spirit with Zen-like Calm to Carry on this message of light; as Children of God or the Universe we are here to sing our heart's song and shine like the dancing stars You and I already are.

Right now, I want to share how Grace and I simply live our practice moment to moment, with a cool tool newly called the Whoooshh Mindful Breath Charm... Some moments or many, (lol) we are thrown off balance. I remind Grace what I remember from dancing that I have to lose my center to trust finding it again and again. We call this process learning to love what is, @ByronKatie or "Acceptance Therapy". For more details on how to get centered check out my book Mental Fitness which Head Coach, Phil Jackson of the LA Lakers has used successfully to bring the best out of his players.

Simply by Exhaling right now, Whoooshh...Stop in the name of Love and drawing in an All is One (deep blue whale) Breath we allow ourselves to experience a wave of letting go with the long breath out Ahhhh.

Your Whoooshh Mindful Breath Charm empowers you to taste the honey of non judgmental observation. We can access reaching Stillness from breathing mindfully to reveal our Socratic-zen lesson known as the Delphi Oracle "Know thyself, Be thyself, Love thyself."

Being the Head Cheerleading for the Soul Coach I would like to send a Gratitude Wave of Love and Cheer On my awesome peeps & tweet-hearts who help all of us Shine. Starting with my you glow girl, High Performance Coach Anne Merrem, who is taking the Whoooshh Mindful Breath charm to a whole new winning results level in Germany, Berlin;

my editing angel, @BeautyofWisdom, @CrissyBayless ,

@JRavenHawk,@JenuineHealing, @Marielhemingway,@JulieShanti,
@mallikachopra, @MarthaBeck @stressfreekids, @PocketPeople,

@DrBenlo, @ValenciaRay, @TheZenMama, @ZenMommy @SamHorn_dot_com,
and the list goes on and on... Remember Ohana means family, nobody is forgotten or left behind. I love ya'll.Gentle reminder; @TheDailyLove take your daily love vites to stay in the light of love. Ti Amo. <3

Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391

Contact: MJRolek@aol.com

Twitter: @Zenmommie

I teach Kids and train Parents.

Three's a Charm: Mini Spiritual Tune-up

2010-10-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

"I taught them...(discipline) loving yourself enough to do your best... contributes to happiness." Oracene Price, Mother of Tennis Champions, Venus & Serena Williams

"3's a Charm" is an expression that has its roots in the early Renaissance, many believed three to be an extremely lucky number. My favorite reference is from "The Wizard of Oz" when Glinda the good witch, told Dorothy to click her heels three times to go home. My daughter Grace and I practice this FunZen Drill when we need to Stop, in the name of love and re-focus on middle C or Center to Just BE, re-gaining command of our body-soul instrument.

Recently, I shared this spiritual exercise of tuning up our instrument with my friend, brilliant Photographer/photo journalist, Musician, Robbie Kaye @BeautyofWisdom. She was my inspirational muse that day reminding me that musicians have to tune and re-tune their instrument before they play music. Likewise, anybody can not only entertain but easily learn to take command of their instrument to face the music of life and establish inner harmony and happiness.

Truly when people appear to handle pressure well, also known as "grace under pressure", they've learned to cultivate composure, the fruit of self discipline . Discipline begins within, with respect, integrity and commitment to honor what you love.

Inspirational Recipe: 3 Flavorful Secret Ingredients already hidden inside of you. Adding your spiritual boost: Presence; present moment zenergy, Purpose; keeping attention on your intention, Passion; your inner spark of Divinity...

3 Charmed Breaths to activate staying connected to your Breath of Life, Divine Love and Protection wearing your Ruby Slippers. (see Mental Fitness pg.79 Home Sweet Home)

1st Breath: *Root locket~ Exhale ~relax and re-focus (empty your cup), Inhale slow and deep to your core, feel abdomen rising like a wave of zenergy, Exhale slowly pressing navel to backbone tightening-up to lighten -up Now, feel wave of letting go with roots to know where home is, your stability.

2nd Breath: Rise~ Keep your head to the sky, creating spaciousness inside to feel Tall, Light and Firm inside and out sitting or standing with upright vs. uptight posture, maintain *Root locket. (firming-up, holding quarter between sit bones)

3rd Breath: Radiate~ Allow your Centered Breath to pour in circulating and percolating from your Hara (diamond core cradle). Its your zen moment to Smile and Shine brilliantly straight from your heart.

Namaste...The light of Divine Love in me honors the light of Divinity in you.

*Sanskrit yoga word Mula Bandha is a foundational energetic lock which allows us to build zenergy, laser beam focus, and a stable base for incredible balance both on and off the yoga mat. In a nutshell, tighten up your pelvic floor muscles by squeezing inward and upward towards your navel, this essential exercise is often introduced as kegels. We want those deep inner muscles "smiling" and defying gravity...for detailed instruction see @yogamint.

With deep Respect and Love for Authors, Esther and Jerry Hicks I wanted to close sharing some of Esther's brilliant words of wisdom. I strongly resonate with this affirmation; "I, Esther Hicks see and draw to me, through Divine Love, those Beings who seek enlightenment through my process. The sharing will elevate us both, now."♥

Mental Fitness still available: Amazon, Bodhi Tree Books or, contact me for autographed copy.

Thank You,

FunZen Girls OX

Michiko and Grace

Life Coaching Services now available: 805 490-2391

Contact: MJRolek@aol.com

Twitter: @Zenmommie

I teach Kids and train Parents.

The Art of Zencouragement

2010-09-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

"The essence of all art is having pleasure giving pleasure." Misha Baryshnikov

Lucky Charm Starter ♡: let's apply the essence of this quote with a delicious inspirational recipe; for helping you find your Comfort & Joy Ritual.

Start simply by being curious about what brings you pleasure or joy... Just asking the question and getting quiet by breathing deeper will empower you to hear your lucky "Aha" message smack in the middle of life, perhaps rustling in the Fall leaves, ❧ or twinkling in the night sky.✳

Thank you for visiting the FunZen Bakery, ♡

Zen mommie and Grace oxox

You Hold the Magic Key!

2010-08-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket but into your own.” Unknown

I'm delighted to share this wonderful quote that my friend Rita Ross shared with me on a recent sunny day at the park. As you may know, Rita is the Creator of imaginative

Pocket People; authentic, one of a kind, lovely dolls. They remind us of the "Beatitudes" or Be-attitudes connecting us to our enlightened nature as follows; Be beautiful, Be brilliant, and Be bold.

Since the magic key is already in your pocket, what come's next are easy to follow heart steps on how to Activate it.

123 Easy As Pie ♡♡♡

Step 1. Pixie Pause... Whooshhh… Slowly exhaling... to reach inner stillness.

Step 2. Look inward, visualize your mind calm like water… Then, deeply~ Inhale~ Pure Love which waters your roots of learning to trust and love yourself.

Step 3. Long Breath Out…Ahhhh ->tighten-up the core to lighten-up ->spreading your heart wings to embrace your innate key to activate your happiness and peace.

Now; take it with you one mindful breath at a time.

Thank you profusely for allowing us to share this inspirational recipe with you...143♡

Make, Bake and Decorate at the FunZen Bakery

2010-08-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

"Words are like a recipe's ingredients for me." ~ Nicola Karesh, Author

One of my favorite things about the FunZen Bakery is that parents and kids--in fact anyone--can benefit from picking up our sweet treats to restore character and build confidence. However, our recipes aren’t locked away in a secret treasure chest. We love sharing everything on our menu…along with their very special ingredients and simple instructions for preparation.

You just need to Make, Bake and Decorate.

Make: up your mind to engage and take action.
Bake: to maintain the heat of your concentration power.
Decorate: and magically create your day, your way.

Today’s special treat will be a revitalizing exercise I call the “Morning Glory Cupcake.”

At its very heart, the "Morning Glory Cupcake" gives us special nourishment for the soul that has at its core an expression near to my heart: “Go within or Go without.”

This short maxim basically means that when you look inward towards stillness, you will find your life lesson. Ignoring the inner stillness, and focusing on the storm around you, can cause you to miss out on a blessing. An incident that happened recently led to my stepping inside the FunZen Bakery to use this inspirational recipe myself.

Earlier this year, I received a tweet from a man who expressed disapproval with the idea of FunZen when I used it in conjunction with the Heraclitus quote, "Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play."

The man wasn't’ buying it. He firmly stated that, to him, "FunZen was just New Age mumbo jumbo..." At first, reading his tweet didn't’ just catch me off-guard; it stung me. My initial reaction was to feel insulted… But I took a mindful breath and centered and refocused myself. My inner samurai girl went from reactive to reflective as I reminded myself to choose to detach from negativity. I recalled my life lessons and past teachings which made his words empower me with self-love rather than hurt me emotionally. Getting mad would serve no purpose. I re-tweeted the man and explained that FunZen came from the mouth of a babe, my daughter Grace at 5 years old. It was her name for the breathing and centering exercises that we still practice together everyday.

After telling him about the origins of FunZen, the man said that he now had a new-found respect for it, and acknowledged its usefulness. By not sinking to his level of antagonism, I was able to bring him onboard. It was like a breath of fresh air to see my fellow tweep now shift his perspective. And by going within, and listening to my heart, I was able to make art and communicate with compassion when things seemed to be falling apart. It’s something we can all do: Rather than be reactive when life throws you a curve ball, use your spiritual perspective to gain insight and learn from the issue at hand.

Truly, you can reach the sweet spot of "blessed aha's" with an instant understanding when you are able to see a situation with new eyes. I see this all the time through the eyes of my daughter. FunZen has emerged as a professional tool for Grace as she continues to work as a voice-over artist, and it consistently ignites brilliant performances from within her.

There are many of these exercises on the menu here at the FunZen Bakery, and over time I will be sharing them with you. Some of the centering exercises that have worked like a charm to enable Grace to activate a happy-calm state of concentration are "The Miracle Diamond Lemon Bars,” “Mermaid Starfish Cookies” and “Angel food Cupcakes.”

In future blogs, we'll be serving up more "you-nique ingredients for the Magic of Mindful Living. I will detail each of these exercises (and many more!) so that others may gain the inner peace, courage and confidence that come from using them. At 12 years of age, Grace continues to use these "cool tools" while incorporating FunZen into her everyday life.

Now, let's roll up our sleeves, and take a mindful breath, as I offer you today’s special of the day from the FunZen Bakery--the “Morning Glory Cupcake.”

I find that it’s a holistic tune-up in the morning to start your day…or anytime you need some inspirational “food for thought.” It's all good. It's organic.

The Morning Glory Cupcake

Follow your heart in 3 quick steps as you Make, Bake and Decorate:

Make: Whooshhh… Slowly exhale, quieting down from within. Now, pixie pause.

Bake: Look inward, visualize still water… Then, intently inhale inspiration.

Decorate: Slowly exhale… Ahhhh… Listen to your seawind breathing. Here’s where insights arise out of the stillness and the golden sound of silence.

Repeat as needed…

You can now tune in to the wisdom that always resides in your heart, enabling you to turn any obstacle into a learning opportunity. Thank you for joining us and engaging in today’s FunZen Bakery’s interactive recipe. We’re always here to Make, Bake and Decorate delicious little nuggets of fresh insights.

P.S. Look at the photo above, and guess who said this. "I have been teaching the art of fine baking for a long time!” Hint: She's a domestic goddess media mogul. Yes, kudos to Martha Stewart.