Keep your Head to the Sky & Stay on your Feet

    Kelly's Moment of Zen


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. Kelly's laser beam focus was impressive yet I quickly observed that riding a mental wave for Kelly appeared to be a welcome challenge, an opportunity, just like riding the perfect wave. ❧
update: 5 ways Kelly Slater has taught us.. learn more 

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, allow them to be there with non resistance, simply ride your breath waves to soften and Relax letting go into the present moment, which is all new, always available here in the now. This mindful move is your opportunity to flex getting Getting your head in the A game for Altitude, Authenticity, Awareness using Mental Fitness as our Playbook. Consider this: having a great attitude with altitude activates this awesome 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 to ask where is the love? noting that love is for-giving, an act of self love. This helps especially when I fall off my inner surfboard again and again getting right back up on my feet, making it up as I go, also know as "child's play" or trusting our intuition.

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, go to funzen books 

In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko and Grace
 

Get a Sip of Zen in the Zoo of Life

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

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 "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.

Blessing in Disguise

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

"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

"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!

“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

"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.