34 degrees

It's been hot, around 34 degrees yesterday, although the breeze has been wonderful. Just taking it easy and no issues to mention. It's been a great release from the daily reminders of the predicament i'm in. Nicely relaxed.

We went up to friends in the hills behind us and enjoyed a lovely evening.

We visited Gibraltar but I can't see us going back. Not our thing. Sunday market is on today so about to go and have a look.
...
Market wasn't up to much but a bit of a Harley bike fest going on. I liked this one.

Estapona

Kali enjoys the sunshine

Great to hear that Steve Jobs (Apple) is back to work after a Liver op. On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Jobs had a liver transplant two months ago in Tennessee and that he will likely work part-time, at least in the beginning.

A good role model for me.

Look what i built at the weekend!



off to Spain for a week. Will update when i can!

=== JKrishnamurti.org - Daily Quote ===

The inner always overcomes the outer

Outward beauty can never last, it is marred always if there is no inward delight and joy. We cultivate the outer, paying so little attention to the thing inside the skin; but it is the inner that always overcomes the outer. It is the worm inside the apple that destroys the freshness of the apple.

My two girls

Several hours later Kali is still wearing her medal!

Race for Life

I've felt my blood pressure rise with my tiredness and so I recommenced the medication for it. I don't want the varices returning so its the better of two evils.

Caz does the Race for Life with the girls from AMAG. Click here for details:



I'm taking part in Race for Life with girls from Aberdeen Martial Arts group to raise money for Cancer Research UK a great cause and would really welcome your support. Please take a moment to sponsor me. It's really easy - you can donate online by credit or debit card at the following address: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/cazewan

All donations are secure and sent electronically to Cancer Research UK. If you are a UK taxpayer, Cancer Research's partner Justgiving will automatically reclaim at least 25% in Gift Aid on your donation at no cost to you - making it worth even more. Please join me in supporting Race for Life and a fabulous cause!

We are redecorating in the house right now so it's added stress.

Two's up

With the second week of the stairs, I'm now taking the stairs two at a time. Legs are holding up and not so breathless. I overtake people who are in 'full health'. Concentration is good and I've gone up to sitting at 86kg steady.

I do tire though and after work i tend to nap. I sleep heavily and take my time in the mornings. I was on the mountain bike cycling around the other night with the dog running alongside. It felt good.

Wilma Rudolph, the first US female athlete to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games.

"I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened."

=== JKrishnamurti.org - Daily Quote ===

Intensely aware in the present of all conditioning

Only right thinking can free our thought-feeling from ignorance and sorrow. Right thinking is not the result of time but of becoming intensely aware in the present of all conditioning, which prevents clarity and understanding.

The realization of that which is immortal, deathless, does not lie along the path of self-continuity, nor is it in its opposite. In the opposites there is conflict but not truth. Through self-awareness and in the clarity of self-knowledge, there comes right thinking. The capacity to realize truth is with us. In cultivating right thinking, which comes with self-knowledge, thought-feeling unfolds into the real, the timeless....

What is necessary is to go beyond our narrow beliefs and formulations, our cravings and hopes, to experience that which is deathless and timeless.

Collected Works, Vol. III - 245

The Hedge - another barrier surpassed!

The weekend saw myself and Perry tackle the hedge, that bain of my life which is 13 m long and 3 m high. We took a meter off, cutting into thick trunks. Caz worked on the study, stripping it down, filling any holes in the walls and painting.

The vibration from the chainsaw saw me in agony with cramps for about an hour on Saturday. I was watching the UFC and the Dan Hardy fight had me out of the seat cheering, relieving the pain for a moment. This was surparssed only by Valentino Rossi's last lap in the Moto GP, probably the most exciting last lap i'll ever see!



I had the Dr's this morning at the Hospital. Nothing much to add. I'm tired and she was concerned by my blood pressure at 140/100. So i'm going to chill out. They have a big get together this week, so i will be discussed. How i find out what is said, your guess is as good as mine!

=== JKrishnamurti.org - Daily Quote ===

Truth is the vast ocean which has not been charted: it is fathomless

Truth you have to find out for yourself; you have to walk the path alone - and there is no path to truth. Truth is the vast ocean which has not been charted: it is fathomless. You have to find it, walking endlessly, and the endlessness becomes a torture, a thing that you are frightened of, if you have not understood the beginning of what we have been talking about. Then there is no time; then you are living so completely in that emptiness that time has gone and there is only the present, this active present.

I do not know if you have ever noticed a bird on the wing, a leaf falling, or the sun on the water, or the reflection of the moon on the water. If you have noticed, if you have seen the beauty of it, in that moment there is no time: it is there endlessly, unspoiled, incorruptible, timeless. Similarly, a religious mind is that. And it is only such a religious mind that can receive the immeasurable, the nameless.

Collected Works, Vol. XIV - 118

78 steps

At the beginning of the week, i said that i had started climbing the stairs at work rather than using the lift. Before coming off the Ramiril for blood pressure control, if i went up one floor then i felt dizzy.

Having stopped the Rampiril, given it a week to get out of my system, I started on the 6 sets of 13 steps and set the task of 4 reps.

Day one saw me virtually at failure at the top, my legs ready to collapse and my lungs gasping for oxygen. By the fourth set that day it had slightly improved but i could hardly walk once at the top.

When i finished my last set on Thursday, i had passed someone on the stairs. My legs were tingly but i could have done another level no problem. The person i passed was puffing away, an aroma telling me that she had just returned from a quick smoke outside.

Today i start on the exercise bike and this time next week i intend to start working the kettlebells.

"Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: the potential for greatness lives within each of us."

We have an old pal coming in to do decoration this weekend. We have packed stuff up and the upstairs should be blitzed to give a long awaited freshening up.

I have come across a new blog started up dealing with NLP. Called 'The Higherway Code' it's a great read and is on my list of blogs i follow on this page. I hope you add it to your list!

=== JKrishnamurti.org - Daily Quote ===

There is no end to learning; therefore, there is no despair

The mind that would really understand what is true, the real - the extraordinary state of mind that comprehends that thing called truth - must have, psychologically, no fear of any kind....A mind which would really understand, take a journey into the most extraordinary thing called reality and go deeply into it - where there is no measure, no time, no illusion, no imagination - must be completely free from fear. And, therefore, such a mind is always living, neither in the past nor in the future...

A mind that is aware of all the things that are connected with fear is not concerned with the past but, as the past arises, it deals with it, not as a steppingstone to the future. Therefore, such a mind is living in the active present and, therefore, comprehends every movement of thought, feeling, fear, as it arises. There is a great deal to learn: there is no end to learning; therefore, there is no despair, no anxiety. This you must have completely in your blood so that you are never caught in the things that have been done or that will be done in the future, so that you are never held in time as thought. It is only the mind that has emptied itself of all this fear that is empty. Then, in that emptiness, it can understand that which is supreme and nameless.

Collected Works, Vol. XIV - 94

News Flash!

Mail from my consultant:
I have just opened the report - good news compared with the CT of April: The lesion in the right lobe of your liver now 4.7cm x 4.8cm shrunk from 7.4cm x 7.6cm! The 2cm lesion in another lobe is stable and there is nothing new. This is great news, Patrick, and well done.

Under 5cm! I knew it!

Stairway to heaven

So I still await the results of the scan, I'm in the dark as when to expect them.

Saturday saw me in Glasgow teaching self protection with Bob Spour. I enjoyed the day but was exhausted at the end of it. Sunday becomes a bit of blur, but we have started removing a lot of junk from the house in order to freshen it all up with a coat of paint or two.

Monday saw me travel into work where i was met with the news that whilst my position was safe in the current climate, some colleagues were being moved and that isn't yet a guarantee that they wont face redundancy. After work i went home and slept for two hours and had a quiet night in.

Back at work today (on the bike!) where i have started climbing the stairs. Three flights may not seem much but my legs are at failure when i reach the top and I'm puffing away. However, now i have ceased the Rampiril blood pressure tablets, I am no longer dizzy. Each day I'm in I'll set the task of 4 trips on the stairs and increase it appropriately.

I was disappointed to say the least that Guro Dan Inosanto has been cancelled in London in July. This is due to changes of legislation around Visas for non EU people. My mind is now cast to deliberating on how to attend a seminar this year with a truly inspirational man.

"Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle."

Rollercoaster

So after my scan I've been wiped out. Whether its the dye that is pumped into my body or the effort that i had put into the first part of the week I can't tell. As the weather changed so did i. The strong sun was replaced by cooler days with showers and i was found in bed sleeping in teh afternoons.

Work has not been fun. The grim reaper is in dishing out redundancies and cuts, but i haven't heard anything so assume I'm not in the mix. It is something that I can't concern myself with too much. If it happens it happens. One door closes another opens. I feel for my colleagues.

I see Bob this weekend, so we will strengthen the healing process. Our course is True!

Race for Life

Kali Sunbathing

I have a scan tomorrow. I know this tumour is fried. After the recent good weather I'm buzzing with confidence.

When I saw the Dr on Monday she felt my liver and it was normal, no enlargement that she would expect normally. My blood pressure was 120 over 80 so I am now dropping the Rampiril which i blame for the dizzyness. Hopefully now i can start some cardio workouts!

I have been going into the office but the atmosphere is tense there since the threat of redundancies is hitting the oil business. However I'm able to build up my endurance working for the small ammount of hours allotted right now PLUS i get to go on the bike.


I'll see Bob at the weekend so we'll strengthen the healing process.

Caz is taking part in Race for Life with the girls from Aberdeen Martial Arts Group to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Please take a moment to sponsor me. It's really easy - you can donate online by credit or debit card at the following address: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/cazewan
All donations are secure and sent electronically to Cancer Research UK. If you are a UK taxpayer, Cancer Research's partner Justgiving will automatically reclaim at least 25% in Gift Aid on your donation at no cost to you - making it worth even more. Please join me in supporting Race for Life and a fabulous cause! Thanks and best wishes, Carolyn