Indulge me for a moment. I've mentioned that I'm reading "Mastery" by George Leonard again, and I've been once again inspired by his insites. I want to share a bit of it here.

Mr Leonard describes "The Five Master Keys".

The first is Instruction. He says: "Instruction comes in many forms. For mastering most skill, there's nothing better than being in the hands of a master teacher." He goes into depth on what makes a good instructor, how to find one, how to move on if you find your instructor isn't a good fit for you, etc. I can see how a lot of this applies to My particular journey. After all, there are a lot of instructors out there, Bill Phillips, Dr Atkins, and many MANY others. At the same time there is much to be learned from others who are also on this journey. Groups of folks who are walking the same path and because of that I consiter them as much my Instructor as some unknown face on the back cover of a book.

Key 2: Practice: I love this particular quote."A practice (as a noun) can be anything you practice on a regular basis as an integral part of your life -- not in order to gain something else, but for its own sake" WOW. Let's take the first part of that "as an integral part of your life". How often have I seen that particular trait in those whome I consiter "Masters" People like Skwigg who it's obvious that live and breath this and have obviously 'gotten it right'. The second part of that statement is the part that I REALLY have a hard time realizing, and yet I know is the most important..."not in order to gain something else, but for its own sake". After all, isn't that the basis 99% of the time we DO this.. to GAIN something, good health, a great body... He addes "The people we know as masters don't devote themselves to their particular skill just to get better at it. The truth is, they love to practice--" How do I eat right and excercise for it's own sake? How do I learn to 'love' it? That may be something that takes me a while to figure out.

Key 3: Surrender "This means surrendering to your teacher and to the demands of your discipline" Of course the first thing that stikes me here is that you must HAVE a teacher. Then you have to be willing to surrender to them. To take thier advice apply it and continue to apply it in faith until you begin to see progress. But that's not all... there is more to that when I read it again. you must also surrender "to the demands of your discipline" surender myself to the pain and fatigue, to sometimes passing by that chunk of chocolate cake for a cup of yogurt.

Key 4: Intentionality