Body Aches

Arms really sore dragging at my side. Behind in pushups may have to do a thousand day when recovered, defiantly can’t do any now. Typing is even an issue.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Life and Change

The key in life is change. It seems it is not optional it is essential. What is it that keeps us going, it is change? People have battled and struggled threw experiences of life. Why do we hang on and keep growing, it is in the hope of change! If you look back on your life are you the same person you were ten years ago, No your life probably does not even resemble what you were ten years ago, that’s because of change. Change in life takes time, some small change can happen quickly but most change happens slowly it may take years. We wish change were quick and easy, no like anything else if things are quick and easy we do not learn any thing. Some changes have to happen through crushing us to change our perspective of life, and then we build ourselves back up again. Sometime we have to throw away that controlling part of our life and let things just happen. Develop the spiritual part of your life and everything else will fall into place.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Leading and Following

Which is more important. The first thought is that leading is the most important. If you are a good leader you are a good leader. In order to be a good leader you must first learn how to follow. Being a good follower one must know how to control their emotions, in the physical, mental and verbal sense, trust their leader and learn how to carry out instruction weather or not you agree at the time with that instruction, the situation may be for the big picture. That does not mean to blindly follow, or not to question your leader, it is how you question your leader that has to be learned. Being a good follower is showing the qualities of being a good leader. If you are not a good follower the leader will not have you as a follower, if you are not a good leader you will not have any followers. Leading or following, each is important.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

The Pain Body

It seems that human beings, always keep some kind of pain in themselves. Be if it is physical or mental if it is physical, the human deals with the situation better because the ailment, accident or physical dilemma has a cause and the physical is blamed on that situation. But really the physical is actually caused by the mental; it’s way of getting its fulfillment of the pain body, its way of getting attention.

The mental pain body seems to gets its fulfillment from being angry, lashing out, complaining, to get a response from someone, so it can feel superior.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Humility

In most cultures humility is not shown, practiced, understood or admired. The leader of most cultures is not to show humility, or bow the knee or help others. The leader of such cultures is there to be served; if vulnerability is shown such as humility there is a loss of respect.

Humility is rarely shown in the business world, has your boss ever served you. What are on display in the business world are acts of greed, self-centered comments and actions, you get ahead by manipulating and pushing and having the ability to impress other people, even if it is not the truth in ones own life. Humility is appreciated but it is not often modeled in the business world.

Even though some think it, humility is not a sign of weakness, insecurity, or inferiority. Show me a genuine humble person and they will generally have a strong inner character, and great strength, and usually enormous security.

Humbling yourself before others is not easily done. There is a down side to getting good at humility, you can get proud of it and there is nothing worse than having proud humility!

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Disabilities

Great video.

http://youtu.be/zFWr-CKMWGY

If you can. watch the making of Pro Infirmis, it is in a different language.

Copy and paste if necessary. http://youtu.be/Nola3DVBVtk

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony plain, Alberta, Canada

Zen

A girl in a village became pregnant. Her parents demanded who was the father. She said it was the Zen Master. The parents of the girl went to the Zen Master, and said you made our girl pregnant! He said, is that so? When the child was born the girls parents took the child to the Zen Master and said, this is your child you look after it! The Zen Master said, is that so? The Zen Master lost all of his students; his friends and village people shunned him. The Zen Master cared for and loved the child. A year later the girl felt guilty and finally told her parents the truth, that the child’s father was the Butchers son in the village. The parents went to the Zen Master told him the truth and took the child back, apologized, said they were sorry. The Zen Master said, is that so?

In this story the Zen Master did not let his ego run the show he just took things in stride and he new that things would work out what ever way they were suppose to. In life all of us have been accused of things we did not do, and things that we did not even know we were even being accused of. The reason accusations start and are carried on threw gossip, and people put you down. Their ego needs a boost; the ego needs something to feed on to make them feel good about themselves. Their ego needs a reaction from someone, somewhere or something!

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

More Attitude

As we get older our choice of attitude and the secret of staying young is up to us. It is not where we live, how much money we make, how the kids turned out, who we are married to, where we go to church, the size of the house we live in, the car we drive. It is your choice of attitude. We have a choice of being a drag and a burden, or an inspiration and encouragement. Which of these choices does a person want to be?

Your mind is not old keep stretching it. We should read more books and watch less television. Do more that is active and less that entertains you in the passive sense. When you are with other people we should talk about events and ideas, rather than people. Talking about people turns to gossip. How many people do you know that have fallen into that trap. Look for opportunities to be engaged in.

Your brain is capable of recording 800 memories per second for seventy-five years without getting tired. No one has been able to develop a computer as well and as efficient as the human mind. The human body does get old and tired but the brain does not. Scientists say the humans only use two percent of their brain. Guess sometimes this is demonstrated more often in some than in others! It is said that everything you learned said and done, is on permanent file in your brain you just can’t recall it.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Age and attitude

How many people do you know that are forty-five and people who are sixty-five are in better shape and are sharper and full of life. Nobody cares how old you are except you and if you don’t mind it don’t matter. Quit talking about your age and start demonstrating your enthusiasm. Attitude seems to demoralize as people begin to age what ever age that is. The first attitude is uselessness I’m over the hill, I get in everybody’s way, why am I still around. Uselessness is a bad attitude; you will die before you die. A quote, a useless life is an early death. Second attitude is self-pity; nobody cares about me anymore why should I bother to stay alive or in touch, whoa is me. This leads to blame, blame leads to bitterness, bitterness leads to family saying how long is grandma staying this time, why did we say we would bring them with us on a vacation. They don’t mind you, they may just hate your attitude. Third is fear, this is a very common among those getting older. This attitude says I need to be very careful I need to avoid all dangers and all risks. This can lead to a suspicious spirit and a suspicious spirit leads to paranoia. Fear is a thief it steals us of joy and robs us of peace. Fear is the most devastating of all emotions. The fourth is the attitude of guilt and regret. This is an attitude of always looking back if only I hadn’t or if I would have. Guilt feeds disappointment and discouragement. To grand parents and those who will be grandparents, there is so much that is useful and helpful and necessary in this world. Our families definitely need us. The youth are told to honor the elderly, lets give them a reason to do so, don’t expect it without earning it if they don’t there may be a reason for it and it may not be their fault. Maybe it is time for an attitude adjustment. In the middle years you are determined and in the later years you should be confident who wouldn’t want a granddad like that. Even as we age we need a can do spirit.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Still the Boat

Failed to finish the boat project. Rebuilt the engines electrical system it runs like a top. The trailer and boat are done. But now the water pump is shot so the boat is shelved till next spring. So till next year.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.

Making Change

Doing some reading on the subject of Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia. This statement is something that I believe in whole-heartedly. It comes down to the thought of positive thinking, if all your thoughts are on the negative side that is exactly what you will receive. The power of positive thinking is very hard to keep in perspective. Especially when we are being blasted by the news, because ninety-eight percent of the news is negative. But we cannot just ignore the news and ignore what is happening all over the world that is just being inconsiderate. When we live in one of the most fortunate places on earth. If you remove the non-negative feel good stories from the news and they are usually about sports or entertainment, then the news media curse quotient rises to ninety-nine percent. Well so much for the power of positive thinking. That is why it is so important in the Kwoon, the community and the world that we convey these positive thoughts. Because that is the only thing left that we can do to change society, and change the world.

“The rise and fall of images of the future precede or accompany the rise and fall of cultures. As long as a society’s image is positive and flourishing, the flower of culture is in full bloom. Once the image begins to decay and lose its vitality, the culture does not long survive.” (Fred Polak)

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Miracles

Thousands of amazing, inexplicable, wondrous, and even supernatural events occur every day. And yet most are unreported by the media. The few that are cited are ridiculed.

Why? Here's one possible reason:

Group #1 People most likely to believe in miracles are superstitious, uneducated, and prone to having a blind, literalist faith in their religions' myths.

Group #2 Those who are least likely to believe in miracles are skilled at analytical thought, well educated, and yet prone to having a blind, literalist faith in the ideology of materialism, which dogmatically asserts that the universe consists entirely of things that can be perceived by the five human senses or detected by instruments that scientists have thus far invented.

The media is largely composed of people from the second group. It's virtually impossible for them to admit to the possibility of miracles, let alone experience them. If anyone from this group manages to escape peer pressure and cultivate receptivity to miracles, it's because they have successfully fought against being demoralized by the unsophisticated way miracles are framed by the first group.

Be immune to the double-barreled ignorance. Behold astonishing synchronicities and numinous breakthroughs that seem to violate natural law, be willing to consider the possibility that our understanding of natural law is too narrow. And also refrain from lapsing into irrational gullibility; actively seek mundane explanations for apparent miracles. Quote

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Fishing Meditation

Had a small holiday last week, the kind I really enjoy. Camping, we were by Canmore by the Bow River. It is just a great feeling to toss a hook in the water, with river rushing by. I didn’t have much luck though but fed the fish a lot of bait. We dropped into the Gaia clinic. A collaborative medicine clinic, they specialize in restorative health. We had a Far Infrared sauna session that sure cleans your system out. Also had a session with a Shaman he used, singing bowls, tuning forks and drums to cleanse my system with sound. Now that was an experience! Both mentally and physically, I don’t think there was a frequency I didn’t hear. Then it was on to a lake by Nordegg now that was a serene experience. The lake was about one kilometer wide by two kilometers long, nestled in evergreens. Six o’clock AM looking out the window of the camper and seeing the beauty. I could not stop my self from getting outside and into my hip waders and do some fly-fishing. Standing in the water flicking the line back and forth! The lake is perfectly smooth; the small trout were surfacing, catching bugs on the water making tiny circles that would grow. As the sun started to rise a light fog would appear and cover the whole lake. The only sound that could be heard was another fisherman down the lake, as his hook would hit the water with a plop. The weather was so perfect we decided to stay another day, then decided to stay another day. It was a week of picnic table pushups, bike riding, fishing meditation, and body cleansing. Never caught a fish. Not what it was about.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

PRIDE

If you assume a humble attitude.
Your own good qualities will increase.
Whereas when you are full of pride.
There is no way to be happy.
You will become jealous of others.
Angry with them.
And look down on them.
Due to which an unpleasant
Atmosphere will be created
And unhappiness in society will increase.
The XIV Dali Lama.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com
UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Theory

There is a theory that if one company could control the food supply then they could control all the people. So expanding on this theory with GMO crops one company is starting to control the food. The companies that do the GMO have already made the GMO crops so they will only produce one year and the seed from that crop is not able to grow again, it is non fertile or sterile what ever you want to call it. There are farmers that are refusing to grow GMO crops but they are being hassled by neighbors and the GMO companies, because they are trying to do things the traditional way and they are not falling in line like every body else. This can be pushed so far as, if the grain buyers are owned by the GMO companies they can control the grain, that is if the only grain that will be bought is GMO grain they will slowly push the little guy out, if you don’t fall in line you will go broke. Did you know that this is actually happening in India and Africa? Is it possible The Georgia Guidestones.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Buddy Boat

Started a boat project this spring. A 1974 boat and motor that have not run in quite a few years so obviously it is not going to be fixed over night. A surprising part to me was that when the boat after a spay nine fix the old green finish come back to almost a new weathered look. My disappointing part of the whole project is there was never a picture taken of the boat when it was first brought home so there could be a comparison of before and after. The thought has passed that the project should have an official champagne bottle smashing date. Guess it is more a project of love than just a project to hurry up and finish. A project of this sort should have may been given a date of when it would be in the water, instead of possibly being finished when the lake is frozen! Oh well. My intentions were to have the boat in the water this summer, well you know how things go there is a lot of life that has to be taken care of, family, holidays, work and it is a project. A very good friend of mine passed away with cancer five years ago and his wife gave the boat as a remembrance, it has taken a few years to actually get started on refurbishing the boat. There are a lot of fond memories of laughter and happy times of Bob and myself and family fishing, wake boarding and all those other water sports. So if you see a boat on the lake with the name Bob on it you may know this boats history.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Thought for the week

We are in a period of triumph of materialism, and a time of great forgetting of where we come from and what got us here. There was a prediction long ago that humanity would lose its awareness of their true bond with nature, by means of external possessions. Ego and domination are the predominant ambition of this civilized world.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.

If humanity wishes to save itself from biosphereic destruction, it must return to living in natural time. Pacal Votan

Food Control

I have been on the band wagon against GMO foods especially Monsanto and what they are doing to our food supply, the cause and effect that their products are doing to the people of the world. One thing that this poisonous food, they are subjecting us to is they are making sure our health care system is overridden with the cause of disease. This subject has really been bothering me lately. I have been reading and watching a lot of videos lately. Roundup ready GMO foods, and the problem causing poison of Aspartame and NutraSweet.

A must watch three part video of Vanadana Shiva.

Part 1--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi1FTCzDSck

Part 2--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVlJqwft9I8&feature=relmfu

Part 3--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQDqEUd53YQ&feature=relmfu

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Genetically Modified Organisms

Only one recorded published human feeding study has ever been done with GMO roundup ready soybean. When GMO is done, part of the gene that is inserted into the Soy to make that soy roundup ready so it will not die when sprayed with Roundup Herbicide. That gene transferred, into the DNA of the bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function. That means that the people who the study was done on had Roundup ready gut bacteria. That means that long after we stop eating genetically modified soy we may still have genetically modified proteins produced continuously inside of us.

There is also a soil dwelling bacterium commonly used as a biological pesticide, called BT because the pesticide they produce comes from BT or Bacillus thuringiensis. There is a public study that this spray when sprayed over cotton and corn crops killed the Gypsy Moths. When it was sprayed over crops in Washington State Vancouver about five hundred people reported allergy and flu like symptoms. So what did the Genetic Engineers do? They took the gene that produces the toxin and put it in the corn and cotton plants, where the plants themselves produce the BT toxin at thousands of times the concentration as the spray form. Now the question is and it has never been studied, what if the gene that produces the BT toxin transfers to the bacterium in you gut like it happened with the Soy. It could turn your gut into a BT toxin factory, living inside your gut! If you don’t want to be part of this GMO experiment, don’t eat GMO foods, problem is for the vegetarians is that ninety three percent of the soy produced in the United States is GMO. Don’t forget our children are the most sensitive. Foods can be called organic but still be GMO. In Canada and US foods that are not GMO, have to labeled 100% organic.

Go to this web site for non-GMO food. http://nongmoshoppingguide.com/

Or down load the IPhone app. shop no GMO

Wikipedia list of food that is GMO http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Food

We go to the grocery store and buy our food. With out any thought of where it comes from. We eat and trust our government to make sure that we are safe from the poisons of the world. But not so, farmers pour on the bug killers the weed killers the round up the crop to kill it so they can straight combine the crop to save time and money to make farming profitable. If they don’t put on the chemicals the cost of farming goes way up and profits are low. Even the meat we eat if you so choose is fed some kind fertilized hay or pellets or some kind of fortified corn or grain. Can’t blame the farmers they do what they can to stay alive and make a buck. But more and more farmers are going in the direction of growing organic food. Which is a blessing for us. The only way to fight back is of course with what you buy if we don’t buy it they won’t try to sell it to us. Watched a video and a scientist cut a single hair from a twenty four year old American guy, analyzed the hair he said the guy was corn carbon based. Everything you eat comes out in your hair. Corn is in everything.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Just stick to the program

Having a tough time sticking to the program in UBBT eight, unlike other years. But that is my life if there is something I want to learn and do I usually stick to the program until I am happy with the way I want it to go. Perfectionism is one of my down falls; I work on things till I think I have got it right. Then it is on to something else. That usually works with things I am building, they should look and stay the same for a few years, with a little care and attention once in awhile. The complaint I usually get is I take too long, too bad, usually when finished there is a compliment. But when it comes to Kung Fu, I may have perfected it at one time, but unlike something you build, Kung Fu needs constant care and attention. As the knowledge base gets larger the harder it is to keep up the things I learned twenty years ago. Oh well that is just life. UBBT is not getting behind just hard sticking to the program.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT 8 Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Camping Holiday

We were off to Meadow Lake Provincial Park, Saskatchewan. Weather was beautiful, but the highway to the Park was under construction. Fifty kilometers of bad highway and construction, not a good drive. The Park itself is absolutely beautiful, roads in the park are all gravel but very well maintained. There must be at least twenty lakes in the Park. We were at five of them and the water was crystal clear, natural sand, beaches. One of the beaches reminded us, as if we were back in Fiji, the water temperature told you different! Fun was had.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Water Water Water

Did you know it takes?

70,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of beef!

16,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of microchips!

11,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of cotton textile!

2,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of wheat!

1,000 liters of water to produce 1 liter of milk!

Out of twelve peer nations Canada, United States and Germany are the largest users of water, which is around 300 liters per person per day, and also pay the least rates for water. The Federation of Municipalities estimates the 20% of drinking water is lost to leaks. Household’s in city’s across Canada pay aproximatly $2.25 per cubic meter while industries using 6,000 liters or more a month pay 30% less at $1.59 per m3. In Toronto and Calgary the biggest 120 user’s get their rates dropped by 30-40%! This is designed to keep and attract jobs through industry.

The sad part is that city’s across Canada spend millions of dollars on making our tap water safe enough for us to drink and most people drink bottled water! You say what is the big deal? If you drink from those little plastic bottles, use plastic sandwich bags, well; the petroleum industry used 864 million cubic meters of water in 2007. It all adds up.

It’s a mad circle if we don’t use, things such as water, plastic bottles, drive cars, burn gasoline, coal, we save the environment, but put people out of work. So how do we save jobs, keep our economy going, and keep our life style and most important save our planet that we are so lucky to live on, when we look up into the sky with our powerful telescopes and see no other livable planet. It’s up to us!

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

One Thing Leads To Another (Good)

One of my daughters and boy friend are traveling to India for a three-month back packing tour. I asked what made them decide to travel there. The response was! When they decided that they would like to do another trip, she seen their dentist he started talking about India, when they seen their Doctor he mentioned something about India, friends started talking about India, people at both their places of work started talking about India. This happened in just a couple of weeks of deciding to travel. Also happened with out either of him or her leading anyone into a conversation of India. So India it was, but first was Nepal. Their plane fares were bought. Then it was suggested that they raise a thousand dollars and sponsor a meal that will feed a thousand people in Kathmandu Nepal, the more money they raise the more people they will be able to feed, buy clothing toques and mitts and also there is a water well project going on in Kathmandu. The license for tickets was bought, the tickets were printed prizes were donated and the ball was rolling, all money will be raised through ticket sales. All money raised will be delivered by; The Healing Seed check it out at www.healingseed.ca.

These types of projects are proof of what Black Belts of Silent River Kung Fu will do to change the world. Training or not training the Black Belt way is not forgotten.

Sifu Hayes www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT Stony Plain, Alberta. Canada

Tired Muscles

Camping at Miquelon Lake, Alberta, this week. It is an alkaline lake. Of course there are no fish, but there are small shrimp. It looks weird no vegetation of any sort. Nice campground. There are a few bike trails. Managed to get in eighty-five kilometers this week on the bike, first bike rides this year.

Kung fu last night practicing forms my quads after an hour of practice and to many kilometers on the bike. Squatted down in one of our forms, my quads done the Jell-O trick, and I couldn’t stand up! Fell on the floor! Was kind of comical, I laughed at my self, should know better. Two hours later we were doing a conditioning class. For some reason my quads did not like some of the conditioning that was being dished out. Oh well the quads are getting a well-deserved rest today. Live and never learn. (Smile)

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

The Deck

This year was the year for refurbishing our six hundred square feet of Cedar deck. It looked in bad shape, as it had not had any love for the last four years. So the twenty-five year old deck was looking real sad. My spouse last week pressure washed it and scrubbed back to the bare wood. The staining began in the mornings and evenings, instructions state not to stain in direct sun light. The project ended up taking a few days. But with two coats of stain the old deck looks real good. Thanks to doing push ups my arms stood the test of rolling and scrubbing in the stain, with a few sore arm muscles. My back did not. But with a good hot bath and a massage from my daughter I feel good.

What did I learn my body would do what it did thirty years ago, but there are a lot more consequences. Another project done. Or was that a goal. Yah!

Sifu Hayes UBBT www.silentriverkungfu.com

Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

The Wagon

I have a wagon I pulled back and forth. I put rocks in it; other people put rocks in it. A wheel would squeak and I would grease it. Then the load got heavy, there were to many rocks. Some rocks fell off and I would put them back on, there were just too many rocks they kept falling off, and I would put them on again. Then one day the wheels fell off. The axle broke and all the rocks fell off. I am in the midst of rebuilding that wagon and starting over with some of the same rocks but also some new ones. Being careful not to pick up to many rocks.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com

UBBT, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Keep on Pushing

Trying to catch up the last month has not been good caught a flu, holidays, then bacterial intestinal infection, then a head cold I am trying to get over now. I guess I let myself get to run down. Trying to recuperate so cannot say how my numbers are going to look this year. Will keep on pushing though.

Sifu Hayes

UBBT www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Holidays and what not

I was vacationing in Fiji not much for Internet. Toured about three quarters of the outside of the largest island, lots of sugar cane and sugar beets seems to be their main cash crop. The Fiji people that we met were unbelievably hospitable, friendly and very easy going.

The diving was spectacular, managed to get in twelve dives. Ten dives were reef dives beautiful coral and a lot of fish. Two, were shark dives, wow that is impressive, a flurry of fish and sharks trying to get food. I did get to go out to the feeding and touch a nurse shark, thought they would be smooth but feel more like sand paper.

Was woke up every morning by some kind of bird his chirp sounded like wake up, wake up, right at sunrise. Then it was twenty steps out to the beach for pushups, sit-ups and a forms session. The maintenance man who cleaned the beach would bring an extra rake and leave it with me so I could rake the sand where I had practiced forms; it also doubled as a spear.

I must have picked up a bug some where on the trip, I got deathly sick from a bacterial, intestinal bug and you know what that entails. Was out of commission for a week after holidays. My UBBT numbers fell off, am in the midst of trying to build them back up.

All in all things are back to abnormal, the usual.

Sifu Hayes

UBBT www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

It’s cold and it’s snowy?

Every where you go you hear the complaints of people, of how sick and tired they are of the minus thirty temperatures and the snow every second day. When it is minus twenty to thirty we agree it is cold. The morning temperature, the other day was minus thirty-two, at two o’clock in the afternoon it seemed very warm the sun was shining, my coat was open, nothing on my ears. A work buddy says it sure warmed up I agreed that it must be close to zero Celsius. Looked at a thermometer, no it had warmed up to minus seventeen Celsius. So the weather has a lot to do with your perspective of what cold is. If you build up the fear that it is cold I guarantee you it is going to be cold. Snow, yes, look at all the years we had minimum amounts snow, this is when you hear all about global warming and how bad it is. This year all I hear is what global warming! So much for global warming! Hey don’t get me wrong I do believe our planet is warming up, I am just quoting some statements I have heard this winter.

Just think how many people who live in those warm countries, don't get to walk on water like we do?

We have to learn to embrace the weather to enable to overcome it, just like anything else in life.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

UBBT Ultimate Black Belt Test

Scattered Thoughts

Not all things are what they seem.

We think that when things are bad, they can’t get any worse, well we know they can and do.

When all seems lost it isn’t.

When all things seem great they are not.

When nothing seems just, it is.

How do we deal with this? How do we ever know what is true and right?

Most of the time our worries hang on one little thought that we mull over and over in our mind and is generally not worth worrying about.

Have you ever done or said something and other people have taken the credit. Well don’t get hung up on these little things your reward will come your way eventually. Probably, not from where you would expect it!

Be careful of walking in pride it will come back to curse you. The wheels grind slowly but grind very fine. As someone once said the halo you carry on your head will slowly slip down and turn into a noose.

Have you ever said I have been humbled by this or that experience, and have truly learned from it?

If it hadn’t been for him! If she hadn’t said! If that person hadn’t done! If the company hadn’t! Well we can place blame wherever a person wants but it really boils down to looking inside and being at peace with yourself.

I know, but this is a bunch of scattered thoughts that have been bouncing around in my brain over the last couple of weeks.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

UBBT Ultimate Black Belt Test

What we learn but seem to forget

When you look inside your heart, do you find when you are snippy and negative and ugly to another person? I find that my heart is not right, and my inner condition is probably not in very good shape. Our world seems to be lacking in heart the welfare of other people around us. We all have struggles in the same realm. Put aside get rid of malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy and slander. Actually Robert Fulghum could not have said it better; this came from the Kansas City Times in 1986.

ALL I EVER REALLY NEED TO KNOW

I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN!

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and

how to be; I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate

school mountain but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit

people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t

take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash

your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing

and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for

traffic, hold-hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little

seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody

really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the

plastic cup---they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you

learned, the biggest word of all: Look. Everything you need to know is in there

somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics

and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all--the whole world--had

cookies and milk about 3 o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our

blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to

always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And

it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best

to hold hands and stick together.

This goes right along with what you learn in the Martial arts is so important.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

UBBT Ultimate Black Belt Test

Banquet

Thanks go out to all who participated in the set up and break down of Chinese New Year’s Banquet, the speed and efficiency of the people who were involved was above and beyond. You do not know how much it is appreciated. Walking in at two thirty and seeing the tables set, mats laid and sound system set out was very comforting. The food was fantastic as usual. To all the students from four years old to I will not mention what age. Thanks for your performances they were entertaining and I know some of the spectators left in awe. That is what all of your hard work is for. Congratulations to the lion dance team for pulling off another great performance. That goes to the performers and those behind the scenes. Also congratulations to those who were promoted this year.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

UBBT, Ultimate Black Belt Test.

Hang in, there press on, keep at it, don’t give up.

Most things that are worthwhile, take a lot of work and they take time, and persevering.

Calvin Coolidge put it this way. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not! Nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not, unrewarded genius is almost a proverb, education will not the world is full of educated derelicts, persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Hard task, tough road ahead, keep at it, press on.

Wow what strong words, persistence is the key.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Ultimate Black Belt Test

UBBT

Oh My Muscles

Well what a welcome to the New Year days off have been hectic, snow, snow, and more snow. Snow off the driveway snow off the roofs, nowhere to put the snow. Now my body is sore. What a work out. The last couple of days I have not done any exercise such as pushups or crunches or anything to do with using muscle, other than what involves a shovel in my hand. I have pushed my body, although it is that good kind of sore! It’s that soreness that you know there will be muscle building, as long as I don’t push it and tear something. Advil has been my friend for the last few days.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Ultimate Black Belt Test

UBBT

Snowing

UBBT is going well, catching up on my New Years 1000 pushups today. I was trying to figure out how many hours of snow shoveling is equal to pushups and sit-ups, I guess we can’t do that. I know anyone living in the Stony Plain area is sure getting a workout this year. We must be getting close to four feet of snow here, seems like it has been snowing for a month steady. Thanks goes out to the Silent River Kung Fu people who volunteered to shovel senior’s driveways.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Pushup and Sit-up Challenge

Those who missed out on the challenge for New Years Day? Like I did. Sunday January 16 / 2011 is the set date 1000 pushups and 1000 sit-ups in a twenty-four hour period. Silent River Kung Fu does this challenge every New Years and Chinese New Years day. Sure helps with those numbers. Get R Done.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

An old Cherokee Indian was speaking to his grandson:

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil--he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good -- he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a long minute, and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one I feed." ¹

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

UBBT 8 Behind

Eight is here really fell behind, already missed out on 1000 pushup and sit-up challenge for New Years day due to the flue. Was going to do the 1000 today but arms, shoulders, and back, are sore from scraping snow off the roofs of our buildings and shoveling snow. Don’t want to wreck any muscles. Will be putting it off for another week. It is a lot easier to do the challenge when other people are doing the challenge and posting their results.

Sifu Hayes

www.silentriverkungfu.com Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada