SimplyNumbers

Inspirational People ~ Keegan Reilly

In 2003, Keegan Reilly, who lost his legs in a car crash, successfully climbed Mt. Fuji in 4 days. He utilized a purpose-built titanium climbing bike, which he propelled by a hand-crank.

He's gone on to other climbs and to compete in road races. He climbed Mt. Shasta with three other disabled climbers, including Pete Reike, who made the first arm-powered ascent of Mt. Rainier.

"I want to show people what I am able to do. Maybe it will inspire them." ~ Keegan Reilly

Inspirational People ~ Dr. Dorothea Hover-Kramer

Dr. Dorothea is the author of several books about energy therapies including Healing Touch: a guidebook for practitioners. See her excelent article about staying positive and motivated when the seasonal changes get you down. 

In her article, she mentions some great ideas:

• Track every negative thought and replace it immediately with a positive opposite.
• Treat any negative thought as quickly as possible with a gentle rub to the heart center (or any other place on the body that needs a caring touch) and the reminder phrase, “Even though I get discouraged with …cold wind…rain…a gray day, I deeply and completely love and accept myself and choose to kindle my inner lights and energies.”
• Surround yourself with reminders of your intention to live fully in the season, to enjoy the most out of what is given in the way of external weather.

TED Talk: Caroline Casey

Introduction to Jon Kabat-Zinn

Jon Kabat-Zinn, founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He's also a well established author and meditation guru.

He talks about the importance of reflection, creativity, intuition and meditation, but also being able to adapt and be in the world in a way that matters.

"You might be tempted to avoid the messiness of daily living for the tranquility of stillness and peacefulness. This of course would be an attachment to stillness, and like any strong attachment, it leads to delusion. It arrests development and short-circuits the cultivation of wisdom." ~ John Kabat-Zinn, Wherever you go-There you are

Matthieu Ricard on ABC

Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, often called the happiest man alive, recently had an interview with ABC. He talks about happiness and the importance of meditation.

NY Times: Book review - Burial for a King by Rebecca Burns.

From the NY Times article:

"Rebecca Burns's "Burial for a King" is a welcome reminder that Atlanta did once give the civil-rights leader a monumental tribute: a peaceful, dignified funeral attended by thousands. Outrage over the shooting in Memphis sparked riots in dozens of American cities, including the nation's capital, but not in Atlanta.

The book recounts in close detail the days surrounding the funeral, explaining how the city's black and white establishments handled crowds, rumors, fears and world scrutiny during one of the tensest periods of the turbulent 1960s."

Jean Houston on Spirituality and waking up

"Many of the spiritual teachers of the world have likened our lives to 'a sleep and a forgetting.' The mystic path is predicated on awakening, on going off robot and abandoning lackluster passivity to engage co-creation with vigor, attention, focus, and radiance, characteristics we might note we often find in our animal friends." ~ Jean Houston, Spirituality and the Meaning of Mysticism for Our Time

These words from Jean Houston are extremely potent. They are more than mere words, but really a call to open up to your full potential. She, along with many others like Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson and Wayne Dyer, sees so much potential for the world collectively. 

Her words encourage and urge us to look within and bring out out very best. She would urge that now is the time to help facilitate change and foster growth and healing for ourselves, our communities and the world at large. And, what other time do we really have than Now?

What is it that you are waiting to do? How are you trying to be of service? What is holding you back? Do you believe that there is no true calling for your abilities? I would call upon you to reflect on any "inner calling" as a true spiritual calling that really needs to be answered. Placing your vision or dream on hold not only denies possibilities to you, but it prevents an unfolding that may benefit the world in ways that you cannot see or guess.

"So how can we birth this miracle within ourselves? How can we foster our natural birthright of spiritual presence?" ~ Jean Houston

How can you take the next step? How can you take a moment to "step aside" and allow for your life to unfold in new and meaningful ways? It might be that you begin to seek out others who are actively following and living in a way that is a real expression of your inner calling. It might be that you begin to make the time to really begin to act on your inner calling in some small, but still important, ways.

This process is really about understanding the importance of finding meaning within your life. When you deny yourself to even listen to your inner needs, that is when life becomes dull and colorless. Whether you understand the words of Jean Houston, or not, I would urge you to wonder "what if"? What if you live and act as if your desire has value and is meaningful?

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin talks with Dick Cavette in the above video. It's amazing how her spunk and individuality comes through in a few short minutes talking about random parts of her life.

The people in her life perceived her as being her own person. She attended the University of Texas briefly, and the campus newspaper even ran an article about her in 1962 headlined "She Dares To Be Different."

She was born on January 19, 1943. This gave her a Life Path of 1. Many of us know how she led her own life, but you can read about her to really see that she was a powerful driving force within her own life, and with her influence over the music industry and the culture of her time.

Inspirational People - Harriot Tubman

The above video discusses the life of Harriot Tubman. Harriot overcame major obstacles and harsh conditions to lead a singularly unique life. Not only did she help to free the slaves, but she also helped the North during the Civil War, by providing them a network of spies in the South. When she died she was buried with full military honors.

Inspirational People - Wilma Subra

Wilma Subra has been fighting against those chemical companies that pollute the environment for decades. She is so busy with her work, that she can be working on dozens of cases at the same time, and some of her work with particular companies can go on for years.

"Communities need so much help, and you educate and empower them, and then they take on the fight and the issue. They just need that little bit of information to make them aware." -- Wilma Surba

Over the years, she has helped more than 800 individual communities to deal with pollution and the companies that caused it. Many of these areas are simply small towns with economies that are barely functioning.

In 1981, because she felt that nobody was looking out for the communities, she started her own company called "Subra Company", which is a chemistry lab and environmental consulting firm. Through earlier work with the EPA at Love Canal she had seen firsthand how damaging toxic waste can be. Her goal in forming her own company was that through her work she could educate the communities about the harmful effects of toxins in the environment.

Resources:
CNN - Toxic America