All articles, tagged with “photos”

Candice and I went sailing on Sunday with some friends. One of our friends recently purchased a 35 foot boat, and he kindly invited us aboard. I’d never been on a sailboat of that size, so I didn’t know what to expect.

Very cool experience. Got some nice photos (see below) and the group had a great time. It’s amazing how being out on the water transports you to another time, place and feeling.

So, you know that I talk a lot about focus, staying in the present and training your mind to think about what you want, right? I relish having opportunities to put mental techniques into practice.

I had a great (and totally unexpected) opportunity to try some focus techniques on the boat.

You see, everything was great…feeling good, loving the breeze, watching the waves (which were rollin’ pretty high with the wind at almost 20 knots) and all that good stuff. Then, I had to go to the bathroom.

A conversation about seasickness had just taken place. The main concept that came out of that conversation for me was to avoid going into the galley area below the deck when you feel nauseous.

I felt fine, so I didn’t think twice about my decision to go down into the gut of the boat to relieve myself. I went down there and did my thing, feeling pretty proud about my aim and balance (the boat was really rocking back and forth, so it was a challenge).

As soon as I reached the deck outside, my equilibrium was thrown. Suddenly, I felt like I might hurl. I thought to myself, “alright, here’s an opportunity to find a mental technique to balance myself once again. I was fine before, I’ll be fine again.”

Well, I tried a number of things, but I kept coming back to thoughts about when we were going to turn around or how far away the shoreline was. I couldn’t stop thinking, “I was okay before, why do I feel like this now and how long is this gonna last?” In other words, as I kept myself thinking outside of the present moment, I wasn’t okay.

Then, a funny thing happened. We had to turn around and our ship’s captain had to go to the front to tie up the sail. So, he handed over the steering wheel to someone else.

From the front of the boat, our captain (funny to refer to my friend in that way) instructed us to turn on the motor. The motor came on but it wasn’t engaged, so we were kind of sitting there with no momentum in the wind and waves.

Next thing I know, the boat “heeled” (boating term for “tipped”) to the point in which the side of the boat was inches from the water line. There was a general sense of panic for what must have been two seconds.

I started to laugh because that combination of adrenaline and intense present moment focus eliminated my nausea immediately. The rest of the trip was totally cool. Next time, we’re bringing ginger ale..

Here are some images . . .

The power and inspiration of nature is crystal clear in the following photos:

Photo #1 – This is the Kalalau Valley in Koke’e State Park in Kaua’i. Words can’t describe the beauty and power of this spot.

Photo #2 – Not too far from the Kalalau Valley is the Waimea Canyon, a place that Mark Twain called “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific.”

Photo #3 – The hibiscus is the state flower of Hawai’i. This orange variety caught my eye.

Photo #4 – The Hawaiian Monk Seal can be seen sunning itself on the eastern shore of Kauai

Photo #5 – The red crested cardinal . . .

Photo #6 – Donkey Beach got its odd name from the fact that nearby sugar plantations used donkeys to haul cane to the fields. It’s a very peaceful spot with some pretty rough waves (if you decide to step in).

Here are just a few of the images that we experienced tonight (Thursday, July 2, 2009). There are so many ways in which we are inspired by the beauty of this area in the Canadian Rockies. Enjoy these photos from our first night of vacation!