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This round is a foray into the Way of Wisdom, making soulful, good choices and making space for those choices. The key to this challenge is to take my time, slow down, and remember that there is no pressure. It's time to make time as well as take time. In this Way, all the dots are connected and all the details are in order. Classwork is the success matrix, but there’s a lot of life that is going to happen along the Way. Intelligence: This is the key, and there are a lot of details, but not nearly as many moving parts as there were last round. I came back from NY and was very disengaged, and I’m glad to note that spell passed, but here we are with me taking a very sharp-eyed look at how much I put on my plate this term; it was a lot. It was, in fact, too much, and I’ll not be repeating this (see Wisdom) Strength: Go to work; edited to add a bonus of paying off debt, since this has shifted into the stregnth category. Wisdom: Tuition payment; not signing up for everything under the sun next term. This is a season of focus. Constitution: Eating well; resting often. Bonus: sauna & Steps. I have a fancy MRI during Zero Week to figure out what is going on with my insides. Also, I started gym time twice a week in the pool with Kat and Mikayla and I’d like to continue that. Dexterity: A double helping of dexterity was needed last round. I’ll likely need some dexterity for this challenge too, and I need to make the space to let that happen. Stamina: Anton Chekov wrote, “Any idiot can handle a crisis; it’s the day to day living that wears you out.” Wisdom can help. Opening Stats Con 9 Str 8 Int 12 Dex 12 Wis 11 Cha 11 Sta 4

i want to do a taoist inspired challenge, something centered around mindfulness and the middle way. i've found taoist philosophy inspiring for years, and with everything going on in my life, i desperately need to find my center. there's a book i read that contained the phrase "return to trueness" and that's exactly the vibe i'm going for with this challenge. taking time to check in, to be my authentic self. my adhd has been out of control hard to deal with, returning to the present moment and being mindful of distractions (both helpful and not) is a good way to help manage my stress and anxiety. i've been reading some articles about adhd management so i'd like to try and incorporate a tip a week. but ultimately this challenge is about staying present and listening to my mind and body. 1. mindful reading: read a page of the tao te ching every day 2. mindful reflection: daily to do list 3. mindful breathing: daily meditation 4. mindful body: continue with the doctor follow ups, trying to figure out the cause of my exhaustion and headaches LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!!

Lighten-ing Strikes This challenge is about adopting NothingWhatsoever as a Way of being, about looking at my possessions and entanglements and making surgical cuts to let go of what doesn't actively heal me. Typical decluttering has me looking at what to get rid of; lighten-ing has me justifying anything I decide to keep, from forks to gym memberships, jobs and relationships. Top of the list are the Super Scary Storage Units. I have no idea what's in those boxes. Step one is to divide a space out for keeps even if I leave it in storage, and designate a section for donate for anything already sorted and not in the keep area. I mean really. I don't need anything in there except my birth certificate, a signed copy of a book by a friend, a notebook of my novel, and maybe that stash of amazing olive oil from a grove in southeastern Italy. Even the books for my dissertation are optional. Once I get enough stuff in the donation area, I can get help hauling it away. The storage units are on the other end of town and it feels like a Dreaded Quest to even think about going. I'm avoidant in the extreme about this. So, time in small chunks will be a dramatic improvement. Also on the list are any and all bills. I haven't used my gym membership. I can either use it or scrap it. We'll see how often I actually leave the house once the paper is done. A thorough inventory of what I'm signed up for (seriously? I was paying for a subscription to chess.com? I don't even remember that.) and then an evaluation of the list. Sounds simple when I put it like that, doesn't it? NothingWhatsoever. I have a habit of signing up for everything that sounds great. And everything sounds great. I need less to do in my life as I heal from burnout, heal from injury, and heal from trauma. No new things, and a lightening of existing projects and commitments. I've already decided to take the summer off from classes, and this first week I resigned from an editing position. The disentanglement of that will take another week or so, mostly in the form of having them tell me who to send my work to and crafting a letter to my series editor and authors for a smooth (ish) handoff. There's an annual Writing Workshop that I usually attend that has a powerful magic for me. It's meeting virtually again this year (June 13-19, so zero week of next challenge). I'm not committing to going yet, even though it's only a month away. I have a feeling that a lot will be revealed during the eclipses (lunar May 26 and solar June 10). I'd like to make no new commitments until after that. The elephant in the room is my relationship with my daughter. Nothing makes sense right now on this front, and it hasn't in years. At this point, if I'm being honest, my relationship with my daughter is a past thing. To have a relationship now would be to start something new. Her dad is clearly, violently opposed. I'm not certain I'm willing to take on a fight just to say I can. It certainly wouldn't be a relationship with my daughter, so what's the value? I have two farm workdays scheduled, May 22 and June 5, at the farm that grows my food for the season (May-December). I like that these come right after the paper delivery and right after court. Hoeing onions or weighing lettuce are the perfect tasks for resetting my spirit and listening for inspiration. Even so, the weight of commitment is noticeable. I know there will be a million opportunities to sign up to help. I need to limit myself to these two. If I want more farm time, I can go to the garden up the mountain, my spiritual home.

Bloom My challenges are usually about measuring what I am going to do, and that’s all good.But this time I’m doing something a little different -- I’m going to report on what I do.I’m not interested in giving myself grief or being all judgey -- I’m interested in seeing what I do that is on-target, a check-in to see where I am at the habit level. I have a suspicion that it’s lots higher than I am giving myself credit for.So this time around, I am celebrating my successes. I’m looking forward to seeing how I’m doing with physical and emotional wellness, educational balance, and financial fitness. (See what I did there? That’s a 3+1 old school formula.)

Ice Heidi’s Yuletide 2016 Challenge The Big Why Attention to small things gives us real results in large things.This is my Why, and the Tao is my Way. Objectives: What I Want A peaceful mind. I value balance in all things, but especially in my heart and mind. Peace of mind vanquishes all. A healthy body. Happy family time. A clean and orderly home. Activities: What I’m Willing to do Attitude Awareness and Adjustment: Read the Tao daily, preferably with my partner, sharing our thoughts on the passage of the day. Go to work with a positive attitude, grateful wherever and whenever possible Sauna meditation daily Take care of the body that I have been given: Physical workout once a week Maintain a restful and restorative sleep schedule 8+ hours, with a gentle buffer for falling asleep and waking up Make time for activities that help Walking Acupuncture Therapy Yoga Therapy Play with Vivian Uphold the house system in place with love and care Clothing set out each week Dinner prepared and dishes washed with love and mindfulness. Challenge Item TOTAL Week 0 11/28 - 12/4 Week 1 12/5 - 12/11 Week 2 12/12- 12/18 Week 3 12/19 - 12/25 Week 4 12/26 - 1/1/2017 Go to work with a good attitude 16/19 M T W R F 5/5 M 1/5 T W T F 4/5 M T W 3/0 W R F 3/4 Meditation /35 M T W R F S 6/7 U 1/7 Meetings / Contacts /35 M T/3+ W/3+ SU Physical Workout / Swimming /35 S Set out clothing 4/5 1/1 U MT U Dinner & Dishes /35 M T W R F S U Sleep 8+ /35 M T W R S U M T W R S U M T W R S U M T Walking /35 M Playtime with Vivian 12/12 R 1/1 RFSU 4/4 RU 2/2 MTWRFSU 7/7 - Acupuncture 1/5 - 0/1 - 0/1 - 0/1 - 0/1 T Katrina 4/4 T 1/1 R 1/1 R 1/1 T 1/1 canceled by katrina Erin 1/1 n/a W 1/1

"Once, long ago, a young man set out from home. He placed his feet on the path and began to walk it. Soon, however, his attentions were stolen not by the beauty and the wonder around him, but the trappings of the world and society. Lured off his path, up onto a platform and set into a wheel that gave him the illusion of constantly moving, yet in truth going nowhere. He labored there for decades. Plodding forward, step-by-step, the wheel ever turning, but nothing ever changing for him. Then one day the man, who had aged from a young man, to one with a weary step, a bent back and a troubled mind, saw a flower; just off the platform from his wheel. A beautiful flower that shone brightly in the early morning sun, dripping with dew. He wanted to see that flower, and so the man stepped off the wheel. He walked to the flower, knelt to smell it, as the wheel had taken all the strength he had to bend. It was the most beautiful scent he had ever encountered. When he stood back up, he saw the path, still there, waiting for him. Down the path he could see a bend and another flower, a different flower. He wanted to see it. So the man set his foot on the path and he journeyed to the second flower and the bend in the road. Ever since that day, the man, tall, proud a member of the barbarian tribes, has continued to walk the path. He has an idea of where it leads, but in truth, he doesn’t care. He looks forward to the next bend in the road, the next flower growing wild on the side, and he smiles." 1) The Journey - Recoverying fully - I recently had a RFA (Radio Frequency Ablasion) done on my back. I have degenerative disc diease in my lower back, a bulging disc and a pinched nerve. With the RFA done I have almost zero pain. It will only last for 6 months to a year, so it is time to put that into some good recovery time. I plan to:Tai Chi - three to four times per week Yoga & Qi Gong - three to four times per week Meditation - Daily 2) Along the road...Life Side Quest: I'm a writer, a storyteller, a chronicler. I've recently finished my second novel, which is the first in a trilogy. This challenge's life quest will be to finish the second book in that trilogy by the end of these 6 weeks. Life Side Quest: Whilst in the shower I got the urge to play guitar. So I borrowed a friend's to practice. Additional life side quest: practice guitar 3 times per week for at a minimum 30 minutes.3) Why I do what I do... My health, first and foremost. I've given the military 19 years of my life and far too much of my health. It is now time for me to take care of myself. I want to dance with my wife. Enough said there. I want the energy back that I know my body can produce. I never nap, I can work all day, I can walk forever, now to recover and get back to where I want to be.4) Evaluation station... my main goal involves strength, flexibility and wisdom. That is where I will be improving (STR/DEX/WIS). 1. Tai Chi - 24[A], 18, 12[C], 6[D] 2. Yoga/Qi Gong - 24[A], 18, 12[C], 6[D] 3. Meditation - 42[A], 35, 28[C], 21[D] 4. A - Full points, B - 75% points, C - 50% points, D - 25% points. 5) Ultimate goal along the path:

Hi, I'm Wayward Son, or Darius, or D... whichever you prefer, I don't get too hung up on names or labels. I am currently serving in the US Navy on an aircraft carrier out of North Island, San Diego, CA. Getting ready to separate/retire after 19/20 years of active service. After that I'll be heading to Austin, TX to complete my degree in Psychology and then work on a Doctorate in Counseling. I'm a huge geek: fantasy, sci-fi, star wars, lord of the rings, wheel of time, marvel, witchblade, tabletop roleplaying (that's a huge one for me)... needless to say, tons of stuff. I'm looking for a buddy, someone who needs the same things I need in sticking to my goals for my challenges. Now comes the hard part... some criteria, it's not a lot, but I'm a freak of nature, so bear with me. 1) I would prefer a female partner. I was raised entirely by women and I listen better to them, as I think I'm smarter than most men... yep, fatal flaw, I know. Sue me. 2) I would prefer someone in the U.S. Just because of time zones and roaming charges. Bonus points if you're in California or Texas 3) I would like someone who is going to stick with it. Oh and call me on my bullshit when I start to not stick with it. You do that for me, I'll do that for you. That's it, just three little criteria.