June Challenge

Hello friends,

After a brief hiatus, we are back with the Monastic Challenge. Admittedly, the media fast challenge was a pretty boring one in the blogosphere.

Okay. Here we go:

-Do at least one random act of kindness a day.

That's it. Whatever you interpret that to be. Helping an old lady across the street, buying a homeless guy lunch, whatever.

We'll talk more about the ins and outs of this challenge over the coming days.

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As an aside, I had a religious experience a little while ago that's still settling.

Most of the time, I always associated "religious experiences" as just a rush of positive emotion or well-being. Well, I am man enough to admit when I'm wrong.

Wait. Let's back up.

I was with a buddy at a bar in North Hollywood, when he's telling me a story about how he had stumbled into a church group for men. Something like "Authentic Manhood". And in the meeting, a line really jumped out to him.

"God, open the eyes of my heart."

So he goes to this park, sits on a bench, and says, "Okay, God. Open the eyes of my heart. I'm here, God. I'm waiting."

And something HAPPENED. He suddenly felt the presence of God in the middle of this park---the trees, the wind, everything. I still don't know why, but as he's telling me this story, I completely lose it. I start crying in the middle of this crowded, meat-market bar. It's crazy.

So, a couple of hours later, I head back to my apartment. Street parking in the area sucks, so I had a bit of a walk. As I'm on the sidewalk, I decide to say the line. "God, open the eyes of my heart. God, open the eyes of my heart."

And something HAPPENED.

You know when you're at the eye doctor and they have the little lenses over your eyes? And the doctor says "Is it clearer now? Or now?" while flipping lenses. Well, it was as if someone had flipped a big lens over and everything became clear.

And I don't mean metaphorically clear. I mean my actual eyesight became a hundred times clearer. I could see the details on the leaves of the trees, the cracks in the sidewalk. A stop sign jumped out at me with a sharpness I have never seen in my life.

(Now, as another quick aside: With my contacts in, I have better-than-normal vision. About 20/15. And my contacts were in. And my vision wasn't blurry at all before the experience. )

At the same time, an incredible sense of peace washed over me. And for the first time, I truly felt the presence of God in me and all around me.

Back in the saddle

Hello friends,

So this blog has been pretty sparse over the last few weeks, due to a self-imposed media fast. I'm not going to lie---after the first two weeks the fast started to fall apart. But it was good to get away from the constant plugging into Facebook, email, and the like.

I still don't watch or read the news.

Fun fact: I didn't know the healthcare bill passed until someone told me about it.

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I haven't eaten meat since the challenge started and I don't plan on it.

But I have, over the past two weeks, consumed quite a bit of dairy, sugar, alcohol, and...um, the medicinal plants avaialble in California.

And to be honest, I think I'm done with all that.

I felt markedly worse after just a few days of Pizza Hut and doughnuts. Slower, wearker, and plagued with constant heartburn and congestion. And worst of all, my motivation completely disappeared. I honestly couldn't tell you what I did the past week, except for an audition and doing laundry.

So today I went back to the Monastic challenge and I already feel a lot better.

After reading Lisa's blog, I'm tempted to try the Raw Vegan diet. I just need to read up on the finer points of the whole thing.

If anyone has any ideas for a good April challenge, post them up on the Facebook page. Maybe something with volunteer work?

The end of the beginning...

...not the beginning of the end.

Final day.

What a remarkable month. Who knew that 28 days could bring about such a drastic change?

Weight lost: 14 pounds
Change in waistline: 3 inches

Better sleep, better endurance, better attitude---better everything. It was so easy.

And most importantly, I just did what I felt like doing. If I wanted to run or lift weights, I did. If I wanted to go hiking or do yoga or just take a nap, that's what happened. I didn't count calories, I didn't have "cheat days", and I didn't stress about eating poorly.

I'm going to stay vegan for a while and see what happens. And I don't have any urge to get drunk or smoke a bowl or even drink coffee. So I'm going to stay on that course for a while, too.

But a cookie is definitely in order. I'm going to eat the fuck out of a cookie.

What about March?

Okay, computer's on. What now...

Ooh. Email. An email forward, something from the Red Cross, some kind of acting workshop, some audition notices for no-budget student films...

Haven't checked Facebook in a couple of hours. Look, someone "liked" my status update. And some emails on Facebook, too. Better read those.

CNN.com---another Tiger Woods story? Ooh, I wanted to look up golf courses in LA. It's been a while since I---

I need music. Better open up a window for Pandora.

Beep.

What the---? Oh, I have a text.

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That's every fucking day for me. Just a constant parade of emails, websites, phonecalls, and bullshit.

I seriously feel like I have adult ADD. It's amazing how little I get done in such a long stretch of time.

And does any of this stuff actually improve the quality of my life? Or does it just let me ignore the lacking parts of life?

So, inspired by this technology-inspired ennui, there will be another monastic challenge for March.

The March Monastic Challenge

• No TV*
• No movies or DVDs
• No texting---if someone texts you with a question, you need to call back with your answer. And you should let that person know you're not texting that much.
• No newspapers, magazines, news sites, blogs, Youtube, Hulu, etc.
• In fact, no web surfing all. Unless it's to achieve a work-related task you're doing THAT DAY. Which means if you're booking a trip to Vegas, you better have your damn credit card in your hand. And even with work-related stuff, you should be limited to ONE HOUR MAXIMUM on the web. If you can't get it done in a half hour, you probably fucked up somewhere.
• No video games or bullshit games on your phone
• Email is permitted TWICE A DAY MAXIMUM.

*---The only acceptable circumstance is if you are auditioning for a show that you haven't seen and need to watch an episode to get the rhythm and style of the show.

I'll post blogs, but I will write them all on Word and post them the following month. I have a feeling this one will be pretty tough. At least as tough as this month's challenge.

Final Week

This has been such a fantastic month.

My weight is fantastic. So far I've lost over 12 pounds and I weigh less than I did in high school. Most of my clothes are too big for me now and I look like a little kid wearing his dad's pants.

Sleep is amazing. I've had the most vivid dreams I've had in years---telekinesis, flying, all kinds of fun stuff. Every morning I wake up refreshed.

My sinuses are clear. My senses of taste and smell are super sharp.

And the biggest change has been in my attitude. I'm usually pretty self-involved. (Jesus, just count how many times the words "I" or "My" appear in this blog post). And more than that, I'm usually really angry and negative.

But lately, almost all of that anger and negativity is just gone. I used to think that the key to feeling happy was either venting my anger all the time. But that doesn't work. It just makes you get used to that physiological response.

I just found out today that my job is going to be ending in a week. In fact, most of my company is going to be gone in a week.

And I couldn't be happier. I couldn't believe I was so EXCITED at the prospect. A month ago, I would have been freaking out and clenching my fists and bitching about bad luck. But the truth is, I don't like this job. I've wanted to leave for a year.

Literally an hour later, my phone rings. It's someone scheduling an interview tomorrow. Whether I end up at that place or not, the synchronicity was amusing.


Some other changes:

• Meat seems really alien to me. It doesn't even seem like food. I'm not sure if I'm going to go back to being a carnivore when this challenge is over.
• Working out has become a necessity. It's as strong an urge as eating or sleeping now.
• I don't miss caffeine or alcohol at all. (Sugar, a little bit. I am human, after all.)
• I started feeling an incredible urge to do yoga again. I haven't done yoga regularly since Peace Corps, which was nine years ago. So I dusted out the old Sivananda book and read up on the basic poses.

Also, this might be a bit of an intellectual stretch, but I've finally solved the big problems in the screenplay I'm working on. The past couple of months, I've been banging my head against the wall trying to fix the story points. But, now it makes sense.

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If you're feeling angry or stressed out or just unhealthy, give the Monastic Challenge a try. You don't have to do all the steps, just pick one or two that really jump out to you.

You won't regret it.

Day Eighteen

Cruising right along on this eighteenth day of monasticism.

If this were a screenplay, we'd be just a bit before the second plot point that starts the third act.

I checked my weight on Monday. I've lost EIGHT POUNDS in two weeks, without any sort of dieting or monitoring of calories or anything. Working out has been a lot easier and I feel significantly faster and stronger than when we started the challenge. By the time I go back to jiu-jitsu in April, I should be able to compete at lightweight.

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Hmm. What else. Oh! I'm AMAZED how much I'm revolted by meat now. I went to Zankou Chicken the other day to get a falafel and couldn't even stand to look at the chicken and beef shawarma stands. And if you know me, then you also know that I LOVE chicken and beef shawarma. I go to Zankou so often that they know me by name.

But now? As Senator Clay Davis from The Wire would say, "Sheeeeeeee-it". I actually got nauseous and bolted out of there.

The other amazing thing is that my food cravings don't really exist anymore. Before, I'd spend all day thinking "Man, I hate having to eat this healthy crap. What I really want is a meatball sub or a pizza or some Oreos."

But now, I just eat when I'm hungry. I'll snack on almonds or fruit. And now I find myself really wanting vegetables all the time.

What's HAPPENING TO ME?

Midway

Well, the challenge is half-over.

Overall, it's been great. I feel really healthy, I've definitely lost weight, and my breathing has improved dramatically. My senses of smell and taste are sharper. (Although I hesitate to say that a better sense of smell is really a good thing in LA).

And here's a definite sign that my body is changing:

Over the weekend, I got a hankering for vegan pizza*, so I headed down to Whole Foods to pick one up. I made the mistake of walking by the meat department. TERRIBLE IDEA.

I was instantly nauseous. I couldn't even look at the steaks. And these were prime steaks, people! The thirty dollar a pound filets and ribeyes. But now everything just seemed rotten and dead and unclean. Jesus Christ, you want me to EAT that?

I honestly don't know if I'll go back to meat after this experiment is over. I guess we'll see.


*---The vegan pizza was surprisingly good. Try it sometime.