— links-
At the weekend I managed to complete my first cycling race of the year for Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team. (link) It was a 25 mile time trial and my time was 54.24.
Oxford Self Transcendence Races
Yesterday, we had our first 3 Mile Self Transcendence race at the Peace Mile in Cutteslowe Park, Oxford. 15 runners came on a wet and grey evening. results at Sri Chinmoy Races
Running and Vegetarian Diet
Some people question whether a vegetarian diet is compatible with a vegetarian diet. Tim Van Orden, is running on just a raw vegan diet. - Running Raw
One of the fastest growing sports is running up tower block stairs. Sounds great fun. Article at Guardian
— Uncategorized-
Boris Purushottama Grebenshikov at Royal Albert Hall. photo Pavitrata
It’s been a busy few weeks in the UK.
Firstly we had the World Harmony Run visit the UK.
Secondly, we had a reception in honour of Sri Chinmoy at the House of Lords.
The really big event was a concert for 5,000 people at the Royal Albert Hall
Other Links
Congratulations to Ashrita on Breaking his 200th Guinness World Records. That is a marvellous achievement and a record all by itself!
Recent article - How To avoid being a grumpy old man
I am going on a cycling holiday in Ireland with a few ‘non cycling’ friends. I have sent them all a training schedule. That should get them ready for 100 miles a day.
— links-
I have never run more than 13 miles in my life, so multi day running is a little hard to comprehend. Looking at statistics is impressive, but it doesn’t convey the stories and experiences which go into clocking up the phenomenal miles.
Utpal has done a very good job in giving us a fascinating insight into this world of multi day running - including the many perspectives and people who go into both organizing and running the 6 and 10 Day Race in New York.
Some recent blog post on Heart-Lotus Blog include:
Near and Yet So Far - As the joke goes about the 3100 miles, - the first 3,000 miles are the hardest. This is about the race as it nears the last 48 hours, with 8 days completed.
In The Still of the Night - the night shift is never easy, the unsung heroes of the small hours
Time For Plan B. - When it rains in New York, it can really pour down; not what you want when you’re in the middle of a 10 day race
In the past 8 days or so, some of the runner have already completed upto 800 miles (pretty close to the distance of running from Lands End to John O Groats). and I try to think what I have done in the past 8 days.
My other experiences of multiday running include:
- Count at the 24 hour running race held by Sri Chinmoy MT in London ever year.
- Living with Top Welsh distance runner, Abichal. Who never really does much training to suggest he is going to do 3100 miles. And yet, every year he just goes out and does it.
The 6 10 Day Race was founded by Sri Chinmoy, and forms an integral part of his philosophy of self-transcendence. Sri Chinmoy
Other Links
— sri chinmoy-
These Flower Flames are from a selection of 207 Poems that Sri Chinmoy made from his series 10,000 Flower Flames.
Today I am Wise
Yesterday I was clever.
That is why
I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise.
That is why
I am changing myself.
~
One Thing To Learn
Every day there is only
One thing to learn:
How to be honestly happy.
~
A Diplomatic Death
Since each thought
Is an atomic power,
You can give each thought
A diplomatic death.
~
I Am Not Needed
I am not needed
To say the right thing.
I am only required
To be the right thing.
~
Miracles Worth Seeing
Only two miracles are worth seeing:
The miracle of loving
And
The miracle of forgiving.
Continue reading →
— humour-
Does anyone have a good 404 Error page?
Did you know that 404 error pages are the most commonly visited webpages on the internet, and yet are usually the ones with least effort.
Here are my feeble attempts:
Sri Chinmoy self improvement blog 404 page
Tejvan.co.uk error page
— links-
5 years after Sierra Leone`s brutal civil war ended the Freetown Amputee Football Team gather on Aberdeen Beach to practice for an upcoming match. During the war an estimated 20,000 men, women and children had limbs hacked off by the RUF and its child soldiers.
Football has provided many of them with with new identity and a sense of purpose. They are popular figures in Freetown and have been praised by other amputees for helping to lift some of the stigma surrounding their disability.
Photos by: Nabik Daniel Hunt - Image Lounge
— links-
Since spending a week in Jamaica, New York, I have spent quite a lot of time in the The Panorama of my silence-heart cafe.
Situated just 2 blocks away from my flat, it provides a convenient location for a cup of tea and somewhere to do a bit of work on a laptop.
The drinks menu is quite extensive, although I have only tested the teas and coffee’s. There is also a good selection of food, including salads, soup of the day and sandwiches. The soup of the day was particularly good accompanied by baguettes.
In the evening, there is often music and the cafe is thoughtfuly decorated; it gives the impression you could be in a large living room.
It’s all pretty good value, although it’s helped by the weakness of the dollar, which makes everything in the US seem half price.
I have helped Ketan design a website for the cafe which you can visit here: Panorama Cafe
Panorama Cafe only opened fairly recently but it has already received some good reviews - Reviews of Panorama Cafe
— links-
Organisers of the World Harmony Run in Cambridge will be attempting to break a new Guinness World Record when the World Harmony Run visits 14th May
The record will be for the largest game of Chinese Whispers.
If you would like to take part in this record for World Harmony then visit the website at World Record for Harmony
The World Harmony Run
The World Harmony Run is a global relay aiming at creating greater friendship and harmony between different people around the world. The World Harmony Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1986.
Today, in New York, the American leg of the World Harmony Run began outside the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, United Nations building. You can read about the Start of the World Harmony Run here: World Harmony Run begins in the US
— links-
We have started a new blog about gardening.
When I was studying PPE at Oxford University, I was very keen on gardening and even thought about taking it up as a career (when I got bored reading John Stuart Mill, I would try learning Latin names of plants. My room and corridor was full of cuttings and seedlings. After finishing my degree I got a job as a gardener, at my college Lady Margaret Hall. I worked there for a year before switching to teaching economics
Continue reading →
— films-
The chorus ‘Les Choristes’ is a charming and inspirational film about a teacher who moves to a boarding school for ‘misbehaving boys’ and encourages them to form a choir.
It may sound rather formulaic - in the mould of Dead Poet’s society: bad pupils - good teacher - everyone happy in the end. But, it is not like that. There is no easy path and the film has a simple charm and avoids any pretension. Not everything works out as expected; Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot) is the new supervisor and he has a wonderful role, failed musician, failed in love, and in the end we see him traipsing off into anonymity. Yet, his modesty and efforts to offer a different approach to the authoritarian rule of the headmaster do confirm the idea that most (if not all, can overcome adversity and find hope in unlikely circumstances.)
The music is at times ethereal and haunting. The fact that it stems from such a harsh environment only heightens the capacity of music to transcend difficulties and misunderstanding.
The Chorus is well done with a typical French flair and realism. It had me searching whether it was based on a true story or not.
Les Choristes at IMDB
Les Choristes at Amazon.co.uk
Continue reading →