EXPLORING EXCELLENCE/LOST COIN
November 14, 2006

Business Items
	Use the list serve e-mail.  Patricia will send out instructions again for signing up and will help anyone who is having trouble accessing it.  Sterling will bring in his lap top next week to help.
	Tess has the list of note takers through March.
	Daniel will be gone from about 1/15 to 1/30/07.  We can talk about how we want to use that time, maybe take a break.

Sterling
	Sterling was congratulated on his win in his fight last Friday night.  Daniel commented on his amazing chi during the fight.  

Training for Aims
	Aims will naturally vary from person to person, and that is fine.  The point is not to have the aims fit any pattern, but to focus on achieving your aims.
	Do your best - even in small things.  It is good preparation for doing bigger things.  Do them purposefully and with full attention.
	Take everything as a challenge, not as a win or loss.  We tend not to do this.  We quit at what we have a defeat in and keep doing what we succeed in.  Hove to learn how to experience loss and keep going.  
	Train all three centers.  You need all three.  Also need to train the sexual center.
	Use the correct center.  Examples: 1) Some work is very analytical, therefore the right center is the intellectual, not the emotional.  
2) In relationships, the emotional is very important.  If we use the analytical in relationships but are not aware of how we are coming across emotionally, we will not be successful.  3) The moving center is what we use for repetition, for training.  Avoid formatory thinking which is thinking with the moving center.
Exercise: Take a subject that you want an answer to.  Meditate for 15 minutes, then see what comes up.	Aim implies knowing what you want.  You have to be somewhat awake to know that you want.  We do well what we love, but it may no longer be what we want.
Exercise: think about what you really want.  The question What do you want? is the first koan and the last koan. 
	Practice with focus - avoid negativity and falling asleep.  Observe objectively how you trip yourself up.  Keep a lot of focus on being objective.  If you cant accomplish what you set as an aim, see what you are doing to keep yourself from accomplishing it.

Meditation
	Everything happens IN your mind.  We have hardly any control of our mind.  Think about what it would be like to have some control of your mind.  It gives you choices.  Have to get off automatic pilot.

Group discussion of our experience with our personal aims
	Failing is just as good a part of learning as succeeding.  Ask was it due to falling asleep or negative emotions.
	Daniel gets up early.  He can accomplish this routinely only by getting up as soon as the alarm goes off.  He doesnt think about it, doesnt keep redeciding each day what to do.
	Ego might engender extreme resistance.
	Cant wait to be in the mood.  Cant rely on the emotional piece.  Also cant fall asleep into thinking center, thinking too much about it.
	Training to work toward a result.  The aim is the goal, but the training of staying working on something is the bigger goal.
	What you think you can do depends on what you think you can do.  What we identify with creates our inner state.  The emptier we are, the freer we are to become something.
	Exercises in class: 1) think of a positive mood, close your eyes, put yourself in that mood immediately.  2) Think of an animal you want to identify with and put yourself into being that animal.  
	We have the power to do this.  We have this ability that we dont use.  You can chose your state.  For example, identify with a sensual god or goddess if you want to approach someone you are attracted to.
	Start small.  Take a small thing and learn to do it very well.  Make it very concrete, measurable.  Can pick a step toward a larger aim.
	One aim is to not have your emotions tapped when you dont want them to be.
	Commitment - focus on, commit to one goal.
	You are training yourself to carry out a task.

Group discussion of I exercise
	identifying Is that are helpful/allies, Is that are negative/enemies.
	Change starts with seeing the Is that are blocking you.

Assignments:
	Read #4 in Psychological Commentaries, A, B and C.
	Continue the aim project
	Read anything you can find about warrior behavior.  Also Carlos Castaneda on the shamanistic approach to excellence.

