#UnBlockYourself

Kaizen Moai Habit of Having Mindful Meals

“80% Rule
“Hara hachi bu”  – the Okinawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. People in the blue zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.
 
Plant Slant
Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat—mostly pork—is eaten on average only five times per month.  Serving sizes are 3-4 oz., about the size of a deck of cards.
 
Wine @ 5
People in all blue zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly.  Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday.” - Bluezones.com
 
Moai means "meeting for a common purpose" and kaizen is the approach to continuous, incremental improvement.
 
Today’s habit will be covering a “kaizen” approach to eating, in which the people studied (who lived over 100 years young) mostly shared.
I have pulled them into one habit under “mindful meals”.
First off, they would drink wine, and I know that many in my area would not like that so much. I’ll start off with the intention, the intention of a glass of wine once a day is not to get hammered and forget the troubles of the day, but to have preventative affects on the body and mind:
 
10 Health Benefits of Red Wine
Rich in antioxidants.
Lowers bad cholesterol.
Keeps heart healthy.
Regulates blood sugar.
Reduces the risk of cancer.
Helps treat common cold.
Keeps memory sharp.
Keeps you slim.
Reduces risk of depression
Has positive effects on the digestive system
whitehalllane.com/10-health-benefits-of-drinking-red-wine-that-will-keep-you-healthy/
 
Also from medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265635#benefits, 
Red wine also helps with:
cardiovascular disease
atherosclerosis
hypertension
certain types of cancer
type 2 diabetes
neurological disorders
metabolic syndrome
 
 
Next would be the habit of an increase in plants in meals, and a decrease in so much proteins from animals. I listened to a talk from Dr. Sebi where he talked about the damage we cause our bodies due to eating “dead food”, where we cook out all nutrients and are left with “not food”, and raw and living food, where as  if you did not eat it, it would grow. (Fruits and Veggies)
 
And the last part would be “Hara Hachi bu”, eating until about 80% full. An easy way to do this when you eat out is to order your meal, when it comes cut it in half, box that and save it for later. It’s harder to eat till you hurt that way.

Kaizen Moai Habit of Prioritizing Family

“Successful centenarians in the blue zones put their families first. This means keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home (It lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too.). They commit to a life partner (which can add up to 3 years of life expectancy) and invest in their children with time and love (They’ll be more likely to care for you when the time comes).” - Bluezones.com
 
Moai means "meeting for a common purpose" and kaizen is the approach to continuous, incremental improvement.
 
One way we can improve our lives is to pay attention and prioritize our family. Although we may be doing everything in our power to protect and build a future for them, our focus being beyond them may very well neglect the present day needs they have for you right under your nose.
 
When I would teach kids the ten commandments, instead of “thou shalt not commit adultery”, I shifted the focus and said, ”Always keep the family together”. It’s hard work, but keeping the family first is the best way to ensure your legacy. The story of you will not impact anyone more than the people who are in it. 
 
Have a tea time with your family. Enjoy an Ichigo Ichie (a once in a lifetime encounter) by being intentional in creating a memorable moment to go in the family history.
 
Your family is under your direct circle of influence. The things you say and do greatly build them up, or tear their world apart. Be careful with your words. Imagine that this is your legacy you are dealing with.
 
I started playing genshin impact, and a little story in a side quest happened. A hunter was chasing a boar and they ended up being frozen in ice for 300 years. The ice thawed. The hunter went back to the village and yes, everything had changed, but his great, great, great, great, great grandson remembered his name in the family tree! 
 
What about you? What can of impact can you have now that could touch your lineage generations from now? Or even the community you live in, or the world for that matter! It can start today with the habit of keeping your family first!

Kaizen Moai Habit of Fulfilling Purpose

“The Okinawans call it “Ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.” Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy” - Bluezones.com
 
Moai means "meeting for a common purpose" and kaizen is the approach to continuous, incremental improvement.
 
The “sweet spot” in living your life is found in the middle of:
You focusing on what you love
You doing the things you are good at
You get compensated for what you do
You fulfill needs
 
Your ikigai is found in the middle of all four, in short, your “reason for being”. Another common way of describing your ikigai is, “why you gladly get up in the morning and face the day”.
 
This Moai is intentional in helping you grow continuously (kaizen) toward living a full life of fulfilling your purpose, your ikigai. In business leadership models, you learn to set goals, and then action plans to achieve the goals. This is great, I set up smart goals and miracle one sheets all the time. But when I accomplish that, something bigger and better has to come next. Your ikigai, however, is a way of life. There is no end. You keep fulfilling your passion until you cannot anymore. Sorry to all the absolute, black and white, cut and dry people, “it just don’t stop!”. 
 
Listen, there will always be people in your circle who will try to take advantage of your gifts, talents, personality, and everything that makes you so wonderful. (Can you really blame them?) Do not get discouraged in this. If you go along with them (because you want to) know that you are filling a need. That person may get the help they want, but until they start to fulfill needs and do the things they were called to do they will certainly STAY EMPTY. You will always look and feel more successful, because success is you doing the things you were fearfully and wonderfully made to do. 

Kaizen Moai Habit of Belonging to Something

“All but five of the 263 centenarians we interviewed belonged to some faith-based community.  Denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.” - Bluezones.com
 
Moai means "meeting for a common purpose" and kaizen is the approach to continuous, incremental improvement.
 
Church groups, charities, civil organizations, even gym memberships all give a sense of purpose and place for the members to belong. 
 
The habit that we focus on today will be on belonging. It seems that most of all animal kind, to aquatic all the way to humans, group themselves together. They keep each other alive:
Share common goals
Hold each other accountable
Everyone has purpose
Protection
Reproduce 
 
Belonging to a group of friends addresses the areas of unblocking yourself:
Mental - Having someone to talk to and live life and keep your mind healthy
Physical - Having a people to help you be accountable to yourself, eat better, and stay physically healthy
Spiritual - Share in your walk with God and help with your vision for your life
Financial - Help with ideas to sustain yourself and have a future for generations
Social - Having friends to enjoy life with helps you to survive the toughest of times

Kaizen Moai Habit of De-Stressing

Moai means "meeting for a common purpose" and kaizen is the approach to continuous, incremental improvement. 
 
Blue Zones’ 3rd principle of the “power 9” is Down Shifting.
“Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour.”
 
So, one of the habits that this Moai will focus on is the Kaizen approach for improving our Ikigai (our reason for living) through finding ways that help us de-stress from our busy day.
 
On a daily basis:
As An Individual: Stress relief can come many ways, one suggestion would be to have a set tea time with yourself. You can have an audience of one, reflecting and learning about yourself and the events of the day.
 
Weekly / Monthly:
As A Group: I’d like as a group to find activities for us all to do monthly that will be relaxing and fun, not adrenaline inducing, heart pounding competition, but something that would promote a stress reliever. Sip & Paint
Nature Walk
Aquarium
Picnic
Tea Service
Winery
Art Gallery
Cooking Class

Kaizen Moai

Moai (/mo,eye/):
A group of lifelong friends
A social support group that forms in order to provide varying support from social, financial, health, or spiritual interests
 
Moai means "meeting for a common purpose" in Japanese and originated from the social support groups in Okinawa, Japan.
 
Kaizen (/ky,zen/):
One approach to continuous, incremental improvement is called kaizen. It originated in Japan and the word translates to mean change (kai) for the good ( zen).
 
Blue Zones has a study of common things that the longest living people share. They call it the “Power 9”.
Move Naturally
Purpose 
Down Shift
80% Rule
Plant Slant
Wine at 5
Belong
Loved Ones First
Right Tribe
 
The people in your life have habits.
Habits are contagious.
Can you imagine how much better off you’d be if the people in your circle (your Moai) had a Kaizen (continuous small improvements) approach to their Ikigai (reason for getting up in the morning, and facing the day)?

An Ichigo Ichie Through Taste and Smell

Smell is linked to the learning parts of the brain. 
We roughly remember about 3% of what we see, 5% of what we hear, and 35% of what we smell, varying on what kind of learner you happen to be.
 
I think this difference is so great because we like to attach emotions to taste and smell. Thinking about it, when I smell chlorine, I think of swim class, trying to see underwater, being scared to do a correct dive off the diving board, lining up, and who could make the biggest cannon ball to get everyone on the side wet.
 
Another one is the smell of a landfill. I know it is strong and gross, but my grandfather lived near one, and we had sooooo many adventures in the actual junkyard, in the nearby woods, and that smell would let me know as a kid that we were there. So smelling that stench reminds me of how fearless my cousin and I were, just to keep from being bored.
 
Tasting in the physical is a great vehicle for experiencing new cultures and trying new things through food.
Taste mentally boils down to your personality, what you like and don’t like, your character and your integrity.
 
But overall, taste and smell evoke Ichigo Ichie by incorporating all the senses into that moment in time. Ichigo Ichie was achieved when you can look back and taste and smell the tea for instance, you’ll be about see the surrounding, and hear the conversation during that time, and know the warmth of how you felt from the tea, but also the sense that your mind and heart were touched too.
 
Look for an opportunity this weekend to experience an Ichigo Ichie to log in to the history of you!  

An Ichigo Ichie Through Words

Did you know physical touch can reduce stress and blood pressure? Your skin receptors send messages to the brain that regulates and suppresses hormones that cause those negative effects on the body. 
 
But today I want to get into a different type of touch. Touching through words. Although words are invisible, they are very strong, dangerous, creative, and even deadly if used the wrong way. 
 
Loving words can bring comfort.
Fighting words can cause violence. 
Intellectual words can bring wisdom. 
Encouraging words can build bravery. 
Ignoring words can make things go wrong. 
 
You see, physical touch leaves a short lived impression. It can become a memory paired with emotion, but most are forgotten within seconds.
Words touching a person leaves a longer lasting impression, if abused, they even leaves scars. 
 
Words have a ripple effect that can last generations, even centuries. Look at the words annotated in different religions.
 
Words can build and destroy:
3 out of 4 people sell themselves short. That’s astounding compared to all the potential power, influence, and impact a person has in them! But think, probably 3 out of 4 young people grow up surrounded by a negative views of the world. Coming up I remember always hearing how the system against us, people are stupid, and how everyone is looking out for themselves, so it’s every man for himself. Kill or be killed. When you become older, how do present yourself in the adult world? The same exact way.  And the cycle continues.
 
Find words that you can encourage yourself with and others. 
Watch how life changes when we feed our minds positive words to think on.
Remember the six magic words: We become what we think about.