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Well, I call it the NewsThursday September 16, 2004 12:38 It's not that there's been no news... it's just that some stuff got
washed away and doesnt seem to matter anymore and The News
has been suffering from tomanyotherthingstodoitis, again. So, I'm reading The Life Divine by Sri Aurobindo (I'm proud to say, up to p.84 at the mo). Working on the October issue of Multiday Running magazine. The Multiday Runners Handbook is available from me at a very reasonable price, considerin`, tho` I hav` to say its going to be revised as soon as things settle down in October ready for the final version which will make its majestic appearance in April 2005. Thursday January 22, 2004 19:43
Ummm... Traffic's up. Thats news. Work is afoot on the
Manual. Slowly adding my poems to the confessional, however organisation
is starting to show signs of strain. I no longer have a clear
idea where somethings are living. Oh yes one more thing. I found out how to put those little messages across the bottom of your browser. Enjoy. Sunday January 11, 2004 12:29 Yesterdays low temperature was 2°. The Golden
Bird Winged Butterfly More escapades of Ashrita in Indonesia setting
a new Guiness rocord for standing on a Swiss ball. Tuesday December 23, 2003 4:28 A flurry of activity before the holidays. New pages sprouting everywhere November 27, 2003 Finally getting to grips with organising the site. The Ultra section is at last working... no mean feat and some new pages to make that happen plus links to the videos on Srichinmoy.tv on the Ultra trio. 22 July 2003: Staying Balanced At Stonehenge Whilst I was running around Thomas Edison High school all summer,
I’ve always been intrigued by Stonehenge but never felt any great compulsion to go there until about a month ago. Suddenly, I was just dying to visit the historic site in England and set a record there, so when the opportunity recently arose, I jumped at the chance. My enthusiasm was only slightly dampened when I heard that Stonehenge can be quite windy at times. The wind at Stonehenge probably doesn’t concern most people, unless they’re trying to fly a kite (unlikely) or attempting to break the Guinness record for standing on a Swiss ball, which is what I decided to do. I always practice for this record indoors because it’s hard enough to balance on the ball even without any distractions. I knew that balancing outdoors at Stonehenge, in a stiff breeze, would be a constant struggle to adjust to the varying velocity and direction of the wind. Dealing with comments from the stream of tourists would be a further challenge, but somehow it seemed like such a perfect fit- trying to stand on a ball for the longest time next to those massive stones that have been standing in a circle for more than 5,000 years. Since human beings are not designed to stand on round, soft objects, it is quite important, if you are trying to break a world record, to find a ball that you are comfortable with and to keep practicing on that same ball. Even balls that appear to be identical feel different when you stand on them. The last time I attempted the Swiss ball record was in Germany and there was a panic when the airlines misplaced my luggage and I had to hunt all over Munich for a replacement “gymnastic ball”, as they call it. This time, to be safe, I planned to take the ball in my carry-on luggage, but just before leaving for England, as I was about to deflate the Swiss ball, to my horror I discovered that it was already quite deflated. MY FAVORITE BALL HAD A PUNCTURE IN IT and I was due to leave for the airport in 20 minutes! That’s what I get for showing off. Two days before the trip to England I had a photo shoot with a European magazine. We walked down to Jamaica Avenue where I demonstrated milk bottle balancing on my head amidst the incredulous shoppers, and I balanced on a Swiss ball in front of a graffiti-covered wall. While walking back to the subway, we passed an open fire hydrant which was spraying water in a big arc across the entire width of the street. “Wouldn’t you know it”, the photographer exclaimed, “Just when we are all finished, along comes the perfect shot.” Within seconds I was in the street, drenched from head to toe, desperately trying to balance on the slippery rubber ball while trying to look at the camera through the blinding spray. I managed to stand upright just as the light turned green and a line of cars headed towards me, but amidst all the confusion, I must have rolled over a small piece of glass in the road. All I could do was to pack the damaged ball and a spare, which I had never tried out, and deal with the situation on the other side of the Atlantic. As soon as I got to the hotel in Stonehenge, on the 6th of July, I inflated the spare ball, but it was much too small. It was late on a Sunday afternoon, the shops were all closed, and the record attempt was scheduled for the following morning. I was desperate to repair the injured ball. Fortunately, two of my British friends, Sanjaya and Charana, came to the rescue. They somehow located a bicycle tube patch kit and, after wrestling with and submerging the ball in the bathtub, managed to find the tiny hole and cover it with a rubber patch. We could only hope the patch would hold up under the increased pressure of my 170 pounds of bodyweight. All this drama, and I hadn’t even started the record attempt yet! Actually, I almost didn’t make it to the record attempt. The
folks in charge at Stonehenge were extremely kind and set up the ball
and the official witnesses in a spot just off to the side of the historic
monument. The news agency, Reuters, sent a reporter and a cameraman
to record the event and, as I made my way along the designated paths
to join everyone at the record venue, I realized I could take a shortcut
by cutting diagonally across the grass. I hopped over the ropes and
began jogging, unaware that I was precariously close to the famous stones.
A woman security guard immediately shouted at me to stop but I ignored
her, thinking she would figure out where I was headed. That made her
even more upset and she yelled “ Stop, or else!” I was about
to make a sprint for the ball, but my better judgement prevailed, which
is fortunate, because when she finally caught up with me she was furious.
She said she would let me go this time, but if I ever pulled a stunt
like that again, I would be vigorously “tossed out on my ear.”
Like a chastened school child, I meekly apologized and sheepishly took
the long route over to the record site. Later, during the attempt, the
guard came over and recognized me as the fellow she had almost ejected.
When one of my friends said, “Oh, that’s nothing new, Ashrita
once got arrested after scaling the Great Pyramid in Egypt,” she
replied, “Why am I not surprised?” Anyway, after a short meditation in which I tried to compose myself and identify with my spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy, I finally stood up on the bright yellow ball and began the battle with the brisk wind and my mind. I thought of an old Zen story in which two monks are observing a flag fluttering in the wind. The first monk says, “Look, the flag is moving.” The second monk replies, “No, the wind is moving.” Finally, the Zen Master comes by and after hearing the two sides proclaims, “You are both wrong, it is the mind that is moving.” In my case, the trick to staying balanced on the ball is to keep my mind from moving, to keep it one-pointed and still. So I struggled to keep out all thoughts: of failure, of the vulnerable bicycle tube patch, of the possibility of rain, of moving flags, etc. As I got inwardly balanced, the outer balance naturally followed. I began to think that the record wouldn’t be as difficult as I imagined but, at that very moment, the arch of my right foot started killing me. It is not unusual for my feet to ache during the ball balancing because
a great deal of the stabilizing comes from adjustments made by the small
muscles of the feet. However, it normally doesn’t get uncomfortable
until about 45 minutes into the event. I had only been balancing for
15 minutes and, since the old record was 2 hours 10 minutes and 57 seconds,
that meant I had almost 2 more hours to go. Yikes! But, once again,
I calmed my mind and for the next hour and a half took in the peace
and beauty of the surrounding English countryside. With 20 minutes left
to reach the record my legs began shaking. I intensified my prayers
and concentration but I could still hear the tourist who yelled out,
“Hey, don’t fall off!” With only two minutes to go,
I almost lost my balance but barely hung on to finally hear the delightful
words of the official timekeeper, “Ladies and gentlemen, you have
just witnessed a new Guinness world record.” Once the record was broken I relaxed a bit, probably too much. The
Reuters cameraman wanted to catch the ending but he had to change the
videotape so I joked that I wouldn’t fall off until he was ready.
A few minutes later (after the new videotape was in), I unexpectedly
toppled off the ball onto the grass. The official time was 2 hours 16
minutes and 2 seconds. I was filled with gratitude to my spiritual teacher
for his inspiration and positive energy and was thrilled to have had
such an uplifting experience (no pun intended!) at Stonehenge. When
my friend Bipin congratulated me, he suggested, “Hey, I have an
idea Ashrita is an amazing guy and his website is full of stories about his exploits setting records all over the world in the wackiest of places and conditions.
Thursday August 7, 2003 20:55 Its all over. For me. 2747 miles and 52 days+14:59:37 Trisul, Suprabha will finish Saturday, maybe Sunday for Suprabha and Mighty Matt runs until the 13th. What an amazing experience. Over the next few weeks I shall share some experiences in the ultrarunning section of the site There are so many thank you's to everyone involved Photo's by Salil
Wednesday August 6, 2003 0:20 About 50 minutes ago I reached 2,700 miles and that just leaves 47 miles tomorrow and then it will be finished. Tuesday August 5, 2003 0:28 How does it feel...
Oh yes. Andreas does the business.
Monday August 4, 2003 0:16 Namitabha wins the 3100 mile race in a I can't wait to see that little blue tape stretched out in front of me, probably reach my goal on Wednesday night, with luck and grace.
Monday July 28, 2003 0:17 Day 43Matt reached 2000 miles today so we are all on the same page. Namitabha reached 2,700. Saturday July 26, 2003 23:52 Day 42 Friday July 25, 2003 0:21 40 days and tomorrow will have been 40 nights. Now I know. Cooler temperatures helped me to my best day since day 1 July 24, 2003 Yesterday reached 2000 miles amid high humidity. Day before, Chiropractor Dr John Rousseau passed by a gave me a quick treatment which saved the day. Friday July 18, 2003 0:13 We are extremely fortunate to have the support of a pair of Chiropractors who have generously devoted time every week to come to the race and take care of our tired and worn out bodies out of the goodness of their hearts. Putting us back on the straight and narrow takes several hours and we are extremely grateful to Jamie Warren and to Jeffrey Garofalo, who gave me his card, for their kindness and oneness, we live to tell the tale. Jeff's email address is op2mlhealth@hotmail.com Tonight I reached just over 1700 miles and the days are going quicker. Matt has had an unbelievable day to take the days honours. Well done Matt. Sunday July 13, 2003 23:58 15 minute interview with Abichal during early stages of 3100 mile race
Friday July 18, 2003 0:30 Oh Yes. It happens!
Sunday July 13, 2003 23:50 Made it to 1500 miles tonight, slightly easier day than of late.
Monday July 7, 2003 0:30
Monday June 30, 2003 0:11
Thursday June 26, 2003 23:56 The photo is from the start of the 2003 Self-Transcendence race and today is day 11 just completed and was I glad to finish today. Three hot days in a row and today the heat index was over a hundred. Matt has mostly recovered from his knee injury while Stefan is still on the recovery list. Today was graduation day for the students at Thomas Edison and the course was extremely busy all morning. There are thunderstorms and lower temperatures forecast for tommorrow.
Sunday June 15, 2003 0:01 This is it. Last post. Have a great summer and we'll be back with a new looking Abichal.com in September.Don't forget to check out the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team website for the updates for the race.
Saturday June 14, 2003 10:39 My hearts gratitude
Friday June 13th 43 hours to go The seven runners are: Trishul Cherns (Cananda) Today I'm shopping and tomorrow will be the last day of so many things
for such a long time including this website.... Sunday June 8th Well official. Just heard I've been accpted to run in the Self-Transcendence 3,100 mile race that begins a week today, June 15th. Check out my life as it unfolds on the streets of Jamaica, Queens at the Marathon Team site for daily updates
Tuesday June 4th Well, it appears there are two sets of site stats available for my perusal and one indicates much higher traffic which means, obviously that the other one is defective. So, the current site visitor record stands at 18. Just in case you need to know.
Friday May 30th People putting sense into science. The idea that when the brain ends life ends is now a concept that is beginning to fray at the edges a bit." Dr. Peter Fenwick, consultant neuropsychiatrist. "How is it possible that you can have perception when there is no heart beat, no circulation and no brain activity but you have full consciousness, you have memories, you have emotions, you have cognitive function? How is that possible? The only explanation is that it's not in your brain." Dutch cardiologist Pim van Lommel
Different interpretations Thursday May 29th Lots of things happening... er... 8 people came to the site on Monday.(Not that I'm watching traffic statistics.) A new record, up by 33%. Staggering figure and still not back on the Google search engine or any engine actually. You see its word of mouth. Simple. Quality counts. We'd better get ready with some big pipes `cos its going to go bananas, I can see it now, The headlines, "White Hot site" from nowhere, taking the net by storm, a billion hits a day. April the 14th, there was one hit, 2 weeks ago there were 736 hits. Abichal .com is smokin', though I must be honest, hits were down to 38 yesterday. I'm sure its just a miniscule glitch. Anyway less dramatic matters, as soon as I get the hang of these new
fangled template thingys things will start looking a bit more organised
and all the links will work. Yep. Its gonna be true. No more ugly old
not found all
over the place and some more poems.
Saturday May 24th
The Award winning Scottish poet Janaka Alan Spence has written a cool article for the BBC on Meditation. He has recently published two collections of Haiku, Seasons of the Heart and Glasgow Zen and his work for the Word festival just finished in Edinburgh has kept him very busy. There will shortly be a selection of his poetry on this very site. Wednesday May 21st Back already. Now its official: Meditation has been shown to do what millions of people for thousands of years have been saying it does. Great. Saved by science. "We can now hypothesize with some confidence that those apparently happy, calm Buddhist souls one regularly comes across in places such as Dharamsala, India, really are happy," Professor Owen Flanagan, of Duke University in North Carolina, said Wednesday. Surprise surprise. Now, who wants it?
Tuesday May 20th This is the most gripping and exciting part of the whole site. But now we have News which is infinitely better than nothing at all
So, there it is: The News. Now I wonder how long before I do it again
This page was last updated: September 16, 2004 17:18 |
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for the next challenge ? how about trying the glass balancing record
at the Leaning Tower of Pisa?” It’s a funny thing, ever
since that moment, I just can’t seem to get that famous tilted
tower out of my head!
"Yes, there are plans afoot Mr. Frodo" said Sam 
confidently,
waving his smoke-weed pipe through the veils of impossibility