Above: Primadonna Huile D'Olive Vierge Extra  [Olive Oil ] and the Habit of Bicycle Maintenance; derailleur, chain, 7 speed-cassette and '1 click up, 1 click down' thumb shifter, benefit from Olive Oil treatment, after cleaning with dry brush. The Gear-System is the crucial device in the translation of Power into Speed: "It is an illusion to believe that conflicts rooted in geography can be abolished." ¹ 

"If your emotional life was portrayed as a nuclear power plant, would it be described as a source of infinite, controlled, star-like power? Or a reactor that is poorly managed, prone to out-of-control, catastrophic meltdowns? [...] Just thinking about a serious problem is like brushing a light coat of paint on a leaking roof—the problem isn’t remotely solved on a structural level. I believe deep learning occurs when we intently apply both thinking and feeling. Another way I like to put it is this: Emotional intelligence (EQ) is equally as important as cognitive intelligence (IQ). If you have one without the other then you are incomplete and will not “grow” in the developmental sense into your full potential. [U]understand how to embrace obstacles and turn them into opportunities, simultaneously experiencing the full range of emotions that the experience evokes. Rather than a life exclusively lived in the thin vapor of the intellect, experiencing life both with thought and feeling will allow you to access a vital dimensionality in the important things of life. Your emotions, or lack thereof, will no longer block the path toward success and happiness!"

Mark Divine in "SEALFIT BLOG: EARN YOUR BLACK BELT IN EMOTIONAL POWER, THE FOUR KEY STEPS", published last Saturday on: http://sealfit.com/sealfit-blog/earn-your-black-belt-in-emotional-power-the-four-key-steps/

"Christians and Muslims have been bitter enemies, battling for control of Iberia. Yet, lest we forget, they also have been allies: In the 16th century, Ottoman Turkey and Venice allied to control the Mediterranean. No single phrase can summarize the relationship between the two save perhaps this: It is rare that two religions might be so obsessed with each other and at the same time so ambivalent. This is an explosive mixture. […] The Europeans' appetite for cheap labor and the Muslims' appetite for work combined to generate a massive movement of populations. […] Given the economic status of immigrants the world over, the inevitable exclusion that is perhaps unintentionally incorporated in multiculturalism and the desire of like to live with like, the Muslims found themselves living in extraordinarily crowded and squalid conditions. All around Paris there are high-rise apartment buildings housing and separating Muslims from the French, who live elsewhere. […] Europe's sense of nation is rooted in shared history, language, ethnicity and yes, in Christianity or its heir, secularism. Europe has no concept of the nation except for these things, and Muslims share in none of them. […] The Mediterranean borderland was a place of conflict well before Christianity and Islam existed. It will remain a place of conflict even if both lose their vigorous love of their own beliefs. It is an illusion to believe that conflicts rooted in geography can be abolished."

George Friedman in "Geoplolitical Weekly: A War Between Two Worlds" published today on http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/war-between-two-worlds#axzz3OhxCJkAs

"The creation of any modern nation state is characterised by the elaboration of an official history, a legendary narrative produced for purposes of unification, an ideological construct that glorifies a more or less imaginary ethnic group and encourages the rejection of any kind of otherness, regarded as inferior, indeed contemptible.": http://bartvanbroekhoven.com/en-US/running/143-sar-sarsential-17-center-of-gravity

See also: Sarsential 24: take the long way home [ motivation, heartbeat ]: http://bartvanbroekhoven.com/en-US/running/163-sar-sarsential-24

______________

¹ George Friedman today in "Geoplolitical Weekly: A War Between Two Worlds": http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/war-between-two-worlds#axzz3OhxCJkAs

Above: SAR_9 footprint

"In any process of change, the complementary tendency toward stability must always be taken into account. If, for example, the manager puts all the emphasis on change [...] frequently the opposite response is provoked as an attitude of resistance. In The Law of Opposites, such opposition is creatively transcended trough the insight that, in the process of change, change as well as stability are always recursively involved. Any manager wanting to initiate change has to respect stability. If he wants to realise stability, he has to honour change."

Dr. Michael M. Tophoff  ('Chan Buddhism: Implications of Awareness and Mindfulness-Training for Managerial Functioning')

SAR training is Kick-Ass-training: taking-over from previous 'management' (that led to overload and injury -- usually fear driven management) and re-establish control ("Get in, get it over with and get out! ").Change requires collaboration on all levels. Trough the creation of unity the runner leads/inspires/guides/informs/balances the transformation at hand. It requires growth from egotistical overload-behaviour towards- and transformation into- an Alert-balanced runner, who emphatically and sensibly controls his behaviour. SAR training is focussed upon improvement of technique and effeciency. Trough Strategic use of available resources, including time, terrain, weather, technical-support -- and injury treatment, food and rest.

Familiar terrain for storytellers,who are trained and experienced inhabitants of this threshold zone. The best stories take place (t)here, it provides the dramatic content -- the protagonists awakening willpower and conflict coming from ignorance -- that storytellers focus upon, record and loyally show.

Mark Divine wrote in his Blog 'Trust Actions NOT Words continued…': "The relationship of those in a loyal bond is transformational versus transactional. Like trust, it is a two-way street, in that loyalty is earned through mutual action. Loyal teammates don’t tolerate negativity, backstabbing, or activities that harm the team. Loyalty requires that you examine and shore up your weaknesses so that you can carry your own load to support the team. Trust and loyalty, when accompanied by honor and integrity, lead to high-performing individuals and teams."

Mark Divine's blog 'Trust Actions Not Words continued': http://www.sealfit.com/blog/marks-blog-trust-actions-words-continued/

Dr. Michael M. Tophoff: http://www.tophoff.nl/en/

Above: FP 30K SAR BLT. SAR training: confidence [ready to lead, ready to follow].

"Herrschen darf man nur wenn man dienen kann." - Rainer Werner Fassbinder

"When you let someone else handle a mission critical task, then you had better understand the ramifications of what happens if they mess up. It is certainly important to delegate and trust, but you must also have the wisdom to verify that the task they performed will lead to mission success. The only way that you can verify at that level is if you know how to do it perfectly yourself." - Mark Divine

Read more: http://sealfit.com/sealfit-blog/sealfit-blog-divines-10-ways-to-be-a-kokoro-leader-part-2/

"The human spirit craves freedom to express itself and when that freedom is cut off externally, the spirit turns within to find it. But not many have learned how to turn within. [ Victor Frankl ] made a choice to not let his mind be captured by [...] dire circumstances and [...] brutal people [...]. This choice to turn for freedom within led to great liberation, and he felt free in spite of his physical incarceration. He then chose to deepen his spiritual strength by serving his fellow prisoners by teaching them to be truly free. Those who learn freedom at this level will never experience, nor tolerate, tyranny or loss of mental freedom again."

Mark Divine about Victor Frankl in his last 'Seal Fit Blog: Freedom': http://sealfit.com/sealfit-blog/sealfit-blog-musing-on-freedom/

Above: Sarsential 16: 気 [ Ki; breath, will, vital-energy ] 

" Mr. and Mrs. Abagnale
this is not a question of your son's attendance.
I regret to inform you that, for the past week
Frank has been teaching Mrs. Glasser's French class. […]
Your son has been pretending to be a substitute teacher
lecturing the students, uh, giving out homework.
Mrs. Glasser has been ill and there was
some confusion with the real sub.
Your son held a teacher-parent conference yesterday
and was planning a class field trip
to a French bread factory in Trenton.
Do you see the problem we have?"

Principal Evans (actor Thomas Kopache) to Frank Abagnale's parents, in Steven Spielberg's 'Catch Me If You Can' (2002)

“I will not oppose the ways of the world.”

Miyamoto Musashi, quoted by Teruo Machida, in 'The last words of Miyamoto Musashi  ̶ An attempt to translate his “Dokkôdô”̶ ',  page 203, first published in Japan, Bulletin of Nippon Sport Science University, 2012. Available as Pdf

"If you practice diligently, from morning till night, […] your mind will spontaneously broaden. [A] pply the following rules in order to practice the way:

1. Think of that which is not evil.
2. Train in the way.
3. Take an interest in all the arts.
5. Know the way of all professions.
5. Know how to appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of each thing.
6. Learn to judge the quality of each thing.
7. Perceive and understand that which is not visible from outside.
8. Be attentive even to minimal things.
9. Do not perform useless acts. "

From: 'Miyamoto Musashi, His Life and Writings', Kenji Tokitsu, translated by Sherab Chodzin Kohn, page 149, first published in France, 2000

Be sure also to check with Coach Mark Divine's last blog (published yesterday): '10 principles that you can use to tap into the power and unique contribution that you — and only you — can bring to the world', when interested in taking training and thinking to the next level (and beyond), Mark Divine's training-programs are awesome and his website a source of valuable asset!

SealFit blog 'DARE TO BE SOMEONE SPECIAL: PART II'

Kennemer Dunes -- path to the sea, sunset, today. Confidence [ create scope ]

Min/max temperature: -2 °C/-5 °C; min/max humidity: 64/93; precipitation: 0.0 mm, sea level pressure: 1024.22 hPa;  min/max wind speed: 13 km/h/18 km/h; visibility: 9.3 kilometers (spring in the air)

"[ question: ] Do you also believe that physical training equals mental training; trough tough physical training we train the mind? [ answer: ] Trough tough physical training we develop discipline. We develop the ability to concentrate on a task. Physical training is essential for mental training. Physical training will lead to neuro-plasticity; it will grow the brains connections; it will grow the brain matter. That is just one aspect of it. At a physical level, physical training will grow your brain. And that has been proven, science is behind that, backs it up. Physical training, when you get into more complicated things, like gymnastics or learning the olympic lifts or learning new and different things […] training [with ] constantly varied functional movements, done in a unique way, every single day, with the big four skills of mental toughness placed into that; develop things like Courage, and Honour, and Discipline; that will develop mental toughness. […] Once you get beyond that, beyond that initial layer of 'I can tough trough something' […] 'I got the physical and mental skill to drive trough a task' ; true mental toughness is […] to develop great vitality over the quality, quantity and directionality of your thinking mind and then integrate your whole mind, so that you can use all of the vast skills that you have. So you can develop [your] 20 times potential, so that you can win on the battlefield of life, kick ass, and take names, develop front sight focus; so you focus on the right targets, the right time, and you win. And you win not for the benefit of yourself, but for your team, for your community, for all -- ultimately -- humanity. […] World centric win, with front sight focus, comes from winning in the inner domain, winning in the mind; before you step into the battlefield […]"

Mark Divine responding to my question in his FSF (Front Sight Focus) live-seminar on his Youtube channel, streamed live on Januari 23, 2017 

Today, Santpoort-Noord. Cheating ["The sixth "C"]

“Apply the 80/20 principle.[...] Being deployed into the field is a big challenge to eating a perfect meal. Even in our busy lives when not “deployed” [...] shit happens. Even being home for the holidays is a minefield for Paleo-style fueling. [S]tick to Paleo when you can, striving for 80% of the [time]. Don’t sweat the remaining 20%. With the 80-20 principle, the 20%—MRE’s and Snicker’s bars included—is not going to overturn the Paleo fat-burning metabolic diesel engine you’ve worked hard to create."

Mark Divine on Sealfit blog: Fueling for high performance: modifications on the Paleo diet, published August 29, 2015 on the SealFit website

"Most professionals instinctively know the right way to film the subject -- but seem to be unable to explain just how they did it. […] Many cameraman -- particularly those shooting non-theatrical pictures -- become so involved in the technical aspects of movie making that they tend to forget that the primary purpose of a motion picture is to tell an interesting story![...] The aims of this book are to make the reader aware of the many factors involved in telling a story with film, and to show how theatrical filming techniques can be successfully applied to non-theatrical pictures. […] It is important […] that the ambitious movie makers first learn the rules before breaking them. […] Experiment; be bold; shoot in an unorthodox fashion! But, first learn the correct way, don't simply do it a "new way" -- which, very likely, was new thirty years ago! -- because of a lack of knowledge of proper filming techniques. Learn to know your audience. Place yourself in the viewer's position. Be truly objective. […] Try […] use it [a new method or idea, or] discard it! […] The serious student should […] consider a sixth "C" -- cheating -- which can not be learned from this or any other book! […] Only experience will teach the cameraman and film editor when and how to cheat. The secret of effective cheating is in knowing how to make changes without the audience being aware of that. The only crime in cheating is in getting caught! […] The beginner may be either afraid to cheat, or he may cheat too much. […] This volume is not intended to be a means to and end -- but a beginning!"

Joseph V. Mascelli in the prologue to 'The Five C's of Cinematography; motion picture filming techniques', first published in 1965 by Silman-James Press, USA

Kennemer Dunes Parallel Universe in 360°, today. Winter training ends here [ ten days rest ]

Above: The mind works along identical operative characteristics (is my experience) as the body does. Example. Trough vaccination the immune system is activated: "Vaccines are examples of antigens in an immunogenic form, which are intentionally administered to induce the memory function of adaptive immune system toward the antigens of the pathogen invading the recipient.¹" Mentally we benefit trough the deliberate activation and confrontation with subconscious material, and, as the Germans call it "durch-arbeiten" -- "to work out", and -- trough that process -- stimulate conscious "immunity" and endurance: raise hell, to raise consciousness. This is my personal experience during a life of training.

Min/max temperature: 5°C/11°C; humidity: 65%; precipitation: 0 mm; sea level pressure: 1019 hPa; wind: NW 19.3 km/h; visibility: 10.0 kilometres; Clouds: Few 1219 m., Mostly Cloudy 1432 m .; Moon: Waxing Gibbous, 99% illuminated.

"Exposure to deeply disturbing events is liable to produce long term effects as well as immediate reactions. […] A recovery phase of up to six months is considered to be within the normal bracket. Individuals showing prolonged disturbance and maladjustment extending beyond such a spell of time are ready candidates for a PTSD diagnosis. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a recognised psychiatric category. Its present status as a textbook disorder originates from its spectacular, in a sense epidemic incidence among Vietnam veterans. About a third of these veterans suffered from serious psychological problems even 20 years after the war. Their problems have been extensively examined. […] A person is classified as a PTSD victim if he or she was exposed to a traumatic incident in the past and is troubled by a cluster of symptoms which uncover a disturbed or incomplete coping process. In order to be able to live with a trauma […] it is necessary to proceed trough a number of stages. A final stage of integrating the experiences in the domain of personal growth can only be achieved after going trough an initial phase of disbelief and bewilderment, followed by a period of avoiding memories and associations interrupted by the painful and irresistible intrusion of flashbacks. PTSD is basically a state of being arrested in the latter stage where denial and overwhelming images and emotions alternate and the conflict between these tendencies debilitates and absorbs the individual to a degree which impedes a satisfying social or professional existence."

J. Extra in 'NL Arms', 'Dealing with Danger and Stress', edited by A.L.W. Vogelaar, K.F. Muusse, J.H. Rovers, page 159, first published in 1997 by RNMA, Breda, The Netherlands

After finishing Mark Divine's Unbeatable Mind Academy some time ago, -- being part of the network -- I recently received an invitation for a team/sponsor-participation to "Walk the Path of the Spartan 300, Where The Warrior’s Code Of Honor Was Born.²" Mark Divine continued in the invitation/announcement: "I am leading  [ a ] team of committed [ people ] to Greece on an 8-day ruck following the path that Spartan King Leonidas and his 300 warriors rucked to take on the invading Persian King Xerxes. Please consider joining us for this epic adventure, and simultaneously helping my new Courage Foundation heal victims of PTSD. The mission will commence on September 14th and end on the 23rd. This is not a race, but you will need to be in reasonable shape to avoid injury and thrive with the team. Each day will include Unbeatable Mind training before, during and after the event.[…] I can’t imagine a better way to challenge ourselves, serve warriors in need, and do some deep self-reflection on what it means to live a life of honor, discipline, courage, and commitment… like the Spartan 300.³"

For this trip the coming weeks we will start to raise funds. Take a look at the Courage Foundation website.

___________________

¹ "Antigen", From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

²  Mark Dvine, Email invitation, last Friday

³ Ibid

Above: Haarlem, 52° 24' 3.7656'' North and 4° 38' 22.7148'' East, today.

"So it is said, he who practices the Way does less every day, does less and goes on doing less, until he reaches the point where he does nothing, and yet there is nothing which is not done. [...] Wuwei does not produce by effort or force but accomplishes trough allowing what wants to happen." (1)

"[ Wuwei ] is [...] a course of action [ free from ] any purposeful motive, gain or striving [ it is ] 'inaction'. Zhuang Zi himself [...] repeatedly cautions against a misconception of wuwei. When people hear about wuwei, he says, some think that "laying down is better than walking". They have missed the point completely [...]" (2)

"One must be able to let things happen. I have learned from the East what it means by the phrase "Wu-wei": namely, not-doing, letting be, which is quite different from doing nothing. Some Occidentals, also, have known what this not-doing means; for instance, Meister Eckhart, who speaks of "sich lassen," to let oneself be. [ W ] ait for what the unconsciousness has to say about the situation [...] A way is only the way when one finds it and follows it oneself." (3)

"Laziness of which a man is conscious and laziness of which he is unconscious, are a thousand miles apart." (4)

"When you are learning something the universe keeps giving you opportunities [ for practice] [ Mark Divine: Every emotion has a corresponding breathing pattern, right? ] The breathing wants to click into this pattern; [ so ] why don't we just use this breathing pattern and see if it triggers the transformation? And voilà, the technique was invented! You don't need a psychotherapist or psychiatrist or some expert. We try to keep the process simple […] just stay with the breathing, keep relaxing until it [ the transformation, healing ] resolves itself." (5)

"I’m lazy in principle" (6)

Above:picture of Anne Frank, dated 10 October 1942, reads: "Dit is een foto zoals ik me zou wensen, altijd zo te zijn. Dan had ik nog wel een kans om naar Hol[l]ywood te komen. Anne Frank 10 Oct. 1942" (This is a photo as I would wish myself to look all the time. Then I would maybe have a chance to get to Hollywood). Learn about Anne Frank: http://www.annefrank.org/en/Anne-Frank/

Above: Haarlem, today. Clicking on Image will start sound: Dutch Anthem performed and recorded by The United States Navy Band. 

General Dwight D. Eisenhouwer's Proclammation: "Proclamatie. Nederlanders: De dag der bevrijding is aangebroken. Er ligt een lange harde weg achter u en ons. Tot nu toe hebben wij gescheiden van elkaar de strijd gevoerd Gij op uw wijze wij op de onze tezamen met onze heldhaftige Russische bondgenooten aan het Oostfront. […] Nu kunnen wij met Gods hulp gezamenlijk den vijand uit Uw land verdrijven en de eindoverwinning behalen. Onze soldaten zijn daartoe de Uwe en de Uwe zijn de onze." (Proclamation. To the people of The Netherlands: The day of liberation is close. There is a long, tough way behind you and us. Until now we have fought separately. You doing it your way and we on ours with our heroic Russian Allies on the Eastern front. […] With God's help we will join forces to defeat the enemy from your country and claim victory. Our soldiers will serve you, as yours will serve us.")

Above: Haarlem, May 4 (Remembrance Day), 2000 Hours.

See Original 1945 affiche: http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/?/nl/items/NIOD01:48348

The United States Navy Band: http://www.navyband.navy.mil/national_anthems.shtml

 _____________

(1) Zhuang  Zi, quoted by Michael M. Tophoff on page 31 in 'Chan Buddhism: Implications of Awereness and Mindfulness-Training for Managerial Functioning', published in 2003

(2) Ibid, page 31 

(3) C.G. Jung quoted by M. Esther Harding on page 44 of 'Psychic Energy', first published in 1947

(4) Ibid, page 45

(5) Dan Brulé, Unbeatable Mind Podcast with Mark Divine: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/unbeatable-mind-podcast-mark/id955637330

(6) From a conversation with Director of Photography Robby Müller: here (in English: here)