ORMEN LANGE

“The ship was both long and broad and high-sided, and strongly timbered. (..) The ship was a dragon, built after the one the king had captured in Halogaland; but this ship was far larger, and more carefully put together in all her parts. The king called this ship the long Serpent, and the other the Short Serpent. The Long Serpent had thirty-four benches for rowers. The head and the arched tail were both gilt, and the bulwarks were as high as in sea-going ships. This ship was the best and most costly ship ever made in Norway.” (The saga of Olaf Tryggvasons).

Stillness

So after an evening of time spent in "stillness" I thought I'd do a little looking into the use of "stillness" as part of the meditative process. I wanted something to relate to the photo of ice I took this morning. I keyword searched, "stillness, Buddha," and quickly found a free book, "The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind" I am very ignorant of Buddhism so decided to research the author before reading it.

Here is what I learned, "Lama Yeshe was born near the Tibetan town of Tolung Dechen, but was sent to Sera Monastery in Lhasa at the age of six. He received full ordination at the age of 28 from Kyabje Ling Rinpoche. Jeffrey Paine reports that Lama Yeshe deliberately refused the geshe degree, despite having studied for it:

Many years later, when pressed why he had shunned this prestigious degree, he would laugh: 'And be Geshe Yeshe?'

Sera Monastery did award him an honorary geshe degree in the early 80s. He also used to joke that he was a Tibetan hippie: 'I dropped out!' "

I will be reading it.

#stillness

My BJJ Training Notes: 2017-02-08 - Self Defense from Closed Guard: Counter Punch Scenario

Today's Note: Avoid the punch by using you hips to swing to the side attacking side while using legs to bring oppenent forward. Catch & trap the atacking arm against your neck, hand grabbing the back of their armpit. Lock the position by grabbing the biceps. The other hand raises to your head and... TAP! TAP! TAP!

We also covered variations of this...

#bjj #bjj4life #brazilianjiujitsu #jiujitsulifestyle #jiujitsu #graciejiujitsu #martialarts #grappling #bjjlife #jiujitsulife #fitness #whitebeltproblems #whitebelt #gym #fighttraining #Selfdefense #bjjtraining #martialartslife #fitnessjourney #artesuave #oss #mma #graciejj #bjjmadison #bjjwisconsin #riseup #riseupmartialarts

District #1 Old School House

"The District Number 1 School was moved from its original site on Main Street to North Second Street. The School was originally one of two school buildings on the west side of Mount Horeb and housed grades one through eight. The school was built between 1884 and 1889. When the Academy Street school opened in 1919 the West Main Street schools were no longer needed." ~ Mount Horeb Landmarks Foundation, Inc.

#wisconsin #wisconsinlife #midwest #travelwi #travelwisconsin #midwestliving #midwestmoment #themidwestival #discoverwisconsin #conquer_wi #mounthoreb #madisonwi #midwestisbest #danecounty #wisco #explorewisconsin #onwisconsin #driftlessarea #wisconsinphotographer #norse #norwegian #nordic #viking #vikings #north #northmen #trolltown

Falk WellsSugar RiverCounty Wildlife Area

I found myself meandering my way to do some training Rise Up Martial Arts Academy. I took some random turns and ended up at the Falk Wells Sugar River Wildlife Area. It's a new park, and I only just noticed the sign today. There's a very nice, all new bridge over the Sugar River that still smells "new," complete with sawdust still on top of the snow. While the end of the bridge doesn't lead anywhere just yet (there's a tangle of trees that still need cleared) it was still awesome to know there's a way to the other shore. It's awesome to see Dane County Parks creating new spaces to explore. It was a perfect way to get ready for BJJ today.

#midwestisbest #midwestliving #wi #travelwi #discoverwisconsin #wisconsin #wisco #onwisconsin #madisonwi #madisonwisconsin #wisconsinphotographer #travelwisconsin #explorewisconsin #driftlessarea #midwestmoment #conquer_wi #themidwestival #danecounty #wildernessculture #letsgosomewhere #keepitwild #sugarriver #keepitwild #naturalarea #natural #oaksavannah

Falk WellsSugar RiverCounty Wildlife Area

I found myself meandering my way to do some training Rise Up Martial Arts Academy. I took some random turns and ended up at the Falk Wells Sugar River Wildlife Area. It's a new park, and I only just noticed the sign today. There's a very nice, all new bridge over the Sugar River that still smells "new," complete with sawdust still on top of the snow. While the end of the bridge doesn't lead anywhere just yet (there's a tangle of trees that still need cleared) it was still awesome to know there's a way to the other shore. It's awesome to see Dane County Parks creating new spaces to explore. It was a perfect way to get ready for BJJ today.

#midwestisbest #midwestliving #wi #travelwi #discoverwisconsin #wisconsin #wisco #onwisconsin #madisonwi #madisonwisconsin #wisconsinphotographer #travelwisconsin #explorewisconsin #driftlessarea #midwestmoment #conquer_wi #themidwestival #danecounty #wildernessculture #letsgosomewhere #keepitwild #sugarriver #keepitwild #naturalarea #natural #oaksavannah

Snowshoeing in Stewart County Park

One of the activities that is promoted by the Scandihoovian Winter Festival is snowshoeing in our local parks. Fontana Sports Specialties offers free demo shoes at Cave of the Mounds during the day of the event but I couldn't make it out there yesterday. Instead I took my wife Teri for a quick stroll through Stewart County Park, which is close to our home. The trails are well groomed for both snowshoeing and cross country skiing. It's really awesome when taking a walk with your wife is literally is "all in a day's work."

#scandihoovian #winterfest2017 #winterfest #scandifest #mounthoreb #midwestisbest #midwestliving #wi #travelwi #discoverwisconsin #wisconsin #wisco #onwisconsin #madisonwi #madisonwisconsin #wisconsinphotographer #travelwisconsin #explorewisconsin #driftlessarea #midwestmoment #conquer_wi #themidwestival #danecounty #nordic #norse #nordiclife #stewartlake #danecountyparks #snowshoe #snowshoeing