Organic saves the day! |
Having a ball in Italy |
Breaking a record with Pepe, the peppy sloth! |
Ashrita's Record Blog
Miracle on Parsons Boulevard
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Tue, 11/11/2008 - 01:00
“This building is in danger of collapsing! Everybody must evacuate this building immediately!...”
Please forgive me for not blogging recently – I’ve been tied up with moving the health food store and stationery stores that I manage. I suppose by now, I shouldn’t be shocked or surprised by any new challenge that arises on Parsons Boulevard.
The Spice of Life
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 09:43 under categoryMy spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy, is a relentless advocate for newness, always seeking fresh and creative ways to express joy and aspiration. For me, this inspires me to look for new and different types of Guinness records, sometimes beyond the fitness categories (star jumps, sit-ups, etc.). Lately, I've made a few forays into categories that have led to some interesting failures:
Category: Slicing apples mid-air with a samurai sword. Result: A sliced finger and, somehow, I managed to stab myself in the stomach.
Category: Continuous rotations on a giant gyroscope. Result: After 10 minutes, I had to quit for fear of losing my lunch. (I later realized eating an entire package of Swiss cheese just before the practice was probably not a wise thing to do!)
Category: Smashing watermelons with my forehead. Result: One bruised forehead, a giant headache and not a single smashed watermelon!
Fortunately, Sri Chinmoy would always remind me that failures are the pillars of success. "Never give up!" is one of his favorite mantras. After some more experimentation, I finally discovered my talent for eating garlic! As the manager of a health food store, I've learned of the great health benefits of garlic, but shied away from it because of the odor issues. I have to talk to people all day and I don't want to torture them with garlic breath. There is an old New York saying, "Three nickels will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat"! Anyway, I decided to throw caution to the wind and look into breaking the garlic eating record. Read more....
The Elusive 200th Record
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Fri, 05/23/2008 - 12:26 under categoryRecently, I set my 199th Guinness record (since setting my first record in 1979). My friends thought that I should do something special for number 200 and, while I would have preferred to keep the whole thing low-key, my pesky pals wouldn't hear of it. Unfortunately, over time, they began to convert me to their point of view.
Normally, I don't do the records in any particular order, but now for number 200, I became picky. I had been training for a gymnastics record, but decided that it wasn't joyful enough. On the other extreme, my friend Bipin and I had been practicing for the record for the most custard pies thrown in someone's face from 10 feet away, something that was maybe too joyful-at least for me, maybe not for Bipin! There had to be something in between.
Then, the perfect event dawned on me. I would attempt to break my 200th by spinning an 11.5-foot diameter hula hoop the most times in a minute. It was fun and it was appropriate for a number of reasons. First, my 100th record also involved a giant hula hoop, a 16-foot hoop which was the world's largest at the time. Second, the 11.5-foot hula record made sense because it was a worthy challenge. You see, I had been training to break this record for almost 2 years!
The record was set in 2006 by a Spanish woman who was able to spin the giant hoop 62 times in one minute. I saw a short clip of her attempt and, with flawless technique, she made it look easy. I was inspired to try. My technique, however, was not that great. I compensated by constantly whipping my body into the hoop to transfer energy from my abs and legs. Whereas the Spaniard's style could be compared to that of a ballet dancer, I looked more like a bear trying to do the cha-cha! Read more....
Worth the Weight
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Wed, 04/30/2008 - 01:45 under category"There is only one dream that will always be perfect in your lifetime.
And that is the dream of self-transcendence." Sri Chinmoy
Every year, friends of mine put on an event in Munich, Germany called the Impossibility-Challenger games. Impossibility-Challenger is dedicated to self-transcendence in the purest sense. The event is always packed full of energy and inspiration and I love its diversity. Imagine amazing feats of strength and daring: strongmen pulling cars with their teeth, brave souls juggling chain saws and shot puts, martial artists breaking blocks of ice-everyone testing the limits of their talents. One creative fellow even rode a bicycle backwards for a considerable distance while playing his violin! Plus, it has a very special impact on me personally: compared to everyone else, I seem almost normal! Anyway, I decided to participate and attempt a stilt running record. And I figured, since I was going to Germany, why not make a "European Tour" of it with a stop in Italy?
The plan: attempt a record in front of the Colliseum in Rome; then, take a train up to the lake region and visit my Italian friend Priyadarshan for a few days; finally, fly into Munich for the Impossiblity-Challenger games.
I arrived in Rome in late March. I hoped to break the record for the most jumps on a pogo stick in a minute. The current record was 234 jumps. This amounts to almost 4 jumps per second so the conditions have to be ideal. Read more....
Pushing the Envelope
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Thu, 03/20/2008 - 10:25 under categoryNew Yorkers enjoy a reputation for not being the friendliest or the most helpful people, but my experience while recently training for the car-pushing record was just the opposite. In fact, I was amazed at how kind my fellow New Yorkers could be!
The record for car-pushing by an individual is 12 miles. The car has to weigh a minimum of 1609 pounds. The engine cannot be running and a person must sit in the driver's seat to steer. I was practicing with a friend's Ford Festiva (which weighs about 1850 pounds) around a ½ mile loop along streets of Howard Beach, Queens. Guinness requires you to push the car on a loop to eliminate any possibility (and advantages) of a downhill course. On a loop, whatever respite you get from the downhills, you eventually pay for on the corresponding uphills! It's called the law of car-pusher's karma!
I chose the Howard Beach course because it was relatively flat, and somewhat quiet. I spent several happy afternoons huffing and puffing, while car-pushing along my Howard Beach neighborhood loop. The neighbors clearly got a kick out of it. Once they discovered what I was doing, they contributed their own funny comments. One neighbor noticed that the car had Ontario license plates. "Hey, don't tell me you pushed that thing all the way from Canada!" And another comedian yelled out, "You're a genius. What a great way to save on the cost of gas!" Read more....
Humility Comes in Small Bottles
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Sun, 03/02/2008 - 12:07 under category
One of the real joys for me in breaking records and sharing my experiences is that hopefully it inspires others to go beyond their own capacities and travel into the realm of "self-transcendence." Of course, any transcendence requires appropriate training. With extreme events, you'll often hear, "Don't try this at home." Well, this record attempt is one of those!
There are many members of my meditation group who are medical doctors. Most of them are amused when they hear about my Guinness records, but some of my doctor-friends express genuine concern for my health and safety. One pediatrician in particular-Garima (from San Francisco) -always laughs when I tell her about my Guinness exploits, and she usually follows with, "Don't overdo it and be careful of those knees!"
A few months ago, Garima was visiting New York when I was actively training for an unusual record-drinking the most tobasco sauce in 30 seconds. When I told her about it, I expected her usual chuckle. Instead, a worried look came over her face. I assured her that tobasco sauce drinking was harmless and that I had just recently drunk 2 bottles of the stuff with no ill effects.
The good doctor wasn't buying it. If I wanted an eating challenge she suggested I practice for the onion or garlic eating records (although I might lose a few friends in the process!) She insisted that chugging tobasco sauce was dangerous because if the tobasco sauce went down the "wrong tube" my lungs could spasm and cause me to suffocate! She was serious and I remembered that the Guinness guidelines for the tobasco record stipulate that a qualified physician has to be present at the attempt. Now I understood why. Read more....
Seize the Day
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Mon, 02/04/2008 - 13:26 under category"Carpe diem!" Or in plain English, "seize the day!" Life is short and every moment is precious. Each time I hear Horace's immortal phrase, I am infused with energy. It is in perfect harmony with Sri Chinmoy's philosophy: "To expedite your God-realisation-journey, you must take full advantage of every opportunity that knocks at your heart-door." Recently, I was presented with a unique opportunity to seize the day and attempt a world record.
I love animals and get special joy incorporating them into my record attempts. One of my all time favorites was the record for the most jumps on a pogostick in a minute. And what made it so special was that I was holding a dog with one arm during the event! When Suki, my dog partner, and I performed the record, I was concerned that she might get uncomfortable. However, Suki was fine and seemed to thrive on all the TV cameras and attention. In fact, you might say she turned out to be a media hound!
For a long time now I've wanted to do a record with a bird perched on my shoulder. Fast forward to the Dominican Republic where I was on vacation this past December. The local zoo brought animals to the hotel beaches so tourists could pose with them while having their photos taken. One day they brought a monkey, another day a lizard and, on yet on another day, they brought an exquisite Macaw. About an hour after seeing the large parrot, it hit me. "Carpe diem!" Here was opportunity knocking at my door! I was already training for the record for the fastest time to walk a mile while hula hooping and I could attempt the record while balancing the Macaw on my shoulder! The trained bird was accustomed to sitting on strangers' shoulders so-why not?! Read more....
Time Flies
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Sat, 12/15/2007 - 04:31 under category
Today's blog is not about breaking a record, but instead it's about something that happened between me and a fly on my birthday a few months ago!
In general, flies are not much appreciated, but several prominent authors have used the fly in their writings to make observations about life. Honore Balzac commented on the unfairness of the justice system, "Laws are like spider webs which the big flies pass through and the little ones get caught". Benjamin Franklin remarked, "A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar" which might be interpreted as highlighting the value of kindness, and Miguel De Cervantes was probably saying "silence is golden" when he wrote, "A closed mouth catches no flies". Finally, Francis Bacon referred to an ancient fable about overestimating one's own importance, "The fly sat on the axle of the chariot wheel and said, "What a lot of dust I raise!"
In any case, most people feel that flies are a nuisance (hence the expression "a fly in the ointment") and, until recently, I was one of them. This past September, I was blessed to be invited to Sri Chinmoy's house to participate in a small birthday party in my honor. Several of my friends were there on the porch and Sri Chinmoy took the opportunity to answer any spiritual questions that we might have. My teacher was in the middle of answering a particularly intriguing question when I noticed something very disturbing. Sri Chinmoy has an adorable dog and a fly was drowning in the dog's water bowl. Unfortunately, the water bowl was inches away from the couch that Sri Chinmoy was sitting on! Read more....
My Friend Saves the Day
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Mon, 12/10/2007 - 11:13 under categoryIt's hard to imagine that good grooming could almost ruin a record attempt, but it actually happened to me a few days ago!
I was in the Dominican Republic on retreat with my meditation group and I decided to attempt the record for walking the fastest mile while spinning a hula hoop around the waist and simultaneously balancing a full pint milk bottle on the head. The bottle must remain balanced for the entire mile, and cannot be touched in any way to adjust it. I admit, the record is crazy, but I love it. It actually requires tremendous concentration to keep the bottle balanced, especially while bystanders are laughing at you and traffic is whirring by!
After a few practices, I was ready to attempt the record on the road in front of my hotel. A certified surveyor measured the course and, with the witnesses and camera crew standing by, I began a practice hula-balance warm up. With the hula hoop spinning, I placed the bottle on my head and, to my surprise, within 3 steps, the bottle slid right off! "It has to be a fluke," I thought so I tried it again but, sure enough, that thing just wouldn't stay balanced on my head.
It just didn't make any sense. Only 2 days earlier, I had done a quarter mile trial run. When the bottle fell off my head and hit the ground, I knew that it was because I had lost my concentration. Amazingly, the bottle didn't break, so here I was, two days later, using the same bottle, yet no matter how much I tried, I simply could not keep the bottle balanced on my head. What was different? Suddenly, the answer dawned on me. The culprit was the hairdresser! Read more....
A Record with a Peel
Submitted by Ashrita Furman on Thu, 11/22/2007 - 13:47 under categoryAbout 2 months ago, I got the inspiration to break the world record for the "orange nose push mile." The record is for pushing an orange over a distance of one mile, with your nose! I actually held this record but, since nobody had broken it in a few years, I decided to go after it myself.
Having already done this, I knew it wouldn't be easy. "Orange nose smack" would actually be a more appropriate name! While on your hands and knees, you smack the orange with your nose as hard as you can. Then you jump up, chase after the orange, fall back to your hands and knees and repeat the process all over again. I covered a mile like this in 24 minutes and 36 seconds. Like many Guinness records, it looks silly, but it actually requires a lot of concentration, technique and fitness. And it can be painful too. During one training session, I noticed my orange was turning red. It took me a few moments to realize that the red substance on the orange was my own blood!
Anyway, my practices were going well, so I began looking for a venue to break the record. I needed a place with a smooth floor because, the smoother the floor, the faster and longer the orange rolls. I had originally set the record at Terminal 4 at JFK airport in New York, where the tile surface was superb. I have especially fond memories of that place since Sri Chinmoy personally visited the terminal while I was attempting the record, and I recall being so happy and inspired to see my teacher. With each lap, when I passed Sri Chinmoy, I would try to be extra soulful, a task that was made humorously difficult because every time I hit the orange I involuntarily let out a loud grunt! Read more....
