Ashrita's Blog

Worth the Weight

Ashrita Furman — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:45:14

“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?

Pushing the Envelope

Ashrita Furman — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:25:17

New 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!

Humility Comes in Small Bottles

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:07:23

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.

Seize the Day

Ashrita Furman — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:26:33

"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!

Time Flies

Ashrita Furman — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:31:16

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!”

My Friend Saves the Day

Ashrita Furman — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:13:32

It’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!

A Record With a Peel

Ashrita Furman — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:47:10

Sri Chinmoy, my spiritual teacher, has written thousands of profound aphorisms including many about not accepting impossibility and never giving up. Here is one of my favorites:

“I do not give up, I never give up, for there is nothing in this entire world that is irrevocably unchangeable.”

Of course, we can apply this to major life challenges, but, in my case, I feel it is equally applicable to less important issues such as breaking Guinness world records!

My Beloved Teacher

Ashrita Furman — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:42:23

Dear friends,

My Beloved Teacher, Sri Chinmoy, entered into Mahasamadhi on October 11th, but I can still feel my Teacher's presence so powerfully in my heart.

I am certain that Sri Chinmoy is most lovingly blessing us and encouraging us all from the higher worlds.

Behind Closing Doors

Ashrita Furman — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:45:09

There is an expression: “the morning shows the day.” If that’s the case, then my trip to St. Petersburg was portending to be a disaster! On my first day in that former capital of Russia, I was pickpocketed and, let me tell you, the gang who did it was smooth!

Anyone Need a 76-Foot, 21,000-Pound Pencil?

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:26:34

Well, we did it and we had a blast! A bunch of guys from about 15 countries spent 2 weeks building the world’s largest pencil. It wasn’t easy. We had to make the pencil to scale, it had to look precisely like a normal pencil and it had to be made out of exactly the same materials. We used over 8,000 board feet of wood, 4,500 pounds of 10-inch graphite, which ran the length of the 76-foot pencil, and we even manufactured a 250-pound eraser. It took our two main carpenters a full day to sharpen the point of the pencil using a Sawzall, axes, and a grinding machine!

The Pencil Wars

Ashrita Furman — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:39:07

I apologize for not putting up a blog in a while – I’ve been involved in organizing a celebration in honor of my spiritual teacher's birthday. Every year, hundreds of Sri Chinmoy’s students from around the world come to Queens, New York, to join in the festivities. Although the celebration centers mostly around prayer and meditation, there are other activities including classical music performances and sports competitions. Also, recently, it has become a tradition for a small group of us to break a Guinness record by building something GIANT.

A few years ago, we succeeded in creating the world’s largest bouquet and we presented the magnificent flower arrangement to Sri Chinmoy on his birthday. It was made up of 100,000 roses and, afterwards, we invited everyone in the neighborhood to take armfuls of roses home. For days, the entire area smelled like a rose garden!

Meditation Works

Ashrita Furman — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:47:09

I was watching the men’s British Open Golf Championship on TV this past Sunday and the commentators brought up a fascinating point. They said that in order to play golf well, a player must be in control of his emotions. They pointed out that many golfers are brilliant on Thursday, Friday and Saturday but, on Sunday, when all the adrenaline is pumping and they have a possibility to win the tournament, their games fall apart. They even have to take the effect of their adrenaline into account when they choose which golf club to use for a particular shot. My immediate reaction was that those golfers should learn to meditate!

Meditation really works. Meditation fills you with inner peace and I use it not only in my day-to-day life, but also to break Guinness world records. A perfect example is the record for doing the most deep knee bends on a Swiss Ball in a minute. When I can stay within myself, I'm able to balance on the ball and crank out the squats. However, as soon as I get a bit excited, I go flying backwards off the ball onto my back. So meditation keeps me centered, literally!

Lost and Found

Ashrita Furman — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:32:24

Sometimes a simple story can have a profound impact. More than twenty years ago, my friend, Adhiratha, told me about an incident that happened to his uncle and I have never forgotten it. In fact, every time something gets lost, I think of Adhiratha’s uncle and I’ve never even met the guy!

Adhiratha comes from a very religious Catholic family. Just to show you the level of their devotion, at dinnertime, before they began eating, they would take turns reading out a chapter from a book about the lives of saints. Anyway, one hot summer day, Adhiratha’s uncle, Francis, was taking a refreshing swim at Jones Beach, here in Long Island. Suddenly, he noticed that his wedding ring had slipped off his finger into the Atlantic Ocean. He was in shock. However, without a moment’s hesitation, he prayed to St. Anthony, who is the patron saint of missing things, and dove headfirst into the murky water. He touched the bottom, skimmed his hand along the sand and, when he re-surfaced, tears welled up in his eyes. The ring had miraculously slipped back onto his finger!

Great Expectations

Ashrita Furman — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 02:02:17

A few days ago, I visited New Orleans and attended a program dedicated to the courageous spirit of the people of the city. The function was the brainchild of Ashish Verma, the General Manager of the renowned Windsor Court Hotel. As part of the program, Mr. Verma invited my spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy, to say some encouraging words and give a short concert.

Also, a couple of New Orleaneans were honored for their outstanding efforts to help rebuild the city. I was so inspired that I decided to attempt a Guinness record the next morning at a local track even though I wasn’t completely trained.

Finding a Door in the Gobi Desert

Ashrita Furman — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:03:33

I had everything I needed for my record attempt in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia except for one small item - a 4-foot by 5-foot plank of wood! I had the regulation stilts, I had a jump rope and I had the official witnesses in the car with me. We were on our way to the Ulaan Bataar airport to catch a flight to Dalanzagad, not much more than an airstrip deep in the Gobi. I was going to attempt the record for jumping rope the most times in a minute on stilts. I needed the wood to bounce on because the stilts would sink deeper and deeper into the sand without it, preventing me from cranking out the 102 jumps required to break the current record. I was trying not to dwell on the fact that if I didn’t have the wood with me already, how was I going to find a plank of wood in the middle of one of largest and least populated deserts on the planet?!

The Most Exotic Animal

Ashrita Furman — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:15:52

As you might have guessed by now, I am an avid animal lover. So, a few days before I was scheduled to go to Mongolia, I began thinking about what kind of exotic animal I could possibly meet in Genghis Khan’s homeland. Mongolia is famous for its horses, but I’ve met hundreds of horses (in fact, I’ve been thrown off the back of a few!) and I was looking for something more unusual. And then I remembered reading that Mongolia has the second largest population of yaks in the world, next to Tibet. Now you can’t get more exotic than a yak! I don’t think I had ever even seen a yak in a zoo. So, with yaks on my mind, I boarded the plane to Ulaan Bataar and, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, the idea came to me. I had been practicing for the sack racing mile record - why not race a mile in a sack against a yak? The plan seemed ludicrous so I knew it must be good!

More Than a Coincidence

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 27 May 2007 16:25:36

My friend, Sanatan, is an exceptional engraver and trophy maker. He has made exquisite plaques and trophies for such luminaries as Michael Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa, to name a few. However, like many artists, he is not that neat in his personal life. His room is a mess and his office looks like a thief has just broken in and ransacked the place! So when Sanatan called me last week from his hotel room and told me that he couldn’t find his passport, I wasn’t at all surprised.

The Hippo Becomes a Dolphin

Ashrita Furman — Mon, 21 May 2007 08:31:38

I can just see it now… Dick Fosbury changed the high jump forever with his revolutionary method of jumping backwards over the high jump bar.

John Heisman virtually re-invented American football when he introduced the forward pass. And Ashrita Furman changed the art of spinning a hula hoop forever with his unprecedented underwater hula hooping! Uh, well maybe not, but the idea certainly sounded like fun, and quickly became my focus for a new Guinness Record!

Oslo, City of Peace

Ashrita Furman — Tue, 08 May 2007 11:06:24

I just returned from a visit to Oslo, the capitol of Norway, and, at first glance, Oslo is like many other modern European cities. Although the prices are a bit high (I paid $23 US dollars for a 12-inch pizza in an Italian restaurant!) the city is sparking clean, the people are extremely friendly, and there are the usual statues and tourist attractions. In fact, I set a record at one of those tourist attractions, the famous Bislet stadium, where so many running world records have been set. But what makes Olso unique is that it is the place where the Nobel Peace Prize is decided and awarded.

Losing Face, Gaining Wisdom

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:56:08

In Japan and Thailand it is considered in very poor taste to show anger. Anger is judged to be a weakness and, if a person gets mad, he loses face. In that case, I lost face in a very big way last weekend!

I was at the Jamaica High School track training for a possible new record – running with a raw egg balanced in a dessert spoon, but instead of holding the spoon the traditional way in my hand, I was trying to run while holding the spoon in my mouth. It was really difficult and I had no doubt that I looked absolutely ridiculous!

The Power of Positive Thinking

Ashrita Furman — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 00:25:40

One thing I really appreciate about the Guinness Book is that it’s a global collection of the wild, weird and extraordinary. You can read about feats that you could never have even imagined. For example, I’ve been juggling for decades and yet never thought of using gravity boots to hang upside down off a bar and juggle until I saw a photo of an Australian fellow doing it in the 2007 book. If it weren’t for Guinness, I also would never have discovered frog jumping, constructing stilts out of cans and string, or backwards bowling. And that would have been a shame because backwards bowling is one of the coolest, most fun sports ever invented!

All the rules of regular bowling apply to backwards bowling except, when you release the ball, your back has to be facing the pins. Since you can’t see the pins, you have use the floor in front of you as a guide. It’s difficult, but when you get a strike or convert a difficult spare, there is a huge feeling of satisfaction. When I first spotted this category in the 2005 Guinness Book, the record was 139 for a single game. I was never a great forward bowler, but I thought that bowling backwards might just be crazy enough to fit my personality! I kept thinking about going to the bowling alley and testing my ability but, for some reason, I kept procrastinating. Finally, I made a promise that, in a week, I would go to the bowling alley, no matter what.

Finger Snapping

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 18:07:18

Bill Rogers, the world-class marathon runner, once commented, “ My record will go and it will be good. I like to see records broken even if they’re my own.” Since I follow Sri Chinmoy's philosophy of self-transcendence, I can totally relate to Mr. Rogers' profound detachment. However, recently, when I found out that my record for finger snapping was broken, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed!

Now, you’re possibly thinking that I’ve gone soft. Here is the guy who once somersaulted for 12 miles and now he’s into finger snapping! I agree, it’s not my normal type of record, but when I spotted it in the new Guinness Book last August, a giant light bulb lit up in my head. Finger snapping must have been a new category because the record was only 119 snaps in one minute. This was my crazy idea – maybe I could combine the snapping with something else and break two Guinness records simultaneously!

Third Time is a Charm

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 14:37:46

I was reading the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated last week and, in the middle of an article about a Japanese baseball pitcher, the journalist quoted the following ancient haiku by the illustrious poet Matsuo Basho:

The old pond

A frog jumps in

The sound of water

The haiku really had nothing to do with the subject of the article, but it was very apropos to me. Just a few days later, on Wednesday, I attempted to break the Guinness frog jumping record at the Frog Pond at the Boston Common. However, my attempt was nothing like the feeling in the poem where everything seems so tranquil, elegant, and eternal. There was no water in the pond (it is used as an ice skating rink in the winter and a wading pool in the summer) and the only sound was me grunting as I tried to hop like a crazed amphibian while awkwardly holding onto my big toes!

The Art of Frog Jumping

Ashrita Furman — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 23:34:49

Let me tell you why I love frog jumping. I love it because it’s fun, it’s crazy, it’s an incredibly effective exercise for the abs and quads, and it’s mysterious. Very few people know what it is. For example, today I called my friend, Khipra, in Rhode Island, and asked him if I could stay over at his place on my way up to Boston to attempt the frog jumping record. He said it was fine, he had a spare room, but he wasn’t sure where he would keep the frogs!

Thriller in the Courthouse

Ashrita Furman — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:01:05

Yesterday, I had to report for jury duty. I was waiting on line inside the foyer of the courthouse with more than 50 other Queens residents, and I suddenly noticed that almost everyone looked miserable!

At first, I wasn't completely convinced about the accuracy of my observation, but once I made it through the security screening, I was certain. Our group was instructed to sit in a big room which, sure enough, contained hundreds of other miserable-looking people! I began to wonder why everyone had such long faces. I had just returned from a Buddhist country and Buddha’s philosophy is that life is suffering. Were all these people immersed in their suffering? Or, were they all simply upset about missing work and having to do jury duty? Or, was I just exaggerating things by projecting my own unhappiness at having to show up at the courthouse while still battling a stomach flu?

Gun Shy

Ashrita Furman — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:50:29

The other day, I was on my bicycle rushing to some appointment when I was interrupted by a New York City policeman. Instead of waiting for a traffic light to change, I had jumped onto the sidewalk and when I turned the corner, I drove smack into the officer. Of course, I quickly steered back into the street, but it was too late. The officer ordered me to stop and asked for my license. I dreaded getting a summons and, for a split second, I thought of just cycling away. After all, he was on foot and could never catch me. There were only 2 problems with that. First, it was morally wrong, and secondly, he had a gun! The policeman was compassionate and let me off with just a warning, but it made me think about my experiences involving guns.

American Politics

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 15:58:28

In general, I try to avoid getting involved in politics. I believe in Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy – that if you really want to change the world, then first change yourself by becoming a more loving and more spiritual person. While I was out of the country these last few months, I hardly heard any news about the U.S. presidential race, but now that I’m back, I’m surprised at how heated up things have become.

Over the years, the only politician I’ve ever actively campaigned for is Congressman Gary Ackerman. I’ve known him since he first ran for office and I’ve always been impressed with what a kind, compassionate, funny, and down to earth person he is. Many years ago, Gary phoned me and told me that a little boy had wandered off from his home in Queens. The boy’s home was in the Congressman’s district, and Gary asked if my meditation group could help look for the child. Many of my friends went out in groups scouring the neighborhoods and we dropped off photos of the missing youth to the local newspapers.

The Bargaining Game

Ashrita Furman — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:39:03

I’m back in New York City after 3 months of travel and record breaking and, besides the jet lag, I’m experiencing culture shock. Why is everyone in such a rush and why do people seem so withdrawn into their own worlds? I guess in a few weeks I will once again become an assimilated New Yorker and I won’t be asking such silly questions!

Anyway, one of the more noticeable differences about daily life in the U.S., as opposed to Asia, is the bargaining. Here, when you go into a store, you pay whatever it says on the price tag. You don’t see shoppers at Key Food trying to convince the produce guy that he should give them a better deal on a head of lettuce. But, in Thailand and many other Asian countries, bargaining is not only normal - it is expected. Vendors deliberately add on 25%, or sometimes even double or triple their initial price, so they have room to give you a big discount. Usually, the back and forth negotiating is done in a spirit of fun.

The Dream Team

Ashrita Furman — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 10:20:20

I love elephants so, naturally, it’s been my lifelong dream to do a Guinness record on the back of an elephant. However, I never thought it would actually happen until I visited Thailand this January.

The Thai people are really into elephants! Elephants are adored and revered here. These largest of land mammals used to work in the forests hauling timber, but since that activity was banned, hundreds of elephants have ended up in elephant camps where their upkeep is paid for by giving tourists rides on their backs. The elephants are very well cared for and quite accessible. In one out of the way camp, I was allowed to play a game with a baby elephant where I pushed her and she pushed me back. The only problem was that nobody told me how to end the game and she ended up pushing me down a hill!

The Celebrity Duck

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 08:50:14

It amazes me how an inanimate object can sometimes take on a life of its own. As you are probably aware of by now, I have been touring Europe and Thailand for the last two months along with a contingent of students of Sri Chinmoy. In the evenings we often get together and perform skits about inspiring topics. While we were in Bulgaria, in order to add a little humor to one of the performances, someone purchased a large, bright yellow, stuffed toy duck and included it in a skit. The duck got a big laugh, and afterwards, the fuzzy aquatic bird ended up on the table at the back of the function hall where the audio guys monitor the microphones and speakers. Over the next few weeks the duck became more and more a part of the sound crew! Day by day it just got funnier and funnier. One day some headphones appeared on the duck, a couple of days later he was sporting a scarf, and several days later he was showing off a cool new hat!

The Eye of the Tiger

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:44:16

I now realize that trying to include a full-grown tiger in a Guinness record attempt was a pretty crazy idea. But I have to say, in my defense, that I was lulled into a false sense of security. A couple of weeks ago, when I went to the Tiger Temple here in Thailand, I met the Abbot who first started the practice of adopting orphaned tigers about a decade ago. The monastery now is home to more than 15 tigers and the Abbot let me walk with a 4 year-old male tiger named Hernfa. Although he wasn’t exactly tame, Hernfa seemed to be quite well behaved under the Abbot's supervision. That is why when I went to the Temple last Sunday to make an attempt on the record for skipping the fastest 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) and planned to skip the last 100 meters with Hernfa, I had no fear or hesitation.

Unfortunately, as soon as I got to the Temple, my feelings of confidence were instantly shattered! For one thing, the Abbot was called out of town that day. Even though he had appointed 4 extremely capable handlers to assist me, still I missed the aura of peace that surrounded the kind head monk. To make matters worse, the handlers themselves weren’t sure that skipping with a tiger was such a good idea! They were worried that the tiger might attribute the skipping movement to that of an injured animal and be inspired to attack me! At this point, I should have probably just done the record without the tiger, but I couldn't bear to miss the opportunity of a lifetime. I optimistically assured the assistants that everything would be fine.

Horsing Around in Iceland

Ashrita Furman — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 22:29:25

I don’t know what it is about fruits and vegetables with me lately. First, it was bananas in Turkey, then lemons in Bulgaria, and just recently I recalled this story about carrots in Iceland!

At the beginning of December, Bipin and I flew to Iceland to attempt the record for the piggyback mile. Everything had been arranged at the last minute so although our friend, Snatak, was happy to have us stay at his place, he hadn’t had any time to prepare for us. The morning after we arrived, he had to run off to work, but kindly told us that we were welcome to anything in the frig. There wasn’t much. I found some yogurt, some cheese and, no exaggeration, about 20 pounds of carrots!

Wintertime in Iceland is pretty rough. Being so far north, the island only gets a few hours of sunlight a day and the darkness can become oppressive. Knowing that eating carrots helps to improve eyesight, my hypothesis was that Icelandic people must eat tons of carrots to improve their night vision. When I asked Snatak about it, he laughed and explained that the carrots were actually for a juice fast he was planning to embark on. However, before he could get started, a friend of a friend got ill and he lent them his juicer and now he was stuck with oodles of carrots.

My Dear Friends

Ashrita Furman — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 22:25:25

My spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy, once called animals “our ancient friends”. I really do feel that way and, in fact, I love spending time with animals. They are so sincere and real and always live in the moment. There is not much of a story to this blog, but because it involves friends from the animal kingdom, I decided to publish it anyway!

A few days ago, my human friends and I continued our tour of Thailand by moving to a new city. I took advantage of the 3-hour bus ride to take a nap and I woke up just as we were pulling into the very long driveway of our new hotel. Groggily coming out of my jet-lagged snooze, I looked over to my right and noticed a deer and a little fawn in a fenced-in pen across the road. With great excitement I blurted out, “Hey, deer!” My friend sitting next to me, unaccustomed to me being so affectionate, gave me a puzzled look! “No”, I shouted, “there are deer over there, look! A mom and her baby!” Unfortunately, we had already passed the mini-zoo and my friend thought I had really lost it.

As soon as I got to the reception desk of the hotel, I was intent on proving that I hadn’t been hallucinating. It is common to see cows and water buffalo in the countryside in Thailand, but I have never seen a deer, so I could appreciate my friend’s skepticism. I asked the lady at the counter, “You have deer at the hotel, right?” And to my great disbelief she replied, “No, we don’t have any deer here. But we have a miniature golf course with lots of statues of elephants, tigers, and snakes.” I was in shock and my friend couldn’t contain his glee at my discomfort.

Tigers in Thailand!

Ashrita Furman — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 07:35:08

I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive. I was finally en route to the Wat Pa Luangta Yanasampanno Forest Monastery in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, better known as the Tiger Temple. It is a Buddhist monastery which cares for orphaned and injured animals, especially tigers. The place is unique because it allows visitors to hold full-grown tigers on a leash and walk with them under a monk’s supervision. On the one hand, I was excited to get the opportunity to be with a tiger up close and personal but, on the other hand, I was a little concerned because of all the stories I had heard about the tiger’s unpredictable nature.

The signs at the entrance to the monastery didn’t make me feel any better. They warned visitors not to wear any hot colors such as red or orange since those hues might provoke the tigers to attack! The signs also warned against wearing perfume. Fortunately, I was safe on both accounts. I also had to sign a waver stating that I would not hold the monastery liable for any injuries.

My purpose in going to the Temple was not only to meet the tigers, but also to ask the head of the monastery, Abbot-Pra Acharn Phoosit (Chan), for permission to do a Guinness record there. I brought along my friend, Nayak, who speaks Thai, but as it turns out, it wasn’t necessary. The Abbot spoke fluent English. I was immediately taken by the Abbot’s serenity and childlike nature. It was he who started the practice of caring for the animals when he first adopted a tiger cub after its mother had been killed by poachers. I told him about my love for animals and showed him photos of me pogo stick jumping while holding a dog and hopping with an owl perched on my finger.

International Sauna Rules

Ashrita Furman — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 13:28:18

During the three weeks I spent in Bulgaria recently, I got into the daily habit of taking a dip in the freezing cold Black Sea. I mainly did it just for fun, but the cold water seemed to help my muscles recover from my heavy training workouts. I would usually be accompanied by one or two friends and we never got tired of the thrill of that initial plunge from the beach into the icy sea. Each time we went in we would try to stay in the water a little longer. Sometimes, after being immersed for a couple of minutes, we would have conversations which might baffle a bystander:

Ashrita: Hey, Udar, that’s kind of weird, my toes just went completely numb.

Udar: That’s nothing. My toes went numb 30 seconds ago.

Ashrita: Wow! Guess what - I just starting getting these shooting pains up and down my arms.

Udar: Hey, that’s cool. Now I’m getting like this burning feeling on my back, but you know, if you keep your hands stuck in your armpits it keeps your fingers from freezing.

Afterwards, we would usually hop into the hotel sauna to thaw out. This became a regular routine, but on one particular day there was an unusual incident. Udar and a couple of other friends were already in the sauna and they were having a heated discussion (pardon the pun!) with an Austrian who was also a guest in the hotel. The fellow claimed that our group wasn’t abiding by the international rules of the sauna such as always bringing in a towel and not putting any water on the hot rocks. Now, I can understand the towel rule (are there really international sauna rules?), even though I always wear a bathing suit, but not putting water on the rocks just can’t be right. As a matter of fact, the hotel itself provides a bucket and a ladle in the sauna for that exact purpose. Ladling water onto the rocks creates steam and humidity and, as long as it’s done in moderation (two or three ladlefuls), the extra heat feels fantastic.

Heart Power Prevails

Ashrita Furman — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 03:08:23

I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand a few nights ago, and seeing all the motorbikes reminded me of an incident that happened the last time I was here. I was the tour conductor for a large group on our way to Southeast Asia and we were in Bangkok for a one-day stopover . I wanted to go out for a run and didn't feel comfortable leaving all the plane tickets in the hotel room, so I rented a safe deposit box. When the cheerful receptionist gave me the safe deposit box key, she warned me that it was one of a kind and, if I lost it, there would be a charge of $100 U.S. dollars to cover the cost of drilling open the box and replacing the lock. I smiled and assured her that there was no absolutely chance of me losing that key.

The whole point of getting a safe deposit box is to put your mind at ease. Unfortunately, although I was no longer worried about the security of the plane tickets, I was totally freaked out about losing that precious safe deposit key! There was a tiny pocket in my running shorts, but I wasn't taking any chances. I put the key in a fanny pack, strapped the pack onto my waist, and finally ventured out into the Bangkok traffic for a 3-mile jog.

On a Roll

Ashrita Furman — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 08:14:26

Doing forward rolls has got to be one of the most effective overall exercises ever invented. It works all the major muscle groups of the body and is especially beneficial for the neck, shoulders, forearms, triceps, abdominals, quads and calves. If it weren’t for the minor drawback that doing even a few rolls makes one hopelessly dizzy and nauseous, I think long distance rolling could eventually become a bona fide fitness craze!

I started practicing forward rolls more than 25 years ago and, in fact, the oldest Guinness record that I currently hold is for rolling the entire 12-mile length of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride in Massachusetts, which I accomplished back in 1986. Whenever people ask me about the rules for that record, I always respond that the rolls must be continuous, but you are allowed to stop to throw up! I’m not just being funny – I had a big meal the night before my unusual rendition of Paul Revere’s journey. Unfortunately, the fact that I had 4 slices of pizza “with everything on it” was no mystery to sympathetic bystanders all along the route!

Much Ado About a Moustache

Ashrita Furman — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 04:35:01

I’m on an extended tour of Turkey and Bulgaria with many of my friends who are students of Sri Chinmoy. In the evenings we often get together and put on skits about inspiring topics. My friend, Databir, frequently directs these amateur performances and he is phenomenal. He can put together an entire production, from writing the script to getting the costumes to rehearsing with the actors, in a few days.

Databir occasionally asks me to perform in his skits, but not because I’m a good actor - it’s because I’m good at memorizing lines! Concerning my acting, I’ve been bluntly told that I overact and that every character has way too much energy!

The other day Databir handed me the script of a skit he wrote about the life of Albert Einstein and asked if I would play the part of Dr. Einstein. I accepted and figured that this was an opportunity for self-transcendence. If I could improve my glass balancing or one leg hopping, why couldn’t I make progress in my acting? I was determined not to wait until the last minute to learn my lines, but to really take my time and try to get into the character.

The Healthiest Cat

Ashrita Furman — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:24:24

Lately, I’ve become somewhat of a lemon expert, but in a peculiar sort of way. You see, unlike most connoisseurs, the taste of the lemon doesn’t concern me in the slightest! It all started when I was training to break the speed record for peeling and eating a five-ounce lemon. For weeks I searched though hundreds, possibly thousands, of lemons to find the perfect fruit for the record. Now, whenever I see a lemon, I automatically size it up for how fast I can gobble it down!

Maybe that is why when my friends and I recently went into the restaurant of a small hotel in Kaliakra, Bulgaria, I immediately noticed the bowl of lemons sitting on a table in the reception area. I was perplexed. I could understand if the bowl had been full of apples. After all, an apple would make a nice snack for one of the guests. But a lemon?

Anyway, the food at the restaurant was so good that I soon forgot about trying to solve the lemon puzzle. After we finished our meal, the owner of the hotel came over and suggested we climb up the stairs to his observation deck on the roof and admire the view. The village was indeed charming, but what really caught my eye was a beautiful cat serenely sitting on the roof about 20 yards away. I called the cat and he dutifully trotted over and let me pick him up. Whenever I see a cat or dog in the street, I try to approach and pet it, but this was no street cat. His fur was exceptionally clean and silky, and he simply radiated robustness and well-being. In fact, he was possibly the healthiest cat I’ve ever met. Within seconds he was purring noisily and I reluctantly put him back down only when my friends threatened to drive off without me!

So Little Means So Much

Ashrita Furman — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 10:12:17

A couple of days ago, I visited an orphanage in the Bulgarian countryside. I went with some friends who are part of Kids to Kids, a humanitarian organization that arranges for kids in different countries to exchange paintings, and for fortunate kids to donate toys to those who are less fortunate. A professional magician and I were supposed to each do a short show to entertain the kids.

Let me tell you, I was more nervous than when I was in the Green Room waiting to get on the Letterman Show! Although I'm not really an entertainer, I thought of a few things I could demonstrate, but I wasn't sure how the kids would react. When my turn came, I joked around a little (there was a translator), and then started bouncing around on my pogo stick. I could tell it was the first time they had seen a pogo stick in person, and they were excited. Then, I did a short juggling routine followed by a yodeling demonstration. When I called one of the older boys up and tried to teach him to yodel, the kids broke out into howls of laughter! What a great feeling!

Taking a Dip in the Black Sea

Ashrita Furman — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 03:21:47

A few days ago, I celebrated the new year by trying something totally new and different. I'm currently staying in a hotel on the beach in Varna, Bulgaria with some friends. The other day we noticed a couple of Romanian tourists splashing around in the waters of the Black Sea. There's nothing unusual about that except it's the middle of winter here and the water is ice cold!

I've heard of the Polar Bear Club in New York who traditionally jump into the ocean every year on New Year's Day, but somehow I never was motivated enough to join them. In fact, Vic Boff, a well known body builder and health enthusiast in his day, had been encouraging me for years to join up. Anyway, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally take the plunge. Those Romanian tourists seemed to be having a lot of fun!

My friends and I went out to the beach and we met Karteek and Anugata who had been in the water and were just drying off. Both of them are English Channel swimmers and they said that the water was much colder than the Channel. They recommended that we walk in slowly to avoid the sudden shock, but we knew there was only one smart way to proceed - just rush to the water's edge and dive in! And that's what we did!

Gratitude

Ashrita Furman — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 04:14:15

I'm not one for a whole list of resolutions but there is one thing that I'm determined to do this year. I have decided to set aside 10 minutes a day to offer gratitude to God for His Love, Guidance and Protection.

Recently my spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy, recited an aphorism which really struck home:

"My Lord tells me that my ever-blossoming gratitude-heart is His most favorite song."

For me, the power of gratitude is miraculous.

I wish you all a healthy, joyous new year, full of peace and adventure!

A Weird Coincidence

Ashrita Furman — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:55:01

In my last blog I mentioned how helpful the assistant to the Turkish city of Belek was in my quest to get permission do a record at the famous ancient Roman amphitheatre at Aspendos. I found the affable fellow in the restaurant of the hotel I was staying at. He was having lunch with his staff and he invited me to join them. Something unusual happened at the lunch that I wasn't sure was worth mentioning. But here goes!

I introduced myself to everyone at the table and showed them my photo in the 2007 Guinness Book. After seeing the page, the assistant to the mayor got very excited and he immediately began making calls to find the number of the mayor in charge of Aspendos. Although he was talking in Turkish, I could tell that he got the number because his eyes were roving the table looking for a piece of paper or napkin to write on. Everyone had already finished eating and there were no clean napkins around, but bananas must have been served for dessert because there was an empty peel on the plate in front of him. Sure enough, his eyes finally settled on the banana peel and he wrote the number on the peel!

The Turkish Heart

Ashrita Furman — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 04:36:27

Sometimes I’m totally amazed by how well things actually work out! I really feel that God’s Grace has a lot to do with it and, in this case, with the magnanimous heart of the Turkish people.

A bunch of friends and I are vacationing in Antalya, Turkey and, although there are so many exciting possible places to break Guinness records here, I didn’t want to think about it until I was actually in better shape. There was a record for balancing the tallest object on one’s chin for 10 seconds, but frankly, my practices weren’t going that well.

Then suddenly, one morning, I had an excellent practice and I was ready to begin the search for a venue. My friend, Homagni, had been raving about the 2,000 year-old Aspendos Roman Amphitheatre he had visited, so finally, I looked at a photo of the ancient site. It was incredible!!! I just had to do the pole-balancing record there, but how could I get permission?

An Embarrassing Moment

Ashrita Furman — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 07:38:19

Last week something really embarrassing happened during one of my training sessions. Please remember, before you get the wrong impression, that I'm normally a very polite person! Lately, I’ve been working on the record for keeping a children’s top spinning for a mile. You hit the top with a small whip to keep the top spinning and moving, then run after it and hit it again. The big challenge is that the top is not allowed to stop spinning for the entire mile.

I’m currently on vacation in Antalya, Turkey and I was at the lower level of the Sheraton Hotel in the middle of a top spinning practice. I was hitting the top along the long corridors, determined to keep the top spinning for half a mile. I had be careful of the occasional well-meaning guest who, upon seeing the top on the ground, would attempt to pick it up and give it to me, but otherwise things were going well. I was sweating profusely, my knees were all scraped up, but the top was still spinning.

As I neared the bank of elevators, I smacked the top with the whip and the top went flying. Suddenly, the elevator doors opened and the top spun right into the elevator. I couldn’t believe it! In the intensity of the moment, without thinking, I ran into the elevator screaming to the shocked guests not to touch the top. As I frantically swung my whip at the top, everyone huddled in the back of the elevator. Somehow I managed to get the top, still spinning, out of the elevator just before the doors closed and I continued my practice!

It wasn't until later that I realized that I had prevented those poor people from getting off the elevator and, not knowing that I was training for a record, they must have thought I was a raving lunatic!