Archive for the ‘Coaching Tips’ Category
Wholeness
…having all it’s proper parts or elements; entire; being healthy or sound.
As sentient beings we can spend a lifetime journeying into the realm of wholeness; to find, invite, nurture and become our authentic selves.
The Knights of the Tarot all represent the search for the Holy Grail; the symbol of God within.
“…our knightly task is to figure out where our place is, to evaluate our experiences and decide what new attitudes and approaches best suit us. That journey and the adventures, victories, and obstacles we encounter along the way, prepare us to assume our roles as Queens and Kings.” ~Spiritual Tarot: Echols, Mueller, Thomson (Quill, NY, 1996).
“We need to see, and agree that what we seek already lives within us, and we within it. Now we know our one great task: Watch for whatever promises us freedom, and then quietly, consciously refuse to see ourselves through the eyes of what we know is incomplete. Then we live wholeness itself, instead of spending our lives looking for it.” ~Guy Finley
The quest, the journey to wholeness is seldom undertaken and sustained through to it’s reward. The path is fraught with peril. Self-doubt; a tenacious clinging to unhealthy patterns because they exude comfort and safety, even though they are the very Demons of fear that keep us prisoners, make us unable to accept the grace and forgiveness of divine pardon. Thus preventing our escape to the nurturing love of the authentic self. Additionally, the time, dedication and courage required to seek after and capture the Holy Grail discourages most of us.
“The journey to wholeness requires that you look honestly, openly, and with courage into yourself, into the dynamics that lie behind what you feel, what you perceive, what you value, and how you act. It is a journey through your defenses and beyond, so that you can experience consciously the nature of your personality, face what it has produced in your life, and choose to change that. Words lead to deeds. They prepare the soul, make it ready, and move it to tenderness.” ~Gary Zukav
Although the journey to wholeness is perhaps the greatest challenge we face in the quest for the Holy Grail, success and reward defy description. However, there are many palpable rewards: inner peace, especially amidst social, political and personal upheaval; no need to fear/react/behave based on what others think of us; authentic self-confidence based upon intimate knowledge of our personal strengths and weaknesses; the ability to successfully deal with cognitive dissonance; and a deep, abiding, intimate connection with others and with the sacred energy of all life.
“You see, the condition of wholeness demands an inner quiet, a state of serenity and contentment. Nurturing intimacy with oneself can be done only in a tranquil setting, a space where noise and chatter diminish and one’s own personhood comes to the surface.” ~Susan Dietz (Press Democrat, Single File, December 22, 2018)
I invite you to find, nurture and protect your sacred space. The haven and refuge of wholeness.
Blessings!
Holy Season 2018
Wishing you all a fantastic Holy Season filled with love, peace and joy!
Merry Christmas!
Kindness
What does it mean to be kind? To practice kindness?
Kindness is living a life of personal integrity built on a foundation of ‘ethical characteristics’…knowing right from wrong.
We most often think of kindness as an outward expression of care and empathy for others. However, the most vital aspect of kindness is treating yourself as well as you treat others. How you treat yourself with kindness, how you talk to yourself with kindness, will resonate through all of your relationships.
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” ~Lao Tzu
True kindness is not co-dependent. It is not about trying to make everyone happy, or, appeasing others in-authentically to reduce your cognitive dissonance. Sometimes saying ‘no’ is an act of kindness to yourself and others, even though it may spark anger and disappointment.
“Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.” ~Theodore Issac Rubin
True kindness is rooted in acceptance and compassion. Accepting who we are and having compassion for ourselves bears the fruit of true kindness…kindness without expectation, a kindness freely, gently and respectfully given.
“I’ve been searching for ways to heal myself, and I’ve found that kindness is the best way.” ~Lady Gaga
When kindness becomes part of our daily practice it has the potential to contribute to the creation of happier and healthier families, and ultimately of a happier and healthier world.
“You don’t teach morals and ethics and empathy and kindness in the schools. You teach that at home, and children learn by example.” ~Judy Sheindlin
“Kindness and politeness are not overrated at all. They’re underused.” ~Tommy Lee Jones
Surely, this is a season of kindness…perhaps treating ourselves day in and day out with the loving kindness we shower upon others, we can create peace, within and without.
Blessings!
Merriment
An old word dating from the mid 1500’s, not very popular these days. Merriment is high spirits, fun, gaiety, cheer, joy, laughter, mirth, exuberance and happiness to mention a few meanings. Merriment refers to events, activities and happy feelings.
“Always laugh when you can; it is cheap medicine. Merriment is a philosophy not well understood. It is the sunny side of existence.” ~Lord Byron
Christmas rapidly approaches carrying merriment into our villages, homes and hearts, but merriment is freely available to us anytime, anywhere. Laughter can reduce anxiety, exercise our hearts and lungs, reduce blood pressure, release endorphins, boost T cells, and reduce stress. As Lord Byron said…”it is cheap medicine.”
“Frame your mind to mirth and merriment which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.” ~William Shakespeare
“The Universe will give us love, happiness, merriment and laughter if we give others love, happiness, merriment and laughter.” ~Avijeet Das
In times of difficulty, merriment is a wonderful gift that can raise our spirits and guide us through to the other side.
I invite you into merriment.
Blessings!
Word Power
Words have power. So much of our personal and public discourse doesn’t account for this power. We exchange verbal banalities with little attachment to their influence on conscious and unconscious processes.
“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care, for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” ~Buddha
Thinking is a word process. Self-talk is a word process. Carefully choosing words for our internal dialogue is a primary tool for personal growth and transformation. The vocabulary of self-talk develops in early childhood, becoming the dominant way we judge and support the inner self. Power words that shape the perception of who we are, and of what we believe about others.
“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use the force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” ~Yehuda Berg
This astute observation is true of both outer and inner dialogue. The authentic self cannot fully emerge without positive word power.
“False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” ~Socrates
A quote from Ruth Bader Ginsberg speaks passionately to me about the power of the word…”We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts with three little words, ‘We the people.'”
I invite you this week to reflect and review your inner and outer word power.
“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” ~Robin Williams
Blessings!
Power of Choice
There is much in life over which we have little if any choice. However, there exists a plethora of areas where we have power to choose.
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” ~Maya Angelou
Not choosing is making a choice. To be empowering choice must be a conscious process. Not choosing is, more often than not, an unconscious process.
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” ~J.P. Morgan
“If I have the belief I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ~Ghandi
Living an authentic life is making conscious choices, and accepting responsibility for them.
“If you don’t make time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a LOT of time dealing with a life you DON’T want.” ~Kevin Ngo
The empowering action of conscious choice is a process not an event. Failure and disappointment are essential facets of the brilliantly shining diamond that is the living of an authentic life.
“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.” ~Jamie Paolinetti
I invite you this week to explore the depth and breadth of your power to choose.
Blessings!
Thanksgiving 2018
…a time to come together to give thanks for our blessings. Like last year, I look forward to the joy of sharing this day with family and friends.
“I am grateful for what I am and have. My Thanksgiving is perpetual.” ~Henry David Thoreau
But my heart-self is heavy with thoughts of those who have lost so much in the Camp fire. And the heavy, unrelenting smoke that clouds the air is a surreal deja vu into last year’s Tubbs fire.
As you celebrate this special day take time to pray for all those who have no home, no belongings, and the many who have lost family and friends. Prayers and meditations that in this one moment of Thanksgiving they will find comfort, compassion, love and respite from shock and sorrow.
As Coffey Park, Larkfield, Mark West, Glen Ellen, Fountain Grove begin rising from the ashes, there is hope. But the scars on the landscape and psyches are indelible, as the struggle to find a new norm goes on.
“You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There’s another day you might want to know about: Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity.” ~Bill Gates
We donate what we can; the power of collective meditation and prayer is a gift that can be given everyday.
Blessings!
Zeitgeist
A zeitgeist is the spirit of the times as reflected in collective ideas, events and beliefs.
Wildfire rages again in the West, flood waters rush through the East; historically unprecedented hurricanes and typhoons ravage the Earth; the US National Debt reaches $400,000. per taxpayer; war, terrorism and mass shootings become norms; personal and political discourse is destructively divisive; racism, sexism and religious persecution are rapidly mutating societal cancers; glaciers and forests are disappearing at an alarming rate; air, water and food contamination reflect a toxic world; quality health care and education is available only to the wealthy; overt greed and dishonesty, big profit any cost mentality dominates economic structures…surely these realities point to the emergence of a very dark zeitgeist.
“On the right, a brigade of trolls. On the left, squabbling civil servants. Invasion of the zombies. Have I managed to summarize the zeitgeist now?” ~Martijn Benders
There is no fleeing to an uncharted earthly frontier for safety and new beginnings. Safety and sanity are to be found in strong faith. And strong faith can shift the zeitgeist.
“Even the juncture in history and the zeitgeist we live in is something we choose, setting the scene for the spiritual fodder we need to grow and achieve deeper elevation of our souls.” ~Raquel Cepeda
The beautiful little town of Paradise was completely destroyed by the Camp fire. I feel deeply the profound metaphor. My soul-self weeps, mourning the loss of of the zeitgeist of my youth, and the tragic consequences for humanity in overwhelming suffering.
“I had to make my history quick because there would be no future, merely a gossamer world blown about on the zeitgeist, till zeitgeist, the wind of the times, is blasted away by kamikaze, the wind of God.” ~Rene Ricard
I feel the bleakness this blog will bring to many of you as you read it, the sobering sadness of stark reality. I want to encourage, if not embolden you, to seek the infinite power of the spiritual alliance. You and God are a majority, capable of manifesting an unconditionally loving zeitgeist.
Blessings!
Unknown
The known and the unknown exist side-by-side in our daily lives. We are familiar and comfortable with the known even when it is disagreeable and painful, because we know it. Conversely, we fear the unknown.
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering – out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer the suffering that is familiar.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” ~H.P. Lovecraft
Like all emotions, fear comes and goes as it darn well pleases. We have no control over this coming and going. Where we have power over fear of the unknown is in how we respond. We can choose ‘fear’ or ‘faith’.
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” ~Corrie Ten Boom
Our sense of security encompasses a multitude of fears about the unknown; finances, health, love, jobs, home, family, freedom of expression, disasters, and death. Our degree of security can create an illusory complacency, leaving us unprepared to face the unknown.
“Faith and doubt both are needed – not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve.” ~Lillian Smith
“There are things known and things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” ~Aldous Huxley
“We have to balance the lineality of the known universe with the non lineality of the unknown universe.” ~Carlos Castaneda
No other time in human history have we faced so many unknowns. Faith is the way through our fear.
“Peace is that state in which fear of any kind is unknown.” ~John Buchan
Wishing you all abundant peace!
Silence
Silence has many applications. To ’cause to be silent’; to ‘muzzle or gag’; ‘concealment’; ‘to fail to communicate or keep in touch’; ‘concealment’; ‘stillness’; ‘quietude’; ‘complete absence of sound’; tranquility’; ‘peace’.
The din of modern society challenges the sound of silence, over-powering moments of tranquility that once were commonly accessible. Similar to viewing the night time skies. To see the fullness of the heavens you must travel or live in remote areas free of the incessant glow of population explosion.
“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.” ~Henri Nouwen
Balance and timing are critical to overall health and are essential guideposts of the spiritual path. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.
“Silence is the great teacher; and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to it. There is no substitute for the creative inspiration, knowledge, and stability that comes from knowing how to contact your core of inner silence.” ~Deepak Chopra
Learning to sit quietly and empty the mind completely is one of the greatest gifts of silence. When active thought ceases with conscious intention, we become one with our surroundings.
“True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.” ~William Penn
As we move toward the Winter Solstice, I invite you into the practice of silence.
Blessings!
