Month: March 2020

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Pivot 33: Connection to Source

Yesterday, in ‘Welcoming the Changing Scenery’ and also ‘thinking only of what I want to see more of’… I found myself dwelling on following my railway track and entering… A World of Love (AWOL?!). It took up my whole mind – the idea that in Levelling Up to Level 5, I’d walk through a door to a new environment  (scenery) in which everyone was loving, kind, generous to one another.

A question: if you excluded the news and social media from your idea of your reality, could it not be said that you live in just such a world? 

Ooh.. that bites. Yes! Even my conflict res. clients, are generally simply trying to be achieve a sense of self-worth and safety… They are rarely actively malicious. If ever…!

So. Welcome to AWOL. Where have you been? AWOL?! 

Haha! Very funny!

Let’s read…

REPETITION: Bread is made from flour. How flour becomes bread when put in the oven was for Buddha the most important thing. How we become enlightened was his main interest. The enlightened person is some perfect, desirable character, for himself and for others. Buddha wanted to find out how human beings develop this ideal character—how various sages in the past became sages. In order to find out how dough became perfect bread, he made it over and over again, until he became quite successful. That was his practice. … Actual practice is repeating over and over again until you find out how to become bread. There is no secret in our way. Just to practice zazen and put ourselves into the oven is our way. Zen Mind Beginners Mind p56/7

So, let’s do the practice and see what arises today.

***Zazen15min***

That was tough. I’m still quite unwell with a cold. What’s the lesson today?

The word you were struck by was ‘sage’. What are your sage role models?

  • Getafix
  • Archangel Uriel, the illuminator
  • Esther Hicks
  • Caroline Myss
  • Matt Kahn…

What do they have in common? 

Connection? Connection to Source.

There you go. 

What exactly?

Connection to Source changes everything. Just work with that today. 

Ok. Feel sick.. Should probably stop..

Connection to Source

******

Later in the day:

So it’s 5.30pm on Day 2 of my ‘2 day business pivot’ and virtually all I’ve been able to do is nap. Plus a lovely walk each day. And quite a bit of serious unwinding, and… reconnecting to Source. So. This has arisen: To ask you, or Source, what one thing I could do today, for you, for the World of Love, in service to the tribe... (Like ACIM’s daily prayer, “Where would You have me go? What would You have me do? What would You have me say, and to whom?”)

Hang on a second… Is this the pivot??? From world-orientated decision-making to Source-led decision-making?

And if it were? 

Hallelujah! I was thinking on my walk today, as I prayed out loud, it’s time for some of Caroline Myss’s ‘spiritual madness’…

Want to try it? 

Yes!

Dear Source of my Being,

holy heart of my Soul.

What one thing would You have me do today?

Pick out your 30 favourite books on healthy dialogue. 

Cool. Yes. Easy…. Really? I seem to feel a bit grumpy about it……:-/ What’s with me?

This is faith. Remember this? It’s following the Quiet Inner Promptings on trust.

Ah. Yes. Ok. Will do. This is my pivot. To connect to Source, offer myself up for one darn act of service and then simply follow the Quiet Inner Promptings on trust.

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Pivot 32: Welcome the changing scenery

What is this ‘pivoting’ business, anyway?

You ask today because you have brilliantly set aside two whole days for pivoting your business. We are happy and excited for you!

You are? Why..? Help me get clarity..

Yesterday you were listening to Abraham talking about all the good stuff being there for you in your Vortex and how good it feels to align with the frequency of your Vortex. How would it be if we explained to you that, because you have done such good work on (say) Level 4 of your Vortex, your inner being is now prompting your to level up to Level 5. You sense this prompting by… stress, frustration, being ‘sick of what you’re doing’. As long as you ignore the invitation to level up, the feeling of being ‘out of whack‘ will simply get stronger. 

What happens when people get out of whack is that they tend to focus on trying to ‘correct’ the thing (Level) that’s frustrating them because they’ve outgrown it, rather than doing what the promptings are actually inviting you to do, which is this: 

  • Celebrate having relished this Vortex Level to the max! High fives all round! Face it, when you started out on this Vortex Level (field of activity), it felt awesome, and expansive… this feeling is waiting for you again at the next Level. Your inner being is signalling that your dominant frequency has raised so much it’s time to Level Up for the next goodies.
  • Saunter out of the front door of this Vortex Level and stroll over to the next Level (following your Quiet Inner Promptings for guidance on how to get there). 

Ok! This is helpful. Let it go, let it go… Yes, this resonates with some of the feelings of sadness I’ve been having – Karla McLaren puts that down to needing to let go of the old. And I’m booked in to a couple of appointments to support me with that process. (TRE/Breathework + MindfulPsychotherapy/EMDR).

Tell me more about those Quiet Inner Promptings. 

Quiet Inner Promptings (QuIPs) are chuntering through you all the time. It’s about getting quiet enough to hear them. 

Aha. Sure. Ok.. Let’s read our next chapter of Zen Mind…

PART 2: RIGHT ATTITUDE – SINGLE-MINDED WAY: The Bodhisattva’s way is called “the single-minded way,” or “one railway track thousands of miles long.” The railway track is always the same. If it were to become wider or narrower, it would be disastrous. Wherever you go, the railway track is always the same.   That is the Bodhisattva’s way. Zen Mind p54

***Zazen15minTimer***

Go solo on the single-minded railway track that winds up the mountain of your own Vortex, steady as a sherpa, guided by the Quiet Inner Promptings. 

Question: have I put on weight partly as a way of drowning out the QuIPs?

Loaded question. It’s fair to say that you have been not-feeling-some-feelings along the way. And that’s ok. As you return to your zazen practice you will: 

  • learn to sense and tolerate feelings, and therefore be better able to process them out
  • train your attention effectively, especially in terms of how you use your breath a) to anchor attention and b) to process out feelings. 

If we told us that daily meditation practice is the single kindest thing you could do for yourself, would you hold it against us?

More important than eating?

By a lonnnnnng shot. 

Well, I am hoping the mindful psychotherapist will help me re-establish my practice.

It’s about aligning daily. If you don’t align your frequency at the start of the day, the spin-out of being out of whack is massive, and exhausting for you. Really. You have SO much in your Vortex right now, that if you don’t find a way to get into it daily, you are going to keel over with ‘excess potential’. 

Really?! What do I have in my Vortex??

Go to Level 5 and find the heck out! 

Why Level 5?

It’s literally just a figure of speech. We mean, the whole next level. Imagine a building on many floors, and each floor is like a whole different planet – different decor, different people, different customs, different delights of all kinds. That’s what the Vortex is like. So… be prepared to welcome change. Ok? 

Ok…! Welcome change. But keep on the same single track… No more veering off, with the tracks widening and me feeling torn down the middle – as happened yesterday with that impossible commissioned training I finally wrote, and my waking up fully this morning at 4.30am in a state of high anxiety…

Go back to Zen Mind… 

We say railway track, but actually there is no such thing. Sincerity itself is the railway track. The sights we see from the train will change, but we are always running on the same track. And there is no beginning or end to the track: beginningless and endless track. There is no starting point nor goal, nothing to attain. Just to run on the track is our way. This is the nature of our Zen practice. But when you become curious about the railway track, danger is there. You should not see the railway track. If you look at the track you will become dizzy. Just appreciate the sights you see from the train. That is our way. There is no need for the passengers to be curious about the track. Zen Mind p54

So, does this mean to welcome the changing scenery on my journey?

Yes, appreciate the changing scenery – people, sights, altitude… The scenery of your life is changing; not you. Take comfort in that simplicity, and let your Big Mind settle into itself. You do not need to control the scenery. The scenery is self-changing. Your job is simply, truly, really… just to enjoy it unfolding in front of you. 

Watch one of those train cabin videos… 

Welcome the changing scenery. Do little more than that. 

‘Let the train take the strain!’

Welcome the changing scenery.

 

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Pivot 31: Nothing Special

Last session’s dialogue between CEOme and OPSme gave me a lot to think about. It was helpful to realise:

  1. What awful working conditions CEOme had allowed OPSme to have to handle
  2. How much coaching CEOme needs to do her job well.

The concept that came to mind was SELF-LEADERSHIP. The Self-Leader in us is like the benevolent wise-one, the mature boss, the nurturing parent (in PAC terms).

After a couple of days pondering Self-Leadership, a new approach to time management revealed itself to me.

Basically, if we sleep for 8 hours (as it were) we have 16 hours to play with each day. If I’m not careful, those 16 hours get rail-roaded into Ops, orrrrrr, into hiding from the Ops rail-roading… But no-one’s in charge..! So let’s look at those available slots:

16 hours = 8 slots @ 2hours each, from 7am – 11pm 

Then I worked out what the 8 Activities are for a balanced worklife, with a fair self-employer, and gave each a 3-letter code. The 8 activities can change order but the ideal order (which also flows with G’s day) might be as follows, from 7am.

7/11 Slots (for Self-Leadership) 

  • QTD = Quiet Time & Dress with PJStretches (eg 7-9am)
  • E&E = Exercise and Eating Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch (eg 9-11am)
  • OP1 = Operational Session 1 – client work / paid (eg 11-1pm)
  • OP2 = Operational Session 2 – client work / paid (eg 1-3pm)
  • CEO = CEO / Admin / BusDev / Marketing / Strategy (eg 3-5pm)
  • HOM = Home-making / cooking / dinner / laundry (eg 5-7pm)
  • FUN = Social activities (eg 7-9pm)
  • R&R = Rest & recuperation – 9pm screen curfew + PJStretches, in bed by 10pm to read and sleep (9-11pm)

(timings interchangeable; each activity vital on a daily basis)

I trialled this approach yesterday, and it was such a relief to know that each activity was only going to run for 2 hours max. I felt I could do anything. Also, by the end of the day, everything was in balance: home, business, projects, rest… None of this, “Ooops, I worked flat our on one thing for 6 hours and now the house is a mess and I’m mentally drained and physically exhausted.”

It’s hard to get stressed if you really do switch tasks every 2 hours. 

Ah, this is like Switch20 but for 2 hour slots! Switch120!!

Indeed, it is Switch120. 

So much of our learning has just been about being able to start a task, and then know how to switch task. I feel it’s because as I get older, these aspects of my Aspie brain get harder to manage nimbly.

For this reason, putting down these vital Self-Leadership practices is so valuable. You are setting balanced daily routines which will be sustainable. 

I need to be able to work for the next 30 years I guess… And I couldn’t do it working as I did last week.

You have important work to do. (Everyone does.) You have a CONTRIBUTION to make. Creating a viable daily framework for action is key. 

I spotted this book cover someone handmade, on FB yesterday. The Tony Robbins quote stood out.

Image of a book cover with a Tony Robbins quote about mastering time
Once you have mastered time…

You have spent a long time seeking to order, synchronise, control time. Understanding that ‘timetabling’ is an act of self-leadership, not ‘organisation’, is a big step. Keep developing the Self-Leader in yourself. 

Let’s read. 

NOTHING SPECIAL: In zazen what you are doing is not for the sake of anything. You may feel as if you are doing something special, but actually it is only the expression of your true nature; it is the activity which appeases your inmost desire. But as long as you think you are practicing zazen for the sake of something, that is not true practice. If you continue this simple practice every day you will obtain a wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you obtain it, it is nothing special. It is just you yourself, nothing special. Zen Mind p47

***Zazen10minTimer***

  • I am developing my capacity for self-leadership now I’m xx years old. Nothing special.
  • I am trialling my 7/11 Slots approach (aka Switch120) to time management, to cover all bases daily and have a sustainable working life. Nothing special.
  • I’m developing a new training piece today. Nothing special.
  • I’m taking time out for a walk today. Nothing special.
  • Sometimes I jokingly call my self-leadership ‘my slef-dealership’ to underline that really, it’s nothing special.
  • I’m pivoting my little business to capitalise on online opportunities this week. Nothing special.
  • I’m reducing my trainings down to Go** Ch**, and that’s it. Nothing special.

I like this nothing special approach.

It stops the engine from revving and the temperature going up. Chug chug chug. It’s all perfect and yet it’s all ‘nothing special’. The phrase supports a fair employment life balance. The phrase promotes inner peace. 

Nothing special