I have recently been enrolled in the wound healing program by my earthly medical advisers and my Spiritual Adviser.  As far as my medical recovery is concerned,  I am using state of the art medical products and treatments.  One of the products is a wound dressing called Sorbact.  This mesh-like, green colored fabric  is hydrophobic.  It attracts bacteria to its surface within seconds but does not retain any fluid.  The use of this material replaces the use of topical antibiotics and is the most natural substance for rapid, healthy healing.

My diet now consists of as much protein (mostly from meat) and Greek yogurt that I can stomach.  According to research,  high levels of protein enable your body to rapidly build the new tissue required to heal a wound.  Steak, liver, raw salmon, you name it, it is on the menu these days!

On the flip side – my Spiritual Advisor has signed me up for this course to teach me about the emotional healing of wounds.  The title of the first chapter of The  Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz is “The Wounded Mind”.  He explains the idea of emotional wounds being like a physical skin disease with open wounds  that we develop early in our life, around 3-4 years old.  This disease, based on fear, causes us to feel hurt when someone touches us and makes us aware of the pain we can cause others when we touch them.  Yet, we are drawn to touch and be touched.  He offers these words:

Humans cover themselves and protect themselves, and when someone says, “your are pushing my buttons,” it is not exactly true.  What is true is that you are touching a wound in his mind, and he reacts because it hurts.

So, how do we heal?  Let’s look at the medical approach to healing and draw some conclusions.  The simple green materials that is use in wound healing draws out the bacteria and creates a healthy environment for healing.  What spiritual practice could you engage in that would draws out your anger, disappointment in others, or feelings of being a victim in a particular situation?  Releasing these feelings can feel like an emotional eruption when you being to become aware of their power over your life.  Recognizing these elements and refusing to live at the effect of life results in a huge shift in energy and fuels the healing process.

We know what food our bodies require to heal but what is the “protein power” that will heal our mind?  Daily affirmations has been one of the foundational messages of Louise Hay.  In her book Heal Your Life she lists common physical diseases and conditions and the related emotional problem associated with it.   She follows up each “diagnosis” with a healing affirmation.  I asked a friend what she thought were the core emotional troubles experienced by Steve Jobs.   She mentioned his anger over abandonment as one issue he struggled with.  We then looked to Louise Hay’s descriptions of pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis: Rejection. Anger and frustration because life seems to have lost its sweetness.

Healing Affirmation:  I love and approve of myself, and I alone create sweetness and joy in my life.

 

Maybe this seems to be too simplistic for our world today.  The secret to complete healing may be found in a much different place than the medical community has lead us to believe.

Recently, one of my coaching clients was working through Well Being by Rom Rath and Jim Harter.  She texted me and said,” You have to read page 38!”  So I read it and understood her point as it related to her life but the rest of that page was devoted to wound healing!  (I love serendipity!)  In this research experiment,  superficial wounds were created on 45 married couples.  The wounds were monitored to measure the rate of healing.

The results revealed that it took almost twice as long for the wounds to heal for couples who reported having hostility in their relationship. So if you’re in a strained relationship, it could extend the time it takes for you to recover from surgery or a major injury.   …………..our Social Wellbeing might have even more influence on how quickly we recover than conventional risk factors.

So it appears  that while we may have the lastest, greatest doctors, procedures, equipment and products,  our spiritual and social health is going to play an equal or greater role in the healing process that we might realize.

Clearly, the effort we make to heal ourselves will  heal everyone else around us in the process!

 

 

 

Maybe you have 200 contacts on Linkedin,  500 friends on Facebook and 30 people following you on Twitter (or “Twerps”).  This is what I call the social doughnut.  This doughnut is the sweet,  quick rush of sugar that has become the foundation and staple of our social diet.  It is a brain rush when we get a message on Facebook,  someone re-tweets one of our genius-like insights, or we receive friend requests and “join my network” invitations.  The doughnut represents the social connections that we crave but are not long-lasting or completely satisfying.  A few hours later we are hungry again!  The center of the doughnut, in many cases,  is painfully empty or filled with fear.

The lack of real, significant relationships show up in our perceived level of well-being.  In Well Being: The Five Essential Elements by Tom Rath and Jim Harter, their data suggest that:

• To have a thriving day, we need  six  hours a day socializing with friends, family and colleagues (this time includes work, home, phone, e-mail, and other communications).
• According to a Harvard study, our well-being is dependent on our entire network.
• Even your friend’s friend’s friend influences your well-being.
• Proximity matters.

This gives new meaning to the concept of “six degrees of separation”!

 As I began thinking about it,  I realized that it may be the intention of the socializing that makes that difference.  If I have the intention of finding souls that are important in my spiritual journey,  classmates in my course or learning and individuals that need me for their growth,  socializing takes on new meaning.  If I am looking for someone to meet my needs and make me happy,  my intention has nothing to do with mutual growth.  However,  if I consider each social interaction as an opportunity for spiritual growth and awareness,  I immediately feel a very different level of energy and excitement.

Who is in the center of your doughnut,  in the core of your life?

Relationships are the Holy Spirit’s laboratories in which he brings together people who have maximal opportunity for mutual growth.  Marianne Williamson

• How do you find the ultimate lab partner(s)?
• How does the ultimate lab partner(s) find you?
• What force in the universe brings you together?

Step 1:  Pick your course of study.

• Decide what you are here to do and learn in this life.  What passions drive you to explore and give you pleasure as well as peace?
• What areas of study use your strengths?
• Where are you being  lead?

Step 2: Show up to class!

• Show up in life authentically.
• Show up ready to learn and curious.
• Show up at the right time and place with energy and awareness.

You cannot, but be in the right place at the right time. A Course in Miracles

Step 3:  Attract a study group.

• Get to know your classmates.
• Who are you naturally attracted to in the class?
• Trust your intuition.

Step 4: Pick your lab partner.

• Go into this experience knowing that you may experience serendipity.
• Let the universe expose itself to you.
• Know that the ultimate lab partner for you exists.
• Know that you have been prepared for each other.

Step 5:

• Do what it takes to find the portal that allows you to enter the lab.
• Establish the sacred container required for mutual growth.
• Honor the opportunity for this experience with love.

Thank you for entering into my classroom today,  showing up at my study group and making yourself available for our mutual growth today – you are at the center of my doughnut!

I remember attending my first symphony orchestra concert in Cleveland, Ohio as a part of the third grade class trip to Severance Hall to see the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra.  I sat down and never noticed anything else thing around me until it was over.  I could not even remember breathing. I had lost all conscious awareness of time.  This was just the first realization of my passion for live, acoustic musical experiences.

I want everyone to experience passion in their lives with whatever or whomever they have a connection.  I want to help people live passion-filled lives  in their intimate relationships, their work and their beliefs  through a connection with their inner genius.

How can you consciously attract and experience passion in your life?

• P is for present!  Guilt is about the past, anxiety is about the future.  Passion is something you experience in being. It shows up when you have “lost track of time”.  It can be a feeling of love or fear. You can have  passion for someone or something.    Someone or something can offer passion to you!

How are you making space and time  in your life for experiencing passion?

• A is for authentic.  I believe that we can only experience passion when we are connected to our true, authentic self.  Passion is a real, vibrant, human experience that only occurs in times of  deep inner awareness.
  How often is the “real you” showing up for life?

• S is for strength.  Your acceptance and recognition of passion is going to be closely related to your talents and natural strengths.  You will find it easy to connect with a person, subject, art form or belief that honors, expresses and compliments your strengths.

Do you know your strengths?

• S is for serendipity.  Knowing that what you have set out to find might lead you to discovering something even more valuable.  Passion can come at an unexpected time from an unexpected source.  It can come from somewhere outside yourself that you have never experienced before.

Are you open to discovering something more amazing  than you had never imagined?

• I is for intuition.  Often times we discount and toss away our gut feelings because we cannot back them up with facts.  Knowledge without supporting evidence is accessible to us all of the time.

How will you follow your intuitive thoughts and ideas with the purpose of filling your life with passion?

• O is for opportunity.  We are constantly being exposed to situations, invitations, new connections, clients or job opportunities. these are opportunities for us to experience expressions of other people’s  passions!

What would it take for me to recognize passion in the world every day, every hour, every minute?

• N is for NOW!  Passion takes place in the present.  It is there for you to express and to receive from others.  Seize  the  opportunity! Carpe diem!

Tell me your story!  Share with us your passion.

How have you discovered it?

What elements of the universe came together to grant you this amazing experience?

How has your experience with passion changed the course of your life?

What a great example of “The Shock Factor” !  Watch this audition video of Johnny Robinson’s audition – The X Factor 2011

Things are not always what they seem on the outside.  You can’t judge a book by its cover.  Many times a completely different character is hidden under a physique, mannerism or psychological mask.  What an absolutely beautiful thing when and inner spirit comes right out in public to play and bare its beauty.

I had a great conversation with the owner of a Marketing Your Coaching, Kathy Jo Slusher-Haas.  During this conversation, for the first time,  I said,

“I think I have untapped, personal resources!”

What?  At age 50, there might be a whole new me waiting to emerge?  I thought it might be too late.  Could it be the me that has been there all along and I never took the opportunity to fully expose her brilliance?  Could it be that throughout my life my Truth has shone through in moments, events and experiences but I was never  fully aware of its presence?

One of the most exciting experiences in my life was when I played a Mozart Piano Concerto with my high school orchestra.  I was in tears afterwards.  It was a beautiful, timeless experience.  I measure spiritual experiences in terms of timelessness.  For me,

Timelessness is next to godliness.

I never really bought into that cleanliness myth!

Lose track of time this week – it is my favorite way to live in the present and experience a spiritual presence.

 

Early on in my coach training I attended a tele-class on the do’s and don’ts of social media.  One of the ideas presented was that every once in a while you need to include a “rant”  in your weekly or daily blog posts.  Why?  Rants get more attention and responses than the good-natured, informative, “have a great day” types of blog entries.

Well,  here is my first shot at the idea of a rant.  It doesn’t even feel like it is the right thing to do but here I go!

Rant Topic #1

Several years ago my x-spouse brought to my attention that I needed to get over my bitterness and resentment over his “luxurious lifestyle”.  Well,  we all know that following most divorces,  the man’s quality of life greatly increases and the woman’s quality of life substantially decreases.  It would be quite understandable for me to be angry, resentful , even bitter about this lifestyle change.  I have to thank him because looking at my life from the point of view of a luxurious lifestyle has really served me well during these post-divorce years.  I have come to know and understand what luxuries I can and cannot afford.

Rant Topic #2

One of my long-time close friends, a professional manager at a large corporation,  said to me, point-blank, “I have never heard of anyone using a coach and can’t imagine anyone paying money to work with someone on their life.”  (paraphrased) What she does not realize is that her friends, spouse and family members have faithfully and patiently listened and “coached her” through a difficult time at work because we love her. 

Rant #3

Another so-called friend and prominent arts administrator made two negative comments about my new business and refused to even keep my business card when I handed it to him.   He insisted on giving it back to me after he dropped it on the ground.  He then proceeded to pull out his own business card which I graciously accepted. 

Rant Topic #4

Yet another, long-term collaborator has yet to return my email (it has been at least 3 weeks now)  regarding a weekly commitment  we have had for 5 years.   He allowed my replacement to tell me that my services were no longer needed. I am so grateful for the opportunity to focus on a new direction and relieved that the job I was doing is being done by someone that is talented and highly qualified.

OK…that is all I can stand!  I really don’t want to start out my Monday morning remembering and reliving the anger and resentment I have worked through on these topics.

Let’s start talking luxuries!

Louise L. Hay quotes Peter Mc Williams in her book The Power is Within You:

You can no longer afford the luxury of a negative thought.

Louise had just received a cancer diagnosis and began looking at her life in a new way.  She realized that she could not indulge in certain patterns and heal from the cancer.  So the conclusion could be that a luxurious lifestyle is one based on good, positive thoughts.

Just over a year ago I left a position as organist and music director at a small church for the purpose of honoring my son’s choice in churches.   There was a loss of income but I gained the luxury of  worshiping with him and respecting his desire for spiritual growth.

We attended “the church down the street” this past Sunday.  The Pastor is taking a portion of the Lord’s Prayer each week and looking at its meaning and purpose.  This week it was about “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.  How could I possibly experience heaven on earth?  How could heaven be breaking through to earth?  How could my “rant” experiences have anything to do with peace and well-being?

A Course in Miracles says:

The way to God is through forgiveness here.

I have the luxury of forgiving myself and others and the joy of being forgiven during my  time on earth.

I have the luxury of being in a relationship with my children, a loving partner, friends, students and clients that serve as a “classroom experience” for spiritual growth.

I am thankful for all of you.  I live the most luxurious lifestyle possible on this earth.

How often have we ordered food at a restaurant or clothes from an online catalog and said to ourselves when it came to us, “This is not what I expected;  this is not what I ordered!”

Now sometimes,  the human error factor causes our desires to be misunderstood.  In the world of our thoughts,  are there any mistakes?

The lesson I read this morning from A Course in Miracles stated:

What happens is what I desire. What does not occur is what I do not want to happen.  This I must accept.

Another quote from ACIM came to mind as I meditated on this lesson.

There are no idle thoughts.

Uh-oh……….what do I do now?  Have my thoughts really created my life as it is today.  Can’t I factor in other people’s behavior and believe that I am a victim of their humanity, poor judgement and harmful nature?  Why do my thoughts have to count for soooooooooooooo much?

Louise L. Hay in her book The Power is Within You discusses the subconscious mind.

Our subconscious minds make no judgements.  Our subconscious mind has no sense of humor.

Even if I make a sarcastic comment  or put-down about others or myself (which I am very good at) my subconscious  believes that the statement is true.  It does not get the joke and share in the fun!

Steve and I had the pleasure of traveling to Lake Michigan this past weekend to enjoy the beach.  When we arrived at my favorite location we realized that a symphony orchestra concert was planned right there at the shelter.   How perfect was that!   As we sat enjoying our abundance I realized that even in the midst of this most relaxing, beautiful setting I had the choice to entertain anxious, fearful thoughts about my life.    I chose not to!  I chose instead to focus on blessing each one of my present and future clients and students as they were being prepared to work with me and thanking everyone around me for preparing me to be with them. I envisioned my own success  and the success of those that I work with and felt the pleasure it gave  me to see all of us express their strengths benefit of the world we influence.

Another amazing thing happened.  I went for a yearly physical with trepidation about weight, blood pressure, etc being 50 (the whole colonoscopy thing).  I had exercised that day and meditated to lower my blood pressure as I prepared for the appointment.  I hope the results were accurate because I had the lowest BP numbers I had ever had.

I began this  semester’s online class with a request for each student to review the goals for the class and state an intention for themselves in relation to the goals and their desired outcome.  I am really pleased with the overall response.  I think is setting a great tone for everyone’s experience.

If my thoughts and intentions are so powerful then I have to ask myself two critical questions.

1. How have my thoughts brought me into the situation I now experience?
2. How can I manage my thoughts and create intentions that can change my world?

The answer: Think consciously,  act intentionally.

What are you ordering from the universe today?

“Our wellbeing actually recovers more rapidly from the death of a spouse than it does from a sustained period of unemployment.” from  Well Being by Tom Rath & Jim Harter

Do you find this surprising?  The best way for me to begin to understand this “statistic”  is to recognize that we have rituals as well as family and community support for the loss of a loved one.  We even get time off of work to grieve!  We do not have any rituals, spirituals practices or community ‘hug’ for the loss of a job,  years of under-employment, loss of a business or anxiety about entering the workforce after spending years caring for family at home.

In A Return to Love,  Marianne Williamson writes;

“In order to insure our progress toward the goal of enlightenment, the  Holy Spirit  has a highly individualized curriculum for everyone.”

So how did you, your spouse, your neighbor or millions of people in this country and around the world get signed up for this course in unemployment?  What can be learned?  How can we look on this as an opportunity for spiritual growth?

One idea is that unemployment provides the opportunity to separate ‘who I am” from ‘what I do’.

How do you feel when people meet you for the first time and ask you “What do you do”?  In other cultures it is rude to ask someone you are just meeting for the first time “What do you do?”.  It is an insult for you to think that who they are is less important what they do!

Many of us have rehearsed an elevator speech that quickly and concisely describes what we do and how it might benefit the person we are talking with.  In my Strengths Based Living workshops I challenge the participants to greet people with who they are first!

“Hi, my name is Jennifer.  I am a strategic thinker with original ideas,  an intuitive perception of the big picture, a vision for the future and the ability to win others over to new ways of thinking.”

(Don’t worry, I have a shorter version as well!)  After this introduction,  I can tell them what I do if they are interested!

We may have lost our job or business,  feel the daily pain of being under employed or even questioning your ability to become employed.  We have not lost our strengths,  our unique combination of talents and abilities that only we can bring to the table.  The answer lies in our ability to shift from fear to love.  From a belief in the uniqueness of our strengths and talents that causes us to love ourselves and be available to love others during this difficult “curriculum”.  We are necessary to the function of sharing love in this world.  We never, ever lose that ‘job’!

The S&P 500®  (Standard & Poors) has been widely regarded as the best single gauge of the large cap U.S. equities market since the index was first published in 1957. …

We attended the “Church down the Street” this past Sunday and one of the leaders made a comment that “What we should really be concerned about is the Spiritual Poverty Index,  not the nation’s credit rating or the stock market. ” Very clever, we thought.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to listen to part of an interview with Patch Adams.  The statements that stood out to me the most were about market capitalism being the evil that has ruined this country. The idea of the nuclear family,  everyone owning a home,  putting elderly parents in nursing homes,  pushing our kids out of the house to make it on their own,  was the driving force that has led to each individual household working harder for more stuff and more independence. In the end everyone is just working harder and suffering from a variety of stress related illnesses.

What do these two ideas have in common?  Are we poorer today than we would have been if we had lived in tribes,  caring for each other, bonding as a community,  sharing the load of work and enjoying the opportunity for play?  Where in our schedules is  time for spirituality,  reading,  discussing meaningful topics,  experiencing nature, art and each other with freedom from the pressures of work and financial worries?

I don’t want to live with the energy of scarcity and fear.  I want to live with the energy of abundance and love.  We need to be  partners in the process of spiritual growth.  The world depends on it!

In the classic book Think and Grow Rich (1938)  by Napoleon Hill, he writes

“Persistence is an essential factor in the procedure of transmuting desire into its monetary equivalent.”

Does it really mean that the natural outcome of combining passion and persistence is profit?  How do we define passion or desire?  How do we define profit?  I think we all know what persistence means;  that often difficult,  constant, not giving up attitude that drives you to complete what you started.

It seems that very often a cyclist will stop pedaling just before the finish line.  A piano student will choose to only do 10 repetitions of a difficult passage instead of 15 and leave it up to fate that he or she will play it correctly when the performance comes.  An unemployed adult will turn into a discouraged worker,  giving up on finding meaningful,  rewarding work,  even a career.

So what defines desire or passion?  Are there only certain desires that can be included in this statement.  Are artists,  musicians, social workers, clergy, etc exempt from this procedure of transmutation.  What is the monetary equivalent?   Is it measured in buying power,  quality of life or overall well-being,  or even spiritual transcendence?

I realize that I am asking a lot of questions.  I don’t know the answers.  The thought I have is that the passion or desire comes from our ego or spiritual practice.  The monetary equivalent is going to come from the world.  God has no concept of money or its value.  Spirituality has no connection to cash.  Persistence is the key factor.   When we apply diligence, intent, and commitment  to a desire or passion that hits the correct target in every scenario we expect the world to reward us.  What happens when it doesn’t?  Is our personal satisfaction enough?

One of my favorite books is The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent M. Keith.  I like to call these The Anyway Commandments (page 9)

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.  Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.  Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.  Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.  Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest ideas.  Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.  Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.  Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.  Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.  Give the world the best you have anyway.

My personal conclusion:

Pick your passion – apply persistence – believe in abundance, anyway.

What if you decided that today you would live by your strengths and stop putting your energy and thoughts into conquering your weaknesses?

How will you feel about yourself, your work and those around you?

What is your new energy level?

What will you accomplish and contribute  to the universe in a way that no one else in the world can do?

These are some of the questions that you can answer when you have successfully identified your strengths,  created action plans based on this discovery and begin honoring your individual combination of talents with all of you mind, body and soul.

In the bestselling book,  “Strengths Finder 2.0” , Tom Rath explains the concept of strength based psychology and provides an online assessment to help you uncover your 5 most prominent personal strengths.  He goes on to give a wonderful equation:

TALENT (a natural way of thinking, feeling or behaving)   

X   

INVESTMENT (time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building you knowledge base) 

=    STRENGTH (the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance)

WOW!  What a powerful way to live! 

I am developing presentations, workshops and individual coaching sessions around this research and would love to bring my own ideas about  Strengths Based Living to  groups, small businesses, families and individuals.  Please contact me to make an appointment and begin your path to powerful impact in your immediate environment.

I hope you are having strengths filled day!