Milestones

Milestones Adventures in Awareness  Issue #2 - 2016 “A life of ‘enough’ is born in every moment - in the way we listen, the way we respond to the world, the way we see what is, and tell the truth of who we are. Every single choice, every single moment, every change of course can bring us closer to a life of peace, contentment, authenticity, and easy sufficiency, a life of being, having, and doing enough.” - Wayne Muller, executive leadership mentor and author (b. 1953) Milestones Reflections on living ‘a life of being, doing & having enough’ Over the past two months, I’ve marked two major milestones in my life: finishing my 18-year tenure on faculty with inviteCHANGE, an ICF-accredited coach-training program, and entering my 65th year. As a result of these events, I’ve been immersed in reflections about my life, my work, and my future. My colleagues at inviteCHANGE created a moving completion party to acknowledge and celebrate our teamwork together over the years. In forming a constellation timeline with all of us, we lined up in order of when we joined the organization, beginning with me in 1997 and ending with the newest team member. One of my colleagues pointed out that this line represents the lineage of my contributions to the world of professional coaching, and that it doesn’t stop with the newest team member but continues ad infinitum for all who follow. That realization took my breath away in its enormity, and as each person shared what they appreciated most about my interactions with them, my heart flowed with gratitude and appreciation for the...

Possibility

Possibility Adventures in Awareness  Issue #1 - 2016 “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” - Mary Oliver, Pulitzer-winning American poet (10 Sep 1935-  ) Possibility A New Year, A Fresh Perspective Poet Mary Oliver’s words have been on my mind and heart for the last several weeks, especially with the start of a new year: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” As I’m contemplating what I want to bring forward in my work and life this year, I am experiencing a paradox within myself. On the one hand, I notice I have a lot of energy running throughout my being, like a horse chomping at the bit as it awaits the starting bell so that the race can begin. Running concurrently with those feelings is what I can only refer to as ‘lack of ambition’; I have all this energy at my disposal, yet at the same time I have no apparent horizon in sight. Such an unusual juxtaposition and, at times, a dilemma to say the least. My responses to this paradox range from fearing that I’ve lost my zest for life and work to having complete faith that my horizon will reveal itself when the timing is right. The latter is where I land most often and, as a result, I’m developing a greater capacity for patience with myself and with my creative process. I know without a doubt that my fear is completely ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’ because my engagement with my family, clients, and friends...

Gratitude – A Life-Affirming Act of Hope and Possibility

Gratitude – A Life-Affirming Act of Hope and Possibility Adventures in Awareness  Issue #18 “A great deal of the chaos in the world occurs because people don’t appreciate themselves.” - Chogyam Trungpa, Buddhist meditation master (28 Feb 1939-4 Apr 1987 Gratitude A Life-Affirming Act of Hope and Possibility As American Thanksgiving approaches and in light of recent events in Paris and Beirut, I am in a reflective mood. As I speak with others, I find they are also in this reflective place and contemplating what can be done individually and collectively to alleviate these horrific acts among us. As I continue to send prayers to those souls directly impacted, my response to the violence is to envision our world as described so eloquently and movingly by the words of John Lennon’s “Imagine”: …Nothing to kill or die for…Imagine no possessions - I wonder if you can - No need for greed or hunger - A brotherhood of man - Imagine all the people - Sharing all the world…You may say I’m a Dreamer - But I’m not the only one. In the midst of the violence and carnage over this last decade, there are myriad stories of individual and collective acts of bravery, heroism, kindness and compassion that come to light as a result of these events. As odd as this may sound, I found myself being grateful, not for the violence that is happening of course, but that these acts are causing us to examine our human values, our societal and government systems, and how we can close our hearts by focusing on our differences rather than our...

Be Impeccable with Your Word – Unexpected Insights from Taking on One of the Four Agreements

Be Impeccable with Your Word – Unexpected Insights from Taking on One of the Four Agreements Adventures in Awareness  Issue #17 “Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.” - Unknown Be Impeccable with Your Word Unexpected Insights from Taking on One of the Four Agreements Thanks for your patience as I’ve been ‘getting back in the groove’ after being away for 10 days in Brazil and on the heels of that, another 3 days in Portland Oregon USA. My talks in Brazil went very well and were well received; many thanks to those of you who sent energy in support - I felt it and I’m grateful for it! I’m still marveling at how smoothly I stood before 200+ people on multiple occasions and spoke with passion and confidence. I connected with the audience participants easily and created trust & intimacy almost instantly - it felt like an intimate conversation rather than a speaking engagement…and it all felt so natural to me that I’m actually looking forward to doing more of it. Peace and freedom were my primary experiences, and joy was prevalent in all my activities - delicious! Which brings me to my musing for this New Moon time. In preparing for having simultaneous translation done for me while I was in Brazil, I was mindfully weighing my words on my slides and in my notes to cue my verbal remarks. At the same time, I re-read “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz, and felt truly compelled to take on...

Connecting Dots – Noticing Changes Since the Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse

Connecting Dots – Noticing Changes Since the Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse Adventures in Awareness  Issue #16 “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path.” - Steve Jobs, American businessman, founding CEO of Apple Computer (24 Feb 1955-5 Oct 2012) Connecting Dots Noticing Changes Since the Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse As I prepare to leave for 8 days in Brazil where I’ll be participating with coaches in two exciting events, I am still in the process of connecting dots from the powerful meditation I did at Full Moon. During that process I released all energies that no longer serve my path and purpose in this life, and invited the next levels of my being, my work, and my life to come forward. Briefly, the dots I’m connecting so far are: 1) I have no energy or desire for drama or ranting - mine or someone else’s. This is excellent news for the interior cabin of my car in  traffic and for my body, mind and spirit! 2) If something I’m asked to do doesn’t generate a feeling of “YES!” immediately, I recognize it’s a “NO” or a “NOT NOW”, and I’m peaceful as I convey my responses. Now THAT’S what I call work/life balance! 3) I am much more mindful and purposeful...

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