Staying In Tune With Our Unique Rhythm

Sometimes we play ...

Everyone and everything has a different rhythm.   Conditions become chaotic when you are not in a position to manage the harmonics of your core energy to create.  Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: Time Travels – July, 2010)

As I look back on a fun, whirlwind week with visiting friends and ahead to the many guests scheduled to stay here at the Dragonfly House over the next several weeks, I have a keen awareness of just how different our individual rhythms are. Each of us marches to the beat of our own drummer.  Or, we give our power to others (partners, employers, children, etc.) to set our pace.  We might even use goals or set deadlines that are contrary to our natural rhythm in an effort to be ‘productive’.

Learning my rhythm continues to be a big part of my life experiment and experience. Although the learning never stops, I’d say that I do a pretty good job of honoring my natural rhythm as I understand it. I think that my greatest learning is doing so with grace (or at least a modicum thereof).

None of us live in isolation. Our lives require coordination with others and with their unique rhythms and commitments.  Perhaps it’s no wonder that there is so much chaos and discordance in our world. It makes me wonder:

What if one of the keys to personal (and, therefore, planetary) peace is to learn to maintain our rhythm while allowing others with whom we live, work, and play to do the same?

The simplicity of this idea draws me inward. Looking back for just a moment, I notice how testy and demanding I become when I’m feel that staying in my rhythm is threatened. I have little room for grace.

A deep breath and a spark of curiosity open the door for wondering how I might engage with others by putting rhythm on the table as a part of the conversation. It seems to me that doing so would create an environment that is much friendlier, one where grace might show up naturally with ease.  I think it will take some experimentation and lots of practice to master maintaining my rhythm with grace.

And, the resulting personal peace will be well worth the effort. 

After thousands of years of war, perhaps learning to step into our own rhythm with grace may contribute one small step toward creating not just a peaceful personal life, but peace on the planet as well.

Other times we rest.

Independence From the Inside Out

We have the freedom to flow as freely as this stream ...

The minute you become dependent on anyone in any way, you no longer have any power to move forward in your own pattern, in your own blueprint and on your own behalf. You come to a halt. Gregge Tiffen (Feeding Freedom: The Meaning of Independence Day July, 2007)

I believe that our founding fathers and the mothers who worked as diligently in support of independence understood independence in a way that is lost in our current culture. Today we live in a society and systems that rely on dependence and the control that dependence brings forth.  We are poorer in terms of our overall well-being and consciousness as a result.

Who among us has not felt a deep sense to make a particular decision or take a particular action, then held back from that choice?  My own list of not following the path that I knew inside was most true to me and my blueprint includes staying in jobs, keeping clients, maintaining relationships well beyond the time that they provided me the ability to express my unique self. 

From where I live now in life, I see the patterns of dependence: on money, on approval, on security, on being cared for (or so I rationalized), on what others think, even on having others depend on me.  You can probably enrich these with your own life experiences.  And, lest you think that I’ve become a saint, I still experience living independently as challenging.

Just as those who created the United States faced enormous challenges and threats in declaring independence, it takes courage to declare personal independence in today’s world. And, just as the United States has experienced many bumps along the road to living fully into our 1776 declaration, it takes courage – the strength of our convictions, if you will – to live into the largeness of the personal independence that is truly ours. That independence is the law of the Universe and we ignore it at our peril.

Courage is required to look honestly at how we live life and to recognize and be willing to name the web of dependence that we’ve created, individually and collectively.  And yet, perhaps only when we’ve done so may we be truly free.  Just as the signers of the Declaration of Independence articulated their grievances against the King, we too need to look to what we’ve allowed to impinge upon our personal, individual independence and freedom to think, make decisions, and act in the ways that are unique to each of us.

As you make choices this week, notice those that are true, authentic expressions of you. Celebrate yourself!  Notice as well those that are not and ask:  From what dependency would a declaration of my personal independence serve me?

... And, to fly joyfully through life. The choice is ours and ours alone.

Life Plan Approved!

“To realize Universal reality, we need only open ourselves to our innate, insatiable curiosity to seek the broader knowledge of many things – then to embrace the adventure. Gregge Tiffen (Life in the World Hereafter: The Journey Continues)”

Summer is bursting out all over!

What if each of us had a life plan that was designed solely to provide a learning adventure that would further our growth in consciousness?  What if we had reviewed that plan before our birth?  And (gulp), what if we’d approved it?  Finally, what if our systems (family, spiritual, educational, business, etc.) were set up to support us in remembering and fully living into what we agreed to before we splashed down on the earth for this life?

Fantasy?  Perhaps, but I don’t think so. 

Paradise – a more beautiful world? That’s what I’ve long believed: that we can do better than the current state of life on our planet.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt a sense that if we were all doing what we were meant to do and being who we were meant to be, that we would experience a world of peace, joy, abundance, harmony and beauty.  To my last breath I suspect that I will maintain the belief that an intelligent universe created a perfect system despite the messes we’ve brought forth in our ignorance on this planet.

My belief provides a lens through which I can make sense of seemingly senseless events. This bears little to no resemblance of trying to make rational sense of our world or even the events in my life.  And, it definitely does not mean that I understand or condone all that occurs.

Such a perspective on life removes the possibility of seeing myself as a victim in ANY situation (gulp again). The responsibility that entails can bring my knees to go weak and my chest to tighten. At the same time, it’s a huge relief. 

I suggested just that to a client recently. In telling me about a number of situations in her life that she was experiencing as problematic, she concluded, “I didn’t approve any of this!”  After a bit more exploration, I gently posed a question for reflection: “What if you did?”

What if I did?  The first thing that occurred to me as I sat quietly with this question early one morning was how differently I look at events when I remember this lens.  I don’t shift to victim mode. I’m curious about how to use events for my learning. That doesn’t always mean some big life lesson.  It might be as simple as discovering a new way to do a routine task more efficiently or as profound as seeing another person’s perspective without judgement, especially when it’s contrary to mine.

When an event is especially challenging, the idea that I’ve approved it in advance is humbling. I feel supported to call upon the knowledge in my cells to guide my approach. I can let of needing to get it ‘right’ when I remember that my purpose is to learn.  I aim to remember who I truly am.  My compassion for myself and others as they face challenges grows. And, I’m grateful. 

Summer fun and play time with his buddy is in Cool Hand Luke's life plan!

Father Time: Order or Control?

A wise and benevolent father protects the day-by-day life of his progeny and prepares them for an endless journey of growth, development, and maturity.  Gregge Tiffen (Father Time – June 2007)*

Eat When You're Hungry ...

Benevolence, an inclination to do good or be kind, and wisdom having or showing good judgement, are qualities worthy of developing. We tend to think of benevolence as an outward gesture, doing good for others. Recently, I’ve been reading more of Gregge Tiffen’s early work and reflecting on time, the clock and how it is used as a mechanism for manipulation and control.  It led me to think that we might be wise to take a different look at time.

This week, many will honor fathers and father figures for their roles in preparing us for this journey called life.  The benevolent, wise father created context and order in our early life giving us a foundation on which to set sail on our course in life.  For them, we are grateful.

Others lived a different experience: fathers, who lacking wisdom and benevolence, sought to control. For them, with forgiveness, we can also be grateful. And, perhaps that forgiveness can come more easily when we understand that fathers may feel trapped in systems that equate success with control and that honor time over natural instinct and cycles.

Harmony is the essence of nature and natural cycles. As I experiment with living less by the clock and more by awareness of my personal cycles, I feel more harmonious within.  And, I’m discovering that’s not so easy to do in this world.

Rest When You're Weary ...

We use time as a weapon. I found myself doing just that this morning when I called the sign painter to inquire about progress on my Dragonfly House sign that was to be finished a few weeks ago. In a world where systems are built on time, I find it hard to let go and trust that the sign will be ready in divine perfect time.  And yet I know how negatively deadlines impact me. I wonder why it’s difficult to extend that knowing to be compassionate with others about time. Then I realize that I live in the midst of accepted systems where time is used to control and that I’ve bought into them.

We put pressure on ourselves with words and beliefs about scarcity of time (‘I don’t have time …’). Over the years, I’d guess that this has been a concern of over half of my coaching clients, as it has been for me in the past. Some years ago, I broke the habit of using that language and replaced it with ‘I have enough time for everything that is important in my life’. Slowly that became my belief. With practice we can ease the pressure and begin to make choices that honor our natural rhythms – not as a program to complete, but as an exploration of a different way to live, a way that, in my experience, offers much personal satisfaction, harmony, and peace. 

Eat when you’re hungry. Rest when you’re weary. Bloom when you’re ready. That may be the best of benevolence and wisdom in a world that sometimes seems to have lost both.

Bloom When You're Ready ... That's wisdom and the ultimate self-kindness.

Who In the World is Gregge Tiffen?

Gregge Tiffen was a powerful presence on the planet, much like the power of Spring's snow melt in local streams ...

Passion does not have ears for ‘cannot do’. Gregge Tiffen [Sex, Lies and Assumptions – June, 2010]*

Have you ever had the experience of reading something you haven’t read before, of having it seem both familiar and new and fresh, and of knowing that you already knew it, but you didn’t know that you knew?  If you’re spinning from just reading that sentence, then you have some idea of my experience over the last several months as I’ve read transcripts from lectures that Gregge Tiffen presented after his return from training in Tibet, many years before I met him.

Because I quote him often, I’ve been thinking for a while that it would be fun to share a bit about who Gregge was.  I’ll start with a description from the back cover of Earth and Second Earth, one of several books that comprise The Collected Works of Gregge Tiffen [available here: http://www.p-systemsinc.com/publications.htm]:

“Gregge Tiffen received intensive training in mysticism and mystical law over 60 years ago in the Far East. He returned to the United States in the late 1950’s to teach as he was taught. Before his death in September 2008, he was a well-respected business consultant, exceptional teacher, and personal counselor to people throughout the world.”

Despite the admonitions of friends and family that ‘You can’t …!’, Gregge left a military career with its focus on death and survival to pursue a passion for living. He realized that he needed to “die from the animal state of survival at all costs” to pursue what he truly wanted to do. And, that is what he did.  

While I take full responsibility for all the choices that I’ve made in life, the quality of those choices has been greatly enhanced since I met Gregge in early 1980, 35 years ago. 

At the time, I was in the midst of personal turmoil.  Marge, my mother and dear friend, died several months before, and I’d resigned from a demanding job for which I’d burned up any passion. I needed to rest, recover, and find some sense of self beyond my profession.  Therapy was somewhat supportive and I found reading metaphysical books helpful, but it was my Life Reading & BiCircadian (Gregge’s system for planetary influence) that woke me up to who I am and sparked my interest in how life works.

Consultations with Gregge helped me navigate life over these 35 years. I gathered interesting and helpful information attending workshops and lectures and listening to recordings.  Now, as I create the next phase/adventure in life, I’m passionate to more deeply understand and, more importantly, use what I’m learning, applying what is hopefully intelligence in ways that nurture new, innovative, sustainable measures of success. 

... and as gentle as day's first light.

As I follow this path of reading, reviewing, reflecting and experimenting, it’s likely that more of Gregge’s wisdom will be coming your way, so I wanted to share a bit about this inspiring man as context for what may come as ‘The Zone’ evolves.

Change

Do you see the elephant?

The Universe is going to act upon what you do no matter what it is. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic – May, 2009)

I chuckled as I wrote the title of this post when I realized that only four letters are different from last week’s title (Choice).  Sometimes I notice little details like that and they bring me a smile. Simply fun, no meaning attached.  I’m aware this represents a change from my former ‘serious’ self.

Yesterday I received an email ‘request for proposal’ from someone searching an online database for a coach. The individual shared that she wanted “more great clients, more newsletter subscribers, and to lose 15 pounds.” It reminded me of another aspect of my former self and of coaching clients over the years: we want our circumstances to be different, but we don’t want to change.

You’ve likely had some experience in this. At one point in my life I continually said that I wanted to quit smoking. In reality, I wanted to want to. Only when I became clear that my health was more important than the habit did I truly want to quit. And, I did.

In this 5th month of the year, change is in the air and with that change I’m aware of the Universe responding, not necessarily in ways I expect or even that I fully understand.

Some of that awareness is external manifestation. In terms of my most recent business (ad)venture, the Dragonfly House B&B, I expected that my attention to creating inviting, comfy spaces in my home, along with an awesome logo and new business cards would generate business. It has!  I enjoy sharing my home and I tap into that joy as I take on the mundane tasks required for each visitor’s comfort.  I expect the Universe to respond to both my actions and my attitude.

Recent guests prepare for departure.

In my coaching business, I’m experiencing the Universe’s response in unexpected ways, and noticing that Universal timing doesn’t always seem to match my own.  Over the past year I’ve put little attention there other than writing this blog each week and on being present for and giving each client my very best. Lately I’ve been asking the question ‘what’s next in my professional life?’ with no pressure to have an answer. That question is coupled with thoughts about reaching a wider audience. Again, I feel no sense of urgency. I’m simply curious and open.

It seems the Universe has acted upon that as well, providing a forum for me to be interviewed and for ‘The Zone’ to be featured to the audience of a leading coach training organization. YES! (and, yes, I’ll post a link when it’s available!)

Whatever is present in our life is the result of our actions and the Universe’s response. That is the law.  When we change we give the Universe something new to act upon and magnify. With experimentation and practice, we can use the law of cause and effect (karma if you will) to our benefit with awareness, gratitude, and a sense of wonder.

'Come on Mom ... we're almost to my favorite spot!'

Choice

Stormy Weather on the Peaks ...

You’re always in a position to decide if you want to have any reaction to what’s going on.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: An Air of Optimism)

Weather is always one thing that’s going on in our lives. When the weather suits us and fits whatever we have planned, we may be grateful, if we have any awareness of it at all.  If not, our cultural habit is to label the weather ‘bad’.  And so it is with many in my community these days in the midst of record breaking rain and snow:  “I’ve never seen this much bad weather in May …”; “… this awful weather …”; etc.

Like many others, I’ve had to rearrange plans. Outside projects like planting the garden, cleaning up limbs broken in the snow storm, and painting trim on the house have been delayed.  And yet, I noticed my own reaction is that of being deeply grateful for the moisture. I’m enjoying feeling as if I’ve been beamed to the Pacific Northwest.  I’ve even noticed an absence of being annoyed by Luke’s muddy paws.

Then I noticed that I hadn’t consciously chosen my reaction. It just is what it is. I only became aware of it when I noticed that I bristled a bit upon hearing others’ complaints.  That awareness reminded me that I always have a choice, whether I choose consciously or not.  It was also a reminder that everyone has their own story, their own reaction, no one better than another.  

It also reminded me that my habits of belief, grounded in gratitude, lead me to make choices which enhance the quality of my life.  Those are the kind of choices I aim to make more consistently as I navigate this adventure.

As if I’d asked for a test, this morning I woke with a sense of being off kilter and feeling disoriented, not my usual Thursday morning ‘oh boy, today is my blog writing day!’  As I stretched and began to move about, I refused to allow any worry to take hold, reminding myself that the message always shows up.  I felt drawn to be out in nature, so rearranged my morning practice to start with our morning walk. Unlike my habitual reaction to the weather, this was conscious choice – step by step, thought by thought.

As I walked the labyrinth, I remembered to give direction to my body, my cells: “Take in only harmony and beauty. No pressure. Trust what you know.”

Voila! This week’s post emerged as it has for 92 weeks now, with learning and awareness on my journey that I hope translates to your journey as well.

... Brings Green to the Foothills!

Self-Belief Revisited

Strong self-belief helps us weather life's storms with ease and grace ...

The Universe doesn’t make ninnies. Gregge Tiffen (Tax Time: Are You Taxing Yourself?)

 About this time last year, I penned a blog post inspired by two important people in my life: my amazing stepson who had just written a short post about unconditional love on Facebook and my coach who proposed the idea that self-belief “provides the freedom for individuals to acknowledge one another’s beliefs without interference”.  In my reflection, the two wove together creating the idea that “self-belief is the foundation for love”. (You can see that post here: cindyreinhardt.com/blog/self-belief-is-the-foundation-for-love).  And, I wrote about its relationship to personal peace earlier this year (cindyreinhardt.com/blog/the-gift-of-self-belief).

This week as I was preparing for an interview, last year’s post caught my eye. It led me to take time to review Gregge Tiffen’s writing on the subject and to look at my own self-belief. 

I started with a fundamental question:  What do you believe? Then, as I reflected a bit, a distinction began to emerge: What is the foundation of your beliefs? Are they grounded in what you do or in what you are?  I sensed a clear difference.

If beliefs are grounded in what you do, you will likely find yourself continually pressured to do in order to ‘prove’ your worth.  Most of us know this first hand. We’ve ‘been there/done that’ and we live in a culture that seems to call us to stay on this treadmill.  We do, do, do and, yet, make little progress other than checking things off of our ‘to do’ list. Standards and expectations constantly change so we are forever ‘doing’ just to feel like we are keeping up.

On the other hand, what do you believe about what you are?  Over the past year of changes, I’ve deepened my belief in and understanding that we live a benevolent Universe as beloved children of that Universe.  (Yes, I am loved. I need do nothing to prove it. And, the same is true for you!)  In his writings about self-belief, Gregge shares that we are created in the image of the Universe as “strong, dependable, creative, self-assured, intelligent, harmonious, complete.”  Nothing (NO thing) needs to be added.

These qualities reside in every cell of our body. We OWN our cells and part of our learning is to discover how to direct them.  If you are reading this post, you are alive. You have navigated the valleys and challenges of life by doing just this, perhaps with little or no awareness, but with a level of determination and conviction that got you through.

With this awareness we can embrace these many victories and allow them to nurture our self-belief. Yet, all too often we see a list of qualities like this and stories about how we fall short crop up in abundance drowning out any urge to celebrate. Our job is to stop such stories in their tracks.  We do so by remembering both what we are and that ‘the Universe doesn’t make ninnies.’

I believe that it is here in our self-belief that we make real progress in life. In self-belief we find success, security and all those things that we have struggled to acquire. We struggled because we looked outside ourselves (our cells) for what truly is an inside job.

... And, to not take ourselves too seriously. (Mom, can we go play now?)

Reverence for All Mothers

Mother Nature Nurtures with Spring Snow to Increase Summertime Flow!

Mother Nature, planet Earth, gave us our power, our life, our energy. People who give allegiance to the trees, the wind, the sun recognize that the Earth has acted as a parent. They understand that the planet maintains them.  Gregge Tiffen (Mother Nature)

As Mother’s Day approaches here in the United States and many other countries, Mother Nature is doing some of her best nurturing here in the Colorado Rockies, offering periodic showers of rain in the foothills and new blankets of snow high on the peaks above.  Blessed moisture.

It reminds me of my own mother’s nurturing and love, always there when needed yet never smothering or too much. Marge mirrored nature’s balance and grace in many ways.  Although she departed this life some 36 years ago, I think of her often, always with gratitude and a smile: with reverence.

We would do well to learn more about our mothers. Not just our experience of them, but more deeply how the planet, Mother Nature, calls forth the perfect design of birth and surrounds us with the gentle guidance of how to live. If only we were trained and would take the time to listen. 

As I observe nature and explore energy more closely, some of the hardening of the world’s ways falls away. I soften. And, at the same time, I know that I am stronger from that connection with Mother Earth. She reminds me that at any age I can return to the childlike wonder I see in the pictures of my step-granddaughter who just celebrated her first cycle around the sun. 

As I begin to understand energy and nature more deeply, I find something that I can fully put my trust in. I may not always like her answers, but Mother Nature I can count on.  From that foundation of trust, I can allow my curiosity to run wild. I can tap into the energy of enthusiasm (the god inside). I can feel a sense of personal satisfaction that no one can give me. And, I can be generous with myself and with others.

We honor our mothers in many ways: with calls, cards, flowers and gifts of all sorts.  But perhaps the greatest reverence we can show is to tap into our inner Mother Nature, to expand, to grow, to consciously call upon the source from which our mothers received all that they have given us and from which we too receive all that we need to nurture ourselves, our family, our pets, our community and, indeed, the planet herself. 

So, let everyday be Mother’s Day. Glimpse the joyful flight of a humming bird and hear the whirr of her fast beating wings. Smell the rain. Taste fresh, organic food. Feel the earth under your feet and know that you are loved.

The Coming of the Green!

ASK! Don't Tell.

A spring storm, like a dusty corner, brings gifts to life.

Only you can truly know you. Me

As a coach, I’m trained to ask and to listen. Then to ask again, giving my client the space and structure to discover the approach, the answer, the insight that only they can divine. The ‘ah ha’ moments that has brought over the years are rich, exciting and a large part of the satisfaction my work has given me.

Asking not telling is an approach that’s also aligned with what I know metaphysically: only you can truly know you. It’s a powerful way of relating to others not just to clients or customers. Asking creates openings where ‘telling’ or ‘being told’ closes doors (I know. I dislike being told – sometimes even when I’ve first asked to be.)

Of course, we all know this. But, this week, I discovered places where I’m not using what I know. I noticed that I was using a different approach in conversations where I was wearing my ‘community leader’ hat.  The awareness came as I reflected on several conversations from which I’d come away feeling restless, dissatisfied, bummed.

As many reflections do, it started with ‘them’: if only they would … (I’m guessing you’re familiar with this reflection).

Then, as I went a little deeper, I saw that rather than starting with my natural care and curiosity to create spaciousness in the conversation, I was starting with ‘I know. Let me tell you.’  I was assuming (we all know about ass-u-me) – not consciously of course – that I was being told something in order to solicit my opinion. I was using the conversation not as a place for exploration, but as a place for telling what I (think that) I know. 

As the place where much of our learning starts, let’s just say that ‘it wasn’t pretty’.  It was a dark, dusty corner asking for the light of attention: the light of bringing my caring, curious self to these community conversations and of using my ‘knowing self’ much more selectively.

I noticed something else as well. I’ve come to a place in life where I can identify these dark, dusty corners without the guilt and beating myself up for not being the perfect, caring, curious me.  I like discovering those dark, dusty corners. They represent where new learning begins. And, in a Universe meant for learning, that’s a great measure of success.

Blanca Peak showing off her fresh spring snow on a clear, crisp spring morning.