Thoughts are The Seeds of Life

"With every thought, whether conscious or not, I create the quality of my life." - Cindy Reinhardt

We humans are such creative and powerful beings. Sometimes, we’re a bit silly too. Silly as in we have moments (hours, days, or longer) when we lose sight of just how powerful we are. Our thoughts are the foundation of that power.

When we forget, it seems as if we hand over our power to another person or an event. And, that they or it, not we, are creating the quality in our life. Who among us has not had the experience of thinking ‘if they (or it) would just change, I would be happy’? Those experiences have the possibility of waking us up and pointing to thoughts (conscious and not), beliefs, and stories that it may be time to shed.

I had just such an experience over the last week when at a tense moment in conversation some unconscious thought took over. I lost my awareness in the moment and with it my power to choose my path, to choose love over some (probably insignificant) fear. It wasn’t pretty.

These are the events in life that give me the opportunity to root out the weeds that pop up in the garden of my thoughts. I like to do so with care, rather than pulling and tossing blindly. Some weeds have hidden, unknown value. Upon reflection, they can be managed differently rather being destroyed. They can contribute to rather than detract from life’s quality.

My favorite weeding tools are contemplation, letting go, and forgiveness. Then, I nurture the garden of my remaining thoughts with gratitude, awareness, and practice.

As I walk through my own life’s events and, as a coach, have the privilege of hearing stories of the events in my client’s lives, I become ever more deeply present to just how powerful our thoughts are. With our thoughts we create joy. With our thoughts we create misery. We choose.

When we spill milk, we clean it up. We choose what tools to use and we choose whether to cry over the spill or to grow from it. With our thoughts we create the quality of our life from one moment to the next and beyond.

Experiment for the Week: Take time to notice your thoughts this week, especially in events that bring tension. What thoughts need weeding? What thoughts need TLC?

Self-Belief is the Foundation for Love

"Love will conquer all." - Lionel Richie

"The love that conquers all is the choice love. It is the unconditional love." - James Michael Randorff, Unit Leader, Bassist at Seventh Fleet Band & Musician at United States Navy

"Let’s consider that it is self-belief that provides the freedom for individuals to acknowledge one anothers beliefs without interference." - Patrece on behalf of P-Systems (www.P-SystemsInc.com)

These two ideas converged as I reflected on a Facebook post yesterday...

written by my amazing stepson (and soon to be father), wondering to myself ‘just what would make it possible for me to love unconditionally’. I wasn’t thinking so much about loving those close to me (although, like most of us, from time to time I find my love being conditional). I was wondering how I might love those whose views I don’t share, those whose actions harm others (at least as I see it). As I look at this morning, I suppose I was wondering ‘how can I be more loving in all areas of my life?’

Then, I thought about situations that clients have brought to our coaching this week: fear of failing in managing a team with members who act disrespectfully toward one another, a strained family relationship where manipulation trumps all else, a pattern of taking on things not her responsibility and thus creating confusion about what she really wants. What could love bring to those situations? What could be a foundation for developing the capacity to love?

That’s when I realized that self-belief is key. In order to respect another or their views, I need a deep conviction in myself that no matter what ‘they’ do, they cannot endanger that part of me that really matters. What provides the foundation for my capacity to love is my belief in me, my confidence in my capacity to weather any storm and to be the captain of the ship that is my life. If you are reading this you are breathing. And, if you are breathing you have weathered many storms. Acknowledging this track record is the start of building self-belief.

From self-belief comes the capacity to respect and to be curious about another person’s point of view rather than to be fearful of it. From respect and curiosity, new possibilities for conversations and actions are likely to arise. And, it only takes one of us to make the first move.

From self-belief comes relief from the pressure to prove something by taking on what isn’t ours to do.

From self-belief comes the possibility of forgiving those whose actions have harmed us in some way.

From self-belief comes greater possibility for unconditional love and the conversations and actions that will bring forth greater peace in our personal lives and on the planet.

From self-belief comes Luke’s sheer joy at playing in the creek in sub-freezing temperatures, my curiosity to explore and find the balance inherent in rocks,  and the audacity to connect these pics and the message. (And, you thought today’s pics had nothing to do with the topic. Surprise!)

Exploration for the Week:  Notice what situations trigger your to question your belief in you. What belief in you calls out for you to strengthen?

Rock Solid Foundation

"A rock solid foundation is impermeable like rock itself. Each rock has its points of balance and each has a beauty inside that remains unseen until it is unveiled. And, so it is with the foundation on which we build our life." - Cindy Reinhardt

The words ‘rock solid’ have been with me since early yesterday. At some point in the day I realized they were suggesting a focus for this week’s post. Then, thoughts began to flow around having a rock solid foundation in life. What does that mean? How does my foundation measure up?

This morning I awoke, picked up my pen and journal, and I began to write. I wrote a bit about the rocks that bring great beauty to our local landscape. And, about a rock that caught my eye yesterday. It proved to be a perfect piece to add to a rock balancing sculpture that I started last fall (and that survived, hidden beneath the winter snow). I’m a novice at rock balancing, yet when I engage in stacking and balancing, individual rocks seem to call out and guide me to their points of balance.

I give the activity my best shot and let the rocks fall where they may. Whether they stand or fall is not the point. When they stand, I cheer and grab the camera. When they fall, I learn that I didn’t have quite the right point of balance. Each is a success. My confidence builds and my desire to experiment grows. How can that be?

That’s when it struck me that my foundation in life is the internal balance that’s come from developing a strong sense of who I am as an individual point in and part of an infinite and loving Universe. Unlike the rocks, we humans have free will, and in addition to the heavenly host of ‘angels’ that can guide us on our path, we experience a gauntlet of ‘devils’ that would have us choose them as our foundation.

I’ve learned that I stand strong and life flows with more ease when I operate from the inside out, allowing what’s in front of me to show me the point of balance that’s needed. To give each event my best shot and, then, to let the chips fall where they may is a point of balance and strength missing in a world that tells us that force and control are the foundations we should rely upon.

I’m coming to see that my foundation is rock solid. While it may not measure up to the world’s definition of what a foundation should be I conclude it serves me well. And, that’s the measure that counts.

Exploration for the Week: On what (or whose) foundation are you making the choices each day that build your life?

For a very special treat, check out this short video from Rock Shaman, Travis Ruskus:  http://youtu.be/yH17-HajfAk Color me in awe and inspired!

Beauty and the Season's First Bear Tracks

"If we were truly moved by the beauty of the world about us, we would honor the earth in a profound way." - Thomas Berry

What might our world look like if we each ‘honored the earth in a profound way’ as Thomas Berry suggests in his essay, The Earth Community?   What if we could see beauty in everything, like these bear tracks from my morning walk?

My first inclination is to rail more loudly against those whose greed continues to destroy the planet, her natural beauty and gifts. You know who I mean. The frackers, the mountain top removal miners … a very long list. It’s easy to point the finger of blame and to ignore my own choices that contribute to the destruction.

Next I thought about what I believe we should all do: recycle more, create energy from renewable sources, grow and eat organic, purchase recycled products. Again, the list is long. It’s worthy. And, yet it misses the mark of profound that I imagine Berry had in mind when he penned this essay.

I’m aiming for something personal: profound as in great or intense, heartfelt, wise. I’m aiming for expression, deep care for the planet I’m blessed to call home. And, this brings me back to me. ‘How can I honor the earth in a profound way?’

As I look out at the beauty of another blessed spring snow with its life giving moisture, I realize that I can bring consistency and add depth to my gratitude for the earth. I can acknowledge and appreciate not just the beauty that feeds my soul, but the splendor of all that the planet provides to sustain life: air to breathe, water to drink, fuel to warm me and support me in being mobile, food to nourish my body, materials for shelter. Again, the list is long.

As I reconnect with this deeper awareness and as gratitude fills my being, I wonder what changes may come when I practice acknowledging and appreciating the planet for her gifts on a daily basis. Will I discover lifestyle changes not yet seen to reduce my impact on our home? Might new, creative ideas emerge to make an even larger difference? What else is possible from conscious gratitude and appreciation? How might my small, yet profound care contribute to raising consciousness? I look forward discovering what will emerge in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. And, I invite you to join me.

Experiment for the Week: Take 60 seconds each day to feel and express your profound appreciation for the Earth. And take a few minutes more to share your discoveries on the Zone blog.

What am I Thinking?

"With every thought we are creating our present experience and planting the seeds for our future." - Cindy Reinhardt

Happy Spring!  Winter in the Rockies continues to slowly cast off her warm, cozy blankets making way for the sun to provide more warmth as the days lengthen.  Small blades of green grass are breaking through the soil.  The pine trees are showing the first signs of what will become pinecones, seeds of future trees, over the next few months.  And, the creeks are beginning to flow, offering one of my favorite mountain sounds.

I awoke this morning a few hours before the official arrival of the new season with the words and melody of Bette Midler in my mind’s ear: Remember in the Winter, far beneath the fallen snow, lies the seed that in the springtime becomes the rose.

Every seed has within it the idea of and blueprint for what it will become. No matter how deep, when the snow melts and the ground warms the rose, the dandelion, and the grasses give us the gift of their new growth.

They are new. Each blade of grass, each yellow dandelion, each branch on the rose represents new growth from the seed within where its journey began.

My thoughts (yours too!), each and every one, are seeds as well.  They are the power that creates what I’m experiencing in this moment and the next and beyond.  They are the power that shapes my future, the experiences I will have, how I will feel, and what I will learn.  That power presents the opportunity and the responsibility to choose wisely.

Thoughts are the seeds of my life.  They are my most powerful and potent creative tool.

As I plan and plant my garden this Spring, I will carefully and lovingly cast out those seeds that would lead me down paths not mine to follow.  I will plant seeds of love, of abundance, of beauty, of light, of harmony and happiness, of joy, of service and generosity, of enterprise and infinite possibilities.  I will plant rows of understanding, action, integrity, learning and growth.  Throughout the garden I will scatter seeds of hardiness, courage, and tenacity those qualities of nature that I think of when I observe a small tree that has broken through the rocky soil and survives with little moisture.  I’ll sprinkle in some seeds of ease, grace and luck.  Anchoring my garden will be trees of justice, idealism, humanitarianism and peace.

A lush, full garden for sure, one that will inspire me daily to be aware of my thoughts and to choose them oh so carefully.

Question for the Week: What seeds are you planting with your thoughts this Spring?

The Gift of Following My Heart (and My Dog)

"… we are born to happiness and fulfillment, but we sometimes get so lost and wrapped up in the everyday events of our lives that our happiness and fulfillment seem rare." - Ted Andrews (Animal Speak)

This morning as is my habit, the camera accompanied Luke and I on our morning walk.  Yesterday, in a bit of a rush, I left it behind.  Most mornings, especially Thursdays when the blog is calling to be posted, we walk a two-mile loop – down the road, turn, up a path to the next road, turn, then back to our road and home.  This morning Luke ignored the turn up the path and continued to follow a path toward the Ziggurat.  At the same time I called for him to come back, I felt a pull to follow his lead and the Ziggurat path, thinking that we’d follow it for a short while then back track to home, but not make the climb to the top.

When I reached to fork where the path veers off to this ‘stairway to heaven’, I veered. I felt a pull to make the climb.  The blog post would come in its time. And, Luke was delighted.  The path makes the climb fairly easy, and the views from the top are spectacular: the Great Sand Dunes to the south, the vast San Luis Valley to the west, Poncha Pass and the Collegiate Peaks to the north, and the stunning Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Crestone Peak to the east.

The views though were only part of the gifts this day.  On the way down, as I was photographing a tree stump, I noticed my shadow below me on another tree. What fun to welcome the sunshine and see myself as the sun came up over the ridge! Shadows, when we allow them to, offer us great gifts of insight and self-understanding. I paused for another few moments of gratitude and appreciation.

The next visual gift was a mountain bluebird who made a rare appearance in a tree top as we reached home.  These beautiful creatures remind us of ‘unassuming confidence and happiness’ according to Ted Andrews. I think of them as cheerful, for that’s the feeling they instill in me.  This gift was especially poignant since yesterday bluebird appeared on the Cheerful Way street sign near my home (and me without my camera!).

But the greatest gift of all is the gift of peace that comes with following my heart. Had I followed our normal path this morning, the post would be very different – no spectacular views, no fun with my shadow, and perhaps no bluebird or deep sense of peace.

Reminder heard – loud and clear. Over and out until next week when we celebrate Spring!

Experiment for the Week: Take a break from your normal paths in life and discover the gifts that await you.

The Gifts of Stormy Weather

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." - John Ruskin

I confess. I love stormy weather.  Storms have both beauty and purpose. They are elements of nature and represent earth’s capacity to maintain and restore her balance.  Earth needs the clearing and the moisture that storms bring.

And, so do we, the inhabitants of earth. We depend on earth’s storms as part of the natural cycle that provides food, warmth, shelter. We relish the freshness in the air when a storm has passed and the quiet stillness before a storm arrives.

We need storms in our personal lives, individually and collectively. We need them to wake us up personally, to give us the opportunity to return to what we know and to glimpse fresh perspectives from that place of knowing.  We need to experience storms as a part of living and experimenting on this journey of life. And, we need tears to cleanse that which lays heavy in our hearts as well as that which creates worry at the surface.

Our opportunity is to embrace the storms of life from a place of love and trust. Not fear.

You’ve probably guessed that, I’ve experienced stormy weather this week. Although there’s a spring storm brewing high in the mountains as I write this, my storm was intensely personal.  In the midst of my storm, there were times that I felt powerless in its wrath and times where I knew that I could turn it off and return to my ‘to do list/plan for the week’.  I chose to ride the storm and discover what gifts she might offer.

In this ride I shed tears for the planet and hugged trees that seemed to return my embrace.   I shed tears for humanity, for the misunderstandings that divide us and the horror and pain those misunderstandings bring forth.  My tears were a cleansing gift. I pray that in some way, large or small, they help me understand that I am not separate from any other, from the planet, from the universe.  I pray that the choices I make from that deeper understanding will seed greater understanding in my community and beyond.

Along the way I found a beautiful rock, heart-shaped, a symbolic gift of the love that is ever present. I rediscovered what I care about in life, and I renewed my courage to live fully the life that is uniquely mine to live as my part in the unfolding mystery we call life.

Exploration for the Week: How have the personal storms in your life supported your growth? Is there a storm brewing that has the possibility for new growth or a fresh perspective in some area of your life?

Mud Puddles and the Power of Love

"A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge." - Thomas Carlyle

The snow melt continues as temperatures rise and the promise of Spring looms on the horizon here in the Colorado Rockies.  The messiness of the mud and slush seem as metaphors for the messiness of creating, whether a new life, a new approach to a community concern, a new world or all of these.

What can I learn about the power of love from the muddy puddles that appear, grow in size and numbers, and change each day?  How might this guide me in creating my life and us in creating our world?

I’m learning that practicing love is messy and paradoxical and that I can allow the messiness. I’m learning not to ignore it, to clean it up too fast, to put it out of sight and out of mind and go back to old habits favored by the world.  In my willingness to be messy perhaps I can glimpse a new possibility, maybe (re)learning (from my four-legged friend Luke or a small child) the sheer joy of splashing in the mud and the creative spark that may follow

Perhaps I can come to deeply (and therefore consistently) see that the chaos in life and the problems facing humanity and the planet are opportunities for us to splash with joy, to experiment with new approaches in the mud of chaotic times. Perhaps I can embrace fully the opportunities for growth, for inventiveness, and for creativity, both personally and collectively, that what we call and experience as problems represent.

Perhaps splashing in the mud will remind me that the power of love is the sole Universal power that – when we practice it – changes everything.  As I tap into this knowing, this wisdom of the ages I see the power of love to heal, to protect, to soften, to connect and most of all to create – a different life and a different world for us all.

Whether in my own little microcosm of choosing how I will respond to an event (or reacting without making a conscious choice), or in the greater macrocosm of the planet, collectively choosing how we address human and environmental concerns, may love be our answer.  May I/we know and be love in every situation we face, especially those that seem to threaten the self-love required to act from love.

As you glide or slog through the week ahead may you see love in nature, in art, and in every person and event that crosses your path. And, may you return that love with a knowing that, no matter what the experience, with love everything changes.

Experiment for the Week: Notice where love is present in your life, from the inside out and the outside in. Embrace it. Be grateful.

The Importance of Knowing You Are Enough

“I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.
One world is aware, and by the far the largest to me, and that is myself,
And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait.” - Walt Whitman

If you look beneath the surface of last weeks’ I Am Enough message (or most any of my posts), I hope that you’ll consistently find the theme of transformation. As I explore ancient wisdom and the idea of creating new measures of success, I’m aiming to evoke (or perhaps to provoke) personal transformation at the deep level that has the power to change our world.

Knowing that I am (and you are) enough is just such a fundamental shift. It requires that we find the place within that knows this Truth, embrace it deeply, and nurture this knowing like we nurture our children, our precious relationships, and our gardens. That is the essence of self-love.

When our foundation is self-love, self-acceptance, knowing that we are enough, we make choices grounded in love and cooperation, not fear and competition.

We need more choices made from that place inside as our contributions to being the change that has the potential to shift mass consciousness. Only when we fully embrace that we are enough can we accept that those who make different choices, come from different cultures, etc. are enough as well. Knowing that you are enough builds the courage to embrace differences across the street, in our families, our communities, and in cultures around the world.

When we know that we are enough, we don’t need to prove our worth by spending more to have more stuff. When we know we are enough we can give and serve and do work in the world that contributes to building one another up rather than tearing down those with whom we differ. When we know that we are enough, we experience the reality of Oneness, that we are each a tiny, yet integral, part of the entire Universe.

Knowing deeply within that I’m enough is a measure of success that is not of the world. It’s an inside job and only I, and each of us individually, have the power to claim this mark for ourselves.

Coming to deeply know that I am enough requires stamina and courage and the will to cast out beliefs, stories, habits, systems, and people in life who bring me down. It requires practice and puts me squarely in the driver’s seat of my personal power, the power to choose my thoughts, my words, and my actions as reflections of me and for me.

Experiment for the Week:  Strengthen your ‘enough’ muscle by noticing thoughts or feelings that don’t support this knowing. Then, use your will to choose differently.

Enough! I am. You are. Really.

In a world that challenges us to be, do and have more, I find that I sometimes forget that I am enough.  That leads me to question, doubt and into the stuck places I wrote about last week. The power of simply declaring ‘I am enough’ is one way to jump-start myself.

As individuals in a culture of stress, I believe it is wise to reflect on just what embracing our ‘enoughness’ means.  We have accomplished much in life. We continue to do so. We’ll likely continue that process.  Our accomplishments, our possessions, our good deeds are not what make us enough.  There is a peace that comes with knowing deeply that you are enough.

I learned this at a time in my life when I worked in an organization that, in my experience, always demanded more.  Sound familiar?  I hear frequently from clients in organizations large and small. I hear it from parents, teachers, managers, business owners, community leaders, sometimes even myself, all feeling that we 'should' be able to do more.

I was gifted with the declaration below as I started my journey to knowing that I’m enough.

I AM ENOUGH

I am a human being.

I am only a human being. 

I am not superman or superwoman. 

I am not perfect.  

Perfection is a fantasy only good for producing suffering. 

I don’t have to superman or superwoman, no matter what my voices say.

Human beings are finite, 

And, so am I. 

We can’t know everything, do everything, and don’t have forever. 

I am finite,

And, I accept my finitude with dignity and gratitude, 

I am grateful to be human.

The voice whispering in my ear ‘you are not enough’ is just a ghost, 

An echo of a past moment trapped in my body.

I have made the mistake of listening to the ghost as though it tells the truth. 

But it speaks only an old judgmental story, 

With no care for me.

But I have grown up.

 Have my own voice, My own contentment.

When the echoes speak, I will speak my contentment with my own voice, 

And, accept that I am human,

And that is enough.

I have virtues

And, I have vices.

I have competences

And I have incompetences –

Like any other human being.

But I can make offers

I can make requests

I can make promises

I can have ambition

And I can move with others to create,

To create a future

And to live with dignity.

Life is going to do whatever life does

And it doesn’t care

About my assessment of it.

So it is time to have acceptance.

To accept life.

To accept myself.

And to center myself in my commitment

And in my care.

That’s the life of a human being.

Not a superman or superwoman.

I accept myself

I declare satisfaction for being human

I declare

I AM ENOUGH.

Thanks to life.  Amen.

©2002, 2004 Robert Dunham. Enterprise Performance. 

With deep gratitude to the author Bob Dunham for sharing this at a time years ago when I needed it most. You can discover more about Bob’s leadership work here:  http://www.generativeleadership.co/