The work of the spiritual practitioner

"As a spiritual practitioner, the very act of sitting through others' painful moments without needing to fix it is - paradoxically - the basis for BOTH alleviating their pain and letting them find their own way through it AND increasing your own awareness, concentration, and self-discipline in playing this role powerfully in the world."

I have been engaged in numerous challenging experiences of this in the last few days. It did not feel like a positive or powerful thing at the time; I actually felt incompetent and powerless. In retrospect, with some reinforcing feedback in, my belief and faith in both the process and myself in the role is growing. I am actually humbled and mystified by it all and very thankful for having been "chosen" for this purpose.

Avoid hypocrisy

"When your intention is to make a difference and serve others, the most important thing to remember about stepping into a situation that you perceive does not honor people is to be sure you honor people while doing it."

My experience as a Life Coach

It seems that Life Coaching is becoming an interesting phenomenon these days, with a great flood of people moving into the field to meet the overflowing demand of people seeking its benefits. It's not too surprising, on the heels of September 11 and the rash of business-related failures, scandals, even suicides, and with so many people left questioning so many things about their lives and their work. I never intended to go into this as a "career move," and I've never really spent a lot of energy securing credentials or marketing myself as this, but it's working for me, so many people ask me about it and want to know my view on what it is and how to become such a thing. Tough questions for which I don't claim to have universal answers, only my answers. This has been my experience in working with so many of you - that Life Coaching is mostly about surrendering yourself to be used as an instrument of God's love on behalf of another person, for which you are blessed with the richest learning available on how to stay true to a life you love. What a wonderful exchange of value.

Heal yourself

The places in which our hearts remain unhealed are the places from which we hurt each other and ourselves. For those who wish to help others and lead a life of service, the hardest work to do is on the inside.

Self-empowerment

"Self-empowerment - that's learning to respect other people's music while dancing to your own tune as you master harmony within yourself."

-- Doc Childre

I love simple, elegant definitions of rich, complex words. I happen to use this word pretty often, especially since I read Stewardship by Peter Block in 1995, and yet I hadn't seen such a concise, poetic, and powerful definition, until I saw this one. Haven't we all experienced situations where a person believes that they've "empowered" themselves, but it's clearly been in spite of others or to others' detriment? And isn't it rare and wonderful to see the word "empower" in the same sentence as the words "respect", "dancing", or "harmony?" This one has it all; it is whole and complete. I passionately agree that full self-expression of one's personal power springs forth from the combination of inner harmony and respect for others. I see these as two of the most attractive, effective, and powerful attributes one can have, whether it's as an employee, a family member, or a global citizen.

A good sign

On the way to pick up my Little Brother, Brandon, yesterday to go see the latest Star Wars movie, I saw this sign outside a church in his neighborhood. Being in the quote and turn-of-phrase business for several years now, I sometimes think I've seen or heard them all. But I hadn't heard this one before and wanted to share it with you.

"To belittle is to be little."

A new form of growth - let the revolution continue

"Since the beginning of civilization, humans have pursued growth. We've restlessly tried to do and have more and more. For most of the history of the western world, growth has been expressed in the outer, material world — possessions, territory, money, economies, etc. Our environmental awareness and shifting values are now showing us some of the limits to outer, material growth. We are now moving to a stage of inner, spiritual growth. This is new territory. But like those who were part of the industrial revolution, we are just getting an inkling of the awesome power and exciting new world the Inner Revolution will open up for us in the next few decades."

-- Jim Clemmer

I am finding that the more I put my own vision of my life and my ministry out there, the more reinforcing evidence shows up in the external world to reflect my inner creation - stuff just like this. It's streaming in on a daily, if not hourly, basis. And I'm getting so much encouraging feedback from so many of you that suggests that you count on me to continue to stretch my own horizons so that you feel invited, safe, and supported in stretching yours. This used to feel like being on the bleeding edge of some small lunatic fringe, fearing that I would never see any result of it in my lifetime. Now it feels like riding the crest of a tidal wave of human spirit, with the whole world stretched out invitingly at my feet. The world is filled with such infinite opportunity to make a difference, just by being yourself and putting it out there. I'm out here "hanging ten" with my arms in the air and a scream in my lungs, "COWABUNGA!"