There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief... and unspeakable love.

Don't waste a minute being unhappy. If one window closes - run to the next window - or break down a door.

Coaching Skills For Mastering The Game Of Life

Hello My Friends,

I have an important message that I would like the share with you.

How Are You Playing The 'Game' Called Life?

I am about to share with you a simple yet powerful transformational tool to use on yourself or to even help others gain clarity, focus and direction in their lives.

This process is extremely important for anyone who wants to make a significant change in either their personal or professional life.

This is a self-help coaching process that is valuable for entrepreneurs, small business owners, professionals or anyone on the path of real personal growth.

So, to begin what I would like for you to consider is that life is just a 'game'. And, if you are willing to consider that then I would ask that you imagine you stepping back and observing your life honestly AS IT IS and then come up with a theme or label for the 'game' that you are playing in your life.

There are many 'games' you could be playing. You might be playing the 'game' called hide and seek. You could be playing the victim 'game' or the spiritual 'game'. Of course many of us have several 'games' running at the same time. So for the purpose of this exercise simply locate one of your 'games' in order to complete this practice.

So, step one is to identify the 'Game' that you are playing.

Step two is to begin a process of self-inquiry by asking your self three (3) simple questions.

a. What's working

b. What's not working

c. If, you were to change or improve something about the 'game' you are playing, what would that be and what would it look like?

If you are not sure what 'game' you're playing...

...Or you're sick and tired of the 'game' you are playing...

And you are ready and willing to play a new 'game'...

Then I would love to speak with you and find out how YOU can BEGIN Playing Your Best Game Ever.

If you would like to schedule a complementary coaching session and be facilitated through this process to discover the 'game' your playing and how it is serving you and not serving you. You may contact me by phone at 760-930-9604

How I Made Over $15K With A FREE Merchant Circle Business Profile

Click here to view the the profile that made me over $15k

While most online marketing gurus are touting the use of social media such as Twitter, FaceBook, and YouTube to launch the sales of your products and services I have been using a secret weapon virtually no one knows about. It’s called Merchant Circle.

You see in March of 2008 my wife and I became associates in a MLM company which I prefer to call it network marketing company just because I think it sounds better. We fell in love with the company and the product and saw a real opportunity to help people improve their overall health and wellness.

For the last 16 years my primary income has come from providing a service to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses while making sure their life was in balance and that they were living their life on purpose based on their true values and their definition of success.

Over the years, as you can imagine everyone and their brother has tried pitching me on one type of business opportunity or another. In which case I have always politely declined. I was always told that I would be great at network marketing but I just couldn’t see myself bugging my family and friends and try selling them something.

As a business coach I was also concerned about building a sustainable business one that had staying power beyond a warm list of friend and acquaintances. I knew from personal experience that the life of any business boils down to the ability to consistently generate leads and to do it without spending a bunch of money.

If you want to know how I generated tons of free leads that have made thousands of dollars then keep on reading.

I had no idea what I was doing when I started all of this and am completely blown away from what I have been able to do with Merchant Circle and I feel almost obligated to share it with struggling entrepreneurs and small business owners.

So what is Merchant Circle?

Merchant Circle is like a MySpace for business owners plus a lot more.

Basically it is an opportunity to establish a web presence with other business owners and it allows you some really powerful tools like blogging which helps get you ranked high in Goolgle searches for free.

Again, I wasn’t clear of the power of Merchant Circle until I started playing around with it. I created a profile for my MLM business, started connecting with other merchants and posted a couple of blogs.

And guess what happened next?

I started to show up on the first page of Google for specific keywords about my business and yes all for free.

What happened next?

You guessed it.

My phone started ringing.

Yes, people started calling me to find out more information about my product.

It gets better.

People started calling me and wanting to purchase my product.

OK, there is something really important you need to know about my product.

It sells for just over $2000. That’s right $2000.

People were calling me to buy a $2000 product.

I got so excited I immediately upgraded my Merchant Circle account to one of their paid packages.

Again, I hear people talking about all kinds of other strategies for building your business but no one, I mean no one is talking about Merchant Circle.

It is the best kept secret in your online marketing tool box.

Join Merchant Circle Today - It's fast, free and easy!

Also, I started teaching my entire down-line these marketing trick and guess what, you got it, their phones are ring too.

Start Making Money Online. Click Here!

Fathers Day - How Does Fatherhood Change Your Life?

I am a first time father getting ready to experience my first fathers day. Although I am new to fatherhood I have been giving parenting advice for 16 years. What I have noticed is a parenting style where you put your child at the center of your universe to the exclusion of your own self-care leads to disaster. Also many new parents are often obsessed with being the PERFECT parent rather than enjoying parenthood.

What is Coaching?

Coaching Professionals From Being Loners To Building Strong Community

Entrepreneurs and professionals are often very independent and not at all connected with others. This causes loneliness, entropy and effort to grow. http://www.zencoach.com 

Tolerations - The Hidden Costs Of Being

Tolerations are those things that you put up with every day that distract you from other important things. Sometimes the underlying source of continued tolerations is to avoid taking full responsibility for particular circumstances in your life, but eventually you will recognize that this is in large part what is holding you back from achieving your goals. In handling the things you are tolerating, you free up time and energy to devote to a higher quality of life.  http://www.zencoach.com

Taking Control of Your Business Exercise

In his book, True Professionalism, author Alan Weiss writes: “The typical professional is working incredibly hard, often at a significant sacrifice to personal life. However, nearly half that effort is spent without producing concrete results.” Weiss strongly advocates that professionals plan how to use their time, in order to avoid the self-defeating impact of urgent matters overtaking those which have long term importance to one’s business.

How many of the following questions can you answer “yes” to? Place a check mark next to those items.

• I know how and where I am spending the time in my practice.
  
• I have business and marketing plans which inform my decisions and actions.
  
• I maintain a calendar or other tracking system for holding myself accountable for
  
• my business and marketing plans and actions.
  
• My practice operations systems are streamlined for maximum client responsiveness
  
• and administrative efficiency.
  
• My time is properly allocated for practice development, service delivery and practice
  
• operations.
  
• My practice is a “waste less zone”, in which every action I take is value adding in
  
• one or more of the three practice management areas.
  

What did you discover from taking the quiz above?

Where are your opportunities for improved practice management?

Anyone in business or private practice can greatly benefit by this exercise. 

1. Write down on a separate piece of paper the number of hours you expect to work over the coming year in your business on a weekly basis.

2. Multiply that number by the number of weeks you expect to work (considering vacations, holidays, and personal days, this number will typically be less than 52 weeks). This number will be the number of hours in the year you will work in your business.

3. Now, write down the number of billable hours you expect to have in a typical week. You can also trend forward your actual experience for the past six to twelve months.

4. Multiply this number by the number of weeks you will work during the year. This number represents the total practice delivery hours you will have in the year.

5. Next, write down the number of hours you expect to handle routine administrative work in a typical week; e.g. billing, maintenance of client files, correspondence, organizing the office, etc.

6. Multiply this number by the number of weeks you will work during the year. This number represents the total practice operations hours you will have in the year.

7. Now, add your practice delivery hours and your practice management hours together, and subtract that total from the total number of hours you expect to work during the year.

8. The number you get represents the total number of hours during the year available for practice development - developing new business for your practice.

Do your math below:

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

What did you discover as a result of doing this exercise?

What are the opportunities to enhance your management of the three practice arenas by being more planful about your time?

What gets in the way of your being planful, or executing your plans?

What commitment is required to ensure that you do not sacrifice one or more practice arenas?

What is the Clean Sweep Program?

You have more natural energy when you are clear with your environment, health and emotional balance, money and relationships. The Clean Sweep Program consists of 100 items which, when completed, give you the vitality and strength you want. For your FREE copy contact Greg Clowminzer at 760-930-9604

Self-Love?

Here are two perspectives on self-love.

Spiritual guidance tells us that we can only love others to the degree that we love ourselves. Interestingly enough, self-love is apparently one of the hardest hurdles for most of us to clear. It may help you to learn that self-love can be approached in two different ways.

The first is from the perspective of the personality. Our personalities know only conditional love. This translates into, "I love myself when I meet my own expectations of what it means to be loveable." While we meet the grade in some ways, invariably we fail in others and as a result, we withhold from ourselves the

unconditional love we all deserve as a birthright.

We can work on self-love at the personality level by letting go of judgment. Become an impartial witness to yourself and allow whatever is happening to be, without criticism. We always do our best and we can learn to realize that that's enough.

Fortunately, our souls offer another possibility for self-love.  Our souls ARE love. At the soul level, we don't need to learn to love ourselves because we are love already. Our challenge is to open to the love that exists as our essence. This is easier said than done, of course. It takes conscious practice and awareness

to uncover the innate love at the core of our being. Still, set the intention and you will move closer.

In quiet moments, close your eyes and imagine a radiant light of love burning brightly inside you. Know that you are formed of the love that is the ground of all creation.

INSPIRATION

"I understand that my love for myself is the greatest possession I will ever have. Love for myself comes into being only when I accept and experience my feelings as they are, at this very moment, both pleasant and unpleasant. As I welcome my painful self, it heals. Loving myself provides the power for transformation." - John Ruskan

"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed." 

-- Krishnamurti

Dyad Workshop In San Diego Saturday June 6th 2009

Dyad Workshop

In San Diego

Saturday June 6^th 2009

8:00 am – 5 pm

$79 at the door

Pre-register only $39

 On Saturday June 6^th Greg Clowminzer will spend a relaxed day exploring the power of dyads. With dyads we set aside the normal learning culture of books and knowledge gained through training. Using dyads we learn to trust ourselves and to speak from that place of inner awareness. This inner awareness takes time and support and it can't be rushed. Wisdom grows for each in it's own way.

Experience directly the power of bring in a dyad! Allow yourself the freedom to be and know your true self. Allow this knowledge to be deep, not just on the level with intellectual ideas within a ‘what if’ simulation of reality. Allow your whole being to go beyond conceptualizations in a direct experience of reality, within a way it really is, in a complete union with truth.

 In the words of Eihei Dogen - a Japanese Zen Master who lived between 1200 and 1253 said “To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things. To be enlightened by all things is to remove the barriers between one's self and others. Then there is no trace of enlightenment, though enlightenment itself continues into one's daily life endlessly.”

 To register for this event please call Greg at 760-930-9604

Awakening the Dreamer Changing the Dream Symposium June 11th 2009

Join us June 11th from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Awakening the Dreamer Symposium Trailer from Pachamama Alliance on Vimeo.

At the heart of the initiative is the Awakening the Dreamer Changing the Dream Symposium.

Through dynamic group interactions, leading edge information, and inspiring multimedia, participants of this half-day event are inspired to reconnect with their deep concern for our world, and are empowered to make a difference.

Designed with the collaboration of some of the finest scientific, indigenous and activist minds in the world, the Symposium explores the current state of our planet from a new perspective, and connects participants with a powerful global movement to reclaim our future.

It is an exploration of four questions

• Where Are We? – an examination of the state of environmental, social and personal well-being

• How did We Get Here? – tracing the root causes that lead to our current imbalance
  

• What’s Possible for the Future? – discovering new ways of relating with each other, with the Earth and looking at the emerging Movement for change
  

• Where Do We Go from Here? – considering the stand we want to be in the world and our personal and collective impact
  

If you are ready to be disturbed, inspired and moved to action, and to be introduced to a thriving community of committed cohorts, then join us in exploring the most critical concerns of our times, and discover new opportunities to make a real difference in accelerating the emergence of an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just human presence on this planet!

This is a free event.

Space is limited!

Contact Greg Clowminzer at 760-930-9604 to reserve your spot.

How To Move Beyond Your Limiting Beliefs

Dear Friends,

After facilitating a dozen or so Enlightenment Intensives, I have learned some things ...

First --- I learned that people always wish they would of taken an intensive sooner rather than later.

Second --- You can't put a price on it.

Third --- The Enlightenment Intensive is by far the most life-changing event I have ever been part of. (the testimonials are also proof positive)

And finally, fourth --- I need to get this work out to more people than just the few lucky people who are in my inner circle.

I've decided to offer this retreat one more time in May.

The retreat is called...

The Enlightenment Intensive (held live in San Diego)

This retreat is by far the most life-changing event I have ever facilitated. The things that happened at previous intensives still warms my heart and give me goose bumps when I think about them. The practice I teach you is just incredible.

Before you consider attending such an event, I want to ask you some telling questions that will illustrate why you need to be at the Enlightenment Intensive...

Who Are You?

Beyond your job, education, possessions, cultural background, sex, religion, conditioning and personal history...

Or...

What Are You?

Beyond all you current understandings, memories, knowledge and spiritual background...

Everyone is affected by these two nagging questions. Unfortunately most people are so distracted in life they never take the time to look at these critical questions that sages and mystics have queried since God knows when.

More then anything else right now people are looking for more meaning and purpose in their life.

And, guess what you will never find your true self out there. You can only discover the truth of who and what you are by going within.

Once you find yourself and directly experience you own true nature you can easily live a life filled with miracles in every area.

You can attract more of everything into your life. This is the real law of attraction at work.

The retreat is held in a private resident and provides an amazing setting for profound awakening. The size of the group is very intimate and limited to 10 people where you will receive one-on-one coaching from myself to guarantee you best opportunity of true awaking.

Here is just a small sample of what you will learn from attending this incredible 3 1/2 day event...

• How to focus your intent in a profound and powerful ways

• How to achieve a quiet, peaceful, mind in the mist of chaos

• How to experience the opening of your heart like never before

• How to experience great compassion and reverence for all living things

• How to love yourself more than you ever have

• How to communicate from your deepest truth (this is real authentic communication)

• How to become the best listener possible (making you highly attractive to others)

And much more...

There are five questions you absolutely, positively must answer.

• Who you really are

• What is your purpose in life

• Who is running the show

• Why is your Enlightenment critical

• Who is the creator

Why you need to constantly do this work

• Consciously empty the garbage from your mind

• Purify your heart

• Sharpen your mind to razor like focus

• Experience community and Unity

Check out what two attendees, said about the Enlightenment Intensive

"I walked into the Enlightenment Intensive I was a jaded, skeptical person who didn't believe in much of anything except the love I felt for others and the love I received from others in my life. Funny I just wrote "the love she had" as if this person was someone else and not myself - which I guess "she" no longer is. I spent most of my life going through the motions, living such a busy life that I never stopped to think about who I was. Well onmy way in, I checked the skeptic at the door and after just 3 days something profoundly amazing happened - I opened my heart, cried, laughed and experienced the deepest truth of who I am. I am living proof that life can change overnight - I am now feeling larger than life and can't wait to share this energy and love with the world. I recommend the Enlightenment Intensive to anyone who wants to slow down and finally smell the roses and feel something powerful and spiritual beyond belief. Greg and his staff were incredible every step of the way - they provided energy, love, laughter and service with unending attention and open hearts to allow us to be free to experience our journey with no distractions. Thank you Greg and all who were there to help me open my heart and find truth. What a humbling experience to be in your presence." Peace and Love, Debra

"There are really no words to express my gratitude to you for helping me see the light within myself. I feel like I have been given the gift of LIFE again. I am alive where I was once asleep." Thank You. Shelly

So, are you

· Ready to clear yourself of limiting beliefs?

· Ready to free yourself from you past?

· Ready to move forward in your life and leave the old baggage behind?

· Ready to open yourself up to all the possibilities around you?

· Ready to experience the blissful, euphoric, incredible state of Illumination?

· Ready to learn the simple 4-step Enlightenment Technique?

If so, call now

760-930-9604

And reserve your spot for the May Enlightenment Intensive.

If you're reluctant to join us, what's stopping you?

The truth is the only thing that is stopping you is your own doubt.

Admit it.

· You're asking yourself things like -

· Will the Enlightenment Technique really work?

· Will it REALLY work for ME?

· Should I trust Greg?

All good questions.

Just keep in mind that the voice of doubt is keeping you from moving forward.

I know it's tough to swallow, but doubt is the reason most people don't take action, and consequently why most people stay stuck.

We'll let me help ease your concerns --

Here is the deal:

Your satisfaction is totally guaranteed or your money back.

If you complete the entire 3 1/2 day Enlightenment Intensive and if you're not happy with the value you received, let me know and you will receive a 100% refund of your tuition -- no questions asked.

Obviously, that guarantee is beyond fair.

So it's time to answer some questions -

Are you ready to clear yourself of limiting beliefs?

Are you ready to free yourself from your past?

Are you ready to move forward and leave your old baggage behind?

Are you ready to open yourself up to all the possibilities all around you?

Are you ready to get to the blissful, euphoric and incredible state of Illumination?

Take inspired action and register today for the May 2009 Enlightenment Intensive.

And call, 760-930-9604

The Tuition Value of this 3½-day training is $995. (although you actually can't put any price on this).

SPECIAL OFFER: I am committed to awakening people to their own Truth so I am offering this training to you for a discounted tuition of only $695, meals and accommodations are not included and are $250.


I look forward to seeing your Enlightenment.


In love and service,

Greg

How Integrity Can Make or Break a MasterMind Group

Successful MasterMinds are built on trust, honesty, authenticity, vulnerability and the willingness to risk with each other. Even one member with questionable integrity will compromise the entire group,diminishing the shared trust and therefore the level of risk or vulnerability people are willing to explore with each other.

In considering the integrity of group members, first take a look at your own. Each person’s understanding of that word is highly personal, but you might ask these questions to learn more about your own integrity:

Is the person you are on the inside the same person that people know and experience from the outside?

Do you “walk your talk”?

Do you project an authentic sense of yourself to others, or do you feel you have to “be someone” or project a façade of some sort?

Do you keep and follow through with your agreements?

Do people typically experience you as an honest person?

Does “doing the right thing” and caring about the welfare of others come easily to you?

Once you’ve thoroughly explored your own standards of integrity, you’re ready to consider other people’s integrity with a sense of compassion, andthe understanding that we are not perfect. We all harbor places where we’re out of integrity. And that’s ok – building and practicing a strong sense of integrity is a work in progress. However, if you are having serious doubts about the integrity of a potential member of your group, think twice before including them in your MasterMind.

How do you know if someone is out of integrity?

Be aware of people who seem to be always looking to get something, to be fulfilling their own agenda instead of being sensitive to the needs of other members of the group.


If you feel manipulated, on edge, or find yourself hesitating to share with the other members, take a look at why. If you don’t want to listen to someone or you just don’t believe them when they talk, there is a reason.

If someone repeatedly drains the energy and vitality of the group, instead of holding or adding to it, consider whether or not they really are a fit. Now, that said, remember this: we are all human, and the occasional challenge or disagreement can arise even amongst MasterMinders who maintain a high level of integrity and honesty with each other.

Now, that said, remember this: we are all human, and the occasional challenge or disagreement can arise even amongst MasterMinders who maintain a high level of integrity and honesty with each other.

Sometimes people’s feelings get hurt or misunderstandings occur. Be willing to cut each other some slack and address any problems immediately. As long as members are not intentionally hurtful or taking advantage of others, issues can be quickly resolved. Most problems between people are not about integrity; they’re about events, issues or chemistry. Watch for trends, not just isolated incidents, to alert you to any major integrity issues with certain members. As long as members keep their commitment to the group in mind, and are willing to be honest about any challenges or disagreements that may arise, most issues will be resolved with minimal effort and disruption.

This is from: The Magic of the MasterMind - How to Ignite the Power of People to Create Extraordinary Results and was produced by the MasterMind I belonged to for three years.

Where do you find stillness each day and each week?

*** STOP & THINK! ***
Draw Out YOUR Inner Wisdom

"Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom."
-- Buddha

*** QUESTION YOUR LIFE ***

How do you experience stillness each day and each week?

*** COACH'S TIP ***

All of the world's sacred texts recommend that we seek solitude every day. Quiet time, thinking time, stillness for prayer or meditation. Mahatma Ghandi would take more time to meditate when his workload increased and his work still got completed each day.

*** INSPIRATION ***

"Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart." -- Bhagavad Gita

Greg Clowminzer is a Life Coach serving the needs of individuals in their desire to live a higher quality of life with a deeper sense of purpose and meaning. His programs are delivered mainly by means of quarterly workshops, teleconference calls, telephone, and email.

For more information about our Workshops, Coaching Programs, and other products and services, contact Greg at 760-930-9604

Enlightenment Intensive May 28-31, 2009

There's still time to join us!

Don't miss your chance to participate in the next
Enlightenment Intensive, which begins May 28th.

Take this opportunity to discover who and what
you really are beyond your relationship, health
work, and life challenges.

One participant said:

"I feel like a kid with a new toy that I can't wait
to try out and the toy is me... the me with new
understandings, an open heart and love"

If you have never taken an Enlightenment Intensive
and can focus on making these dates for this
event, then I urge you to do whatever it takes
and come join us!

Why? Because I guarantee this will be one of the most
powerful transformative experiences of your life!

Isn't TIME you made some changes in your life?

The practice I will teach you is awesome!

You will let go of years of unwanted extra baggage
that now longer serves you and start a fresh new
direction in life full of zest, meaning and Truth.

The next training will be held in San Diego and is
limited to 10 participants.

The tuition value for the event is $995.

Because this event is happening soon and the fact
that I am committed to awakening as many people
as I possible can I am offering this training to you
for a discounted tuition of only $695, plus meals and
accommodations of $250.

I would also like to reward those who take immediate
action and call today by waiving the meals and
accommodations.

You save an extra $250.

In closing, I urge you to take this opportunity to have
real authentic Enlightenment that is in the world,
practical and will change your life in such profound
ways it simply cannot be spoken about.

Call my office today to take part of this rare offering
at 760-930-9604.

I look forward to working with you.

In love and service,

Greg

PS Please tell a friend about the Enlightenment Intensive
and together we will brighten up the world.

Barry Schwartz: The real crisis? We stopped being wise

Barry Schwartz makes a passionate call for “practical wisdom” as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world.

Living Truth

"Every one of us desires to be awake. Every one of us desires to live from deeper authenticity. We all want to be more real as well as to have relationships that are more real”

Truth is concurrence between thought, word and deed. it must be true to fact and at the same time pleasant. If by speaking the truth, another is hurt it ceases to be truth. There is a story which illustrates this point.

In olden days there was a sage renowned for his austerities and observance of the vow of truth. It so happened that once when he was sitting by his little hut, a frightened man with a bundle ran past him and disappeared into a cave nearby. a couple of minutes later there came a band of fierce robbers with gleaming knives, apparently looking for this man. Knowing that the sage would not lie, they asked him where the man with the bundle was hiding. At once, the sage, true to his vow of not uttering falsehood, showed them the cave/ The cruel robbers rushed into it, dragged out the scared man, killed him mercilessly and departed with his bundle. the sage never realized God in spite of his austerities and tenacity for truth for he had been instrumental in the murder of a man. This is not the kind of truth that living enlightenment requires. It would have been better if the sage had remained quiet for that would have saved the poor man. Great care is therefore to be exercised in speaking and each word must be carefully weighed before it is uttered.

Check out the Enlightenment Intensive

Greg Clowminzer is Zen Coach a self-realized spiritual teacher and life success coach who has been studying and practicing not only martial arts and meditation but also shamanic healing arts, tantra, humanistic psychology, yoga, life coaching, and other spiritual and esoteric traditions from around the world for the last 20 years – and by now should know to keep his mouth shut – but has too much information he wants to share with you in order to transform you into a total master of living a life of true happiness - one that you can operate effectively in a cool and sexy way in today’s modern world.

Is the Economy Stressing You Out?

Business owners and employees alike are feeling anxious and losing sleep -- and all that concern about layoffs, rising costs, and a tumbling stock market is taking a toll. A look at how you can cope.

By: Angus Loten

You know it's a bad sign when spa owners are stressing out.

Planet Beach Franchising, which oversees some 390 spas worldwide from its Marrero, La., headquarters, has seen sales dropping off this year as consumers tighten their belts to cope with the slumping economy.

"Looking at things long term, you worry about how you're going to come up with your numbers at the end of the month," says Angelina Vicknair, a company spokesperson. "It's a stressful time."

Planet Beach is not alone. By any measure, Stress Prevention Month got off to a bad start this October for small-business owners and their employees.

As lawmakers wrangled over a $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan aimed at easing the impact from the collapse of the nation's largest banks, the world's stock markets went into a tailspin. With investors and bankers in panic mode, suddenly everything from million-dollar investment portfolios to daily checking accounts appeared shaky. Add to that still-high gas and food costs, credit woes, widespread layoffs, and a rash of home foreclosures, and you've got a recipe for one stressed out nation, experts say.

While New York area cardiologists have reported a rise in hospital visits by Wall Street executives complaining of chest pains, Main Street business owners aren't doing much better.

"I'm stressed out and it's freaking me out," says Joy Gendusa, the owner of PostcardMania, a Clearwater, Fla.-based marketing firm with more than 150 employees. "Before any of this happened we embarked on building a new corporate headquarters. We're going ahead with that now, but had I known what was coming, I might've used that money to drum up more business instead. It's very stressful." Read entire article


Would you like to learn more?

Call 760-930-9604 today to schedule your free 30-minute initial coaching consultation!

Yes! I want the Wisdom of the ZenCoach Newsletter! Subscribe Here

Voice Dialogue - Finding The Right Partner

I had the pleasure of working with Hal & Sidra Stone's daughter Judith Stone who introduced me to this work back in 2000 and I became a certified facilitator of this powerful process.


Would you like to learn more?

Call 760-930-9604 today to schedule your free 30-minute initial coaching consultation!

Yes! I want the Wisdom of the ZenCoach Newsletter! Subscribe Here

Jim Rohn - How to Have Your Best Year Ever (1-3)

Jim Rohn - How to have Your Best Year Ever 2 of 3

Jim Rohn - How to have Your Best Year Ever (3 of 3)

Would you like to learn more?

Call 760-930-9604 today to schedule your free 30-minute initial coaching consultation!

Yes! I want the Wisdom of the ZenCoach Newsletter! Subscribe Here

Are You Being Coached?

By: Ryan Underwood

From reality TV to rock bands, coaching has gone mainstream. A guide to get you started, if you're ready to play.

Close your eyes and envision a perfect future. Are you rich? Are you fulfilled? What you won't imagine, no matter how hard you try, is that the path to perfection might involve a Dr. Phil wannabe delving into the most personal aspects of your life -- and you don't even get to be on TV. As people seek better lives for themselves, either personally, professionally, or both, they're more likely to find outside help to get them there: a professional coach. The practice is more popular than ever; the International Coach Federation, the most widely recognized organization that offers bona fide certifications, boasts about 8,000 members, up from approximately 1,500 in 1998.

Coaching has even entered the realm of pop culture. This year's breakout hit on daytime television is a reality series called Starting Over, in which a pair of life coaches counsel six down-on-their-luck women living together in a house. Even the aging rock group Metallica has discovered deeper meaning beyond sex, drugs, and rock and roll, thanks to multiple sessions with a "performance enhancement coach" named Phil Towle, as chronicled in the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster.

With coaching all around, we wouldn't blame you for wondering, Is it time for me to get a coach? Consult our FAQ of the good, the bad, and the ugly of coaching before you jump in. Read Full Article

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Moving Through Struggle

"We often spend so much time coping with problems along our path that we only have a dim or even inaccurate view of what's really important to us." -- Peter Senge

*** QUESTION YOUR LIFE ***

Where are you struggling in your life?

*** COACH'S TIP ***

Look at your career, finances, relationships, growth, health and emotions. Where are you experiencing major challenges? Of these, which area most demands your attention at this time? Set an intention to face this struggle and resolve it. ATTENTION on your TENSION often melts it away.

*** INSPIRATION ***

“The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year.” -- John Foster Dulles

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Enlightenment Intensive - Who Am I?

Enlightenment Intensive - January 2009

Enlightenment has been spoken and written about for a very long time by mystics, religious founders, yogis, Zen masters, and more or less ordinary people who have happened to stumble onto it in the course of their journey through life. Whether in ancient times or modern, there is a consistency in their reports of the special and indescribable nature of the event, the priceless penetrations into reality, the abiding inner peace that remained to some degree afterwards.

Through the Enlightenment Intensive, you can be navigated more easily through this inner world by a form of partner-assisted meditation in a dyad structure. The Intensive uses the ancient meditation practice of contemplating a question such as "Who am I?" or "What is Life?" and combines it with the more modern approach of communicating what occurs as a result with a partner. The aim is not merely to have interesting experiences or come up with new intellectual answers to these questions, the aim is to break through into Enlightenment.

After 3 days of being in this inquiry, many people go home more in touch with themselves and better able to relate authentically with others. Drinking deeply of the tonic that is the simple spoken truth, many experience a freeing up of new energies for living life on a more real and satisfying basis. Many experience levels of inner peace and stillness of mind that they have never known. And for some, something even more extraordinary takes place: the striking breakthrough into enlightenment; a unique condition of direct, conscious experience that reveals our ultimate nature in an instant of penetration.

For more information please visit: Enlightenment Intensive

Testimonial from Debra
I am writing this as a different person from who I was a week ago. A week ago when I walked into the Enlightenment Intensive I was a jaded, skeptical person who didn't believe in much of anything except the love I felt for others and the love I received from others in my life. Funny I just wrote "the love she had" as if this person was someone else and not myself - which I guess "she" no longer is. I spent most of my life going through the motions, living such a busy life that I never stopped to think about who I was. Well on my way in, I checked the skeptic at the door and after just 3 days something profoundly amazing happened - I opened my heart, cried, laughed and experienced the deepest truth of who I am. I am living proof that life can change overnight - I am now feeling larger than life and can't wait to share this energy and love with the world. I recommend the Enlightenment Intensive to anyone who wants to slow down and finally smell the roses and feel something powerful and spiritual beyond belief. Greg and his staff were incredible every step of the way - they provided energy, love, laughter and service with unending attention and open hearts to allow us to be free to experience our journey with no distractions. Thank you Greg and all who were there to help me open my heart and find truth. What a humbling experience to be in your presence.

Peace and Love, Debra


Testimonial from Shelly
There are really no words to express my gratitude to you for helping me see the light within myself. I feel like I have been given the gift of LIFE again. I am alive where I was once asleep.

Thank You,

Shelly

Testimonial from Cari
My life is forever changed after attending the Enlightenment Intensive. I am a complex canvas which life has painted with many colors, but in my path I choose to hide the colors and only share the blander, safer side....after going through the weekend truly contemplating who I am and connecting to that honestly and openly and having the most beautiful connections with others, I am aware of the true beauty of all the colors within me and am prepared to share them with the world! This experience challenged me in ways I cant explain, and there were times I thought I couldnt make it through, I couldn't get into who I am and be honest....but with Greg's support, and the support of the whole staff, the open hearts and love from the others, I made it, and I am a truly changed forever.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Cari


Testimonial from David Henry
It Happened Own The Way Home
I was 30-minutes or less from leaving the retreat and not the least bit focused on the technique. I felt complete with the intensive and made peace with not having a direct experience this time. I was glad to be able to set my mind free and let it wander. I knew I'd be back again in search of truth.

I was reflecting on my experiences over the weekend and thinking about what to tell a friend of mine that would inspire him to attend. The words, "It was everything I ever wanted" came to mind. A second or two went by before something dawned on me. "It" wasn't the intensive. "It" was the direct experience I was having at that moment. Tears of joy and love were streaming down my face.

There were no words to describe it. I tried to open my mouth several times and say something or utter a sound, but couldn't get anything out through the emotion. Its enormity and vastness were overwhelming ... not in a frightening way ... I felt an overwhelming goodness. At some point I mumbled the words, "God, it is soooooo huge".

I was conscious of love. It wasn't anything like the feelings I'd labeled as love in the past ... it was so deep, so boundless, so completely filling... so...

I became conscious of the mountains in the distance and could see it everywhere. It was the mountains, the trees, it was in the air. It was everywhere. All around me. Coursing through me. I burst into laughter as I remembered Greg saying that truth was closer than the end of my nose. I laughed for a while over that one.

Then I became conscious of the other drivers around me. How can they not know? Can't they see it? Glimpses of a world where people KNEW popped into my head and tears of simultaneous joy and sorrow began to flow.

I don't remember when the direct experience ended and I was back to me thinking about the experience. But throughout the day I experienced numerous little aftershocks. A single note in a song and a glance at a mountain were enough to bring back the flow of tears or the laughter. I remember wondering to myself if I had gone insane. I laughed out loud at the thought because I felt more sane in that moment than looking back on my life before the experience.

I'll end this reflection now, but this is only the beginning.

THANK YOU

David Henry

Living in the Absence of Force and Resistance

Tips for Negotiating Difficult, but Important Relationships

We've all had one and maybe you do now-an important relationship that is difficult to manage or even understand. In such situations, it's easy to conclude that nothing works and give up, explode, or both. Before you throw in the towel, however, you may want to consider these options.

1. Examine your differences.

Every relationship and most conversations operate on the basis of certain premises, assumptions, and values held by each party. More often than not, these are implicit, hidden, or both. So, the differences that may ultimately divide often exist from the start. For example, do you both feel that honesty is the best policy, even though it may hurt the other person? Are you willing to set aside your own position in order that you may understand where the other person is coming from? Is the other person equally willing?

2. Compare your agendas.

Rarely are even chance meetings free of agendas. At the least, we enter the world of interpersonal relationships with a design (often subconscious) that we be perceived by others as fair, frank, integritous, or whatever. Often, we go further, to make certain that others understand (and agree) with our (correct) point of view. The fact is: conflicting agendas tend to polarize relationships in ways little understood by those involved. Ask yourself: am I always willing to communicate with the other person, my real reasons for what I say and do?

3. Identify the real issues that divide.

It's possible to differ on some things and still agree on others. Then, there are the sticking points, the sore spots that left untouched in the hope that they'll go away, not be noticed, or not really affect the outcome. Mostly, they won't, will, and will! Identifying the crucial dividing issues can be freeing in that it clears the air and gives you a clue as to what you've got to work on.

4. Pinpoint the key factors that prevent you from understanding each other's point of view.

No, this isn't the same thing. An issue is what divides you; this is why it divides you. For example, you and your parents may differ fundamentally on the issue of raising children. Why you differ probably has a lot to do with how each of you were raised which includes culture, history, and events. The point is that, if you can understand why the other person sticks adamantly to her/his point of view, you are in a better position to negotiate around your differences.

5. Determine what you have in common.

While you can build on difference (if you really appreciate the uniqueness and appropriateness of each person's place), it's much more difficult than building on agreement. Sometimes, moreover, the few things we have in common turn out to be superordinate values-factors so important that they subsume and minimize other differences.

6. Consider that you may be frustrating resolution.

Who, me? Not a question we like to ask ourselves, but an essential one nonetheless. All too often, we try to move the other person (child, spouse, lover, friend, colleague) from where we are rather than from where he/she is and, usually, it doesn't work. When this happens, it helps to go back and review your objectives: do you want to improve the relationship or just prove your point?

7. Face up to your expectations.

When the person with whom you are at issue is close to you-a child, a loved one, a mentor-this can be a heart-rending task. But think about expectation in the larger sense; isn't it an obligation you're imposing upon the other person? Put yourself in her/his position: do you like it when someone pressures you with their expectations for you?

8. Define your responsibilities TO and FOR.

If you've read much of my stuff, you've heard this before. Except in the case of your minor children, you aren't responsible for the other person; they are responsible for themselves (even if it hurts to admit it). And your responsibilities to the other person can be defined concretely: you are responsible to the other person in that you must allow them what you require for yourself. If you require respect for yourself, then you must be willing to give it to others (even if you think they don't deserve it!).

9. Decide what you are willing to do differently.

This is not a conditional decision. It doesn't depend on what the other person is willing to do, only what you are willing to do in order to improve the situation. Yes, sometimes you'll be asked to go that extra mile (or miles) but again, what's your objective-to heal the situation or defend your position?

10. Love unconditionally.

I left this one till last, because it is, by far, the toughest thing you will be called upon to do. Often unconditional love is returned with suspicion, derision, and animosity. You get (mis)taken for a sucker and regarded as gullible or worse. So, let's set the record straight. In many situations, unconditional love is the only thing that heals. Unconditional love is undemanding and can be entirely nonverbal. It's not a device or a posture, but an entirely different way of viewing the situation and the other person. It is, to paraphrase Shakespeare, a consummation devoutly to be wished, a state diligently to be pursued.

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Experience Stillness

"Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom."
-- Buddha

*** QUESTION YOUR LIFE ***

How do you experience stillness each day and each week?

*** COACH'S TIP ***

All of the world's sacred texts recommend that we seek solitude every day. Quiet time, thinking time, stillness for prayer or meditation. Mahatma Ghandi would take more time to meditate when his workload increased and his work still got completed each day. Ideally, protect 15 minutes per day for your stillness time.

*** INSPIRATION ***

"Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your
heart." -- Bhagavad Gita

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