Monday, February 16, 2009

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.




Saturday, February 14, 2009

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.

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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.



Thursday, February 12, 2009

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


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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

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.


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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)

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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

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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Monday, February 09, 2009

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

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

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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