Practical Wisdom knowhow

I have just watched another amazing TED presentation Barry Schwartz: Using our Practical Wisdom The insights I gained from this presentation are so powerful, I thought I should probably mark this date in my diary as another profound moment in time…

You see, I have had great difficulty in describing what it is that I ‘Do’ when it comes to paid work. People ask “Is it coaching? is it counseling? is it mediation? is it facilitation?” and to be quite honest, up until today, I’ve hesitated to label my work, as it remains so individualised that I am loathe to give it a label out of respect for everything else it may end up being. And yet I know that this creates people to

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Oh the Places we Will go when we stay in the Flow!

The more I walk my talk and talk my walk, the more strengthened I become. Being conscious and present in each moment remains a daily challenge! To stay on top my days now generally start with a simple meditation and/or a round of EFT followed by a soothing cup of tea of some sort. And depending on the day, after breakfast I might get down to some serious writing, blogging, networking or whatever else manages to grab my attention in between paid work…  This morning I made a pot of chai with some added goodies and was so impressed with myself I thought I should make another one… Immediately I sensed my Monday moment of drifting… You see my now Monday is like my old Sunday… Sundays now are busy which is different to when I was working fulltime… and my Mondays now are declared no go zones for anything I don’t want to do. So yesterday Toni and I rode our bikes to the gym and back for a body balance class. On the way home we realised we both wanted to go to the ABC Gardening extravaganza at the Botanical Gardens.  Riding along, we quickly agreed that I would pick her up in 20 minutes and we’d drive in to the expo together.

With my intuition on board, I showered and changed from hand bag to back pack and got ready to pick up Toni. I grabbed the essentials – water bottle, hat, wallet, mobile phone, tissues and lipstick, and as an afterthought, threw  my business cards in my backpack. I momentarily wondered why I would want to grab my cards, and just as quickly let that question float away… And I’m glad that I did both!

The Gardening show is always impressive! The colours and scents that greeted us on entry set the scene for a lovely lazy afternoon. Just being in the energy of such grace and beauty is uplifting and feeds my soul. As we strolled around I noticed a bloke that I had been encouraged to make contact with via a colleague in relation to expanding my business networks.. I had previously attempted to make contact with said bloke and knew he was pretty difficult to ‘catch’. So after walking passed him, I told Toni that I had to catch up with someone and quickly turned around and caught his attention. Bold as brass, in my kick back casuals, I politely introduced myself and asked if I could have 2 minutes of his time. He graciously smiled and obliged. His wife and daughter seemed to be used to this type of thing and slowly ambled away from us. Talk about seize the moment! Within 2 minutes I had introduced myself and given him my business card with the suggestion that I had some ideas to share with his Association and would love to catch up. He kindly took my card and told me he would make contact with me the next day.  Away went the business cards and they never came out again until I got home. We continued on our merry way and had a delightful time wandering around for a couple of hours, finishing the day lazing on a blanket with the ‘Hippy Chai Mob’ and had the very best chai ever! I even conceded and told them as a chai lover of over 20 years, theirs was the best I had ever experienced… After I had managed to wangle the recipe we decided to make tracks and head home.

Finishing the afternoon with a chakra balance and a nap set me in good stead for jumping online and continuing to go with the energy of the day ~ seize the moment. Intuitively I started sending personal invites to a heap of LinkedIn members connected to a World Class Presenter I know  (see www.linkedin.com ) and was astonished today to read the list of replies and extended offers to connect and network beyond the generic email. As of last count, I have increased my network base by about 40 people, have 3 acceptances to interview best selling authors, 2 leads for co~creating and a whole host of other interesting opportunities in the pipeline. And, to cap it all off, the bloke I gave my business card to yesterday not only rang me and arranged to catch up for a chat, but has invited me to speak to his Association which has a membership of over 500 people! Now what is not to love about following intuition? I love Dr. Seuss and feel like I have landed in the midst of one of his colourful stories… and can almost hearing him saying “Oh the Places We Will Go When We Stay in the Flow!”….

Phoenix Rising

I feel remarkably blessed to be alive. In August 2009 I had the great fortune of having a hysterectomy. Isn’t it fascinating to think that even ten years ago, women in general would not have openly talked about this procedure? I probably wouldn’t have either back then, so I feel doubly delighted to do so now with great ease. My specialist recommended the procedure for me back in 2005. Being the stubborn iron woman that I was then, I scoffed and took myself off to try every alternative healing modality I ‘had time’ for in my extremely busy life… In amongst a number of things, I tried accupuncture, herbs, yoga, iridology, meditation, guided visualisation, homeopathy, bush flower essence, detox, exercise, reiki. I finally returned to traditional medicine in late 2008 after my body went into total shutdown. Having to be  carried into Accident & Emergency with absolutely no bodily control was NO fun… I agreed that it was time for me to reconsider being the ‘queen of complimentary therapy’ and undertook 12 months of medication before I finally signed up to become a ‘hyster sister’.

In my infinite wisdom, I also decided that I needed to quit my fast paced ‘busy brain syndrome’ world of work and reignite my consultancy. I have always loved motivating and teaching people so I decided to add another tag to my titles (they were important back then) and enrolled in a coaching course.  I casually (on a wing and a prayer) put plans into place to resign from my job on 15 August, have surgery 21 August and have my business up and running by 14 September. I had no reason to think this was not possible, what with my drive and motivation and the backing of my darling, I clumsily proceeded with my plans. Several times over the next 6 months I was to hear a little voice in my head repeating that old adage “if you wanna give god a good laugh, tell her your plans”…

I’m told the hysterectomy itself was a straightforward procedure, it was the massive infection I suffered afterward that turned my life upside down and saw my well laid plans float out the window. Apparently I was in acute care for 11 days (?) ~ I was too ill to notice. I was to have five more hospital admissions over the next seven weeks.  It didn’t take long for me to be on first name basis with kitchen staff, cleaners, nurses and doctors. the nutritionist and the likes.  Those 8 weeks proved to be some of the most profound times of my life,  for which I remain eternally grateful. I came to learned so much more than I could have ever imagined. What was supposed to be a straight forward procedure turned out to be the  opposite. The biggest blessing of all was I finally allowed my vulnerabilities to be seen and be heard.

My protective shield that I had worn in many battlefields throughout my life no longer fit and I was unable to stand unsupported. In bearing my vulnerabilities, I came face to face with the depths the love of my life was to go to, in shielding me from the world I almost slipped away from. This unfamiliar experience exposed us to changes we would come to savour. During long empty spaces when all I could do was be still and turn inwards I became reacquainted with my authentic self and began to strengthen the essence of me. An expedition I had attempted many times yet never felt previously successful with, this internal long walk home became comforting, nurturing and revealing.

Phoenix

As I allowed anger, rage and rejection to dissolve I was confronted with my new reality. It was time to take off the cape and hand over the banner ~ ‘Superwoman has retired!’ Being in the moment of each and every day was all I could manage and was enough to focus on.  Exposing my vulnerabilities was at moments horrifying, and yet at other times, liberating and most insightful. My mantra to my loved ones was “just call me Phoenix!”, darling even bought me a beautiful orchid we called Phoenix. He bought me two actually, the first one he dubbed ‘Dennis’ after Dennis the mennis and the bloody thing died! Hence the second orchid was bought ~ and obviously happy with it’s namesake and symbology  ‘Phoenix’ is flowering today.

Our lives have changed enormously as a result of what some would have considered a nightmare. On the downside, our finances took a severe battering. However on the upside, we have a richer, fuller more meaningful life now. I never have suffered fools well, and now more so than ever. I have severed relationships those who do not value and understand unconditional love and only invite love and light into our world. Just like Phoenix rising up out of the ashes, I too have risen strengthened in the knowledge that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Ashes from a nearby fire softly dust my shiny new apple mac as I type and remind me that life is for the living and each moment is precious and once lived, cannot ever be relived again.

“Carpe Diem”

DAY 24 Interpreting Intuition

Australian bottle brush

WOW, with only 6 days to go we are on the down hill run now I am sure you have all taken some time to reflect on your learning’s and to congratulate yourself on your continued commitment to being the very best version of yourself possible.  It always heartens me to read your feedback to know that these Challenges are providing you (more…)

DAY 21 Interpreting Intuition

Thank you for your hearty encouragement for taking care of myself I had a much needed sleep yesterday and was glad I woke in time for my pilates class.  Self care ~ self pace ~ self love is my life mantra and I simply could not do what I do if I did not honour myself this way…

How very divine to read your feedback and to know that our intuition is working in synch. How fascinating it is to read how you are all going with your discoveries.  Your meditation and dreams, activities and observations are all assisting you to further access your intuition as intelligence. How are you going with TRUSTING your intuition? Are old beliefs and/or negative self talk getting in the way?  Mind chatter can be so destructive as it takes us away from our authentic self and is really only a smoke screen for fear… I would like to explore negative self talk and/or old beliefs. You can generally tell if it’s an old belief getting in the way by the way you think, communicate and behave…

I am curious to know what feedback you got in the creative visualisation with your higher self and would like to expand on this exercise. Set about 15 minutes aside to do this exercise, preferably somewhere where you won’t be disturbed. Get yourself comfortable and relax, and think about something you would really like to achieve, make it something measurable and do a quick audit of 1 – 10 to rate how much you would like to achieve what you chose (1 being low and 10 being high).

Close your eyes and counting backwards from three 3 times until you get to zero, tell yourself you are now in a deep state of relaxation. Now get an image in your minds eye of what it is you want to achieve and add in some colour and depth to your image ~ breathe it ~ taste it ~ sense it ~ feel it ~ repeat this until your whole body accepts this new experience as happening right here, right now, in this present moment. Allow your whole body to fully embrace this achievement and thank your higher self for having access to this reality. Now gently bring your attention to the breathe and become aware of the soft hum of the breathe ~ gently breathing in and gently breathing out ~ slowly, when you are ready, allow yourself to bring your attention back into this moment, and become conscious of where you are in the room, in the building, in the community, on the planet. Softly awaken the body, moving fingers and toes, hands and feet, legs and arms, neck and shoulders… Now sit for a few minutes and embrace what you just experienced. Write down the first 5 thoughts that come into your mind and do not try and analyse them. Have a drink of water and continue to go about what your were doing. Deliberately leave the sub conscious to relax with the information you received and come back to it before you go to sleep. Record what insights your intuition offered you through this entire experience and make a note of your current 1 – 10 rating and your intention to achieve what you stated.

Have an awesome weekend everyone and remember

1. 5 minute meditations at least twice a day
2. observations of your intuition as intelligence and looking for miracles in the moments
3. Observe your day to day interactions and the impact they have on those around you
4. Keep a dream journal
5. Do at least one thing on a daily basis, for FUN, VARIETY and BALANCE
6. Remember ~ self care ~ self pace ~ self love

~ OM ~