Author: Linda Ferguson

This past week my sister-in-law died. Nothing like a death to put things into perspective. I reminded my in-laws as they were worried about details of the funeral, ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’. After seeing their sister die, it was an easy message to get across. After that ordeal the type of flowers or coffin decoration really wasn’t that important. Does it take a death to put the small things into perspective?

What are you worried about these days that really in the end don’t matter that much? Are there things at work that generally annoy you but if you took a 10,000 foot view isn’t really that important? Would you worry about those things if you were lying on your death bed?

I heard an expression once about holding on to kindness and letting go of grudges. If you have grudges, annoyances, harsh judgements or built up resentment about people at your work- let them go. If you are still carrying memories about people who have done you wrong or made foolish decisions, travel lightly. Do you really want to be carrying that extra burden around with you every day? What could you do more of if you channeled your strength and extra energy towards acts of kindness? Let go of these small burdens and move in more peaceful ways. Walk lightly and carry only those things that serve you well.

Here’s a tip to figure out what you can release – for each resentment, negative judgement, complaint or grudge- ask yourself – how is it serving me? Do you want to stay in victim ‘ain’t it awful’ mindset or bring peace to your work and yourself? The choice is yours. Every day you wake up and go to work, you choose your attitude. What do you want to carry with you to work tomorrow morning?

I love this Buddhist story of the monks crossing the river. Two monks arrived at a river that was quickly rising. A young woman held on to a basket of clothing she was washing. She looked worried about getting to the other side with her wash. The older monk asked the woman if she needed help. When she replied yes, he quickly handed the clothing to the younger monk, picked the woman up as he stepped carefully across the rocks through the rushing water. He set the woman down on the other side and kept walking. The younger monk quickly followed with the clothes and left them with the woman without speaking or looking at her.

The two monks walked for over an hour in silence. The younger monk pondered repeatedly in his mind how the older monk talked to the woman. Didn’t that go against their vows of silence? What about his physical contact with women? The young monk couldn’t get the image out of his head as they walked, replaying the scene dozens of times in his head. Finally after nearly two hours of this constant stream of thoughts crashing through his mind, he stopped and asked the older monk – ‘master why did you pick up that woman?’

The older monk nodded in silence and replied. ‘I assisted the woman across the dangerous waters. Then I set her down. You have been carrying her ever since’.

As the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us – Peace is Every Step.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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I attended a program a few months ago by a professor sharing his latest research on virtual learning. He shared a fascinating application of technology for creating more enriched learning experiences for students. One comment he made really struck me. The project he had designed was for students to work in pairs to determine the flora and fauna of a region and howthey could be used for medicine. He showed them how to geomap the area and download information from the web to determine what would be useful for a hypothetical disease. He said the kids were so fascinated by the web and hand held device that they completely walked past the tree they were suppose to look at. Yes the kids were engaged in the task, but not looking up to see what was around them. They weren’t learning from the REAL reality all around them.

Here’s the interesting metaphor for us to ponder. How often do we get focused on the representation of things that we don’t stay open to the actual things that are presented to us. We spend time blogging, chatting, Facebooking about friends, work, romance, health, spirituality etc. How much time do we spend doing things that cultivate friends, health, relationships, spirituality? Have we focused so much on the technology that we don’t experience the REAL reality?

It got me to thinking of the difference between information vs. knowledge vs. wisdom. No doubt there’s a glut of information available at our finger tips. We no longer have to memorize a bunch of facts or instructions to do things, we simply look it up on the web. We have a vast library available to us of information, yet have we achieved knowledge about those topics? I asked the professor whether he thought the kids were learning how to gain information vs. knowledge from the exercise. He was a bit stumped. Knowledge comes from working with ideas, material, experiences etc. , getting your hands dirty so to speak, to have a deeper understanding of those ideas.

Now for wisdom. That is certainly not something that can be given to another. Wisdom is slow to develop and can require a high price tag since our greatest source of wisdom often comes from our mistakes or opportunities not well spent. Sharing wisdom is a way to connect with another more deeply. In the US we don’t have a culture or much tradition of learning wisdom from our elders, by listening intently to their stories, hearing their experiences, seeing the scars of their mistakes.

As much as the Millenial Generation may be the Digital Natives, and have information at their fingertips, they have a long way to go with gaining wisdom. My workplace has a potential for having 24% of employees retire in the next 3 years. That’s a lot of experience and knowledge walking out the door. I’m betting it’s also a lot of wisdom leaving too. What have you learned over the years of your work life about how to relate better to others at work? How to diffuse a tense confrontation? How to show your emotions effectively with your team mates?

I’ve been fortunate to have two really wonderful bosses over my career life. They’ve not only been mentors, but we had a sacred relationship. We were able to share more deeply who we were and be authentic with one another. We had a lot of trust and mutual respect and admiration. They were elders who shared their wisdom and experience and I eagerly listened to them. My work was enriched from those exchanges.

Think about how you gain or share your wisdom at work. How might this be a spiritual experience for you?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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It’s the Tues. after a long holiday weekend. Anyone have trouble getting motivated today? I know I sure was. I had a wonderful weekend and had to come back to an inbox full of emails and some training programs to prepare. How do you stay/get motivated when you just don’t feel like coming to work on a Mon. morning or after a holiday? Perhaps you are having trouble getting motivated on any given day you show up at work.

OK, here are a few tips. From a mundane task- focused perspective:

1. You can jump in and knock out the easy stuff that isn’t too mentally taxing just to get back in the groove of working again.
2. You can decide to look for those things that interest you of your projects coming up and start working on those.
3. You can sort through the most important things to do and choose the one that most interests you, then break it into smaller chunks and do at least one of the smaller chunks that day.

Or you can shift perspectives and look at your work through a different lens. I love the metaphor of changing lenses. We always get a chance to reframe or shift perspectives on how we are viewing or approaching our work (or any other life task or issue for that matter). The lenses we use to see the world are entirely up to us to choose.

When we remember we are here as spiritual beings having a human experience, each experience we have provides opportunities for connecting, sharing, giving, loving, forgiving, learning etc. When I start to get unmotivated, I shift lenses. I don’t look at the world through my small self, my ego interests and desires. I shift to say, OK what’s here for my Spiritual Self to experience? What am I called to do in this moment? What is a lesson I can learn or provide for someone else? How then shall I serve? What would bring joy in this moment?

As a spiritual being you can always find something worthwhile to do in every moment, even if it is pausing to breathe slowly to bring you back into peace and balance. Here are some simple things you can do to remember your higher purpose, your Spiritual Self, or ways you can serve:

1. Remember that you are a loving being at all times
2. Think of one person in your office who could use a little cheering up and send them a smile.
3. Listen for what others are saying from a place of compassion rather than judgment
4. Find on the internet a good quote, inspiring video clip, cartoon or beautiful picture to share with a co-worker.
5. Chant or repeat a meaningful phrase, hymn, or poem to help lift your spirits
6. Look for ways that your talents and ideas could provide support for someone else, even if it is a very simple thing you could do.
7. Ask someone “What’s stirring in you today?” and attentively listen. Show that you care about how a co-worker is feeling.
8. Stay open to how you might be asked to play a role to help someone shift through something they are struggling with. Listen, watch, wait with anticipation.
9. Be attentive to synchronicities around you. Put out a positive thought or question about what you are to do next and then see how it is answered.
10. Know that you are always creating your external world by your emotional state, attitudes, and beliefs you carry.

See how these ideas work next time you are feeling a bit apathetic, uninspired, or unmotivated. Please share other ideas you have tried and how they’ve worked for you.

Epilogue, today my boss came in to my office and waxed philosophical about his weekend and his in-laws who were planning to visit. I could tell he needed to talk so I listened and gave him some time to share what was on his mind. I think he walked away feeling a bit lighter for the conversation.

Be a Light for those around you. It will brighten your world as well as theirs.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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My grandmother was born in an ethnic neighborhood of Chicago in 1900 and had never seen a live cow growing up. In first grade her class was given cut-out farm animals and told to trace and color them. She had a cow to draw and painted it purple because she liked the color purple. The teacher ridiculed my grandmother for coloring a cow purple and exclaimed that ‘cows aren’t purple’. The teacher ripped up the cow in front of the class and told my grandmother to start over, this time painting the cow brown or black.

Luckily for my grandmother, at age ten her best friend convinced my grandmother to take an art class with her. From there my grandmother found a deep life long passion for art. She went on to study in France and become a professional painter, and later in the 1960’s, she became a pioneer in the field of art therapy. My grandmother’s biography, written when she was in her 80’s, was called “Cows Can Be Purple”. My grandmother was able to move past the message quite clearly given to her that she should not be creative in what she drew.

Were you ever given messages of what you can’t do? Are you still carrying around those messages? Perhaps when you were young, adults you trusted or respected squashed a dream or stifled your ideas. You may know people who have had their dreams stepped on or who put a box around their ambitions because it wasn’t accepted by others. Too many times we carry those messages of what we can’t do with us for years, never examining or questioning whether they are true for us or not. What a waste of potential talent, energy, and joy.

I will write several blogs about the self-limiting beliefs we carry and how those hold us back from fully living and being true to our passions and purpose. For now I want to invite you to step into the potential that awaits you. What possibilities are there that you’ve been waiting to explore?

Here are some suggestions for looking at the world through the lens of potential and possibility. First, challenge your mental framework by asking yourself – What If?

* What if I didn’t buy into a self-limiting belief about myself –that I’m unmotivated, not smart enough, unloved etc.

* What if I stopped seeking other people’s approval or stopped worrying about disappointing others?

* What if I was infinitely supported by the Universe to follow my soul’s calling?

* What if I believed I was talented, loved, lovable, creative? How would I live if that were so?

Try these questions out for a while and see what bubbles up for you. Maybe you’ll hear that inner calling to try something that you’ve been thinking of doing for some time. Perhaps you’ll feel the nudge that’s been pushing you to step out a bit farther into the unknown. See if there are things rumbling in your soul that you feel you need to discover. Answer these questions and sit with what stirs for you.

I leave you these words from the poet Rumi:

Be melting snow, wash yourself of yourself.

A white flower grows in the quietness,

Let your tongue become that flower.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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I’ve been a coach for several years now, working with clients who want to focus on either professional or personal goals. One approach to coaching is to help people see the gap of where they are vs. where they want to be. The role of the coach is to help people take steps to close the gap and achieve their goals. I’ve been a bit uneasy lately about having people focus on the gaps in their life. I’ve also felt that in our ‘achivement driven, strive for success’ world, we don’t allow for the unfolding to happen as it needs to, perhaps along a different rhythm than we are used to following or in a different way than we expect.

So here are a few tips to get you started with creating and allowing – Set your Intentions then Step Back. Set your intentions on what you desire, be very clear on what you wish to bring into your life. Then ask that the Right Highest Good be done for everyone. Surrender and humility are needed here. It takes a fair bit of humility to recognize that we don’t always know what’s in the Right Highest Good for all parties involved.

Do you find either of these challenging- Setting a clear intention of what you want to create? Stepping back and seeing what unfolds next?

If you have experiences with Setting Intentions then Stepping Back, please share them here.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Spring is a busy time for people- planting, finishing school papers and exams, playing outdoors. As the sun gets longer in the sky we find more energy to do many things. Do you equally find time to reflect on who you are being?

The Ying-Yang symbol represents balance between female and male energy, receptivity and action, being and doing. Are you enjoying the Being-ness of your life as much as the Doing-ness?

Lao Tzu, a Taoist philosopher, wrote of patience for things to emerge in the right time. While we Westerners are so busy making things happen, we often forget that we can sit and wait and watch as life unfolds. Spring time allows us to turn the earth for things to be planted and grow. Are you also allowing for things to emerge?

I’ve learned over time that my life is more enriched when I allow things to emerge and unfold rather than try to force or grasp. Work and home, growing and resting are both halves that allow for a meaningful life.

Resting, waiting, or simply being, may be a challenge for you. Our western culture teaches us to make, do, achieve. I had a fascinating discussion that brought to my awareness how American my thinking is. I was in India just after the start of this new millennium. I was both impressed and concerned by the zeal with which the Indian businesses and people were embracing our Western digital World Wide Web frenzy.

I shared my concerns with an Indian businessman and said, not realizing my American cultural arrogance, “I worry that by you adopting our (U.S.) technology frenzy that you’ll lose what’s unique and wonderful about your own (Indian) culture.” He said in the most wonderfully, composed way, “Madam, the Turks ruled India for 300 years and we remained Indian. The British controlled India for 200 years and we remained Indian. The US may be dominant for another 100 years and we will still be Indian”. I loved it. When you have a 3,000 year perspective you know about patience, allowing, emerging.

What are you tending to, planting in this time of spring? What are you allowing to emerge, unfold and sprout? How do you replenish your spiritual soil by doing and being?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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I taught an Ethical Leadership class at Virginia Tech and posed a question to my students the first day of class- “What is a well lived life for you?” It is worth considering. People have various answers for this, but most talk about having good relationships with family and friends, leaving a legacy of something done well, or making a difference in someone’s life.

In my class of senior management majors, very few said making a lot of money was a primary determinate of living a well-lived life. Not that they didn’t want work that was challenging, meaningful or successful. It’s just that money wasn’t their driving force. Maybe this says something about those in an ethical leadership class or that in the end most people won’t look back on their life and rate the quality of their life by how much money they made.

When I later heard the news of former Texas governor Ann Richards’s death, I reflected on a graduation speech I heard her give at the University of Texas back in the 1980’s. She was a powerful and delightful speaker to hear. One point that I most remember from her speech is that she told the graduating class to have a life and not worry so much about having a career. She said- “No one ever laid on their deathbed wishing they spent more hours at the office”.

So true her words are, yet how many of us get caught up in taking care of all the details of our work that we forget to live, or maybe more precisely, we forget what’s really important to our life. Here’s a way to see if you are busy making a life or a living. Check out which idea you were raised with- Do you work to live or live to work? How you answer that question will tell you a lot about the focus of your life energy and what you consider a well lived life.

What do you consider a Well-lived Life? How does your work fit into your definition of having a well-lived life? What role does spirituality play in your well-lived life?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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You may feel compelled to shy away from who you are as a spiritual being when you are at work. Of course for some of you that might be the equivalent of deciding not to breath. You may not divide yourself into “spiritual” at home and “not spiritual at work”. Others of you may be struggling with what exactly it means to bring your spiritual self to work. I invite you today to step more fully into sharing your authentic self while at work. You just never know who you’ll impact or how.

I was in a leadership program as a participant with some government workers. For the warm up exercise we each had to say what some of our hobbies were. Well my hobbies are almost all focused on spirituality so I figured there was no way out of talking about this subject. I said that I did drumming and Sufi dances (Dances of Universal Peace). I wasn’t sure if anyone knew what Sufi Dances (Dances of Universal Peace) were so I figured I’d just put it out there and see what happened.

On the break a very large, middle aged Sheriff came up to meet me and say hello. Picture in your mind a heavy set Sheriff wearing his full gear, with bullet proof vest and pistol, approaching me. I had no idea what was going to happen next. He wore the sweetest smile when he asked me if I had been to the Coleman Barks program the year earlier at our town. Coleman Barks is the poet largely responsible for bringing the Sufi poet Rumi to a wider audience of Americans. I was surprised that this sheriff had attended the Rumi program. He said that he and his wife went to the program and that he was into all sorts of drumming. We talked for about 20 minutes about how marvelous the Rumi program had been and later swapped titles of CDs we had of world drummers. I’m so glad to this day that I took the risk to share my gifts and passion and meet with wonderful man. I believe in the process I was able to help him claim his own gifts and passion more fully.

Examine what parts of yourself you feel you need to hide at work. What holds you back and what would help you feel more comfortable sharing your authentic self at work? Are there areas of your spirituality you would like to share with others at work? Try one thing this week that would help you stretch your comfort zone and step more fully into Who You Are at work. Share here what happened when you more fully claimed your authentic self. You just never know who else at your workplace is on the same path. Here’s to the Magical Mystery Tour we all dance to.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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The center of the flower provides an offering of nectar for the bees to use. This nectar gives life to other plants. Similarly, we make contributions to the well being of others and the world at large through our service. When we work spiritually we provide our gifts as an offering so that we make the world a better place by our being in it.

Just like the petals of a flower show the beauty of the plant, our beauty naturally bursts forth when we offer ourselves in service to others. As the poet Rumi says, “Let the beauty of who you are be what you do.” Working spiritually is about fulfilling your life purpose or larger mission with passion, using your gifts in service to others. When you do that others will benefit from your beauty and gifts.

Our beauty may even serve as inspiration to others whether we know it or not. We work spiritually when we make our unique contributions, in our own corner of the world, that enlivens and enriches others. When we make the world more beautiful by what we do, we find greater wholeness and meaning for ourselves and greater connection with others.

How do you find beauty in what you do? Can you find beauty in those who work with you? How is your work a spiritual offering?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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I usually start my workshops by asking people why they are interested in the topic of spirituality and work, and have them say what kind of work they do. One woman said she was a bus driver as well as a Reiki Master. When I asked her about that unusual combination she said it was a perfect fit for her. She could drive around the town sending Reiki (healing energy) to people in her community and get paid to do it! I loved this example of someone understanding her gifts and purpose and finding ways to offer her gifts to others in service.

Here’s another examples of how someone shared her gifts and passion in service. I met a woman some years ago who had worked as a waitress at Cracker Barrel. She told me the story of one night that was really busy and the wait staff was flying all over the floor trying to keep up. Everyone was harassed and orders were arriving late. It was turning into a miserable night. She noticed how stressed out everyone was feeling and how chaotic it was getting and decided to do something about it. After taking a few deep breaths, she started saying to herself “I’m a Light, I’m a Light, I’m a Light”. She said that to herself several dozen times to help bring herself back to a place of balance and composure.

After she started feeling more grounded and peaceful she then focused her energy on her co-workers and the customers. She again repeated “I’m a Light” only this time she envisioned that she was sending that Light out to everyone in the room. Her night went so much smoother after that. As some point, still in the middle of the busy rush, one of her customers commented how peaceful she looked and that she seemed to have a sort of glow around her. He asked what she was doing. They struck up a short conversation about related topics and she realized the man understood what she was doing.

After things died down, she went back to talk to him. He asked her why she was working as a waitress. He challenged her to use her gifts in some other way to do other kinds of healing work. From that conversation she started thinking about how she could come to work every day and work from that place of peace and balance. She eventually got trained in energy healing work and moved to the town next to mine to start her business. You never know what you will discover when you stay true to your gifts, purpose and passion.

Please share a story from your life when you’ve stayed in touch with your purpose and was able to offer your gifts for others. Was there a transformative moment when you realized you could use your gifts to serve a larger purpose or were truly living your life purpose in your work?

When we use our gifts in alignment with our passion and purpose, that offering is done as spiritual service.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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