Author: Linda Ferguson

To Thy Own Self Be True

While this phrase may be well know, living authentically- knowing and connecting your Inner and Outer Self- seems less common. I’ve had two job coaching clients in the last week talk about their struggle with their company norm to “Fake it ‘Til you Make It”. We talked through ways to stay connected to their strengths so they didn’t feel so disconnected from who they really were. Of course what they were saying was that they wanted their Inner Self and Outer Self to be in alignment.

Your Outer Self vs. Outer Self

Your Outer Self- your hair, clothes, car, house, toys – is only one dimension of who you are. It isn’t the entire package. Your Outer Self represents the personas or masks you display.

Your Inner Self contains your values, beliefs, personality. Many people feel they have to stuff down or hold back those aspects for fear of offending someone at work. Yet it takes a tremendous amount of energy wearing the mask each day to work.

Knowing Your Inner Self

You know your true nature during great trials or spiritual tests. When your back is against the wall your true nature comes forward. When you have to make the tough decisions your soul speaks. In these times you make the self-defining choices: courage vs. fear, personal convictions vs. compliance, persistence vs. giving up, admitting a mistake vs. covering it up.

Integrity, courage, and persistence are all traits we aspire to have. The question is whether those traits get expressed or lie dormant, waiting for another time.

As we end summer, move past the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and into another cycle of the sun, the Fall Equinox, it’s a good time to look beneath the surface. It’s worth slowing down, reflecting on how your Inner Self is (or is not) being demonstrated by your Outer Self.

I like the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur as it requires a reckoning with your soul, your deeper self, your Higher Self. Once a year, at least, you have the reminder to take stock of your life and change directions if you don’t like the path you are taking.

May your Inner Self and Outer Self extend as one consistent flow. One that’s strongly connected to a spiritual Center that provides guidance, comfort and wisdom as you meet the trials and challenges of your life.

Share in the comment section below what helps you bring your whole self, your authentic self, to work.

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Linda J. Ferguson, Ph.D. guides people through their stress and challenges to live more joyfully and spiritually grounded.

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Click HERE to order Linda’s latest Guided Meditation CD – Circling Home

In my first book, Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service, I provide a framework to share your gifts in loving service. When you align your gifts, passion, and purpose, the glory and radiance of who you are shines through.

Here’s a wonderful video of a young man who did just that. Michael had the hutzpah to ask Billy Joel if he could accompany Billy Joel on stage. Michael just blossomed. He played the piano with such grace, composure, and style it blew everyone away, including Billy Joel.

So what are you waiting for – what gifts do you have to share with the world?

You don’t have to be a virtuoso to share your gifts. You simply need to have the courage to show up as the authentic you.

You never know when you take the chance, step past your comfort zone, or simply dare to shine, the impact you will make. You demonstrate new ways of showing up.

And when you align your gifts with your passion and larger purpose, your greatness radiates.

Watch this inspiring video and Go for Your Dream!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p04TYk4j0zQ

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Linda J. Ferguson, Ph.D. shares her gifts of job coaching to help her clients experience the magnificence of their life. If you want extra guidance, encouragement and support to share your gifts at work, in your community, and in the world, work with Linda as your job coach. Simply email Linda to schedule a free coaching session to get started – ljfergusonphd@gmail.com

Buy Linda’s book – Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service for more inspiration and practical tools. Available on Amazon, iStore and Kindle.

You may have heard the expression, ‘Energy flows where Attention Goes’. I’ve used this principle many times to be mindful of where I’m feeding my attention and energy.

Lately I’ve been paying attention to and receiving wonderful energy from grateful clients.

Sharing Gratitude

This week I received two lovely emails from clients who told me how much they benefited from my coaching, books and seminars. Wow, that really fills my heart.

• When was the last time you heard from a client who appreciated what you offered?
• Have you managed your relationships with them enough to get that feedback?

Gratitude is the gift that just keeps on giving. Reach out to a customer to let them know how much you appreciate doing business with them.

• What gestures of kindness are you sharing with those you appreciate?

Take time this week to support someone, touch them deeply, or offer your gifts in a special way.

The Circle of Gratitude

When was the last time you reached out to say thanks to a co-worker for what they do to support you? Let them know how they’ve helped you, even if in a small way.

You’ll give a tremendous gift to that person by letting them know that what they do matters. As you reach out to them, you’ll be reminded of the gift they have given you. Let that gift fill your heart with warmth, love and kindness.

And so the circle of giving and receiving expands. We all want to make a difference in someone’s life and feel that what we do matters.

Reach out and touch someone today. Make this world a better place by sharing the gift of gratitude.

Bright Blessings for a joyous week.

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Linda J. Ferguson is an author, seminar leader, and job coach. She integrates principles of Appreciative Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence, and practical spirituality to help her clients experience greater joy, purpose and clarity.

Schedule a Free Consultation to find out how you can shift your work or life a notch or two closer to Awesome! Contact Linda – ljfergusonphd@gmail.com

 

I love the work of Matthew Fox, the expelled Catholic priest. In his book, The Reinvention of Work, Fox suggests the metaphor for work as a “Sacred Sacrament”.

He defines sacrament as “a holy revelation of the hidden mysteries of the Divine – mysteries so sacred they require metaphor and symbol if we are to talk about them.”

How you describe your work can motivate and engage you or disempower and drain you. Images, descriptions, and symbols carry messages that have a subtle but significant impact on your motivation and work culture.

Creating New Work Metaphors

Many people still think of work as ‘punching the clock’ or ‘working for the man’. What images come to mind for your work? Do you think of it as a garden, a jazz band, a giant machine, a gerbil wheel…..

Here is a short excerpt from chapter 5 ‘Creating New Metaphors’ from my book, Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service. It provides ideas for re-imagining how you work.

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“Fox suggests work can be seen as a sacrament and that we can move between different sacraments. For instance, leadership can be seen as an ordination. We confer upon leaders certain powers and privileges, but with that comes responsibility for taking care of the group and bringing the group to a higher level of existence. Likewise, teamwork can be seen as a marriage. Each member comes with her own individuality and offers it to the team. Yet as with a marriage, the team will take on a life of its own that needs to be nurtured and maintained. Fox writes, “Sacramental work serves the cause of the Great Work of the universe, a work of interdependence and compassion.”

One activity for beginning to see your work differently through metaphor is to envision an activity that you enjoy doing. It may be a hobby or interest that you pursue, (e.g., hiking, weaving, quilting, cooking, rock climbing, dancing, scuba diving etc.) What you want to do is to create a spiritual metaphor for your work that reflects your work in a creative, passionate, meaningful way.

How can your work or activities be viewed in ways that are uplifting and life-renewing?

What other images do you have that are inspiring and energy-sustaining?

Use these images to help structure your work or symbolize your work environment.”

If you are looking for new ways to motivation, inspire or engage your employees, find images, symbols or words that spark their creativity, passion, and larger purpose. Ask them for images or metaphors for their team that help them focus on the best of who they are together.

What you focus on matters.

Choose those images that remind you of the gifts you bring and the positive impact you have on others.

May your work serve a higher purpose and renew your spirit.

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For more ideas to energize and inspire your work week, see Linda’s website – www.lindajferguson.com/blog/

If you are feeling stuck in a rut, unmotivated, bored or overwhelmed with your work, consider job coaching with Linda. She’ll inspire, encourage, and support you to shift how you work. If you want to change jobs, Linda can focus and sustain your energy to find or create new work that better suits your interests and skills. Schedule a free consult to see how you benefit from job coaching with Linda- ljfergusonphd@gmail.com

 

I love how social media works to connect people across time and space. I’ve posted several of my blogs and articles on my Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson) and LinkedIn groups. From one of my posts, I ‘met’ Margot Borden from France. After a few exchanges of ideas, I invited her to write a guest blog post for us.

Margot has written a book that I look forward to reading- “Spirituality and Business: Exploring Possibilities for a New Management Paradigm” (Springer, 2010). Here are some thoughts she shares with us inspired by the work of Sri Aurobindo and Integral Psychology.

Enjoy!

Linda J. Ferguson

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What blocks people from being more spiritual at work?

When addressing this question, it is useful first define what we mean by spiritual. Spirituality is essentially the relationship we have with our inner self or soul and the divine, love or the universal life force. The words each of us chooses to describe these will depend on factors such as our upbringing or our personal preference. Spirituality is non-denominational or trans-religious. It does not belong to, nor is it confined within, any religion but rather it transcends religion.

Sri Aurobindo, a great saint and philosopher of India says that, “Spirituality is nothing other than practical psychology.” This means developing the capacity to listen inward to our subtle senses and to learn to distinguish between the many inner and outer voices that pull us upward, downward and in any which direction and to start to develop the capacity to distinguish, follow and ultimately align to the voice of the inner self.

What’s the difference between spirituality and ethics?

Ethics can spring forth from within us when we are in touch with ourselves, or in soul-consciousness or it can be an external framework which we adhere to, such as in legal systems and religious laws. In other words, developing our spiritual awareness will change our perception or the intentionality behind our ethics. Our motivation to do the right thing will not avoid punishment adhering to any external set of rules, but rather it will stem from what we feel most deeply inside.

Like Sri Aurobindo’s definition of spirituality, above, following our inner ethical sense requires the same kind of discernment and capacity to choose the voice that resonates as true for us.

So, how do we build a relationship to our spirituality?

Sounds easy, right? Spirituality is simply a case of being in touch and living in line with our inner self. Well, it’s not quite that easy. There are many complexities and barriers between us and our spiritual essence. Fear is one of the biggest obstacles we will encounter. There is a kind of continuum between fear related to ego-based consciousness and oneness, harmony and being values which speak to us of soul-consciousness. While each of us has triggers that snap us into ego consciousness, we also have things that inspire us toward soul consciousness.

We can delve inside and discover how this dynamic works and aspire toward mastery–which essentially means always having the power and choosing to be in soul-consciousness, but since, let’s face it, that’s a very lofty aspiration, it can also be helpful to look at the environment around us, and try to co-create an environment that is conducive to a more soul-centered consciousness at work.

The bottom line is that fear (and the many voices and drives stemming from fear), along with lack of awareness or ignorance of our spiritual nature and potential are the major factors stopping us from being more spiritual at work.

Spirituality can effectively be brought into the workplace in implicit ways, through osmosis and, where there is receptivity, it can be done in more explicit ways such as coaching, seminars and retreats.

Spirituality—or the paradigm shift from ego to soul consciousness—at work will not only infuse our ethics with a higher resonance but our spiritually inspired minds and hearts have the potential to transform the way we do business at all levels of an organization, from process, strategy and inter-personal relationships all the way to mission and vision.

An organization that functions from a spiritual worldview will benefit from creating genuine value-added for their clients, employees, stakeholders, society and ecology in the form of congruence, meaning-making, fulfillment, and much more.

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Margot Borden is founder and consultant at Integral Perspectives. Margot does East-West Executive Coaching, Corporate Consulting and Psychotherapy. She works between Europe, USA and India. Her company is based in Paris. www.margotborden.com and www.margotbordenpsychotherapy.com.

Margot discovered yoga and Indian philosophy in her childhood and meditation a few years later. They form the foundation of her life and all of her professional activities. She completed her BA in International Business (American University of Paris) and her Masters in Humanistic Psychology (Durham, UK). In the west and India, she gives public lectures and workshops in companies, business schools and to the general public on her approach to psychology as well as on the topic of her book, “Spirituality and Business: Exploring Possibilities for a New Management Paradigm” (Springer, 2010).

Many people shy away from speaking about spirituality with their colleagues because of concerns of crossing that touchy line of religion (or politics) at work.

In Chapter 4 of my book, “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” I address this issue head-on. I frequently start my workshops on spirituality at work by asking people to list words that describe how they feel when they feel spiritual.

People usually share words such as :

> Peaceful, serene, content, centered

> Mindful, present, aware, intentional

> Loving, kind, compassionate, caring, heart-centered

> Whole, authentic, complete

> Energized, inspired, excited, exuberant

> Joyful, non-judgmental, accepting, playful

> Connected to God, greater Source, Higher Power, the great mystery

After we complete our list, I ask people to look over the 40-50 words generated. Then I ask them, “How would you like to feel this way every day at work?” Every one gestures, claps, or shouts out- Yes!

I then ask them, “Don’t you think your work would flow easier, and people would get along better if this describe your workplace?” Again, everyone agrees.

So why is it that we are so afraid to be spiritual at work or talk about spirituality?

Invitation to be more Spiritual

Being spiritual is as much a part of human experience as breathing. You don’t need permission from anyone- not your boss, your division VP, your colleagues to be spiritual.

And if you think you do need permission, then I hereby proclaim you have a right (if not a duty) to be _________ [fill in the words to describe what it means to you to be ‘spiritual’ ].

You’ll find that you’ll be more energized, more open, more at peace when you intentionally focus on being spiritual at work.

Worries and stress can come and go more easily, you don’t hang on to them as long. In the midst or crisis or conflicts, you’ll more likely stay open, accepting of what needs to unfold without criticizing, attacking, or defending so much. From this calmer, peaceful place you can figure out next steps to address the challenge at hand much easier.

I invite you this week to spend each day finding one situation or activity to bring more of your spirituality and see what happens. Leave a comment here to share the results when you do this.

Bright Blessings.

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Linda J. Ferguson, Ph.D. is author of two books on spirituality for everyday living. Buy “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” and share it with a friend or colleague. Available from Amazon, iStore, and B&N.

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Yours in abundance, beauty, and joy.
Linda

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In my post last week, I shared the parable of the ant and a story of a woman who saved her friend’s life by a phone call. I received a number of emails saying how much that post spoke to readers.

Share Your Gifts in Loving Service

I’d like to continue on this theme since people are interested in finding ways to link their life purpose with their work. In my book, Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service, I describe a framework to show how you can offer your gifts in loving service regardless of the kind of work you provide.

Regardless of whether you have a low skilled or high paying job, your job can provide an opportunity to live with purpose and share your gifts. In one of my book tours for Path for Greatness, I met a woman who was a bus driver. She was also a Reiki master. She said she took the job of driving a city bus so she could go around town sharing Reiki energy.

Here’s a link to a video where I share a story of how another bus driver saw her job serving a higher purpose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq82gcIwqXM

Life Purpose may come unexpectedly

Your life purpose may unfold at one particular place at one particular time to support someone in need.

I met a woman who was a flight attendant in the early 2000’s. One night after her flight had landed and all the crew finished cleaning the cabin, she was the last to leave except the captain. He was finishing his paperwork in the cockpit. She stopped to say goodnight to the captain before going to the hotel for her overnight layover.

He called her into the cockpit saying he needed to talk. She didn’t have anything better to do that night, so she sat down to listen. As the captain unloaded a whole life’s worth of regrets and reflections, she thought perhaps he was going through a divorce or some major life shift. She sensed he had some urgency to ‘get his life right’ or figure out his life in some significant way. After an hour and a half of talking, the captain thanked her for listening. She said she was glad to listen and hoped it helped him. She then left to go to her hotel. That night was Mon. Sept. 10^th, 2001. She worked for American Airlines.

The next morning she turned on the TV as she was getting dressed for work. To her horror she saw the burning World Trade Center in NY. She sat down in disbelief. Then the flight number came up showing the plane that had hit the building. It was the same plane that the captain piloted.

Her shock turned to deep sadness as she watched the rest of the morning. She told me that later that week she felt a deep gladness she had been able to help the pilot the night before his death. She felt in some way he had made peace with his life. He apparently had some intuition that he needed to get his life sorted out that night.

You never know when taking a bit of extra time to help a co-worker will make all the difference. You never know when you share your gifts, what impact it will have on someone.

So regardless of the type of work you do, when you take the time to listen, be attentive, or be supportive, you may offer that one thing that your customer or colleague needs to know or hear.

“Always prepare yourself. You never know when you’ll be called to do great things.” Abraham Lincoln

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Do you have a colleague, friend or family member who desires to integrate their spiritual life and their work life? Share Linda’s first book, “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” as a gift. Available on Amazon- Click HERE

Sign-Up on Linda’s website- www.lindajferguson.com to live and work from the heart- Transformational Empowerment

For more posts and updates of Linda’s work. “Like” to follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson

In my book, “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”, I describe a framework to see how your life purpose is fulfilled when you offer your gifts in loving service.

As a result of my book, I frequently have conversations with people looking for their life purpose. Many mistakenly believe their life purpose is the same thing as having a rewarding or fulfilling career. They aren’t necessarily the same.

Parable of the Ant

A group of friends went rock climbing on a beautiful sunny day. Two would scale the wall at a time while the others waited below and supported the climbers. As one pair ascended, about half way up, one of them slipped and hit her head on the stone. She recovered her grip but realized that her contact lens had popped out. Now with her eyesight blurry and uneven, she had to climb back down. She yelled down to the group below to look for the contact lens. She hoped on the long shot it fell near them in one piece.

After she and her partner came down to help with the search, they scoured the area for several more minutes to no avail. The woman figured the contact was stuck on a rock some place or shattered to pieces on the way down. She decided to enjoy the rest of the day at base camp while her friends took their turn climbing.

All during this time, a group of ants was busily carrying food crumbs from the climbers’ lunch area. All of a sudden, a large object fell from the sky onto the back of one of the ants. It nearly knocked the poor little ant over. Not knowing what hit him, the ant picked himself up and kept walking, albeit much more slowly carrying this heavy object.

Minutes later the ant got really hot from the sun. The heat intensified as the ant walked slowly back with the others. Nearly ready to collapse, the ant called out to the heavens, “Lord I don’t know why I’m carrying this heavy load, but I’d appreciate it if you could lift it from me.”

At that moment the woman noticed a flash of light. She looked down in the grass and saw the ant carrying her contact lens. Astonished she bent down to pick it up. It was still in one piece. She shouted with amazement to her friends and thanked the little ant for catching her contact lens.

Many times we have burdens to carry. Some call this life.

Other times we have extra responsibilities. Some call this work.

Many people feel like ants trudging through their day carrying crumbs home to their family.

Here’s my point. The ant’s job was to help bring food to the colony. Its job wasn’t to carry a contact lens. Yet while in the process of doing its job, the ant fulfilled its life purpose.

Life purpose is much bigger than a job

Your life purpose may be to be the friend who listens well. Your life purpose may be to be at one particular place at one particular time to catch someone who falls.

In a recent Shamanic Journey I led, one woman introduced herself and said she felt at odds with the mission of her workplace. After the Journey, this same woman shared about a phone call with a friend several weeks earlier. She hadn’t heard from this friend in over a decade.

The friend was very distraught and told her he felt like he wanted to die. After their nearly hour long conversation, he said he felt better. The following day he sent her an email saying that he had intended to kill himself but out of the blue thought of her. So he picked up the phone and called her. He thanked her for saving his life.

Life Purpose may come out of the blue

I’m not saying that having a rewarding or fulfilling job isn’t something to desire or achieve. I just want to remind people that your life purpose may come when you least expect it.

Your career or job doesn’t have to be your life purpose. A job can be simply to get food, support your family, build a better community. Your life purpose may come while you are in the process of your ordinary daily experiences.

Your life purpose may fall out of the sky and land on your back. Or it may be that simple phone call from a friend. Either way the key is to stay awake, pay attention to the small or not so small nudges of the Universe to help out or reach out.

“May the beauty of who you are be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” Rumi

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Do you have a colleague, friend or family member who desires to integrate their spiritual life and their work life? Share Linda’s first book, “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” as a gift. Available on Amazon- Click HERE

Sign-Up on Linda’s website- www.lindajferguson.com to live and work from the heart- Transformational Empowerment

For more posts and updates of Linda’s work, “Like” her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson