Author: Linda Ferguson

As we approach the Valentine’s holiday it’s a good time to reflect on those things we love. Take some time in the next week to remember not only your loved ones, but all those things in your life that you love to do. Plan some activity to re-energize. Do something you love.

Do What you Love

Music is one love of mine, it helps me re-connect with my soul. There’s nothing like an uplifting song to help me get through a tough time or renew my faith in humanity. As you reflect on the things you love, that fill your heart with joy and nourish your soul, consider how much of a priority you give to doing them.

• What will help you create more time to do those things you love?

Follow Your Passion and Purpose

Many of you have probably heard of Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer who amazed and surprised everyone in 2009 on Britain’s Got Talent, including Simon Cowell. She’s now gone on to make her living from singing, a dream she always had.

• What is holding you back from really stepping forward to reach your dreams?

If you haven’t seen that original performance, click here . Like most of the other 85 million of us who saw this video, your heart will soar as you watch Susan share her passion and live her dream. Last year Susan sold more records than Lady Gaga. Now, even as she’s outsold Paul McCartney and Elton John, she says she is just an ordinary person with a job to do.

I like getting and sharing good video clips of inspiring people. I saw this interview recently of Susan Boyle by Pierce Morgan. He asks her about fame, doing what she loves, and pursuing her dreams. What strikes me about her interview is that she says she puts her love of the job first, over any interest in how well she’s selling records or doing financially. Her fame hasn’t gone to her head, she embraces her job as a singer now, and she still sings for the love of it.

Watch these video clips to help inspire you to follow your dreams, do what you love, and share your gifts with the world.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day doing what you love and sharing your love with others.

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

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Linda has a new Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “Like” this page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work. See also her website- www.lindajferguson.com for information on her coaching work, keynote presentations, and books

Click this link to order Linda’s 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

This week marks the time when we reach the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It marks a time when the days start to appear longer, the light emerges from the darkness. In the Celtic tradition this is celebrated as the cross-quarter holiday of Imbolc. Other holidays are St. Brigit’s Day, Groundhog Day and Candlemass. This is a time of germination before the new growth.

What is Emerging?

Sit still, find quiet time to hear what is rustling beneath the awareness of your mind. Discern the new growth below the surface. What is germinating, building energy to emerge in your work and your world? Notice what shifts or new opportunities emerge for you in the coming weeks. Keep a journal of thoughts, ideas, dreams, interesting conversations for the next 30 days. Then review it to see if there are patterns or themes to guide you into the spring.

I’ve had numerous conversations lately about what this year is about- the dawn of a new era, a new beginning, a new phase of human existence. I don’t believe 2012 is a year of catastrophe. Rather I see it as a time when many are experiencing personal and global wake-up calls. We are being nudged, if not jolted, into awakening. We are being asked, guided, forced, inspired to live differently.

Personal and Global Awakening

I believe we are shifting into a new era, a time of greater connectivity across the planet. It’s also a time that requires greater connectivity within yourself. No more escaping, running, hiding from pain, doubts, fears that hold you back. It is a time to step more fully into the truth, power, and beauty of who you are. It is a time to tap into your gifts, clear away the clutter of your mind, your work, your life, your relationships to live more authentically, more intentionally. This helps not only you but everyone around you.

You have a chance to shift gears, to expand your horizons. In doing so, you join the dance with others to transform the planet- emotionally, energetically, physically, mentally.

Be Still and connect with your Inner Wisdom, your Source of inspiration and renewal.

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

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Linda has a new Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “Like” this page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work. See also her website- www.lindajferguson.com for information on her individual and group coaching, workshops, and keynote presentations.

Click this link to order Linda’s 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

Last week I wrote about a program called Winter Feast for the Soul. It is a program to help you focus on your inner journey, connecting you to your soul, your true nature, your deep wisdom. If you care to participate, there are many meditations from various faith traditions on the Winter Feast for the Soul 2012 website. Consider joining a world-wide community of practice, a sangha of followers for inner harmony and global peace.

Here’s a nice video clip for the Winter Feast 2012.

Moving Inward

I like to use this time of colder, darker days to move inward, to connect more intentionally with the Source of my being. Something about cold winter months lends itself to silent reflection to center and focus. Moving inward allows for more contemplation about life’s bigger picture.

Set up some time to journal, light some candles, soak in a warm bath, anything that helps you be still and listen. When I lived in the woods and got snowed in, I loved walking around my house looking for deer tracks. At night I liked to walk up my drive seeing the stars shine brightly. In the morning I would look at the snow hanging on the trees with the morning light dancing off the limbs. I found joy sitting and listening to the birds or watching them gather berries near my window. Winter sometimes forced me inward, even when I didn’t want to be stuck home. Yet this time allowed me to slow down, to breathe deeper, to focus on the simple things that were showing up as beauty, joy, life.

I invite you to find some time during your day to turn off your iphone, ipod, ipad and laptop and just be with yourself. Do something intentionally to tap into your Source for guidance, inspiration, support, and clarity on your larger purpose- the reason you are here now, in this time, in your particular life.

As you sit with yourself listen for what calls you at this time. What rumblings are stirring your soul? Notice, pay attention, move inward, explore.

Join the Winter Feast for the Soul for the next 40 days. Take time (20-40 mins a day) to renew your spirit, your connection with greater beauty and inner harmony. Listen to the meditations or do some other inner work to re-connect with yourself. You’ll find renewal of spirit, mind and body.

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

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Linda has a new Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “Like” this page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work. See also her website- www.lindajferguson.com for information on her coaching work, video clips and book samples

Click this link to order Linda’s 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

Martin Luther King, Jr. has been a hero of mine since I was a little girl. His commitment to social equality, his passion for improving the lives of those disenfranchised, his deep faith in non-violence as a spiritual force to shift power from oppression to reconciliation, inspired me as a child to find ways to move our country towards a more loving, peaceful place.

King’s Words for Inspiration

When I first visited the King Memorial in Atlanta , GA I was so excited and in awe that I literally trembled. To hear tapes and see videos clips of his talks and work left me breathless. When I later moved to Atlanta, I visited the memorial frequently. It was my pilgrimage for inspiration in my work.

I attended periodic services at Ebenezer Baptist Church, just a block away from the memorial, and soaked up the energy, the spirit. I sat in the pews imagining what it was like to hear King preach from the pulpit with the trumpet Amen choir behind him. This was exciting stuff for a white woman from the Midwest! Let the words of Martin Luther King Jr. inspire and fill your heart.

Through some of those forays to the King Memorial and Ebenezer Church I met an elderly woman who attended the church as a little girl in the 1930’s and 40’s when King’s father was preacher there. She continued to attend in the 50’s and 60’s and heard MLK Jr. as well. I asked her what it was like to hear Dr. King on Sunday mornings. She said, “Marty was good, but oh girl, you should have heard Daddy King.” Wow, that blew my mind! I couldn’t believe that my idol, who’s words seemed to move mountains, paled compared to his father as a preacher.

The Beloved Community

Dr. King’s legacy of social justice can be summed up in his vision of the Beloved Community– a place where no matter their skin color all people would be treated with dignity and respect, would be cherished as God’s children, would have equal opportunity to achieve their own greatness. King believed the Beloved Community was achieved through the alleviation of economic inequity and the achievement of economic justice. I invite you to take some time this week to read some of his speeches and lectures to get a feel for his vision of the Beloved Community.

Many of you have heard that the year 2012 is a year where the world will be made anew, that radical transformation is upon us. I’d like to think that this year the Beloved Community will take hold across the globe. We’ve seen the global rumblings for such a world already in 2011.

To support the global transformation this year, in tribute to King and to keep the vision of a world living in peace and social equality, I am going to write periodic blogs on how we create that Beloved Community in our own lives and in our workplace. Though King addressed social change on a state and national level, his ideas and his writing can be applied to our everyday lives. Indeed if we don’t apply the ideas in our own lives, the Beloved Community cannot be created.

Love, Peace, Compassion, Justice begins with us.

Martin Luther King, Jr. truly was a vessel of Divine Grace. And so are you- in your own unique glorious way, in your own life, in your own work.

Will you help create the Beloved Community this year, today, this week- in your family, at your work, in your world?

Leave a comment below to share how you are working to support the Beloved Community.

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

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Visit Linda’s website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her spiritual life coaching work, view video clips of her talks, and more blog posts.

“Like” Linda’s FaceBook Fan page– https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work.

Also now available- 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

Your mission this year, should you choose to accept it, is to shift from fear to love.

Fear raises its head all day long- ‘I can’t finish this by then’, ‘how can they ask me to do that?’, ‘she doesn’t listen to me’, ‘ he doesn’t respect my work’, ‘they’ll never give us what we need’, ‘I’ll never be able to please them, ‘I’ll never be able to afford that’…..

Sound familiar? OK, now how does love sound? ‘Sure, I can get that for you’, ‘Praise Be, I have what I need’, ‘ I can’t wait to see how this turns out!’, ‘I’m glad to help you with that’….. Allow grace to enter and fill your life.

How would your day flow if every time you had thoughts of lack or worry, you KNEW you were supported, guided, strong enough, smart enough, had all that you needed to meet your life challenges?

What helps you shift thoughts of lack or fear to ones of love, acceptance, joy, thanksgiving, praise?

Thank God/Spirit/Allah/Divine Wisdom in advance that you have enough, are enough, know enough, give enough. Affirm that this is true when you encounter fear. This is the paradigm shift for a new era. This is our mission for responding and working with love and grace in 2012.

New Ways of Responding

If you fear the unknown, uncertainty, fear what lies ahead in your future, share your gifts with others lovingly and joyfully. Actively cultivate a caring network of friends and colleagues by offering assistance, information, resources they may need to support their work. Focusing on ways to share your gifts helps you shift your focus from fear to support.

If you fear change, know that marvelous transformation awaits you. Embrace the wonderful opportunities presented to be more fully awakened, alive, passionate, living on purpose. Transformation is the theme of this year. As you raise your vibrational energies, you respond to your world in more caring, compassionate, inspired ways. As you move through your fears, you model for others how to live courageously, authentically, whole.

If you fear losing someone dear, know that you can never be separated from God or the God of your being. You are the one you’ve been waiting for. Welcome your sweet loving presence home in your heart. Rejoice in your loving presence.

When you are worried about finances, give freely and joyfully to a good cause. Give with an open heart. Practice giving with love and care and build your giving muscles. Focusing on what you share takes your mind off what you may lack. Such giving clears your emotional hose- allowing for more abundance and positive energy to flow through you. As you give, so shall you receive.

Drinking the Sweet Water of Life

If your life is a glass of pure water, infused with Spirit-filled energy, do you see it as half empty or half full? Do you let the water retain its purity or will you add sludge to it from your worries, fears, doubts, concerns? Sip joyfully the refreshing elixir of life. Let it sustain you, renew you, and replenish your soul.

Aaahhh, doesn’t life taste sweet!

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

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Linda has a new Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “like” this page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work.

Now available- 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”. For FREE download of the Intro and Chapter 1, go to: http://www.lindajferguson.com/path-for-greatness/

Bright Blessings for 2012!

What an incredible year this is going to be!

Can you feel it? Can you sense the energy, the excitement, the amazing unfolding that is happening?

I did a burning bowl ceremony and gave thanks in advance for all the wonderful, beautiful blessings I was going to experience this year. You can read more about this on my website blog post last week (http://www.lindajferguson.com/2011/12/letting-go-and-getting-ready/ ). One of the biggest things I gave thanks for is my ability to share my work with you, for being able to write and speak on ideas to support you fulfilling your life purpose and heart’s desire- for facilitating you standing more powerfully in the truth of Who You Are, as a fully embodied spiritual presence of peace and love. It is such a pleasure to support your journey here through this blog.

I thoroughly enjoy working with my coaching clients to see how they are able to express and experience their Divine Essence, to watch them achieve their goals, to see the brilliant ways they share their gifts, to awaken them to more positive possibilities, to help them reach their greatest potential. God I love my job!

So what bold and beautiful ideas do you want to manifest this year? What goals will rock your world? What do you want to set your sights on this year that will make you jump out of bed each day and shout, “Haleluiah, I get to create today”? How do you want to express and experience the magnificent being that you are?

As you may recall from my blog post this time last year, I reminded you that you had a mission. That mission was to discover your strengths and practice them daily, to use your talents and gifts well, to prepare yourself to step into your greatness. How did that go for you last year? How do you want to share your greatness with the world?

Now is the time to step into your greatness, your power, your authentic self. The world is waiting for you to show up, fully alive and ready to offer your talents and energy. As Marianne Williamson reminds us, “Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.”

2012 is a year of major changes. I’ll write more on this in future blogs. For now, feel the energy, embrace the changes that will be laid in front of you. Tune in to the excitement that is building. Step into your passion for living as a fully awakened, inspired spiritual being.

Share this blog with others who are on this journey. Many of us have accepted this calling, to be a presence for Love, harmony, beauty, peace, compassion, prosperity, grace, unlimited positive potential. You will mirror this for others as you step fully into it yourself.

Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride. What a year this will be!

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

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Linda has a new Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “Like” her page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work. See also Linda’s webpage for more ideas for working and living in spiritual alignment- www.lindajferguson.com

Linda’s 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” is available by clicking on the title link. If you want to read more of Linda’s ideas for working spiritually or want to support a friend who desires to work with passion and purpose, buy Linda’s book today.

A colleague of mine, Meredith Kimbell, shared a holiday greeting with this article she wrote for her executive coaching practice. I share it with you as a way to hone your leadership and bring more peace and joy to your work. This comes from her website – http://www.corporateadventure.com

Three themes caught my attention recently: A leader I work with told me that he loved gravity, the force. When I looked confused, he explained, “Gravity is a constant invitation to drop things rather than pick them up or carry them around for very long.” Hmmm…. Then, I was listening to NPR about ways to create a “greener” holiday season by simplifying and letting go of “stuff.” Finally, after shopping this weekend, I discovered “The 12 Days of Christmas” song recycling in my head.

In the spirit of all three themes, I offer you 12 ways leaders can create more joy (with the help of gravity and some practice.)

1. Drop your need to know. Increase your genuine sense of “wonder” and invite new relaxation, creativity, enthusiasm and possibilities you will never discover without it.
2. Drop your over-exaggerated sense of importance. If you think you are the only one who “gets it” or can do “it,” you’ve mis-stepped as a leader. Stop overburdening yourself, overlooking others who want to help and stressing everyone far more than needed. Use the time you find to develop and leverage others more effectively.
3. Let go of any hope of being perfect. Put it down. Your people won’t be perfect and neither will you. Dropping this impossible standard will release you to relax, laugh more, delegate more and use others’ input as developmental opportunities vs. “tests” of adequacy.
4. Put down your seriousness. Laugh at yourself and your mistakes as an awesome way to keep perspective, loosen up and invite others to see you as a person they can approach with ease.
5. Surrender your sense of being indispensible. Go home. Take breaks. Use all your vacation days, unplugged. Invest in your vitality to keep yourself at your best and set a great example for others.
6. Drop being the first and most dominant voice. Listen more. Shrink your airtime and you will connect with others, show that you care, and learn things you’ll never discover any other way.
7. Let go of pre-judging. Hold history like a swordsman holds a sword…not to tight and not too loose. If you hold on to history too tightly, your prejudices will only guarantee more history. If you relax and welcome a fresh start, for yourself and others, you will set the stage for creating an adventure worth living.
8. Release self criticism. Ok, let go of criticism of others too, but start with yourself. Substitute self reflection and learning for obsessively dumping on yourself. Contrary to what you may have learned, you really will be brilliant without keeping your foot on the back on your neck.
9. Drop the chatter. Whether the chatter is in your head, on TV, radio, or social media, turn it off. Art comes from a blank paper, music from silence and your most authentic knowing and creative ideas from a place of relaxed “flow.” Learn to relax deeply. It takes practice, but start with deep breathing during meetings and your commute.
10. Disengage from so much “how”. Getting consumed with “how will we ….,” puts you on the hamster wheel of urgency, overwhelm and stress. Get off by focusing yourself and others first on “why” something is worth doing and “what” you can contribute. Once you are clear on why and what, the how’s will flow far more easily.
11. Drop contracting. Anytime you feel tight, let it go. Move, exhale deeply, talk it out, and feel gravity pull down every cell. Your health, creativity and effectiveness will thank you for it.
12. Release boredom. Let go of the disengagement that causes boredom. Wake up to reconnecting with what is most important to you and contributing what fulfills you so you show up enthusiastically, at your best.

So, when you drop all of these, what’s left? What do you hold on to? My wish for you is that you hold on to the moment and stay attentive to the freshness of each breath, situation, and person. Hold on to hope. Like a puppy, it is an active thing that endlessly snoops around for something intriguing and delightful. Hold on to gratitude; it brings joy, fulfillment and rest from the struggle. Hold on to that which lives in your heart as your best source for what is most important and meaningful. Hold on to your amazing ability to make a positive difference. Enjoy your brilliance this season.

May your season be abundant with joy, freedom and flow. May gravity and your spirit be well fed by your choices.

All the best,

Meredith Kimbell
Executive Advisor,Strategy Consultant
Corporate Adventure

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

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This is a precious time when the darkness comes early and candles glow. Quiet stillness falls in the darkness of winter. In the darkness just one candle flame sheds light for a room. One candle lights the way. Not surprising at all that Hanukkah and Christmas both share the symbols of light with the Winter Solstice.

• How is your light guiding others?
• What are you showing with your light?

You are an infinite luminous light. Did you know that? Take in that thought. Feel what it feels like to be an infinite luminous light. Infinite creative energy flows to you, through you, and out into your world. Breathe that thought in, hold it, and breathe it out.

Open your self to the luminous light

You are a luminous light. You show your light every day you come to work. Your inner light is seen by all- it flickers, it dances, it blazes, it fades- all depending on how you show up. The outer light that you radiate reflects of your inner world.

‘Open your self to the luminous light, the infinite light of the universe’ is a chant I do with my group of Dancers of Universal Peace. Saying these words and taking them deep in to my core feels rich and renewing. I interpret this chant to mean that as an infinite light of the universe, we all share that spark of Divine creation and love. We all have that light within. We radiate out that light to the degree that we allow it to shine through us, as us.

Some people have filters from life experiences that diffuse the light. Some have layers that mute the light. It’s up to you to take off the layers that prevent the full beauty and power of your light to shine.

Sharing your light with others

We shine as brightly as we are open to sharing our light- of peace, of joy, of compassion, of love. Mary Ann Williamson has a marvelous poem about being a light and standing fully in the truth and power of that, not just for yourself but for everyone. ‘As you let your light shine, you unconsciously give others permission to do the same’. As you show patience, tolerance, gratitude, understanding, you model that way for others at work. You serve as a beacon and guide for how to be with one another.

Pay attention this week to what you are showing others about yourself, your inner light. Set your intention to share the light of peace, calm, quiet during an otherwise hectic and possibly stressful week.

Enjoy the quite, the peacefulness of the dark winter nights. There is beauty in the darkness with the flicker of just one candle.

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

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Linda has a new Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “like” this page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work.

Also now available- 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” will be available in Jan.

An old business maxim is “What gets measured gets rewarded. What gets rewarded gets repeated.” It’s worth taking some time to stop and reflect on what you are measuring in your work and life. Think of this exercise as an end-of-year inventory of your inner world, your spiritual supplies.

Items you could include in your year-end Inventory:

1. What percent of your values show up in your work every day?

2. What is your weekly average of looking for grace in challenging situations?

3. How many envelops of Care did you share?

4. How many times have you acted with integrity or demonstrated that you are trustworthy?

5. How many cartons of humility do you have? How many crates of empathy?

6. What is your weekly average of losing your patience or your temper at work?

7. How many bundles of ‘Loving the Precious Present’ did you use this year?

8. What is your ratio of self-limiting beliefs vs. abundance thoughts?

9. How many ‘Pay It Forward’ packages did you share this year?

10. How many times have you laughed with a co-worker or brought joy into your work?

As you think of your goals for the coming year, consider making some goals about how you want to be at work and who you want to be. What areas do you want to grow next year regarding your inner richness, your spiritual character, your alignment of values with your work? Create clear and specific measures for them.

When you pay attention to those things of meaning in your life, you focus more energy on it. Set your intention to measure those things that have meaning to you and monitor it regularly. Do this for the first quarter of the year and see what unfolds in your work. Feel free to share with me any wonderful shifts or manifestations that appear in your work.

May you find joy and strength expressing and experiencing the Magnificence of Who You Are!

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

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Linda has a new Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “like” this page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work.

Also now available– 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” is available for purchase in time for the holidays.

I recently found a neat website called KarmaTube. It’s like YouTube, only with positive videos of inspiring people and messages.

“Karma Tube is dedicated to bringing inspirational stories to light, using the power of video and the internet to multiply acts of kindness, beauty, and generosity.” The website is based on the premise that we need to share more stories and images of people doing positive, constructive, affirmative things to make the world a better place. Mainstream media generally focuses on conflict, pain or what’s not working. Choose thoughtfully which channels to watch, listen, and learn about the world.

What are you downloading into your mind? In a typical day, do you think of how you are making a difference, what you are grateful for, how you are bringing your best self to your work? If you pay attention to peace, peace is what occupies your mind. When you focus on love, you expand it in your heart. As you share laughter with others, you fill your workplace with joy. The more you focus on the good things in life, the more positive energy you feed into your brain, your world and your life.

Get your Groove Going

Neuro- psychology is showing that the brain maps out neural pathways with repeated practice and thoughts. Focusing on the certain images and thoughts over time creates new grooves in your neural pathways. What you listen to and who you listen to literally affect your brain. Choose wisely. You can focus on the rude customer, the obnoxious co-worker, the ‘ain’t it awfuls’ at work. Wallow in it for an hour and see how you feel. People tend to tune out nay-sayers after a while. The cranky co-worker ends up talking to themselves or others who want to stay at the pity party. If you hear people playing the victim game, believing their job or life is awful and unfair, tell them you’re not buying their downloads.

You choose if you want to download the victim, ‘poor pity me’ soundtrack or the dance track of hope, laughter, and joy. Which way do you want to feel? Spend the next week finding downloads that lift your spirits, fill you with hope, and make you smile.

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

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Linda has a new Facebook Fan Page –

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-J-Ferguson/165223163562999

“Like” her on her FB Fan Page to get notices of these blog posts and see pictures of her working spiritually!

Also now available– 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service” Click here to review and purchase in time for the holidays!