Category: Improving Yourself

– It may be the Easiest Way to Relieve Stress and Frustration on the “bloody job”or even at home, but probably not the best way. Ya think?

This is not a training exercise–not yet anyway, but maybe it should be. Killing ourselves would not be a bad idea as dark and foreboding as it seems in the right place and time. Theoretically. What if you could do any thing you wanted painlessly, without consequences? Would that help relinquish our frustration with life? However, the idea of ridding ourselves of stress, if not for others, is a good one. Great art in its many forms can be cathartic. So why not acting? Haven’t you ever wanted to be someone else?

This is real life or is it, according to, Tracy Kathleen in her blog, “Finding the ‘Method’ to my Madness: An Actress Prepares.” The title of her particular post is “I’m Going to Kill Myself.”

Life is too hard. I am at the end of my rope. I am alone. I will have a bottle of vodka and a loaded gun and I am determined to put an end to my misery. I have done bad things in my life. I have been hurt and I have hurt people. I have cheated and been cheated. I no longer feel like I have the capacity to love and be loved…

…But most importantly, I have played many a character, which is exactly what I am doing now. So please, put down the phone, don’t call for help…I, Tracy, am not going to kill myself. But tomorrow, “Maggie” is going to end it all.

“Playing a character, otherwise known as “acting,” allows me to do all the things I just said. I can kill myself. I can kill someone else. I can cheat. I can be a sinner or a saint. I can be happy, sad, funny, and mad. I can be anyone else other than myself. And although I love myself, I do not exactly have the life I dreamed of. But on stage, I am no longer me. I am not in chronic pain. I do not feel like my life is passing me by and taking with it a thousand missed opportunities. I am not responsible for my actions, only my emotions. When I am on stage, I am someone else. And, when it comes to acting, I am pretty darn good, probably due to the fact that I have been pretending to be someone else for most of my life.

“If you look at an acting class from a psychological perspective, it can be very beneficial for people who are in pain, be it physical or emotional. Acting is a safe haven, a place to express every emotion, reaction and feeling that is not acceptable in society. For example, I can’t scream, yell and cry in public without being looked at as crazy and possibly being locked up. I can’t express my anger, hurt or frustration by throwing things around or having a fist fight. I can’t have a laughing fit in the middle of a store. So many of the emotions I (and others in similar circumstances) have are socially unacceptable. The rules of our society dictate that it is not okay to express your every emotion…but on stage, I can let out every single emotion I have built up inside me…and it’s safe. There is no judgment. As a matter of fact it is the one place where the more emotion I bring to my character, the better I am!

“Many local community theaters offer inexpensive classes. When I was a practicing social worker, I actually utilized some of the exercises we do in class as a way to help people get in touch with their real emotions and express them in a safe way. I also used improvisational comedy exercises to help people both release emotion and LAUGH. Laughter truly is the best medicine (not to mention the adrenaline of performing acts as a potent, temporary pain blocker). Try an acting class and I guarantee, you will not only find a healthy release for those pent-up emotions, but you will probably bust a gut doing so. It doesn’t matter if you do it as a psychological exercise, a hobby, or you are Broadway-bound, acting is a healthy, safe release.

“My acting class is the one place where I can be someone else and at the same time, really be me.”

***

I couldn’t have said it better. I have said similar things about the relationships in areas outside the familiar–outside the cave–or outside the box. I talk about using whatever works no matter where it comes from to make a point. I talk about acting, communicating, problem-solving using various approaches including psychology, karate lessons, and even military basic training.

It all boils down to something as simple as getting someone outside of the office, literally or not, to take an acting class or to bring the acting class to them, in this case. That is what we do, isn’t it? Ever given a class dealing with change in the workplace or use role playing as part of a training exercise? Same thing. In those cases, we are taking the client/trainee out of his or her world and helping them see a better place without the stress. You may recall the different methods of problem solving I talked about in an earlier blog. My old psychology professor said that you used what worked to solve a problem; it didn’t matter if you slept on it, meditated about it, prayed about it, cogitated about it, the result was the same. You were still doing the same thing–just calling it something else. You were letting ideas bounce around in your head while you were in a relaxed state of mind.

What Tracy has written is what we all have in common: a need to release of frustration and stress as well as other emotions that affect us daily. We send our company leaders on retreats to help them refresh, but everyone needs this. It proves even more the value of role-playing in training as an icebreaker or as a way to break the tension between co-workers brought upon by stress in the workplace. As Tracy says, when you are someone else, you can do anything. Well, you can’t hurt anyone or yourself, but you know what I mean.

I was about to say something about developing training about this, but I changed my mind. Why do we have to control that moment? We don’t. Do we have to analyze and assess the result? Only in so far as the employees enjoy it and feel a release of stress. There is only issue that comes to mind: I wouldn’t try this with my most conservative companies until I have several of the more adventurous companies to to try it and back my claims that taking an acting class did indeed release stress, etc. The companies we talk to are often a bottom line bunch as you know who may think that “acting” is “frivolous” or “just pretending,” but we can work with that.

That’s all for now. I’m not even going to spend time promoting my books or website. My thanks to Tracy for providing us some great ideas to ponder. Check out Tracy’s blog and her interesting posts. Heck, check out other interesting posts that have nothing to do with training. You may surprise yourself and find connections where you least expect them.

Happy training ’til next time.

In this economy it is easy for any one of us to experience the title of this blog. Of course, we say at the beginning of it all, “I need a job, I can do anything for a while” and “who knows I might even get promoted right back up the ladder.” We want to put on the happy face and feel successful. With no job, even someone working for minimum wage has more prestige than we do, and higher self-esteem, too, but we try not to think of that too much at the time.

How did it happen? “I had a great job, at a great company, with a great salary, but…” First hired, first to go. Simple cutbacks. “We bring you back as soon as we can, but we don’t know when exactly.” So, the dialogue goes on. Being laid off is being laid off. We’re not even talking fired here, although I’m sure some people are so worried about their jobs they up and quit before they are laid off. I’m not sure that’s a good move either.

So, what can human resources and training do about it? It’s easy to say it’s up to the company that let you go. Is it too much to ask? Maybe. Perhaps, it is the hiring company that feels blessed with the quality of candidates and well-qualified employees who can increase productivity. Those who made $100,000 a year at Company A are now making the mid $30s at Company B, and for awhile everything is great.

Picture the employee for the first month or two. He or she is very grateful to have a job (any job), and very anxious to prove his or her worth. Certainly what was worth $100k will perform better at a job that generally employs someone expecting to make $35k. No insult intended, but the higher paid individual was probably more focused, more driven and had a stronger work ethic that made her or him worth the extra (assuming the jobs are nearly the same) to Company A. And, even if the jobs are unequal, the person’s skill set is probably still superior to someone who sat in that position previously, allowing the new employee’s boss to recognize talent and opportunity for new responsibilities.

By the third month, the new employee is no longer new, but is perceived by other employees to be the boss’ pet assistant, being groomed for better things (read that higher position, higher salary). Guess who else thinks that? The employee. Guess who still thinks he or she is so lucky? The boss. Then, the conflicts with the other employees begin as they start to worry about their jobs.

The “new” person, who is really no longer new, is making them look like they can’t do their jobs properly, and so they make life difficult for the Überemployee. Lower pay, lower level plus stress, but Überemployee is holding on. Stop! We all know where this is going. Right? The more stress we add. Financial difficulties because of the lower salary. Indignity felt due to the lower level position. Self-identity in ruins. Happy and grateful become angry and resentful.

I wrote an article not too long ago, Perspective of Demoting Yourself Depends on Being True to Yourself, which was the opposite of this one in that demoting yourself from a supervisory job would make sense if not being a supervisor made you happier, despite making less money. In this case, it’s easy to see that when the reduction is not of your own doing, the consequences are much worse than the “risk-taking” I point out in the article above.

In the words of the famous Bob, the Builder, “Can we fix? Yes, we can.” However, for this Überemployee, the damage is done. There is a future to think about. Human resources needs to think about this one as well as anyone who might find themselves in this predicament. No one is safe or immune. Our defense mechanisms that help us remain sane prevent us from seeing the reality before us. Bosses need to be aware of the consequences of giving the talented newcomer extra work and responsibilities when they are not able to reward them; however, knowing the situation should also be the job of the incoming employee and HR to make sure the information is understood. It’s hard to see the stress of not having a job when you have one, and everything else that goes with it.

This commentary is my opinion alone and The Free Management Library is not in anyway responsible for its content. I have written several articles of a similar nature. I tend to look at training, the workforce, business management, leadership and communication from a slightly different perspective than you might expect. I published an e-book called The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development in which I explain my reasons for looking at training and development in a different way. I look at it from the outside looking in, from the worker side, from the management side, from the trainer’s, and sometimes from the psychological side. I encourage others to talk about what they think about certain aspects of training on this website as long as they keep it generic. We’ll link to their site, and I hope you will comment here.

Take a peek at my site and you’ll find out more. By the way, I have an e-novel, Harry’s Reality, published by Amazon. It’s a scary look at what the future could be like if we stopped talking to one another and let the devices take over.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

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

********

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.

*******

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.

*************

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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As an affiliate partner with Hay House, I want to share the chance for you to join the series and attract wonderfulness into your life!

Here are two ways you can access the entire incredible collection of interviews, meditations, affirmations and videos.

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From Esther Hicks/Abraham –
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Do not write your story like a factual documentary, weighing all the pros and cons of your experience, but instead tell the uplifting, fanciful, magical story of the wonder of your own life and watch what happens.”

Yours in abundance, beauty, and joy.
Linda

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What are you attracting into your life these days??

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

**********************

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

**********************

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

 

 

Was listening to the radio and heard an uplifting speaker share four things you can do to lift up others. I encourage you to do this with everyone in your life. To get started, I would take advantage of Mothers Day coming up to see how you can uplift the mothers in your life.

1. We need to bestow a blessing over others.

Verbally or silently send blessings to those in your life that need encouragement.

2. We need to express our appreciation for others.

An easy phrase that you can use when doing this is: I feel ______ when you_______ because __________. For example, I feel so grateful when you take the time to read our blog because it allows Linda and me to share our passion with you.

3. We need to express our confidence in others.

There are times in our lives when other people believe in ourselves more than we do. This might be that time for you. I believe in you and I believe that you are meant to help boost other people’s confidence in their own lives. Take a chance to speak life into someone’s life and just watch them come alive.

4. We need to let others know the impact we have on each other’s lives.

I can’t stress this enough that we need to let others know how they matter to us. People long to know that their lives matter, that they make a difference. I’ve been passionate about this for years and have been touting this through the products that I’ve created. One that I want to share with you is perfect as I originally created it for my mother so that she would always know how much she matters not only in my life but in so many lives she’s touched.

Check it out as this could be a great way for you to tribute your mother or someone else whose life matters significantly to you.
http://goo.gl/SwI29

 

As your inspired life mentor, Janae Bower is passionate about helping YOU live a more balanced, purposeful and inspired life! Her writings, speaking and coaching are the spark of inspiration you need to energize you on your journey of personal transformation.

Are you a Rhino or an Eagle?

Last week’s bombing in Boston sent shock waves across the land. As we sat watching and waiting for the events to unfold, many felt scared and helpless. Others stepped up to the plate offering support, food, shelter, and comfort.

Such an event can easily lead a country or community into panic and fear. The question to ask now is:

“How do we move forward?”

As with 9-11, we have a critical moment in time to consciously choose which path we want to follow. We can be a Rhino or an Eagle

I open the first chapter of my latest book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand”, with my story of encountering two rhinos in the Royal Chitwan National Forest in Nepal. Here’s an insight I shared from that experience.

The rhino is a good metaphor for those who are living their lives without a fully awakened mind. Many people sense danger and attack, even if they don’t fully understand what they are attacking. And because they can’t see clearly, they feel in a state of anxiety or danger most of the time. You may know such people. They could be co-workers, neighbors, community leaders, friends or family members.

The fight or flight instinct is very strong in us. Fight or flight, along with feeding and mating, are the four basic human instincts. When stressed we react out of instinct or deeply learned patterns. We react without thinking through what may be happening, or as the rhino, without seeing what’s really going on. Luckily we humans can stop from instinctive, knee jerk reactions. We can reflect on the situation and see it from various viewpoints. Staying open and aware you needn’t simply react. You can choose how you respond. You can attack or flee or you can negotiate, cajole, charm, or surrender. As we move from childhood to adulthood we learn to see situations beyond what is immediately happening and to consider various options for dealing with life events.

A spiritually awakened mind not only determines what is going on in the material physical plane, but also sees beyond what is happening in the immediate moment. You learn to look for and eventually understand the spiritual lesson or spiritual drama being played out. Everyone can cultivate this spiritual way of seeing to become more centered and grounded in the midst of turbulence or stress of daily life.

In many Native American traditions, the Eagle represents Spirit and Vision. If we are to move forward with an awakened mind, we need greater vision. Rather than react and move from fear, we soar like the Eagle by seeing and understanding from a spiritual perspective.

We can see what happened in Boston, and in other places around the globe where tragedy and suffering occur, through a different lens. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” The lens of compassionate understanding and mutual support is the spiritual pathway forward. It allows us to build each other up, not charge from fear or attack with blame and anger.

Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand

To work through stress and difficult situations as an Eagle requires new vision. With Spiritual Vision you move more easily through your worries, doubts, and fears with hope, clarity, and an awakened mind.

Living as an Eagle takes practice and a desire to do things differently. Here’s a link to a teleseminar I did last week sharing ideas on being a Rhino or an Eagle. I also spoke about the New Currency of Joyful Living, and 3 keys for greater Serenity and Inner Peace.

http://bit.ly/11kqqvq

May you create greater peace and Spiritual Vision in the weeks ahead.

Soar like the Eagle!

If you have a colleague or friend who needs extra support this week, feel free to forward this to them.

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Special Announcement: Home Study Course Enrollment Open through May 5th

If you want more support and practice with these ideas, I have open enrollment now in my distance learning course. Through weekly phone sessions and emails, you’ll explore how to apply spiritual ideas for staying grounded in the shifting sands of your life. I provide meditations, affirmations, reflection questions, and exercises to shift perspective to that of Eagle and Spirit.

Click here for more information- http://www.lindajferguson.com/staying-grounded-course/