Archive for the ‘Change’ Category

Minus Fear 30 day challenge, what is integrous marketing?

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Continuing the unfolding story following my dream funeral and fear funeral (read about how this started here) to live without fear and scarcity.

Day 3 Minus fear, April 20th

Well a little fear crept in. I must confess. And the awareness of just how much I think about money or the lack of it. Crazy thoughts like “I wonder how that retired rugby player makes his money?” Gruuuu…how silly is this? Just goes to show how my scarcity thinking has become like the air I breath. Definitely needs to go.

And to counter that, I get a beautiful email from one of my newsletter readers, Joan from Oregon,  Reminding me that my writing inspires her and makes her giggle. Bless you Joan, I needed that.

Day 4 Minus Fear, April 21th
Doing really well. Fear levels low. Have not had to do much switching of thinking to non scarcity thoughts.

The practice of being grateful in the moment is requiring some work to embed. I usually scan my day before I sleep and go through what I am grateful for, but to do it on the spot, in the moment, to pause and really take it in, this is taking some work.

Feeling relaxed and calm.

A girlfriend invited me to dinner where we drank lovely french bubbles, and shared a beautiful meal. I am indeed blessed. How easy it is to forget.

Day 5 Minus Fear, April 22nd
Another good day. Not really aware of fear, many of the gripping thoughts have left.

Spent the day working like a crazy women on my strategy for change. Loving being creative. It also really reinforced my belief that I can do this, I can conquer the fear as well as come out the other side with my life a true expression of the fullest of me.

I was invited to participate in an interview on a blog. Lovely. Check it out here. Dr Amit Nagpal is doing great work. Very inspiring.

Day 6 Minus Fear, April 23nd

The mantra I am working to embed in my psyche is;
“I am so happy that so much money and resources come to me for simply doing what I love.”

I am also practicing being in the feeling of…”I have to pinch myself everyday in gratitude for the amazing life I have.”

Feeling very confident, certain, plus doing a lot of work to stimulate action. This is keeping my thoughts and feelings focused on the great vision I feel and hold.

That vision is about bringing integrity back to humanity. One human at a time. Or a hundred, or a thousand.

Day 7 Minus Fear, April 24th

Still staying relaxed and calm. Amazing. Actually feel very quietly confident.

On the weekend I shared with one of my clients the dream funeral ceremony I held for myself to start this process. (Inspired by Danielle Laporte in her great book, The Firestarter  Sessions) She liked it so much she has asked a group of her girlfriends to come together for a weekend and go through the whole process, with me facilitating. Very cool. It is a powerful process. (Well here I am today, nearly a week into my post dream funeral, and I have had very little fear)

I also received a very encouraging email from a subscriber in Buenos Aires about how this series is inspiring them. Thank you…deep bow. They are working on a more integral, healthy life, so I do wish you the best of luck.

As part of the original intention of my blog, and all of my work, I have held my master teacher, Bucky Fuller as the model. Bucky took a really BOLD stand. His experiment did not allow any form of what we know as ‘marketing’.

Marketing is an interesting concept. On the one hand I know that my gifts need to get out in the world, and to not have this happen doesn’t support people in making the kinds of transformations I know they can make when they work with me. On the other hand, in our society, we have become masters at marketing through spin, seduction, spell casting…preying on the needy.  One of my choices in my work was not to ever resort to the kind of seductive or spin marketing that is so common these days. You know what I mean, the long long long web page, all the bonus’s and special offers, all the scarcity based material…only available for the next 24 hours…this kind of manipulation.

Sure, it works….it really works. People buy. Of course they do. They buy because the marketer is appealing to their neediness (nothing wrong with being needy, although I would prefer not to be needy myself). However, the whole model is strongly rooted in our larger economic model of scarcity. If you don’t do this now, you will miss out. And while this is often true, if I don’t say yes to life I may miss out on life….the propagation of scarcity is a really serious disease in our world. I refuse to play this way. I hate it when it is played on me. Even more so when it is done so very well that its not until a few days or weeks later that I wake up and realise I have been had.

This then raises the question, and the tension, of how to get your gifts out to the world without resorting to the spin doctoring and spell casting. Anyone out there a master at this kind of marketing…integrous marketing? Wanna play with me?

Obviously my material needs to be super fabulous. This is a great place to start. And this is what I focus on. It also has to be wanted and needed…if its not wanted then no matter how good no one will buy, or read, or spread the word. Tricky thing is that many times we don’t know what we want until we have it…think ipad. So we do have to keep being innovative, but also take feedback really well and fast. And keep moving.

Bucky also refused to play competition…if someone else was out there doing what we was doing, he withdrew and went in a different direction.

Given that I am my product, I am pretty certain there is no one else doing what I do. Not exactly. How to distinguish that has always been tricky for me. Getting clearer, but it has been one of my major stumbling blocks. Again, if this is your expertise, I am all ears…let me know.

So here I am, knowing I have something really great to offer the world, and refusing to go down the spin and spell casting route. I want people to make a fully informed, conscious decision, without any pressure of any kind. I want them to be grown up in their investment, to consider it… (I love love love the word consider…it actually means ‘examine the stars’...)

The ‘marketing’ strategy I am working on is built around speaking (let me know if you want me to speak, either live or by teleseminar, free or paid), interviewing artisans of integrity and positive deviants…putting other great people in the spotlight as well as providing a service to others…(let me know if you want to be interviewed because you believe you fit either or both categories), my blog writing….so do please spread the word, and also through social media, where my goal is connection, not just fans. I really like to meet people. I love it when you write. I love hearing your stories. I love getting to know you. I am so so so very grateful that you do read…

I am excited…I am being creative, seizing the day, totally clear about what is not just possible, but a done deal..in lag. Fear…what is fear…?? It seems to have left the building.

Would love to hear your thoughts..

photo by: echiner1

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Day 2 Minus fear, April 19th 2012

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

Bright Eyes
Photo Credit: Jose Roberto V Moraes via Compfight

1 am, I am awake. This morning it is not the same as yesterday, where my 2.15 am awake time remained until I got up just before 5 am, and the prevailing feeling was one of fear.

The perpetual question was how. How am I going to pull out of this one. How am I going to manifest…how how how? And the thinking cycle seemed hopeless, no chance of the miraculous. I was feeling hopeless. Not a very resourceful state.

At 1 am this morning I was aware that I woke. But the fear wasn’t present. Obviously some low grade stress woke me. I refused to have the fear based thoughts, (Vow #2) and I focused on the feelings of what I know to be true. That all of this will change. I do actually know this to be true. When I get into my quiet place, I know that I will not only prevail, but thrive.

Sleep returned.

Today has been a great day.

The miracles I have experienced. (Vow #3)

**I had the most amazing meeting with an angel dressed as a human this morning. This person is going to create a round table of the who’s who of Queensland business so I can meet them..to generate work. Plus he is going to introduce me to a potential retired who’s who highly connected and deep in the ‘old boys club’ to get myself and my parters in The Constellation into the board rooms of the right people.

AND…we talked about blocks to stop more referrals from people who know me and my work well. Some great ideas and strategies.

I was grateful that I could also add value to him by sharing a model that seemed very relevant to his business. He was delighted. And got to see more of what I bring to the table in my work.
This man is simply a good man. While we hardly know each other, he knows me and my skill. He has a generous soul. And an excellent business. I know that because in the few interactions I have had with his staff, they have exuded the kind of grace and care that is rare rare rare in organisations these days.  I feel truly blessed to have him arrive in my life.

**things have been on time…the day has flowed without effort.
**I had a wonderful meeting with a client that inspired both of us.
**the train home had free wifi
**a way has materialised to make it from here to there, of course. It always does.
**the speaking engagement for November looks like it is now 3 days, not 2.
**three blind people just got on the train with guide dogs. The dogs are beautiful. There was a blind guy with his dog on the train on the way up this morning. It must be my day to appreciate my sight. (One of the dogs had eyes just like the lab in the photo, so soulful.)

The thoughts and feelings that have lived with me today have been certainty, and knowing. Its a done deal. Everything I am dreaming of will happen. I can feel it. I have a strategic plan, I know what I need to do…I am in action.

Now I must stay in flow, stop pushing, driving…relax, do what is spontaneously arousable from within me…in a disciplined kind of way..being sure to do what I know needs doing, and keep the distractions to my personal time. In other words, say no to the lizard brain and yes to what I know is true.

What miracles have occurred in your day?

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Day 1 of the First day of the Rest of my Life

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

 

Today April 18th, at about 1.19 pm, I said enough. No more. I am done.

I am done with living in fear, and scarcity. I am done with feeling like there is something wrong with me. Like I don’t have the money gene. Like life is hard. Like I have to work so hard to make ends meet.

I am done with these things. I held a little funeral for these thoughts…inspired by Danielle LaPorte’s released today book, The Firestarter sessions, (buy it) I wrote down everything I have had as my script on scarcity for 51 years, and I burnt it. There is no going back on this one.

When I was 27 years old I did the same thing with thoughts I had around my body image that had dominated my life for 17 years. I simply stopped allowing these thoughts to occupy real estate in my being.

After my funeral pyre, I made a vow. Well, three vows.

Here they are.

1. Mutiplication by division. This is one of Buckminster Fullers generalised principles (natural law, true in all cases). My voice of intuition has been speaking to me for the last few years to follow this, but no…I have been too fear based to listen. So, from today, every dollar that comes into my bank account will be divided. Money aside for tax, and savings, and for gifting, and for me.

2. Refuse the old thoughts. “Be gone!” as Wayne Dyer says. And as he posted today on his Facebook page.

“It matters not how long you’ve been stuck in a pattern that’s kept you from fulfilling your highest ideal of yourself. By shifting so that you restate who you are in your imagination and choosing to live from this perspective, you will achieve that transformation.

Every time these thoughts and feelings enter my space, loudly or by sneaking through the cracks, I simply dismiss them, and replace them with….

My life is joyous and easy (feeling this)
Holy shit…wow…my life has exceeded every expectation I have had. (feeling this…how it feels to have this thought)
I really know how to handle money. Got that one sorted. (and feel it)
I just seem to attract the most amazing fabulous work around the world..so easily. (yep…feel this one too…)

And my personal affirmation that took a DAY to uncover back in the 80’s when I did the Insight advanced program. This little affirmation was the switch I used to get me from my body/eating obsession.

“I am a powerful, joyous and loving woman, accepting myself and others.”

I have probably said this mantra over 1 million times in my life. It has worked for me before. Time to dust it off and shine it up for round two of some serious heavy lifting.

3. To acknowledge the amazing miracles that land at my feet when they happens through the day and night. Today for example, two phone calls, out of the blue, one from a good friend who offered me a gift, and another to set up 2 major speaking gigs in November, just when I had declared to myself that I am going to become a great speaker.

Just to be clear, I need to pull a rabbit out of the hat. In the next 24 hours. To cover bills. I have no idea where from. Zero, zip nada idea…and I am working my little butt off to create..but there is no fear. Only certainty. And enthusiasm. And yesness.

I have a plan. A strategy. And I am going to do it.

This blog was given the name, Guinea Pig C (for Christine), living in integrity against the tide. I am going to write a daily post about this for next 30 days…see if I can pull this off…get the gods to align, the miracles to land, and for this pattern that I have struggled with for so so so long, to be complete. Gone. RIP.

Want to play? If you are ready for the jump off the precipice and say enough, no more, and make a vow to what you want…join me…share in the comments, or on FB, step up, there is more power in numbers….and I would love you to ditch the nasty bag you have been carrying for years..

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Unleashing true brilliance in an organisation

Monday, April 16th, 2012



Look at any organisation, team, family unit or business, and you will certainly find the following.

Interpersonal conflict
Lack of clarity of purpose, direction, project parameters etc
Blame of others or the system
Miscommunication
Conflicting worldviews, perspectives and cultures

The amount of energy that is lost to these communication and people issues is immense. Loss in time, energy, effort, inefficiency, focus.  At a rough guess, say a 40% loss of available energy for every person involved. Often higher.

As a simple exercise, think of what is consuming your mental and emotional energy right now? Is it creativity, innovation, problem solving, design, relationship building….all desired…or is it worrying about Sue or Paul, or the boss, or why people will or won’t, can or can’t, or why didn’t she do this, deliver that, understand this, be on time with, why the leadership says this and does that….? And countless other issues that we now see as the norm.

What is the cost of a 40% loss due to poor interpersonal, communication and leadership skills? In pure dollar terms, every opportunity you have to make $100 is reduced to $60. That hurts. But that doesn’t even take into account the stress, sleepless nights and endless conversations to try to reach resolution…

There is a cost that is less obvious but very critical. The cost of brilliance.

If we have a higher competency in our conscious communication and leadership tools, reducing significantly the interpersonal conflicts and lack of clear communication, this allows another element to enter the fray. Something even more powerful. When clean communication is present, more intelligence is able to be expressed. Not just because the garbage noise has been reduced.

But because when two or more people sit with each other in a clean space, the field of access is opened in a transpersonal way. (Beyond people)

This is the basis of collective intelligence and synergy. The space between atoms, particles, objects, ideas, people…is available when the friction is reduced. Here lies genius, innovation…breathtaking brilliance…the kind of outcomes most organisations and innovative entrepreneurs aspire to.

Take your $100 and get $1000 or more.

Like…? What’s not to like.

Invest in conscious communication and leadership tools if you aspire to this type of  true brilliance. Do the math, it will end up being a wise investment.

Caveat; the success of any intervention depends on the interior condition and intelligence of the intervener.

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SantaRosa OLD SKOOL via Compfight

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Emerge through emergency

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

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The metaphor of Easter, on finding forgiveness and relinquishing justice

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

One-Winged Angel
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: v1ctory_1s_m1ne via Compfight

As we grow up and become fully adult, which takes a lifetime or more, one of the last areas we need to release is our relationship to justice.

In our human life, much is going to be experienced as unfair. Bad things happen to really good people, to innocents..This is the way of it. It feels wrong. It hurts. Its confusing. It can’t be explained using our rational mind.

In the Christian text, as in many other spiritual texts, “Justice is mine” sayeth the Lord. We are advised that justice lives in the realm of the divine. The Lord of Karma, or God the Father or whatever Universal field you ascribe to, is responsible for ensuring justice prevails. Divine justice is rarely dispensed on our time cycle, and in the way we would like it. Wise, methinks, for if humans were really allowed to decide exactly what is justified, all of the time, and according to our schedule, we would have a very nasty place to live. Even now, with our ‘justice system” evil so often prevails at the level of human existence. Justice is often awarded to the side with the biggest bank account to hire the brightest lawyers, or to the person with the most overt or covert influence.

But to be at peace with divine justice is not an easy progression in our development. There is a lot of letting go, acceptance, forgiveness. It requires quite an evolved human being.

The Dalai Lama was questioned… “Why didn’t you fight back against the Chinese?” The Dalai Lama looked down, swung his feet just a bit, then looked back up at us and said with a gentle smile, “Well, war is obsolete, you know ” Then, after a few moments, his face grave, he said, “Of course the mind can rationalize fighting back…but the heart, the heart would never understand. Then you would be divided in yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be inside you.”

The Christian story of Easter provides a powerful metaphor for our human experience around justice. It also carries a strong archetypal pattern of our pathway to finding peace with divine justice. This pathway, similar to the hero’s journey, has several critical components. They all need to be walked, to be lived, if we are to really find our peace with divine justice. There are no shortcuts.

It starts when Jesus goes into the garden of Gethsemane after the last supper.

1. Jesus beseeches God to release him from this task.

You are not going to want to do what it is you have to do. When you appeal to the heavens for help, you will hear nothing. Silence. Plus there is no escape route. You feel trapped.

2. Jesus was betrayed by one of the 12 apostles, Judas Iscariot, for 30 pieces of silver.

Your friends will betray you. Or some force will betray you. This will really sting, and feel very unjust.

3. Jesus accepts his fate after repeated appeals.

You did make an agreement, and like it or not, you do accept it. Some peace is attained.

4. Pontius Pilate tells Jesus that he has the power to let him go. He appeals to Jesus to say something so he can be released. Jesus says nothing…he has made an agreement. Jesus resists the temptation to deny his path. The easy out (sell out) is ignored.

You will be tempted. It will require staying true to your self. Probably against all odds. This is an extreme test. If you fail, you go back into the cycle, and often remain in the cycle for a lifetime.

5. When Jesus is hanging on the cross he feels abandoned. “Why have you forsaken me?”

Abandonment is essential for this archetypal pattern to be released. Feeling completely isolated, alone, forgotten, rejected, unloved…when this sets in deeply, you are moments from release…keep your nerve. The light is coming.

6. Finally, Jesus remembers that justice is not his to give. It is for the Divine to give. He finds forgiveness and is released.

You will find ultimate surrender and peace. Not always by dying physically, but by dying to your attachment to righteousness.

The metaphor of the Christian Easter may be applied no matter who your God, or what your religion. The journey of justice transcends dogma.

Knowing the journey, and the steps on the journey may provide solace to you. In my own recent life I have felt the pain of the 5th step so many times. Moving from step 5 into step 6 has been one of my hardest lessons.

I would love to hear your experience on this path, or the places that test you the most.

This article is inspired by the work of Caroline Myss

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The most powerful moment

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

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Liminal

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

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Know Thy Self. Be true to self. Live Integrity

Monday, March 19th, 2012

 

Know thy Self..inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and attributed to various well known Greek sages…..

But why so important to know thy Self?

How true are we to our selves? Seriously?

And what is the true nature of the “I”?

I used to think, before I became a mum, that babies came into the world as a blank canvas, and then we ‘imprinted’ on them their character. How wrong was I. Each child comes into the world so firmly stamped with their own BEINGNESS. Just as each cat or dog or bird has its own character. Our job as parents and teachers is not to alter the uniqueness, but to allow its fullest brilliance to shine. To hold a space for the fullest flourishing of the already present pattern integrity.

But there is the rub. Over the course of our life from infant to young adulthood, our integrity gets tampered with in so many ways.

Most of us have forgotten who we really are. The seed that was born in us is half formed, or buried, or squashed.

And then we get confused…am I this, or that?

 

 

Who am I? Why am I here? And what is my purpose?

Sometimes we don’t pause to ask these questions until we are well into the journey of our life…often this pause is instigated by a crisis…someone dies, we lose our job, get a divorce…and then we find a moment to ask how we got here…. why don’t my children know who I am…what is my purpose? And what the %$#&%$!! point?

We then spend then next period of our lives removing the rubbish, the learned behaviours, the acts, the masks, going on an inner archeological dig. “Who am I” is the driving force.  We are searching for our unique pattern integrity.

The deepest nature of our soul is what we are after. This is the level of truth to which I speak. It will also be the aspect of self that will be challenged the most by our needs and desires of our more surface, egoic selves.

And this is where Integrity is found. It is our wholeness…us as Universe. Complete.

 

Authenticity is not some new age word easily used in self help classrooms.….it is big hard work…it takes the most rigorous self awareness plus mountains of courage…the courage to say yes to our soul, and no to our temptation.

And we will be tempted…again and again…and we will weaken..again and again. This is the human journey.

This is why we so adore and admire people who say yes to their soul and no to their lesser  egoic desires and needs…the Nelson Mandella’s, Gandhi’s, Buckminster Fuller’s. Positive Deviants all. Because they remind us of what we are longing for….and what we care capable of. To live in our fullest expression of integrity.

The fullest, most honest expression of who you are. Against the odds…

 

Some questions to consider as you remember your always present but deeply buried integrity…please share in the comments..

Is knowing your Self important to you?

I know my life is about integrity…I love and curse my teacher Bucky in equal measure. His stand for integrity was total. I long at times to just stop…and break my own vows. And sometimes I do.

What are your inner truths? What do you believe in..or stand for…that you will and do pay a high price for?

And finally, how committed are you to knowing your true self…to doing the inner work, the self inquiry, the listening, the silence…the writing…to really know thy self?

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The answer is always available. Always.

Monday, March 12th, 2012

Have a really confusing question that you want an answer to?

Or a problem that needs solving?

A decision that needs making?

What to do??…easy as…go to the source of all creation…the field…the infinite everything…

Here is how.

Grab a pen and paper, preferably your favourite journal. Take a seat, make sure your feet are on the ground. Ideally have few distractions. Take a few deep breaths, being mindful of the air going all the way down to your belly, and all the way out into the Universe.

Good…get centred…bring your focus to your gut, just below your belly button. Allow your mind to settle. Bring your breathing to this point as well.

If you like, say a little prayer…something like…

“Guide me to be present to infinite wisdom, to hear the voice of Universe, my soul’s deepest knowing. May I have the courage to trust the truth of wisdom and to take action from this place.”

Breath out.

Now write your questions…or your problem..or your choice…just write it as it is present for you…. as a question.

Then, write the answer. Don’t think about the answer, don’t judge the answer. Just write it. Write the words that arrive as they arrive. Unedited…they may not even be in English. They may be gibberish…keep writing…not thinking….write for as long as there are words to be written.

Maybe then you need to ask another question…so write that down…and then write the answer.

Repeat…until there is silence. Peace will be present. Spaciousness.

Take another few deep breaths, then read what you have asked and answered. Only now  are you permitted to judge, if you must. (Not advisable!). Now you can say this is impossible/stupid/ridiculous…if you really must. Again, not advisable. Your arguments for why it cannot be done are the same arguments that have prevented you from expressing your deepest truth until this moment. Do you really want to continue to do the same..?..for how many more years…? How much longer are you going to resist doing what you know is true…to keep playing small?

A few pointers….if you are really centred, and in a place of infinite trust, then you will access the voice of all knowing. If you move out of centre, if your emotions go up, if your heart starts to race, or you begin to get agitated, then you have shifted to the less wise aspect of self. The part of self that wants its own way, or to sabotage, or make you live more of the same.

The voice of wisdom is calm, infinite, quiet, peaceful, still.
If in doubt, go to a mirror, and look yourself in the eyes, ask the same questions and allow the answer to come…trust that you will know when you are lying to yourself. You will flinch, or your body will be ever so slightly uncomfortable. Or deeply uncomfortable.

The answer is always available. Always. It is only that part of you that is terrified of the truth of the answer that prevents you from really seeing/hearing the answer.

The question is not what is the answer, but are you ready and willing to hear it. Most of us are not…and if we are, we are not willing to act on it.

At least if you have it written down, you can only learn from not doing what your heart and soul knows it is tasked to do. And you can keep not doing, until you start doing.

This invites the magic into your life….

Change can come at the speed of light. You hold the reigns. How fast do you want to move/change? This is a powerful question. Most of us are only up for comfortable change, slow, non disruptive.

News flash..in our current period of massive systemic change, deny or ignore or argue with change and you will be left behind.

Go for speed of light…

Give this a go…and then…share the magic….inspire others…

Happy light speed travel…

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