5 Steps to Creating Healthy Workplace Relationships ~ Transforming the Workplace from the Inside Out
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.” ~ William Shakespeare. We perceive our purpose at work as fulfilling duties such as administration, brainstorming new products, engaging clients, or problem solving. Work is where we achieve results, earn a living and hopefully gain a level of satisfaction. Inasmuch as these goals are important, our attention is often more drawn to, and distracted by, challenging relationships that cause us frustration, anger and powerlessness. Productivity and achievement are what I would call the small “p” or purpose of work life. Beneath this, however, there is a larger purpose or “P”: Realizing […]
Flour Play ~ Creating Memories through Simple, Spontaneous Fun
“Please excuse the mess. Children are making memories.” ~ Anonymous What if play is less to do with obtaining new gadgets or traveling to new places, and more to do with creating fun with what’s right in front of us? And what if play is less dependent on time, and more dependent on our capacity to use the time we have spontaneously and joyfully? Then play is not so much about having or reaching what is “out there”, but rather our capacity to create from this very moment, see play possibilities everywhere, and be open, flexible and authentic in responding to the infinite opportunities always inviting us to “come out and play”! The picture you see above is of two children (daughters of two friends […]
Time for a New Operating System
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. I was watching Larry King Live the other day. The topic of discussion was the “Health Care crisis” in the US, and on the panel were some esteemed guests including CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent and the President of the American Medical Association. They were discussing the obvious problems and the not so obvious solutions to the dilemma. It was interesting to see that every time a potential solution was suggested, it was said with vagueness and shaky confidence. No one seemed to really be clear on what was needed. Half way through the show a new guest came on. Andrew Weil, M.D. is […]
Designing Your Impact ~ A Simple and Powerful Skill
“Don’t Make Assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.” ~ Miguel Angel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements. A week ago a friend and I had a Play Day together, a day trip which included swimming, hiking and bocce ball. Fun! As we began our adventure, my friend did not seem his usual self. He was stiff, withdrawn and difficult to communicate with. I noticed I began making assumptions: Is he mad at me? Am I talking too much? Am I annoying him? I was also aware that I was working hard at connecting to him, […]
From Work to Play
“As more humans awaken, the word work is going to disappear from our vocabulary, and perhaps a new word will be created to replace it.” ~ Eckhart Tolle, from The Power of Now When you identify yourself as a human doing, life becomes work. When you identify yourself as a human being, life becomes play. For us to feel truly fulfilled in our careers, and life as a whole, we need to express who we are at an authentic level into whatever it is we do. Society recognizes and rewards performance before well-being – ie, how well or how much one does versus how one feels in whatever it is they are doing. Performance appraisals and our school system are good examples of this. When […]
Dreaming with Your Inner Child
“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.” ~ J. R. R. Tolkien. When you begin clarifying goals, intentions and dreams, your inner child wants to actively participate in the creative process. Imagine that your inner child is taking you for a walk…yes, taking you, not you taking her. She is leading now, supporting your dreaming process. Picture her holding your hand as you walk side by side. She has much to say, much to guide you on, for her voice is the voice of possibility. Children dwell in an eternally abundant world. Their innocence is a gift of purity of mind, an openness of spirit, an attitude of Yes! Nothing is impossible in their reality until we tell them so, until we […]
New World Leadership & Global Trends
In ancient Greek the word for butterfly is “Psyche”, which translated means “soul”. Our world is experiencing three global trends that reflect the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into the butterfly and invite the emergence of a new world leader rooted in soul. 1. Change and Uncertainty 2. Globalization 3. Personal and Social Consciousness Consider the caterpillar for a moment. It spends 90% of its time consuming, gorging itself, getting fatter and fatter and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. It covers very little ground keeping its view quite myopic and self-interested (even though they are very cute!). Then one day it begins its metamorphosis by entering the Chrysalis stage. During this dark stage the structures of the caterpillar collapse in the same way […]
Discovering Life Through Uncertainty
Yesterday I used to sing a song That carried me through the night The other day I seemed to have it all But now, I cannot seem to fight And when I try to hold on to it I seem to hardly let go It’s time to face my fears It’s time to show my soul In time I’ll lose myself In time I’ll cry my dreams away In time I’ll be myself again And fall away “When we are not sure, we are alive.” ~ Graham Greene In moments when we’ve lost our sense of certainty we can feel powerless, lost and confused. We lose faith in ourselves to direct our life. While these moments challenge us to the core, they are the fertile […]
Co-Creative Conversations #2
“We don’t need to think, we know. We don’t need to do, we are. We keep moving in the wisdom that this is our only prayer. Faith happens when my mind is in my feet and I am not thinking at all.” — Gabrielle Roth, founder of 5Rhythms. We are continuously offering expressions of ourselves in the form of energy, sound and movement. An energetic “offer”, as I like to call them, is our current emotional state that we are emanating such as joy, frustration or confusion. An offer of sound can be verbalizing a perspective, laughing or even sneezing. And movement can be gestures, facial expressions or a simple wave of the hand. Each offer is a signal that informs and has emotional impact. […]
Your Eternal Play State
“The masters in the art of living make little distinction between their work and their play, their labor and their leisure, their minds and their bodies, their information, their recreation, their love and their religion. They hardly know which is which, they simply pursue their vision of excellence at whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing.” ~ James Michener. Summer is often associated with a time of play. This is when many of us take our holidays and the warmer weather invites us to partake in a variety of outdoor activities. Yet as the summer winds down, I often notice a reluctance to leave the fun and sun. I can hear the distant raindrops of September coming my way, […]