Posts Tagged ‘positive changes in personal effort’

Dreary to Dreamy – Part II

The blog “Dreary to Dreamy” elicited so many responses and one person asked me to expand on it. So, here is another expansion on one aspect… creating the fuel to get you going.

Given the circumstances you find yourself in, life may or may not be what you want.. exactly.  One woman I know lives in Colorado and has chosen a life in nursing. Her days are filled with helping people who may or may not be appreciative.   Her dream was to provide an important service and knowing how smart she is, perhaps she is interested in being a witness to the human. As a traveling nurse, she actually moves around the country and works in different states. Each hospital has its own structure and rules and order and characteristics. Hospitals are places of many things. Birth. Illness. Fear. Science. Miracles.  Becoming a nurse was her desire, but the environment and place she is in may or may not make her happy. Yet, she fuels up and heads  out to do this dream, despite the dreary aspects.

When we find ourselves doing what we had hoped to be doing, but something is missing in the dream, it can be useful to check our perspective.

Let’s do a Check In with these four questions:

• What is my mission or purpose ?
• What is my intention (in this moment, in this day, in this career)?
• Who do I want to include in my experience?
• Which beliefs support my mission, and what beliefs hold me back?

How many people do you know are actually conscious of their mission or purpose? Are they drifters letting life happen? Do they blame others (family, politicians, cultures) for their problems?  Our students work on their missions, so they have a focus. Once that is worked out with intentions, people and beliefs then they are fueled!  It takes a little time to separate the ideas of what other people want us to do. Then check what you believe is possible and taking action.

When you bump into the wayward soul who has no direction and “fire” inside to fuel them they can become driftwood. Driftwood in the rivers bumps into boats and gets in the way. Driftwood can also build up to the point of creating a dam, and blocking energy. If there is driftwood, get it out of your way.

Energy Flows Where Attention Goes as Directed by Intention

When you feel fueled with intention, you have that drive and can meet up with obstacles and work through them.

I remember a time when I was a teenager and really wanted to go to my friend’s house. Overnight the winter snow storm covered everything with a few feet of snow. Snow plows made it through, but the driveway needed shoveling. I wanted to go out, but I didn’t want to shovel snow, but for this time when I wanted to visit my friend, all this energy came available and I HAPPILY shoveled our driveway, the sidewalk, and sat in the car while it was warming so my mother would drive me.

Enthusiasm I felt in that moment fired me up, fueled me up, and was contageous! People in other houses came out when they heard me shoveling, and joined in the activity around their houses. What a funny thing!

The point here is that I intended to visit my friend and I believed I could do it with actions that would support everyone involved. I was fueled.

Enriching the lives of others is what Rich and I desire to do. We’d like to enrich your life. Let us know what you are interested in and how we can help.

What question will you ask the world today? How do you learn and grow and become? Let’s explore how Albert Einstein became a genius.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) drove a vehicle for curiosity, discovery and creativity… a mind.  A man of science, math, music and philosophy he loved learning and opened up to the world a vast base of discovery for us to play. How did he learn and from what did he draw his base of ideas?

Einstein observed, discovered, explored with his own senses the world around him. Seeing, listening, touching, wondering. He ventured with great excitement and passion, driven by a deep and intense interest of life and the universe: how does that work? what makes that happen? and what if?  His parents put their young son in the best places they could find for learning, and they often invited dinner guests, such as Mr. Talmud, a medical student, home for dinner. Talmud inspired the Einstein’s son (and was inspired by him), sharing books in geometry, philosophy, and introducing him to science. The science book was “People’s Book of Natural Science” by Aaron Bernstein. One day a compass was introduced and Einstein was greatly inspired! Imagine that! Something that moves without internal gears and wheels! What else is out there? Think back on your youth… you may remember someone who inspired you at a young age. How did they make it interesting to you back then?

Albert liked learning, but not the way many of his German instructors taught. He had a skepticism and resistance to receive wisdom, and this became a hallmark of his life. (He would not have made a good little soldier.) In the German schools of learning Einstein perceived teaching to be “Zwang” … German for “to be in constraint, compulsion, obligation and co-ercion.” He had his own way of taking information in and questioned everything.  Einstein found that great ideas come from sitting with it, opening up to it, listening to all the views of it, wondering with a beginner’s mind! Like the mind of children, he had an insatiable desire to “play” with an idea. Yet education tends to be delivered in a rushed style, not allowing for play. Have you been stopped in your learning by ‘zwang’?

Einstein stated, “Blind respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” This statement did not win kudo’s, prizes, and accalades with his instructors and peers.  Yet, even they knew he had the markings of a genius! As you know, Einstein developed a base of knowledge now taught in most universities.We quote him and revere his advanced ideas for the time!

By the way, history doesn’t always get the story right. “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” got it completely wrong when it said Einstein failed math. He was exceptionally good at math, and even his math professor tried to get this rumor corrected. Yet, once something gets lodged in as truth, it is hard to get it corrected even if it is inaccurate. It is true Einstein was obstinate, and perhaps it was seen as not being a cooperative student (prized by authority). This is why we must stop and reflect on what ideas head towards our head. Before we let them in, whether it is an opinion, someone’s stated fact, or a rumor we are wiser to stop and reflect on the information. Where did that “fact” come from? What was the intention of the study that produced it? How will it move other people and me to perform and what will I then become?

Albert Einstein knew how he learned best, but he believed in and worked best by taking the external world in through his senses, and then bringing it internally in for consideration.  He died in 1955, which means he wasn’t affected by the internet. What would such a learner do had he lived to be a part of this information age? Do you think he would have relied upon everything he read based on his perception of learning?

As you celebrate this week of Independence Day, celebrate you, too. Celebrate your own learning, growing, and becoming as you become the real you. If you want to learn more about CREATIVE learning, growing, becoming, join our Mindmapping class opening for registration in August 5th and 6th. We’ll be exploring ways to play with mindmapping, mandalas, and creative visualization. Starts Friday at 4pm – 8pm and continues on Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Paper pads, coloring tools and book included. Refreshments and snacks provided. Special: $95 for 2-day class. Register by e-mailing Cat or Rich or calling/texting 503.816.5104.

Rich and I enjoy helping people make and achieve exercise goals. Walking our talk means doing what we share, and we do, too. We take long walks together, ballroom dance, and enjoy taking up movement exercises, such as Tai Chi. It works for us, but does it work for everyone?

An article came out in Scientific American Mind (July/August 2011) entitled “The Partner Paradox” by Wray Herbert that entertains the question, “Does it help to buddy up to help achieve goals?” The results were really interesting! Right away, I would have said, “Yes!” Yet, there are variables.

An interesting experiment asked groups of students (in romantic relationships) to do a task that depleted them and a second group was given a simple task. Afterwards, students were questioned about commitment to health and fitness and how they would put time and efforts toward that. Then, they were also asked to think of a partner’s support in their goals.  The results came out that women who had done the task that made them feel depleted tended to “outsource the work to their partner.” The women committed less time and effort to their health when they had less “discipline in reserve” that they could draw upon.  Hmmm.

Now take a moment and wonder… based on this, how can women best serve their needs in balancing health, fitness, and well-being? One step could be to be aware of what depletes the woman. Then, plan and pause for rest breaks, so that the “discipline has more reserve.”

There is more to that article. You can read it here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-partner-paradox