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By going out of your mind you come to your senses

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“By going out of your mind, you come to your senses.”

—Alan Watts, 20th Century British-American philosopher

Image of a man facing the sunrise with arms outstretched

Image from Unsplash by Zac Durant

Have you ever considered that going out of our minds was a good thing?

Not in the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest way, but in a quieting the inner voice/monkey mind way.

During a recent meditation session, the instructor led me through an exercise that focused on each of the five senses. With this shift of focus, I noticed a considerable reduction and even a few momentary stoppages of mental chatter and a greater sense of calm and presence.

EXERCISE:

Consider spending 60 seconds on each of your five senses. Make a note or two regarding what you perceived:

  • Sight
  • Hearing
  • Touch
  • Taste
  • Smell

Where in your life would going out of your mind and coming to your senses have the greater benefit?

Friday Review: Acceptance

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FRIDAY REVIEW: ACCEPTANCE

What aspects of life do you accept without question? Here are a few acceptance-related posts you may have missed. Click to read the full message.

 

“If you’re able to be yourself, then you have no competition. All you have to do is get closer and closer to that essence.”

 

 

 

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.”

 

 

 

“Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind.”

 

 

We are mere journeymen

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“We are mere journeymen, planting seeds for someone else to harvest.”

—Wallace Thurman, 20th Century African-American Novelist

Image of two men in a wheat field

Image from Unsplash by Warren Wong

For virtually all people alive today, the standard of living and the quality of life has improved exponentially over the past few decades, and particularly in the last two centuries.

If you have ever interviewed your parents, grandparents, or even looked back over your own life, things have improved in countless ways.

Consider the idea that all the people known and unknown to you have been farmers planting and cultivating the seeds we all get to harvest each day.

EXERCISE:

Who in your world can and will you thank and acknowledge for all the abundance we experience today?

Where and how are you currently planting the seeds of a better world to benefit the lives of other’s for future generations?

Friday Review of posts on Renewal

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FRIDAY REVIEW: RENEWAL

What are your strategies for renewing your energy, your sense of self, and regaining balance in your life? Here are a few renewal-related posts you may have missed. Click to read the full message.

“The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you are finished.”

 

 

 

“The answers you seek never come when the mind is busy. They come when the mind is still, when silence speaks loudest.”

 

 

 

 

“Exhaustion is not a status symbol.”

 

 

 

 

In every man there is something

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“In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th Century American essayist and poet

Image of two people talking at a business meeting

Image from Unsplash by raw pixel

There is a wise saying about the fact that we have one mouth and two ears, and should use them proportionately.

For most of us, coaching, teaching, advising, and mentoring others, although with good intentions, plays into the fact that we often prefer to be interesting rather than interested.

Consider yourself an explorer or a miner looking for the gold in “them thar’ hills.” To reap such riches, the only tools you would need would be an open set of eyes, ears, and of course, an open mind.

EXERCISE:

In what area of your life is it far more important to be the pupil rather than the teacher?

What is it that you most wish to learn to support either your personal or professional life?

Who are the specific teachers in your world that hold the wisdom you seek?

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows

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“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”

—St. Francis of Assisi

Image of a sunbeam coming through a tree

Image from Unsplash by Darren Bockman

Who are the people in your world that light up your life?

Take a minute or more to make a list of these special people, and note the qualities and characteristics they exhibit that caused you to put them on your list.

On the flip side, note the individuals in your personal and professional communities that cast shadows over your world and reduce your aliveness and life satisfaction. What are their specific behaviors and attitudes that cloud your world?

EXERCISE:

Beyond spending far more time with the first group and less with the second, how can and will you personally bring more sunshine to those around you, for the benefit of all?

This effort will almost certainly attract many more sunbeams from others who also desire brighter days.

Friday Review of Posts on Accountability

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FRIDAY REVIEW: ACCOUNTABILITY

How do you hold yourself and others accountable? Here are a few accountability-related posts you may have missed. Click the links to read the full messages.

 

“Don’t ever stray away from yourself to get closer to someone else.”

 

 

 

“You cannot talk your way out of something you behaved yourself into.”

 

 

 

“Quarrels would not last long if the fault were only on one side.”

 

 

 

Friday Review About Character

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FRIDAY REVIEW: CHARACTER

What is your definition of character? Here are a few character-related posts you may have missed. Click the links to read the full messages.

 

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.”

 

 

 

 

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.”

 

 

 

 

“Gossip is the Devil’s Radio.”

 

 

 

 

There’s no ceiling on effort

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“There’s no ceiling on effort.”

—Harvey C. Fruehauf, President of HCF Enterprises

Image from Canva

Are you at the absolute pinnacle of success in all areas of life? If you answered “no,” or “not really,” today’s quote may get you a bit closer to your goals.

I’ll share with you three key attributes to success I learned from a wise coach and mentor early in my life, when I worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a sales person.

It uses the acronym: A.S.K. to point to the elements that lie within us or that can be developed to reach higher levels of achievement in virtually any are we desire.

The “A” stands for activity. It points us to the fact that the level of effort we put forth on any particular task is up to us. I like the idea that there is no ceiling or limit placed on us, and that through persistence, tenacity, and grit, we can all achieve far more of what we most desire.

It is through such massive efforts we can progress on to the “S” and “K,” which stand for skills and knowledge.

EXERCISE:

Where and on what important personal or professional goal can and will you raise the ceiling on your current efforts to gain the skills and knowledge to reach new levels of success?

Education today

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“Education today, more than ever before, must see clearly the dual objectives: Educating for living, and education for making a living.”

—James Mason Wood, 19th Century English Zoologist

Recall the days you got your school report card. What subjects did you study, and how did you do? To what degree did your studies prepare you for life?

Take a moment to look at your career-related studies and perhaps your performance review process for your current work or vocational efforts. How are you doing in these areas? How much do these efforts help you live your life?

What has your educational journey – beyond the focus on career development and making a living – looked like over the years? Who were your teachers, and what grades would you give yourself in the domains outside of work?

EXERCISE:

Give yourself a grad for each of the following subjects in your life – and feel free to add a few more “electives” to pursue your own advanced degree in living:

Health _______ Relationships _______
Emotional Intelligence _______ Fun _______
Adventure _______ Continuous Learning _______
Community Involvement _______ Faith/spirituality/Religion _______
Joy _______ Meaning/Purpose _______

Where can and will you focus your educational efforts in living today and in the future to get a “PhD in Thee”?