The ultimate relief of I don't know

...a paragraph from 'my book' in the making

Who or What are you? was the question I was trying to answer during the the 2^nd ‘Art of Living’ seminar a few years ago. The page in front of me was blank, and so was my mind. I started to write down my name, my nationality, my job title, then I looked further – What else was I? a friend, a partner, a female, a human being, a spiritual being…… I stopped again. What am I?
I lifted my head and looked around the room. Twenty or so course participants were sitting spread around the wooden floor, on colorful, soft cushions, contemplating the same question. All on the journey to connecting to their inner self, to better understand their purpose, to finding a new meaning in daily life. I gave up, I had no clue what or who I was beyond the obvious based on social conditioning. The teacher asked us to share and to my relief my fellow searchers seemed to have no idea of who they were either, and the best answer each of us could come up with at the end was “I don’t know”.
The teacher was thrilled. That was it; we were spot on.

It had only been 5 years since I chucked it all in and since I had started my journey to better understand myself, other people and the world on the whole. It had been quite a struggle to finally reach that point where I was ready to leave my profession of 23 years and my relationship of 10 years and start again from scratch. But once the decision was made there was suddenly a feeling of excitement; just like at the age of 20, when I had decided to move to London for my first job placement. The whole world was my oyster and I was able to do or be anything. I belonged to the pre MBA aera and had started my training in Hotel Management at the age of 18 in Switzerland. I had been working ever since and never looked back. Life had been fun; Luxury hotels, traveling, living in different countries and speaking different languages – all very glamorous. I had never been ambitious in the traditional sense, but enjoyed being good at what I did. Hence promotions had kind of just happened and by the age of 26 I was in a senior management position in a 5 star central London hotel, living and working close to Hyde Park. Live was good; or so it seemed.

Now 20 years later I was sitting on the wooden floor of a Yoga center contemplating who I was and realizing for the first time that saying ‘I don’t know’ was actually ok. What a relief. I repeated it again and again “I don’t know, I don’t know” and with each repetition the weight of a life time fell off my shoulders. My whole body relaxed and I wanted to shout it out loud:

“I DON’T KNOW!!”.

And now years later saying 'I don't know' still works it's magic. It makes me smile, it makes me laugh and wonder what I will come up with next.

Find an expert to help you grow

The last few months have been busy with traveling, meeting new people and working on the development of my stress management business.

My focus has been on marketing. I wanted to learn more about it and become an expert at selling my services; after all, my product is great, the challenge is to communicate its benefits to the right people in the right way. I realised that I needed help and found one of the best in the market, Donald Cooper, an international renown speaker and coach. His practical, honest, down to earth approach to Human Marketing is inspiring; his presentations are entertaining and motivating.

I am learning from one of the best and I love it.

Do you need help in any area of your life or business? My advise: ask for help. Find the best in the field and ask for help. Too expensive? Write to the person of your choice and ask if you could work out a deal, a trade. Maybe you can offer something to them that they need and in return they will drop their fees? Or check for experts that are good and that you can afford at the same time. Don't give up. There is always a way and you will find it. None of us are experts in all areas of live and business. Finding the right support however makes growing and developing a lot more fun and easier.

Dancing with the Stars

The time has come to look differently at the world, to really look.
What is out there? What do I see?
What am I looking for?
The vision is strong…communicating to thousands of people…
thousands you hear?
Shining, inspired, passionate, flying,
lifted by the message, carried by the wave.
Total emergence, total joy; at one with the universe,
out of place and out if time.

I know the feeling. I have been there.
This is being alive, totally vibrant and living.
A Vagabond of the world, a messenger from
beyond, consciousness expressing itself through me, the tool;
I am dancing with stars. My body is spirit.
The joy of being, the fun of seeing, the love of freeing the spirit,
a cosmic party, a heavenly celebration, dancing with the stars.

Christiane Pohl

Coaching your self by asking Questions

A new Year, a new month and this year I like to introduce you to one of the most powerful coaching tools – questioning your self.

Using questions as a coaching tool was first and foremost used by one of the greatest Coaches of all times – Socrates, the father of Western Philosophy. His approach of using questions to explore moral concepts and common believes came to be called the Socratic Method and is still one of the most popular teaching tools to help students develop critical thinking.

Here are 5 questions you may ask yourself to start of the year:

1. If you were to live your Life the way you really like, what is the first change you would make?
2. What do you want more of in your Life? (make a list)
3. What do you want less of in your Life? (make a list)
4. What would you try if you knew that you could not fail?
5. What is the one thing you could change in the way you feel, act or live that would give you more peace?

...and some of Socrates Wisdom to inspire you

Socrates was considered a wise man, in fact the Oracle in Delphi declared him to be the wisest man of all. When Socrates heard this he was amused and curious at the same time. What did the Oracle mean? Was this a joke, a challenge? He decided to investigate. The following months he talked and questioned all the smart and influential men in Athens. He questioned them on their believes, their concepts and teachings…and by questioning them in his special way he revealed this: those men’s knowledge was very superficial, they did not really know what they proclaimed to know. And the worse part was that they did not realize it. So now he understood the Oracle’s declaration – He was wise, but only in so far as that he knew that he knew nothing.

- Convictions when held too tightly, blind us in a way that traps us within our own opinions. In other words, without the capacity to question our selves, the possibility of real thinking ceases. If we are not able to question our own ideas we cannot free ourselves from self-imposed limitations -

with my best wishes for 2009 and enjoy finding out more about your self!

Christiane

Wishing you Peace and Joy ....

..and wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations. May 2009 be full of love and joy, even or especially in your darkest moments. May you always find the strength and insights to handle whatever comes your way. May you express your self with compassion and humor and may you enjoy peace, peace, peace in your heart even when your mind is bouncing up and down.

with all my love !