Practicing what I preach

This is a tough one at times. And yesterday I suddenly realized that I had stopped following my own advise. I had started to get sloppy with my daily breathing exercises and meditation. Twenty minutes of becoming still twice a day makes all the difference to how I feel and work; I am more focused, organized, creative and happier. So why had I stopped? Lazyness. This morning I started again and already achieved so much.

It is funny how we ‘self-sabotage’ again and again. Being good to ourselves with Food, exercise and behavior we often make 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. The good news is however that with increased awareness those sabotaging sprees become less and less and shorter.

So I am back on track breathing and meditating and writing.

How about you? Do you practice what you preach?

Cheers

The Art of ‘Floating’

Over the last few months I have been traveling and working away from home and while I had a great time and met many fascinating people, it was also wonderful when I finally returned to ‘my’ island and my own bed. I felt ready for a break. I was ready to ‘float’.

Floating is my alias for ‘going with the flow’, for letting go of wanting to control everything and for following my heart, my intuition, for responding to the NOW. Floating is fascinating because you never know how you will get where you want to go.

Floating is an Art that draws on 3 basic principles:

• Approaching ones vision for life or any particular goal by not getting attached to the outcome.
• Declaring ones intention and then letting go of wanting to control things
• Dealing with the demands of each moment without making a fuss; then moving on without taking credit or beating oneself up.

The secret is that when you do not have any limiting expectations you will find more joy in everything you do.

There are no disappointments in floating, only SURPRISES.

Let me I share with you the following short story, which I feel clearly captures the essence of this 'Art'.

It was a bank holiday on the island and all the shops were closed when we suddenly realized that we had no bread. We decided to go on a bread hunt and to ask some of the local tavernas and neighbors if we could borrow some - but nobody had bread to share.

After an hour of getting more and more obsessed with bread and frustrated that we couldn’t find any we decided to give up and go for a floating walk. So we gave up our search for bread and decided to go wherever our legs would take us, to follow our body’s intuition.

Try it and you will see that it takes some getting used to.

The mind likes to be in control and will make numerous attempts to take over and inject some logic into your movements. The key to truly float lies in surrendering to the moment, in trusting your intuition and that you can handle whatever comes your way and in having faith that there is a purpose in everything. Believe me - it works.

For some weeks I had been looking to find a bakery or someone who was producing whole grain, brown bread like back home (Germany). I had no luck; the only bread I could find was the fluffy white stuff – all calories and little nourishment.

Now on our floating walk across the island our bodies took us through streets we had never walked before and into areas we didn’t know. We were having a ball and at the same time, no idea of how or where we were going to go next. But this was ok; we were having fun. And then after about 40 minutes we suddenly saw a large sign outside a house – ‘Anastasia’s.’ We were curious and entered through the gateway. And there it was - a private home bakery that produced brown, whole grain bread just like back home. And not only that, we soon realized that Anastasia’s shop was only 5 minutes walk from our own house. . . . . . and she had bread to sell to us that day. We happily bought our loaf and returned back home.’

In short, this is it: The 'Art of Floating' and how it works.

Floating can take you places you have never been before, places the mind can only dream about.

Floating takes the effort out of living and paradoxically takes you where you wanted to go in the first place. Remember, all you need to do is:

• Surrender to the moment, to what is.
• Trust your intuition and your ability to handle things.
• Have faith that there is a purpose in everything.

And soon you will realize that this is also the Art of Living. So have a go and start to float more and struggle less.

'Shift Happens'

I like to introduce you to (another) book, this time by Robert Holden, who is a top UK psychologist. Robert teaches that we are worthy of a joy-filled life and, through our ability to 'change our mind,' we can achieve amazing inner peace and power. He shows us, that happiness can be attained by making small, consistent changes in the way we think. And as our thinking changes, so does our life. As Robert says: 'One new perception, one fresh thought, one act of surrender, one change of heart, one leap of faith, can change your life forever.'

Each of the 50 concise and entertaining chapters is filled with wisdom and clearly tackles fundamental, everyday concerns that can undermine enjoyment and fulfillment. His clever and inspirational blend of tender, poignant, joyful and eye-opening stories, insights and practical exercises cover a wide range of themes such as confidence, creativity, fear, success, relationships, forgiveness, control, struggle and so much more.

In Shift Happens! you will read gems such as the following extract from the chapter entitled Give Up Your Fear of Giving:

'I was at my health club on an exercise bike pedaling fast to nowhere when James first introduced himself to me. I will never forget that moment for as long as I live.

I was nearing the end of a grueling ninety minute workout. I was in a sweat, in a world of my own, and the last two minutes of the cycle program were feeling like forever. Sometimes I swear I can make time go backwards when I exercise! I had not noticed James and his companion enter the gym, so I was greatly surprised when James slapped me on the back and shouted, 'Hellooo.' It took all my balance just to stay on the bike!

James’s hearty, open manner left me abashed. 'Why pick on me?' I thought. As it turned out James didn’t just pick on me. I watched him enthusiastically introduce himself to every person in the gym. 'Hellooo,' he said to the man who almost fell off the treadmill. 'Hellooo,' he said to the man who almost dropped his dumbbells. 'Hellooo,' he said to the most attractive woman in the gym whom no man dared talk to.
James aimed his great big smile at everyone he met, and within moments he was talking to people I had never spoken to in months of visits. I was so impressed. James was so natural, so present, and so open with everyone. 'That's how I want to be,' I thought. Come to think of it, I probably was like that once.

James is diagnosed with Down's syndrome. According to society he is deficient and ill. He is certainly different, but I saw no trace of lack. That day in the gym he was more unconditional, loving, and communicative than the rest of us 'well people' put together. James gave himself fully and he got the best of us in return. He had no fear of giving.

I believe the purpose of life is to be like James. You are a gift-bearer, blessed with gifts of God, and you are here on earth to live fully and give fully—not just things, but who you are. You are the gift. My work has shown me over and over again that when people do not give themselves fully they experience lack, struggle, discontent, emptiness, isolation, and illness. Do not sit on your gifts.'

Inspiring Books

I recently re-read 2 books which have been inspiring me and which have been guiding my work at the same time. The one is 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle and the other one is 'Bitten by the Black Snake' in which Manuel Schoch interprets the ancient wisdom of Ashtavakra.

One of the key elements in my life and also in my workshops are about practicing Observation and Stillness. Observing that 'what is' without judging it, describing it or re-acting to it helps us to be still and to connect to our source, our center. Any action that we then take from that state of being centered helps us to express our own values, rather then just re-acting to the behavior of others.

When we start to observe and acknowledge 'what is' , then we are in the 'Now' and we realize that everything is relative and that there is an endless flow of changing ideas, thoughts, feelings and circumstance and that we are a part of it all, a part of the whole like a drop in the ocean. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do, we are here to enjoy the ride.

I like to share with you Sutra number 4 which is about Stillness:

'Stillness
All things arise, suffer, change, and pass away.
This is their nature.
When you know this, nothing perturbs you, nothing hurts you,
you become still.
It is easy.
Sooner or later fortune or misfortune may befall you.
When you know this, you desire nothing, you grieve for nothing.
Subduing the senses, you are happy; whatever you do brings joy
or sorrow, life or death.
When you know this, you may act freely, without attachment.
What is there to accomplish?
All sorrow comes from fear, from nothing else.
When you know this, you become free of it, and desire melts away.
You become happy and still; the world with all its wonders is nothing.
When you know this, desire melts away. for you are awareness itself.
When you know in your heart that there is nothing, you are still.'

Take some time and really take in those words and observe how you feel when reading them. You may feel that they are so simple and at the same time that they set you free and you become still and start to relax.

Actions speak louder than Words

This known phrase came to me 2 weeks ago when I met with some Executives and Managers to ask their views on leadership qualities, challenges and training. In fact everyone had been on training courses and workshops on the subject and was very knowledgeable. The biggest problem seemed to lie in implementing what had been learned .

They clearly identified a gap between the actions and the words - the theory. I observed with interest how I myself was recognizing this gap. I realized that the leaders that moved and inspired me most were the ones that acted in line with what they were talking about before and during our meeting. In fact from the first moment of our contact their style became apparent. After our meetings, I soon forgot the details of their words, but their behavior, their actions stayed with me.

Speaking with so many different Managers and Leaders also moved me to look at my own actions once again and I realized how important it is for me to 'walk my talk'. I realized that when I am at my best I also open the door for the person or people around me to be at their best. So I asked myself what does it take for me to be at my best? Here is what I came up with:

I feel that I am at my best:

• When I am authentic, myself
• When I am motivated by caring rather than by fear
• When I am passionate about what I do
• When I am well prepared and clear about my intention

This has been a valuable lesson I re-learned and which helped me to re-commit myself to ‘walk my talk’ and add some daily self-coaching tools to help me stay on track.

What does it takes it for You you to be at your best? I invite you to give it some thought.