Spirituality by

4 Keys to Accomplishing More – Part 1 by Linda Ferguson

Linda Ferguson — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:32:16 +0000

Hello- I’m out of the country for the next few weeks so will have some guest bloggers covering for me. I met Jacqueline through a LinkedIn group where we shared a similar interest in spirituality and work. She is a former corporate sales manager turned yoga instructor and now offers corporate programs for wellness focusing on the mind-body connection. I asked her to write something for my blog while I was gone.

Enjoy her writing and her work.

I’ll be back in June

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4 Keys to Easily Accomplishing More

by Jacqueline Ryan Brodnitzki
President , Conscious Success LLC – Powerful Connections to Business Results

When we think of accomplishing more, we usually focus on adding more to our to do list. This can be overwhelming and unproductive.

Instead, think about how you manage your attention. Do you let it get caught up in every issue? Or, do you selectively focus your attention on tasks and projects that will help you meet your goals? Do you actively reduce distraction?

I heard Tim Ferris, nominated as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People of 2007″ and Forbes Magazine’s “Names You Need to Know in 2011,” and the author of two books, speak about how to get more done in less time.

He talks about segmenting and managing your attention. He believes when you have both work and non-work interests, and when your attention is segmented between the two, you accomplish more in each area.

In this article we will discuss different ways to manage your attention so you can both accomplish more and increase your enjoyment of life. Working harder and longer does not necessarily make you more productive. Thinking about work issues at the expense of being present in meetings and enjoying your personal time can decrease your effectiveness.

We will discuss some steps to managing your attention so you get the most done, feel less overwhelmed and enjoy both your work and personal time more.

Here are the 4 Keys to accomplishing more:

Become aware of your attention
Notice when your attention is strongest
Determine where you want to place your attention
Fully be with what you are doing

In this blog post, we’ll cover the first two keys.

Key #1 -Become aware of your attention

Begin to notice where your attention goes during the day. Notice when your attention is on something productive and when it isn’t. Take note of those things that seem to steal your attention and are not productive. When you find your attention on an unproductive item, stop and refocus on something that is productive.

Key #2 – Notice when your attention is strongest

What time of day is your attention strongest? For some, it’s early in the morning. For others it is later in the day.

Carve out the hour that your attention is strongest and try to use that time to accomplish important tasks. Meetings and other events certainly get in the way of this, but see whether you can set aside the time when your attention is at its peak a few days a week. If you are an early bird, arrive at the office a little earlier to get your important work done. If you are a night owl, spend a little time at night. If late morning or late afternoon is your best time, try to block that time on your calendar to accomplish at least one important item.

Each time you finish an important item on your list, you feel a sense of accomplishment, relief and more purpose in your work. You feel a little less overwhelmed and your mind is freed up to focus on your meetings and important conversations.

In my next blog post, we’ll discuss the 3rd and 4th keys in more detail.
All my best,
Jacqueline

800-270-6722
www.ConsciousSuccess.net jacqueline@ConsciousSuccess.net

About the Author
Jacqueline Ryan Brodnitzki combines over 15 years of corporate management and training expertise with nine years of teaching and coaching of mindfulness and stress reduction techniques to help customer service organizations increase performance, productivity and profits while reducing employee stress. Her proprietary program, Conscious Success™, helps employers increase the potential within their organization by developing the emotional and social intelligence of their employees.

Through her coaching, she helps clients tap into their true potential. They experience greater calm, while increasing effectiveness at work and at home. Clients appreciate her quick assessment, clear recommendations and accurate, informative and inspirational coaching.

She is the author of two books and two CDs. Learn more about Jacqueline’s programs at www.ConsciousSuccess.net

In His Hands by Janae Bower

Janae Bower — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:08:53 +0000

With tears streaming down my face, I watched a young father from our church carry In His Hands the casket of his baby daughter. I held tight my two sons that were with me with at the funeral, feeling the immense sorrow that they must be feeling as parents who would never get to raise or know their newest child like their other two daughters.

The father led the processional as his baby girl lay in his arms inside the hand-made casket. Close behind him was his wife with their two daughters on both sides of her holding hands. Seeing them come together as a family like this; their love, strength, sorrow, joy and courage emanated throughout the entire church.

I personally was overwhelmed with emotions, for the deep sadness of losing a child and for their deep faith for all of them to be able to stand before the church now without completely losing it.

As they proceeded down the aisle in the opening song, the image of In His Hands came to me. Not only was the father carrying his daughter In His Hands, to let their baby girl go to now eternally be In His Hands. God would now be taking care of this soul forever.

The priest presiding over the mass, said how it’s not about the amount of time we spend on this Earth, it’s about the amount of love our mission serves. Only God knows what this little’s baby’s mission is and it seems unfair to all of us that she didn’t get more than ½ hour on this Earth to live it out.

From what I’ve heard about this couple of this experience, some of this little’s girl’s mission is already ripping at people’s heart and values. You see at some point during her pregnancy, they discovered that their little girl was severely disabled and not expected to live. This couple chose life, to give birth to this girl no matter what she looked like or how long she lived.

Having given birth myself three times, I couldn’t imagine going through one of the most painful experiences of your life not to be overjoyed with your new living, breathing child that you could love for a lifetime. They were overjoyed as well, just not able to physically enjoy raising their daughter.

The pictures at the funeral glowed with love. There is a gorgeous picture of the family all admiring the baby girl as she’s still inside her mother’s womb, with an angelic love surrounding them. Then there are those precious moments when they are holding her right after she is born, filled with warm embraces, loving kisses and hands folded and held together. Before I saw the father carrying the casket, I saw the pictures of him making the casket for her. It was created with such love, like the love I could imagine that Jesus put into the making of all he did as a carpenter. Again, tears.

We are all blessed to have both Earthly fathers and a heavenly father. Both are loving fathers whose privilege it is to hold us children In His Hands. While our Earthly fathers may no longer be with us physically or the father’s children may not be with us physically, we can ALL the time be In His Hands, of our heavenly father.

I think of how many times as a mother, I just need to put whatever it is that I’m dealing with In His Hands. When I don’t know what to do or how to handle something, I pray and ask for the loving and heavenly guidance of my Father. Then I think sadly of how too many times I don’t do this. I keep holding on to it tight In My Hands, thinking that I can handle it and know best.

This was really hitting home to me as my youngest son, 2 ½ years old, was really struggling in mass. Even as we were in another room, I just couldn’t calm him and he kept wanting to yell and run away from me. I didn’t know what else to do so we went outside. I shared my frustration and then prayed and let it go. Soon I felt compelled to hold Garrett In My Hands. I gave him the biggest hug and just held him for minutes. He calmed down and so did I.

Like my son and I, we’ll often struggle, try to fight or do anything to get away from being embraced by those who love us. Yet when we finally reach desperation and let go to let God pick us up with his peaceful embrace we are comforted like never before. Garrett was a HANDFUL, but I was reminded how truly blessed I am that I can still hold his hand.

Whether our children are living with us, are living away from us or are in heaven, this family has inspired me and hopefully you that we will to always put our most precious gift, In His Hands. We can then trust that He’ll guide us in the best way to care for our children, as we’ve allowed God to be closest to them. We can trust that if their time is to go before us in heaven, we know that God is already holding them tight.

I pray that you and I, like this family has done so incredibly, to give it all to Him and rest peacefully In His Hands.

Janae Bower is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author and training consultant. She founded Finding IT, a company that specializes in personal and professional development getting to the heart of what matters most. She started Project GratOtude, a movement to increase gratitude in people’s lives.

Tool for Change: Transformational Empowerment by Linda Ferguson

Linda Ferguson — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:22:13 +0000

Change management is a hot topic in the Leadership and Organization Development world. While many people in organizations are leery of change, either due to change fatigue, or because they think the next change is simply the fad of the month, change can either be good or bad depending on many factors. If you want to upgrade to a new computer or buy a new car, you likely will embrace change.

So depending on how ready you are for change, how much you think the change will help you, and how successful you feel you’ll be making the change, you may welcome or avoid change.

Sometimes we got those cosmic nudges, if not a 2X4 slap across the face, to change. Sometimes what appears on the surface to be bad news, may in the end result in a positive change. Next time you are challenged with a change, stop to ask if or how the change will serve a higher purpose. Will the change shift you to a better place? The 2X4 slap and subsequent change may be a blessing in disguise.

If you intentionally want to change some aspect in your life, you can follow some concrete and systematic steps for change. I’ve developed a process called Transformational Empowerment to support people making change. These ideas came from my work with coaching clients and corporate training. The Transformational Empowerment process uses some basic spiritual principles to support you in making profound and lasting changes.

If you are looking to make a job or life change, and truly want the change to stick, I invite you to use the steps for Personal Mastery outlined in my Transformational Empowerment process. Visit my website (www.lindajferguson.com) to receive a free series of handouts and videos that will help you in your change process. I share stories in a series of emails that show how each of the steps work.

Try out the ideas of my Transformational Empowerment process and you’ll be well on your way to create a significant life shift, to reach your goals, or to fulfill your heart’s desire.

Embrace the journey. The change may do you good.

Now available!! Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” – Click here to order.

“Like” Linda’s Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work.

Click this link to order Linda’s 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

Visit Linda’s website- www.lindajferguson.com to receive valuable handouts and videos for personal growth and professional development.

Authentic Leadership – Dare to Be Yourself by Linda Ferguson

Linda Ferguson — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:31:17 +0000

Andreas Dudàs has a recently published book, “Do You Dare to Be Yourself?” He touches on many of the ideas explored in this blog – vision, values, passion, and purpose. See what stirs as you explore your authentic self and leadership. Enjoy some of his writing here.

Embark on a rewarding journey

Authentic leaders who are able to move the others’ hearts are in great demand. Living authentically is the be-all-and-end-all for finding inner peace, gaining more self-confidence and following your true calling, which all in turn helps to make this planet a better place. We all were once fully connected to our souls when we were born. However, while we grow up we lose the connection to our true self. Fear rules our lives, we are worried that we might never amount to anything, that others wouldn’t accept us the way we really are. Coupled with that fear is the constant uncertainty. We often agree to anything and everything, trying to guess and satisfy the unspoken needs of others.

Why do we act this way? The answer is simple. We always receive a reward for such a behavior. For a fleeting moment, we feel needed and acknowledged. We value praise and respect much more than listening to the heart. But remember, nobody else but you alone can award honest love, praise and recognition to your unique self.

Authenticity can neither be acquired nor learned. Authenticity can just be regained, for it has always been lying on our heart. It requires that you love yourself for all the good that you see and accept your flaws and the fact that you are imperfect. Becoming an authentic leader asks for reclaiming your authenticity through embarking on an intense and sometimes long journey, starting first with getting acquainted with your true self and then following an inch-by-inch process.

Develop self-respect and fall in love with yourself:

Self-respect has nothing to do with selfishness, as many people argue. Nowadays, we are all well connected electronically, but very often disconnected from our own hearts and souls. Many individuals do not honor their real values lying inside them. Instead, they are consistently seeking recognition in the outer world and are playing roles so as to receive praise. Living authentically requires spending a lot of time on getting to know one’s strengths and values, but also weaknesses, feelings and what one really wants to get out of life. Know that only by first following your heart and by respecting yourself you‘ll be able to touch other people’s hearts. Be therefore proud of your true self. Celebrate your little successes on a daily basis and jot them down in a separate journal you are always carrying with you. One of the key distinguishing characteristics of authentic leaders is that they are anchored by their own deep sense of self.

Live your passion:

Do the work you love or love the work you do! Anything else leads to depression, burn-out and loss of self-confidence. Ideally you choose a job which is one hundred percent consistent with your authentic calling. You will learn and acquire some leadership skills in the course of your career. However, I am convinced that leadership is not a role you are playing, or a profession you learn. It is a true calling. In this sense, authentic leaders are first “born” with innate leadership qualities and only later “made” through the acquisition of certain skills. By blending your courage of being true to yourself, with choosing leadership as your authentic calling, you develop a “deadly” combination moving people’s hearts.

Find your life purpose:

Purpose is your inner compass, fueling deeper meaning both in your life and work. Purpose is also a fundamental aim of your organizations’ existence. Your purpose is about creating and not fixing things. To find it, ask yourself what would you choose to do if you had unlimited time and resources? What would you do if money did not matter? What activities do you consider of greatest value?

Live by your values:

Living authentically means that you stand by your values and beliefs that you hold most dear. Values provide important guidance when you are looking for a new job, get a promotion or chose a new working environment. Identify your values by asking yourself: When am I happiest? When do I forget time and live completely in the “here and now”? What activities do I enjoy most and why?

Align your “true self” with your company’s soul:

Ask yourself, does the company’s soul that is reflected in the corporate vision, mission and values coincide with your true self? Does your current working and living environment allow you to live up to your unique values and life purpose? This is a crucial acid test and it requires you to be brutally true to yourself so as to authentically answer the above questions. If your personal values and life purpose clash with those of your company, you will never be able to ignite the fire inside your employees.

Many other attributes such as communication, fairness, compassion, having a big vision, or the capability to set clear goals, account also for critical traits of great leaders. But believe me, they are either a natural outcome from living up to all of the above principles or can be easily acquired. Forget about the bewildering array of theories about effective leadership. The only key is to reclaim your true self, live authentically and follow leadership as your true calling. Then the rest of the world will follow you!

Andreas Dudàs has more than 20 years leadership experience gained in top executive positions in over 25 countries. Visionary entrepreneur, mentor, motivational speaker & expert on authentic (life) leadership, he is the author of Do You Dare To Be Yourself? Learn more at http://www.andreasdudas.com/

Flapping of the Wings by Janae Bower

Janae Bower — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:01:25 +0000

Soon after arriving at the beautiful Johnson Lake Home (our retreat center) on Lake George in the northern woods of Minnesota, I felt drawn to go down to the lake. The stillness of the lake was breath-taking along with the reflection of the clouds and trees in the water. We were in awe that the lake was even opened as it’s normally still frozen in March.

My best friend Julie and I were continuing our conversation when we saw a bald eagle fly to a towering pine tree by the lake’s shore. Soon it was flying again, soaring above the water only to come near to our shoreline this time to a different tree. The lone eagle found a mate and together they and we experienced magic; a divinely-inspired occurrence with nature and these majestic birds.

Dancing in Harmony

The eagles were dancing in the sky with one another as they soared in harmony right above the lake. We were fully present watching them, sitting still with awe. Back and forth they danced and soared. Then they started flying toward our direction. Sitting on the dock these two eagles soared no more than 10-20 feet above us still in perfect harmony. These eagles were so close to us that we actually heard the flapping of their wings. I can still feel that breathtaking moment when they soared above us; chills filled my entire body as I knew that this was a holy encounter. Psalm 18:10 says “He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.”

Julie and I looked at each other in amazement and she said that in all the years that she’s been coming here as a young girl she’s never experienced anything like this. The two of us, along with my other best friend Sara, have created and called ourselves WINGS for nearly 15 years. We are about helping each other soar in our lives through growing spiritually.

I knew that God had graced us with the presence of these two eagles, dancing and soaring in harmony. Sitting there more that night, we also saw two ducks, two swans and then the next day we saw two geese. We were graced again with the beauty of God’s nature during a walk. Just like the eagle’s the day before, two geese flew above us close enough to hear the flapping of their wings and we could hear their honking of course. I’ve read how geese are known for their teamwork and encouragement, just the same as what our WINGS group symbolizes.

This lake home is special for Julie’s family, one of the most cherished places for her mother who passed away a few years ago. I felt her Julie’s mother Patty’s presence this whole weekend; her spirit, faithfulness and encouragement to keep on living our dreams.

The Deeper Message

Driving home we encountered more bald eagles (pictured) and I felt like they had a deeper message for us. I soon found out what that was. When I was sharing this experience with a friend, she shared with me a passage about the significance of eagles from her book Animal Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Power of Creatures Great and Small by Ted Andrews. Until this one and a couple of other recent interesting animal experiences, I hadn’t thought much about messages that animals might be sharing with us.

As soon as she shared more, I felt the chills again like that moment. Here is a little of what it says that really speaks to me. “The bald eagle is a long-time symbol of spiritual power and illumination; eagles inspire people of all societies. Their energy is healing and aids in creation. Eagles teach a balance of being of the Earth but not in it. Both the bald eagle and the golden eagle have come to symbolize heroic nobility and divine spirit. These eagles are the messengers from heaven and are the embodiment of the spirit of the sun.

Then get this what is says about the eagle’s dancing in the sky. “The mating ritual of the bald eagle is one of its most mystical and intriguing aspects. A powerful form of sky dancing occurs. The birds soar, loop and plunge into deep dives.”

New vision will open. Eagles often perch and wait using their great vision to let them know when to take flight and see their opportunities. It’s about a willingness to use your passions to purify (flying into the sun) and to use your abilities even if it means being scorched a little.

According to the book, to align with the power of the eagle is to take on the responsibility and the power of becoming so much more than you now appear to be. From a karmic aspect, it reflects that the events will now fly faster, and the repercussions for everything you think, do or say (or fail to think, do or say) – positive and negative – will be both stronger and quicker. To accept this is to accept a powerful new dimension to life, and a heightened responsibility for your spiritual growth. But only through doing so do you learn how to move between worlds, touch all life with healing and become the mediator and the bearer of new creative force within the world.

“You will learn to swoop, to soar, to dive, and to hover – to use the winds within your life and your own developing wings to ride them to your own benefit.”

The Push

Once again with this new insight of the significance of eagles, I am in awe and somewhat overwhelmed as it speaks so clearly to where I am right now in life. How can you and I take on more of the divine essence of the eagle? Sometimes we need “a BIG push” to do that.

The book The Push, is my other previous experience with Eagles. Written by David McNally and published by Simple Truths, is more about what the Eagle is telling us. I’m blessed to have a story published in it as well about how to find God’s purpose for our lives. If you haven’t yet, take a look at this inspirational movie and this book for more encouragement for your life for taking flight with God’s insights and soaring to new heights that you ever imagined flying!

Cherish Dear Colleagues by Linda Ferguson

Linda Ferguson — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:19:39 +0000

I recently received an email from my mom saying a dear colleague of hers had a heart attack and was in failing health. I was truly saddened by this news. This woman had become an aunt of sorts; she was a long-time family friend, having worked with my mom for more than 30 years.

It is a blessing and rare gift indeed to have precious colleagues who become old friends. Perhaps you worked with someone years ago and you still stay in touch, sharing news of your life. Maybe you have colleagues you socialize with outside of work. Perhaps you even have a few dear colleagues who are old family friends now.

This week’s blog post is a reminder of all the friendships you have at work. Share your gratitude for those friends, especially for your particularly close colleagues.

Tell them how they have touched and supported your life as well as your work.
Call them up to recount a few stories, share some laughs, let them know how much they helped you.

It’s never too late to let someone know how much you care about them and how much they mean to you.

P.S. We celebrate Administrative Assistants day this week, so please take time to thank them for their support.

Now available!! Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” – Click here to order.

Click this link to order Linda’s 10th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

Visit Linda’s website- www.lindajferguson.com for information about her coaching work, keynote presentations, seminar topics, and books.

“Like”Linda’s Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work.

What Would Love Do Now? by Linda Ferguson

Linda Ferguson — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:15:24 +0000

I had a challenging conversation recently with a business woman. She was really upset about something I had done, and as I was trying to fix the problem, she screamed at me. It’s not fun to have someone scream at you, especially when you are trying to help them. Ever have one of those conversations?

Luckily for me I have practiced NVC for several years. I listened empathically to her screaming until she slowed down enough for me to calmly state what was happening. She stormed away as I went to work on the issue. I felt a bit numb and did my best to fix the situation.

Afterwards, when I knew the problem hadn’t been fixed, I went into a lot of fear around what her response was going to be. I also was mad at myself for what I had done a couple weeks earlier to fix the problem, which only made the problem worse. I tried to think of the next right course of action to take.

I had a hard time thinking clearly for the next couple of hours. I felt a lot of fear and dread about the problem not being fixed. I had a hard time focusing on my work and imagined all sorts of awful scenarios that could occur. It was quite a drama play going on in my head. I was aware of how much I was scaring myself. I stopped and reminded myself I didn’t need to go down the path of fear.

To calm down and collect myself, I watched some inspiring videos and posts on FB. I had to sort out what was the next right course of action to take to remedy the situation.

Then I remembered my all-time favorite advice. “When you are uncertain what is the right course of action to take, ask yourself this: What would Love do now?”

So there I was at the fork in the road. I could keep going down the path of fear or I could find out what would Love do now. I reflected on this question as I moved through my day. I got a few ideas of how I wanted to handle the business woman next time I spoke to her. I started to calm down and forgive myself for what I had done earlier. I started to give myself some compassion and affirm that it would all work out. I remembered not to sweat the small stuff.

The situation is still not over. I just need to reminder to follow the path of Love. I can keep choosing Love (capital Love for spiritual love, kindness, compassion) rather than stay mired in fear and dread.

If you need to sort out a dilemma or make a difficult choice, consider the question “What would Love do now?”. Practice using this phrase next time someone gets upset with you or you get upset with yourself.

It never hurts to keep choosing Love over fear.

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Visit Linda’s website- www.lindajferguson.com for information about her coaching work, keynote presentations, seminar topics, and books.

Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” is available in paperback or ebook – Click here to order.

“Like” – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson - if you want to get notices of other blog posts and updates of Linda’s work.

Click this link to order Linda’s 10th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

Panning for Gold by Janae Bower

Janae Bower — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:31:45 +0000

A speaker shared the analogy of “Panning for Gold” as a metaphor for finding God’s love. Just like when you are trying to pan for gold there is a lot of dirt or muck that needs to be sifted through first before you can even see the gold hidden within. This is like our lives, the golden nuggets and sparkling gems are within us. Inside of each of us is God’s love just waiting for us to discover, a golden gem that will make our hearts and souls sparkle like never before. Yet most of us have filled our lives with a lot of muck so we get stuck. We might attempt to clean out the muck here and there, yet soon we stop because we are frustrated with the results when we don’t find “the gold” right away.

What I’m writing about is a great example. When I heard the speaker share this concept I took some time earlier to meditate on it and ponder what it meant in my life. What muck is getting me stuck, what’s blocking me from finding this gold all the time? The gold is there and we all have it, it’s just our choice if we are going to decide to try to find it, to pan for it. Once you do and you see what gems in your life you can uncover, you’ll get hooked to keep panning.

For me it’s like every day I’m so excited to see how God is going to speak to me. What gem am I going to discover today? I always can tell when I take the time to pan for it; which means for me that I take alone time to pray, read, meditate, write or any other spiritual rituals. It might be one of the speakers I heard that gets me excited to go deeper and sift through the muck. Or it might be something that came to me during my bible study time. I know when I’m ready to pan is when I can feel a great pull. It’s like I see the tip of something shining in my life that makes me want to go deeper and deeper. So I go within and search for the gold. The gold for me is often how to be more of what we are all called to be – more loving, more peaceful, more joyful.

The days that I choose not to go deeper and pan for the golden nuggets within are the days that I can tell I’ve missed out on something. I just feel off – less enthusiastic, less kind, less passionate, less gratitude, less patient and ultimately less inspired. I can see and feel the difference and I know others around me can too.

The good news is that the gold’s there and we all know what it’s like to feel this inside of us and how different we are because we have that inner peace, joy and love. We just need to take the time and make it a priority to go panning, not just once but daily. So even though we missed the actual panning days of the gold rush from long ago, we all have the opportunity to go within ourselves and find God’s golden gems just waiting to glow brightly in our lives.

Taxes and Tithing by Linda Ferguson

Linda Ferguson — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:49:14 +0000

It’s that time of year again – Tax season. Funny how tax time is also the time of planting and tending to gardens. I am reminded of the quote of Jesus, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and give unto God what is God’s”. What are you planting or tending through your taxes and tithing?

Taxes are an investment in civic infrastructure so that we can have roads, drinking water, schools, parks, fire and rescue etc. Taxes can be viewed as tending to the garden of democracy and social well-being.

Tithing is an investment in your spiritual well-being. Perhaps you give money to charity to reduce your taxes, but hopefully you also contribute to charities to support the tender fabric of your community and planet.

Taxes and tithing contribute to your physical world and your spiritual world. They build a life of balance between the mortal human world and the Divine Oneness within and throughout all life.

Invest in your Spiritual Well-being

Do you invest your time, energy, or money for your personal spiritual development?

I spent a weekend at Yogaville recently. We were able to rest, meditate, walk in the woods, do yoga, and eat healthy food. What a great combo for me to renew myself and connect deeper with nature and global consciousness.

My investment of time and money paid off in spades. When I returned home I received an emotionally challenging email from someone close to me. I could have easily been angry or offended by the email. Yet I felt very calm and heart-centered from the weekend. I was able to respond in love and compassion instead. I know my response was more loving and kind due to my meditation retreat.

Are you willing to invest in yourself to support your own growth and well-being? In so doing, you’ll be investing in the well-being of those around you.

May you find peace as you pay taxes, water your garden, help your neighbor, support your community, and invest in your spiritual home.

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Now available!! Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” – Click here to order.

Linda has a new Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “Like” this page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work.

Click this link to order Linda’s 10^th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

Visit Linda’s website- www.lindajferguson.com for information about her coaching work, keynote presentations, seminar topics, and other writing.

Enter Your Own Ground by Linda Ferguson

Linda Ferguson — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:40:05 +0000

This past weekend I attended a retreat at Yogaville, south of Charlottesville VA. It was fabulous. We had time to slow down, take yoga classes, eat healthy, sleep, and walk in the woods. Best of all for me was the meditation in the LOTUS shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the spiritual principle: ‘Truth is One, Paths are Many’.

LOTUS shrine at Yogaville

Focal Point

The focal point of the retreat was to enter our own ground. Through yoga and chanting we were able to leave the door of our mind, enter the gates of our heart, and rest in the pools of pure consciousness. Aaahhhh…..

From this still point place, awareness expanded, heart opened, mind stilled. Aaauuummmmmm
And then a thought arises, and another, then the monkey mind goes wild. Where was that still point I was just sitting in a minute ago??
Aaauuummmm peace, stillness…..
And then another train of thought comes into the station, blowing its whistle loudly disturbing my calm and clarity. Darn it!
Notice that judgment…… yes I’m pissed…..Awareness…….I was thinking about work next week.
Aaaaauuuuuuummmmm breathing, awareness, thought, observation
Breathing in – breathing out; in –breath, out-breath …

And so it went throughout the weekend. Clarity, calm, monkey mind chatter, to-do lists, website revisions, peace, stillness, future planning, workshops to prepare, schedules to keep, when is dinner?
Aaaauuuuummmmmm… notice the beautiful flowering trees – the dogwoods and redbuds. Look at those gorgeous azaleas. Wow aren’t they stunning?

Stillness Every Day

Finally after two days, the last afternoon I felt calm. No thoughts, just silence. I wanted to walk in silence the whole way from the LOTUS shrine to the dining hall for the final meal. I wasn’t even thinking of what food I would eat. Only pure awareness of the beautiful spring day.

Of course I don’t need to go to an Ashram for this experience. I can notice my breath as I’m talking on the phone, I can breathe deeply in a meeting, I can be aware of my thoughts as I am driving my car. All day can be my retreat, if I am in that place of awareness.

Change happens, work piles up, calls come in, calendars get full. Yet it is all breath, all awareness, all consciousness of being in a physical body. We are here. Now. Breathe.

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

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