Spirituality – Page 2 – Life Unfolds Blog

Blessings and Synchronicity

Yesterday morning, I reconnected with my blessings box which sits on a little altar in my meditation/yoga room/coaching office. Whenever I’m moved, I’ll write what I’m grateful for on a handmade “I am blessed” card and place it in my blessings box.

Reading my cards filled me with deep appreciation and joy as I was reminded of how grateful I am of my supportive and loving husband, the beautiful area in which we live, my wonderful circle of friends and family, living my dreams and so many other amazing things!

Coming from a place of gratitude created a lovely flow synchronicity throughout the day:

A kind, young man walking in the BART station held a parking spot for me in the otherwise filled lot.
I met some colleagues for a meeting in the financial district and then when I was done, I decided to visit my husband at his last day at work at his current company (moving on to bigger and better things!). I looked up his office address and realized, it was in the same exact building, just four floors up! I walked in just in time to join the “good-bye” ice-cream run with his team.
Brian and I had a spontaneous dinner date in the city.
And when I went to the SF Coaches meeting later that evening, I was thrilled to see my dear friend Julie Daley. And we continued our wonderful connection as she graciously drove me back to the BART station to my car.

What are you grateful for? I’d love to hear! Or take a moment to write it down and tuck it away in a special, sacred space. And as you appreciate what’s positive and wonderful right now, notice how you open yourself to serendipity – even in the simplest forms. It’s amazing what the universe will serve up when we’re ready to receive!

[tags]Blessings Box, Law of Attraction, Synchronicity[/tags]

Labyrinths and Leadership Laboratories

Last Friday through Sunday Brighid and I co-led the third retreat of the 2007 Cheryl’s Dreaming Big leadership program in Indiana. Our retreat kicked-off with some intense storming (literally – lots of thunder, wind and rain; and figuratively – lots of group tension and unresolved issues). I must say it was pretty exhausting and challenging to hold the space for this natural, yet difficult, phase in team development.

One thing that helped me get through it was walking through the labyrinth at the retreat center. Before entering the path, you can hold an intention or inquiry. For me it was around how can I stay with the mess of the storming phase. With every twist and turn, I questioned, “How much longer? When will this end? Where is this going?!” And then I relaxed into it and trusted that I would find my way to the center. I leaned into this insight throughout the weekend. Labyrinths are a great meditative and focusing tool. There’s this really cool portable labyrinth that I imagine would have a similar effect.

The other take-away I had from the retreat was remembering that the program we created is a great laboratory for learning and practicing leadership, not only for the participants, but for myself as a co-leader as well. Brighid kept reminding me of the lessons from an insightful book called Leadership and Self-Deception. This powerful parable reminds us to relate to people as people with hopes, dreams, needs, wants instead of objects or obstacles that our in our way. By shifting my perspective to being “out of the box” I was able to rise above the muck of the storming and group dynamics and reconnect to who these wonderful people are and what they have to offer. The other thing I kept coming back to was the idea that from the crap of group storming comes the fertilizer which nourishes the ground for a beautiful garden to grow. It’s a natural cycle.

How are you with conflict and tension? What are some ways that you move through the storming in your life? How has going through the muck helped new opportunities to blossom for you?

[tags]labyrinth, leadership, leadership and self-deception[/tags]

Finding my “Zenter”

The past several days I’ve woken up with a tense jaw. Ever since returning from vacation, I’ve been going non-stop. It’s all good stuff – signed on several new clients last week, visited with friends, am working on cool opportunities, etc. I’ve been more focused on other people or external things and I haven’t regularly taken time to truly be quiet and still. Sure, I’ve done my morning yoga practice to varying degrees, however my body is clearly telling me I’m needing something more to fully recharge.

I’ve never considered myself religious, yet I do believe in some form of a higher power. One of my previous coaches was a spiritual coach. Our work started me on my journey to exploring more about my own higher self and how it’s connected to everything around me. In addition to helping me take the leap to pursue my dreams, she also guided me in developing a regular practice of quieting, journaling and tapping into my inner peace and knowing.

My grandparents were Buddhist. As a kid, I thought their chanting and incense were just a little too weird. Now, I wish that I had learned more about it from them. Especially, the meditative art of shodo that my grandpa used to practice daily (the image is a portion of one of his calligraphy scrolls that hangs in our house).

More recently, probably since my yoga training, I’m noticing that Buddhism has been showing up in different parts of my life. My friend Brighid studies Buddhism, especially the practice of the Middle Way, and often times shares her learnings with me. This past weekend, Brian and I watched the inspiring movie “Peaceful Warrior.” Many of the film’s messages (especially of “taking out the trash” – the mental garbage that clutters our minds and prevents us from fully living in the present moment) are inspired by Buddhist teachings and also remind me a lot about what life coaching is about.

What I’m learning about Buddhism is that it’s more of a philosophy, a way of being or a practice. The concepts naturally resonate with me. I even think back to how many times friends and colleagues have commented on how “Zen” I am.

As I read “The Zen of Creativity” in bed last night, I shared with Brian how I’ve noticed these theme of Zen and Buddhism lately. I even mentioned that the last book I read happened to be written by a local spiritual teacher who has a Zen center in Oakland which I’m considering checking out. Brian joked that it should be called a “Zenter.” Anyway, that term grew on me. As I laid awake not able to sleep at the crack of dawn this morning, I thought to myself that in the midst of my stress and clutter, I’m finding my own “Zenter.” I’m cultivating my own practice of quieting down, emptying my mind and letting creativity flow from there. I’ve even been incorporating these ideas into the new branding for my coaching business.

So, speaking of quiet, creative time, I’m planning on spending the rest of the afternoon clearing my head and then creating from that.

[tags]Zen, Buddhism, spirituality, shodo[/tags]