I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve settled in to write here and have moved away. It’s not that I don’t have profoundly moving experiences to share – it’s that I have no idea how to even attempt to capture them in words when they are still racing through my body and transforming who I AM, from one nano-second to the next.
A whirlwind of women gathering in small groups, talking…. from the Group of 10 in early April; to the Manifesting a Meaningful Life conversation in March; to the Power, Passion and Purpose Emerging Futures retreat at the Fairmont Manoir Richelieu… my life is expanding in ways and at a speed that I have no idea how to represent in this space.
I could try to tell the story of it and, in my sense of it, doing so would only serve to make it smaller. Perhaps we would all be best served by sharing with you what has appeared and manifested and come into being as a result of it. Yes! That’s it! That is my way to open to all here, what I opened to become, during those times together.
A new book project on redefining the paradigm of Parenting, already in flow.
An internet radio show and podcasting.
New CODE Model Coaching CD series… with Part 3 to come.
Multi-CD series of guided reflections that awaken the expression of the godforce in the Quantum Biological BeingTM
A WEL-Systems World! ‘conference’ in the fall of this year to celebrate the expression of Intention 2009!
A new self-paced, modular Self-Discovery CD package for an acceleration of awakening and living authentically.
Recording for production on CD of the WEL-Systems body of knowledge, in French, for the global French community.
And much, much more to come!
Vibrant! Alive! Dynamic! Powerful! Women awakening to their individual, personal expressions not of what they are passionate about, but their passion in flow as a living expression of ‘meaning’ in their lives.
Women willing to embark on a journey of discovery, moving boldly into what they don’t know, daring to be filled with the much larger, more dangerous and sometimes frightening questions that become the fuel for their curiosity to ignite passionately into action… and engage!
Women able to fill the room… fill their lives… fill their world… with the sounds of bold and unfettered laughter and tears, strength and vulnerability, recognizing that the power or powerlessness is not in either of those but in their willingness or unwillingness to own whatever is present – moment to moment – as it fills their body with the force of its potential… and just allow it to be.
Women willing to stay present… stay connected… stay focused… and engage, from one breath to the next, without the need of a master plan or performance guidelines; trusting that the force in the moment coursing through their bodies IS the only thing required. LIFE need not be explained, defined or dissected into small, manageable bite-size pieces. It needs only to be LIVED!
These past months have been, for me, what has nourished me and propelled me into bigger and more potent realizations of my own. These have been the conversations and exchanges that have made it possible for me to continue to grow and evolve and become the ongoing and boundless expression of my own potential – trusting that in being willing to be mySelf without apology is all that is ever required.
In the face of all that appears to unfold on my holodeck, I remind myself that the holodeck is of my own creation. I pause… take a breath… and remember that I AM the canvas on which my life appears from the brushstrokes of my choices. I am not a victim to any of its expression – I am the creator of it all. When I can find the genius in what is unfolding, I can stand and create differently, knowing that in that genius, I have already become more.
In this moment, I know that as I stand alone, I am in the very best of company. The women in my life – the women of my WOI gatherings; the women who are drawn to the WGGG; the women of the growing and evolving G10; the women who are drawn to accelerate their own evolution through Decloaking, Engaging and Manifesting a Meaningful Life; the women who have come and gone and returned in that perfect moment of ‘it’s time’; the women who blog, record, post, read, listen, watch; the women who create events, facilitate programs, engage relentlessly in the pursuit of their own unfolding; the women who in their willingness to transform their world are unwilling to go quietly into the night; the women who stand tall, raise their voices and fill the conversation.. the room.. the world with their presence; the women who RIG effortlessly, who draw the line in the sand by becoming the line in the sand!; the women who are unwilling to draw one more breath without the head of the Lioness firmly connected to the body of the woman; the women whose voices carry the future in their loud and clear declaration to all around : “You cannot have my childdren!” – to all these women in my life through whatever it is that connects us – I AM with you, as I know the I AM that you are is with me. In that, I find both great power and great comfort.
The future is in the hands of women – and the time is NOW!
April 26th, 2009
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Groups, Insights, leadership |
no comments
I am redefining how I hold the notion of ‘more’.
There was a time when ‘more’ meant two cars instead of one; or one car but ‘higher end’ than this one. It also meant a 5000 square foot house instead of 2500 square feet; or two trips to Hawaii in the same year. I don’t even know how to think in those terms anymore.
The ‘more’ that I now think of is so much more difficult to describe or explain. It is the ‘more’ that profoundly changes me and leaves me without words as the pointers to help you see. I have no idea how or why, I just know that I am different.
The ‘more’ that now shapes my life is intangible… like smoke or mist rather than concrete or brick. The only thing permanent about it is its incessant capacity to morph into something else. I can’t always see it or touch it – I need to just trust that it’s there.
Part of the ‘more’ of my life is found in the recent explosion of powerful conversations with amazing women! On Friday, I spent two hours (that felt like 20 minutes) in conversation with Lisa and came away from that time together profoundly aware of having, yet again, become ‘more. There was no plan for that – just the willingness to be there, fully, in body, mind and spirit.
In that time together, the mist cleared and I could see. I saw co-creation as the ‘more’ that I am now stepping into; and I saw very clearly what/how that co-creation holds meaning in my life.
I have often said that, in my world, I cannot co-create if I can not create. If I am not able to bring the full measure of my presence into a Manifestation Spiral and bring into existence that which profoundly enlivens me, how can I hold myself as co-creator with another who can? Without this capacity to, first, create my world, I become support for – an assistant or helper – in another’s creation. There is nothing wrong with or bad about this – it is simply that I eventually become disenchanted and resentful. ’Creation’ requires focus and mindful intent, fueled by the desire to ‘manifest’ rather than work at. It also requires that we be totally, completely and fiercely unwilling to let go of what is meaningful to us!
The ‘more’ that I now seek is that of co-creation with others who are, clearly, the creators of their own experience. Women who are drawn forward into their Emerging Future and are passionate about their unwillingness to NOT manifest what they desire! In these moments, co-creation is not a matter of ‘working together’ but more one of paying attention to and watching for those naturally occurring, intersecting moments when my creation and their creation cross, creating a massive space for co-creation to be awakened and ignited! In that, there is such coalescence of the forces of manifestation that acceleration and expansion occur naturally – without effort, without plan and without struggle. Now, for me, THAT is what it’s all about!
In the ‘more ‘ of this co-creation, I stay focused on my intention to create that which is profoundly meaningful to me and for me. At the same time, I hold in my awareness – in the background of my mind – all that is being created by those with whom I engage. That’s all that is required – the rest falls into place in its own time and space. I need to be awake and present, to my own creation and to the presence of others and their desires/intentions to create what’s meaningful for and to them.
The ‘more’ that this represents goes beyond any linear, manageable journey. Co-creation occurs in bursts of genius and activity! It occurs in flashes of insight and layer upon layer of letting go, trusting, inviting and allowing. It occurs, not from any measurable or identifiable plan or strategy but from snippets of conversation that surface above the din of a collective conversation. It only occurs when and because I am willing and able to claim and own… to stand tall and visible and strong… in MY creation without losing it or myself to some external standard or interpretation that encourages me to become less that someone else may feel like more.
I am enthralled by the potential that co-creation invites and awakens. I am mesmerized by power of it all; and eager to press the edges and see what surfaces. There is nothing reasonable, logical or linear about co-creation. Explosions of this type offer up the magnificence of what appears to some as chaos and what others know to be gateways of potential. The key is to not lose mySelf.
It’s going to be an amazing year!
January 25th, 2009
Posted by
Louise |
Insights, leadership |
no comments
I am so present to those many, many moments in my life when I take a breath… exhale… and remind myself of the magnificence of my ‘imperfection’. For one whose life was driven for the first 30 years by being all that I thought others wanted me to be or would value….no, not true enough… would cherish me for being, I know well the dark despair that would press hard against my belly and chest and lock me into my tiny world. It seemed – and was, then – intelligent for me to hide myself away.
In those suffocating moments, I ‘knew’ that my life held no meaning to me/for me if it did not serve another. I ‘knew’ that being in service through intellect, will and skill were what made me welcome in the lives of others; what made me worthwhile and deserving of living, even in the puniest of ways. In those moments/days/weeks when I could not find it in myself to serve others, I could not be found by anyone else. I was buried so deep in my own self-loathing, my senses had shut down to all but my own small, frantic and repetitive inner voice of anguishing exhaustion, resentment and grief.
Long ago, my life changed – not in that there are no longer any such moments but in that I now hold those moments so differently. The magnificence of my ‘imperfections’ IS my call to awaken more deeply, in the truth of my Self. Without them, I stay lost in an external world that will only deplete me because I allow it to be so. With them, I discover a new world that sources and nourishes and sustains me – because I allow it to be so.
Over the years, it is not that these moments of ‘imperfection’ do not come, it is that (like you) I notice them more quickly, more easily and more lovingly and allow myself to move into them in full view of my world, rather than hide myself away until they release me from their death-grip. I have come to ‘know’ – without hesitation and without doubt – that my ‘imperfections’ ARE the gateways; and that without them, I am sentenced to a life without growth, without discovery and without the immense delight of always meeting the ‘more’ that is my destiny as a Quantum Biological Being!
I have discovered that as much as others can become ‘more’ with me in their lives, they are just fine without me. The question is: am I fine without me? Inevitably and mercilessly, the answers is always a resounding NO!
Choosing to live is choosing to recognize that I create it all – including my ‘imperfection’ of the moment that I might have guideposts…. markers on the treasure map of my own evolution… to embrace with fear, uncertainty and inner turmoil – but embrace, nonetheless. In that, greatness is born.
When women gather in small groups, talking… we do so in full recognition that WE ARE ALL OF IT! We are the grace and the elegance that invites and allows! We are the relentless and full force that presses – hard! – against the edges of our own limitations! We are the fierce roar of our own unwillingness to ever lose ourselves again! We are the open embrace that welcomes us – Self and other – home! And in combination of all of these, we are indeed the most powerful force to shape culture that has ever been known.
I, for one, am unwilling ever again in this lifetime to forget who I AM.
In this moment, I encourage you…
Remember who you are!
January 1st, 2009
Posted by
Louise |
Insights, leadership |
no comments
The email arrived December 18th. I opened it and read these simple lines:
I have no need for you to fix me or save me; I just like your company. Louise, thank you, for continuing to be the fiercest and the kindest person I have ever met.
My breath caught in my throat. I felt tears in my eyes. How strange to have someone notice and encourage that within me which is fierce. I know who I am – and now I know that she does, too. But perhaps what touched me most was how strange to have that of me which is fierce, held with the same warmth and appreciation as that of me which is kind.
In a flash, the image of the goddess Sekhmet filled my awareness. The image of a woman’s body with the head of a lioness. What a powerful image for the woman that I AM, and for the women that I am coming to know! The body of a woman (the capacity to love and nurture; to give birth and sustain and embrace) and the head of a lioness (the capacity to hunt, to destroy; cunning and wise; the willingness and ability to lead with an edge if and when required). Fiercely loving and fiercely holding ground!
How many women live their lives without a head? In today’s world, a woman is synonymous with her body; with its shape and size, with its desirability and availability. How many of us have bound ourselves to a life of ‘body’ only, often resulting in becoming the buffet from which those around us feed freely? How many of us have for so long denied the ‘head of the lioness’ that we ourselves, have lost our connection to and to all that it brings into our lives?
Rare is the moment in my world when a woman is seen to be fierce and it is welcomed. My life has been filled with so many women who have kept that aspect of themselves – that which is fierce and formidable – so deeply hidden even they could not find it. If it showed itself at all, it would manifest as outbursts of noise and flurry; or It would seep out as depression or anxiety or some unnamed, unclaimed agitation for which the prescription pad was the familiar and easy solution. And they would die a little more.
The woman who wrote that email is the same woman has found within herself her own fierce determination to live her life fully! With a diagnosis of cancer, the roar of her unwillingness to go quietly into the night, allowing her terror to lead, has become the torch that lights her way to find the line in the sand… each and every day of her life….that will not be crossed. Her life is hers to live, and she is clear: she’s here to live it large!
Sandy’s diagnosis could have been her invitation to lie down and die; to give up; to curl in on herself and allow her fear and dread to become the cocoon that would be her demise. Not this woman! On the last day of her second 5-day intensive, Sandy found her fury – unleashed in a powerful, awakened collective of women – and allowed herself to be claimed by it. The wave began with a roar, swept through the room and washed over all who were present. Not one soul present braced against or stiffened as the wave moved through them. Not one of them left the room or turned away. Not one of these amazing women interfered. Each, in her own way, relaxed into the fury… breathed… and knew that what would be awakened in them would become the force of who they are. In not time, the tears came, followed by a different roar – the roar of laughter! In less than five minutes, we had all become more.
In that moment, Sandy found her tribe. It was some time before she wrote about it on the Women Gathering Google Group, in a way that moved us all. Tribal Healing was born.
My own world has come to be shaped by ‘ohana’… the Hawaiian notion of family of choice. For me, ohana has a sense of wholeness. It is reminiscent of soft, curved lines that flow outward and make room for all to be embraced. It feeds me and sources how I live.
As I read Sandy’s note on finding her ‘tribe’, I was moved by the power of that word. The notion of ‘tribe’ is much more primal – much more ‘fierce’ – than that of ohana. Tribe is such a primary element, such an essential expression of our very being, as we are born into our first ‘tribe’ when energy takes form. Without tribe, we die.
The two notions have now come together in a much more powerful way! The notion of ‘ohana’ is the body of the woman; the notion of ‘tribe’ is the head of the lioness. Separate and unique, offering access to the full measure of the living forces that we are; and yet both are of the same being.
Ohana : long, soft, fluid lines that curve and expand. Tribe: straight lines, sharp angles and an edge that is formidable.
Ohana: expansive, expanding, making room to reach out and journey away from where we are. Tribe: deep roots, strong trunk, making it possible for the branches to grow yet still be safely held by the ‘ground’ from which it is sourced… and on which it stands.
Perhaps healing comes from Tribal Ohana… from the combination of what both bring into our lives. Perhaps in creating our experience of Tribal Ohana of choice, we claim it all: we claim that we are, too, fierce and kind with every breath – and unwilling ever to be anything less.
Around the world, women have no tribe. We flow ourselves into the tribe or ohana that exists, shaping ourselves to be like water moving through cracks left to us by whatever social frameworks have been designed. We seep into the smallest of spaces, making it impossible for others to see the full force of who we are, since we rarely, if ever, gather ourselves up. But what of a tribe of women? What of ohana that is large enough, welcoming enough and open enough to allow all of us to show up for our own lives?
Women Gathering Google Group is a space that invites Tribal Ohana …. the energy that is the goddess Sekhmet.. to come to life! It is a place where we no longer need to hide the ferocity of the fullness of who we are. It is a place that recognizes and welcomes that in the wholeness of who we are, there must be room for our fury and not just our loving, compassionate and gentle ways.
Sandy has found her Tribe – and so have I!
December 23rd, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Insights, leadership |
one comment
About 2 years ago, I ran a short two-hour WEL-Systems program experience for my senior level skaters. This experience introduced them to some of the WEL-Systems ® models and focused on integrating the CODE Model ™ and Quantum TLC ™ into their athletic training. As a National StarSkate coach, my coaching business is now centered within a WEL-Systems approach so all of my skaters have become accustomed to my engaging with them in this way.
Several weeks ago, during a test day, a couple of my adolescent skaters, who had engaged in this 2006 WEL-Systems ® program, noticed that one of my skaters (whom I had only been coaching for about 6 weeks) was quite nervous while waiting to perform her dance test. Upon noticing her heightened energy, these 2 young women proceeded to assist her in moving her attention to the base of her spine through the White Feather exercise. They also encouraged her by modeling a breathing pattern to change her own breathing in order to stabilize her energy level and to shift her state. Having created this Quantum TLC ™ experience, one turned to me matter of factly and stated, “Susan … have you not shown her how to do this?” then, both acknowledged to this skater “It really does help (performing the test) by doing this!” Subsequently, they all performed well and passed their tests.
A few days ago, little known to me, these senior skaters were engaged in a conversation at the rink on how they utilize the WEL-Systems ® approach in their everyday lives. One of them related back to me what was learned through this exchange.
While writing school exams, one young woman notices that, during particularly challenging questions, she is holding her breath and cannot intellectually think of the answer … then, upon taking a couple of breaths and moving her attention within her body, suddenly, the answer surfaces into awareness. She adds that it is so cool when this happens over and over again. Her fellow classmates are not too sure what she is doing with this breathing stuff yet she is perfectly okay with their response.
Another bears witness to what happens to her fellow classmates who are frequently not breathing and their stress increases in the exam room. Upon leaving the exam room, breathing resumes and, as a result, sobbing tears flow from these students as the energy begins to move.
Another young woman realizes that she cannot get to sleep at night so she breathes deeply and allows the energy to move until the body stabilizes and relaxation occurs.
When overwhelmed with several school project demands, one young woman, rather than become overwhelmed, maintains her intention by choosing to complete the required work to her own internally referenced desires within the time frame that she has rather than live up to some externally referenced teacher marking standard. Once completed, she remains satisfied that, however it unfolds, she is fine with her choice.
In one recent class experiment, students were required to hold their breath then upon breathing have their blood pressure taken to demonstrate an increase in blood pressure. This same young woman took only 2 long breaths after holding her breath, and upon taking her blood pressure, the body had quickly stabilized so the blood pressure was unexpectedly low for the experimental result. The perplexed teacher did this a few more times only to find that her blood pressure continued to be consistently stable and low. Curious, he asked what she was doing and she let him know that she simply took 2 long breaths. Still perplexed, he voiced his belief that this was not usual or “normal”. She simply responded that her skating coach teaches her how to do all this WEL-Systems ® stuff so that it is perfectly okay (that he did not understand)!
I am overcome with a mixture of joyous laughter and heartfelt tears that these young “adolescent” women are finding ways to play with and to integrate a WEL-Systems ® approach into their lives. They are beginning to discover, as many of us much older women have, that WEL-Systems ® is not simply a technique or an approach, it is a way of living more fully in everyday life!
December 18th, 2008
Posted by
Susan Bremner |
Insights, leadership |
no comments
I never have a clue what’s going to happen in these WOI (Women of Intensity) gatherings and I am always amazed at the power with which they move. Yesterday’s gathering was no exception.
We came together on a Sunday morning, choosing to commit three hours of our lives to ourselves, knowing its impact on each other. Hugs exchanged, coffee poured and seats selected, we settled in to what we all knew held the potential to transform lives.
No monies exchanged, each of us there fully responsible for ourselves; knowing and trusting ourselves and each other, whether or not we had ever met before; and allowing all of who we are to fill the room and our conversations with ourselves and each other.
Women from all expressions of life : from 27 to 62; women with and without children and grandchildren; women with their own businesses, women in jobs and with careers, women unemployed; women riding high on their recent creations and other women, struggling to move through their lives – equally of their own creation!. And there we sat, willing and able to be present to whatever moved in ourselves and each other.
The doors blew wide open when one woman chose to share with us her recent journey of discovery. In a hushed and riveted room, she read the words that had taken her a full day to write; the words that came from the depths and the heights of discovering and revealing that she is bankrupt – at all levels of life. The vibration of her voice echoed through the tissue of every body in the room, each wondering: where am I bankrupt in my life? What am I choosing not to see, recognizing that if I saw, I would no longer be blind to all that is connected to it?
Another woman speaking with passion and purpose to her recent discovery that she can give herself permission to be bold and live large! For the first time in her life, she is unwilling to settle… for anything! If her life is not hers to live, as she chooses, then what life does she have? Her strength, her courage and her determination became a force that seeped through our own lives… leaving each of us wondering: where am I not giving myself permission to be all that I want to be? Where am I choosing to stay small so that others will not be disturbed by my presence?
Another – a young woman of 28 – spoke of her ability to fully own just how good her life is! Over time and many experiences, she has learned to be herself… even when it requires that she return and re-open a closed conversation so that it reflects the full measure of who she is. Her life is filled with people she loves and who love her; her work is gratifying and an invitation for her to grow and discover more about herself; and she is happy to be her. Her ability to live in the ‘now’ and see all that she has manifested for herself left each of us wondering: Am I able to see how good my life is? Do I allow myself to delight in and celebrate the magic that I create all around me?
Another spoke to the distinction that she now makes in her life: when she’s done, she’s done! (We had a good laugh at how, in truth, she was WELdone! ) How different an experience that is from talking about ending things, hoping things will end, trying to end things or wishing that someone else would end things! Being ‘done’ is such a powerful place to stand! Her sense of total and complete closure has given her the freedom to move on and create a life that allows her, now, to notice other things. Things like: “I can have it all!” In the vibration of her words, each of us wondered: Where am I done and yet, keep pretending that I’m not? What would my life be like if I were, indeed, simply done… and moved on? When I’m done and pretending not to be so, the energy loss is huge and often debilitating. Do my physical challenges reflect that I’m done and I’ve not yet noticed?
Yet another spoke to her recent awareness that as magnificent as her life already is, she is aware that there is so much more that she longs for. She knows her life lies in working with youth – as she has done for 30 years – and yet, it calls to her to engage on a much larger scale. Her compassion and depth of caring was palpable as she spoke to her desire for young women to know and express their own potential. In her words, each of us wondered: Where in my life am I staying in the shadows, unwilling to move into the bright light of being noticed? How am I holding back, in fear that I will be judged or ridiculed or rejected? What would my life be if I were to choose to honor the majesty of who I AM rather than allow the fear from who I have been, to consume my potential?
And there is more… much more! One after the other, for three hours, we spoke to our own internal truths, knowing that in owning those truths, we become more. We are all also mindful that each of us is an expression of some aspect of the consciousness of every other. In that, there is great freedom to be, to hear, to choose and to engage.
In three hours, lives have changed. The ripple effect of our own evolution – individually and as a collective – will never really be known to any of us. The joy is found in the journey in the moment.
Transformation does not have to be hard or take a long time! It can be a journey well travelled with others. It can be an experience filled with laughter and tears. And it can be waiting in the simplest of moments, in the quiet conversations sourced by women gathering in small groups, talking… It is what we talk about and who we are being when we’re doing it, that makes the difference.
It is as simple as breathing in and breathing out.
November 24th, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Groups, Insights, leadership |
no comments
Tomorrow, 16 women will gather, talking…. about their lives, their choices and their willingness and ability to engage and live large! In this moment, it feels like the night before Christmas… like the night before some great gift is about to be experienced, in some way. I know that these women coming together tomorrow is going to change my life.
They are coming from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and surrounding areas. They have been planning this for weeks – and every single one of them is awake, present and both willing and able to engage. I know that when we leave, the pulse that will have gone out into the world will have already changed our world in some way. That is the force of who and what we are.
Women are essential to a world transformed. Women awake are the fuel for this transformation – and nothing less will do.
These women are awake and not just ready to engage, but already engaging! These women of intensity have already begun to call to themselves other women of intensity (few are the places where intensity in women is welcomed, let alone encouraged!); women who can no longer tolerate the pressure of puny lives, knowing that they are designed for so much more. In this sense, ‘puny’ is not a reference to job levels, bank accounts or accumulation of ’stuff’. It is a reference to having spent lives being less… expressing less… and allowing less of the truth of who we are to be visible to others. Lives lived in the closet. Hugely powerful, creative, innovative women believing themselves to be ’saddled’ with a life of commitment and responsibility that prevents them from being themselves. These 16 women know better.
We can love, be lovable and be bold! We can be mothers and mates, colleagues and friends, and stand for our own interests and desires. We can be kind, considerate, patient and generous, and still draw the line in the sand and enforce it! We not only can… we ARE the intensity that it takes to live that way.
Imagine: 16 women engaging with each other in open, clear, honest and direct communication… about themselves. Not their opinions or stories about anyone else; not their external references to their lives or anyone else’s lives but a willingness and ability to be internally referenced, to own that no matter how it is, they created it; and in that lies the power to create something else.
I know that tomorrow will be filled with huge amounts of laughter! I also know that it will bring goosebumps, as I listen to the vibration of women of power. Their power does not lie in anything external to them. Their power lies in the depth of their connection to themselves and their willingness and ability to allow it carve out their lives.
Just one more sleep…. :)
November 22nd, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Groups, leadership |
one comment
I seem to be cruising down memory lane. Not quite sure why or how it has come to be – and none of it matters. All I know is that I have been drawn to some things and in that, I share them with you.
Today is Day 2 of Emerging Futures: Entrepreneurial Women. Perhaps what has called to me is the power in the simplicity of being myself. Perhaps it is the notion that in every moment of my ‘ordinary’ness there is a breath of exceptional and unique that I far too often dare not claim. Perhaps it is in allowing myself to know ‘genius’ in its most organic moments. And perhaps it is for you to know your own.
I wrote this piece as part of a series of several, again, some years ago. As I read my own words, I am reminded of my journey and know that despite all the distance travelled, the journey remains the same: that of finding myself.
I don’t need to be extraordinary. I need only own the truth of who I already am – and the rest takes care of itself.
Enjoy!
The notion of creativity is often linked to what we would consider exceptional achievements, like the art of Picasso, the invention of the laptop or the sleek design of the space shuttle. But for most of us, creativity brings its greatest rewards when it expresses quietly and much closer to home.
The dictionary defines ‘creativity’ as the act of causing to exist; to bring into being, give rise to, bring about. The very nature of the word itself implies bringing into existence that which does not already exist. And yet for most of us, our daily lives are filled with the repetitive and the habituated. We move through the basic routine of getting up, getting ready and going to work with one sequence of habits after another, rarely if ever noticing that we are engaging this repetitive process, day after day after day after …
We find ourselves lamenting the state of our lives, looking around us and trying to figure out what’s ‘wrong’ with our lives; with our work; with our friends and family. Yet maybe there’s nothing ‘wrong’ at all. Maybe what’s missing is a creative outlook – a different perspective or new world view – on what’s already there.
Creativity has its roots in curiosity. Without curiosity, there would never be the questions to which we seek answers. Or the daydreams that call out to be fulfilled. Or the change and innovation that we often intensely pine for. Without curiosity, there would be no reason for us to go anywhere new or meet new people or think a new thought. And yet, how many of us have become stuck in the habituated way of living our lives, applying our greatest creative expression to finding a variety of ways to explain and describe why we can’t have the life we want!
Imagine what your life could become if you got curious – about yourself, about your world-view and about your motivation for making the choices you make. Suddenly, life would be filled with astute observations and their corresponding, life-expanding insights. The next time you find yourself in that same old __________ (you fill in the blanks: conversation, relationship, job, problem, etc.), instead of looking around for someone to blame for keeping you there, get curious! Let yourself notice you, for a change, and ask yourself the following questions: Isn’t that interesting! Every time x happens, I do/say/respond with y. How come that seems like an intelligent response? How does it serve me to continue to do that? When was the last time that I actually chose my response instead of just acting out of habit? What is it that always doing x allows me to continue to not pay attention to? What would happen to the quality of my life if I did something else instead? Who would support me and who would be angry/sad/disappointed/frustrated with me? How much more of my life do I want to live like this? What am I waiting for to be able to choose differently? Whose permission do I need to be able to begin to live my life in a way that leaves me feeling alive, dynamic and energetic? Who do I need to become to allow myself to claim a joyful life?
The answers to these questions may not come easily, and you certainly won’t find them in anyone else’s mind. These questions may even lead to those dark moments of the soul, where uncertainty can sometimes feel like that great gasp for breath – the one that will expand you into a new level of expression. And as Ilya Prigogine – one of the finest minds in theoretical physics – once said: “The future is uncertain…but this uncertainty is at the very heart of human creativity.”
October 22nd, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Insights, leadership |
no comments
I’ve long known the power of the simple, unassuming process of women gathering in small groups, talking…..
I’ve long known of the unbelievable force for shaping culture that is the process of women gathering in small groups, talking…
I recently received the information below in an email from a friend. I have no idea who sent it to her – and I share it with you as an example of the impact that we… that women… can have when we choose to talk about what we want rather than what life has handed us; what we care about that is deeply meaningful to us and engage what’s required for it to present; and what we are choosing to manifest rather than exploring what we have been burdened with. My apologies to the author of the thoughts below… and thanks for sharing them.
[The] Alaska Women Reject Palin rally was to be held outside on the lawn in front of the Loussac Library in midtown Anchorage . Home made signs were encouraged, and the idea was to make a statement that Sarah Palin does not speak for all Alaska women, or men. I had no idea what to expect.
The rally was organized by a small group of women, talking over coffee. It made me wonder what other things have started with small groups of women talking over coffee. It’s probably an impressive list. These women hatched the plan, printed up flyers, posted them around town, and sent notices to local media outlets. One of those media outlets was KBYR radio, home of Eddie Burke, a long-time uber-conservative Anchorage talk show host. Turns out that Eddie Burke not only announced the rally, but called the people who planned to attend the rally “a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots,” and read the home phone numbers of the organizers aloud over the air, urging listeners to call and tell them what they thought. The women, of course, received some nasty, harassing and threatening messages.
I felt a bit apprehensive. I’d been disappointed before by the turnout at other rallies. Basically, in Anchorage , if you can get 25 people to show up at an event, it’s a success. So, I thought to myself, if we can actually get 100 pe ople there that aren’t sent by Eddie Burke, we’ll be doing good. A real statement will have been made. I confess, I still had a mental image of 15 demonstrators surrounded by hundreds of menacing “socialist baby-killing maggot” haters.
It’s a good thing I wasn’t tailgating when I saw the crowd in front of the library or I would have ended up in somebody’s trunk. When I got there, about 20 minutes early, the line of sign wavers stretched the full length of the library grounds, along the edge of the road, 6 or 7 people deep! I could hardly find a place to park. I nabbed one of the last spots in the library lot, and as I got out of the car and started walking, people seemed to join in from every direction, carrying signs.
Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here.
It looks harmless enough: a small group of women gathering, talking… clustered around the kitchen table… sipping tea or coffee… and awakening to their unwillingness to do nothing about their lives. And in an instant, something happens!
We are witnessing the power of contagion of an awakened collective. We are also witnessing one of the most powerful forces that shapes culture – and women are the key.
September 22nd, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Insights, leadership |
no comments
I had a brief but life-enhancing conversation yesterday with a woman who is the mother of two young children. Having just recently experienced Decloaking… and living authentically, this courageous young woman was faced with an important moment with one of her children and in that moment, chose to trust herself.
Her very young son had just started nursery school. As he returned home one day from this fresh and new adventure, he told his Mom that he had a sore throat. As is her conditioning to do so, her immediate thoughts went to notions of disease (i.e. strep throat) and the need for a visit to the doctor and the likely corresponding course of treatment with pharmaceuticals. But in that moment… in a breath… she chose to stop and allow herself to recall all that she had experienced of herself.
In Decloaking, her journey of Self-discovery had been profound and life-altering. In this moment, she chose to bring that discovery into her life with her son and trust that he, too, is a magnificent being of energy and information in flow, divinely guided by the natural intelligence that lives as the essence of his being in a physical universe.
In this moment, she chose differently. Instead of presuming to know, she chose to discover.
“How was your day today?”… and then listened as her young child spoke of his day, eventually revealing that he “… did not know who to talk to today”. And with the insight sourced from her experience of herSelf and the deep connection that can only be sourced from a mother’s love for her child, she wrote her phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to her son. ”The next time you don’t know who to talk to, you just ask your teacher to call this number and you can talk to me!”
In that moment, a breath ripped through my chest, my eyes filled with tears and I felt my body open… from below the navel to just below the sternum… the place where my own children grew in my belly.. and I thought my chest would explode! If only we could all love our children this much!!
In that instant, her having discovered how to love herSelf became her permission to love him that much. That simple gesture… taking but a nano-second from her busy day… was a powerful message to her young son that he is not trapped in a friendless world; that he is not without resources and the ability to choose for himself; that he can handle it; and that he is not alone.
And as it is with children, it was over in a moment. She thought it was done as he tucked the paper in his pocket and began to walk away… until he turned around and said to her, “My throat doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Imagine a world where it is that simple to be well – because it is! And it can never be until it begins with me.
September 16th, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Insights, Outcomes, leadership |
3 comments
