I And Thou
In this mental fitness programme, with daily exercises provided by means of a powerful and easy-to-use PQ-App, we need to train only three muscles: The Saboteur Interceptor, The Sage Enhancer, and the so-called Mind Control muscle, the one that enables us to switch from Saboteur to Sage mode in real time. These exercises are, for the most part, short body-based exercises which help us return to and remain in the present moment. Until we get carried away to past or future again, that is…
Moonage Daydreamer
My life since its turning point in 2003 has brought many dreams to fruition. Climbing mountains which appeared beyond my reach, running marathons along beautiful shores, dancing, singing, and making music, engaging in service all around the world, re-engaging with my beloved family, learning photography and meeting people who inspire and lead by example…
Action
Even more critical than in the realm of practical daily chores is the topic of (in)action when it comes to breaking out of destructive behaviours to move towards a cultivation of self care. This is a topic familiar to a wide range of personality types: the sedentary `couch potato´ who knows that physical exercise is not only warranted but would also be beneficial and probably even enjoyable, the junk food consumer who knows deep down that a better diet would bring about positive changes in body, mood and well-being, and the social media/streaming aficionado whose FOMO tendencies result paradoxically in actually missing out on the real life..
Despondency
In my case, nature has a very positive effect on my well-being, so I spend as much time as possible in the outdoors. Since childhood, I have been fascinated by all things, great and small, that can be found in the natural world. Plants, animals, rivers, skies, and all the rest; these keep me in a state of awe. The river we visit today is not the same one we saw yesterday. If we look closely enough, we can see that everything is alive, and in flux…
Light
In the words of Marianne Williamson: ` We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others´…
Culture
As a species we now stand at a turning point. With the innovations that have emerged over the past 120 years in areas such as depth psychology, neuroscience, quantum physics, imaging technology, addiction recovery, bodywork trauma therapies, and the like, we are perfectly equipped to bring about a new Golden Age of cultural evolution. We have an opportunity to create a culture that serves the needs of the people..
Transformation
In the coaching context this is equally true. Many successful professionals require a deep internal crisis to discover that `the hamster wheel looks like a ladder only from the inside´. The question of the purpose of life raises its head and the never-ending hassle of trying unsuccessfully to reach ambitious goals as a leader is tackled in the context of self-leadership which, in turn, presupposes self-knowledge. This is where `coaching from the inside out´ comes in…
Music
Dad died, the world went dark and, for a time, punk and grunge took over, The Jam, Lou Reed, and Joy Division providing the material for the crest of this wave. Through college and beyond, my tastes mellowed and broadened such that, when asked about my musical tastes today, I reply that I love everything bar operetta and Bavarian umpapa `Volksmusik´…
Imposters
I am currently participating in the PQ Training Programme developed and conducted by Shirzad Chamine and his team at `Positive Intelligence´, which is proving to be very helpful to those clients engaged in resolving the Imposter Syndrome. In this programme, reference is made to `Saboteurs´ and `Sage Powers´. The programme teaches us to identify and intercept the saboteurs – the main one being the `Judge´ – , so that they no longer hijack us, to cultivate the sage powers of empathy, exploration, innovation, navigation, and activation to lead us to right action, and to learn, by means of daily training, sufficient self-command to be able to switch from saboteur to sage whenever the need arises . By means of such training, we can begin to experience peace of mind and get closer to the goal of living the life we love.
Unity
In preparing my thoughts for this essay, it struck me for the first time that the term `unity´ is embedded in the word `community´. The healing experience of recovery is a community experience. When we arrive, hopeless and apparently broken beyond repair, we are lovingly taken in by those who know our predicament, for they had been at that turning point and had overcome their state of bondage. When they helped us, all they asked is that we `pay forward´ to the next wave of those who needed the solution, that which we were so freely given..
