Ice Cream Sandwich

Have you ever had an ice cream sandwich? Two boring cookies with a yummy, luscious centre of ice cream. What am I saying? Who hasn’t had an ice cream sandwich? Well at least the cookies are chocolate. But they are usual soggy.
Kind of reminds me of life. You have the soggy bits. You may even have a lot of bits that are soggy in your life. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt to prove it!
Nonetheless, that is life isn’t it? Now have a look at the picture of the ice cream sandwich. What is the part that stands out for you? If you are like most people, your eye will be drawn to the dark brown soggy cookies. The white just seems to blend right in with the background.
Again, just like life. Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. – very familiar saying. Sometimes it seems like we just go from crisis to crisis, bad to worse. But do we really? Is your life really all that bad? Are there not some yummy times of ice cream?
As I write I look back on these last three and a half years. Exactly three years ago I started to have warnings from my body (heart) that my life had to change. I have gone through a very painful separation and divorce (yes admit the pain; it’s best for healing – just don’t dwell there). I watched the person I loved and married after ten years suddenly, and I mean very suddenly, change into something I couldn’t recognize. I watched as addictions took over his life and subsequently mine until I made the sad choice to walk (on a metaphysical level my heart trouble was being caused by a broken heart as we romantics call it). I have been to the brink of ruin financially. I have not had or even wanted a relationship. I have seen my consulting go down to nothing. I have lost several friends for various reasons (or choices). I have watched my kids go through a very painful experience as they watched their beloved Grandmother die. I have had three addresses and will now be moving yet again! I have had to go to the government and ask for financial aid in the form of admitting to be disabled (rather slightly, but all the same). I have had to admit all of this to my friends and family.
I could take you down a longer and more winding road of memories (45 of 50 years). But why? I want ice cream!!!
Now what about that ice cream. Well over the same period I have experience the joy of having my business flourish before it crashed. I had the joy of starting to write this blog only this year. When I moved out on my own I found the most lovely place. I have affectionately called it my healing home. I have had the support of wonderful friends and family. I have watched my son fall in love with a wonderful young woman. I have bought a new car on the same day as my daughter, Sarah, did. I moved into friends’ house while they moved away and have had the absolute thrill of my life renovating and redecorating. That spoke to my creative abilities big time! I have made new and wonderful friends. I have started at a place of work that I love. I actually love my job for the first time in many, many years. I am still working with clients as a consultant. I am now studying to be certified as a Celebrant. I have had a steady, albeit very small, income through the months I needed to physically recover from the trauma of my divorce. I have been to Mexico! I have been on my first cruise from Mexico to Hawaii and then spent 3 days there with my son, Tim. As he said once, “that was a trip for the books”. And so, so, so much more.
So I have a choice here:

I can be dwelling on the unsettled life I’ve been living these last few years…
OR
I can be ever so grateful for the ice cream!

I choose…………………

……………Ice cream

MY TRUTH:I have learned that the secret to a joyful life is not to just endure the soggy bits, but to seek out and rejoice in the ice cream in between the soggy bits. It’s hard work sometimes; very hard work. But in the end it is truly what keeps me sane. It is truly what keeps me connected to myself and a benevolent Force that I believe is holding this all together. What about you???? I would really love to hear what you feel below.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Feeling Stressed?

I’m not sure about you, but my most stressful moments seem to come at nighttime. You know the time. It’s 2 am or later and the mind starts to chatter like a chimpanzee! I really, truly, honestly, dislike that chatter.

Sometimes I can quiet my mind with meditation. Sometimes I can distract my mind with a show or book. Sometimes I can distract my mind through physical activity. The there are those moments when I use all my weapons in the arsenal and I just keep hearing the chatter.

It is in these moments that I choose something we forget is so easy to do Listen to what my mind is saying. Stress is all about the Possible possibilities; the worst case scenarios. Sometimes it helps to listen to the stressed mind, acknowledge it, thank it for trying to protect us and then let it go.

I have learned in recent months that ritual helps too. I write out the stressful stuff and then I burn it uttering a prayer like this:

I surrender this non-beneficial energy to the Universe.

I release it with LOVE and FORGIVENESS.

I entrust (myself, this situation) into the hands of (God, spirit, etc…)

Then as it burns I light a tea light and walk away. What does all this ritual represent? Whatever you need it to represent. I find it works for me. Find what works for you.

Feeling Stressed?

Steve Jobs Leaves Us With These Words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_ptbiPoXM&feature=youtu.be

 

Steve Jobs’ 2005 Standford Commencement Address

(with introduction by President John Hennessy)

Steve Jobs Leaves Us With These Words

Practice The Presence: Why?

Initially, when I was contemplating is excerpt for Practice The Presence and I came up with the title, my retort to the question was simply, Why not???

Isn’t that a great answer? A simple question? So why no?

• Because I don’t know how.


• Because I’m afraid to fail.


• Because I’m afraid what I’ll look like to others.


• Because I don’t have time.


• And the list goes on and on.

What’s your answer to why not? The list above is only a short list of the reasons I had, especially the first one on this list. But they are just excuses really. So before we consider any answers to the answer/question we really do have to go back to the first question: Why practice the presence?

Let me tell you why I practice the presence. I personally practice the presence because I want to see into me. I want to know me. In getting to know me I get to understand me. I get to really get why I do, why I feel, why I act the way I do.

So many seek enlightenment. So many want to see through their eyes the way that they think great ones like Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, Jesus and others saw things.

I did too at one time. But I have come to know that what they saw was not the evil in others; the corruption in a world gone wrong. What they saw was themselves. They saw and knew how short that they fall short of what we seek as perfection. What they came to see was that for change to occur it had to happen to begin with themselves. It has to begin with me!

So why practice the presence? – Why not! This is no longer posed as a a question to a question. It’s a statement! If practicing the presence causes me to look inside and to transform myself, that will give me a new world view. And by practicing the presence my new world view will cause me to feel differently, then it will also cause me to act differently. And if I act differently that may cause others to inquire as to why they see someone who is different. And it is my hope that this will cause them to seek this enlightenment, to shine a LIGHT INTO THEIR OWN SOUL.

MY TRUTH: To practice the presence may seem selfish. It may seem to be a challenge. It may even seem impossible. But for me to not practice the presence means that I will miss out on something so wonderful, me..the real me…and the real you, because it affects how I see you.

Practice The Presence: Why?

Advent: CHRISTMAS EVE

On the eve of our Christmas celebration, many people are doing the last-minute rushing around, wrapping prezzies and having their Christmas Eve socials. Me, I’m sitting here, at home, typing this last entry in the Christmas Advent blog for 2013.

I used to love doing the social circuit at Christmas time. I had spent many years part of an organization that had Christmas pretty much ruined because it was the biggest fundraising drive of the year during this wonderful season. I would drag myself out of bed on Christmas morning after wrapping the children’s presents for hours into the night after they’d all gone to bed. I would actually be glad that it was over.

Now, I actually have a bit of a grieving process every year. I LOVE Christmas. Not because of the presents and rushing around. I love the tone it brings to our world (aside from the commercialism). It brings about a happy tone, a joyful tone. And then after all the prezzies are opened and the push through to New Years is done, all the lights go out, the music stops and we seem to just automatically go back to the same old, same old.

Even before Christianity took over the Yule Tradition it was a time of celebration in many cultures. Families gathered and gifts were exchanged – certainly not X-Box’s, laptops and smartphones! It was a time for family. And that’s what I love about it. Each on of the readings over the last four weeks reminds to be people of HOPE and PEACE and JOY and LOVE. As part of the Advent Wreath the last candle represents LIGHT. It is called the CHRIST CANDLE, because the person, Jesus, came to bring light to a world that was filled with hypocrisy, unnecessary rules and a failed religion.

Many may be offended to know that Jesus did NOT come to establish a new religion. He came to fix his own religion. Strange, so did Buddha and many others who have come to show us enlightenment.

What is this enlightenment. Well look at the word for a second. It contains the word LIGHT. It is not a destination or achievement as some would have you think. It is a process. It is the process of shining the LIGHT into our own lives and seeing ourselves for who we really are. It is the process of looking at the path we are on to see if it is the most beneficial for ourselves and those around us. It begs the questions:

• Am I bringing HOPE to an otherwise hopeless world?


• Am I bringing PEACE to a violent society?


• Am I bringing JOY where there is sorrow?


• Am I the embodiment of LOVE to those who believe there is no love?

The truth for me is that I am and I am not. The truth for you may be different but probably not. Some days I don’t feel like I’m embodying any of these qualities, but I really am. Some days I am cranky. Some days I am just not ‘right’. Does that mean that I don’t embody the LIGHT. No, not really. It just means that the LIGHT looks a bit different on those days. In the Bible it says in Matthew 5, verse 16,

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

It’s true that some days I’m not all light and fluffy. But I can still exude that LIGHT from within. I can tell people that I’m not feeling up to par and that will give me integrity. And if on that day I offend someone I can go back and clean it up. That is who, even on the crummy days I can shine the LIGHT. But on those wonderfully joyous days when I feel full of HOPE, PEACH, JOY and LOVE I will choose to let my light shine before ALL men in such a way that they WILL see my good works…

Many blessings to you and yours at this time of year.
Thank you for following me here. I am honoured that you do.

James

 

Advent: CHRISTMAS EVE

Advent: CHRISTMAS EVE

On the eve of our Christmas celebration, <<<<<Jesus’ birthday>>>>>>, we light all of the candles of the Advent wreath. First we light the candle for HOPE because <<<Jesus is our hope>>>>>(Recap my own readings). Second, we light the candle for PEACE because Jesus is our hope and peace. Third, we light the candle for JOY because Jesus brings joy. Fourth, we light the candle for LOVE because Jesus is love. Finally we light the center candle. This is the CHRIST candle. Jesus is born. Jesus has come. Jesus is our salvation.

 

Advent: CHRISTMAS EVE

Advent: Week 4 - LOVE

Welcome to the fourth week of Advent. We have already lit the candles of HOPE, PEACE and JOY. Today we light the fourth candle of Advent, LOVE.

I don’t know about you, but I think the word LOVE has been over used and under valued! Just my opinion. Just sayin’.

• In the 1960′s it was all about making love not war. 
• In the 1970′s it was all about free love. 
• In the 1980′s and 1990′s it was about be careful who you love or you could catch your death!
• And so on and so forth. 

We banter this word around like a baseball at a little league practice. LOVE has become a by word that is equated with sex. “If you love me you’ll have sex with me.” How quickly love dissipates when the special moment passes or there’s an oops as the result.

This is not LOVE. As we light this fourth candle in the Advent Wreath we are called to real LOVE. Not the kind that fades like the froth on the root beer as it warms. It is the LOVE of I Corinthians 13.

LOVE is patient, LOVE is kind. 
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 
It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, 
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 
LOVE does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Then my favourite verse…

LOVE never fails.

This LOVE is NOT about being in LOVE. It is that LOVE that, no matter what, no matter where, no matter who, IT IS LOVE. It NEVER, EVER fails.

One of my favourite teachings I gave in my years as a minister was from Mark 12:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart 
and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…
Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

I used to turn the verses inside out or turn them upside down and say it thus:

When you have learned to LOVE yourself,
you can truly LOVE your neighbour
(including those who are not quite so neighbourly).
When you have learned to LOVE yourself and your neighbour,
then you can LOVE God with all your heart, soul, mind & strength.

How can we say we LOVE something or someone when we haven’t had the experience of self LOVE? That’s the issue isn’t it?

If I could learn to LOVE myself then the rest is much easier. The rest will all just fall into place. Because if I truly LOVE myself, I will automatically love everyone and everything else. This is the LOVE that we are called to today and always.

Please join me for my final installment of the Advent series, 
Christmas Eve, December 24th at 5 p.m. (PST).

Advent: Week 4 - LOVE

Gratitude...No Matter What!

Okay Latour. Now you’re pushing it, be happy and grateful no matter what, no matter had ‘bad’ it is! Now I know that’s a tough pill to swallow. I know that from personal experience too.
Here’s an example from my life this year. In the first week of 2013, chose to walk away from a project I loved and believed in. I was the project manager of a group of youth working towards opening and running a successful movie theatre in out town. I became frustrated when I discovered that reports I was writing were being doctored by management before they reached the funder. I also became frustrated with how the youth were not being told things that were being done behind their back thus usurping their power and putting me in positions where I was not in my integrity.
So I submitted a contract termination letter for my consulting company JLP Solutions and withdrew. I was delve stated to say the least. I had had a couple of years of painful loses and now this. So yes it hurt. Yes I cried a bit. Yes I was angry. But as I pulled myself through other crises I had learned that I still could be grateful.
My docket was empty for new clients. I was now able to sleep again without constantly feeling uptight about this contract. I was able to give more thought to my future. I had peace of mind. I had gained experience. I had met and worked with some pretty incredible youth, mentors, volunteers, staff and other public figures. But I still grieved. And I gave myself permission to feel the whole gamut of emotions. But I was still grateful for pieces of it all, not that it was in pieces.
As it turned out things got worse for me and I had to get financial assistance later in the year. I also had to (chose to) let a large debt go to collections. I worried. But I was grateful for all the things already said and then some. The biggest gratitude I had was for this blog. I had felt directed to do this for quite some time. Now I had time and lots of it. I didn’t spend every waking moment in the blog. Some days I even chose to be lazy. That’s all okay.
My Truth: Happiness comes in little packages here and there. All we have to do is look at the small, insignificant things we take for granted and all the little pieces come together like a great puzzle. A puzzle entitled joy! Gratitude, as it turns out, is a momentary practice. This situation sucks!!! But look how great it is to have my pup who is such a great listener. Damn! I burned my coffee again! But hey, I have list more where that came from and will make some. The attitude of gratitude mixed with the puzzle pieces of happiness make a wonder-full masterpiece….called…My Life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.


Gratitude...No Matter What!

Practice The Presence: Mindful Awareness

I came across this Jewel of Wisdom several weeks ago and posted it on November 2, 2013 with the full intention of using it as part of this series.

I captioned it by saying, “It is so easy to walk into a room and create a story about every person in the room. Sometimes this can actually be fun…if that’s all you’re doing. But often we create stories about other people, their intentions, their actions and reactions, their thoughts about us, that we forget that they are just like us. They have the same fears, the same colds, the same 24 hours a day that we do. So why not keep it to basics? “There is Joan”….PERIOD. Then allow Joan to evolve.

So what does this have to do with Practicing The Presence, you ask? Simple really. Mindful Awareness has become the slogan of the day, thus causing all kinds of mysticism about it. But it is actually quite simple to practice mindful awareness. Mindful awareness is being aware of what is going on in the mind. In so doing we become crystal clear of what’s happening around us.

I don’t know about you, but I have this constant chatter that goes on in my head ALL THE TIME! Sometimes it’s downright annoying. This comes from what philosophers identify as the Id or the Ego. Our brains are these mini-computers that operate thousands times faster than any of the computers we have currently. In so doing we hear the ‘code’. On a computer it is all about 0′s and 1′s. If only that was all it was in my head! For me, there is this constant, “Why am I doing this? Why is he/she doing that? What was he/she thinking? What was I thinking? OMG, I have a new line of my face! OMG, he/she is better than me! Will he/she like me? Will he/she approve? What do I have to do when I get to work? What do I have to do when I get home? What about the trash? When am I going to do laundry? Why? When? How? Where? Who?????”

Sometimes I just want to SCREAM, “What the ….?
Shut the …. already!!!!”

Guess what? Sometimes I’ve done just that…and it’s worked! It is said that our modern world bombards us with more information in the reading of ONE newspaper than what it took a lifetime to accumulate only 300 years ago! That is stunning! No wonder our minds are always spinning a new story.

Mindful Awareness isn’t about erasing the noise. It’s actually about paying better attention to the noise. What does that mean? Well, when I sit “quietly” (remember the chattering) I actually listen to the chatter and honour it. I permit it to enter and then let it slip away. You’ve heard that what we resist persists, right? Have you ever tried to meditate and shut off  the chatter? How did that work for you? It didn’t right? Sometimes I do actually shout at it! But really what I’m doing is shouting at myself, so catch myself, to stop and be still, be aware, listen, be in the moment, not the later.

Remember in the earlier part of this series I said that the Presence is everywhere and anywhere? I meant it. Even in the chatter. Honour it. Hear it and allow it to pass through. If you do this you no longer resist and it no longer persists.

Keeping with the thought (not chatter this time) that the Presence is everywhere and anywhere also means that we can choose to practice mindful awareness anywhere and everywhere. So when I am in a room full of people and I start the stories, I can choose to hear it and reframe it and then let it pass. Example: Chatter = “Gosh! Look at that woman! She is absolutely covered in tattoos!” Reframe = “Look at all that art on her. It’s not for me. It’s actually quite creative. It makes her happy. I may prefer less, or perhaps in a book. But look at her face, it’s radiant!” Then let it go.

My Truth: I often find that my chatter is about judgement. It is also about my own insecurity. After all if I can point your attention at someone or something else, then you won’t notice that I have a zit on my nose, right? Who really cares!?! Only me. It’s my story. It doesn’t have to be yours or theirs.

Chatter, for me, is often based in the future. I’m not present to the present but worrying about the future. Identifying it for what it is, honouring it, letting it go often silences it, or at least brings it down a couple of decibels.

Chatter, if carefully filtered, can actually lead me down the road to peace because I can see others and thus myself differently, more gently, less judgmentally.

Practice The Presence: Mindful Awareness

Let go! Just let go...

I used to be a chronic perfectionist! Used to be....
Read more
Let go! Just let go...

The Break-Up?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lug_IxFKo8

I saw this last night. Perhaps you’ve already seen it. It was amazing!

Spoiler Alert: Tissues Necessary…

 

The Break-Up?

Angels Are Just Waiting

There really isn’t much to add to this is there? I will say that one of my favourite authors on Angels, however, is Sonia Choquette.

Angels Are Just Waiting

Treasure Every Moment

Today I am up early. It was 6:30 when my inner alarm clock went off. I woke, felt rested, perhaps truly so for the first time in about a week. I got up, made my coffee, too weak; added more coffee to it and had all my breakfast nibs and bits and sat down to my daily quiet time.

Dad-Early 1970′s

Then I realized, it’s Dad’s birthday today. He would be 99!!!!…if he’d lived this long. They say that although the pain of grieving a death of a loved one goes away, you never stop missing them. For me, it’s true. Anyone in my life that I’ve grieved, either through death, divorce, endings is and always will be, missed. Why is that? The truth is because they made an impression on me. They contributed to my life in some significant way, even if it seemed insignificant to them.

So the lesson for me has always been not just to be grateful, but to treasure…and I don’t mean like a pirate – bury it! I am grateful for every person who has been in my life. Yes, even those, if not especially those, who’ve brought real pain to my life. Because without them, today, I would not be half the man I am. Not only have I learned to be grateful for each person; I have learned to treasure them in the moments we have together.

I grew up in a home that would be considered to be somewhat happy. But I was not a happy child. I grew up with parents who seemed to truly dislike each other. They tolerated each other at the best of times. They lived under the same roof, but slept separately, my father in the master bedroom, my mother on an outdoor lounger in the basement. For more than ten years of my life she chose to have no bedroom.

Aunt Irene (Dad’s Sister who lived with us), my big bro Brian, my Dad, and me. Early 1970′s

I grew up in a home where my parents often communicated, using that term lightly, through notes and letters left on the table or given to us as couriers. It was NOT an ideal life. But then again, doesn’t every family have it’s dysfunctions? I believe, yes. Were we The Waltons? Certainly not! Was it all bad? Not at all. I can remember times around the supper table where laughter dominated over the blue cloud of cigarette smoke. I can remember times when my big brother and my mother would have me laughing hysterically in tears on the floor. I was an unhappy child, yes. But I’ve learned that continual unhappiness is a choice. I now choose to be happy…joyful. Sometimes there is unhappiness. But I refuse to allow it to permeate and destroy my joy!

I also look at other people who have come and gone. Some did only bring pain. Some brought a mixture. But all have contributed to who I am today. I treasure the moments of joy I had with them all. I am grateful for the painful moments too.

Dad-early 1980′s

My Truth: In the last few years I have come to realize that friendships, relationship of any kind, ebb and flow – like the tides of the ocean. We crave for the flow to be more constant, more sustained; sometimes it is granted that way. But at other times it ebbs and the tide never comes back the same or at all. I have learned that it is so important to treasure every moment. 

Treasure Every Moment

Be Yourself

Be Yourself

Advent: Week 3 - JOY

To date we have lit two Advent Candles, HOPE and PEACE. Today we light the third candle of Advent, JOY.

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

Luke 2:10

Sharing from a very personal place I want to show you an insight that I have learned only in the last month. Over the last few months I began to realize that although I have come through a very difficult period in my life and ‘survived’ it, I was still missing something. That something is JOY. Sometimes when we experience challenging life transitions and are subject to the process of the stages of grief it takes longer than we would wish. Although I feel I have traversed those stages in my life, which Elisabeth Kübler-Ross teaches as being, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression & Acceptance, I felt as though I was missing something at the end,  joy. Oddly, it was if I somehow expected it to be like some sort of prize for winning the race like a medal of honour or trophy.

So in my quiet times I began to ask [God, Universe, Spirit, Creator, Higher Power], Why is it I feel as though I’m missing the prize? Where is my JOY? I am very fortunate in these days to have my questions answered fairly quickly. I believe that this is because the future I’m being prepared for is coming very quickly now. In fact I believe that that future is happening right now. I’ll explain.

Over the last three years I have been blessed by the books and daily readings written by Melody Beattie. I have written about her blessings in my blogs previously. It was only a few days after my inquiry that I was taken through a series of readings by her that helped me to learn more about JOY. I began to realize that the life I had been living for many years had actually robbed me of my joy because I was so busy trying to hold everything together. I was busy trying to fix someone. I was busy pretending I was living a life of joy. So much so that I’d forgotten what joy really was all about. My life had become based in the future and fear-based.

I realized that JOY is not a prize. JOY is not and end goal. JOY is about the now. Yes, that’s right – now! Over the years I had gotten so used to living in a place of fear that I wasn’t able to experience the joys that surround us every moment of every day. The joy of family. The joy of a wonderful companion, my Dachshund, Gracie. The joy of friends. The joy of eating chocolate. The joy of sitting by the ocean and writing. The joy of watching a good show on the TV. The joy of solitude. The joy of health and abundance.

I realized that these momentary acknowledgements of joy that surrounded me all added up. The sum of which, if I took notice, would lead me to the place of experiencing joy constantly and consistently.

I realized that it wasn’t really the past few years of my life that had caused this joyless state. I realized that somewhere between the innocence of childhood and adulthood, perhaps even the teen years, stress, life directions, life ‘purpose’, etc… had caused me to lose touch with the momentary joys that I experienced.

This morning I sat down for my quiet time and did my usual reading. It was a time of joy. I also had the first cup of coffee in several days because of the flu. What a joy! The taste of that hot, creamy, delicious quality coffee swirling around my mouth was a real pleasure (i.e. joy). The texture and taste of the butter on my homemade bran muffin was almost more than I could imagine. It was a joy! Reading my morning reading, journaling, looking out at the snow falling, the solitude before the house began to wake…what joy!

Do not be AFRAID. For I bring you…JOY!!!!

Notice FEAR and JOY cannot reside together. FEAR is caused by living in the FUTURE. On the other hand, JOY  is experienced in the present.

Advent: Week 3 - JOY

You're Never Too Old!

Well this is definitely a new take on “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” You can. If fact you can be that old dog! Try it!

 

You're Never Too Old!

Practice The Presence: How? Part 2

Last week I wrote about my experiences growing up and how I was told to practice the Presence. I ended by saying that it doesn’t matter where you are you are always already in the Presence.

As I sit here in the early hours with my bran muffin and cup of Java I am looking out at the street watching the sunrise. The sky is so many shades of orange and blue and purple. The frost is on the road, lawns and vehicles up and down the street. I love this time of day! All is quiet. The world around me is just waking up. I can take time to journal, write, meditate, read, whatever is good for my soul in the moment.

And that leads me so easily into the second installment of Practice the Presence: How?

I have already shown you some of the ways that I practice just in the second paragraph:

• I often find morning is the best time. This isn’t always so. But it is when I’m quietest. It is when the world around me is quietest. I haven’t started looking at emails. I haven’t started to get ready to go out the door for my first appointment of the day. It is ME time.


• I often read and journal in the mornings. Currently I am doing daily readings from More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie. I am also reading, sometimes in the morning, sometimes at bedtime, Dr. Judith Orloff’s Guide to Intuitive Healing.
  


• 
  I often meditate. Now this can look different every time I do it. Sometimes I sit quietly or lay quietly and work my way through my chakras, visualize a goal, quieten my thoughts, send healing to someone, listen to a guided meditation. There are so many ways to meditate. Forget the sitting like Kermit the frog and humming Oooooohm. If it doesn’t work for you throw it out. Do something that does work for you.


• Sometimes, especially on holiday, I like to just go for a quiet walk. Although I have to admit, I don’t do it enough. Nature is a fantastic way for me to become grounded, connected to the Universe, Mother Earth, my own soul.


• Sometimes I just skip it all in the morning and get on with the day. This is a choice! Sometimes it’s because I haven’t allowed enough time for my quiet time. Sometimes I have needed to sleep more. Listen to your body – it’s important. Listen to the wisdom of your soul. It knows the way.
  

My Truth: I remember when I started this journey of practicing spiritual life a number of years ago. I was too busy listening to what others said I should do, how I should do it, when I should do it, where I should do it, why I should do it. Then I learned to listen to the quiet, still voice within. I learned that whatever works for me, works for my soul and my soul’s connection with Spirit, God, Creator, Allah, The Presence.

Your Truth: As always, there are three truths. There’s my truth, your truth, and the truth. But really, in this case there are really only two: Your truth and my truth are THE TRUTH. Do what works for you. Perhaps you want to share what works for you below, so that others can be encouraged. It doesn’t matter how you do it. JUST DO IT!

One Last Thot! I have two of these guys in my home. The larger of the two move in and out of the house with the seasons. In the summertime I put him in front of my fountain and combine him with representation of the four elements, water, wind, earth & fire. The smaller of the two sits on my bathroom counter with face cloths in front of him. They are a constant reminder of the pure gold life I have and how grateful I am for it.

Practice The Presence: How? Part 2

Bad Life???

Have you noticed that we live in a day and age...
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Bad Life???

In Darkness, There Is Light

Enough said.  
In Darkness, There Is Light

Some are born great..

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

William Shakespeare

 

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the small village of Mvezo, on the Mbashe River, district of Umtata in Transkei, South Africa. He was a man who would one day become a great man despite his lineage and place within the tribe he was born to.

There are many great men and women in history. Mr. Mandela now takes his place at the table with such greats as Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, John F. Kennedy, Indira Ghandhi and so, so many more. They are part of our history. They are a part of my history. They will be part of the history that the children of tomorrow will learn about in schools around the globe.

But what about a lady by the name of Noqaphi Nosekeni? Or a man called Nikola Bojaxhiu? Have you ever heard of these two people? I hadn’t until I took to writing this posting.

The second paragraph above this one mentions names that ARE great. But who are the two in the paragraph immediately preceding this one? Well, the lady, Noqaphi Nosekeni and the man, Nikola Bojaxhiu, were the mother of Nelson Mandela and the father of Mother Teresa, respectively.

Why do I bring them up? Let’s go back to the quote penned by William Shakespeare. We instantly recognize these great people’s names. And they deserve the credit they are due. But are they the only great ones? What about Nelson Mandela’s mother? Did she not have a strong influence on the ethics of her son? Did her strict, yet charitable background as a dedicated Methodist not impress on her son justice? Equality? Sacrifice? And did not the community he was raised in have influence? His teachers? Professors? Even his jailers?

You see, my point is this – we are ALL born to greatness; everyone one of us. We have no idea how we will affect someone who may be seen later as “great”. Does not our greatness have impact? Of course it does!

 

My Truth: As challenging as it is; as imperfect as I am; as “insignificant” as I may feel on any given day, I am great! I am also grate-ful for the many lives that have impacted the person I am as well as the privilege I’ve had to impact others. It is my constant prayer to be that which I have been touched by – greatness.

Some are born great..

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

Shhhhhhh!

A good friend and I we talking about meditation last night. She said she found it difficult to meditate. I used to…until I discovered that mediation was about listening to my inner self/Spirit/my soul and connection. So I have found many ways to “meditate”. Gardening, writing, journaling, music, actual silence and breathing, taking a walk, washing cars (my most recent discovery). For others it could be jogging, physical exercise, martial arts, riding a bike, making love (hey why not? It’s about listening and connecting. Sexuality is a very spiritual ritual). If you struggle with “Oooooohhhhmmmm”, stop beating yourself up. Find what works to cause you connection, peace, inner quiet, and a way to hear your Higher Self/Power.

Shhhhhhh!

Monday, 9 December 2013

A westJet Christmas

A westJet Christmas

Sunday, 8 December 2013

Advent: Week 2 - PEACE

Last week we lit the Candle of HOPE. This is now the second Sunday of Advent and today we light the second candle. This is the Candle of PEACE.

This Traditional second candle is often associated with the biblical reading from Isaiah 9:6-7:

“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Much has been said about the violence of our world. The media sensationalizes it on a regular basis. We can turn on our TV’s, computers, smartphones and other devices and easily tune into the violent scenes all over the globe. Have you ever stopped to think how this has affected us? Is it not an amazing thought that 100 years ago the average person had never witnessed a person being killed, yet today the average 3-year-old has because she can see it on TV? From that initial shock he is then subjected to it literally thousands of times before he even reaches adulthood.

Christianity and other religions all teach us a message of HOPE and PEACE yet as a people have we learned from that teaching? Most, if not all religions and traditions have been besmirched with violence, pain and suffering. Why is that? Why is it that history has seen the Crusades, the Salem witch burnings, shameful cover-ups, jihad and so much more. Every honourable Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, New Ager would like to bury this in the past and leave it there. But it keeps coming back to haunt us. It keeps coming from history to present itself to us at the dinner table through the medium called News. Certainly not Good News.

Recently I was stunned by a show I was watching with friends called XXX. This show made me realize that years ago when you picked up the Newspaper you would read feel good stories. That was the news of the day; not war, rape and other crime. True, we do live in a different age. We live in an age that sensationalized these things. It is almost as if they have become our idols of the present era.

Reaching back to my own roots I see a man who came to bring a message of peace to a world that was embroiled in a time of violence. I see a man who came to clean up his religious roots and expose hypocrisy, theft, violence and more (sound familiar?) Although I take note. He did not come to hide the shame of his tradition. He came to expose it. How does that bring peace, especially when we see, in contrast, how it ended his life with such violence?

History is not for us to hide. History is not for us to judge. History is not for us to feel shame; because shame has no real purpose. History is His-story. I apologize to the Feminists but this is what it’s called. Perhaps if it was called herstory it would have turned out differently, I don’t know. But the point I make is that it’s not MY STORY. My story starts now, this morning as I type this, watching the soft snow fall outside my living room window, oh so gentle and pure white. My Story is about PEACE. Because  True, my own personal history is not always pretty to look at. But in this moment I recommit to that message of peace. Why? Again I say it, PEACE BEGINS WITH ME.

Advent: Week 2 - PEACE

Friday, 6 December 2013

In Tribute to Nelson Mandela

 

Nelson Mandela: 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013

In Tribute to Nelson Mandela

In Tribute to Nelson Mandela

 

Nelson Mandela: 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013

In Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Promote Love

What you focus on, you manifest. This is not only a ‘New Age’ saying, it’s a truth. Focus on the good things in our lives. Be grateful for those things and people. See the ‘not so good things’ in our lives and use them to reflect back the things that ARE good.

 

Promote Love

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Meeting Management - Minute and Note Taking

Wednesday Co-authored Blog Series

For the Reader’s Information: We will be using our initials for these conversations we have so, Lynne Brown (LB) and James Latour (JL).

(JL) So Since I’m the Gold/Blue in True Colours I have been nominated to start this week’s blog. Lynne just loves details like notes or minute taking. Hahaha. Actually she and her partner, also Lynne, make a great team that way (and many others too). Lynne B does the facilitation and Lynne A does the note taking and often the distribution afterwards. I am looking forward to the possibility of when both LB and I facilitate together (coming soon) and LA does all that detail work.

In last week’s blog we talked about the importance of making sure that you follow the rules for formal meetings. Every detail has to be taken care of or you could have a potential disaster on your hands; or at least a wee mess. Well note taking or minute taking is actually no different. Although, there is always the possibility provided by the grace of the next meeting’s agenda, to make any corrections. It is usually provided for on the following meeting agenda for the minutes to be updated if needed.

In our blog about Agendas we  put this little detail in because it’s pretty important. Now I have a policy with boards that I’ve been involved with, that in the interest of time all previous meeting minutes should be read before the current meeting as a matter of courtesy and time-saving. Having a room of people read through a few pages of minutes at the start of the meeting can add wasted time to a meeting. I also like the Chair/Secretary to have received any emails or calls prior to the current meeting with any updates, edits or changes to the previous minutes. Again, it saves time.

I see two ways of taking minutes. We can use the linear agenda or the mind map agenda to guide us through the process. I will address the linear and leave the mind map to LB.

But first some preliminaries:

• Provide time in the meeting to pass a motion on the previous meeting minutes/notes. This ratifies the minutes and they can then be properly filed away.
• Choose a secretary, either permanent or temporary who is truly capable of taking minutes. If you have to spend the start of every meeting cleaning up the minutes, then you have a problem that needs to be rectified.
• Choose a system for taking the minutes. You can use either of the agenda ideas we are presenting or you can actually provide the secretary, especially if they are new, with a template similar to THIS.
  
• Make sure you have the date, time, place included, usually in the Header with the organization name.
• Make sure you’ve taken attendance. Record any regrets. Some meetings also like added those who are absent without any foreknowledge.
• At the end of the minutes, include the adjournment time and time and place of the next meeting.
• You can also refer to Robert’s Rules of Order as well.

Linear Minute Taking:

Then we are down to the nitty gritty. No matter whether you are using the Linear Agenda or a template, you must record all details. If the Chair says that something should not be included (i.e. private conversation), then you don’t record it. The Agenda and the template should work in harmony with each other. All you do is follow point A to point Z.

Sometimes the group elects to go “in camera”. This means discussion will not be recorded – often happens if personnel issues are being discussed. Sometimes the group will record their decision only after the “in camera” session is closed.

(LB) Mind Map Minute Taking:

So here we have a mind map for a group wanting to establish a food bank in their community. At the top right they have identified two potential sites for the location. There are two people who have been named to do the research.

The next line identifies the need for sponsors and who will be talking with them.

After that the next meeting is scheduled. As you can see this is a quick and easy way to take minutes for all but the most formal of meetings. It does not work for an AGM or other meeting of that sort. It works very well fort team meetings, community development meetings and other meetings that do not require a deeply formal method of record taking. The app I am using to generate this is Mind Node Pro. Other software that does this type of mapping are Mind Genius from the UK and Mind Jet from the USA.

What’s important at the end of the day is not that the discussion is recorded – in fact that slows everyone down. Instead, what is really necessary is the decisions and who is responsible for implementing them and what the due dates are.

There is a real skill set in taking good notes of a meeting. You need to listen well, leave your opinions out of it and when in doubt seek clarity from the group. Sometimes it is the note taker who keeps the group focused on the task at hand because they need to know what has been decided and who is doing what and when.

James Latour is the owner and coach of JLP Solutions and writer on Life’s Roller Coaster. James has over 25 years of experience working with the profit and not-for-profit sectors with project management, human resources, fundraising and volunteerism and industry – related consulting.  He is known for his team approach and follow through.  If you are looking for an enthusiastic coach/consultant who walks the walk and talks the talk, you’ve found him. Recently James has turned his passion, writing, into a blog and is using his talent in more direct ways.

Lynne Brown is the owner and coach of Orca Coaching & Consulting. Lynne Brown has been a coach and mentor for the last 30 years. She has a passion for working with people by empowering them to achieve their dreams and set realistic and attainable goals. Lynne has high energy as well as a positive and empathetic approach. Lynne is a firm believer that one of the purposes in life is to have fun and she incorporates that into her coaching and consulting.

Meeting Management - Minute and Note Taking

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Follow Your Dreams

Often times we are so caught up with how much...
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Follow Your Dreams

Sunday, 1 December 2013

Advent: Week 1 - HOPE

I can remember as I was growing up (some would say I missed growing up actually) that it was an important part of our Christmas Church tradition to have the Advent Wreath on the altar at the front of the church. This wreath would have 4 candles attached to the wreath itself, with one in the middle. Every sunday morning there would be a reading and a candle lit. If it was the second, third or fourth weeks then the previous week(s) candle(s) would already be lit at the start of each service. The only service that started without any candles already burning was the first week.

The fifth candle in the centre, often called the “Christ Candle” was reserved for either the Christmas Eve service or the Christmas Day service, depending on if there was an extra service on either of those days or if Christmas day actually fell on a Sunday.

It was always something I looked forward to. Not because I’ve always been a bit of a  pyro, but because it was just one of those rituals that for me, gave meaning to the Christmas season. As I grew older I was always hopeful that I would get to do a reading and light a candle. It happened at least once. When I went into the ministry it remained a traditional ritual for me and for the church I was serving at the time.

I haven’t been to church at Christmastime for quite a number of years now, let alone seen an actual Advent Wreath. So since I have always loved the ritual I thought that it would be nice to have a virtual Advent Wreath with a candle being lit every sunday starting today, December 1 and continuing until Christmas Eve.

Some history on the Advent Wreath: The Advent Wreath is a popular symbol of the season and has its roots in the pagan rituals during the winter solstice. As with many of the pagan rituals and symbols as the Christian Church made its way into a particular society the former attachment would be lost and a new one formed so that there would be a continuity or resemblance from the old ways to the new. The meaning of the wreath has changed so that the four candles interspersed around the wreath now represent the coming of Jesus with the centre candle representing the birth day of Jesus.

Now anyone knowing any history will know scholars have now pinned the birth day of Jesus not to December 25, but to another day in the year depending on which calendar you use. December 25 was also formerly a pagan celebration called Yule. You can find out more HERE or just by doing some historical digging using Google.

HOPE: The first candle to be lit during the Advent season represents HOPE. The Bible verse often associated with this reading is Isaiah 9:2:

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.”

If ever our world needed hope it is now. I don’t believe for a second that we as a species are beyond hope as some would say. I don’t believe for a second that this is a place filled with evil people. I don’t for a second even believe that this is a time of deep darkness. This is a message that the mass media sends us because it need to use the most sensational to keep viewership up.

I believe that this is a time of a great awaking actually. I choose to believe that we are living in a very enlightening age! Never has this planet had the ability to accumulate so much data in a few moments that 100 years ago the average person couldn’t accumulate in one year. Never has this planet had the knowledge and desire to see that it is time for us as a race to wake up and smell the roses on a planet that is dying from our misuse. Never has there been a time when we can actually know intuitively and experientially that we must wake up! 

Yes it’s true, governments and leaders filled with corruption, including those in free countries, are falling. Yes it’s true that the economic systems of many countries are failing. Yes it’s true that systems we have come to rely on no longer serve us. GOOD! It is time! It is time that we let go of the old and bring in the new. It is the only way we can actually fix our world. I can remember a popular expression that the entrenched church people would use, “We have always done it this way!”, to which I reply “And how’s it working for you?”

A world that is based on power and money has led us to see what corruption really is. How many more times does history need to teach us this? It is time to show that we can actually create a world of hope. I believe that now, as I write this, more than I’ve ever believed it. I see around me a world that is hungering for a new way of being. a new way of living, a new way of honouring the planet and its occupants that we have been given to care for.

Call me Pandora and tell me to take off my rose-coloured sunglasses! But isn’t this the message that Jesus wanted us to get? Isn’t this the lesson that he taught over and over? Isn’t it the same message that hundreds of teachers before and since have also taught? Look around us. We have at our disposal a vast amount of free technology that my parents never had access to. We have so many tools that can affect everyone on the planet. But that affect must begin with me, with you. Do you live with HOPE?

Advent: Week 1 - HOPE

And So The Season Begins....

http://youtu.be/uH8FvERQHtM

And So The Season Begins....

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