Brio Leadership

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”

(John Donne, Meditation XVII). 

This famous quote from 17th author and poet John Donne is beloved by many. I agree entirely with Donne’s concept that we are each interconnected. However, I have been thinking about the island metaphor in a different way, which actually made me think of Donne’s quotation and ponder its relation to my thoughts.  Here is how I’ve re-stated the island metaphor: We are each like an island in the ocean, appearing to be separate and self-contained. The ego perceives us to be separate, “entire of itself”. Like this: 

If you can’t see beneath the water, the islands appear to be separate.

But if you pulled the plug on the gigantic bathtub that is the ocean and drained the water out, you would see that each island is actually just a mountaintop, rising up from and connected by the ocean floor. Like this:

Without the water, we see that the islands are connected via the ocean floor.

The ocean disguises the fact that we are interconnected, just as everyday life fools us into thinking we are separate and alone.

In a meditation this week, another image came to mind, and that is the inversion of this image.  OK, I know this image is based on an archaic notion that the spirit world (heaven) is above us, but I sometimes still cling to that image. Deal with it!  I sometimes appeal to the angels or spirit guides of someone I am praying for or concerned about in my meditation, and I always think of going up to the spirit world to connect with the angels, and then down again to that human being’s soul. And it came to me that in this instance, the island image is inverted. 

Whatever image works for you, the concept is the same: We are all connected.

Last Sunday, we discussed this concept at the Metaphysical Mystics Sunday School class at my church. Everyone there agreed that they have felt the connection at one point or another in their life. For some, it is in nature that we feel the interconnectedness of all life.  For others, such as me, I comprehend it in meditation or prayer. We had a lively discussion that I’d like to re-create on Brio Leadership. 

I invite you to comment on the idea of interconnectedness that I’ve proposed in this post. You might answer the following questions in your comments:

• What is it that connects us? What do you call that – God, consciousness or the Zero Point Field?
• How can we be more aware of our interconnectedness?
• How does our awareness of interconnectedness affect our thoughts and actions?
• Is God or Source the ocean floor for you, or is it the medium through which God communicates?

This week, I’ve been sharing ways that we can connect to Divine Wisdom.  We’ve discussed the four ways that we perceive spirit in our lives and I shared a meditation that helps me converse with God.  Today, I’d like to share some of the wisdom I’ve heard in the past week.  I think that each one of us can benefit from these messages.

Here is what the Divine told me this week:

"Remain in the energy of allowing, not the energy of fear, especially with money.  Fear sets up a wall around you through which money cannot flow to you.  Open your heart, body and soul and just allow blessings in."

"Peace within ourselves is the pre-requisite to external peace.  Teach forgiveness."

"You do well hearing me in your meditations, but listen to me during the day.  Take your journal and write what I tell you.  In this way, you will learn to listen to me during the day. In this way, you will know what to do."

"You’ve had strong feelings today.  But I tell you the envy you feel is out of place.  Beloved, you are exactly where I want you to be.  I have a plan for you and how could you be anywhere else?  Why can’t you accept it for what it is, which is perfect?"

I share these pearls of wisdom as my gift to you today.

Interested in the power of forgiveness?  Come to my Forgiveness Workshop this Saturday, April 19, 2008.

Want to become an Everyday Mystic?  Want a direct connection to Divine energy?  Today, I’ll share a meditation that can help you plug into Divine Wisdom.

First, let me say that you don’t have to go on a week-long silent retreat to become a meditator.  It has been shown that meditating for as little as 5-10 minutes a day can produce some of the benefits of meditation that include stress reduction, improved concentration and higher emotional equanimity. Most people can spare 5-10 minutes each day.  Turn off the TV and meditate!

The heart of what I do is listen in silence.  That’s all – just listen.  You can close your eyes and listen anytime.  But most of us need to clear out our emotional and mental clutter before we can hear from our highest selves or Divine essence. 

And, know that you can hear, see, know or feel God.  Only when I started to believe that I could do this – that I was worthy of hearing – did the Divine come to me. This is your birthright.  Know that it is given to you.

Here’s the process I do in my meditation.

1.  I have a meditation corner in a large closet where I’ve placed my meditation bench (you could use a cushion or a chair), a candle and a journal or binder.  In my meditation corner, I sit, close my eyes and relax my body. After settling in, I start observing my breath, counting breaths from 1 to 10 and then starting over again.  The purpose of this step is to center myself, to calm myself completely and to fully bring my attention to the present moment.  Sometimes if my mind is especially active or rebellious, I’ll focus on my heartbeat as a way to slow down and center.  You may need to put your fingers on your neck to feel the heartbeat, but after a while you can simply feel and hear it.  I try to breathe in rhythm with my heart. Once I am able to focus on at least three rounds of ten breaths, I proceed to the next step.

2.  Next is a grounding exercise that I learned from my coach, Tina Ferguson (www.tinaferguson.com).  Imagine gathering up a ball of your energy in the area of your solar plexus or third chakra. The ball is about the size of a softball or a grapefruit. Consolidate your present emotions, experiences or thoughts into that ball.  Then, send the ball down through your legs and into the earth – all the way to the molten center of Mother Earth.  There, imagine that all your negative energy – all the stuff from your day – is burned off in a burst of flame. Now take the resulting ball of pure red energy  and pull it back up through your legs, up through your torso and all your chakras, right up and out of the top of your head.  Keep the ball rising until it reaches the heavenly or spiritual realm.  Hang out with your ball of energy in that realm until you feel a connection.  Sometimes I’ll feel tingling on the top of my head and I know I’ve made connection  Then, bring the ball, which is now white, back down into your body, through the top of your head.  Have it rest in the area of your heart.

3. Now you are ready to listen.  Ask a question, and wait. The old hymn tells us what to do:

"Silently now I wait for Thee /

Ready, my God, Thy will to see /

Open my eyes, illumine me / 

Spirit Divine."

Silently wait for God to show up.  Do you see something?  Hear something?  Feel or know something?  Just wait patiently – it reminds me of the axiom "just suit up and show up".  If nothing shows up, thank the spirits for just being with you and tell them that you’ll be back soon.  If something does come to you, write it down after you come out of your meditation so you don’t forget it.

It’s so simple but so profound.  Try it!

Tomorrow I’ll share some of the wisdom that I’ve heard lately in my meditations.

Interested in the power of forgiveness?  Come to my Forgiveness Workshop this Saturday, April 19, 2008.

A mystic is one who has a direct experience of the Divine.  We are all born with the ability to be mystics and to connect with Source.  Each of us has a God-given talent in at least one mystical connection method.  Sadly, most of us lose our natural mystical abilities as we grow up, due to lack of encouragement, lack of awareness or downright fear or punishment from our parents and teachers.  I was over 50 years old before I recognized my talents in this area.  Yikes! That sounds old, but it’s not – I am simply on my own timetable, just as you are.

The good news is that anyone can develop their ability to connect with the Divine, at any age.  You are probably doing so already but may not know it!

Today we’ll talk about the four ways we might receive Divine wisdom or guidance.  Each of us has talents in one or more of these areas, which are:

1. Hearing

2. Seeing

3. Knowing

4. Feeling

Hearing is being able to hear divine guidance, as if you are having a conversation. Some people write what they hear or allow the pen to be moved by spirit; others simply hear it in their heads.  Seeing is the ability to perceive mental images that convey the Divine message.  Knowing is the ability to perceive thoughts or a knowingness that simply come to you without you knowing how or why you know it.  Feeling is the ability to physically feel the energy of another person or to receive guidance through sensations felt in the body.

Contrary to popular belief, none of these are terribly woo-woo abilities.  Nor are they the sign of mental illness!  It can be as simple as perceiving a sense of Infinite Intelligence when you are in nature.

My talents lie in hearing and knowing.  I can carry on a conversation with heavenly spirits when I am in meditation.  I talk to God and God replies. During my daily activities, oftentimes a knowingness just "comes to me".  Or, I’ll experience a synchronistic event that I’ll recognize as Divine intervention.  For instance, I received the title of my first book, Spectacular Support Centers, after hearing a radio show about how soothing the "S" sound is to our ears.

Today, I suggest that you observe yourself.  See if any messages or communications come to you through hearing, seeing, knowing or feeling.

Tomorrow, I’ll share a meditation that I use to connect to Divine wisdom.