The Joy of the Season!

The Holiday Spirit!

What is it about the holiday season that seems to bring out the best in most people? Can you identify the one thing about the holiday season that simply makes your heart sing? It might be something different for each of us but I am willing to bet at its essence the very core of what you really enjoy about the holiday season is deeper than the surface commercialism that is so in-our-face screaming for our attention.

Is it that families traditionally make the effort to get together in a unique way to share the joy of the season? That people go out of their way to think of others?  Or is it that smiles are more prevalent and people in general become friendlier at this time of year? It is undeniable that the holiday season has an impact on people here in America like no other holiday.

For many this is the one time of the year they experience something they sense is so organic that the anticipation of repeating the experience is the unconscious drive behind the excitement of the holiday season year after year. Collectively we all feel the joy of it at some level and we do miss it when it leaves.

What exactly is it that we love experiencing?

My theory is that what we love so much about the holiday spirit is that it actually is a reflection of how our everyday life experience is meant to be. That the kindness we give and receive at this time of year happens because we choose to allow the light of our true essence (which is inherently kind) to cut through our old conditioned and habitual mind patterns; we become less ‘selfish’ or ‘less-self’ and something greater than the ‘little me ‘shines through.

The fact we can recognize and are able to respond to the kindness within ourselves and others means for a brief moment we have transcended our old mind patterns which normally occupy most of our attention; those mind patterns which are mostly negative and circular and serve as constant reminders of past and future problems.

We become more mindful of others and it resonates because it is so natural to do so. I believe this is the essence of the holiday season and either consciously or unconsciously it is what is so attractive about it all. We instinctively feel better when we have put the good of others ahead of our own; if feels right. In fact have you ever noticed the energetic impact of unconditional kindness? The ripple effects are enormous because the kindness is coming from a different reference point; essence. Think of the Ebenezer Scrooge story and the powerful message it contains.

This wonderful holiday spirit happens because we choose at this one time of the year to act this way! Can we choose to become more mindful and have a spirit of kindness every day?  Why not? What could it hurt? After all we are only responsible for ourselves; it can’t be any simpler than that.

I invite you to make a conscious effort now and post holiday season to continue to be mindful of the kindness that is always available within you. Consciously choose kindness over fear, take a chance and place the good for others above your own. Then witness the positive impact this will have on you and your everyday experience at home and at work.

I guarantee the positive impact will be incentive enough to keep you experimenting with this and you won’t have to wait another year to experience the essence of the holidays.

Wishing you all the Joys of the Season!

The Best Time to be Thankful is Now!

Thanksgiving is near and it officially kicks off the holiday season and for many, myself included, this is the most wonderful time of the year. People begin to make an effort to think of others in kindness.

Thanksgiving, if you strip away the veneer of the modern traditions and actually do stop to ponder the many blessing in your life; Thanksgiving takes on more significance than just a day of football and eating too much.

A couple of weeks ago Linda, my wife of 43 years, had a colonoscopy scan that revealed a large polyp in her colon. The reason she was having this scan, her second in 10 years, was because her family has a history of cancer; her mother and grandmother were victims of colon cancer and her father also had colon cancer but passed away for other reasons. 

Upon receiving the news Linda and I were stunned but the upside was the Dr. had said he believed he removed it all. However, she must have another scan to verify it and so she has to have one every 3 years going forward. Luckily the lab results for the polyp were benign and all concerned were thankful for that.

Are you putting off being thankful to some future date?

I believe today in our high-tech society many people are stressed and distracted and have lost their sense of being and are spiritually unconscious; hence the epidemic of prescription drugs and the host of other addictives. As a result to this problem people take-for-granted and cannot appreciate the wonderful gifts they do have in their lives.

For many people, they will be thankful sometime in the future when; they get the raise, the new job, the love of their life, the big sale, the kids have graduated, the retirement account is worth $XXX, when they lose X amount of pounds, if he calls or she calls, etc.

Don’t put off being genuinely thankful to some distant future; be thankful for the good in your life now!

Thankfulness cannot be found in the future; you are either thankful this moment or you are not. Don’t convince yourself of anything just check within; are you thankful now? Is there a sense of gratefulness? Are you consciously aware of the blessings that surround you at this very moment?

Well, you might say I am busy and have deadlines and really don’t have time to be thankful or to even check within, I will check with myself later. Later will never come because later your mind will be filled with the next thing that needs doing and the next and before you know it days, weeks, months and years go by.

Thinking may be obscuring the obvious!

One reason you may not have a sense of thankfulness at this moment may be due to some thought about something that has happened in the past or not happened,  which is presently occupying your mind and obscuring the current blessings for which you can be thankful in this instant.

Or,  your mind might throw in a thought about something nice for which to be thankful and then quickly go ahead to move on to the next thought and the next without you ever really becoming consciously aware of the person, place or thing for which you can truly be thankful.

What I am attempting to point out is that people have become so unconsciously addicted to the thoughts that arise in their minds that they no longer are present enough to notice the wonderful things that surround them such as their; spouse, children, friends, pets, the sun, the sky, the air they breathe, the birds, trees, their health, their body, their car, their bike, the clothes on their back, in Minnesota the heat in their home, etc. It is all taken for granted and not really appreciated.

The outer always reflects the inner!

Consciously being thankful or grateful for the blessings that surround you in this instant creates a sense of well-being that is calming in more ways than one. You find that the tension in your neck begins to loosen, you smile more, and your responses are not as negative. You perceive people and things in a new light of awareness and appreciation. People respond to you differently because you are responding differently to them. Synchronistic events are more likely to take place because you are not unconsciously repelling the good nor are you attracting the bad. Your energy field begins to shift from negative to positive.

The outer always reflects the inner not the other way around. It seemed like a good idea at the time is the mantra of those who are lost in their thoughts and then act them out. Although the faces and names may vary they continue to be the headlines of national and world news; their outer actions mirror their inner thoughts. Sound familiar?

 The value of any insight is in the experience and not the words

The art of living does not consist of some idea or belief system; words are simply pointers to an experience that is beyond the words themselves. Just as you would not eat the menu instead of the meal don’t take my word for any of this, experiment for yourself in order to directly experience what I am pointing to. No one can give away what they do not own and the value of any insight is in the experience and not the words.

No matter what circumstance you find yourself in, if you will look beyond your conditioned thoughts or the story your mind is telling you about the event and become still and present in this instant, long enough to notice all that is presently right and a blessing,  you cannot help but be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Really. . .the Royal Wedding!!

William & Kate

Really. . . the Royal Wedding?

I must admit that my ‘male’ conditioned responses towards the ‘Royal Wedding’ were an automatic; who cares?, this is b.s., what does this have to do with me?, with all the problems we have in this country?, why don’t they get real jobs? Etc. There certainly was no avoiding the wedding since the hype for it dwarfed even the Super Bowl. I noticed my mind was automatically negative when someone mentioned the event; even though I really never had thought much about it.

I got a good laugh about how people got caught up in Royal Wedding especially when one of two shows I actually watch on TV, ‘In the Middle’ incorporated the Royal Wedding into last week’s show; it was hilarious. Then as the week progressed and the wedding was getting closer I found that I had to flip between innings of the MN Twins baseball games; to a channel that was broadcasting the build-up and backgrounds of William & Kate along with the history on the other Royals.

Her interest in some of my sports viewing was about as equal to my interest in the Royal Wedding.

I didn’t do this by choice but out of respect for Linda, my wife, whom I realized has watched many sporting events with me and not always because she is a fan but out of respect for myself; her interest in some sports was about as equal to my interest in the Royal Wedding.

As the week progressed I noticed that the news of the day, or any day for that matter was and remains always sad or negative; The Killer Tornadoes in the south, The Economy, The Deficit, Political Unrest, Suicide Bombers, Iran, Iraq, The Japanese Crisis, Syria, Healthcare, Charlie Sheen, Donald and the F bomb, NFL Lock Out, Gas Prices and on and on.

The Royal Wedding emerging as a huge bright spot

The more I looked at it; the Royal Wedding was emerging as a huge bright spot. Two young people regardless of their backgrounds, who seem genuinely in love, were getting married and if you just kept it at that you really could be happy for them. If it were your son or daughter or the son and daughter of a friend you certainly would be happy for them.

I noticed that people actually ‘lightened up’ when it came to the Royal Wedding. They were actually happy for these two young people and many were going to share in the celebration either by inviting girl-friends over at 4AM to watch the ceremony live and others by having parties and dressing up for the event while some traveled abroad to witness it firsthand. Turns out there were close to a BILLION people world-wide that viewed the ceremony!

Nearly a BILLION people tuned in to watch the Royal Wedding!

That means there were close to a BILLION people on the planet that were genuinely happy and celebrating life for that given moment; the collective positive energy emanating from this group of people on the planet must have been enormous!

There are many who scoffed at such ‘madness’ and would rather that people joined with them in their sadness or negativity because they say the ‘state-of-the-world’ is in chaos and why spend time on this nonsense? Maybe the ‘state-of-the-world’ is in this ‘state’ because collectively we as the people are generating too much negative energy ‘state’ and not enough of the positive energy ‘state’ of mind. After all isn’t any ‘state’ we are in simply a frame of mind? What else could it be?

Collective ‘State’ of mind

We use labels to say the ‘state’ of the economy or the ‘state’ of the union etc but what does ‘state’ actually mean? Doesn’t it point to the collective mind of the people? The ‘state’ we the people are in? If so, why not change the ‘state’ or ‘mind’ we the people are in from negative to positive? Reverse the collective energy field from negative to positive and see what happens.

“How many people does it take to change the world? One and it is YOU!”

I suggest all any of us need be responsible for is our personal positive or negative ‘states’ of mind. Since the only ‘state of mind’ you or I can control is our own this makes perfect sense. I believe happiness is an inside job and that our outer-world reflects our inner-world. If everyone took responsibility for his or her own ‘state’ of mind and made a conscious effort to do so I think that collectively the ‘state’ of the nation and the world would improve drastically. The enormous energy emanating from a collective group of people doing so would dwarf even the Royal Wedding!

I heard a truth that once used to puzzle me and it said: “How many people does it take to change the world? One; and it is YOU!”

It no longer puzzles me since now that I understand it; what a huge relief!

I wish William & Kate the very best!!!

After the move!

We have completed the move our office and set up our off-site production facility; a huge undertaking and we have had the aches and pains to prove it. Nice to have it behind us!

Growing up I often heard the phrase, ‘death & taxes were the two things in life a person could count on.’

 What they didn’t tell me is that there is a third thing and it is called; CHANGE.

I have come to grips with ‘change/the unexpected’ since it is such a constant in my life and I have done so by recognizing  a couple of things:

1. Change is natural and normal; nothing stays the same for very long, so enjoy the adventure.
2. Do not automatically react and attach a thought and emotion to conditions that are constantly arising. 

I figured out that no condition, no matter what it is, has any thought or emotion attached to it. It is absolutely void of any thought or emotion. The only thoughts or emotions that arise are the ones I assign to conditions such as; the lost sale, the car breaking down, the layoff, the unexpected expense, this traffic jam, his or her comment etc. And if I don’t attach a thought or emotion to the external condition I have found the outcome resolves much quicker and better than if my mind becomes negatively energized by my reaction to conditions and then cause & effect take over from there.

Check it out for yourselves, there is enough change or unexpected conditions arising daily for you to practice over and over again. See what happens if you don’t initially react with your automatic responses by attaching a thought or emotion to an event or condition that has surfaced in your life and just watch what happens. It takes much practice but it is worth the effort. In almost all cases it is our mental responses that make conditions good or bad, not the condition itself.

 “You can never solve a problem on the same level of mind that created it”

Now is the perfect time to Appreciate and Recognize your people!

If you are an Employer, Manager or Team Leader you probably already know, have heard or read about the benefits of recognition and the facts to support it. If not, please let me know.

The size of the organization doesn’t matter, you could have a company or team of 3 or 3,000 and the benefits would still apply.

 Here is a quick synopsis of the benefits of recognition: 

• Improved Morale
• Enhanced Productivity
• Increased Competitiveness
• Higher Revenue & Profit
• Decreased Stress
• Decreased Absenteeism
• Decreased Turnover
• Lower Related Costs

It isn’t rocket science to figure out why all major sports venues have coveted awards for the team and individual players; visions of Michael Jordan kissing the silver NBA championship trophy and the Gold Medalists of the Olympics proudly displaying their medals enter my mind.

The fact is people work hard and long to make certain goals and really do cherish the symbol (award) of reaching their goal. The award then serves as a constant reminder of their achievement not only to themselves but also to others long after the event itself has passed. It is the best ROI for the dollar a company can invest, guaranteed.

Knowing people will engage themselves towards achieving amazing accomplishments and those same people positively react to being recognized for those efforts coupled with the fact that the benefits of Recognizing these people far outweighs the costs; is there any valid reason for not engaging in the process?

The question then is; what are you or your company doing for your employees, co-workers or customers when it comes to Recognition?

According to a report released in January of this year by the Conference Board, a non-profit global business research organization; 55% of the American workforce are unhappy with their jobs.

There is no better time than this economy to invest in your people and send the message “You are important to us and we appreciate you”. Don’t wait for the economy to turn around, that is an excuse and it will haunt you in terms of human capital erosion when the economy does turn around.

Recognizing and appreciating employees, as well as customers, is one of the most effective motivators to offset the effects of a down economy. It fortifies the very foundations or your business and sustains the future of your company.

If you look beyond monetary compensation, you will notice that employees, partners, and customers actually want two things. In addition to being fairly compensated, most people also want to be “appreciated” by those with whom they do business.

Therefore, particularly in the midst of financial stress, it’s more important than ever to communicate and to show employees, partners, and customers that they are truly valuable to you and your business.

Giving out gift cards, holiday edibles are nice, but they don’t compare to the lasting emotions that come from a lasting commemorative or award that says, “You are appreciated.”

Life and Jogging!

It doesn’t matter if you are jogging or simply attempting to live your life abundantly, the obstacle to successfully doing either is the same!

How your reactions affect your results!

Your reactions to everyday occurances could be sabotaging your success and affecting other areas of your life. Cause and effect rules much of what happens in our daily lives and you have more control than you may realize over the results you are experiencing.