Just What We Need

Jim Cahill's New Article in Valve Magazine

To Blog or Not to Blog is a wonderful article for those of you considering a blog as a next step in your own personal or career development.  Taking the bold step to surface yourself (especially within a large bureaucratic organization) is indeed an act of courage.  Jim covers many basic points of consideration including what I believe is the most important which is persistance.  My research over the past year has convinced me that the discipline to stick to a consistent publication schedule is the single largest factor in realizing success with a blogging initiative.

Also view the Seth Godin and Tom Peter's snippet in YouTube.  It just might inspire you to create your first post today.

Lotsa Helping Hands Webinar Today

One of the most practical internet community sites is the Lotsa Helping Hands site which offers a beautiful way to support a person experiencing a difficult challenge or crisis.  The site allows us to capitalize on the offers to help in times of need and support those we love regardless of the long distances which might separate us.  

So often when a person we know is impacted by illness or an accident, "What can I do to help?" never really materializes into action.  

By having a Lotsa Helping Hand site, everyone's reply can be "Give me your email and I'll add you to our support community."  With an easy-to-use calendar and a private community platform, everyone who cares to help can find practical ways to support those in need, using our strengths, and in ways that do the most good.

This afternoon at 2pm (CST) is a Lotsa Helping Hands Webinar.  To register, go to https://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/webinar/.  Another good choice is to watch the video message from Hal Chapel.  If you'd like my help in setting up a community, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Invitation to Afghan School Benefit: February 10th

Julie Bolz, the founder of "Journey with an Afghan School" and Ayni Education International, will be visiting Austin next month to hold the second annual Ayni benefit on Thursday, February 10th at 6pm.

The benefit will be held at the Schmidt-Jones Family Life Center, 1300 Lavaca Street, Austin, TX 78701. The program is free although donations are welcomed. Please come out to support Julie and Afghan schoolchildren. The 2011 benefit features: 

• A silent auction with beautiful items from Afghanistan and from Austin.
• An art show featuring lovely drawings, translated messages and poetry sent by Afghan students.
• A special presentation by Julie updating us on her works in Afghanistan and conveying her many stories of hope.
• Special guest, Jennifer Fox, will tell us about her experiences mentoring a core group of talented Afghan civil servants through the "Fellowship for Afghanistan" program sponsored by the UN.
• A reception with an opportunity to meet Julie and enjoy refreshments.

To learn more about Ayni, visit their website at http://www.aynieducation.org.

Seton Cove Program Catalog Available

The Seton Cove calendar of January to March classes is now available.  If you are unfamiliar with Seton Cove, it is a spirituality center in Austin Texas which offers excellent classes to assist in developing a personal spiritual journey.  I'm excited to see the Holistic Touch Workshop is offered on February 19th and highly recommend attendance to anyone interested in understanding how to be of practical service when friends and family face illness.  I attended the class in 2008 and found it to be a excellent introduction to healing possibilities using energy/body work.

Happy New Year!

Hello again world!  I hope everyone had a blessed holiday season.   The energy of a New Year with new hopes and resolutions is a good time to begin to share many of the best things I learned and experienced during my sabbatical.  To recap, my goal for 2010 was to give myself a new relationship with life and put significant hours into meditation and reflection.  I felt called to change the trajectory for the rest of my life by taking a deep dive into my own beliefs, values, and ideas.  Studying daily on various Buddhist, Christian, healing, and leadership writings my interest has been in how others create success and inspirational results as well as clarify ideas for my To the Surface project.  The eight months passed very quickly.  

A good indication of how much effort went into the spiritual work is a calculation of how many hours I billed clients.  As a reformed work-aholic, one of my fears was that the work-for-money projects would override the spiritual work.  I'm happy to report that I averaged  5% of my time in client work!  A success that a younger version of myself would have found inconceivable and present-day me must admit that I'm excited that 2011 is a return to regular workweeks.  I miss the "doing" side of life.  I am very thankful for my current clients who were so generous and supportive during 2010 and now are the first beneficiaries of the new discoveries.

Now that the New Year has arrived, my plan is to put these newfound skills to service in the world.  I'll begin today with sharing one of the quotes that helped me gain an understanding how individual changes are significant to making a difference in the world.  Lama Surya Das in "The Big Questions" notes "that many of us are eager to change the world, while relatively few are ready, willing, and able to change themselves in order to really help do so.  Many are called, but few choose to awaken, become wise and experienced Elders, and strive together mightily towards transformative action."

Awaken and strive towards transformative action... I can think of no better wish for us all in the coming year!

Give Five for Greener Living Website

Very exciting to see a new microsite from Johnson Controls focused on easy steps to live more green in our homes, offices, and schools: www.johnsoncontrols.com/givefivegreen.  I discovered the site via the WattWatt RSS feed and was delighted by the content on the site and the philosophy the site represents.  The October 4th press release details the philosophy.

To develop the website, Johnson Controls examined research that explores how public engagement and communications change behaviors related to energy and environmental matters. The site focuses on five best practices:

1. Start small. By giving five minutes a day or trying five energy saving measures, people are more apt to make changes in their behaviors.
2. Be specific.  The site allows visitors to tailor efforts for home, school or work to meet their specific needs.
3. Go local, then global.  The site suggests local websites so people can find ways to have an impact in their local communities before moving on to consider the bigger picture.
4. Have fun.  By offering games, creative activities and even jokes, all ages can have fun while learning ways to save money and help the environment.
5. Share ideas.  Printable posters and checklists are tools visitors can share to help others find simple ways to change their behavior and promote their commitment to living green.

If you visit the site and share your own ideas, five people who submit ideas on how they 'give five' will be randomly selected to receive a Kindle® wireless reading device, a solar backpack, a Planet Earth & The Blue Planet Seas of Life DVD set, a solar universal charger, or an iPod Nano®.

Ideas must be submitted by October 31, 2010 to qualify for the drawing.

 

What We Become

Earlier this week, I watched an interesting DVD "How to Know God: Deepak Chopra".  This quote from the movie continues to impact my thoughts.

"If what we are is a gift from God, what we become is our gift to God."

"What we become is our gift to God"; actually I believe it is our gift to God and to the world.  This idea of becoming has repeated many times during my sabbatical.  During a recent Seton Cove class on "Crossing Thresholds" we explored the human experience of growth through change.   Analyzing the idea of a threshold containing three basic parts: the past which lead us to a decision point; the present where we are conscious that old ways just aren't working; and finally a look to the future and opportunity.  

If you find yourself wishing your life could be much less chaotic and difficult, I have a tip to share that is working well for me.  I apply a simple filter of "Does this action or thing support the person I am becoming?"  I encourage you to see what you discover about yourself by trying this simple action too. 

Narcissists and Bastards Beware

David Brooks’ op-ed, The gospel of Mel Gibson:  Thou Shalt have no other idol before me, was reprinted in this morning’s Austin American-Statesman and I’m so glad it was.  Finally someone brings forth a view of this episode that I can embrace.  Actually, I’m embarrassed to admit that in my glorious days of a sabbatical I actually know anything about the Mel Gibson tapes; but sadly I do.  Unless I turn off the TV entirely, I can’t seem to get away from these tabloid stories and other mindless time-wasting junk.

Regardless of the circumstances, I see a lesson in this for us as we bring our lives to the surface.  Part of the truth of life today is that technologies make it possible for voices to be heard.  We’d like to believe that is a good thing.  Sometimes it is just ugly.

 It is unfortunate in this episode that the voice heard is angry, frightening, and the worst parts of domestic violence exposed and replayed for all to hear.  Although I’m hopeful of the possibilities present when a dialogue related to learning, awareness, and growth appear.  Narcissists and bastards beware:  the possibility that what you say and do in all of your private moments can be easily distributed around the world.   For all victims of violence, I pray you have the courage to use tape recorders, photos, or videos to bring justice and peace to your lives.  For offenders, you have the choice to change.  Change in this very moment and not let anger be your truth.

Sam Daley Harris TED talk

Sam Daley Harris (RESULTS founder) gives an inspiring TED talk on "Purpose, Poverty, Pitfalls, and Redemption".  Redemption is a word I haven't heard in a long time and I like Sam's use of it in this video.

I've been silent on this blog because I have been in a dark place in my own mind for the past few weeks.  Pondering a bit of what I have done leaving behind a steady paycheck to simply be happy.  Creating days filled with work on meaningful projects with people I respect, lots of quiet time to focus on my home and spiritual journey.  Nothing really difficult or strange, yet as I start my 4th month of "purposeful life", this talk gives me encouragement and hope that I'm onto something that can last.  Each day I find inspiration in all sorts of interesting places including this video that it is possible to live well as a person who chooses a life as an independent results-maximizer and not always a servant to profit-maximizers. 

Not sure where to start?  I like Sam's advice:  "the things to do are things that you see need to be done".

Education for All Act of 2010

Thanks to an email alert from Eloise of the RESULTS Texas group I can share with you this opportunity to support global peace through education.  Education, especially education for girls, is one of the core issues that I support and now that I'm settling in a bit better to life outside a firewall, I'm able to not only act on these issues but also take a moment to share the information here.  

On April 21, Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) introduced the Education for All Act of 2010 (H.R.5117). This legislation calls on the United States to increase funding to expand access and improve the quality of basic education globally. The Act also calls for U.S. leadership to create a new multilateral funding mechanism — a Global Fund for Education — that would attract funding from many nations and would assure that recipients of education funding are accountable for achieving well-defined outcomes on educational access and quality.

I've already called Representative McCaul's office to ask him to support this bill and I encourage you to take a few minutes to also make a call to your Congressional Representative.  

The RESULTS website provides excellent resources so you can learn more about the Education for All initiative and quickly find the contact numbers for your representative.