The Practice of Your Life

The Exercise and Pursuit of a Consciously Created Life

We All Need Help – Yes That Includes You

Jan 15
2010

Today’s equivalent of “The World is Flat” (not the book, but the common belief of pre-Columbus Europe) is that “I Don’t Need Help,” and the implications are just as profound. I see signs of this paradigm every day. People suffer silently for much or all of their lives because they think that they don’t need anyone else, or that asking for help is a sign of weakness. We limit ourselves and what is possible to achieve as communities because of this paradigm called “I Don’t Need Help”.

The World is Not Flat and You Need the Help & Support of other People
No matter what you’re up to in life, you need other people to get things done, to fix things that break, to build, to create, solve problems… Continue reading

Launch of Morevidareviews.com

Jan 13
2010

Now on to some good news (my last post was not so cheerful).  I’ve been working with a company called LightThread to develop a review site for the courses and coaches in personal growth and development.  I launched a beta version of the site yesterday and you can read the press release by clicking on the News & Events tab on this site.  I’m very excited.

There are thousands of seminars, workshops, retreats, conferences etc. and really no way to evaluate what’s good from what’s not.  I was surprised to discover that there was no equivalent to a www.zagat.com or a www.yelp.com where you can read what regular people have to say about a restaurant or some local service (Yelp) that you are considering.  People use these services… Continue reading

Farewell to a Master – Choco 1967 to 2009

Jan 06
2010

I would have preferred my first post of the new year to have been forward looking, but I’m compelled to have it be about my friend Choco who passed away on Dec 31, 2009 at the vital age of 42.

The exact timing of his leaving us on that day is not clear to me and I wonder if it occurred while I was immersed in the merriment of bidding farewell to a difficult year for many – 2009 – and the welcoming of a year that holds so much promise.  Sad to think that while I was celebrating life, he was losing his. One of those things that makes you wonder.

As far as I understand it, Choco was on a small boat about to, or in… Continue reading

In defense of Gossiping

Dec 22
2009

In my last post I wrote about the Consequences of Gossiping and like most things in life there are many shades of grey.  Below there is an amusing story about gossiping that suggests that while you are well advised to remove yourself from gossip it is not wise to be completely oblivious to it.

Here’s the story (by way of Kim Davis – Thanks Kim):

“In ancient Greece (469 – 399 BC) Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?”

“Wait a moment,” Socrates replied. “Before you tell me I’d like you to pass a… Continue reading

Six consequences of gossiping you shouldn’t ignore

Dec 18
2009

The essence of practice is the consciousness or intention you bring to the practice – something that you willingly choose to participate in every day.  Long held practices take on a life of their own and if there is no clear purpose to the practice we call them habits.  For some gossiping is a habit, for others it is a practice the purpose  of which is to raise themselves up by bringing others down.

First a working definition of gossip:

Gossip: casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true : he became the subject of much local gossip.chiefly derogatory

Seeing through language – some examples

Dec 11
2009

A few weeks ago, my brother sent me a list of made-up words that are attributed to Mensa and the Washington Post (but I can find no substantiation of this).  Regardless of the source, I thought they provided powerful examples of how we “see” with language, not with our eyes.

For each of the two lists below there is a short explanation of how the words were generated.  As you read them notice what happens as you read first the word then its meaning. There is a recursive process of the word referring to the written meaning and the written meaning referring back to the word that results in the word allowing you to “see” or distinguish something that didn’t exist for you before.

The result… Continue reading

Seeing through language, not your eyes

Dec 09
2009

I grew up thinking that there was only objective reality, a world “out there” that existed apart from me, and that the quality of my life, particularly how smart I was would depend on how well I was able to learn and describe what already is.

When I became aware of those that questioned the very notion of objective reality I dismissed them as weird and not worthy of a rational, logical person as yours truly.

It wasn’t until my early thirties that I was exposed to the notion of reality as created through language vs. reality as merely described through language.

The distinction of language – not just communication – as what makes human beings very special on this planet, has made a world of difference… Continue reading