Category Archives: Deeper Thoughts

Comfort Zones and Leadership

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How do they fit together for you? Are they mutually exclusive or do they go hand-in-hand? And what about the unknown factors? I’d venture to say that if they go hand-in-hand for you, you’re stuck in a rut. Or at the very least at an impasse regarding new thought.

Think about it. If you are in your comfort zone you are most likely repeating patterns over and over – you know them, they’re comfortable, you know what the outcomes are likely to be. They work for you. You can count on them. There’s comfort and security in that. Your ego is happy. You feel safe, in control and good with the world.

But if you hold on to your comfort zone AND you step into leadership, what can you likely assume to be true? Perhaps that you can lead as long as you know what the rules are and what the likely outcomes are so you can be a successful leader in your own mind?

But what if you are playing in this world of rapid change (and  you are) so that the old way of doing things, anything, won’t work so well. What do you do then? There’s the choice to keep things small, manageable and controllable, pretending you can keep them that way.  There’s the choice to go more deeply into a need to control which means that you need to reduce the size of your world to a manageable and controllable size (which will need to continue to shrink as you continue to need to control). And you might even get sick in the process depending upon how much of it you internalize.

Or you can learn to stand in your confidence while you embrace humility and uncertainty as a new model of leadership. Think about it. Our world is changing at an ever increasing rate and what we learned in school is obsolete. What we learned a few years back is obsolete! Where does this leave us?

Either in accelerating stress levels or learning to embrace and work with uncertainty.

What do you choose? I choose uncertainty. When we can stand in the knowledge that we have and be open and receptive enough to embrace uncertainty, we open ourselves up to creating those things that haven’t yet been created. New ways of being. New ways of working together. New ways of creating a world that matters, that cares, that seeks quality over quantity.

Think about it. And in the meantime, I wish you harmless mischievous adventures, uncontrollable laughter and a lightness of spirit. You are on the journey of your lifetime. Make it count!

P.S. I will be writing more on this and yes, coaching can help with this.

Related Blog Posts:
Is it Time to Embrace Risk?
Is it Time for You to Lead?

Sourcing Power From Within

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The truth is that your life is primarily being generated by who you’re being, much more than by what you’re doing. Yet our focus is continually on trying to source power by managing and controlling the externals of our lives – our to do lists, our circumstances, our schedules, our finances, our bodies and so on.

We think: If only my circumstances were different, then I’d be able to have and create what I really want in life. How often have you said to yourself, “If only I had more money, more time, a better education, a better job, more support, more love etc. then I’d be able to live the life that I was born to live”?

Yet, the obstacles to the full flourishing of your life are not outside of yourself!

The barriers to the realization of your dreams, and deepest desires are internal, not external. And, more importantly, the source of power you need to fulfill them lies within you, and is just waiting to be awakened.

Feminine Power Practice:

  • Make a list of all the reasons you are telling yourself as to why you can’t live your best life, realize your highest creative potentials and make your greatest contributions to the world (i.e., I’m too busy, I don’t have the money, I’m too old, etc.).
  • Notice how many of them are external reasons. Just for today, let go of any and all reasons outside of yourself as to why you are not realizing your highest potentials and making your greatest contributions.
  • Close your eyes and take a deep breath, allowing your awareness to drop into your body. Move into a place of listening and receptivity, becoming aware of your deeper knowing and connecting to the part of yourself that holds wisdom and has access to power. With a sense of authentic interest and curiosity, ask yourself: “How am I the source of my current experience of life?,” “What choices am I making that are contributing to my current experience of life?” (eg. I say yes to things I don’t want to say yes to because I want others to like me, I choose to not focus on money because I don’t really care that much about it, I no longer put myself out there because I don’t want to risk rejection, etc.)
  • What’s one new choice that you could make today that will give you access to creating a different experience right away?

The above guest blog is from Katherine and Claire at http://femininepower.com/blog

Abundance is our Future

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There are so many wonderful things going on in our world – so many people helping people, joining together for the good of all or working independently helping one person at a time which then ripples out into the world.

Where do you put your time, focus and energy? On worry, fear, escape? On joy, optimism, contribution? Do you see possibility or road blocks? Are you saying “YES” to life with the willingness to experience the richness that exists?

Dr. William K. Larkin says “We are heliotropic in our nature. That means literally that we are sun-seeking, but it really means that we are made to go toward growth and light, toward uplifting and encouraging. We are made for life and living, not for fear and withdrawal and a life of caution.” I believe that is true.

So if you like to read the news before bed – or first thing in the morning with your coffee or tea, try some uplifting news…

The TED Talks are full of “ideas worth spreading” and are coming to Portland March 31st. Here’s one -

Abundance is our Future: Onstage at TED2012, Peter Diamandis makes a case for optimism — that we’ll invent, innovate and create ways to solve the challenges that loom over us. “I’m not saying we don’t have our set of problems; we surely do. But ultimately, we knock them down.”

The Power of Positive Relationships

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As I become more of who I really am,
I will share the overflow of that love of myself with you.

And I ask you, as you become more of you who you are, free of my expectations of how I think you should be, that you will share the overflow of your love of self with me.

As we do for ourselves what we cannot do for each other, may we both vow to always share the joy and love of who we really are with each other.

Continue reading →

The Greatest Gift

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“The greatest gift you could ever dream is a gift that you can only receive from one person. And that person is you yourself. Therefore, the most subversive invitation you could ever accept is the invitation to awaken to who you are and where you have landed … When your soul awakens, you begin to truly inherit your life. You leave the kingdom of fake surfaces, repetitive talk and weary roles and slip deeper into the true adventure of who you are and who you are called to become…

Read The Question that Holds the Lantern by John O’Donohue, PhD in its entirety.

The Low Down on my Aromatherapy – an interview

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Suzanne Schevene interviewed by Jade Shutes, founder of The East-West School for Herbal & Aromatic Studies

January 2012

What brought you to the study of aromatherapy and natural lifestyles?

Actually I was drawn to them at the Seattle Health and Wellness Expo in 1990.  My children were little and I wanted to raise them in the healthiest way possible – oh the stories I could tell of the rock solid birthday cakes I made as I began the journey into whole grains. But I digress.

Aromatherapy caught my attention at such a deep level that it is a bit hard to describe, but similar to finding something that had been a part of your life long, long ago and you are being reunited. Not a conscious remembering, but more of a soul recognition.

That opened to door to the study of wellness in all its forms and I’ve been on that journey ever since.

What inspired you to create your line of products?

So many of us have had the experience of living in survival mode. And many are feeling complete with that and ready to move on into actually thriving and upleveling the quality of life. My piece in this to-date has been offering and teaching personal empowerment through energy work. But that only reaches those who are drawn to energy work. Continue reading →

Intentions and Commitments

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The first of the year is always an inspiring time for me. I love to take a look at the direction that the new year will seemingly take and then be open to new twists and turns as they appear.

An intention is a direction, an aspiration, a big picture goal. It’s a statement of what you are moving towards. I intend to take better care of myself or I intend to play more.

A commitment is an act of will and integrity. It is giving your word to follow through on something. I commit to working out 3 times this week or I am committed to doing something just for the fun of it every week in January.

It’s important to keep your commitments – and that begins with the commitments to yourself. If you don’t trust your ability to be honest with yourself, how can you trust yourself in anything you say or think, much less anyone else? But if there is some reason that it really can’t happen, renegotiate the commitment in good faith as soon as you can.

Committing to huge goals can be setting yourself up for failure. Instead, intend the huge goal, but use smaller, consistent commitments to get there. One step at a time. Just one, small committed step.

Move into this exciting new year with awareness of your intentions and commitments – and make it the BEST one yet!!!

30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself

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No worries – you don’t have to start doing all 30 this week. Or ever. And I promise you there is no quiz next month to see how you do. But be forewarned – it may have the snowball effect on you – engage one or two and you just might find yourself leaning into these ideas more and more as you feel lighter and brighter as the days go on. Open to the possibilities. Enjoy!

This is a guest post by Marc at http://www.marcandangel.com. Here it is, a positive ‘to-do’ list for the upcoming year – 30 things to start doing for yourself:

  1. Start spending time with the right people. – These are the people you enjoy, who love and appreciate you, and who encourage you to improve in healthy and exciting ways.  They are the ones who make you feel more alive, and not only embrace who you are now, but also embrace and embody who you want to be, unconditionally.
  2. Start facing your problems head on. – It isn’t your problems that define you, but how you react to them and recover from them.  Problems will not disappear unless you take action.  Do what you can, when you can, and acknowledge what you’ve done.  It’s all about taking baby steps in the right direction, inch by inch.  These inches count, they add up to yards and miles in the long run.
  3. Start being honest with yourself about everything. – Be honest about what’s right, as well as what needs to be changed.  Be honest about what you want to achieve and who you want to become.  Be honest with every aspect of your life, always.  Because you are the one person you can forever count on.  Search your soul, for the truth, so that you truly know who you are.  Once you do, you’ll have a better understanding of where you are now and how you got here, and you’ll be better equipped to identify where you want to go and how to get there.  Read The Road Less Traveled.
  4. Start making your own happiness a priority. – Your needs matter.  If you don’t value yourself, look out for yourself, and stick up for yourself, you’re sabotaging yourself.  Remember, it IS possible to take care of your own needs while simultaneously caring for those around you.  And once your needs are met, you will likely be far more capable of helping those who need you most.
  5. Start being yourself, genuinely and proudly. – Trying to be anyone else is a waste of the person you are.  Be yourself.  Embrace that individual inside you that has ideas, strengths and beauty like no one else.  Be the person you know yourself to be – the best version of you – on your terms.  Above all, be true to YOU, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it. Continue reading →