Energy Coaching

My dear friend Pamela is my guest writer today.  She blogged about her extremely liberating experience of quitting her  9-5 job.  It’s inspiring to read her insights and how she found her path once she let go of the old.  Congrats Pamela and thanks for allowing me to share this with our readers!

Some of us think that we are obligated to work 9-5 as a measure of our success in society. That programming is difficult to ignore and the material goods that accompany a steady pay check are enticing.

Some of us just are not cut out for that lifestyle. We try to conform to the system. We do our job knowing that we are not part of that system and here is the result: We spend most of our waking hours with people we would not normally associate with. Maybe there are some co-workers we strongly dislike yet we are forced into a small, crowded office with them. We get caught in office politics that we do not care about, with people we don’t like, for a job that may be meaningless in the greater scheme of things. We come home tired, angry, frustrated, stressed.

Our true vocation is on hold. There is no energy left after the 9-5 brain drain. We wake up in the middle of the night agonizing over a stupid power play from the office (Why are these people in our bed?). Morning comes and we are already stressed. The night’s sleep didn’t erase the daily grind. Now we have to rush to get ready for work, walk the dog, drink the coffee, drive to the office, find parking, clock in, and face the music again. The weekend comes and it is run to the grocery store, the dry cleaners, rush through basic housekeeping chores, rush, rush, rush. If you have kids, the rushing becomes exponentially more insane. Multiply your daily to-dos by 1,000.

This was my life for 6 years. I sidestepped a life of creativity and spirituality, my two most important values, so I could pay bills. It seemed like the easy way out. I was tired of hustling my talents to make a living. So I bought into the 9-5. My boss was a micromanaging freak with a huge chip on her shoulder. Three years of hell and I landed a job in the arts at a very progressive place promising growth, opportunity, camaraderie, and enjoyment ! What a concept! A 9-5 that is a fun place to work…until it is not.

The economy shifted, the balance of power shifted, and with it came a truckload of stress. And then my body started to react. Everything I put up with at work I swallowed whole and my body was not happy. My stomach hurt. My teeth hurt. I had bags and circles under my eyes. Acupuncture helped but…without changing the situation that was causing the bodily ailments, the discomfort continued. I eat organics, take vitamins, practice Reiki, do Pilates and shun medications but my poor little body was bombarded with negativity and couldn’t process it. No wonder so many Americans succumb to the myriad of medications promoted so heavily in the media. And no wonder they are so overweight. They drown their misery in chemically laden, over processed factory food, which compounds the stress imbalance of 9-5.

I ask you – can  you simplify your life? Slow down? Reconnect to your values?

I did. I left my job to rediscover my true self, so I could reinvent my future. The first week I was home I found myself caught in the habit of rushing. I forgot how to do anything at a leisurely pace. I had to retrain myself to enjoy the process of whatever it was I was doing and to be grateful for everything. Everything is a gift! Then I began to engage in things that bring me pleasure: cooking delicious food, sharing a meal with family and friends, decorating for the holidays, baking cookies, gardening, long walks with my dog. Best of all, after weeks of reconnecting to my soul, I reconnected to my inner artist and got back into my studio. I am a weaver. I need to weave, to create with fabric, yarn and threads. It keeps me grounded, balanced, connected to a higher power and appreciative of my talents as god-given gifts. I go in my studio and create something every day and ask myself – “why am I making this?” And the answer is always “because I can!” Sometimes “because I can” is enough. Who else do I know who is doing what I do? No one. I’m it. And that makes me feel good. I’m it. I’m here to share my talents – gifts from the universe, given to me, to create things that can be given to others, to bring joy. If I can’t bring joy into this world then what am I here for? Certainly not the 9-5 grind. Did that bring me joy? At first I thought it did and I learned a lot (rationalizations here) but I did it bring joy? No. It did not. Did I sell my soul to the 9-5?

So now I have been home for three months. My body has normalized. I have slowed down. I give thanks every day for all that I have. I am using Ana’s coaching/visualization techniques to reinvent myself, to create my future. I am more focused on doing Reiki and meditating. With no expectations. I give back to society. I create. Coincidences keep occurring. And opportunities are presenting. I must be doing something right!

Thanks, Ana, for your friendship and your moral support and for your excellence in coaching me to my new reality.

Namaste,

Pamela

I am currently working with a good friend of mine who is a wonderful teacher in Israel.  We are going over the Mussar, which is a thousand-year-old Jewish tradition that offers an insightful perspective on life.  It is also a discipline for personal change.  As exciting as this learning is, Mussar is much more than something to learn.  It is mainly something to do.  This tradition bears a  remarkable resemblance to coaching.  Once you study Mussar and receives the insights, you must act on them.  Coaching is also based on action; we need to design our steps and start acting on them in order to move forward.

The author of one of the major work of this thousand-year-old tradition, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, writes on the introduction of his book Path of the Just, the following: ” I have written this work not to teach people what they do not know, but rather to remind them of what they already know and clearly understand.  For within most of my words you will find general rules that most people know with certainty.  However, to the degree that these rules are well-known and their truth self-evident, they are routinely overlooked, or people forget about them altogether.”

Just like coaching, this tradition believes that we have clarity inside ourselves.  We know what our mission is and what our call is.  We know what we are supposed to be doing during this lifetime.  The main point is to get in touch with our true nature and be reminded of who we are and why we are on this earth at this time.

I am now working on the trait of Humility, which is the one that opens the gates for all the other traits that follow.  Humility teaches us to occupy our own space in the world - not more, not less.  It is about being who you are and doing what you are supposed to be doing in this world.   

As a path of spiritual self-development, Mussar involves working on yourself.  But, it is important to stress that this is not for the sake of yourself.  Just like coaching, there is a bigger picture involved in this process.  By refining and elevating your inner life, you clarify your inner light and thus become a lamp shedding light into the world.  Just like coaching, Mussar also understands that developing oneself also implies developing his/her family, community and ultimately, the world.  The main purpose of both disciplines, Coaching and Mussar, is not so that you will gratify all your desires, but so that you will become  the master of your desires, in order that you can fulfill your potential, which is spiritual above all else.

With energy,

Ana

Rabbi David Aaron, a person I deeply respect, coined the term ‘human becomings’.  He explains that because we are constantly moving forward, always changing and hopefully, always growing, we are not really human beings; we are actually human becomings.  It is a learning process to become a human.  The process is much more important than the destination. 

As I meditated on it, I realized that there is a part in all of us who loves to grow, loves a challenge, an adventure and loves the journey.  There is also a part of us that is afraid of risks, that avoid challenges and resists growth.  The magic happens when we acknowledge that life is a challenge - and that the challenge itself is what makes it fun!  Only then life becomes a dynamic process of growth; an exciting adventure!

During the dynamic process of our lives, everything is always changing.  That’s the whole bit about being ‘human becomings’ and not ‘human beings’.  That’s our role in the world and the reason we were created.  If we accept that, we will understand ourselves better. 

The moment when we actually reach our goal flies swiftly; it is fleeting in its essence.  The goal of life is to be one with it; to live inside its rhythm and to bask in the human experience with gusto.  To experience and to enjoy the unique challenges and opportunities that each situation has to offer.  So life is also a becoming. 

Choose to become and to enjoy the process!

With energy,

Ana

Today I am sharing a nice ten step list from Zig Ziglar.  It’s fitting for this time when there is so much hope in the air!  Make 2010 an spetacular one!

Ten Steps to Goal-Getting by Zig Ziglar

1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. “One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.” -Mary Crowley.

2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.

3. Build your life on a solid foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.

4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.

5. Be prepared to change. You can’t control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully-but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.

6. Share your “give-up” goals (e.g., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they’re going to encourage you.

7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

8. See the reaching. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.

9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, weekly planner or portable digital device.

10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn’t nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals-what you will become is the winner you were born to be.

Enjoy the journey!

With energy,

Ana

One of the most effective methods of reducing one’s stress and improving one’s life is actually the simplest. If you want to feel good about yourself, make someone else feel good. That’s it! Perhaps it is because the idea is so simple that we sometimes forget to do it.
Whether it’s remembering a birthday with a thoughtful card, taking the time to write a note of congratulations for a job well done, a written or verbal compliment, a friendly phone call, an unasked for favor, a bouquet of flowers, a note of encouragement, or any number of other possibilities, making someone else feel good - however you do it - is almost always a good idea.

Acts of kindness and goodwill are inherently wonderful. Your reward for being kind and making someone else feel good are the warm, positive feelings that invariably accompany your efforts. Also, by doing those acts of kindness and goodwill, we are contributing to make the world a better place; which is ultimately, our collective mission on this planet.

Coach’s Challenge: Starting today, think of someone you’d like to make feel better and act on it! Do it every day and soon it will become a habit.

May 2010 be filled with Light!

With energy,

Ana