Sweet reader,
I know, I know. It’s been a really long time.
I’d like to talk about that first. When I first started posting this blog, I got some advice from a friend, the essence of which was: “If you want to get a lot of followers, you have to post very often – as much as once a week”
I thought about that quite a lot and got clear that my intention actually, was NOT to accumulate “a lot of followers”.
Instead, my intention has been to offer, from time to time, my thoughts, feelings and other materials – some quite personal – on topics about this world and the life we all share together, with readers (not followers); and on topics which might be interesting to, or serve you in some way; but most definitely, not often enough to become a pest.
My wish is that when something from me turns up in your mailbox or wherever, your reaction will not be: “Oh Jeez, not him again”, but rather: “Oh, him, his posts are sometimes worth a look and he doesn’t bug me every five minutes, so maybe I’ll check this one out.”
Anyway, just so you know, that’s my thinking on why I do this. If I have something to say that I think might interest or serve you, I’ll do it. If not, I’ll shut up and let you get on with your busy life. Cool?
So now, having said that, another of the reasons I haven’t been posting is that I’ve been using quite a lot of time creating a workshop – a project, alluded to by the lighthearted cartoon at the top, that I’ve been working on for WAY too long, and which is just about ready to begin presenting. It’s called:
Finding Your Missing Peace – Recognizing and Embodying The 12 Essential Ahas
I say way too long because up until now it’s never seemed “ready” or “good enough” to actually present.
The challenge of perfectionism, (see # 7 in the list of 12 below), has always been a biggie for me. And what’s more, it turns out that during my yearlong prep work, I realized to my surprise, that so are the other 11. Yikes!
When I originally thought of doing this, I sought the advice, as to a topic, of a fellow-coaching trainee who offers workshops for a living. Her response? “Michael, it doesn’t really matter what topic you choose, as long as it’s something you are passionate about.” “Topic doesn’t matter? That sounds nuts,” said I to myself, but now I get it.
“I looked and looked
and this I came to see.
that what I thought was you and you,
was really me and me.”
Ken Wilber
As I was doing the research to assemble all the content (BTW, there’s a LOT), it kept coming up: “Jeez, that’s ME… that’s ALSO me – over and over… on and on.
But, although these 12 deal with very personal challenges, I think they are quite universal too – a part of our shared humanity. Not all of them for every one of course, but some for some, and some for others.
“Whatever games are played with us,
we must play no games with ourselves,
but deal in our privacy
with the last honesty and truth.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
So, in keeping with my previously expressed hope that my endeavors might serve you somehow, I’ve decided to share some of this with you – maybe one ”Aha” every month or so – but not often enough to bug you. If something resonates, totally great. If not, hit the “trash can” icon.
A workshop on these 12 topics? Why create it? Why attend? What’s the point?
The way I see it, a momentous life change might be OK, maybe even great, but an equally successful outcome might be just as simple as:
- realizing that we are engaging in certain practices and behaviors,
- understanding that they are not serving us – and why they are not – and then,
- deciding to stop.
Freedom is a pretty worthy outcome, don’t you think?
“The real voyage of discovery
consists not
in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes.”
Proust
So, dear Reader, in scanning this list of “Ahas”, you’ll easily discern which underlying topics we’ll be confronting in our workshop. And so, if you decide you’d like to “keep an ear to the ground,” you can check out my posts in the months to come, and I’ll try to share enough of the content for you know what we’re up to. Voila:
Finding Your Missing Peace
Recognizing and Embodying The 12 Essential Ahas©
The Purpose:
Sound familiar?
- “I feel adrift…whose life is this anyway? Where did I find this one — off the rack at Macy’s? Is that why has it never seemed to really fit me?
- Do I feel fully alive? What would “fully alive” feel like? What’s in my way? Who’s in my way? Could it be me? Is it too late?
- I want clarity. I want to let go of my stories. I want to find My Missing Peace.”
And, speaking of sounding familiar, so too might this audio track performed by U2 – as well as the title and topic. Have a listen.
The Outcome(s)
- I’ve sought, rediscovered, acknowledged, taken responsibility for and ownership of, all of myself
- I’m committed to living in synchronicity with my deepest core values
- I’m becoming whole again.
…What we ALL want, right? This moving video of “Gabriella’s Song” from a beautiful Swedish film called “As It Is In Heaven” says it all. Here’s the link. Enjoy:
(BTW, the usual caveat: if the links don’t show up in your email, click on the title of this post, which will take to this same post on my site. The links will work from there.)
So, here they are:
Finding Your Missing Peace – The 12 Essential Ahas©
1) Almost everything I fear, or worry about, will never actually happen.
2) I will not allow my present thoughts of, “I’m not ready”, or “I’m not good enough,” to become a future “I wish I had
3) My regrets have the power to paralyze, or grow me: It’s my choice.
4) It’s never too late to leave a legacy I’m proud of. It matters that I have lived.
5) Who I really am, is way more than my upbringing, societal pressures, my work, how I am seen by others – or even my own body.
6) I will never again speak to myself in a way that is more judgmental, or less loving, than I speak to anyone else.
7) Failure sometimes happens tome, but never is me.
8) I don’t need the approval of others in order to approve of myself.
9) To be a whole person, I willingly acknowledge and accept ownership of, and responsibility for, all parts of myself.
10) My happiness is my responsibility, no one else’s.
11) I can be happy right now, or never.
12) For my own life, the definition for, and the path to “success” is based on my vision alone.
Practice Tip(s): 
Today, I thought I’d leave you with two options to think on:
Quite a while back I saw a Canadian film made in 2008 called “One Week”. At the end, the narrator poses these questions to us. I replayed them a few times, so I think I got them all correctly:
“…so the big question is, (and should be all along): What would you do…
…if you knew that you had only one day, or one week, or one month, or one year to live? What lifeboat would you grab onto? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What wish would you fulfill? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write? What person would you declare your love to?”
and what are you waiting for?
And, secondly, if you’d like to, try this exercise:
Out Of Alignment With Myself?
For the “life domains” below, take 5 minutes for each and write, without stopping, your response to this question:
In what way(s) am I out of alignment with myself in this domain?
Domains:
1) Family/Romance
2) Work/Career
3) Self-Expression/Spirituality
4) Relationships/Community
5) Somatic/Health
That’s it for now dear reader – a long one today (too long? I pray not). BTW, there’s no particular, or best, order insofar as the “12 Ahas” are concerned. If you have a preference, lemme know, and I’ll post on those first.
I pray that 2014 (and ALL your years AND days) will be filled with love, good health, and equanimity, for you, and all those whom you love
And, as always, PLEASE be kind to yourself.
Metta,
Michael
© 2014 Michael H Scott
