“Give me your heart, make it real or else forget about it.” — Rob Thomas
So, how’s it going with those resolutions? Are you still on track? Do you feel focused? Or, are the drib drab details of your existing life getting in the way of your new direction?
If you are already starting to lose your momentum, you are NOT alone.
One of the biggest mistakes I make when setting new directions is to have TOO MANY GOALS. So, what I suggest is starting out with 3 Goal Areas at the absolute most.
The question at this point is — what are the goal areas that you want to work on? To get you started, let’s think about some basic categories: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. You could also try — Financial, Work Related, Key Relationships and Personal. Once you’ve picked some major areas, or categories — then we can start to focus on particular Goals in these areas.
Brainstorm a list of potential Goal Areas — rank them, and then let’s start with the top three.
“Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you?” — Diana Ross
What are you all about? What do you believe in? What is your mission in life? Why are you here?
In order to feel engaged and I alive I think you need to have the answers to these questions, so let’s give it a try.
List your key Core Values — the things that really make you tick. A bit deeper than words like honesty, love, etc. — write out a few of the foundational things that need to be present in life in order for your passion to come forward.
For example: Physical fitness and activity; Care, compassion and service to others; Openness, Honesty and Transparenecy — those are a few of mine.
Next, take a few minutes to brainstorm or refine your mission. My life mission is to help others align with their gifts and passion in order to live in that passion in every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Imagine a world where everyone was doing this.
When you have come up with your Core Values and Personal Mission Statement, chime in here — let me know what you think and, if you’d like, share your Values and Mission Statements in order to inspire others.
“Vision without action is just a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”
Happy New Year my friends. We have another week at home and we just got back from working out at our local club. Wow! It’s full of New Year’s Resolution work out people. The regulars all complain about the fact that every machine is full and that all of these “resolution types” jam up the place in January. Just January.
I think that’s pretty sad. The thing I think is sad is that lots of folks get their hopes up and they muster the energy TO GET STARTED, but they don’t make a plan TO KEEP GOING. This is why I’m dedicating the entire year in 2011 to helping my readers KEEP IT GOING.
Each week I’ll put out a new post with a tip to help you keep moving forward with your 2011 goals. Let’s share information with your posts and help each other grow in the direction of our intentions for 2011. We’ll share our goals, resolutions or intentions next week — but first let’s reflect on a couple of things.
Write these things down:
1) What were your major accomplishments in 2010?
2) Who are the folks who can help you the most with your dreams in 2011?
The Healing Labyrinth —
Soul Canyon Training & Development was founded on the concept of going into the “Canyon” of your soul”, by unburying your true self from the layers and layers that we have “put on” in order to make others happy and fit into the world we are born into. By tapping into your authentic self you will unleash the power within you to give in love and serve to others while you achieve your dreams and goals.
Walking a Labyrinth can be a way into to that “Canyon of your soul” … so how perfect is it that we now have a beautiful Heart Rock Labyrinth at Soul Canyon Training & Development.
There are labyrinths located in cities throughout the world, even finger labyrinths for your desk. Wherever you find yourself, you can take a journey into the “canyon of your soul” where you are. If you are in the area please call ahead 541-218-7601, and come walk our labyrinth, bring your very own heart rock to place in the labyrinth.
At the heart of every service Soul Canyon provides is the firm conviction that you have a deep need to be anchored in Your Authentic Self. Our Mission is to help you discover and live your joy and passion in every aspect of your life. If we can help you or your company, please contact us.
Love, Light and Blessings to all,
Rob, Mary & Wes
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
– Edmund Burke
In 1991 I was on a business trip in China. I worked for Kodak and we were visiting key customers throughout the country. During the early part of the trip, when we were in Guangzhou visiting a photolab, I was approached by a small boy who was begging for money. The boy couldn’t have been older than 5 or 6 — in wet socks, on the busy sidewalk in front of the customer’s business. I immediately reached in to my pocket to grab some change when the local rep I was with stopped me. He informed me that these kids are kidnapped from rural China and brought into the cities and used as begging slaves. By giving money to the child, I would only encourage this behavior. I looked into the boy’s eyes and shook my head no — and then walked away. He stayed there for a few seconds with his hand out, and then left.
My own kids — Ashley and Tyler — were 5 and 7 at the time. I thought about them, safe and warm and going to nice schools back in Tokyo — I thought about the little kid — a little begging slave — full of the same perfect potentional we all have, yet thwarted by horrible people in a horrible world. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. What was I supposed to do? Could I solve this unbelievable travesty?
Would I really have been doing the child and everyone else an injustice by giving him some money? If I had given him money, would it have helped him? My mind had paralyzed me into inactivity.
What did my heart have to say? I wasn’t sure.
A few days later I was in Beijing. After visiting customers there, then taking a guided trip out to the Great Wall, I had a free evening. I was warned by our local sales rep about giving the street beggars money — but my heart was telling me to get a couple of pocket fulls of change and to go hand it out until it was gone.
So I did.
I made a point of looking into the eyes of every person I handed a coin to. After I handed out a couple of coins, I was mobbed — so I just moved in a circle and made sure that I handed out the money to different people until it was gone. When I was out of coins, I held up my hands to show I had nothing left. They didn’t believe me at first — and a few followed me for a bit as I walked around, but the excitement finally dissipated and I was left alone.
Had I taken too much of a risk? Had I made a difference in the Chinese poverty rate? Had I encouraged begging by my actions? All excellent questions, but my heart, now with a much clearer voice, confirmed to me that I had followed my path.
“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.”
— Carl Jung
Listen to your heart — then act. By doing this your path will be illuminated.
Peace to you.
Rob, Mary and Wes
Join us each week as we learn and apply the Laws of Manifestation and Attraction to achieve ANYTHING!!
Intention Circle — Tuesday’s, Noon – 1pm — Heartsong (in Grants Pass, on 6th, between “G” and “H”) NO CHARGE — Just a tiny donation of $1 to cover the room — bring your lunch!
“Manifestation is simply taking a series of inspired steps in the direction of your vision.”
~Rob Hambleton
I believe in the Law of Attraction — I really do. I believe that if you set your heart on something and put it out to the Universe — and subject your intention to the Highest Good of everyone — you will manifest all that you desire.
But the thing is, you can’t just sit around and expect the Universe to drop your dreams into your lap — you have to take Inspired Action when the time is right.
In August of1993 I hiked Mt. Fuji with three friends. We left Tokyo at about 4am and arrived at the trail head at 6am. We had some green tea, bought staffs and flags and headed up the trail.
The trailhead is at about 7,000 ft. and the beautiful summit stands, often above the clouds, at 12,385 ft. Many Japanese people hike the mountain at night and arrive at the summit when the sun rises in the morning — a special pilgrimage to a sacred place. As we started our hike, there were several older folks — many at least 70 years old — headed up the mountain and moving very slowly following an english-speaking guide with a flag. I asked him how long it would take the folks to go up and down the mountain and he responded that it would take about 10 hours and that each one of them would definitely make it — that they would focus only on each bend in the trail until they got there — and then they would focus on the next bend — a sort of progressive, physical, mental and physical meditation — until they reached the top. It took us about 3 hours to get to the top, we stayed on the summit for about 30 minutes, then headed down. On our way down, we recognized our friends from the bottom of the trail, still about 2 hours from the summit, focused on each and every step they were taking — and they were slowly making it.
In the 50s, the US was on top of the world and Japan was rebuilding. Dr. W. Edwards Deming offered his thoughts to US industry on increasing quality, but his ideas didn’t get much traction. He took his work to Japan and it was embraced whole-heartedly — in fact the Japanese have a word for slow, methodical, continous improvement — Kaizen. They used this principle to steadily increase and improve their position in the industrialized world and now stand as a world power — largely due to applying these concepts.
Are you ready to get unstuck and start living your life? Identify your Core Values, write your Personal Mission Statement, identify your Key Goal Areas where you want to take Inspired Action. Identify the key steps you need to take — very, very small steps — one at a time — THEN START TAKING THEM. Each of those very, very small steps needs to find their way to your DAILY “TO DO” LIST.
Take the steps, check them off and keep moving to the next bend in the trail.
It is only in this way that the Laws of Attraction and Manifestation work. The Universe will conspire with you and will bring you what you need — but you need to take the first step.
“Your time here is limited. Don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” ~Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple Computer
I’ve had so many opportunities to explain what Soul Canyon is all about this past couple of weeks that I thought it would be a great idea to give you an integrated view of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.
Our signature series of workshops are our Adapting & Connecting seminars aimed at helping people understand their own and others’ personalities in ways that will help them work and live together more effectively and lovingly. We approach these seminars by focusing on the dynamic, holistic and ever shifting nature of personalities and how simple tools can be used to eliminate the source of 95% of interpersonal stress: personality conflicts.
We teach that your personality is not you, but a “mask” you systematically build to protect and present yourself to the external world. Your personality is a gateway, or portal, to the real you — the inner you. Being able to Adapt and Connect to the different personalities of others allows you to ultimately connect at a deeper level — which is what we want our clients to achieve.
Our other major workshop and seminar series, our Inner Development Series, is focused on finding, connecting to and using the power of your “true”, “inner” or “higher” self to live your life — personally and professionally — in pure authenticity. This approach is also the foundation of our Coaching System.
This message is titled “White Light” because at Soul Canyon we believe that transparency and extreme adaptability are worthy goals for personality development. In our seminar titled “Secondary Colors, Beyond The Label”, we move beyond the concept of the fixed points of Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green and Cool Blue to the concept of shifting and flexing continuously and instantly so that, at any point in time, you can be comfortable in any of the personality spaces. Such adaptability and lack of fixation in any particular “color” lends itself to detachment and universal adaptability — and therefore transparency — to the “inner self”. Ironically, it’s as if, from an ever-present, heartfelt desire to connect more deeply, the “fixed personality” ceases to exist.
Mary and I are gratefully intending to make a quantum shift in Soul Canyon by taking two major steps now. First, we intend to have Soul Canyon Retreat Center operational very soon. The vision of Soul Canyon Retreat Center includes conference space, lodge accomodations, a labyrinth, trails, a ropes course and other experiential and transformational activities. Soul Canyon Retreat Center will operated sustainably off the grid and will be a place for individuals, couples, families, teams and organizations to come and have a transformational experience.
The second step we are taking is to get our material further out into the world in the form of video and audio programs, teleconferences and other materials. Expect to see these rolling out very soon.
Why are we telling you all of this? Two reasons: Sharing goals and visions dramatically increases the probability they will be achieved and we’d love to have your help. If you’d like to have any part of bringing Soul Canyon Retreat Center into reality — any part at all — please let me know. The same goes for getting our materials out there.
Finally, a word about this “weekly” email. We will be discontinuing this format very soon and converting to a blog — for many reasons. When we make this change, we will be asking you to re-subscribe so, if you like getting these emails, watch for this in the very near future.
If you think that we may be able to help you in any way through our workshops, coaching or consulting — please give us a call or send an email and we’ll explore it with you.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write. It will be those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
~Alvin Toffler
In his book “The Road Less Travelled” Dr. Scott Peck develops the concept of a “mental map.” As we each grow and experience the world our unconscious minds systematically build a map that incorporates all of the cause and effect relationships that we are taught and discover as we experience our lives through the lenses of our developing belief systems.
When occurrences come along that disagree with our mental maps, or when we experience something completely new, all of us make decisions as to whether or not to alter our maps to allow for this new information — like the discoverers of the New World.
History reveals that not all discoveries were welcomed at first, and so it is with our unconscious minds. New information that disagrees with what we already “know” is often rejected and dismissed — which is a major challenge, especially as we get older. Challenging and upgrading our existing “knowledge” starts with the process of “Unlearning.”
Altering our map gets tougher as we get older, especially if we haven’t engaged in a continuous process of challenging our map. Challenging your map involves a process of continuously seeking and learning. Most stop doing this when we complete our formal education — gradually getting more and more rigid, just as our muscles get stiffer and stiffer with age.
How do you keep from dismissing something new, just because it’s new? That is, how do you filter and validate new information that conflicts with your existing belief system– retain what’s valid, unlearn what’s not — and upgrade your mental map?
Whenever you come across something new and you have an emotional, gut level reaction of “WRONG!”, take a moment, slow down and ask yourself:
1) Why do I think that is wrong? As I look at it with adult eyes, in the full light of day, what does my the evidence and my heart tell me?
2) Where did I learn my existing beliefs on this topic?
3) Read further. Ask questions. Research, and come to your own conclusions.
Very often huge parts of our mental maps, or belief systems, were installed by teachers, adults, parents and others who had power over us. Many aspects of the learning we received was, and is, valid — but many, many parts are not. As mentally and spiritually healthy adults we need to actively question everything we believe, especially as it comes up against different belief systems in a diverse world.
In the late Spring of 1979, I had just finished my first year of college and I was ready for a break. I had worked for the BLM on a fire crew the previous summer and planned to do so again that summer. I had three weeks until I had to report to work, so I decided to make the drive from Idaho to Tehachapi, California to hang out with my Mom and Step-Dad in their Airstream trailer for a couple of weeks.
My Step-Dad — Jim – was a cropduster at the time. We would get up at 4 AM and head out to the fields where I’d either flag or load for him. Jim was an amazing pilot and I’d watch him navigate over, under and around trees and powerlines in that bi-wing, Ag Cat plane.
When it got too hot to fly, we’d back to the trailer, into the mountains or out into the desert for an adventure. After a couple of weeks of that, it was time to make the 12-hour drive back to Idaho to start my summer job.
I left at 6 AM in my ‘73 Pinto Station Wagon, loaded up with my Mom’s chocolate chip cookies and a full tank of gas. The drive was incredibly beautiful and meditative. I followed the route that skirts the east side of the Sierra’s, the foot of Mt. Whitney, through Lone Pine, Bishop and Tonopah — and some of the most beautiful and desolate parts of Nevada you could ever hope to see.
As I was crossing into Nevada, I started to get a prompting to turn the car around and go back. I as 5 hours into a 12 hour drive — so I wrote it off to missing my Mom and kept going. With each mile that I drove, my heart got heavier and the voice inside got progressively louder. After an hour of this, I pulled off to the side of the road to gather myself. My head said to keep going, my heart said to turn around and go back.
This was before the days of cell phones and I wasn’t within 50 miles of a town, so I was on my own in making this decision. I broke into tears — and sat there for about 10 minutes — in my Pinto Station Wagon, crying, with a half-eaten bag of chocolate chip cookies in the seat next to me. When I finally made my decision, it was as if 1,000 pounds had been lifted off my chest.
I turned the car around and made the drive back to Tehachapi — pulling in my Mom and Jim’s place at about the time I should have been arriving in Idaho. My Mom, as usual, was understanding and congratulated me on listening to my heart. My Dad, when I called him, was equally understanding.
I didn’t make it back to Idaho in time to be on the BLM Fire Crew that summer. Instead I worked various construction jobs and decided to take the next school year off — a very different path than the one I’d been on.
What if?
I have no idea what would have happened if I’d not listened to my heart that day and stayed with My Agenda. I do know what it felt like when I made that decision — and it has guided the way I navigate life’s intersections and crossroads since that confusing day in the Nevada desert.
Peace,
Rob, Mary & Wes
Join us each week as we learn and apply the Laws of Manifestation and Attraction to achieve ANYTHING!!
Intention Circle — Tuesday’s, Noon – 1pm — Heartsong (in Grants Pass, on 6th, between “G” and “H”) NO CHARGE — Just a tiny donation of $1 to cover the room — bring your lunch!
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