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Tell Me More

Yesterday, my first and impulsive reaction to a request was “No” and I stated it. The questioner continued to bounce ideas, stay on his path. By the end of the conversation, I found myself agreeing to the original request with a slight twist.

But my energy was a NO for a long time! And that didn’t feel good. You see, I could have paused long enough to remember that we had the same end goal in mind before responding in a new way:

  • Silence my “no” and ask, “Tell me more. What’s the goal?”
  • Voice my “no” with “Wow, I find myself wanting to reject your idea without hearing more. Please, tell me more.”

Either of these is an opening to connection where “No” is like slamming a door in another’s face.

What relationship in your life could use more connection?
How would “Tell me more” impact conversation?

This is not a new topic so please forgive the repetition unless, like me, you need the lesson repeated! Here is a link to a former post on this topic:

About Yes and No

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What Energy Is Here Now?

Perhaps, like me, there are times when you find yourself racing through the items on your to-do list without even thinking about what you are doing or how you feel about it. The end of the day arrives and you wonder how you got here. The very sad thing is that some folks follow this pattern for decades and wind up at the end of life without having lived.

Today’s suggestion is a simple practice. Put notes on the bathroom mirror, on the dashboard in your car, on your computer screen at work, on the back door, and any other location that you will notice multiple times throughout your day. The notes say:

What energy is here now?

The practice is this: read the note. Breathe. Answer it for yourself. That’s it!

What energy is here now?

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Traffic Circles

Traffic circles are popping up everywhere. Where we once:

  • came to a full stop at a red light and waited for the light to tell us when to begin again
  • sailed right on through the green light
  • stopped at the sign and used caution and etiquette to know when to proceed

we now must slow down, look left, glance right, maybe stop, ultimately flow into the traffic pattern. Every driver must take responsibility for their part in the circular flow. What about life?

Where are you waiting at a red light?
Sailing through a green one?
Stopped at the sign and following the rules?
What is the impact of your traveling pattern?

What needs the circle approach?

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What Do You Observe?

Let’s apply peeling back the layers in one more way. When first impressions- of other people or activities – are grey or undesirable, stop. Peel back that first reaction. Breathe in deeply.

What do you observe now?
What is present beneath your judgment?

If that layer is still focused on the “other”, try again. Stop. Breathe. Peel it back. Peel back the layers until you observe you: your part in the situation, your attitude, your fear. This is the layer where you have complete control and can respond rather than react.

What do you observe now?

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Peeling Back the Layers

The sky is a solid grey, the rain is falling, and if I didn’t know better, I would believe the sun did not rise today. Of course the sun doesn’t rise at all! It simply IS. Yet sometimes, when clouds block the view completely, we forget.

If you are experiencing a grey day, try this visioning experiment. Lie down and close your eyes. Take in a few deep cleansing breaths. Then, gently imagine staring up at the sky and peeling back the layers of clouds currently blocking the view.

What do you see?
What is ever-present behind the clouds?
What focus clears the view?