Turning Toward Next With Grace and Grit

The year is turning now. As promised, I added the second part of a two part reflection practice to assist you with fully embracing all that this darkening-before-the-light has to offer.

The idea here is to take some time to close up what for many of us has been a crazy year, and begin to turn towards next year with grace and grit. The practice of closing up — your day, week, month, year — gives rise to good beginnings. The practice of turning towards what is next by listening for your emerging future gives a very different flavor to our usual New Year's Resolutions. I’m confident that you will love this practice as much as I do. My wing women describe it as both gentle and powerful — there is both grace and grit here.

May the year ahead astonish us all with its beauty, truth, and goodness.

This practice will acquaint you with your inner Wisdom Council, which is a most wonderful and effective way to experience and get access to the fundamental capacities of grace and grit. The Wisdom Council is an archetypal ever-present inner "committee" that is always with you, and as you will discover when you engage these practices I’m sharing with you today, we all have one! (I can feel myself squirm a bit as I write these words for fear of sounding too woo woo, but please bear with me. What I’m offering here is a kick ass form of woo woo, and I don’t want you to miss out on account of that little niggledy voice of judgement in me.)

So, do you already have a practice or ritual way to close up the year and open to what is next? If not, I highly recommend it. If so, you already know how wonderful and beneficial it is, and you might want to try this.

Part One - Closing Up the Year

Download the Wisdom Council inquiry questions and then carve out a little uninterrupted time (+/- 30 minutes) to cozy up with a cup of tea to really take stock with the first part of this practice. Give it your full attention to facilitate closure to the year in a very remarkable way. Have your journal handy, or just some paper and a pencil will do. Free write into these questions by putting your pencil to the page and just write whatever comes up for a few minutes without lifting the pencil. Remind yourself that your responses are for your eyes only, unless you want to share with a trusted friend, companion, or spouse.

Part Two - Turning Towards the Next

Give yourself as much as a week, or as little as an hour, before picking up Part Two, wherein the Wisdom Council questions will have you look ahead with the clarity and compassion of the closure afforded you by of Part One.

Click here to download the questions in pdf format

Please feel free to be guided through the practice with the audio recordings below if you’d like.

(Be sure to Bookmark this page so that you can refer back to it easily later . . .)

Guided Wisdom Council Reflection Questions-Part 1 (17 minutes)

Lyedie Geer

Guided Wisdom Council Reflection Questions - Part 2 (23 minutes)

Lyedie Geer

Note: Wisdom Council inquiries are powerful stuff. Please let these questions, and your responses to them, penetrate your heart, mind, and will-to-act. Let them begin to do their work as the year turns and unfolds in the coming months.

No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. - Epictetus

May the year ahead astonish us with all its beauty, truth and goodness!

Warmly, Lyedie
Putney, Vermont

Soulcraft -Nearing the Winter Solstice

Today I started my day in meditation with a group I recently joined in Putney. I was up late last night and, to be honest, I had to will myself there. It would have been so easy to linger under the covers a little longer and to miss the crisp air and the new snow of the morning.  We always begin our meditation with a poem or a quote. Had I pushed the snooze button, I would have missed this one.

Reading from a note in his own hand, written on an old library catalogue card, Bob shared a piece of Wendell Berry's wisdom. On the wings of Bob's voice, a beautiful and precise suggestion for the definition of soul landed in my morning. Fulfilling a longing I didn't know I had.

Soul is fundamentally a biological concept, defined as the primary organizing, sustaining and guiding principle of a living being. Soulcraft is the skill needed in shaping the human soul towards its fulfillment in its unity with the entire universe. The universe and human soul find their fulfillment in each other. Soul gives to the multitude of living forms wondrous powers of sensation and motion. Soul in all its diversity of expression, enables the flowers to bloom in the meadows. It enables all manner of living forms, the birds, the fish, and other living beings to find their way through thousands of miles on their migration journeys back and forth across continents and in the dark depths of the sea. The entire universe is sustained in all its vast interwoven patterns by the mysterious power of soul.                 

And Bob, the way you are making brilliant use of discarded library catalogue cards just about slays me. Thank you!

Getting More Productive: Tip #1 and Four Simple Truths

Do you find yourself longing to be more productive?

Well, you are not alone. This longing is shared by many of us as we navigate the complexity of modern life. There is no one secret to becoming more productive ­­-- I have no formula for success to offer. What I've found is that for each of us the path to being truly productive is an evolving set of practices, an ongoing personal adventure. Alongside developing clarity on the big picture, I help people put their shoulders to the wheel and develop truly productive life habits and structures. Today I'm offering you a high leverage tip that magnetizes productivity, and reminding you of a few habits that you already know are the very foundation of a highly productive life.

The Four Simple Truths: (The ones that you already know)

1. Get enough sleep

2. Eat well

3. Exercise often

4. Contemplate daily

Tip #1 –Determine One Thing That Will Make a Difference

Take a look at your long list of to-dos and ask yourself:

What is the one thing that will make the difference if I get it done today?

Choose one thing that will have an impact, that is feasible to accomplish today.Write that down in bold letters across the top of your list, then orchestrate your day to accomplish that one task and let the rest of your to-dos follow suit --  believe me they will! Drive your day with the one thing that will make a difference, keep putting your time, attention and energy on it. When you get it done shout out, “Yes!”

Check in with your list at the end of the day and take note of all your accomplishments. Celebrate your wins and let them give you energy. Then determine what the "one thing" is for tomorrow and put that at the top of the list, big and bold,  before you close up the day. Set it up so the “one thing” greets you in the morning when you start your day.Do the "one thing" on a daily basis and keep repeating.The "one thing" will serve as a magnet, attracting your accomplishments with each daily, “Yes!” that you shout out. You will be amazed at the momentum that putting this simple tip into practice will produce.

This simple tip addresses focusing your attention in the midst of distraction and complexity. Your own productivity challenge may call for a different approach. Contact me for a free initial coaching consultation.To learn more about productivity read on.

So, what do I mean when I use the term productivity? Well, I don’t mean just getting things done. Productivity is the result of using your time, energy and attention in concert such that you are sustainably making progress on the things that support your well-being and bring meaning to your life. Productivity is the driver of fulfilling our promise. Being truly productive creates momentum. It gives us juice!

In the weeks to come I’ll offer more tips on working with time, energy and attention more effectively. But now I want to explore the four simple truths.They are the foundation of a sustainably productive life. They are “no brainers” but many of us have trouble maintaining at least one of them and when we get stressed they tend to fall away leaving us depleted, unfocused and moody. A productive life is built on a solid albeit simple foundation. Nothing will get you more productive than getting these four in place. Nothing will challenge their dynamic equilibrium more than success. So, let go of doing it perfectly, be kind to yourself, and enjoy the ride!

Invite yourself to continually work the four simple truths into your life habits:

Get Enough Sleep – Work with your bio-rhythms and make it a priority

• Refrain from caffeine in the second half of your day

• Sleep clean -- in a room free of the distractions of TV, tablet, and phone

• Invest in an old-fashioned alarm clock and charge your phone in another room

• Take naps if at all possible (10-30 minutes is optimal. Too long and you will wake up groggy)

Eat well – Keep it simple and delicious

• Eat early and well over the course of the day

• Include lots of leafy green vegetables in your diet

• Get enough protein

• Limit your sugar intake

• Drink plenty of water

Exercise Regularly- Moderation is key to keeping it daily

• Greet the day with a quick walk or run (10- 20 minutes)

• Take a short walk during your lunch break

• Ride your bike or walk, if possible

• Build upper body strength somehow – lift weights, stack wood, carry children

• Take an exercise class or go to the gym regularly

Develop a Contemplative Practice – Build your Jedi brain capacity and reduce the allostatic load of modern life

• If you already have one: Commit to it and deepen it.

• If you haven’t established one yet: Investigate a way to “meditate” that is right for you.There are many methods available for busy people with busy minds from many traditions.

My next posts will introduce the productivity triad of Time, Energy, and Attention. I’ll be offering you ways to boost and harmonize these three critical elements to achieve true productivity.In the meantime, try focusing your attention by using Tip #1 to hone in on the one thing that will make the difference, and shore up the very foundation of your productivity by inviting yourself to implement the four simple truths.

If you feel called to action and you want to work closely with me in a program that I design just for you, click here to schedule a free initial consultation.

I hope that you are enjoying these glorious summer days as much as I am!

Warmly, Lyedie Geer