THE YEAR OF LIVING MAGICALLY
Sometimes you’re just ready to say, “Yes.” So when I read the email about the show, To Whom the Bridge Tolls, a satire about Marin Life, I knew what I wanted to do this New Years Eve. Annie and I asked our good friends Rick and Nancy to join us. With my expectations running high, I wasn’t disappointed. I laughed non-stop as one line after the other made fun of Marin living, which I am proud to be part of. Not only was it great to laugh, it always feels good to laugh at yourself. With that sentiment in mind, I totally cracked up, at the joke about Life Coaches. Sometimes we get so caught up in the personal challenges we are facing, we aren’t able to laugh, which is what we need to do.
As the showed progressed from one skit to the other, I was thinking about that second when the New Year would be here. It has been a challenging year for many. I like to think of myself as a visionary thinker. I believe we are about to being an exciting new era. We are on the verge of a new Renaissance. All of the ingredients are there; the leadership, the spirit and the vision. To say the least I’m excited about 2009.
I want to be fully engaged in this Renaissance. My thoughts shift to who I need to become to experience that magic. I think about what I can do to make a difference in the world. I think about those inner qualities that I need to work on, so that I can become the person I want to be. We keep evolving.
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The beginning of the year has a unique quality to it. We have momentum. We try to leverage that momentum in different ways. The traditionalists use New Year resolutions to help them achieve what it is that they want in the beginning of the year. They declare, “ I’ll lose ten or twenty pounds.” Maybe you have a different number. Then they declare that they will give up something- it might be drinking or smoking or eating dairy or something else. They’ll resolve to exercise three times per week and take a new class. It works for a while, but only for a while.
Many spiritual teachers encourage us to work with intentions, which can have many meanings. Last year at an intentions workshop we explored what our intentions were for the upcoming year in the various phases of our life. We looked deeper into what it was that we were really committed to and were asked to complete the following sentence: “My deepest intent” is to………… For me the words just flowed out effortlessly. “My deepest intent is to inspire others to believe in themselves.” In many ways I saw my deepest intent in alignment with my life purpose. I still do. As I begin this year I can think of nothing more that I would like for others than to believe in themselves. The work we do keeps evolving. We keep refining what we are here to do. Last years intention has evolved into what it is currently, which is to awaken in others the knowing that what’s possible in their life, materially, spiritually and emotionally is greater than they can imagine.
Now this knowing doesn’t just mean that you can wave a magic wand and your life will be different. It’s a process that needs nurturing and cultivating. If you are patient, the magic will come. It just might show up in a different context than you originally thought. But to get there you have to do the inner work. There are no shortcuts. The inner work involves your commitment to a spiritual practice. It might take a certain level of discipline initially, but over time it becomes a way of life. Once this shift happens, you look forward to your practice. Over time you experience a deeper level of inner peace. From this place of stillness, you become aware of possibilities that you never knew existed.
There is one other piece that I have found quite helpful in doing the work. Goals can be a powerful ally in transforming your life. Yet many people have an aversion to working with them or choose modest goals so that they avoid disappointment. We all have been disappointed by life at times and it hurts. fe in the pastReaching your goal is not as important as who you become in the process. Goals are not an end- all but a beginning. no matter whate we are talking about They create a focus so that in the process you become more than who you are now. realIf your goal is to have a great relationship, you have to first become a more evolved. If your goal is to become a successful entrepreneur, you need to first become more adventurous, more confident and more resourceful.
You don’t have to make a choice between working with intention or working with goals. They work perfectly together like a great marriage. Intention is the feminine aspect and goals are the masculine.
There is a great opportunity awaiting you. What you don’t want to do is to sit back and watch it go by. It’s time to get involved and take that next step.
I love Marianne Williamson’s perspective:
“Our deepest fFear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to manifest the glory that is within us.
As we let our light shine
We unconsciously give other people
Permission to do the same.”
I enjoy sharing the journey with you. We keep learning all of the time. Make it fun. Laugh a little bit more than yesterday and
Journey On
Mark
JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational way. http://www.inspirepossibility.com