Taking small risks can lead to big transformations

Having an ordered life is great and highly recommended. The feeling of things being in the right place is certainly conducive to focus and well-being. But as you may be aware, there is a catch here; too much order can become limiting because our minds are simply not aware of all the possibilities around us.Control-mania can lead us to having an over-orderly life, a sort of spiritual constipation that can sap the life out of....well, your life.

The remedy for this is to throw in the occasional random element to break open new potential. This may involve taking a risk of some kind and allowing your life to become disrupted temporarily.
Here are possible ways to do this. Simply choose which ones appeal and give them a go when things start to feel stale.

- drink one or two more glasses of wine or beer than you usually would.
- call someone you haven't contacted for a while.
-do something totally different next weekend.
- take a social risk such as asking someone to go out with you who you might have considered out of reach.
- give up your job without knowing what you're going to do next.
- move to another city or country.
- take a different route to work
- go to a different cafe or pub
- go to an event or networking even if you can't think of a good logical reason for doing so.


You might want to make your own list and pin it somewhere. The point here is that throwing in a random element you are inviting the universe to bring something new into your life and opening the door to providence. It's so easy to get stuck in routines and being 'busy' to the extent that we are no longer receptive to possibility. Our minds are far too narrow to see what's possible for us, but random elements and actions can give the universe a chance to nudge us, jolt us or gently guide us in a new direction.

Get to 'know thyself'.

We all have multi-faceted personalities to one degree or another. This is different, of course, from having a 'split-personality' where one 'persona' isn't aware of the actions of another within the individual and which can be classified as a pathology. Having a multi-faceted personality simply means that we have distinct aspects with diverse types of behaviour, interests and abilities.

For example, you may have a creative side that likes to play an instrument like the piano, and which nourishes you at a profound level when it takes over. Or it may be more accurate to say that the act of playing the piano nourishes that particular aspect of your SELF, which in turn allows you to connect with something significant.

Problems can occur when one aspect is supressed or neglected, often due to a belief we have acquired about what we 'should' or 'shouldn't' be doing with our time. This can lead to a sense of frustration, of feeling empty or unfulfilled, either vaguely or quite obviously.

People with a strong creative aspect will require order in their lives at times, but too much of this will start to feel extremely constraining and they may feel the urge to do something to shake things up in their lives and create a little chaos and unpredictability.

Another consideration is what each distinct 'persona' thinks about the others. We may have an aspirational side, most of us do, but this aspect may become cowed into submission by the cold hard logic of a more judgemental aspect.

One of the most fundamental pieces of wisdom in history comes from the Apollonian inscription 'know thyself' and this really is the key to a balanced, fulfilled existence. Knowing yourself is all about understanding these facets of your SELF, how they operate, what they need and how you can allow them to work for you rather than against you.

Doing this requires honesty and some objectivity. Working with a coach or counsellor is ideal. Take some time to REALLY get to know yourself, even if you think you've already done it. Maybe it's time to get re-acquainted and ensure that you are truly nourished as you move towards more prosperity and well-being.

So you wanna be an innovator?

The idea of being an innovator may sound very nice or appealing, but what does it really take to be an innovator and how do we know if we are on the right track?

One way of testing whether or not your ideas are truly penetrating is to, obviously share them with others. Some people will probably find them 'interesting', some will become converts almost immediately, but the real test is whether or not your ideas seem to cause offence among the 'business as usual' thinkers that carry on their lives as if the answer to everything is obvious and plain common sense! You'll know if you are onto something interesting when these types not only oppose your ideas, but seem to take them as personal affronts. In time, you'll come to recognise the peculiar quality of this type of resistance because it has a particularly nasty undertone. When you first start to innovate freely and experience this phenomenon, you may find it disturbing and want to retreat or even feel as if you should apologise. You may even decide that innovation is simply too much grief and go back to doing things 'their' way or continue your work in secret. On the other hand, if you persist, you'll come to understand that such reactions are a sure sign that you've hit on something meaningful and that they are just part of the package. I'm not talking here about trying to offend people by making gratuitously extreme statements.I mean that when you start asking certain questions about how things are done, and why they are done this way, you will see how threatened some people apparently feel by the implications of your sincere desire to push forward into new territory. The solution? Just understand, and appreciate what you're getting yourself into.

A REAL alternative-Part 2

In the first part of this two-part blog post, I described how I came across the 'teachings' of Robert Scheinfeld as a REALLY alternative way of living.
I'm going to continue here by going into more detail about what differentiates these teachings and why you may wish to investigate this opportunity further.

If you look at most self-help programs, techniques and strategies, you'll see that they recommend a set of actions that are supposed to change or improve our lives in one way or another. Let's take as an example meditation. In meditation the aim is to quieten the mind by going into a particular state that may involve breathing techniques, counting and/or forms of visualisation. The idea is that we can close out the 'noise' and interference of our busy mind and experience a state that is closer to 'blissful' or 'calm' or 'peaceful'. The implication is that we can feel 'better' or happier or more in control by doing this and that it will somehow impact on our lives.
This is fine as long as it lasts, but if you have ever tried meditation you will know that as soon as the session is over, the mind starts up it's activity again and very soon we are back where we started. In other words the supposedly positive effects only last as long as we are engaged in meditation itself and sometimes for a short while afterwards.No real transformation of our actual EXPERIENCE has taken place.
The structure and aim of meditation is based around the wish to change our state, even if only temporarily, and experience a different state of being which by implication is superior. Unfortunately it is an aim that is in direct opposition to the way our contemporary lives are structured and the way our minds function.

In the teachings of Robert Scheinfeld, which I shall refer to as Phase 2 from here, there is an opportunity to move into an experience of appreciating whatever we are experiencing, whether we call it peace, calm, stress, fatigue, excitement, frustration, anger etc. What Phase 2 represents is a major, MAJOR shift in the way we perceive experiences. It is almost a mirror image of our 'normal' way of perceiving and experiencing the world, which is called Phase 1 in Robert's work.

In Phase 1 of our human experience, there are 'good' and 'bad' events and emotions. Judging our experience in this way is SO ingrained that it is rare that we even question the validity of our judgements.
Almost all self-help and wellness techniques incorporate the idea that there are good and bad experiences and states of being. They attempt to maximise the 'good' ones and minimise the 'bad' ones through an endless variety of strategies.
In the Phase 2 model that Scheinfeld teaches, these distinctions are seen, and experienced in a wholly new light which increasingly as time moves on provides a gateway to a completely different way of living.
In my view, the central piece and most powerful tool that Robert Scheinfeld offers us is something called 'The Process' which is an activity for transforming the way we experience the world and in particular the emotions and events that we would usually term 'bad' or 'negative'. This Process also transforms 'how' we live our lives as the established 'change, fix and improve' way of living gives way to a massive sense of appreciation and openness to whatever comes along in our lives.

The Phase 2 journey, which involves the transformation over time of how we experience ourselves and our lives is a significant undertaking which in most cases will run into years of living in Phase 2 mode before entering a new state which can be termed Phase 3. Yet the journey itself is a fascinating and rewarding one that gives us a completely different perspective on what is REALLY happening here in the world, where the REAL power source driving reality is located, and what's REALLY possible in this realm that we could call 'The Human Game.'
For more information, Phase 2/3 coaching is available in the UK by writing to me at:

pathway@michaelbrooman.co.uk

A REAL Alternative- Part 1

Many self-help and wellness techniques and methods purport to offer an alternative way of living. Indeed, in London the biggest 'New Age' organisation that distributes such techniques and teachings calls itself Alternatives. But in what sense are the teachings that they offer real alternatives?

In my experience, what may look like an alternative at first often turns out to be not so alternative after all. A lot of self-help and wellness methods,techniques and strategies sound and look extremely convincing and seductive. But when it comes down to it, how many of them truly offer an alternative way of living and looking at what's going on in the world?

For many years, I was also looking for an alternative. I was certain that there was another way of living that did not conform to the traditional views of the world and how things happen. I searched and experimented. At one time in my 20's I even went to live with a group of travellers, hoping to discover an alternative lifestyle. What I found disappointed me. The only thing that was alternative about them was the fact that they lived in a bus instead of a house. Apart from that, they seemed much the same as everyone else.

Later I got involved with various 'New Age' type approaches, often based on ancient wisdom, and although I found the ideas and concepts quite exciting and engaging, I found that they did not offer up a lifestyle that was both practical and truly alternative. They might for example teach or suggest a technique or strategy that could be applied at times to supposedly get desired effects, but they did not offer what really felt like a truly alternative approach to living. At another stage I discovered some of the top professional coaches that teach people how to 'be the best' and perform at a high level. Again, they offered some exciting ideas but in the end they were for the most part suggesting that we simply do more, MUCH more in order to get results. For example, they might advise getting 'super fit', which is a great idea but extremely difficult to manage if you are not a full-time athlete or fanatical about exercise!

About 9 years ago I became interested in the teachings of the American self-help author Robert Scheinfeld. At the time he was offering a program called the Seven Power Centres of Life. In his pitch he mentioned that this was something very different from most 'alternative' teachings. It was also a new offering that he had put together that would later morph into what became the Busting Loose model and more recently, the Ultimate Key to Freedom.

At the time I heard his pitch I had reached a low point. It was soon after I had been divorced and I'd just got dumped by a girlfriend very unceremoniously. In short I was feeling that life was turning into a big disappointment! In the words of Morpheus in the film, The Matrix, I felt that "something was wrong with the world". I decided to give Robert Scheinfeld's course, for which he was making some dramatic claims, a try. What did I have to lose?

Robert Scheinfeld's course did turn out to be different from anything I had experienced before. It also turned into a life changing event that took me on an extraordinary journey of discovery and 'expansion'. From the outside one might be forgiven for thinking that Robert Scheinfeld is just another 'self-help guru' marketing his products in a way that is very slick and professional. Indeed at first sight, Robert's products may look similar to those of many others in the self-help field. However, what I learned from deep and profound personal experience was that the similarity ends there and that whatever you may be thinking these products are about, it does not come close to the truth of what this particular journey has looked and felt like for myself and many others.

In the next part of this blog I will go into more detail about Robert Scheinfeld's approach and teachings. In the meantime if you would like to know more you can go to the link below and access a free introduction from Robert Scheinfeld.

http://www.robertscheinfeld.com/spiritual-teaching-modern-times/

Alternatively I am offering personal coaching through my coaching website at

https://sites.google.com/site/pathwayyoucoaching/Our-coaching

Disruption

A recent quote from international prosperity coach Randy Gage really caught my attention. It said something like; You are not here to fit in but to disrupt.
The process of disruption begins with a new idea or innovation. It may start at the bottom but builds momentum until whole industries are transformed. Witness how mp3 files changed the music industry, or how online travel agencies and airlines have changed how we buy air tickets and holidays. The list goes on and on.
When we think about it, the whole of evolution is based on disruption. Without it nothing would change and the world would stagnate.
Despite this, almost everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in our traditional education teaches and encourages us to fit in rather than disrupt. "Don't rock the boat". "You need to fit in." "Keep in with the right people." "Don't step out of line" because if you do there will be consequences.
This is the reality. Companies establish consequences for people that dare to step out of line and do things differently. These consequences can be acknowledged or not, hidden or revealed.
The media bombards us with messages that suggest that life is getting tougher, more competitive, less easy to deal with. Less jobs, more suffering. This has been going on as long as I can remember, whether there is an 'economic crisis' or not. Such memes compound the message that we shouldn't take risks, that we should fit in and go with the crowd. People become more scared, more cowed and more likely to conform. They may join in with deriding the ones that take risks, hoping that it will shore up their professional status, which in many cases it does, sadly.
This is a form of corruption. Very insidious and hidden but there nevertheless. Ultimately it does nobody any favours because companies need to change and develop as society naturally changes. When they don't, they tend to disappear.
The lesson rarely gets learned. The fear of being ostrasized from the group remains much more powerful for most that the motivation to go out on a limb and say what needs to be said or take a step in the dark.
But life is for living. In the end there will be little satisfaction in saying: I played it safe, kept my nose clean and didn't rock the boat. It may work in the short term but in the bigger picture it does not contribute to a fulfilling life.
We are here to disrupt, to contribute and make change, to make the world a better place. Playing safe does not do this. So the message here is: join with the disruptors. If you can't be one of them, give them your support and energy because....we are the future!