Nourishing the Seed

A simple truth to be remember. 

This except was shared in a recent Sally Anderson Leadership Mastermind post, of which I'm a part. With her permission I am now sharing. 

(Check out Sally's site and service offerings -- TOTALLY worth consideration!  http://www.sally-anderson.com/home)   

"A past client shared this from a book he was reading on the weekend about the inspiring story about Mudbrick Vineyard on Waiheke Island, New Zealand:  Thought it would resonate for all the creatives out there!

It’s unseen, unspoken. It’s not really there...

Except one person has thought it. It’s in their mind, that seed, and at that point in time, only they know about it.

Then it might get spoken out loud to another. “I have this idea”. The idea, of course, might not go any further than that, depending on the reaction it receives.

Should the idea be contained in a passionate soul, it might progress to a conviction. The conviction that the seed is a good idea. The person who holds this seed within them must make a decision, the first of many. The decision will either be a good one, or a bad one, and the idea will morph into a good idea if it works, or, if it’s a bad idea, into that other awful category known as a mistake.

We all know action speaks louder than words. The idea that started as a thought that progressed to the spoken word may never go further. Or then again, one may choose to act on it."

Taking the Idea from Thought into Action.

I am reminded of the parable of the mustard seed in the Bible where the servant is instructed to plant the seed in fertile soil and to nourish and water the seed in order that the seed of faith (idea) grows into a mighty tree of accomplishment. Comparatively the seed planted in shallow ground pops up and withers; or the seed planted in barren ground dries up and eventually blows away.

Creating Fertile Soil and Nourishing the Seed.

I've been reading the book "Incognito--The Secret Lives of the Brain",written by David Eagleman. He describes the power of the brain to retain things in the unconscious after we have learned them (which, in my experience applies to all the education and knowledge we have ever gained, and in my opinion, the collective conscious of all knowledge and truth). Eagleman's example is the Wimbledon tennis player that can anticipate the trajectory of a tennis ball coming across the net at over 90 mph, move towards it rapidly, and orient a small surface to intersect the ball, and all of this almost completely unconsciously. The tennis player is like a robot maneuvering with automatic precision. The action required to hit the 90 mph ball is almost entirely unconscious.   Early on, however, there was a coach suggesting ways to improve. The student practices the tennis serve again and again; each time tiny adjustments are being made across a network of innumerable synaptic connections. Conscious parts of the brain training and programming the neural circuitry until the student is able to respond seemingly automatically.  

Over time and with repetition, we gradually move our practice and performance out of the conscious realm and into the automatic realm. With effective guidance and coaching we become masters in our chosen action. The mustard seed has been given nourishment and has been planted in fertile soil. We begin to have "intuitive prompts" sourcing from our now unconscious, programmed neural network. This, of course, can go both ways -- positive or negative automatic behaviors can be programmed into our unconscious.Soon we wonder why we just "can't help it" when we mindlessly eat all the cookies on the plate.

As the excerpt above mentions from the book about Mudbrick Vineyard, any idea may be taken further than just "an idea" depending on the action it is given--the nourishment it receives. A great coach, an intuitive guide, a counselor is that person that can assist you to take your great idea, or to challenge your internal "story" about not being good enough or worth it, and help you to transform your brain until your action becomes an unconscious action of perfect timing and performance and your idea become reality. I thought of my recent experience with my mastermind coach, Sally and the incredible value of coaching in "nourishing my mustard seed in fertile soil". Through a process of setting goals, weekly accountability, repetition and practice, my "moves" have gradually become more automatic; my responses have become more automatic.

To my coach, thank you Sally for assisting me these last four months to plant my seed of vision and purpose and to adopt the mindset of seeing it happen. You have helped me to gradually move my awareness for my vision past the training wheels stage. I am still a bit wobbly, but definitely stronger. Thank you for nourishing my mustard seed.


For more information about intuitive coaching and healing -- see our website at www.bountifullifeinstitute.com

Feeling Frustrated with What Is?

An interesting journey this thing of staying with flow and trust.

I took a walk and sat on a large granite boulder this afternoon and looked at the yellow on the Poplar trees turning and actually heard the birds calling and I thought, "Where have I been for the last few months"? All wrapped up in this great story I've created and forgetting how marvelous the moments are. I really savored the moments while in my Davis County "ashram"-- it is such a sensory deprived space that a moment of sunlight or fresh air was in truth the only way to survive. Funny that we create our own sensory deprived experience day-to-day by forgetting to savor the moments. Being frustrated with what is can be an almost constant state of mind and state of being. It is the stuff that creates depression, anger, resentment, and basically a shutdown of the flow within. Taking a little walk and finding that yummy grounded space and just savoring the moment is good medicine for the psyche and an opportunity to reconnect with flow and trust. This is the wisdom of the indigenous populations worldwide.

Working One's "Self" out of the Story

A funny thing -- to be in a story and not know it.  Day after day recreating the same experiences and people and once in a while manifesting something magnificent.  We all do this.  Sometimes we are aware of what we are doing.  A simple moment of contemplation and we realize that what we thought was a mere coincidence was really a complete quantum physics moment of sheer beauty ---- a creation from our own (usually unaware) thoughts.   And then there are those experiences where we just "know" --- Know from the core of our being that somehow we manifested this exact moment, this exact experience.  And in that moment of awareness, we can re-member ourselves and remember our own unique soul journey.

Every day I am reminded of my own insignificance.  Every day I am reminded of my own magnificence.

Humility and Beauty.  These are the characteristics of the Masters.  These are the gifts we all carry.  Each of us walking our mastery course and moment by moment choosing to live in mastery or dysfunction.  Every day we find ourselves triggered by another, by our own self-doubt, by life circumstances which seem out of our control.  And every moment we may Act, or Re-Act.  We may choose to See and be Seen, or we may choose to lie low and pretend.  We stand forth, like leaders do, or we go back to our old familiar patterns and exchanges.

So which will it be?

What do I choose?

Time to watch Ground Hog Day again  (pun intended)

love and best to all.

Where Two Flow As One

The Dance in Relationship

"A woman’s highest calling is to lead a man to his soul, so as to unite him with the source; her lowest calling is to seduce, separating man from his soul and leave him aimlessly wandering. A man’s highest calling is to protect woman, so she is free to walk the earth unharmed. Man’s lowest calling is to ambush and force his way into the life of a woman.”

― Native American Cherokee Proverb

The dance in relationship -- where two flow as one -- has at it's core the understanding of the masculine and feminine divine working together harmoniously and in sync.  Equality in partnership is understood to be complementary roles working together.   This isn't the "Father Knows Best" stereotyped caricature of early times.  Partnership is a deep and profound listening and supports of all the many aspects both men and women fulfill in daily living together.  Equal pay for equal work - absolutely.  Now let's take the dance to the big league and co-create a sustainable future from the highest possible expression of man and woman together.

How Are We Showing UP?

Noticing something about myself today -- how and when I am choosing to be totally vulnerable in my relationships? In the community I live with? In my work community? Close friends? And particularly in my "significant other" relationship. Have you ever looked at your level of engagement in relationship?  Does the barometer read "raining and cloudy", "partly sunny", or "brightly shinning"?

Reading Freefall, by Sally Anderson,  the chapter on extraordinary relationship, and noticed the following language;  "In such a relationship our focus is external. In other words, we think it’s the other person’s fault our relationship is the way it is. However, whenever we blame the other, we do so because we are expecting the other person to make us happy. A good relationship, and especially an extraordinary relationship, is about living at a high level of consciousness with a high level of commitment to our own happiness. Instead of being resigned to a mediocre experience, we experience intense passion. The focus is internal, which means we don’t look to our partner to make us happy. We recognize that our happiness is our self-responsibility."

I notice that I've said to other significant relationships, "I cannot MAKE YOU happy. Only you can make you happy."  So now I ponder the three fingers pointing back at me with that language and wonder where I have unconsciously been expecting my own happiness to be someone else's priority.

Where have I been externalizing my happiness?

Time to recommit to creating an extraordinary relationship with myself.

Original Artwork, Kiera M. Brown, 2012

I choose Love.
I choose Freedom.
I choose Faith.
I surrender.
I give up the fight.
I choose to be happy. 

  ---original artwork printed by permission of Kiera M. Brown