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