Energy For Life

Fertile Spring—A Time of Growing!

I enjoy using the seasons to reflect on my own state and station. I ask myself “What new aspects are growing, as I awaken as a conscious human being?  What can I do to nurture this tiny new growth so it blooms in full color by summer?” Here is one of my favorite journaling (or dialoguing) formats.

Carve out 10 minutes of quiet time for yourself, without interruption.

As Spring is blooming inside and outside, I invite you to take a moment to breathe and settle in.  Open up the tailbone area and breathe in the Earth’s energy; let the breath rise to the top of the head. Release the breath down and out the hands and feet. Feel the awakening in the cells of the body.  Breathe in vitality/freshness; breathe out stale/stagnant air. Refresh yourself in just a few breaths.

Prepare to write your answers as you converse with yourself. Decide which area of your life you are focusing on to ask these questions.

Ask each question 3-5 (or more) times to allow all the aspects of the answer to be revealed, listen without judgment or interruption. Come back to this exercise whenever you want.

With regard to my wellness this Spring,
what do I need?

what do I want?

what do I fear/avoid?

what am I hoping/wishing/praying for?

what do I commit to/take a stand for happening?

Then look over the list of responses to these questions.  Ask each question one more time; summarize one answer for each question.

You can use this format for any area of your life: regarding my life passion or my heart virtue or my current/proposed career or my relationship or this new project, or my fitness level, etc.…..

Then ask yourself:

What am I aware of?

What next steps will I take?

What support do I need?

Use this to design your plan of action. Call or write to let me know what happens with this exercise!

Know that Jim and I can be of service to coach you through the process.

Be well.

Ruth Sharon at 303-796-7004; energyforlife111@yahoo.com

SELF-DISCLOSURE #2

by Jim Sharon, Ed.D.

This is my personal response to the second of five questions I raised in my Oct. 1, 2009 blog.  The question read:

In what areas or aspects of my life am I sleepwalking—limiting my awareness, appreciation, awe, love, etc.?

My immediate reaction to this question concerns gratitude.  Frankly, I know I feel grateful for so much and often do reflect on my appreciation.  I could speak volumes about what I’m grateful for!  However, I also recognize that I want to attain a depth of gratitude for the multitude of daily miracles in my life, whereby I penetrate my core (heart and guts) with profound awe for all forms of “life support.”   Examples of these various forms range from waking each day in great health, and my family the same, to having heat, water and electricity in my home in a relatively safe neighborhood to having work that I love to perform, along with a balanced lifestyle.  Similarly, I’d like to remain focused on the meaning and feeling behind structured/formal prayers that I recite, rather than sometimes saying rote prayers.

I need to create more sustained quality time with my family and friends, during which I’m receptive to the moments “opening.”  By increasing my intention to remain present to the significant people in my life (as I do my clients), I foresee a greater, more powerful exchange of love between us.  My goal is to honor and savor my relationships the way I cherish and relish nature. Finally, I want to extend the “highs” I experience during special activities, most recently via a personal weekend retreat that I led and a men’s retreat that I attended.  Following up soon with some of the men I closely bonded with represents a way of sustaining the meaningful relationships cultivated during the retreat.  Happiness as a solid state of being rather than a mood-dependent phenomenon is another strong focus of my attention.

I’m pleased to witness my progress in each of the above-mentioned areas over the years, but as one of many who takes self-development seriously, I greatly value forging on toward the next growing edge.

I am very interested to receive key realizations you had while contemplating your response to this question, as well as getting your feedback about my self-inventory.  Please respond on this blog or to my email:  docjimsharon@yahoo.com.

SELF-DISCLOSURE #1

by Jim Sharon, Ed.D.

At the beginning of October I posted a blog in which I raised five central questions for my own self-inventory and invited readers to work with any of the questions that they felt struck a cord with themselves.  My son-in-law, Bill Green, who owns Sagen Media, a social media company, replied to my blog with a suggestion to write future blogs about my responses to those questions.  I decided to accept that challenge in the hope that by vulnerably sharing myself with an online audience others may become more motivated to rigorously “inquire within.”   In this blog I will reveal some of my key musings concerning the first question I posed, which was:

How am I holding back in fulfilling my life’s purpose and what immediate actions am I willing to pursue toward genuine service?

Essentially, I view my life’s purpose as continually learning about and being in increasing awe about G-d (I am reluctant to spell out The Divine’s name) AND facilitating others to engage in a deeper, authentic relationship with The Source of All.  More specifically, my heart and my life’s experience has led me to be:  a) a universal, non-dogmatic person who strives to be a light bearer in all of my interactions (I definitely fall short of that aspiration) and b) professionally, one who serves as a psychospiritual guide.

The main ways I witness myself holding back in recent months involve:  1) at times becoming rote or mechanical with some of my prayers and spiritual practices, rather than being fully present and enlivened by the process  2) avoiding strong expression of my gifts, i.e. not really “putting myself out there.”  I recognize that the latter reflects a desire to be humble, as well as my fatigue and annoyance with perpetual marketing.  However, I’ve become less available to those I can serve and to use my talents and passion for the work I do best.

The past week I have been more attentive and receptive while praying or doing focused spiritual practices.  As a result, I’ve noticed that I have had more energy and am more centered through the day, which is providing the impetus to “slay some dragons.”  I’ve decided to take a giant step forward by letting a number of people know that I am gifted at facilitating private or small-group retreats, which I love designing and leading, and which rejuvenate me, as well.   Furthermore, as I’m more energetic and oriented toward fulfilling my optimal professional service (retreats), I also have more capacity to show up brightly for my family, friends and acquaintances.   Of course, doing so serves to spark me and a positive spiral (as opposed to a vicious circle) ensues.  Halleluyah!

Please let me know what opened up for you in engaging this initial question.  By the way, I do recognize that the question implies that you have some sense (if not great clarity) of your life purpose, which, certainly, could change at any point in the future.

AN “OPEN” INVITATION

from Jim Sharon, Ed.D.

This August I finally read Man’s Search for Meaning, the classic I’ve had on my reading list for about 30 years.  Through most of this gripping book, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl graphically depicts the horrors and degradations he and fellow prisoners endured at Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps during World War II.  The central thesis of Frankl’s shockingly true account is that some prisoners, including the author, were able to choose to preserve their spirit, dignity and undying faith in the midst of the continual torment they received and witnessed.  The relentless courage and will that these rare prisoners displayed astonished me and rekindled a fire in me to really use my gifts.  After all, in the process of forwarding our lives hardly any of us are required to surmount barriers anywhere close to the daily barrage of hellish obstacles these gallant heroes needed to transcend merely to survive!

I hereby invite you to join me in accepting a supreme challenge:  to regularly reawaken ourselves to the majesty and beauty of spirit that permeates our lives.   Below are a few evocative questions that I’ve recently raised for myself.  You may want to work with

each/some of these questions or extrapolate from them to develop your own springboards into positive possibilities.

1)   How am I holding back in fulfilling my life’s purpose and what immediate actions am I willing to pursue toward genuine service?

2)   In what areas or aspects of my life am I “sleepwalking” — limiting my awareness, appreciation, awe, love, etc.?

3)   What are some optimal spiritual practices I can engage in to facilitate further openings  into life’s omnipresent incredible mysteries?

4)   How can I further simplify my life?

5)   How would the kinds of intentionality, attunement and practices referred to above likely elevate my consciousness, character and soul development?

May each of us aspire to expand our vision of holiness, to draw nearer to the Divine, and sanctify life through our daily actions.

I welcome your comments and want to know how you are actively awakening in your life!

After a long process, we’re proud to announce a new Web site for Energy For Life.