May 8,2008 Dancing and Praying

Things work out.  But you can’t know that until they do.  So you have to put in every effort — dance like there’s always music — pray because you know you’re not alone.  And have gratitude for the ending.  Because they do work out.

You don’t need to hear stories; you have yours.

Stay true to your commitments, your vision, your purpose, your mission.  You’ll define yours for yourself.  When therre’s too much going on, relax – that’s the way you want it, even though it’s messy.

Mine is simple – to empower people to have joy and satisfaction, to live fulfilled lives in harmony with earth… to make real a sustainable environment, spiritual fulfillment and social justice.

April 12, 2008 Stopping michael lipp

Starting and stopping are the hardest things.  Inertia is both physically and psychologically difficult to deal with.  Mostly we talk about starting, but strting one thing often means stoppping something else and stopping is very hard.  I use the analogy of my washing machine.  The final spin cycle shakes my whole house – probably true of the presidency, too.

It’s very clear that solving the climate crisis means stopping many of the things we’re used to.  Establishing a carbon tax as the basic tax will work, but will have far reaching effects.  Better than the alternatives, however… much better – food shortages, droughts, extreme weather.

Stop driving?  We can’t even get people to car pool.  Stop watering lawns?  You’re kidding, right?

We too quickly become habituated.  It takes long, strong laws, enforcement and public relation campaigns.  And we need to start now.  When I say I’m out to have people have joy and satisfaction, I need to look past today.  Immediate gratification does not often lead to long periods of joy and satisfaction.  If I’m out for environmental sustainability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment, I may have to learn how to stop things with joy and satisfaction.

March 10, 2008 Consistency

Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”  Ir’s a quote I learned completely wrong.  First, I thought it was Mark Twain.  But more importantly, I learned it as, “Consistency is the hobgoblin…”  Funny what one word will do.  It’s a foolish consistency… 

I looked it up:  One definition is “Reliability or uniformity of successive results or events”
Another is “Correspondence among related aspects; compatibility”  Seems to me that the assumption of consistency might well be foolish. 

Anyhow, today is another day.  The wind has died down.  The climate has not demonstrated consistency.  Night and day still follow one another.  The seasons seem a little mixed up.  But not all of them:  We’re moving to the end of the basketball and hockey seasons, while baseball is warming up – only a few weeks away.

There’s no point to this – it’s inconsistent.  I just want to say something about commitment.  The trappings of commitment change like the weather and the seasons.  It’s up to each of us to dance with them, to dance with the circumstances, but be consistent with our commitments.  I am committed to making a difference, to bringing joy and satisfaction into people’s lives.  I’m committed to environmental sustainability, dpiritual fulfillment and social justice for all of us.  That’s a big mouthful.  There’s bound to be a lot of dancing.  Dancing is fun.

March 9, 2008 Times Different

It occurs to me that watches have become items of habit or vanity.  I notice this as we move into daylight savings.  My cell phone and television and computer all spring ahead automatically.  My car doesn’t yet, but it’s just a matter of time.  So I only have to deal with my stove and microwave and I don’t want them to change automatically.  So the major thing that’s not automatic is me.

Something that I don’t talk about as much as I should is the Global Abundance Alliance.  The GAA consists of people who live their lives out of their commitment to make a difference in the world – empower children, have cities meet the demands of the future,  green the way we build, and hundreds more. 

We sponsor monthly teleseminars featuring different leaders, from new politics, to shifting our view of indigenous peoples.  Next Sunday (8pm – 9:30Eastern – we should all be time adjusted by then) we’re having a brilliant woman – author, playwright, martial arts teacher, friend and feminist, Ellen Snortland.  (See our WIKI for details: <http://globalpromises.jot.com/>) The call is recorded in case you can’t make it. 

I am honored to be on the Board for the last few years.  The GAA reminds each of us of who we are with complete acceptance.  Sometimes I use this blog to be playful and sort of unload my day.  But I never forget my commitment to presence a world with Environmental Sustainability, Social Justice and Soiritual Fulfillment for all of us.

Happy Birthday, George

Don’t know if you know that today is Washington’s birthday.  Not Feb 18.  Such a pain to eliminate specificity for the sake of 3 day weekends.

I’m finishing and editing/reediting some books.  Nancy is my editor par excellence, as is everything she does.  I have no problem with issuing drafts as finals – I just rationalize my sloppiness.  But there’s more there than I realized.  Just finished my 2nd novel, actually a novellete.  I like it, but I don’t count.   I also finished a book I call Coaching 2.0 – the purpose is to teach enough about coaching so a reader can 1) get coaching value for him/her self and 2) stumble but be able to coach others

The novel is science fiction – about the consequences we face by not creating a sustainable environment, by allowing animal species to go extinct, etc.  I got tired of preaching after a while.

A friend of mine just bought my book,Less Stress, More Wealth.He says I’m charging too little.  I like that… My commitment is that we’re inspired and empowered to be fulfilled, living in harmony with Earth.  My coaching and books are how I do that.

February 19, 2008 More on Curing Asthma

I believe this homeopathy cure will work.  That is probably an essential step in getting it to work -  probably true for anything that works for us (Law of Attraction) whether we know it or not.

It’s funny that I say this after the  most difficult asthma days I’ve had in months.  But I am now tasting food I haven’t really tasted in years and smelling things I haven’t been aware of in years.  My onion-like body is peeling away layers an layers of medication imposed insensitivity.  I’ve also been taking low doses of steroids for years (now a heavily advertised asthma ‘cure’ called Advair) so I’ve been slowly robbing my own immune system of power.

It’s clear that this process of stripping layers and then rebuilding the stregth of what’s naturally there will take some time.  So the self-imposeed dietary restrictions are only temporary.  Still, there are certain foods I miss and will continue to miss.  Too bad.  A very small price to pay for no asthma and no medications.  Very small. 

My wife has suffered from chronic headaches, maybe from age 12 on.  She had been addicted to Excedrin.  So she’s going through her own stripping and rebuilding.  Nice thing is that we’re handling this food restriction together.  Will be nice to slim down together.  She hasn’t had a headache in a week – for the first time in a long, long time.

So we’re learning as much as we can – so we can be a knowledgable source of support for our kids.  I really think this is all a part of our international green revolution:  sustainability, justice, spirituality — discovering our ownership and power.

February 18, 2008 Excitement

This was a very peculiar weekend.  I’ve written about some of it, about my asthma attack yesterday.  Well, I’m starting to learn about my own body and mind  and it has been a difficult, though ultimately rewarding, learning experience.  I used to pride myself on my unawareness, confusing it with a kind of macho – I’d make fun of Nancy because of her sensitivity, never realizing the price I’d paid for not being aware.

First – medication had always stopped my asthma.  Curing it naturally — it lasted through the next day and even today.  No fun.

My biggest insight was that I had put down curing asthma as a goal and that’s why I was doing this change in my regimen.  But I saw it was, “might as well try this” without believing it would work…  I wasn’t committed to my commitment.  I didn’t believe in my own goal (and I’m a coach!)…  That’s the source of cheating.

February 14, 2008 Happy V Day

Last night’s seminar was on ‘completion’…The participants create an extraordinary space for insights, sharing, openness and contribution. I’m discovering a value to group coaching that I didn’t expect was there.  The generosity is profound.

Some of the things we looked at was the inevitability of creating incompletions in your life…. We looked at the unexpected, unanticipated costs. We looked at creating being complete with being incomplete. This is very different from saying ‘the heck with it.’  It will affect your dreams.

And we looked at the power of forgiveness, even when the circumstances are unforgiveable.  And we looked at the freedom we give ourselves when we forgive others.

This was a profound class.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about:  I’m a coach.  I have 3 coaching programs.  The first is a free 6-session introductory seminar called The Relationship Principles (the next one starts Monday).  The 2nd is an on-going group coaching program called Awesome Results – Last night was an example.  And the 3rd is classic one on one coaching.

Happy Valentine’s Day.  The end result of completion and forgiveness is always “I Love You”

February 10, 2008 It Doesn’t Take a Lot

It doesn’t take a lot to wake me up when I’m awake and  I’ve forgotten who I am for the minute.  Like most of us I am surrounded by reminders – people and things; I just have to tune in, keep my eyes and ears open; pay attention to what I’m doing.  See with my real eyes.

I didn’t ‘do’ anything today and I’ve been filled with what my life’s about, its joy and wonder.  I moderated a board call of the Global Abundance Alliance (can’t possibly stay asleep with such extraordinary people with me on the phone).

Last night our children gave us a super birthday party – which I was reminded of by this great lunch of last night’s leftovers.

Then I finished editing a book I’m selling (Guide to a Fulfilled Life – just email me michael@michaellipp.com — It’s $12.95, but a Valentines Day special sends 3 copies for 30 bucks and includes a collection of my art and love poems.)

Then I made hummus and put up a chicken to roast, because Nancy is taking Diamond for a haircut…. and now I’m doing this and realizing this is one of the thisses that it doesn’t get any better than.  And I can re-read this so cynically, so “this is what’s so great?”

I’m reminded that we often start meals blessing God for our bread… because bread is so simple, so mundane, so meager that if we can bless God for that, imagine the rest of our life, the rest of Life!

And I remind me of my commitment to spiritual fulfillment, social justice and environmental sustainability.

February 8, 2008 Learning

I hate to admit it, but I hate to learn – even the things I’m interested in and should want to learn.  I am impatient.  I only want to learn the minimum, the least I have to know to us a thing.

I only know how to make & receive cell phone calls.  I do know how to take photos, but I don’t know what to do with them.  I only know the minimum about using this blog.  I go to my daughter’s and she has cat pictures and lists of other blogs — it’s embarassing…  I am suffering from good enough.

And who says it’s good enough?  Me!  That’s the part of The Matrix that I liked the most – plugging themselves into a learning program, like a quick injection of knowledge.

The thing is - What makes me think it’s good enough?  I have a racket that says, I’m so good, I shouldn’t have to…. and it keeps getting in my way.  Bah!

I won’t let it interfere with my commitment to a sustainable environment, to social justice and to spiritual fulfillment.