I'm getting sick and tired of doing anything half-way.
(Knute Rockne)
Chances are you have figured out by now that the biggest professional upside comes to you when you are afraid of doing it. It is ok to be afraid, it is not ok to let it stand in your way to accomplish the mission you were born to do. Just as Susan Jeffers advises in her same-titled book, "Just feel the fear and do it anyway".
There may be anger in you about some unexpected development or about someone who told you something you didn't want to hear. It is ok to feel this anger but focus into the solution of the problem that presents itself instead. Similarly, discover why your so-called foe is in fact a friend in disguise. Zoom into a symbol that displays his love and everything will turn-out alright.
The desire to miscreate maybe inside of you. Understand what this creation would stand for and figure out its consequence. It is ok to have the desire to deviate from the spiritual path, but first you have to understand that this is what you end up doing, and second, realize that no one, not even the robot inside of you, can force you to do it. Choose not to do what you desire and than channel your energy onto the Way.
Tao travelers are not any different than the guy next door. We have the same fears, share the same frustrations and also have not-so-kosher desires. But different from everybody else we see a red threat on the path that guides our next steps. Along the Way nothing is done half-way, everything is done in a kosher way, and truly everyone benefits along the Tao. The best of all world has the drive of the ego and the direction of the Way.
Showing posts with label Susan Jeffers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susan Jeffers. Show all posts
Monday, November 18, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
With or Without You
See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I wait for you
Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait without you
With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you
(U2, With or Without You)
When the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung went to high school he was incredibly poor, while most of his fellow students were quite well off. He was also introverted and was considered an oddball. One day someone pushed him out of the blue onto the cobbler stones and Jung bumped his head. As he was lying on the floor, slipping in and out of consciousness, he realized what an incredibly relieving feeling this was. From that day on he used fainting spells as a way to escape from things he was afraid off until the day when his father, who he considered weak, complained about it. From that day on he pulled himself together and overcame all his fears with pure willpower.
I read this story about Jung in Gary Lachman's excellent book "Jung the Mystic" and it made a deep impression on me. Of course, the way the big guys separate themselves from the ordinary folks is that willpower makes them accomplish what they feel is theirs; they "feel the fear and do it anyway", as Susan Jeffers demands in her same-titled book. Yet what exactly makes the big guys successful? Well, it is the drives in them, the unsolved conflicts, the tensions that have to be released for otherwise they would explode. Often successful people are really miserable deep down inside. It is this tension that makes them a lion.
The spiritual community has a problem. We be believe that Heaven on earth is a right that is ours to take. Certainly, Heaven on earth was created just for you, but first of all you have a job to do. Accept the tension inside, don't wish it way. Accept the twist of fate, the thorn in your side and understand that your drive, your passion and your creativity depends on them. Dance with your driving force, and accept for a while that you can't live with or without it. Perhaps one fine day the tension will magically resolve itself, or perhaps it never will. But this tension, this darkness that you are afraid of in fact makes you the person you were born to be.
See the thorn twist in your side
I wait for you
Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait without you
With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you
(U2, With or Without You)
When the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung went to high school he was incredibly poor, while most of his fellow students were quite well off. He was also introverted and was considered an oddball. One day someone pushed him out of the blue onto the cobbler stones and Jung bumped his head. As he was lying on the floor, slipping in and out of consciousness, he realized what an incredibly relieving feeling this was. From that day on he used fainting spells as a way to escape from things he was afraid off until the day when his father, who he considered weak, complained about it. From that day on he pulled himself together and overcame all his fears with pure willpower.
I read this story about Jung in Gary Lachman's excellent book "Jung the Mystic" and it made a deep impression on me. Of course, the way the big guys separate themselves from the ordinary folks is that willpower makes them accomplish what they feel is theirs; they "feel the fear and do it anyway", as Susan Jeffers demands in her same-titled book. Yet what exactly makes the big guys successful? Well, it is the drives in them, the unsolved conflicts, the tensions that have to be released for otherwise they would explode. Often successful people are really miserable deep down inside. It is this tension that makes them a lion.
The spiritual community has a problem. We be believe that Heaven on earth is a right that is ours to take. Certainly, Heaven on earth was created just for you, but first of all you have a job to do. Accept the tension inside, don't wish it way. Accept the twist of fate, the thorn in your side and understand that your drive, your passion and your creativity depends on them. Dance with your driving force, and accept for a while that you can't live with or without it. Perhaps one fine day the tension will magically resolve itself, or perhaps it never will. But this tension, this darkness that you are afraid of in fact makes you the person you were born to be.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Growing Out of It
I remember a conversation with my roommate who said that one of her male friends complained that he no longer gets the looks from women on the street the way he used to get. So he seemed to be loosing his sex appeal as he was getting older. Yes, looks and our body are certainly things that we all identify with. As as we get older we find that we are losing something. You may call that yet another ego indulgence which we should just ignore, but it doesn't quite work that way. The ego is us; we have to accept the way we feel.
Or take another example. A woman feels threatened at work. Some very good people have been laid off recently and she wonders whether she will be next. Her husband reminds her how good she is at what she does. He reminds her that he is fully employed so she would have time to look for a new job even if she got fired. But no avail, her worries continue. It is as if all the assurance from her spouse just doesn't register.
We spiritual path travelers reflect on our ego. That's what we do because we want to find out what lies beyond. Just don't mistake 'reflecting on' with judging. "Thou shall not be vain" is the voice of the spiritual super ego of our middle-aged guy in the example before. No, you can't just decide that you shouldn't be vain. Many in our spiritual community make that mistake because we think that this is what our 'True Self' wants us to do. Don't presume anything. Embrace the events that are coming your way. Let life - the Tao - take you on a ride to help you let go. Life will peel your ego like an onion if you let it.
When we feel fear we mostly keep going nevertheless, right? Just as the woman with the murky job employment prospects will probably go back to work the next day and will put her best foot forward. So she "feels the fear and does it anyway" as Susan Jeffers demands in her excellent same-titled book. In the same way, just feel and experience the so-called vanity, the greed, the lust or whatever it is you think interferes with your spiritual path. Just accept whatever it is that is going inside of you without judgement. That way you actually have a shot of growing out of it.
Or take another example. A woman feels threatened at work. Some very good people have been laid off recently and she wonders whether she will be next. Her husband reminds her how good she is at what she does. He reminds her that he is fully employed so she would have time to look for a new job even if she got fired. But no avail, her worries continue. It is as if all the assurance from her spouse just doesn't register.
We spiritual path travelers reflect on our ego. That's what we do because we want to find out what lies beyond. Just don't mistake 'reflecting on' with judging. "Thou shall not be vain" is the voice of the spiritual super ego of our middle-aged guy in the example before. No, you can't just decide that you shouldn't be vain. Many in our spiritual community make that mistake because we think that this is what our 'True Self' wants us to do. Don't presume anything. Embrace the events that are coming your way. Let life - the Tao - take you on a ride to help you let go. Life will peel your ego like an onion if you let it.
When we feel fear we mostly keep going nevertheless, right? Just as the woman with the murky job employment prospects will probably go back to work the next day and will put her best foot forward. So she "feels the fear and does it anyway" as Susan Jeffers demands in her excellent same-titled book. In the same way, just feel and experience the so-called vanity, the greed, the lust or whatever it is you think interferes with your spiritual path. Just accept whatever it is that is going inside of you without judgement. That way you actually have a shot of growing out of it.
Friday, April 12, 2013
The Silence Amidst the Chaos
There was a beautiful scene in "Bloodsport",
the movie that made Jean-Claude Van Damme famous in 1988. It showed him in the
final fight against an seemingly invincible opponent who with the help of a
dirty trick temporarily blinded him. As his eye-sight left him you could see the
panic in his face. But just before his opponent managed to knock him out he
remembered a time in his life when he had so serve tea to his Japanese martial
arts teacher blind-folded. So he suddenly figured that while he certainly was
at a huge disadvantage, life had nevertheless prepared him perfectly for this
situation. He focused all his energies to the point that time stood still for
him, he then sensed the location of his opponent and he knocked him down with a
barrage of massive kicks.
How do we deal with stressful situations? The old way of dealing with it was to instinctively shy away from the incoming heat.The way that we would suggest instead is to tackle the fear head-on: " Feel the fear and do it anyway" is the approach Susan Jeffers takes in her book. It is the right approach, and you certainly can make it a habit no matter what the situation. The one advantage that you as a Tao traveler can have over others is to know that every panic situation is just a monster of your making. Perhaps it will pass like fog, perhaps you will need to adjust to the situation. Either way, trust that the Tao will hand-deliver the solution to every problem if you are calm enough to receive Her message.
We have found that dealing with difficult situations is actually what brings out the person you were born to be. If you have been in a couple of those situations - and managed to successfully override your fears - you know exactly how to respond. You slow down and focus all your energy on the silence within. While you are collecting yourself, you can sense the stillness and the divine presence. It is like you are waiting for disturbed water to get clear. When it does, the answer presents itself.
You can see this confident and collected nature in most successful people. You can see it in every successful athlete. Observe how they collect themselves before they move, the gymnasts, the divers, the golf players; you also can also see this trait demonstrated in all good dancers, artists, musicians or great chef. They are totally connected with the divine voice within when they move. You can see the stillness and beauty emit from their actions. They move like a piece of art.
So don't mind problems, welcome them with open arms. The Tao knows exactly what you can handle and you will never be given more than that. Connect with the divine voice inside. It is time that the real you shows up and your problems will bring Her out in the open. Find the silence amidst the chaos and become the master you were born to be.
By Christian and Su Zhen
How do we deal with stressful situations? The old way of dealing with it was to instinctively shy away from the incoming heat.The way that we would suggest instead is to tackle the fear head-on: " Feel the fear and do it anyway" is the approach Susan Jeffers takes in her book. It is the right approach, and you certainly can make it a habit no matter what the situation. The one advantage that you as a Tao traveler can have over others is to know that every panic situation is just a monster of your making. Perhaps it will pass like fog, perhaps you will need to adjust to the situation. Either way, trust that the Tao will hand-deliver the solution to every problem if you are calm enough to receive Her message.
We have found that dealing with difficult situations is actually what brings out the person you were born to be. If you have been in a couple of those situations - and managed to successfully override your fears - you know exactly how to respond. You slow down and focus all your energy on the silence within. While you are collecting yourself, you can sense the stillness and the divine presence. It is like you are waiting for disturbed water to get clear. When it does, the answer presents itself.
You can see this confident and collected nature in most successful people. You can see it in every successful athlete. Observe how they collect themselves before they move, the gymnasts, the divers, the golf players; you also can also see this trait demonstrated in all good dancers, artists, musicians or great chef. They are totally connected with the divine voice within when they move. You can see the stillness and beauty emit from their actions. They move like a piece of art.
So don't mind problems, welcome them with open arms. The Tao knows exactly what you can handle and you will never be given more than that. Connect with the divine voice inside. It is time that the real you shows up and your problems will bring Her out in the open. Find the silence amidst the chaos and become the master you were born to be.
By Christian and Su Zhen
Friday, August 17, 2012
Embracing Life
I remember once thinking during a colleague's retirement
speech how nice it must be to have that sense of accomplishment, that feeling of
leaving all the ups and downs of life behind with a feeling of security. When I
mentioned that sentiment to my wife she said that perhaps I should have my eyes
on the journey rather than the end of it. Fact of the matter is that this
sentiment was an expression of fear - the fear of life and the unwillingness to
get lost in the moment at hand no matter whether the outcome would be pleasant
or not. On the day when you retire you may enjoy the perspective of having
completed an important chapter of your life, but you will have a new chapter to
look forward to, nothing will really change for you on that day.
If there is one spiritual advice I would have to give, it is to embrace life day in day out, no matter what it is that you are doing. There is only one way to get to the next spiritual level and that is to 'feel the fear and do it anyway' as Susan Jeffers put it so succinctly in her book. The reality that you perceive doesn't exist. The monsters that you see along the way will dissolve into air just when as you try to touch them. It is not easy to be a hero, but life will first encourage you and then force to be one. The first dragon will be hard to slay, but all the others will fly away once you arrive on the scene. Embrace life, be bold enough to face its demands and then realize that you live in a magic kingdom in which only joy, love and laughter are permitted.
If there is one spiritual advice I would have to give, it is to embrace life day in day out, no matter what it is that you are doing. There is only one way to get to the next spiritual level and that is to 'feel the fear and do it anyway' as Susan Jeffers put it so succinctly in her book. The reality that you perceive doesn't exist. The monsters that you see along the way will dissolve into air just when as you try to touch them. It is not easy to be a hero, but life will first encourage you and then force to be one. The first dragon will be hard to slay, but all the others will fly away once you arrive on the scene. Embrace life, be bold enough to face its demands and then realize that you live in a magic kingdom in which only joy, love and laughter are permitted.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Feel the Emotion and Do it Anyway
Imagine you sit in a conference room and the colleague opposite to you attacks your case. You feel your heart beat rising, you feel that tingle in your throat and butterflies in your stomach. Yet, despite all that, you state your case with a calm and steady voice, carefully choosing your words and at the end of your response, if you are really, really good at this, you manage to smile.
The disconnect between thoughts, emotions and actions is kind of obvious, yet, for some reason, we never separate them. David Friedman highlighted this idea in his book 'The Thought Exchange'. He gave the example of a dog wearing an electric collars that simulate an invisible fence. The closer the get to it, the higher an electric shock that the poor dog receives. The shock is harmless, but many dogs are so irritated that they pull away. Yet, once a dog decides to go through it, the fence is broken because the dog learns once and for all that nothing really happens when you pass it. Think of your emotions in the same way, you feel the irritation, but you proceed with your action and you will realize that the emotion cannot really hold you back.
I am a public speaker and I remember how painful it was for me in the beginning to step in front of this massive wall of energy. Earlier in my career I always singled out friendly faces in the crowd, or I reminded myself why my audience needed to receive my message. Today, I just enjoy the thrill of feeling these emotions and can't wait for the take-off phase when my thoughts and action leave this initial discomfort behind. For me now it is a joy to experience thoughts, emotions and actions at the same time, as well as the curious fact that they pull in opposite directions in the few seconds when I begin my speech. I borrowed the title of this note from Susan Jeffers' excellent book 'Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway'. It turns out that fear is just one negative emotion of many. You can study and overcome all of them with targeted thoughts and actions, but the first step has to be that you have to be aware of what is going on below the surface.
The disconnect between thoughts, emotions and actions is kind of obvious, yet, for some reason, we never separate them. David Friedman highlighted this idea in his book 'The Thought Exchange'. He gave the example of a dog wearing an electric collars that simulate an invisible fence. The closer the get to it, the higher an electric shock that the poor dog receives. The shock is harmless, but many dogs are so irritated that they pull away. Yet, once a dog decides to go through it, the fence is broken because the dog learns once and for all that nothing really happens when you pass it. Think of your emotions in the same way, you feel the irritation, but you proceed with your action and you will realize that the emotion cannot really hold you back.
I am a public speaker and I remember how painful it was for me in the beginning to step in front of this massive wall of energy. Earlier in my career I always singled out friendly faces in the crowd, or I reminded myself why my audience needed to receive my message. Today, I just enjoy the thrill of feeling these emotions and can't wait for the take-off phase when my thoughts and action leave this initial discomfort behind. For me now it is a joy to experience thoughts, emotions and actions at the same time, as well as the curious fact that they pull in opposite directions in the few seconds when I begin my speech. I borrowed the title of this note from Susan Jeffers' excellent book 'Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway'. It turns out that fear is just one negative emotion of many. You can study and overcome all of them with targeted thoughts and actions, but the first step has to be that you have to be aware of what is going on below the surface.
Friday, August 5, 2011
The Best of all Worlds
Try to convince someone that we live in Leipnitz's best of all worlds and chances are you will get an earful. "Ah yes, and how do you explain holocaust"? they will say. Or, "How could a God ever allow children to die?" I would have nothing to respond to any of this. The only thing I can observe is that we are all driven by our subconscious urges back to our core, our Source. If you truly embrace everything life throws at you to the best of your abilities, if you 'feel the fear and do it anyway' as Susan Jeffers recommends, if you express your dharma -as the Hindus express this force of destiny so succinctly - you cannot help becoming whole. Life washes you clean if you just let it.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Karma Yoga
Life has its round-about ways to get you to your destination. I saw my mission to observe my profession and it's people from a distance and accumulate enough material to write books about how one can be Zen at work and manifest exactly what one wants by just walking the Tao. While this might be right, and in the end probably will be right, the signals I have been getting at work recently are quite different: work is sucking me in 100 percent, while my work as a spiritual writer is just simmering in the background.
Karma Yoga is about doing your job to the best of your abilities. It is about looking fear into the eye and saying 'I feel the fear and do it anyway'! It's about seeing that relationships and situations are broken and about repairing them. Sometimes I wonder when I observe our top management put in these insane hours and work commitments, or seeing our portfolio manager living in a pressure cooker day in and day out and I am asking myself what force drives them; after all, they are all swimming in money, they could stop working any moment. But I understand that, besides their love for power and recognition, Karma Yoga drives them. They just have, very much like me, a drive to work off, and we are doing it to the best of our abilities.
Once you get rid of the 'me' perspective and you are being drifted by the Tao like a leaf in the wind, you actually have only one mission left: healing. Put your best foot forward such that every day becomes a flawless exchange of energy, care and attention. You sometimes feel if something is off, very much like you can feel when fear is creeping in. Look for the learning opportunity, reposition and do it better next time. As you know, James Bond was given the 'License to Kill', but he has disappeared for the time being, killed by the global financial crisis as irony has it. Well, I am giving you the 'License to Heal' instead. You can do it right here, at your job, with your family or whatever else you might be doing today. Perhaps Karma Yoga is your spiritual path home as well.
Karma Yoga is about doing your job to the best of your abilities. It is about looking fear into the eye and saying 'I feel the fear and do it anyway'! It's about seeing that relationships and situations are broken and about repairing them. Sometimes I wonder when I observe our top management put in these insane hours and work commitments, or seeing our portfolio manager living in a pressure cooker day in and day out and I am asking myself what force drives them; after all, they are all swimming in money, they could stop working any moment. But I understand that, besides their love for power and recognition, Karma Yoga drives them. They just have, very much like me, a drive to work off, and we are doing it to the best of our abilities.
Once you get rid of the 'me' perspective and you are being drifted by the Tao like a leaf in the wind, you actually have only one mission left: healing. Put your best foot forward such that every day becomes a flawless exchange of energy, care and attention. You sometimes feel if something is off, very much like you can feel when fear is creeping in. Look for the learning opportunity, reposition and do it better next time. As you know, James Bond was given the 'License to Kill', but he has disappeared for the time being, killed by the global financial crisis as irony has it. Well, I am giving you the 'License to Heal' instead. You can do it right here, at your job, with your family or whatever else you might be doing today. Perhaps Karma Yoga is your spiritual path home as well.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Feel the Fear and do it Anyway
I was on a plane which had almost made it to the run-way when the captain announced that they had to go back to the terminal because one passenger felt very sick. Well, it turned out that the passenger in question was afraid of flying; she left the plane and kudus to Lufthansa for being so flexible and also being very nice to her in the process. Still, the plane got delayed and as you can imagine some passengers missed their connecting flights. Our fearful passenger had inconvenienced many others and I was thinking to myself that this was probably a missed opportunity to feel the fear and do it anyway as suggested by Susan Jeffers.
Yet, when I boarded my second plane I heard another announcement that a passenger was missing and they were checking for missing luggage and that we would be delayed by a few minutes. While I contemplated what this occurrence was all about, it occurred to me that I needed to call my family in the states with some important personal information. Had it not been for this gentle reminder I would have inconvenienced them in a big way. You see, who can say what situation is good or bad, never mind anything that happens to you and keep trying harder next time around.
Yet, when I boarded my second plane I heard another announcement that a passenger was missing and they were checking for missing luggage and that we would be delayed by a few minutes. While I contemplated what this occurrence was all about, it occurred to me that I needed to call my family in the states with some important personal information. Had it not been for this gentle reminder I would have inconvenienced them in a big way. You see, who can say what situation is good or bad, never mind anything that happens to you and keep trying harder next time around.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
When Moses Raised his Magic Rod ...
At the moment when the Egyptian soldiers were approaching and the Jews were trapped by the Red Sea, Moses raised his magic rod and commanded the sea to part. Alas, for the first time since his magic trickery had started, nothing happened. Moses felt fear creeping up in him, but he regained composure instantaneously. He took the hand of his sister and together they plunged into the sea. Behold, the waters parted.
You may say a son or daughter of God does not deserve pain or fear, and of course you are right. The problem though, you are on a transition path to a higher spiritual plane, and as you remove your personality skin there will be a few rips and tears along the way. Feel your fear and do it anyway as Susan Jeffers says in her book, there is just no alternative as your spiritual path will lead you on a collision course with your ego.
There are two types of heroes, the dare devils and the ones who need a kick in the bud to do their life's mission. Michael Jordon was the kind who always took the ball from his fellow players to shoot the buzzer-beating hoop in the final play off game. Dare devil or ordinary mortal, everyone has to overcome the fear of not delivering at the crucial moment. Unfortunately, fear is part of the game, the sooner you accept it the better.
I am in the forecasting business and most of the time I enjoy a pretty relaxing working environment. But there are these moments when your investment idea is just one step away from ridicule as well as glory. One advantage a spiritual path traveler has is to get little nudges along the way. My Tao mostly puts me in a position that equips me for pretty much everything I face. Yet, the fear to be caught on the wrong side hasn't gone away. I believe if it did I would just become arrogant and no longer look for these priceless treasures my sisters and brothers offer me along the way.
You may say a son or daughter of God does not deserve pain or fear, and of course you are right. The problem though, you are on a transition path to a higher spiritual plane, and as you remove your personality skin there will be a few rips and tears along the way. Feel your fear and do it anyway as Susan Jeffers says in her book, there is just no alternative as your spiritual path will lead you on a collision course with your ego.
There are two types of heroes, the dare devils and the ones who need a kick in the bud to do their life's mission. Michael Jordon was the kind who always took the ball from his fellow players to shoot the buzzer-beating hoop in the final play off game. Dare devil or ordinary mortal, everyone has to overcome the fear of not delivering at the crucial moment. Unfortunately, fear is part of the game, the sooner you accept it the better.
I am in the forecasting business and most of the time I enjoy a pretty relaxing working environment. But there are these moments when your investment idea is just one step away from ridicule as well as glory. One advantage a spiritual path traveler has is to get little nudges along the way. My Tao mostly puts me in a position that equips me for pretty much everything I face. Yet, the fear to be caught on the wrong side hasn't gone away. I believe if it did I would just become arrogant and no longer look for these priceless treasures my sisters and brothers offer me along the way.
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