What Box?^®

One of the greatest gifts of living on Grand Lake is the endless capacity of the nature that surrounds us to teach us about our natural world along with insights into our true nature. Through the interaction and absorption of nature and our wondrous lake environment, the magnificence of our souls is mirrored and fully opened for us to embrace, if we choose.

As I let go of the busy week that I have left behind, and as I walk through the woods along the shores of Grand Lake, the natural environment becomes a powerful exercise for me to tune into the wonders of nature and the lessons held within. Walking in silence, letting go of all the trappings of my urban life, opening my senses to the sounds and energies of the sacred life that surrounds me empowers my inner spirit to awaken to something greater than myself.

I have learned over the years that Grand Lake and the natural environment that surrounds her is one of the most special and sacred spots on this planet. It has opened my eyes, ears, senses, and spirit to the power of The Devine and the power of nature to teach me many of the lessons of life.

“Nature is man’s teacher.  She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence.” Alfred Billings Street

Awakening to nature has allowed me to understand what it means to be present in the moment, what it means to let go of the past and the future, and allows me to focus on the power of just being. This is a sacred place where nothing but that moment, that second, that time in space is all that exists .

This is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. You can receive it as well.

The thing is that I did not know what I did not know. Growing up in Silicon Valley along with all the trappings of the business start-up lifestyle did not afford me the opportunity to truly engage and embrace the lessons that nature had to teach me. Yes, I had the beaches of Santa Cruz to walk along and the redwood forest to wander through, and yet they were just quick fixes before heading to the next meeting or fundraising event. I did not fully tune into their power, and with all the other people around me it was difficult to be in a sacred space where the sounds of the city were silenced.

Living and “being” on Grand Lake has allowed me to recognize the communications of nature, to develop my intuition to even greater levels, and to strengthen my relationship with the natural world. I have increased my knowledge of the plants and animals that surround Grand Lake and have learned to appreciate their beauty and wonder.

What I have learned is not new. It is not some amazing discovery or insight that no one has ever known. In fact, it is quite the contrary. This knowledge has been known for centuries and shared with generations throughout time, that nature is the doorway to understanding ourselves along with our role-in-the-whole. This door is always open for those with open hearts.

Here is what I do when entering nature. I consciously walk in silence. I open myself to nature as I walk. I imagine that I am walking into another dimension where everything has a sacred meaning. All the smells, sounds, sights, energies, and movements that I experience are sacred. I pay attention to everything: the slightest movement, the strangest smell, the most beautiful flower, the greenest plant. I align my energy with nature and focus on the moment allowing me to create harmony with all that surrounds me.

It is in these moments I have found that foxes will walk along beside me. Birds will land all around and sing to me. Hawks, vultures, and eagles will land near by, curious about my presence. Owls will inquisitively explore my activity. Deer will not be afraid and chipmunks will jump around me. The sounds, smells, and colors of nature are more intense and clearer during these times. It is as if I have joined the harmony of life.

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”  John Muir

When I walk by trees and plants I touch them and acknowledge their spirit. I become totally engaged by their beauty and wonder as I walk slowly and deliberately by their side. My presence is not that of an outsider, but as that of a distant relative, a cohabitant.

You can do this too.

It takes focus, control, sensitivity and attunement to the presence of animals and life that are not easily visible to the unaware eye and spirit.

Nature is our greatest gift with the ability to teach each of us about our unlimited potential and ourselves. How are you engaging and learning from the lessons of nature?

Let me know what you think.

Remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create for yourself.

Here we are and already another year has passed since our last Thanksgiving celebration on Grand Lake. This is the time of year family and friends gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, a time set aside to express gratitude for all that has come into our lives. Many of us will fill our ovens with as big a bird as we can find. Some will fill their bellies to the stretching point and others will glue eyes to the television set to watch football. Some will engage in lengthy conversations with one another while others will be playing board games. And some of you will take the time to relax and recharge batteries.

Yet how many of you will take the time to contact someone who is not part of your Thanksgiving celebrations, someone that you are thankful for being a part of your life. Those people who have influenced you in positive ways, those who have taken the time to make a difference in your life, for accepting you just as you are. You know the person in your life you are always wishing you would talk with, but you just don’t seem to make the time. Now is the time! Go ahead and make the call, or email that someone whom you are grateful for. This kind of gratitude is priceless and only builds positive energy that can last a lifetime.

People who live in the Grand Lake area so much to be thankful for: we have some of the most dynamic seasonal weather you could ask for. We have people who care and give so much of themselves to make where we live even better. We have one of the most incredible lakes on the planet. We have people who want to help people. We live in a place where you can do anything you want to do and more. Absolutely fantastic! I am so grateful for each and every day that I am able to stand on the shores of such a sacred spot.

This is the time of year that I like to take the time and think about everything that I have to be grateful for. I usually pull out one of my handmade sketch books and start putting down on paper my appreciations for the people, places and things that have influenced my life in a positive way over the years.

Visualizing what I am grateful for is such an inspiring process to go through. It makes me smile. It enables me to relive positive interactions and experiences only reinforcing the lessons that I have learned. Yet, why is it that I only tend to do this once a year, right around the holidays? Is it because of my continual doing and activity? Is it because I allow my daily activities to take over and forget what I am grateful for?

How are you expressing your gratefulness? Visualizing your appreciations in a journal is a great way to get started.

Sometime in 1989 I started writing down all the things I was grateful for each and every day. I filled journals with what I was grateful for before I would go to sleep each night. At dinner I would ask friends and family what they were grateful for today. It was always interesting to ask people, “What are you grateful for today?” when they were not used to thinking about it. The question forced them to look at the positive and explore what was good in their lives. As time has passed I have lost the intensity of asking myself the question on a regular basis. No more do I write down in my journal what I am grateful for today. Why not?

Life has a way of taking over reducing the amount of time we have to reflect, be still, and give thanks throughout the year. We all have something to be grateful for. This year I am grateful for my continued ability to impact people’s lives in positive and inspirational ways. I am grateful for the ability to give back and make a positive difference. I am grateful for having everything I need taken care of. I am grateful for being surrounded by great family and friends. I am grateful for having the fingers and hands that give me the ability to type the words you are reading right now.

What are you grateful for? How are you expressing gratitude in your life?

Every day holds hundreds of opportunities to express your gratitude. Just think how much the world would change for the better if we all started showing more appreciation for the people and things we are grateful for in our lives.

Writing this What Box? has reminded me of how much I can improve the amount of times I share my gratitude and appreciation in my life. And for this I am grateful.

Let me know what you think.

Remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create for yourself.

What makes you happy?

Is it the drive towards truth?

Is it the drive towards love?

Is it the drive towards power?

Is it that all of the above makes you happy?

In our drive towards wholeness, whether we realize it or not, the challenge is to keep the desire for what makes us happy in balance with our meaning and purpose in life. Yet today our consumer and commercial driven lifestyles may not be driving us towards the happiness and balance we so desire.“

We live in a very powerful and unique time in history where we as Americans have the freedom to choose whatever we want to be and to live and experience whatever life we choose. This freedom has been hard fought for over hundreds of years.

“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” Benjamin Franklin

What makes you happy?

Is it driving a BMW?

Is it living in a mansion?

Is it watching TV on the biggest wide screen television that you can find?

Is it all of the above that makes you happy?

For so many of us today wealth and things take priority over our pursuit of wholeness and discovering our purpose in life. We choose to let materialism be the master of lives. Amazing if you think about it? You have a choice. You can choose to discover how to live the life you were meant to live, or you can choose to buy into the life that society has enticed you to pursue. The choice is yours.

“Choices are the hinges of destiny.” Edwin Markham

You see the thing is this. America is a great experiment that has given each of us, if we so choose, the freedom to search for meaning and purpose for our lives. America, for all its greatness and power, is nothing without the people of our nation staying true to our founding fathers’ intentions, for each us to pursue our full potential and stay virtuous in the process.

I believe that the founding fathers of our nation were aware of the pitfalls we would face in the future. They experienced the challenges of consumerism and commercialization with the Boston Tea Party. The story, the myth, that has been past on from generation to generation is the dream of the founding fathers, that the people of this country would be empowered to reach for something greater, something of meaning, to fight for the virtue of the free world, a world that would value justice, moderation, hope and charity.

“Happiness without virtue is meaningless.” Thomas Jefferson

What makes you happy?

Is it love?

Is it truth?

Is it power?

Is it a fur coat?

Is it money?

Is it a TV?

Is it a better relationship with your family?

What makes you happy?

You have a choice and America gives you the greatest opportunity to live that which you most desire.

What makes you happy? Go for it today time is a wasting.

Let me know what you think.

Remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.

What do you hear?

Do you hear the sounds of fall at Grand Lake?

Do you hear the squawks of the Red Bellied woodpecker?

Do you hear the groans of the earth as it turns in space?

Do you hear the sounds of machines and motors?

Do you hear your inner voice?

Listen.

What do you hear?

Listening is one of our most powerful tools for us to learn with, to create, and to imagine new realities. Yet, how often do you intentionally listen, I mean really listen? How often do you listen to what people are really saying, to what is really going on in the world, to the impact your words have on people, to what nature is trying to tell you?

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Winston Churchill

Listening seems to be something that has gone the way of the Dodo Bird. More and more people are thinking too hard about what it is they want to say to take the time to listen to what other people are saying. On the other hand, more and more people are thinking about how to respond to what other people are saying without listening to what it is they were just told. Does this make sense?

I think not.

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” Doug Larson

Wisdom is gained from listening and experiencing. With our limited listening skills how can we gain any true wisdom? What we have today is an ever increasing conventional wisdom that is based upon what people want to hear instead of listening to what is really being said or happening. If we are only focused on one way of thinking and listening to those people who look and sound like what we want to hear, how can we gain any kind of real wisdom?

Take a moment and think about what it is you are listening to. Is it your friends? Is it the news? Is it your boss? Is it your family? Is it your neighbor? Or is it a growing diverse set of people with different or even opposite points of views than your own?

If you are listening to the same people all the time and not expanding those that you listen to, you are in all likelihood tied to conventional wisdom.  This has the great potential to lack true wisdom, wisdom based upon a diverse range of perspectives and insights.

“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
John F. Kennedy

Listening takes practice, patience, and more practice. We were born with one mouth and two ears, and in all likelihood we should be using them accordingly. Listening means that you will be talking less and listening more to what people are saying. Listening to what is being said below the surface, listening to the unsaid.

Listen.

What do you hear?

Our communities, our state, our nation, and our world need more people today to listen to what is being said and what it is people need than ever before. Many of the challenges we face locally, nationally and globally could be avoided if we were truly listening to what is being said, not just listening to what is on the surface, but what is being said below the surface. Are you listening?

Now is the time to start listening to what is going on around you. When you start listening, really listening, your entire world will change for the better. You will gain the greatest gift of all time, wisdom, a gift that has been desired since the beginning of time.

Go ahead, take a break from what you are doing and listen to what you hear. If you like what you are hearing you are moving in the right direction. If you do not like what you are hearing chances are you need to shift directions.

“The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” Albert Einstein

Listen.

What do you hear?

Let me know what you think.

Dear Sean,
I loved your article last week – Learning to Breathe. I’m doing my best to stop during my busy day to take a break, but every time I do someone calls or knocks on my office door and I’m totally interrupted. I’m not having any success. What can I do when I’m at work and really need a break?
Frustrated in Grove

Dear Frustrated,
Finding a quite space at work to take a sanity break and breathe can be challenging. If you have an office of your own you can close the door, lock it, and then sit down on the floor in the corner where no one can see you. Turn off your phones and take 10 minutes and breathe in and out slowly releasing negative energy and breathing in positive energy. If you don’t have an office of your own the best place I have found at work is the bathroom. I know that this may sound a bit crazy but give it a try. Take over a vacant stall and sit there breathing and relaxing. Leave your cell phone in your office, close your eyes and focus on relaxing your mind releasing any thoughts. When you are ready to leave you will have a new perspective on things and a much more balanced state of mind. Trust me it works. Let me know how it goes.
Keep on keeping on,
Sean

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create for yourself.