Conscious Leaders Salon

What Is So Blissful About Ignorance?

Not sure if this is a rant or an enlightened moment, but here I go ...

I have never related to the quote, "Ignorance is Bliss"  And, not sure how a conversation with the author would proceed (although I like learning, so I'd give it a go). 

Really, someone help me understand how "the lack of knowledge or education" is "extreme happiness; ecstasy." (as per dictionary)

OK, so that I don't appear totally ignorant ... I get that one can play like an ostrich (an example, i.e., of people who are ignorant of the fact that ostriches don't bury their heads), live in denial and feel as though they are in a safe space, but ...

I am going for "knowledge is bliss."  And, right at the top is knowledge of Self.  It is my personal and professional passion and path.

I admit there is no easy button and when I bit...ch to my longest-time friend, Nancy (I'm wise enough not to call her an "old" friend) she gets joy in reminding me that I signed up for a 701 versus a 101 life-class.  I liken it to graduate level work and know I will be challenged.  But, I believe that graduate work is about mastery.  Knowing that it means knowledge of the ancient wisdom and modern practice it will take to Be in this state of bliss.

I know it means a perspective on "mistakes" as teachable moments, and the courage to keep going when I am tired, lost or totally confused - which happens frequently.

Yet, when I experience these moments of bliss I am flying high.  The moments are not fleeting happiness or superficial joy, but genuine bliss.  Moments that last longer and empower me to Be and do all I dream of.  Probably because I am not ignorant of their presence or how they came about.  In fact, I have the education and knowledge to create these blissful moments at will.  For me, it is this awareness of and connection with a higher power that makes these moments more ecstatic.  This feeling of being connected and having earned my bliss makes me VERY happy. 

So, even if I don't reach bliss-mastery I am on the path to mastering this human Being thing.

How about you?  Have an opinion?  Do you prefer knowledge or ignorance as your path to bliss?

Exhausting Creativity

I awoke this morning. Barely. Feeling exhausted, moving sloooowly, resisting the getting-out-if bed part of the morning. Lying in bed breathing and trying not to think. 

It had been a full and busy week.  So, figured this day, with my mushy brain, would be a loss.  So I decided not to do any heavy lifting - with my brain.

Figured it to  be a day of breathing and low expectations.  So, I turned on the iPod and let Daniel Goleman and Jon Kabat-Zinn inspire me while I drove. Imagine my surprise and joy as the ideas started flowing. Lots of brand new, right-brain ideas; seeing connections I'd missed when I tried to brainstorm. The ideas were coming so quickly I decided to record versus write them. I wanted to appreciate replaying them with the joy and emotion that accompanied each idea.

Then I realized what may have happened ... I had let go of the outcome and decided to just wander through the day. Chose my muse and let my intuition lead as I sleepily followed. A refreshing no-mind moment.

Conscious connection lesson: remember to practice this same abandon with intention. Connect with heart and let creativity lead.

I would love to hear how those unconscious moments blossomed for you. Please share a comment or two.

Peace, joy and prosperity!

The Benefits of e-Coach Membership Programs

For me, it is all about freedom and affordability.  For most, it is virtual, using only the Internet to give and receive coaching.  Often, it involves a membership and little to moderately interactive coaching.  For many, it more resembles an e-Course.

The one thing that was missing for me in those formats was the real-time, authentic connection with a coach.  You know, the one-to-one coaching conversation with the person who listens and responds based on what you are saying and feeling.  The person dedicated to you and your success.  Not simply a virtual group coach, but a personal, private coach.

So, fast forward to March 2009 and a brief look at what I am creating.  I say creating because in true coach fashion I launch the program then let my fabulous members determine it’s growth and form.  I will start with a format that has worked for the few, and see what the many want to create.  Not a novel idea, just coaching in it’s purest form, i.e., listening, responding and letting the client lead.

So, what will my first e-Coach program look like when it gets started this March.  Let me share the foundational offering:

1. Your own Personal Coach: You will have access to me, an experienced ICF certified coach via unlimited email.  And, monthly, LIVE group coach calls.  Real-time. NOT autoresponders.  I read each email and return a personal, private response to whatever you present in each email.
   
2. Flexible schedule (you decide) - If you are like me, you wear many hats and me-time cannot always be the same each day or week.  So, I have created the program so you can spend time with workbook & fieldwork whenever it works for you, e.g., before work, after work, during lunch break, after you put the children to sleep.  Whenever you can put at least 30 minutes of focused attention to sit with the workbook and send me an email.  The only scheduled times are the monthly live group coaching calls.
3. Power of Collective Wisdom and Energy - You may already know that achieving a goal is easier when there is someone to hold you accountable, cheer you on, and celebrate each win - no matter how small. So, you will have access to three forms of members-only group support: 1) the live monthly group coaching calls that I lead 2) online community I facilitate  3) Optional Mastermind circles - virtual or by phone. 
4. Powerful Self-Coaching Tools & Resources - anytime access to self-assessments, recordings of all live calls, daily inspirational email, and the program workbook Art of Life Balance with H.E.A.R.T.™
5. Accountability - If you are like me, I stay on track when someone asks me, "So, how's it going?"  "Have any questions?"  "Can I help?"  To answer these calls I have created optional weekly-check-in forms - which you will receive by email once each week.  You will have the option to reflect on or write your responses and return to me for review and response.  And, if you join a mastermind group, they may also help to inspire you and keep you on track.
6. Affordability - Often times, you tell yourself "I can't afford a private coach" or "Why would I pay for a coach when I have friends and family?"  Well, if you are still questioning your success, struggling with overwhelm or wishing for more, a coach may be just what you need.  Since I know the value of a coach, and the group, I want to share this with you.  In this case, the power of the group makes it possible for me to offer the same quality of coaching tools and services at a fraction of my usual coaching fees. And when I say fraction I mean fraction.  Actually, because I am so excited about the possibility of this program the launch-price will come out to less than $2.00 a day.
7. Terms - You may already know that true change does not happen in less than 21 days, and creating the new, more successful you will take at least 90 days (no matter how wonderful you already are). Most memberships are for 12 months, but since I believe in flexibility and affordability, I created this program in six month modules.  If it is working for you, and you want to move from surviving to thriving, and a life of passion, prosperity and balance, you can renew every six months.  And, if it is not working for you, drop out within the first 30 days for a full refund - and keep the e-Workbook chapters you have already received.

If you want to know more about me or my e-Coach program, better yet, if you realize that you've run out of excused for hiring a coach, visit my web site page Conscious Living e-Coach Circle.

I'd love to hear about your experiences with an e-Coach, and why or why not participate in an e-Coach membership.  Your feedback helps to create the optimum coaching program for you and others.  Please share feedback in the comment section , or email me directly (click the email button top left of this page).  And, if you like what you read, tell your friends to come visit.

For now, make it a great day!
And, remember to breathe!

What Is Your AQ - Abundance Quotient?

In this economy, a high IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and a balanced EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient) are definite assets.  But, in the face of all this depressing economic news, a high AQ is what will make the difference in where you find yourself during and after these economic times.

Abundance is a word often associated with wealth and affluence, and heard with respect to things, tangibles and money.   Yet, it is also associated with fullness, rate of incidence, and in chemistry, “when a substance in a reaction is present in high quantities”.

I would like you to consider that you experience abundance when your mind is uncluttered, your heart is full, and your spirit is light.

The antonym, or gremlin, that depletes our wealth and abundance is a mindset of lack and scarcity – often accompanied by fear of loss.

A few questions to ask yourself as you check in and become more conscious of your AQ:

1. What does abundance mean to and for me?
2. How do I feel about the power of an abundance mindset?
3. Do I have what it takes to create and maintain an abundant state of Being?

You may have a low AQ if you:

• Spend a great deal of time worrying about money
• Often use words like, "I can't", "I won't", "I coulda'," I shoulda'," "What if ..."  "But..."
• Spend time worrying about the future and feel tired and drained
• Are not eager to face each day
• Are experiencing waning passion, and are loosing a sense of purpose
• Tell yourself, my life would be better if only _____ (fill in the blank)
• Live in overwhelm and low energy
• Feel like you are barely surviving
• Never feel like you have enough
• Hanging around people who like to complain

You have a high AQ if you:

• Are clear where you want to be when "the market" picks up
• Trust your heart and intuition when making personal and business decisions
• Know what drains you, and avoid or reframe it
• Wake each day grateful for something in your life
• Know and employ the power of affirmations
• Have clear and easily accessible means to de-stress
• Know that winners take imperfect action  (Thanks @KevinNations via @CoachEva)
• Surround yourself with a positive, empowering environment (place and people)
• Are connected to source
• Put your self-care (love) as a priority on your to-do list
• Running on passion and thriving versus surviving

Are you getting the picture?  These times are not for the weak and weary.  This is the time to step up and learn how to transform obstacles into opportunity.

If this seems hard, don't go it alone.  Create a proactive support group to motivate and keep you accountable.  Support from family, friends, mentors and mastermind partners keep me on track and moving forward. Actually, this blog is me practicing imperfect action.

I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings around this blog, and your relationship to the AQ.  Please use the comments below to share.

Here's to your life of passion, prosperity and balance!

Life Coach Karen, ACC
The Conscious Business and Retreat Coach

Visit my web site to download resources to help you stay with an abundance mindset:

• e-Coach (affordable coaching and support) 
• Complimentary resources (including a 7-week e-Course)

DISCLAIMER: Just off a call with my fellow retreat coaches and learned that I may be creative, but I am not original.  Turns out that I am enjoying the reality of "great minds think alike."  The mind with which I am in synch is that of coach Kim George, author of Coaching To Greatness in which she speaks to Abundance Intelligence®.  So, I want to make it perfectly clear that I did not know of her when I wrote this blog, but now that I do, I will be sure to mention her if and when I talk of an abundance quotient.

Working Outside Your Comfort Zone

Disclaimer:  This blog is not an advertisement for running in the rain.  Nor is it meant for avid runners.  It’s simply a telling of what came up for me on this day.

Why run in the rain?  This was the question I put to good friends after checking the weather report for our local Cupid’s cup.  Actually, this was one of my many rants as I considered rising at 6:45 AM to walk (or run) a paved circle in the cold rain. 

My good friends and teen daughter were the primary reason for this non-runner to even consider this crazy endeavor.  I love the social aspect, and of course, there is the health benefit, but ultimately, the biggest benefit is learning to stretch and move outside of my comfort zone.

Let me be clear, I am not a runner.  My knees protest the pounding on pavement, so I decided to see if I could walk/run or simply walk into this healthy endeavor.

It started when my triathlete friends invited my daughter and I to join them for a weekly 10K training.  As luck had it, the first Saturday morn was a cold drizzle and the next a bone chilling 22 degrees – unexpected in the Southeast region.  I leaned into my motto, “transform obstacles into opportunities” for motivation to show up for weekly practice.

Still, my mind and body protested during the days between each Saturday practice.  The life coach in me took the lead and called on my internal strength, my spirit, to keep me moving forward.  In so doing I learned much.  Here are some of the things I learned on this path:

• Let go of my ego and outcome, i.e., not be concerned with my pace or where I ranked in the race.  Out of this I created a new motto, “commit and complete.”  Often,  I’d have to say it out loud to overcome the thoughts that came up as my friends significantly outpaced me and had to wait for my return to the finish point.
• Let the crowd lead, not in pacing, but in motivation.  By simply showing up successive Saturdays we have created community.  Being honest about my struggles and receiving motivation has been a huge help in keeping me on this path.
• Get practice in working with and through my limitations and fears.  Running is not my thing so I was open to what else I may learn and experience along the way.  This Caribbean baby does not like cold and in the past I have canceled many an outdoor activity because it took me so very long to warm up.  There’s a real feeling of satisfaction in simply taking steps outside of my comfort zone.
• Realizing that joy may not come in the originally planned activity, but the community and personal growth achieved along the way. As it turned out, I got to walk the course with a friend with whom I had not been able to spend time, and share brunch with the runners who inspired me.

I can’t say I’ll ever run or walk another race in the rain.  But if I ever decide to do so it will be to experience the joy and satisfaction I experienced stepping outside of my comfort zone and making memories with friends.

I would love to hear about a time when you have stepped outside of your comfort zone and what showed up for you. Please use the comment section below to share.

With visions of your life of passion, prosperity and balance.

Life Coach Karen, ACC

p.s. If you want support creating your life of passion, prosperity and balance, register for my 7 week eCourse , Art of Life Coaching with H.E.A.R.T. ™, or monthly, affordable eCoaching, Conscious Living eCoach.