September
2009
In this issue...
- Visions
and Dreams: Your Choice.
- Your exploration this month.
- From the Blog...
- Quotes of the month
- Want to comment or contribute?
- Personal coaching
News and Events
Organic
Fortnight, 5th - 20th September.
Organic Fortnight is a nationwide
campaign highlighting all the great things about organic.
Up and down the UK, people in shops, schools, cafes,
churches and farms will be hosting events and raising
awareness
about why organic is the healthy choice, the best for animal
welfare and the right thing for the planet. There is also
a guide to how to buy organic on a budget. Further
details on the Soil Association website.
1. Visions
and Dreams: Your Choice.
Chatting with people
recently and listening to their stories
and their aspirations, one
trend I’ve noticed is a kind of restlessness
about the perceived need to have a dream,
to have something concrete and tangible to
aim for, and the sadness amongst some of
those who believe they don’t have a
dream.
Whilst downshifting
or aspiring to live more sustainably can
seem on the surface
to be like a dream, in reality what I, and
many of my clients, find is that it’s
more of an interesting journey than a dream
to be achieved. So, ironically, even striving
towards the goal of a “sustainable
living dream” can be counter productive.
What guides us on the right path of our journey
I would call a vision rather than a dream.
When we feel that
we don’t have something
tangible to aim for, that our future holds
little in a material sense for us to obtain,
what is really happening is that we are encountering
obstacles on our journey that are obscuring
our view of our vision.
What are the obstacles to envisioning a
future?
1. Being in the rat race and having no time
for quiet reflection.
2. Feeling too stressed out, tired, or ill
for contemplation.
3. Believing that we have to bow to pressure
from others - loved ones, friends, work colleagues
so that we fail to contemplate what we’d
actually like for ourselves.
4. Believing that we have no choice.
5. Being in uncontrolled debt (which is in
effect another form of point 3.)
6. Living in fear.
What happens when
we clear the obstacles on our route is
that we start to take responsibility
for the way in which we experience the circumstances
of our lives and a vision starts to emerge
of the path we’re already on.
In practice, my clients and I have found
the following to be helpful:
1. Spending a day or longer away from the
computer.
2. Having a complete break from the media
(T.V., newspapers and magazines, internet,
mobile phones etc)
3. Having some time alone, away from other
people and in a peaceful environment.
4. Honouring our bodies through quietly eating
nourishing food and taking gentle, enjoyable
exercise.
5. Practising gratitude. Finding some time
each day to silently, or openly, appreciate
the people, events, circumstances, environments
that we are grateful for in our lives.
6. Remembering to include a regular dose
of inspiration in our week, through reading
material, film, poetry, music or whatever
works for us.
7. Establishing a regular, committed, spiritual
practice e.g. meditation, Tai Chi, Qi Kung,
prayer, Yoga.
What happens when we remove the obstacles?
We create some space in our lives for the
truth, our vision of our future, to break
through and make itself apparent. We know
when this happens because we feel on course,
more balanced and clear and quite possibly
a sense of relief and ease.
Downshifting, or voluntary
simplicity is all about clearing obstacles
from our natural
path, rather than striving for something
material. In the rat race we have money,
success, winning, meeting budgets and deadlines
that are supposed to motivate us. They don’t
of course, past scaring us into submission
and depleting our energy. A more sustainable
way of living favours happiness, health,
community, meaning and fulfilment as part
of our vision for the future. These are qualities
in which we each have a conscious choice,
in terms of how we choose to experience and
act on what we are given. This therefore
leads to us feeling more empowered, valued
and energised.
A Paradox?
You might have spotted
that the practical ideas for getting us
back on track to a simpler,
less stressful way of life are much more
about living in the present than making things
happen in the future. Is this at odds with
engaging in any planning? Actually, I would
suggest that it isn’t. Living in the
present is necessary in order to enjoy each
moment, cope with crisis, make wise decisions,
cultivate peace of mind and serenity. We
do need to plan for the future too otherwise
we are like a ship without a compass. If
we think of the future as being a collection
of successive moments in time, then we can
actually do both – plan and enjoy the
present - by making wise choices in every
moment whilst being aware of the principles
we prefer to live by. This is what I mean
by having a vision rather than striving towards
a dream. This is why unearthing a vision
can be more satisfying than setting goals.
Having goals tends to lead us into establishing
some kind of dependence on the outcome of
our decisions and our actions. Having a vision
frees us to live for each moment, to aspire
to “be” a certain way rather
than to achieve a particular, materialistic
goal.
Our path is then defined by the choices
we make and the vision we hold in each moment.
Enjoy the journey!
2. Your
exploration this month.
How are you spending today, this moment?
In what ways is this in alignment with your vision?
3. From
the Blog...
World Café: How to do it.
How do you host a productive meeting with a diverse group
of people who you might not even have met before? How
do you embrace the wide variety of different backgrounds,
life experience, strengths, skills and expertise in
a democratic and enjoyable way and still achieve useful
results?
More...
Wiser Earth and Pledging For Change
I thought it might be helpful to mention a couple of
networking sites that seem particularly supportive
of sustainable businesses and their aspirations.
More...
4. Quotes
of the month.
“There is no security on this earth,
there is only opportunity.”
General Douglas MacArthur
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution
to success is more important than any other one thing.”
Abraham
Lincoln
“
A vision is a beacon that is quite clear to you once
you see it; a goal is what you set when you can’t
see the vision.”
Thomas Leonard.
5. Want
to comment or contribute?
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this newsletter
or submit an article for inclusion in it, please contact
me by email.
6. Personal
Coaching.
One-to-one coaching can help you:
- let go of your old,stressful
way of life, find a new path of vitality and an improved
way of living.
- deal with fears surrounding
financial responsibilities, your relationships with
others and other consequences of making a major life
change.
- improve your health, wellbeing
and spiritual life.
- further your personal growth.
- achieve balance, clarity and
peace.
You can view further details on personal coaching here
7. Privacy
policy
If this email has been forwarded
to you and you would like to subscribe, you can do
so easily on my website, here: www.sallylever.co.uk.
I will never sell, share or otherwise divulge your contact
details, including your email address, to any third party.
Subscriptions to this newsletter grow by your recommendation.
If you have enjoyed reading it, please do forward it
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free to use any material from this newsletter. All I
ask is that you acknowledge me as the source and include
my web address.
Have a fruitful
month!
Sally
Sally Lever
coach, writer, educator
downshifting, sustainable living, sustainable business
+44 (0)1749 674842
sally@sallylever.co.uk
http://www.sallylever.co.uk/
7 Welsford Avenue, Wells, Somerset.
BA5 2HX. UK. |
