The Inspiration Nation

The world mourns a great man today.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's a somber and sobering day, as I remember Dr. King and the legacy he created in life and in death.  Forty years after the death of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., there is still much work to do.

That's why it is also a day of rejoicing that you and I have the honor and privilege of embracing the spirit of Dr. King and taking up his torch of freedom, racial equality, and economic justice for everyone.

Will you take up the challenge? 

I am also reminded today of my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Dov Baron (who was just a 10-year-old boy when Dr. King died), whose mission is to raise consciousness and impact the world with the same magnitude that Dr. King impacted his.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but Dr. Baron has surely impacted me in immeasurably powerful ways.

Last evening, Chad and I were at a Winter Soltice holiday gathering (The precise moment of the 2007 solstice was
Image by spackletoe, via a Creative Commons license earlier today, Saturday, December 22, 1:08 A.M. EST, in case you were wondering).

I was talking with a woman with whom Chad works, who asked me what I was doing (in the way of work) that gives me joy and permits me to live my purpose at the same time (I might say that the two are one and the same.....or at least very intricately linked).

I do a few different things, but two years ago, I discovered life coaching and immediately knew that if there was such a thing as a calling, this one was it.  I told her that I'm progressively doing less of those other things, and pursuing with more focus the coaching side of my business.

Coaching nurtures my spirit and permits me to inspire others to likewise discover and pursue that which nurtures them.  As a business coach, I help people (specifically real estate agents and other progressive entrepreneurs) merge who they are and what they value with what they do for work.

Coaching and coaching skills are the catalyst that help people create money and meaning in their lives, all with less stress, more fun, and more fulfillment.  This is my joy.

After explaining this to her, she (who has herself been seeking a way to do work that nurtures her, as well as provides a vehicle through which she can positively impact how others treat themselves, the Earth, and the environment) mentioned that friends and colleagues have been consistently commenting on how nonjudgmental and embracing of other people she is.

They have been telling her that she has a gift for deeply listening to people and really seeing what's underneath and behind the words they say.  Because of this natural ability, her friends have told her she would be a great life coach and should explore coaching as a possible line of work.

Her response was that she has been doing this all her life.

"It's natural for me to help people, so why would I ever ask people to pay me for something that comes easy for me?"

Have you ever asked yourself a similar question?

If she really thought about what she had just said, I think she'd agree that it not only didn't make any sense, but it also revealed a mentality of lack and feelings of unworthiness.

Why shouldn't she be paid (and paid well) for providing a service that came easily for her?

It's interesting how people seem to think that if what they're doing isn't difficult and hard and a struggle, it's not of any value.

This truly is ridiculous.  We don't need any more martyrs.

We need people who wholly embrace their talents and what they love to do and incorporate that into what they do for work in the service of others.  Work then becomes a joy, not a job.

Think about it.  We have no problem paying a doctor -- particularly a specialist -- for what he enjoys doing and what comes naturally for him.

We don't deny that a lawyer who is excellent at what she does and who finds joy in doing it that she should receive money in exchange for her services.

The same goes for firemen, city planners, laborers, artists, politicians, restauranteurs, mechanics and sports heros.

We gladly pay them because they enjoy what we don't.  They have talents and skills that we do not have.....nor do we necessarily want to have them.

"If you are a natural at coaching," I asked Chad's co-worker, "and love helping people in this way, why wouldn't you study and practice and hone those natural abilities and get paid for not only improving the quality of their lives but also nurturing your own spirit at the same time?"

Life is too short to struggle, especially on purpose, just to say at the end of the day, "We worked hard."  In fact, if you're struggling, your doing something incorrectly.  At the very least, you are not following your joy.

Find what brings your joy, follow and pursue that joy, and find a way to get paid for it, and you'll never "work" another day in your life -- guaranteed. 

Image by Jayel Aheram, via a Creative Commons licenseThis theme of war and peace seems to keep coming up.

I recently found a quote that I'd written on a pad of paper by Dwight Eisenhower.  He allegedly said "We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it."

This is absurd (How is it possible to fight for peace?), but not surprising that it would come out of his mouth.

In addition to serving as a General in the US Army, "As President, he oversaw the cease-fire of the Korean War, kept up the pressure on the Soviet Union during the Cold War, made nuclear weapons a higher defence priority, (and) launched the Space Race," according to Wikipedia.

If Ike were alive today, somehow I don't think he'd be inclined to practice Deepak Chopra's 7 Practices for Peace.

The past can be a marvelous teacher; all we have to do is listen.  The pacifist and former Washington Post columnist, Colman McCarthy, observed (and so can we) that "Warmaking doesn't stop warmaking.  If it did, our problems would have stopped millennia ago."

Do you think if we were to proactively teach peace we'd even be having this discussion? 

My partner, Chad, works at Village Books, a local independently-owned bookstore in town.  He came home from work the other day and told me that on the main counter of the store next to one of the cash registers are Bush Condoms for sale.

Bush Condoms?

Yes, indeed.

"For Schmucks That Won't Pull Out."

This was very interesting for me to hear.  And a little surprising, since I wouldn't exactly call Village Books a Left-leaning (not that the terms "left" and "right" have any real political meaning, anyway) bookstore.

Sure, they have certain paraphernalia that isn't particularly flattering to the head of the current US administration, but this particular item makes no bones about the specific political stance of the bookstore owners.  They are definitely against this war.

One of Chad's coworkers was disturbed by the Bush Condoms, stating that she felt they were "in poor taste."

Since there are at least two very explicit messages that can be read here, I'm left to wonder whether she was offended by the sex reference or the war one because she failed to elaborate.

The obvious message is clear (i.e., Bush needs to remove all troops from Iraq) and reminds me of the debate that continues to this day of whether George Bush was justified in going to war with Iraq in the first place.

The way of inspiration is the way of peace.  It is impossible to "keep the peace" via military action.  A.J. Muste said (also attributed to Mahatma Ghandi), "There is no way (e.g. via war) to peace; peace is the way."

In other words -- in my book, at least -- there can be no justification for war.  If there was not a war in Iraq, or in any other place, it would be meaningless to call anyone a schuck that won't pull out.

However, there is another message that is equally explicit here, one that I am not sure that the owners of the bookstore carefully took into account.  Of course, I don't know this; I am making an assumption.

The implication is that contraception -- at least condoms -- is only necessary for "schmucks that won't pull out."  What is more, it implies that 'pulling out' is an acceptable form of birth control (nevermind the other health risks associated with unprotected sexual activity).

If these implications were not true, the analogy -- and thus the punch line -- would fall flat, essentially meaningless.

These messages -- that there could be any justified war that would potentially need to be pulled out of, and that "pulling out" during sex is an acceptable way to prevent pregnancy -- are neither inspirational nor responsible.

I'm not even sure they -- like much of the bumper sticker activism -- even serve their intended purpose....except perhaps to complain or blame.

In this case, if the point was to create the opportunity to dialogue about the war and what can be done to bring it to an end, judging from the reaction of Chad's coworker, it really only served to shut down conversation because it was "in poor taste" -- except for those who happen to agree with the owners' assessment of the situation.

What do you think?

Are the Bush Condoms in poor taste?

If you were the store owner, would you have made the Bush Condoms available for purchase in your store? 

by Elevated; Some Rights ReservedI’m not sure I particularly like the word “forgive,” at least the way it is commonly used.

Forgiveness is wrapped up with the religious concept that there is something inherently wrong with us.

But for the great mercy and benevolent grace of a fickle, unknowable god, we’d be hapless sinners, doomed to the everlasting fire.

This is nonsense.  It just keeps people stuck where they are, addicted to guilt and blame.

What is there to forgive, anyway?

Deepak Chopra (in his book, Peace is the Way) offers this refreshing thought on the matter:

Whatever mistake you have made about who you are is temporary. Your true identity has remained untouched.  You have never sinned against it or affected it in any way except to lose touch with it.  The prevailing problem for each person is separation and nothing else…there is no self to change.  There are only masks that we wear for a moment and then discard.  If you can cherish yourself even as you discard your current favorite mask, you are living perfectly in the way of peace.

Of course, if we do something that harms or dishonors ourselves or someone else, it is natural (and right) to feel genuinely sorry for it and seek to make complete restitution.

But there is no need for wailing, dressing in sackcloth, and sitting in dust and ashes.

Taking responsibility doesn’t mean assigning guilt or blame to ourselves (or anyone else).

Nneka over at Balanced Life Center addresses the tendency to flog ourselves over some perceived wrong and how to release that so that we can move on with our lives in joy instead of self-blame.

She titles her blog entry, Forgive Yourself.

But that’s OK; I forgive her :) (Just kidding!)

A rare studio photograph of Gandhi taken in London at the request of Lord Irwin, 1931This past Saturday, October 27, there was an anti-war rally in Seattle, one of 11 that were scheduled to occur in major US cities across the country. At least 20,000 were expected to attend/participate in the Seattle rally alone.

The opposition is primarily to the current Iraq war, which has been described as unjust. That's interesting.  Isn't all war unjust?

Deepak Chopra is perhaps the most well-known Indian medical doctor (and certainly the most prolific Indian author) on the planet, and it has taken me until just the other day to pick up his 2005 book, Peace is the Way: Bringing War and Violence to an End.

I was immediately struck by the title (I am an ordained Minister of Peace), and as I began to read it, I was captivated by Chopra's positive, inspirational message of/for peace. Inspiration for the title comes from a quote of Mahatma Gandhi, who said, "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."

In fact, there is a peace movement already underway, Chopra writes, and each one of us can quicken its unfolding by progressively becoming peacemakers now.

One way we can do this is by embracing and actively carrying out what Deepak Chopra calls the Seven Practices for Peace
Deepak Chopra, M.D. (p. 24). Each day of the week, Chopra outlines a simple, specific practice that takes only a few minutes to carry out. In this way, each of us individually -- one person at a time -- can end war for ourselves by shifiting our allegiance to peace.

What can one person do?

 "A million tiny earthquakes move more ground than a single cataclysmic quake," Chopra answers.  "There is no bettter or easier way to live than by catching the wave of evolution." Yes, there is power in specific, individual action!

Will you join me in this 7-part program for peace?

Today (Sunday) begins the first day of the program; you may join in at any time.  Just click on the link in the navigation bar to access the practice for each day.

Each day this week, I will add the practice for that day that each of us will follow (If you happen to have the book, the Deepak Chopra’s program begins on page 24).   Of course, this time next Sunday begins the cycle of peacemaking anew, so you will repeat today’s practice then.

Concerning the practices, Chopra says “You can be as private or outspoken as you wish.”  I’ve arranged each day’s practice in a discussion forum format, so if you feel so inclined, please freely share how your new, active path for peace is impacting you and those around you.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that, rather than feel powerless in a world that seems addicted to war, you and I can effect positive change oriented toward peace starting right now?