A Leap of Faith

Since choosing to focus entirely on the concept / term ‘Conscious Business’ I seem to have naturally come across much more pleasant business transactions where I - as the customer - am really being taken care of… Both in quality of service and financially.

One of the defining components of Conscious Business is that the interests of all stakeholder groups are taken care of. That means customers, suppliers, investors, local community and the environment.

The experiences I’m having are not only really enjoyable but they make me want to support the person / business in question. Their generosity is inspiring me to give back to them in some way. This is how businesses will thrive in the future… by meeting everyone’s needs at the same time…

So many ideas, some opportunities arising, and finally one clear direction to travel in. Things are going well with the transition. Some fundamental perspectives need to shift though. If I’m going to exit this experiment and live fully in the material world then I need to embrace all that the system is built upon. That means money - earning it and spending it, acquiring it and investing it - and creating a container that can hold and retain what I wish to create.

So the next step in the process is to establish a new relationship with money - a sacred one instead of a scared one. Like in romantic relationships, it’s going to be most pleasant to see the beauty and wonder in the other. To love without condition. So that’s where we’re now going…

After much investigation and experimentation, I now know the value of intuition, flow, presence (etc) and how they bring a much greater quality of life. I have tested this out both ‘on the road’ and ‘on retreat’.

It is easy to guess how these ‘heightened abilities’ - that come when operating from a high level of consciousness - can be applied in the workplace, but I want to experience it for myself before I start offering guidance to people.

And so I feel a little mission coming on - something of a strategic move. To put myself into a position within the workplace where I can test out my approach and measure what happens in terms of my productivity. The aim is to be highly productive in a way that sustains my health and wellbeing - entirely the opposite of what I did the last time I was in that environment… which is now over 7 years ago…

So I am following this fresh energy and momentum to see where it takes me - to what kind of role, in what type of environment, and to what part of the country. At the moment I’m feeling open to what opportunities may arise. Having already been blessed with some nice synchronicity this week, I’m feeling good about how things may continue to flow in the moments to come…

Signs, messages and affirmation can appear out of some interesting and unexpected places…

After a couple of spontaneous conversations with old friends last night I found myself inspired to take a slight change of direction this morning, with a much needed boost of energy and momentum.

One friend suggested I invest in a course that would update a professional qualification I got exactly 10 years ago. I was struggling to see how it could possibly be relevant for now, but today am beginning to see matters in quite a different light. Perhaps revisiting something I used to do, and being open to take a contract as a consultant again, would give me more than just an income…

Suddenly a surge of energy compelled me to hunt down my old ‘ITIL framework’ pocket guide - which I found rather symbolically stuffed away in my loft - and then I found allsorts of folders and books I had forgotten existed. It surprised me to find that I felt a genuine urge to tap into all this again. That not only might it help me be ready to take an assignment, and therefore bring in some much needed funds, but that this could steer my mind towards the idea of being in business again.

The first book I picked up inspired a new business idea just from reading the front cover. After that, there was no more energy there… so I put it down and went onto the next one. This one is a book about Business Process Re-engineering that I borrowed from a colleague about 12 years ago, never read and clearly never returned.

The subject of ‘success criteria’ peaked my interest in the contents section so I turned right to that page. Straight off it’s emphasising the importance of people - their attitudes and behaviour - evidently something that I’ve been studying to a great extent in recent times. This was a much needed affirmation that perhaps I’m not as out of tune with the business environment as I thought.

The statements, rather than being dry and dull, kept resonating as I read on through until I got to one that really astounded me. In an entirely different context, but tying in directly to recent experiences and insights, plus the subsequent blog entry called ‘Words’, I read the following:

Mutual trust, especially between senior management and change teams is critically important. The blather and hype of much corporate communication emphasise the gulf between words and actions, and spread disappointment and despair. Many managers end up feeling betrayed and conned.

There’s really not a lot that separates these environments at all is there? It’s all about relationships, and the core values that they are built and measured upon - such as awareness, clarity, authenticity and trust.

After a few days of being in quite an edgy mood, and really feeling like I’d lost sight of trust - in myself and the universe - I’m feeling right back in the Groove again. Thank you to my catalyst-angels last night, and some nice red wine and cheese (err… also last night), I am feeling safe and warm again…

On Saturday night I ventured out for a ‘normal’ kind of party, with a ‘normal’ range of people, to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday. This party was being held in rather salubrious joint called The Milkthistle in Bristol, and we were to be served our beverages from a small cocktail bar - drinks starting at £6 for a glass of house wine (*&^%(£$ how much?!)

After being so internalised, for so long I’d almost turned myself inside out, I have begun to long for the more ‘normal’ activities and events that I used to enjoy - sharing a bottle of wine with a friend, dining out, talking about something other than how the mind works. So I was looking forward to this night out, the chance to reconnect with that other lifestyle I abandoned some time ago and start integrating myself back into society again.

I have often been challenged by the more superficial conversation about hair and make-up, and other things that girls are supposed to be interested in, but when it came to talking about food (which I love) I at least thought I could show interest, listen intently and maybe even offer something in return.

The conversation moved into the realm of cheese, specifically a type of cheese beginning with E that was apparently really delicious and was now available from Sainsbury’s. The description of dipping a warm baguette into a pile of this special E cheese (served at room temperature) and enjoying that with a glass of red wine certainly got me interested and I thought, yeah… I may well look out that cheese the next time I find myself in Sainsbury’s.

“What was it called again?” I said. “Epicurean?”

I wasn’t really sure what that word was at the time, since I’d had a couple of glasses of sparkly wine, but it was just the nearest slightly familiar E word that came to mind.

It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I realised what I’d plucked from the air was not a type of cheese, or indeed any kind of food for that matter. Oh no, far from it… Epicurean is a ‘system of philosophy based on the teachings of Epicurus’!

Clearly I have a little way to go in terms of my integration back into normal society, before I can hold a conversation about what’s happening out here and what interests people anyway. God knows how it’s all going to pan out - it’s certainly been a little gnarly thus far - but I’m damn sure I’ve made the right move by returning.

PS. I think the cheese is called Epoisses. I’m pretty sure it’s not Epicurean. Although if there was an Epicurean cheese available I’d definitely like to sample some..

I said in a previous post that I love words. But in the last few weeks I’ve come to like them less and less and as a result pull right back on using them to express my thoughts, feelings, and intentions, instead preferring to just demonstrate and keep the chat to a minimum. What value to they really have if you are not following through on them in practice, if you do not fully embody them in your day to day behaviour? It seems I may have proved my point with the previous quote…

The transition back into the material world has been a tricky one thus far. My philosophy for life having worked well ‘on the road’ and then ‘on retreat’ is now getting a thorough testing back in this old/new environment, and the lessons through my interaction with others are coming thick and fast. Since moving I found that I wasn’t inclined to write online and latterly felt that words were falling way short of the mark. From this I thought, you know what… I think I’ll shut up for a while and just do my thing. The quote, “He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.” kept coming to mind…

What is meant by sharing these moments of clarity, insight and realisation that we have? Does it imply we are above everything and everyone around us? Erm… No. That wouldn’t be very enlightened would it…

Is it better to wait until we can fully embody an idea every waking moment of the day before we share it with others, or is it perfectly sound to share it when it is just an intention that we aim to live by? I guess it depends how much others need us to demonstrate what we talk about on a daily basis, how much they have invested in the way we naturally are.

When I share things it is because I know they are true, because I have experienced what I speak about to some degree. I’ve felt it and I want to feel it more, and so the statement I make it there to help me do that. Often I feel compelled to share it because it feels powerful. It rarely means that I have mastered it.

I have moments where I feel totally at peace, blissful, and yes, enlightened, but I don’t occupy this level of consciousness all the time because I often still resist certain thoughts, feelings and situations. And I find it hard to be vulnerable, be seen that way, when I’m connecting with someone that doesn’t encourage, or is unable to support that.

So is it better to leave such lofty quotes about enlightenment to the spiritual masters amongst us that occupy this frequency all the time, or is it useful to have those that experience glimpses of it to help spread the word about what true freedom feels like and how one might be able to experience it?

Maybe the answer is to be clearer about where one is in their own development when sharing incredible insights into the wonder of life. Perhaps by doing so one can present themselves in a more authentic light, and show they are in their integrity with what they say.

For me, if I am ever going to teach anyone anything I would much prefer it to be by example. This was the whole point of the Leap of Faith experiment from the outset - less talking, more walking. Show rather than tell.

The more I have investigated this whole area of the power of the mind, the more I’ve seen that the most important aspects are really hard to convey by the written word. To gain an intellectual understanding is great, but there is such a gulf between that and actually integrating it into your natural way of being.

In some ways, the less you read and the more you just listen to yourself and follow your inner guidance the better. Perhaps we would all reach a state of inner peace far quicker if we just stopped talking about it… We all have all the tools we need within us, so are all these words simply getting in the way…?

I love words…. And I’m discovering some really interesting and unusual ones to describe what this work is all about.

What started out as a long list of ideas and concepts about how best to approach life is now becoming consolidated into a single key term or phrase… Or a number of concise phrases that mean the same thing.

Since ‘New Paradigm Philosophy’ seems meaningless to many, I’m pleased to say I’ve now created some more palatable and appealing alternatives. Nothing appears to exist out there that truly encapsulates the philosophy and has a good name, so I thought I would make some up and see what sticks.