Inspiration - Cause for Pause

Tomorrow I had planned an Inspiration Day. It's one of the parts of my painted picture vision of the future that I have been challenged to start now. (Thanks, Matt!) I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but that’s okay.The whole purpose of Inspiration Day is to give myself space – a container of space, separated from all things that NEED doing, to explore and let my mind play. I was thinking about how much I need one of these right before I visited Susan Piver’s blog and saw this video.




ZING ZANG ZOOM! I love it when the Universe does that.

Happy weekend. Hope you all find inspiration!

The Case for Compassion

I've been working some with mindfulness lately.  The idea, at least in my tiny little definition of mindfulness, is that you are mindful of what you are thinking, feeling, doing, etc. You watch yourself, especially your mind, and you notice, and you build your awareness. And, ultimately, you let go without judgement. I read somewhere that it's akin to "every breath being a little death." The moment passes, the breath goes out, the moment dies, the next one is born.

So I am watching myself, building my awareness muscles. I am watching my thoughts come and, sometimes...when I remember and can wrestle them away from my ego...watching them go, letting them die. Sometimes.

I notice that my ego sure gets attached to some of those thoughts though. And I notice that, sure enough, the ones my ego gets attached to the most tend to make me a little crazy.

A couple of days ago, I was in a complete ego-attached frenzy of judgement about something at work. I don't even remember what now, which tells me how really unimportant it is overall. But I was fixated on it, and in that moment it was the most important thing. I do remember that it had something to do with the way a certain person in the office works and communicates. I was getting all indignant about their approach, my mind on a tear about how they "shouldn't" be how they are or do what they do.

In the middle of all of this, I noticed I was doing it. And I picked up  my journal and started to write down my thoughts. At one point I wrote down the question, "Why do I feel the need to judge this person when I know I do not have the ability to change them? Why can't I just accept them and maybe even see them with compassion?"

Instantly my ego responded, "because judging is so much easier!" And as soon as that came out of my pen, I had to laugh. Because it's SO not true. Judging isn't easy at all. To judge someone takes a lot of energy. You have to build your case and justify to yourself how right you are. It might seem easy, because we have, unfortunately, been conditioned to be critical and judgmental. So it becomes second nature and happens, often, at light-speed in our minds. We judge EVERYTHING, all the time. And we feel justified in doing so.

What a sad waste of energy. I've noticed that when I am busy judging someone or something, I am not being creative. I am not looking to solve any problems or make things better. I am being a victim and am making myself believe I am helpless. Because if I am helpless, I can't be accountable or responsible for my part in whatever it is I am judging. I want the other person to change. It's their job to change because my judgement of them is, of course, right and their way of being is, of course, wrong. In then end, I wind up frustrated because I am focusing my energy in the wrong places...

So, what about focusing on the flip side and seeing with compassion? My ego wants me to believe that takes more effort, but just thinking about being compassionate, I feel the ease and relaxation that comes from not judging. It is who I was when I was born, before I learned to judge. Before all of that, I was, and still am compassionate in my heart and soul. The judgemental and critical persona that my ego puts on is not me. It's armor my mind has built to protect myself from other judgmental or critical personas or to resist whatever is happening in favor of what I believe should be happening.

Indeed, we judge things we don't like and spend a lot of energy being angry or trying to improve our lives so that we like everything...But who said we were supposed to like everything all the time? Isn't it truly easier to allow the judgment and criticism to be, and to allow it to be (even in myself when I notice it) than to hold on to the story about the fact that I should like everything, which creates the judgment, which stifles creativity and causes energy to be wasted?

To have compassion, to surrender and accept people and things as they are is so much easier on us than fighting and judging. When I am compassionate about what another person is facing, I also become curious about what their experience is. This leads me to approach them out of a place of understanding and willingness to accept that our experiences are different rather than out of resistance. By doing that I move my energy in a productive direction, creating space for solutions to arise...or not arise...and I am willing to accept whatever does arise.

I'd love to say that this is my now default mode of operating, that this insight shifted my way of being. But, of course, that's not the case. I've spent two days trying to write this post, and have been interrupted a number of times, which has left me irritated, judgmental and resistant because I don't like to be interrupted. But I'm accepting and having compassion with myself for being in whatever state I am in, at least when I am being mindful enough to notice...

Painted Picture Vision - 2013

Happy New Year. It's taken me a while to get back to posting.

Over the holidays, I finally was able to do some serious visioning and wrote my painted picture vision for 2013. Please forgive some of the stuff that seems sappy. But this is how I would love my life to look in 3 years. Out it goes into the Universe!

I wake naturally, feeling rested, calm and balanced. I slip out of bed quietly, so as not to awaken G. Thinking about the day ahead, I smile. It’s Inspiration Day. One day of each month, I spend a day out in the world finding inspiration and allowing my mind to relax and work on things creatively. It’s always amazing how many inspired, creative solutions I find for my clients on these days.




I rise and have my morning coffee while listening to relaxing, spa-like music. I take the dog on a nice, long walk and enjoy the neighborhood sights and sounds. I return home and meditate for 10 minutes, and then do some gentle stretching to center and prepare myself to receive inspiration. I hear G up and about, and I go upstairs to spend a little time with him before we both venture out. While he is showering, I log on to the computer to select my inspiration destination for the day.



Quickly I check email and set my auto-responder to let my clients know I will be out for the day. I encourage them to take some time and space to find inspiration for themselves. While I am online, I notice an email from a potential client, one I was VERY interested in working with. I had done a consultation to help him understand my methods, and he wants me to contact him in a few days to start the process! Immediately I feel full and grateful, as well as excited to take his company on a new journey.



My organizational communications and corporate culture consulting business, HyperZen Perspectives, is growing. In my business, I combine my over 20 years of experience in communications and branding with coaching, organizational development techniques and, just for a fun twist (but one that really makes an impact) art and interior design. I help my clients (companies, teams and individuals) find their authentic voices, bringing awareness to those voices and supporting them as they learn to use their voices and strengths more freely in their work together. I also conduct what I call Happy Bomb Workshops to help them loosen up their creative selves and give them permission to fail, flounder and make mistakes by playing with art. This allows them the freedom to make their voices visual and share with one another on a different level. I use that as a jumping off point to incorporate their personalities into their surroundings so that the workspaces they live in and work from reflect their voices, individually and collectively, with harmony and balance. The clients I have worked with have experienced an increase in productivity and revenue. They all report that they feel as if they work less and enjoy work more. Some even report improvements in other areas of their lives as a result of the techniques they learned.



I give G a hug and a kiss as he heads out the door, looking him in the eye and telling him how much he means to me and how glad I am to share a life with him in our beautiful home. I feel full and whole and ready for inspiration! I shower and dress in comfortable but stylish clothes, feeling strong and slender and confident. My dedication to regular exercise and conscious eating has paid off. I look and feel young again!



I pack my bag with my journal, a set of gel pens and colored pencils and head out the door. Today I am spending time in the Shenandoah Valley, exploring the little towns and galleries, enjoying lunch at a winery and taking in the beauty of nature. As I explore, I allow my mind to work on some ideas for a new client and sketch some thoughts for a workshop I am going to be giving at a retreat that I organized the following week with a number of my professional partners/friends.



Life is good, and it’s only getting better. I am grateful for all I have, and proud of all I have created for myself. I feel plugged in and as though my work is a gift I help others discover and unwrap. I am strong and balanced, loving and loved, open and receptive.