The second week in July is Take Charge of Change Week. This is a perfect time to examine this week’s topic — part four of a blog series on The Nine Environments of You — a powerful coaching model designed to create balance in your life. Today’s post focuses on the Spiritual environment, which includes deep spiritual connections and sacred spaces. We’ll look at the role your spiritual practices play in designing the life you choose. Included is an exercise to help you identify ways to get energy from the highest of sources, which ultimately come from living in a way that honors your soul.
Is your energy drained by negative points of power such as apathy, grief, fear, lust, control, overwhelm, clutter, addictions, manipulation, and anger…or is it charged by positive points of power such as love, truth, courageousness, beauty, gratitude, and peace?
As with all design choices, you can choose to get energy from the highest of sources, which ultimately come from living in a way that honors your soul.
Letting Go – a Powerful Spiritual Practice
One of my most powerful spiritual practices is letting go of my attachment to the outcome of a situation. I have a clear intention about how I choose to be in any given situation, while at the same time letting go of any attachment I have to the outcome.
A wise friend reminded me that there are only three kinds of challenges:
- Your own challenges
- Someone else’s challenges
- God’s challenges that are beyond human capability to solve
Thinking of life’s challenges in this way will make it easier for you to decide what to do next time you encounter a challenge. Ask yourself who owns the problem or challenge.
- If it belongs to you, identify what you choose to do about it. Then take the next action step.
- If it belongs to someone else, allow them to take ownership of it and let go of your attachment to to the outcome.
- If the challenge is bigger than you can manage, give it to God or your higher source of power. Ask for guidance, wisdom, patience, and peace as you work through it.
I love the Story of Two Wolves. As the story goes, an elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, ”A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil — he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego. The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person too.” They thought about it for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?” The elder simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Nourish Your Mind & Soul
A great way to get positive energy is to have a plan for ways to nourish your mind and soul. When you consider what most people feed their brains, it’s usually pretty negative stuff.
I encourage you to design a personal development plan that incorporates several senses — reading, hearing (CDs and downloads), seeing (visualization), experiencing (attending workshops and events), and teaching others what you have learned. Set a goal to read or listen to at least one personal development book a month.
Music can help you feel a spiritual connection because a song can connect deeply with your emotions. In addition, music often contains lyrics with powerful messages that feed your mind and soul. You may have learned lyrics to a song many years ago, and you can still remember the words.
I learned the words to the song Fifty Nifty United States in grade school. To this day, I can still sing the song, which enables me to recite the fifty states in alphabetical order in less than one minute. If these same words had not been set to melody, there’s no way I could still remember the fifty states of the union…especially in alphabetical order! Words set to music have a way of sticking with you. Music provides a great way to install powerful messages in your subconscious brain.
Be selective about what you expose yourself to. Do the lyrics of the songs you regularly listen to contain positive messages? Does the music uplift you? Are you selective about how much news you read, watch, or hear? Most of what we see on television, hear on the radio, or read in the newspaper is negative, so it’s important to limit your exposure.
The Power of Soul Connection
I was a music major in college, and music remains an important part of my life. In 2011, my dear friend – concert pianist, musical director, arranger and composer Kevin Cole — wrote and recorded a song with me called Listen to Your Heart. The lyrics convey the core message of my work today.
I met Kevin in 1976, when both of us were seniors in high school at Interlochen Arts Academy. I was a voice major and Kevin was a piano major. He was assigned to be my accompanist for the whole year during my voice lessons at Interlochen. He and I soon became friends, and I knew soon after I met him that Kevin was destined to do great things.
In last week’s blog post, I wrote about the Self environment — the third of the Nine Environments of You — and the power of tapping into your natural gifts, talents and passions. Kevin is a great example of one who has created an amazing career utilizing his gifts and talents. Among his many accomplishments, he has followed his passion and calling to perform the works of George Gershwin.
In November of last year, Kevin visited a doctor to check out some numbness he was experiencing in his face. He learned that he had an acoustic neuroma–a slow-growing benign tumor that had developed on the main nerve leading from his inner ear to his brain.
Brain surgery was necessary. Based on the size of the tumor (larger than a golf ball), his surgeon estimated that it had been growing for the last 15 years. Because of where the tumor was located, Kevin was told that after-effects from the surgery could upset his balance, his hearing, and his ability to smile and close his eye on the right side. Although there were risks with the surgery, Kevin was also told that if the tumor was allowed to continue growing, it would kill him.
Hearing loss for a musician has serious implications, so none of this was great news to receive. That being said, Kevin embraced this news with courage and an unshakeable faith that all would work out. He sent out a prayer request to his vast circle of friends throughout the world, and then he let go of his attachment to the outcome.
On March 19th, Kevin underwent brain surgery to remove the tumor. During the eight-hour operation, his surgical team played Kevin’s CD, Cole Plays Gershwin. An interesting side note: it was a brain tumor that took George Gershwin’s life at age 38. Gershwin died on the operating table on July 11, 1937. Not only did Kevin survive the surgery, but he is thriving!
Exactly two months after brain surgery–on May 19, 2018–Kevin did something never done before in a live symphony concert. He and the Albany Symphony performed a Gershwin Immersion concert that included all four of George Gershwin’s works for piano and orchestra in ONE evening: Rhapsondy in Blue, Piano Concerto in F, Second Rhapsody, and An American in Paris. This concert had been planned two years prior. Other concert pianists would have canceled this as soon as brain surgery was scheduled. Not Kevin! His performance — only eight weeks after brain surgery — received rave reviews.
To enjoy a sample of Kevin’s brilliant and passionate Gershwinesque performance style, you can hear a five-minute snippet of a January 4, 2018 rehearsal with the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, as they rehearsed Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F — just two months before brain surgery. Watch the sheer joy on Kevin’s face as he effortlessly rehearses with the orchestra.
Lifelong friends and relatives of George Gershwin who have heard Kevin play have commented: “I haven’t heard anyone play like that since George!” Kevin frequently improvises a medley of Gershwin songs, as Gershwin himself often used to do on the piano. I got to hear one of Kevin’s medleys performed live many years ago when he and I performed a concert together of George Gershwin and Harold Arlen music in his hometown of Bay City, Michigan.
Kevin Cole is a man who has always lived a life that honors his soul, getting his energy from the highest of sources. Drawing on his deeply spiritual and soul-level connection to George Gershwin is what enabled Kevin to play the Gershwin Immersion performance two months after undergoing an eight-hour operation on his brain.
The Chicago Tribune recently wrote an inspiring article about Kevin and you can also listen to their interview with him here.
Expressing Gratitude – a Daily Spiritual Practice
I can speak from personal experience about the power of expressing gratitude as a daily spiritual practice.
In 2005, some life events converged that caused me to sink into a deep depression. A friend called to check on me and she asked if I’d be willing to try something for a week. She asked me to promise to begin my day for the next seven days by sending a card of gratitude to someone I cared about. I reluctantly promised her I’d do it, even though I was not feeling very grateful at the time. To my surprise, at the end of the seven days, my depression had lifted.
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it
is like wrapping a gift and not giving it.
-Author Unknown
Beginning your day by expressing gratitude to another person sets a positive tone for the rest of your day. It has a profound impact on your personal and professional relationships, and on your physical, mental and spiritual health. I invite you to begin each day by expressing gratitude to someone you care about. I’ve been practicing this daily habit for more than 12 years.
What Are You Tolerating?
Are you fully expressing your authentic self as you were created to? Below are some questions to help you get clear about what you are tolerating in your Spiritual environment.
Do I feel connected to my own spiritual intuition?- Do I feel connected to a higher power?
- Do I feel connected to other human beings and to nature?
- Do I feel the freedom to examine beliefs I was raised with and then choose the right path and beliefs for myself?
- Do I honor and respect other people’s spiritual beliefs even if I disagree with them?
- Am I committed to a daily spiritual practice?
- Do my spiritual practices enable me to give of my time and talents to others?
- Do I get my energy from negative points of power such as apathy, grief, fear, lust, control, overwhelm, clutter, addictions, manipulation, and anger or from positive points of power such as love, truth, courageousness, beauty, gratitude, and peace?
- Do I regularly practice “letting go” of my attachment to the outcome?
- Do I express gratitude daily for what I have, regardless of how my day went?
Once you’ve answered the questions above, you may have greater clarity about what needs some attention in your Spiritual environment. I encourage you to identify some “upgrades” you desire, as well as specific actions you will take, and by when.
Here’s an example of what that looks like:
Upgrades desired in the Spiritual environment:
- Enjoy a sense of peace, regardless of my circumstances or experiences.
- Express gratitude daily to another person.
- Choose a way to volunteer my time in a meaningful way to me and to others.
Actions to be taken by when:
- Starting today, pray daily, give my worries to God, and let go of my attachment to the outcome.
- Starting tomorrow, begin my day by sending a card of gratitude to someone I appreciate. Do this at the beginning of each day.
- Research the three ideas I have for volunteer work and select one to begin in September.
Now, it’s your turn to identify the upgrades you desire, the actions you will take, and by when. I encourage you to choose ONE thing you will do to upgrade your Spiritual environment and commit to spending 15 minutes today to take immediate action. As you do this with each environment, get ready to experience synchronicity in your life like never before, as things fall into place.
If you’d like a fresh perspective– someone to help you design the balanced life you want by aligning your vision, priorities, and actions—let’s schedule a no-cost, no-pressure Discovery Call today.
Additional Resources:
- Blog: Balance Your Life: The 9 Environments of You (overview)
- Blog: Balance Your Life: Environment #1 – Memetic/Mental
- Blog: Balance Your Life: Environment #2 – Body
- Blog: Balance Your Life: Environment #3 – Self
- Blog: The Discipline of Gratitude
- Guide: My Gratitude Journal
- Guide: Cultivating Happiness: Living Life on Your Terms
- FREE: Reduce Stress & Increase Joy: 19 Inspirational Coloring Pages
KathyPaauw,thanks for sharing your great posts every week!