Living consciously for me means to choose which experiences I’d like to give space to manifest in my life, and on the other hand learning to cope and react with the rest that comes along with it.
The importance of clarity
Today, I was on a business trip to Vienna. I was asked to moderate a workshop about “Future innovation spaces – the fusion of digital and real innovation spaces”. While on the bus, I was reading a bit about online businesses, especially input from Ramit Sethi, who will launch his flagship course “Zero to Launch” this thursday.
Reading the stuff about him and what he teaches people made me think about marketing and the “spreading of ideas” to find contributors and supporters – i.e. “building your tribe”.
I realized two things:
- I still do not really know: “What I truely desire to do and what I want to experience in my life?” – sounds awkward to be unlear about such an important – since elemental – topic, but that’s the case.
- If I want to do anything in my life – by myself or in interaction with others – I need clarity (or the WHY behind it) to make it tangible. Especially in the interaction with others, as it is the case in business for example, it is crucial that you can clearly articulate a) whom you address and b) what you expect, need or want from that person.
The hidden meaning behind things
As long as I am not able to clearly formulate what it is I intend to do, it is nearly impossible for another person to know what I want. And due to the clarity-lacking misunderstanding in this process I become frustrated myself, because no-one reacts to my actions the way I desired – because they didn’t even know I meant THEM.
However, whose “fault” is it? What is actually happening in this situation?
Maybe it is that in fact nobody is interested in my project or simply have not been aware that I am actually here and doing something. Might be, fair enough.
I’d rather think though that the problem is not that nobody is interested. The problem often is that:
- I did not make clear enough whom I am talking to.
- I did not manage to express my intention so others have the possibility to clearly relate and answer to my project, taking a position themselves.
Take this blog for example. Thinking about my own simple-mindedness in this project made me smile today. Such a bright moment…
My obvious starting-intentions were:
- Beginning a blog to go out and share my ideas; I wanted to see if I find interested people that I might gather around this blog for my personal “community”; looking further ahead I want to go into online business with “something” I am able to do and like.
- Doing a challenge and making myself accountable for 30 Days.
My partly unconscious (or at least non-articulated) expectations were however:
- This blog had to become my online business in a few months and I wanted to grow followers fast which leads to earning money.
- I wanted people to tell me what they want or need from what I post here.
- I wanted readers to like what I talk about.
Looking at it now, this is so funny and childish, because it is so immature and… naive.
Only today I came across the thought that I never mentioned any of those expectations or asked any serious questions to my little “audience”. And more important: I never gave a clear picture of WHAT I am actually doing here and what it means to me.
I realized today: It is my own responsibility to prepare the way for what I desire. I need to seek as well as lead the communication with the people I talk to. How could I expect them just to come to me by themselves and tell me what they want. So far I am nothing more than one of many entertainings – self-made music and some thoughts about my view of life. Given the amount of blogs online this site is probably just a fart in the wind. Why would anyone care to contact me for that?!
It is ME who wants something from THEM! So I need to clear up my part of the communiation first.
Doing my homework: Telling the tale straight
So let me take a step back and talk again about my obvious intentions for this blog:
- I started writing the blog as a way to discover myself and to express my own ideas. Seeing it written in front of me is different than letting it drift off into forgetting in some dusty notebook.
- I intended committing to some challenge in which I forced myself to stick with a task for a longer time in order to test myself at habit-building (I never did that before, so this is a great experience, because I persevered until now and know that I can do it).
Now let me tell you something about the deeper ideas:
In Module 2 of the “Live Off Your Passion”-course I realized that three of the things that are important to me and that people tell me I would be good at is:
- Listening.
- Getting to the core of things by asking the interesting questions.
- Teaching / sharing knowledge with others / helping them understand.
Listening encompasses a broad area of life for me. It means “listening to myself by being aware of what is going on in myself” and also “listening to the meaning of a message that my vis-à-vis just shared with me”.
I believe that conceiving and creating go hand in hand. Listening is an important skill in order to be able to create anything.
My improvisations on the piano are one example how “listening to myself” and “creating something” can be combined. This challenge is as much for me as it is for you. I am one example of how YOU can apply listening and creating in YOUR OWN life, with your own means of expression and your own interests.
To be honest: Of course, I am happy if I am able to touch your soul with my music and to make you feel yourself more or in a new way. However, if you do not like it it is fine as well.
What is closer to my heart and therefore the underlying intention of this blog, however, is that I want to share with you my approach to greater awareness of yourself and others.
You could better understand “listening” as the metaphorical circumscription of “Opening up to what is”, “getting closer to what matters”, “quieting your mind to hear your soul talk to you”, “removing the obstructive patterns of behaviour that often react faster to incoming stimuli than would be healthy for the mutual communication”.
Naturally, I am still learning myself. Nevertheless, during my life I learned a few things and had some great teachers myself. And if I may believe the opinion of others about me – as well as the joyous feeling during my own moments of passion when I am fully into flow-mode – I am good at listening, and I immensely enjoy helping and accompanying others to become clearer and more conscious about themselves.
An offer and my telling of “what I want”
I want to become better in creating “shared spaces” between people in which mutual clarity and understanding can grow and that effortless flow of consciousness can emerge.
In this space one can be at peace with his soul, because you honor and allow space for your own being by listening to it.
Sometimes, the best healing one can get is not an advisor who tells you what you should do; it is someone, who simply listens to you, opening up the space for your own inner workings to show themselves to you.
I believe that you do not need to “get” the answers you seek from anyone outside, you simply have to become aware again and remember them. All the important answers concerning your own inner peace and fulfillment are already inside yourself. Learning to listen will show you the way and tell you what your next step towards greater inner freedom are.
So what I would like to dig deeper into is: Learning to listen and help you to do the same, because it is so important that we become more conscious again.
Thus, my offer for you is: If you want to learn to listen to your self more clearly, and you think I could be of service to you – let’s get in touch!
Just send me a message through the contact form and I’ll get back to you.
Photo taken by Sarah Sutter (www.picsie-dust.at).
Tale Straight 