Integrating - Body, Mind, Heart and Spirit

Insights/Distinctions: For years I have considered the notion of living a balanced life as very important however in practice, it seemed elusive. I wasn’t entirely certain what balanced meant. How far do I need to move the needle on the gauge in one area of my life to get things on course without another area coming off course in the process of diverting my attention?

After having read Stephen Covey's "The 8th Habit - From Effectiveness to Greatness" a few years back, I was able to see things from a different perspective. "At the core, there is one simple, overarching reason why so many people remain unsatisfied in their work and why most organizations fail to draw out the greatest talent, ingenuity and creativity of their people and never become truly great, enduring organizations. It stems from an incomplete paradigm of who we are - our fundamental view of human nature. The fundamental reality is, human beings are not things needing to be motivated and controlled; they are four dimensional - body, mind, heart and spirit." 

While he applies this comment to the workplace, I saw value in my professional and personal life. I didn't need a gas pedal and brake - I needed to be concerned for every aspect (body, mind, heart and spirit) concurrent with the others rather than at their expense since our problems, issues, and opportunities involve all four aspects. In this regard, was I aligning my own values, commitments and actions with this whole-person paradigm? It seemed to me that an obvious clue can be found in how we allocate our own personal resources - the investment that we make in ourselves with our time and money, our investment in our relationships, and in our willingness for continual growth.

Here is a simple way that Stephen Covey organizes his thinking around the whole-person paradigm that is a highly effective framework for creating lives of enjoyment, satisfaction and success through 2010! I even included these tables in my "vision board" to inform my personal Ten Year Vision.

Four Human Needs

Body - To Live (Survival)

Mind - To Learn (Growth and Development)

Heart - To Love (Relationships)

Spirit - To Leave a Legacy (Meaning and Contribution)

So in order to simply and best fulfill our needs....

Body - Keeping arteries clear

Mind - Continually Learning

Heart - Involving others

Spirit - Living as though life is guided by a higher wisdom

Applying the Whole-Person Paradigm to how we see employees...

...and relating those to how we govern our own conduct with those around us. In running our own business or working for an employer with responsibility for others, it is important that we make the distinction between management and leadership. A simple view is that we manage things (budgets, plans, accounts receivable) and we lead people. Here leadership can refer to personal leadership as it relates to our own professional and personal lives.

Stephen Covery points out, "The new Knowledge Worker Age is based on a new paradigm, one entirely different than the thing paradigm of the Industrial Age...people have choices. Consciously or subconsciously, people decide how much of themselves they will give to their work depending on how they are treated and on their opportunities to use all four parts of their nature. These choices range from rebelling or quitting to creative excitement. One who is paid fairly, treated kindly, used creatively and given opportunities to serve human needs in principled ways - makes  one of the upper three choices of cheerful cooperation, heartfelt commitment or creative excitement." We choose to engage or withhold in personal relationships all the time. You can read about a very lovely young man who realized this for himself recently! How happy for his family that he had this insight!


And finally, Steven Covey suggests making these four simple assumptions to "immediately begin leading a more balanced, integrated, powerful life."

For the Body - assume you've had a heart attack; now live accordingly

For the Mind - assume the half-life of your profession is two years; now prepare accordingly

For the Heart - assume everything you say about another, they can overhear; now speak accordingly

For the Spirit - assume you have a one-on-one with your Creator every quarter; now live accordingly

Personal Story: Whether you have teenagers, are married, are an employee, someone's boss or partner, this is fantastic food for thought! I quit a previous job that paid me fairly (Body), used me creatively (Mind), however did not consistently treat stakeholders fairly (Heart), and did not consistently act in principled ways (Spirit). When we are clear about our own values and principles, we are sometimes called upon by our "whole person being" to make what can feel like difficult though right decisions. This is where we experience the largest personal growth when called upon to demonstrate personal leadership in regards to oneself or those within our family or community. Otherwise, we will continue to get what we are willing to put up with! The Abraham-Hicks teachings say that there are no limits to our joyous journeys to experience. Isn't it time to begin creating the life we wish for?!

Quick Tip: I found "The 8th Habit" by Stephen Covey to be invaluable to me as a manager and leader responsible for highly productive teams and in charge of nurturing and growing my family. This book also contains fantastic information about Finding Ones Own Voice and then Helping Others to Find Theirs. I will discuss in future posts how we reach inside ourselves and others to discover and engage genius, talents and passionate engagement. This has very practical application to families, business and any of the communities we belong to. Enjoy!

Integrating - Personal Story

Here is a beautiful summary of the impact that the whole-person paradigm (Integrating - Body, Mind, Heart and Spirit) can have on any community - in this case, the impact of a team mentored, coached and led my this amazing woman for the organization she worked for. I know of her results first hand - I lead the sales and marketing teams - my teams made the promises, her teams fulfilled on the promises! 
Colleen says, "I had an "aha" moment when I read the 8th Habit a couple years ago.  The principles laid out in the book mirrored what I had been feeling from the first day I started working years ago. I was in a position of leadership at my last job and finally had a chance to put these principles into practice.  The result was that I lead a department that was often called out as an example of a highly effective department to others.  I was often asked by employees outside of the department if we had an opening because they wanted to be a part of what we were doing.  I'll be honest, my methods were not always accepted by senior management but fortunately I was given the latitude to make my own choices.  There was always a small struggle when someone new with old corporate baggage joined the team but in time each would realize it was much better working this way.  The result was a feeling of fulfillment that I hadn’t experienced before.  
When the recent economic down-turn took its toll on the company the department was disbanded.  It was heartbreaking to see each person go after witnessing their growth and seeing them blossom into people that were happy and excited to get up and go to work everyday.  We all agreed that we had never worked with a team before that had so much synergy and were deeply saddened by the fact that we might not have the chance to work in an environment like that again.  Seeing the difference first hand between a mentoring type of leadership versus a dictatorship style was enlightening and made the work experience just plain happier.  My dream is to someday own a business and I will put this type of leadership into permanent practice.  In the mean time I hope to find another company that will either already have this philosophy in place or support and allow me, as my former company did, to implement it."

I can't remember if the 8th Habit is the book in which I read about clock watchers. Clock watchers are just interested in putting in the minimum and leaving as soon as the clock strikes 5. I have a funny story about that. On my window sill above my desk I had a clock with a frosted piece of glass for the face. One day Ken came in to ask me a question and saw the clock. His face is very easy to read. I saw his instant recognition of the same passage in the book and a very confused look but I didn't say anything. What he didn't realize was that the clock didn't work and the only reason it was there was because I liked how the light shined through it. It was the artistic side of me that wanted it there. The lesson to me was to look further before I judge. That was just a small, quick moment in time and yet I remember it like yesterday because of the significance.
I wish you the best in your new endeavor. I think you're going to do very well.  You are an awesome mentor!
Love,
Colleen

Thank you Colleen for taking the time to share your experience - how illuminating!

These two lovely paintings ("Who Is This Stranger" and "Sad To See Him Go") are an example of Colleen's artistic expression and of what she truly loves to do - this is where time stands still for her. I love the colors and the personality! She had a stellar career interrupted by the recession. Meanwhile, she knows that entrepreneurialism is where it's at! The risks and the rewards are greater. When we are willing to take full personal responsibility, we are entitled to claim a personal freedom over our lives in every regard - responsibility and freedom go hand in glove. 


Quick Tip: I know that eventually Colleen will have a thriving business that will make room for her full creative expression on her terms - in building her principle centered business, in her artistic expression, and contributing to and enjoying her family. Meanwhile, if you would like to build confidence into your organization where you can absolutely trust your backline team to deliver the products/services as promised at your frontline, make this woman your team captain and/or partner! Contact me if I can help with an introduction. Peace, prosperity, and full personal creative expression to us all!


PS Colleen's genius and mine are very different and as it turns out highly complementary. I will discuss in detail in my upcoming posts how to discover our unique genius - and how we assemble teams to support and allow one another to contribute each our unique genius. That makes for a remarkably powerful and effective team and dynamite results. Again, this applies to successful, happy and fulfilling marriages, families, communities and organizations alike.

Body - How To Train Your Fat Burning System To Burn Fat

Insights/Distinctions:  For our bodies, Michael Pollen says it beautifully - "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants plus moderate exercise to enjoy the 5 sense experience!" Easier said than done! Here's where I go for guidance...

Since my post about Dr. Phil Maffetone's Two Week Test and his philosophy on nutrition and exercise in the article "Resolution Revolution", friends who have read Phil's book have commented on how his approach has changed their lives.

Personal Story: Phil spoke to our team a few years ago. Many folks decided to follow his Two Week Test (used to indicate carbohydrate intolerance and help retrain eating habits instead of dieting) - I witnessed the win for several of our employees of weight loss, improved vitality and in some cases the dramatic improvement of chronic health issues that changed peoples lives immeasurably. Phil also lightheartedly warned that our company would likely experience an increase in fertility rates! Something he has come to expect after he teaches an audience about his nutrition and exercise philosophies. Sure enough, within 12 months we had what seemed a larger number of new babies and happy excited parents (including a set of twins)! Meet one of those beautiful babies - Ryah.

There are two key distinctions that Dr. Phil conveys so I have provided some visuals that I thought would be helpful along with personal examples. To burn fat, you need to train your fat burning system so....

The Fuel You Need...

...are healthy fats! And of course complex carbs found in the rainbow of vegetables and low glycemic fruits (refer to Phil's book for the list - as an example a grapefruit is preferable to an orange), plus high quality proteins such as wild salmon and grass fed beef for their healthy fat profiles rich in CLA and balance of the Omega 3's and 6's (we love buffalo for that reason - grass fed products are rich in all the fats now proven to be health-enhancing and low in the fats that have been linked with disease). And pretty much everything we eat is organic. Skip sugars, corn syrups, any flour based products and all of the ugly fats (artificial and chemically processed like hydrogenated and polyunsaturated). We generally stick to olive oil which is best, and if occasionally cooking at high heat, we use coconut oil to reduce the free radicals.

As an example, at Phil's encouragement, we make crepes from nut flour (grind whole almonds at home in the processor) instead of using wheat flour - add whipped eggs, cream and cinnamon - then fry in coconut oil! Add sour cream and berries as a topping with a drizzle of maple syrup or raw honey (live foods) for a very healthy breakfast. We eat smaller meals every couple or three hours instead of three big meals to even out blood sugars and support metabolism.

Exercise - Throw 'No Pain, No Gain' out the window!
To quote Dr. Maffetone, "Your aerobic system burns fat for energy and prevents excessive dependency on sugar, especially blood sugar. Your body is capable of obtaining as much as 80 to 90 percent of its energy from fat if you program your fat-burning mechanism."
Work aerobic (fat burning) - not anaerobic (sugar burning)! So, how does one program the fat-burning mechanism? According to Dr. Maffetone, your optimal heart rate for aerobic training is determined by the 180-Formula - subtracting your age from 180 (180-age); adjusting that by subtracting a further 5 or 10 beats per minute for recent illness or use of medications (further individualized for those over 65) or adding back 5 for active competitive athletes with no problems. You must refer to Dr. Maffetone's book to understand the cautions and specific criteria. That number is your maximum aerobic heart rate and you work within the 10 beat range below that number.
So back to me...at 53 my optimal aerobic heart rate is 180-53 = 127 so my optimal training range is between 117 to 127 beat range - I'm fit, active and no injuries. When I was building my base, Dr. Maffetone suggested that it will seem very easy at first and that with patience I should begin seeing results over the the course of a number of weeks. On my elliptical trainer, I had to start at work load setting 3 to keep from going over my aerobic heart beat range and it seemed like I was hardly exerting myself. However, I just stuck with the range on my heart rate monitor (I call it my speedometer) - it was telling me that I was getting a great aerobic work out.

At 3 weeks of regular exercise in my zone, I realized that I was moving my legs faster and had already added a level to keep my heart rate up! By the following three weeks I was continually adjusting the work load setting until I got up to 9! ...wow - to keep my heart rate up in the range. (That's when I hit the desert - 10 on the elliptical trainer was too hard for me to push the pedals!) In other words, each level on the elliptical was getting easier and easier so I had to keep increasing my work load to stay at in my optimal heart rate range! My aerobic system was getting more and more efficient so now more fun out on the desert!
Here's how it's been going hiking. First I had to take very slow steps up the mountain not to go above my maximum aerobic heart rate. People were zooming past me - it was a bit hard on my ego though I just kept checking my watch monitor. In fact, some folks noticed my repeated checking and commented at the top of the mountain curious about what I was up to. How fun to help educate people on these principals even in passing - this information was new to most folks and made perfect sense in casual conversation. Eventually, I was able to climb the mountain more quickly all the while staying below my maximum aerobic heart rate.
Over weeks I had made noticeable continual progress. On the mountain I was able to cover the same ground in less time! On the elliptical, I was able to work harder in the same amount of time! Dr. Maffetone's competitive athletes transformed their training to surpass their previous results back when they were going all out - I too like them had to invest time to build an aerobic base first - for them there was no looking back!
Thanks for taking the effort to read and understand this - it is a fantastic investment in your physical health and well being - it has been for me.  The main thing you want to know is whether you're training your body to burn more fat or more sugar!

Liquid Crystal Receivers and Transmitters

“The word solutions denotes liquid crystal receivers and transmitters we call Water. The fifth note of the musical scale—“SO,” for SOlve pollute in Latin, or SOlve the problem in English—suggests a musical means to get us out of every mess. If LOVE is the universal healer, music the universal language, and Water the universal solvent, then wisdom encourages everyone to swim with dolphins and join their chorus.”

        Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz

Swimming with puppies is the next best thing! Even my puppies get energetically tuned up with their daily romp in our salt water pool!

Lucky is putting the power of attraction to work!

                                        


Quick Tip: Keep your water purified with important filtration for your shower and drinking water. Flouride is one of the worst chemicals along with chlorine absorbed through your skin in the shower not too mention the harmful effects from drinking. Here are products in various price ranges worth considering - do your research - this may get you started!