Ease And Flow
On a beautiful sunny May afternoon, Cologne Cathedral, one of Europe’s finest architectural and cultural gems, is thronged with awestruck visitors. The bright sunlight is streaming through the many spectacular stained-glass windows, creating an almost psychedelic kaleidoscopic experience. At the base of each window, a religious teacher is singing the praises of his particular window. The Rabbi, the Imam, the Bishop, the Zen Master, the Hindu Guru, and so on; each explaining to the curious on-lookers why their window is the best one, the one worthy of all our attention, even devotion. They have lost sight of the light, the light that is streaming through all the windows…
Primal Forces
John Lennon was right when he said that: `When we love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.´ It is worth pointing out that we also experience less stress, more success, better relationships, restored physical health, and peace of mind. Being mentally fit helps in moving us ever closer to the goal of living the lives we love…
Setbacks
It seems that many of us are like the Japanese holdouts, soldiers, many of whom were discovered in the jungles of Southeast Asia and the Pacific over the decades following the end of World War II in 1945, who, due to their remote locations, had not gotten word that the war was over. The last verified holdout, Private Terou Nakamura, surrendered on the island of Morotai in 1974. We are still fighting the war of our childhood and the bombardment we face is that of the Saboteurs. We originally developed these as tools of survival. In that respect they have served us well. The question today is: `Are they still serving us well?´…
Woodpeckers
Like the woodpecker in the quote above, coaching participants who tap twenty times on a thousand trees may get nowhere but stay busy. Those of us who tap twenty-thousand times on one tree, get dinner. The PQ Programme supports us in staying the course until the benefits of our efforts can be truly experienced. We then find ourselves on the path of cultivating Mental Fitness for life and reap the benefits of improved personal and professional outcomes…
Addiction
Over recent months, many people have asked me about the name `SoberOasis´, wanting to know if my coaching services are principally targeted at alcoholics, junkies, and other substance addicts. As the answer is `no´, this essay intends to provide clarity by means of examining the prevalent misconceptions about addiction in our society, and the true meaning of `sobriety´, as I experience and understand it.
Positive Intelligence
While there are multiple ways to achieve mental fitness, some ancient and others modern, the one I’ve found to be most accessible and effective is Positive Intelligence, which helps us:
Improve Wellbeing: Happiness, Stress management, Self-confidence
Strengthen Relationships: Stronger connections, Conflict management, Empathy
Boost Performance: More effective use of mental energy, Improved ability to help others, Enhanced leadership practice, and improved teamwork…
Transformation
In the coaching context this is equally true. Many successful professionals require a deep internal crisis to discover that `the hamster wheel looks like a ladder only from the inside´. The question of the purpose of life raises its head and the never-ending hassle of trying unsuccessfully to reach ambitious goals as a leader is tackled in the context of self-leadership which, in turn, presupposes self-knowledge. This is where `coaching from the inside out´ comes in…
Comparison
The PQ Programme, developed by Shirzad Chamine and his team at Positive Intelligence, provides instruction as to how this mental fitness can be established. Having joined this Programme early this year, I can already feel the benefits of calm and self-care while facing the everyday challenges of modern life. One of the central tenets of this programme is empathy, which is nothing other than the manifested realisation of interconnectedness between the observer and the observed…
Factor Analysis
One very accessible example of factor analysis, used by Shirzad Chamine in his Positive Intelligence (PQ) Coaching Programme is that of colours. If we were to ask a general audience how many colours exist, you may get a variety of answers, from hundreds to thousands, depending on their family status, education, pastimes, and interactions. Yet, we may remember hearing one time at school that there are only three primary colours; namely red, yellow, and blue, from which all the other colours are derived…
Nomen est Omen
On looking up `sober´, in addition to the more obvious meaning of `not being intoxicated´, a second definition is listed, namely; `based on sound reasoning or information´ as in `a sober assessment of the situation´.
Webster´s gives us two definition of oasis, as follows; `A fertile or green area in an arid region (such as a desert)´ and `Something that provides refuge, relief, or pleasant contrast´, as in `the small park is a welcome oasis amid the city’s many factories´. The roots go back to an Egyptian term wḥꜢ.t with the meaning; `fertile area in the desert´.
