Lessons in Leadership

      Bright stars, flashing in the night sky, grab your attention long enough for you to glance your eyes upward and stop whatever you're doing, if even for just a moment. Everday, common objects catch your eyes and make you pause momentarily, too. But what's the significance of that pause? What was it that made you stop to notice? Many times during the day, if you stop to pay attention and focus on the message that these shiny objects are trying to send to you, you'll realize that these are opportunities for brilliant flashes of insight - unmistakeable signs of grace as Cheryl Richardson calls them. Stop, pay attention, focus. Listen to your head and heart. What joy when you grasp the message that these "shiny stars" are giving you. Today, how many shiny stars will cross your galaxy? How many will you ignore and how many will you explore? Look for the shiny stars today. They have a message waiting just for you.

Look around:  I bet you have some fruit hanging around, too. Question is, "Is it ripe or rotten?" As I sat down for my morning meditation (after breakfast), I saw the basket of clementines. I reached in, pulling them out one by one and noticed that a few had begun to mold. As I tossed those out and began arranging the rest for today's mandala creation , I realized how I had been ignoring what was in front of me for several days. I bought the oranges for healthy eating, but not one had been touched except to become part of this mandala. I contemplated how many times opportunities for something better are right in front of our noses yet we leave the door closed and miss that window to a new world. What are YOU procrastinating? What's the fear based on - failure or success? Grab hold of your clementine, make a choice, and move on. Whatever the fear - embrace it and move through it. Don't let it hold you in place to stare at the rotten fruit it wi...

No more resolutions - I'm optimizing my 2013, creating rituals with consistent patterns of behavior - every day. We have many rituals that we practice every day - brushing our teeth, taking baths, kissing our loved ones goodbye as we leave for the day. This year, think about adding new rituals that will change your life, one day at a time, with consistent application. Along with my daily meditation ritual, I started drawing a mandala on my daily journal page. Diane Landon, a consultant in Houston, taught me that drawing one mandala each day can create positive shifts in your life. I've begun the process and am excited to see the shifts occurring! Based on a Tibetan practice of meditation, mandalas are considered symbols of enlightened states that align with the physical universe, bringing about healing and peace. As you journal and draw, the time alone will bring you into a state of greater peace as you focus on the present and open creative channels. In thi...