When you’re in employment, your manager tells you what to do. When you’re self-employed, you make all the decisions. Either way, it’s a clever person making clever decisions. Right?
I’m just back from the Findhorn Foundation where decision-making comes in a different form. Before every activity, the process of ‘attunement’ is used: a group gathers, joins hands to connect with each other, and then spends some time in quiet reflection, accessing wisdom about what is to be done. The results which the community produces are remarkable: peacefully gardening and cooking for hundreds of people, being a world-renowned eco-village and international hub of learning, community-owned assets such as wind turbines, and a general sense of harmonious communal living. These outcomes are attributed to what is referred to as ‘deep inner listening’ and also ‘co-creation with nature’. Eileen Caddy, one of the founders of Findhorn, received constant guidance about next steps from what she called ‘the still small voice within’.
What is YOUR version of this?
We have so many options for how we personally refer to this deeper level of decision-making. Here follows a few terms; scan the list to see which you most relate to or use these as prompts to connect with concepts that work for you:
- collective wisdom
- higher self
- the bigger picture
- the goodness of humanity
- the unknown, the mysterious
- inner knowing
- Source, the Divine, God
- heart to heart connection
- gut feeling, intuition, instinct
Whatever description you’d use, notice what helps you feel most ‘tuned in’. Is it when you’re by the side of a river or with a group of close friends? In intimate moments? When laughing, singing or dancing? When you have a sense of timelessness, fully absorbed in an activity? Do you access it when in silent meditation or prayer, or when in the hustle-bustle of a big city? Do you feel tuned in when with animals or with children, or when you’re talking through an issue with someone unconditionally loving?
Finally, what kind of decision would you make right now if you tuned in to this as your ‘boss’? And how might you ensure that you return to this deeper level of decision-making on a regular basis?
The World Needs Your Passion, So…
1) Go through each section above, reflecting on: What do you want to tune in to? How do you most easily tune in to it? What decision could it help you make right now? And how could you make tuning-in a regular part of your life?
2) Keep a journal or simply notice what is different about this deeper level of decision-making.
3) Leave a comment below on this blog post, letting us know: What do you access when it comes to a deeper level of decision-making? What’s it like when you tune in, and what’s it like when you don’t? Perhaps you’ve tried various tools or access routes over the years – what has worked for you and what hasn’t? What perhaps scares or confuses you about a deeper level of decision-making?
* FINAL CALL: Kickstart Your Venture *
There’s a workshop happening this Saturday: Kickstart Your Venture. It’s for anyone who wants to start a business or similar project, or wants a booster with their existing one, and who wants to get the basics in place, to feel inspired and motivated, and to get into action. Click here > > to find more information and the opportunity to book your place and practise ‘tuning in’ to see if this feels like the right workshop for you at this time.
A few other offerings to tune in to…
– One-to-one coaching.
Does it feel like a long time since you accessed your own wisdom?
Do you have a gut feeling that it’s time to make changes in your working life but are struggling to know where to start?
Are you feeling alone and craving some support?
Find out more about one-to-one coaching here > > and if you feel drawn to this, you can book a one-hour initial ‘discovery’ session straight away or you can use the form online to book a free consultation to discuss what would be most useful for you right now.
- Experience Weeks at Findhorn
I had a profoundly transformational experience at Findhorn and would highly recommend the Experience Week to anyone who is craving connection with nature, with Self and with others. Find out more here > >
© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2010
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Corrina, I love this post. It’s so resonant. Every morning I do qi gong in the garden, followed by 5 mins sitting reflecting. Usually at that moment a word comes into my head which becomes my intention for the day. I usually take 20 mins for this each morning and it’s time well spent that grounds and centres me for the day and makes me so much more effective.
Recently I’ve been working with a team of 22 people to organise a Leadership Festival (see at http://www.earthdragonleaders.com). When working togethr, we focus on the connection between us, we relax into our relationship, we leave our egos behind and what we are able to achieve and the ease with which we do it has astonished me. It’s a sharp contrast to how I see corporations working.
The irony is that in slowing down, we connect to a deeper level of wisdom that enables us to achieve more with less effort and so much more joy! This is how work is meant to be.
My challenge is… how do we stay connected to this when others around us are still running at 200 mph?
.-= Jude´s last blog ..The importance of resilience and failure =-.
Inspiring! its all about the goals we have. Situations and Boss become irrelevant. Kind of reminds me of this video.http://www.vineetnayar.com/the-irrelevant-boss/
Jude – Thank you for sharing a way of attuning by yourself and also in a group. Yes yes yes to the paradox of slowing down to achieve more – I’ve been blown away by how much can be achieved with more reflection time and a deeper connection to that inner wisdom. Thank you for modelling, as ever, the kind of leadership that is need – and let us know how it goes with maintaining that connection in our 200mph world!
Michael – Thanks for sharing the video and the ‘irrelevant boss’ concept. Yes, is our goal to achieve every single item on our (probably unrealistic) to-do list? Or is our goal to work peacefully and productively and to trust that what can be achieved in that way is what is needed? Good to have you here.
.-= Corrina´s last blog ..Who’s Your Boss Really? A Deeper Level Of Decision-Making =-.
I think one of the biggest things that has led my decision making recently has been the connection I feel to certain people, which seems to guide my actions and my path. I’m not working at the moment, so I don’t have a boss, but I feel the presence or connection to others and sometimes I think I get insights into the meaning behind it. I try to stay connected with myself by being as mindful as possible, and being aware of what’s going on within me. I don’t like to lose that feeling, which is probably why working in London full-time didn’t work out for me – too much going on and too many interferences. So I find that I need a bit of space to keep that feeling. It’s a really interesting path though, so I look forward to letting it unfold
!