Space Liberation and the Maker of Miracles

A while ago I talked about space awakening. It is about freeing up space in our lives, both physically and mentally, to allow for an opening that can lead to a miracle.

I also addressed the notion of pockets of win, in which we can inspire ourselves to maintain momentum when things seem just a little dreary.

Today my pocket of win will be to clear out that dusty box that has been hanging out in the corner of my bedroom for nineteen months. I haven’t used what’s in it for that time so guess what? It’s leaving the building. For good!

The fun part about space liberation is watching what happens next. What miracle will you invite into your life as you clear the clutter around you?

How to Design Your Pockets of Win

On November 6, 2009, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its most recent data on unemployment in the United States. It has reached 10.2%, the highest rate since April 1983. In fact, it was reported that 9.3 million people are involuntarily working part-time as a result of the economy.

With all the depressing news of today’s economic forecast, it is no wonder people feel time is not a positive in their lives. With ‘too much time on their hands’ people are left feeling unproductive and unfulfilled.

The power of slow addresses time as friend for the super busy and for the super bored. Having lived through six months of unemployment in my own family, I understand how hard it can be to organize your life into meaningful chunks when times are tight.

One of the things my husband and I did during those dire moments was rent a yoga video from the library. We could walk to our local branch, which saved on gas, and check out a free video for the week. After we put the kids to bed, we would do the thirty-minute workout to clear our minds and cleanse our souls. It helped tremendously to work off the stress unemployment can bring.

At a recent talk at the New York Public Library mid-Manhattan branch, an underemployed actor asked me what she could do with all the time she had at her disposal. She spent hours playing solitaire on her computer. It was a devil’s circle. The more bored she became, the more time she spent playing meaningless rounds of video games.

So here’s a slow tip. Design pockets of win in your life. Whether you are overstretched at work or underutilized, create situations in your life in which you know you will win to keep up your momentum. For instance, when I know I’m going to have a particularly challenging week, I’ll place something on eBay that I know will sell. Then, in my moments of despair, I check in on how the auction is going. On other occasions I may cull through my book shelves and donate a few items to the local library. Passing things on can lift your mood automatically, granting you the necessary perspective to keep going. 

Perhaps your pocket of win is volunteering, working with animals or gardening. Sometimes that pocket of win can be as simple as an ice cream sundae shared with your best friend. Whatever it is, seek out those moments of yes in your day. It will help you sustain your energy and your mood as you transition from this moment to what’s next.

Original Post from Psychology Today

Getting to Fabulous

Seth Godin is always spot on. Aside from being the most incredible blogger to skirt the Earth’s surface, he packs his wisdom into pithy prose. Thanks to my sister, Suzanne, who seems to have her finger on the pulse of, well, everything, I’d like to share Seth’s thoughts with you today.

He writes:

Even though we’re at the tail end of the great recession, think about all the cool stuff in your life. Not just stuff you can buy, but experiences, works of art, innovations of all kinds… the bar has been raised for what you need to do to be noticed, and the market is responding.

Not only do I notice more fabulous, but it sure seems as though the creators of it are more engaged, dedicated and yes, joyful, than I can remember. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do work that matters, this is it. You can’t say, “but I need to make a fortune instead,” because that’s not happening right now. So you might as well join the people who can say, “I love doing this.”

Could it be people are spending more of their personal bank account of time on the very things they are passionate about, thereby creating a higher frequency of love on the planet?

I don’t know about you, but I am awash with love for everyone and everything (yes, even the hardest of moments with my children leave me grateful for the other, finer moments of grace).

Getting to fabulous is getting easier. Tell me your story because you know what? You’re a marvelous creation. Live your fabulous. It really does make a difference.

What is time abundance?

Have you ever noticed how we talk about time? We often address it like a fierce competitor we have to beat to the finish line. We crunch it, beat it, and race against it. But I wonder what would happen if we were to treat time as a partner, as a friend, as the Siamese twin it was meant to be? In my book, time equals existence, not money as Benjamin Franklin was apt to say.

Let me back up. Time, in truth, is a construct. It is an organizing principle that helps us meet expectations, such as getting to the same restaurant at the same moment as your friend so you can have lunch. It is a useful tool in commerce, too. You wouldn’t want to miss that shipment coming in from abroad, now would you? In fact, global time wasn’t properly introduced until October 13, 1884 when a few folks from 26 nations gathered in Washington, DC to agree upon the prime meridian that sliced through the Greenwich Observatory’s telescope in England. In that agreement, the Earth was placed into a girdle with 24 strands. We call them time zones. For anyone who’s suffered jet lag, as I just have after a two-week trip to the US, you’ll know the effect time change can have on you.

So if time is something we’ve made up, why do we engage in clock combat, that insidious striving to beat that which we cannot control? We often attempt to cram so much into our day that we are left breathless even trying to ‘keep up.’ But, what exactly are we keeping up with? My guess it is an imaginary standard as made-up as time itself.

I would claim multitasking is symptomatic of a much broader issue. We attempt to do two or more comparably difficult things at once (texting while driving comes to mind) because we think we don’t have enough time. Truth be told, we are living longer than we ever have in human history. With an current average life expectancy of 78.11 years in the United States, we have a lot more time than we used to.

Time as friend? Now there’s a thought. What would your life look like if you embraced a time abundant mentality?

Here’s a fun task to try. The next time you are going somewhere and you think you might be late, turn off all distractions (radio, cell phone, iPod, etc) and simply concentrate on where you are going while observing the speed limit. Breathe deeply as you do and tell yourself “I will get there at the exact moment I need to.” Chances are you will arrive in a state of bliss. Even if you are a few moments late according to the clock, you will have lived one of the basic priniciples of the power of slow ~ mindful living while being fully engaged in the here and now.

So go for it. Then tell me how you did!

Original post from Psychology Today.

The End of Procrastination

The day I left on my two-week book tour to the United States, I learned I still had to provide my German tax accountant with information that would take me a full day to put together. I am not one to procrastinate, but I had to put off her request for almost three weeks while I completed other commitments. Today I assembled all the data. Surprisingly, it only took a few hours.

I applied the slow principle of taking an overwhelming project bit for bit, promising myself I could stop if I completed just one segment. Naturally, I kept going once I was into it. What a great feeling to be able to hand it all in by the first business day since my return.

Gotta love that power of slow. It truly works!

The Gift of Time

So often we rush in a blur of activity, uncertain where our lives are taking us. It seems as though we are in reactive mode, being more the dealers than the designers of our days.

Giving someone the gift of your time is tremendous. It is a present as you are present with them. Over the past two weeks I have spent extraordinary moments with friends, family and strangers while touring the East Coast presenting my new book, The Power of Slow to various audiences and forums. It is as though I have experienced the gathering of the minds on a global scale.

No matter who you are, you make a difference. As my uncle said yesterday, our bodies are sojourners of the spirit. May we dance together to the beat of our personal metronome and remember always what is most important.

Feed your inner fire. The world needs you and all the talents you bring. Give your gift of time today. It is the most precious thing you could ever do.

Time to Be Kind

As Halloween decorations get whisked off front lawns, we enter the season of gratitude. Numerous studies have shown that being thankful can contribute to longevity. Gratitude also fosters kindness, something the world can use more of today.

As we bustle about, stressed about the economy and our futures, let us remember all that we have in the here and now. It is most certainly easier to look at what we do not have; after all, human beings are designed to reach beyond their limits. While stretching our hands to the sky, may we remember also to ‘reach back’ and offer a helping hand to those who need it.

Practice  a random act of kindness today. Then let me know how it was for you. Chances are the gift of your time will garner more goodness than you ever thought imaginable.

After all, time, like kindness, is one of those things you can share and still keep in the very same moment.

Where did the time go?

Yesterday my sister and I spent eight hours out and about. Because we turned the clocks back an hour, the day had a non-rushed feel to it. We worked out at the gym, had lunch at our favorite pizza haunt, went to the movies and shopped. Although we were on the town all day, we never once felt rushed, stressed or overwhelmed. We lived in flow, allowing our time together to be balanced, joyful and amazing.

At the end of the day, after laughing our heads off at her neighbor’s house about nothing really (there was a dart gun and a few stray Halloween decorations involved), we slipped into a delightful, dreamless sleep, knowing we had lived the slow in the most powerful way.

Slow means to be mindful. We can be enriched by the simple things in life that remind us what is truly important: connection with each other on this fabulous road to discovery. In the process, what you find is your truest self.

Going slow at the New York Public Library

Last night’s event at the mid-Manhattan branch of the New York Public Library was an incredibly humbling experience. People from China, the Ukraine, France, Puerto Rico, Latin America and North America assembled to talk about time abundance. Since several audience members had heard my speech the week prior at the National Arts Club of New York, I varied some of it to make it interesting. Eighty people showed up. I was astounded at the level of interest and the yearning for permission to slow down in this 24/7 world of ours. Young and old,  foreigners and citizens gathered together in the most extraordinary way.

This week has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. May we all embrace the slow and in doing so realize how connected we truly are.

The American Dream Come True

Pig-tailed and wide-eyed, I see my 11-year-old self sitting under that oak tree in my mother’s front yard. I am holding a clipboard whose metal clamp is adorned with a puffy sticker and goggley eyes. I am writing my very first story about a girl on the prairie who can only save her sick father by riding in a magic balloon. It is decades before Balloon Boy reaches that frontierless stretch of Internet pedantry. Delving into the rich, dreamy nature of prose, I escape to the home of my soul.

Today is a rich blessing of achievement, but much more than that it is a moment in time in which I can say I have thought up, and now lived, the American Dream. From scrunch-nosed tween to full-blown woman, I have become that which I have always wanted: a published author with a New York publishing house.

The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World (St. Martin’s Press, ISBN: 978-0312570484) offers a deep journey for all who choose to say yes to themselves in our spin-out-of-control world. From Japan (where the book is already reportedly amongst the top 300 in business life books) to the shores of Massachusetts, from Germany to India, from South Africa to Finland, I embrace each and every one of you who wants to read this book. It is about mindful living, about taking a moment to step back at the Big Picture of your life, and find out what is truly important to you. By embracing a positive relationship with time, you can do just that.

Chances are you will find your true self amongst its pages. And when you do, share that self with others. And maybe share the book, too, so that they too can discover themselves just as you have.

My humblest blessings upon you all. May you live the American Dream no matter where you are in the world.