Nothing is PersonalIan Lawton, February 19, 2012 The Courage of ConvictionIan Lawton, February 5, 2012 Living Lock, Stock and Barrel; Body, Mind and SpiritIan Lawton, January 29, 2012 Taking Control of Your WellnessIan Lawton, January 22, 2012 Thriving in Body- Love the One You’re WithIan Lawton, January 15, 2012 Diving Into 2012Ian Lawton, January 8, 2012 Looking for a Christmas MiracleIan Lawton, December 18, 2011 Thriving in The HolidaysIan Lawton, December 11, 2011 Vision- If You Can See It, You Can Be ItIan Lawton, December 4, 2011 Gratitude in ALL CircumstancesNovember 27, 2011 by Ian Lawton I feel like I’ve really grown this Thanksgiving…in more sense than one! Thanksgiving is a great day but as comedian Kevin James said, “Thanksgiving! Man, not a good day to be my pants.” I’ve grown to understand that it’s a patriotic duty to over-eat at Thanksgiving. And after this year, I must surely be considered for American of the year. In all seriousness, I couldn’t have enjoyed my Thanksgiving any more. It is easy for me to feel grateful. I was surrounded by my favorite people, eating good food and relaxing. But it’s not a great day for everyone. For some people, Thanksgiving is a traumatic time, a day of doubt, loneliness and family conflict. In a thanksgiving episode of The Simpsons, Homer says grace before their meal, I give thanks for the occasional moments of peace and love our family has experienced . . . well, not today. You saw what happened. O, Lord, be honest! Are we the most pathetic family in the universe or what?” Then the cynical Aunt says under her breath, “Worst prayer yet!” Penn State and Broken TrustNovember 20, 2011 by Ian Lawton Being a parent is like riding shotgun in a car with no suspension. Your child is driving, learning as they go, and you feel EVERY bump. It’s a bumper car ride full of pride and anxiety. You love to see them grow. Your heart bursts with every achievement and yet you worry about every bend and scrape on their path. You live through every one of their joys and yet you also feel every hurt and betrayal as if it’s your own. In our family we just had a momentous experience with our oldest son. From a young age we knew that he loved musical theatre. When we moved to America seven years ago he landed the lead role in his school production of Honk, the story of the Ugly Duckling. We weren’t prepared for what happened. In his opening scene he leapt out of a giant egg and shouted “Honk” with such charisma that our jaws dropped. It was like he burst out of his own shell and announced his potential. We all looked at each other and said, “Wow”! His talent and commanding stage presence was immediately obvious to everyone. Protecting Children Not Institutions Teaching Kids About Boundaries Speaking Up For ChangeNovember 6, 2011 by Ian Lawton After the first year the head Monk calls him in for a meeting and asks for his two words. He replies … “Bed hard.” After his second year the head Monk asks him again for his two words for the year. He replies … “Food stinks.” After the third year the head Monk asks him his two words for the year. He replies … “I quit.” The Head Monk says … “Thank goodness. You’ve done nothing but complain from the minute you arrived here!” Reform or TransformOctober 31, 2011 by Ian Lawton Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, “Where have I gone wrong?” Then a voice says to me, “This is going to take more than one night.” I set myself the goal of writing in depth about Occupy Wall Street this week. Then a voice said to me, “This is going to take more than one week.” So here goes, and we’ll see how long it takes. Protestors at Occupy Wall Street (OWS) events use hand signals at their rallies. One of the signs is called “twinkles”. When you twinkle your fingers in the air it shows that you agree with the speaker, You twinkle them downwards to show that you disagree. There should also be one where you point at your watch to show that the speaker has gone on too long, and another one where you motion to slit your wrists because the speaker is driving you to despair. Face Off – Living An Authentic LifeOctober 16, 2011 by Ian Lawton It’s a new day, a new week and as much of a new life as you want it to be. To celebrate the incredible gift of fresh starts, I’m writing about authenticity this week. You can choose at any time to start over and present the new you, YOU 1.0, to the world. It is the real you, the authentic you, the one you may have hidden under layers of protection and conformity. But it has always been there and now you’re ready to step out with style as if a butler is announcing your arrival at a party. more… Too Much ResponsibilitySunday, October 9, 2011 by Ian Lawton There was a movie a few years back called “What women want”. Mel Gibson was the lead, an ad man. He took a series of womens’ products home to test drive them and, in the process, accidentally electrocuted himself. When he woke up, he had the uncanny ability to hear womens’ thoughts. Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story here. The movie doesn’t explain the connection between electrocution and mind reading, and why he could only hear women’s thoughts. And you have to get past the sexist stereotypes that men are clueless and the only way men can understand women is through mind reading. Response-AbilitySunday, October 2, 2011 by Ian Lawton This week I will explore the idea of personal responsibility, both the privileges and challenges of taking responsibility. I will demonstrate that you are self empowered enough to take responsibility, not just for your actions, but also for your thoughts and even for your future. I will explore some of the ways that your beliefs can either enhance or limit your sense of personal responsibility, and how from a spiritual perspective you are responsible not just for YOUR thoughts and actions, but for EVERYTHING that arises in the universe. But that’s getting ahead of myself. First, it’s time to check in with your own sense of empowerment. Empathy and Responsibility- It’s Your Turn Personal Responsibility and Spirituality New Beginnings- Lets Get It StartedSunday, September 25, 2011 by Ian Lawton I was once given some advice about public speaking and I’m sure the same applies to writing. Have an interesting beginning and a punchy conclusion, and make the distance between them as short as possible. So without any ado, let’s get it started. I plan to write this week about beginnings. Like all topics, new beginnings is a topic that has a beginning, a middle and an end. I will start at the beginning, with beginning well, then over the next days write about how to channel nervous beginning energy, the excitement of getting in at the ground floor of change and using your beginning to set the tone for all that is still to come. Getting In at the Ground Floor of Change Setting the Tone: New Beginnings Endings and BeginningsSeptember 18, 2011 by Ian Lawton 9/11 Healing the MemoriesSeptember 11, 2011 by Ian Lawton British philosopher Bertrand Russell said, “Don’t let the old break you; let love make you.” This is a fitting mantra for the anniversary of 9/11. Healing is not about forgetting the past and it’s also not about being ruled by the past. It’s about claiming your memories, letting the loving memories inspire your best life, and denying pain the right to control your life. Work with memories, not against them. They are one of the powerful tools at your disposal to process experiences and reclaim your power. more…FEAR- False Evidence Appearing Real Six Degrees of SeparationAugust 28, 2011 by Ian Lawton The idea of six degrees of separation is that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet by a chain of no more than five acquaintances. In 1967 the American sociologist Stanley Milgram created a test called “The small-world problem.” He randomly selected people in the mid-West to send packages to a stranger in Massachusetts. They were told only the recipient’s name, occupation and general location. They were instructed to send the package to someone they knew only on a first name basis, who would then send it on to another, and so on until the package finally got to the recipient. While it was expected that the chain would be at least 100 people long, Milgram actually found that the range was from 2 to 10, with 5 being the average. His study inspired the phrase, “Six Degrees of Separation.” more…Light In The TunnelAugust 21, 2011 by Ian Lawton I have whiplash from following news of the economy in recent weeks. One day I read an article titled, “The top 10 reasons the U.S. will not see a double dip recession”. On the same day I read another report titled, “The top 10 reasons a double dip recession has already begun.” So which is it? Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is so sure they have the truth. In order to keep a little perspective in the madness, here are 10 lighthearted ways to know that we are in a recession. more…Action and Change Managing Change in Chaotic TimesJuly 31, 2011 by Ian Lawton How many members of Congress does it take to change a light bulb? Every one of them, and they still can’t do it. They spend all their time arguing about who deliberately caused the light bulb to break in the first place, debating whether the science of electricity is reliable and fighting over which programs will be cut to pay for the new light bulb. On both sides, they seem to be preserving the world as they know it rather than crafting new partnerships that actual work in today’s world. In the end, it seems that they would rather stay stuck in the darkness of their own perspective than enjoy the warm glow of meaningful, shared solutions. more…Shaken, Not Stirred By Change Living Your Intentions- The Power of Living “As If”July 17, 2011 by Ian Lawton When I was 17 and finishing high school, I wanted a career in property. So I wrote to the CEO’s of every major property investment firm in Sydney. Most of them sent back form letters thanking me for my interest but declining an interview, but a few kindly invited me to call and schedule an interview. I had to scramble as I had no suitable clothes, no resume and no experience beyond my paper route, although in my defense I had visited a lot of properties delivering papers. more…Getting Ego Out of IntentionsJuly 10, 2011 by Ian Lawton Yesterday I rode 50 miles on my bike to watch an Australian rugby team beat a New Zealand rugby team. Not that there’s any rivalry between Aussies and Kiwis. But it was a glorious day and made extra special by being with the only Kiwi I know in America. Isn’t it funny the way we feel some sort of pride when our team wins? As if I was on the field… Just in case my head swelled too much to fit into my helmet, I was brought back down to earth with a thud on the ride. I thought I was doing pretty well until an 80 year old man pedaled past me like a streak of light. He was pulling two kids in a buggy behind his bike, and they were stopping at garage sales along Lakeshore Drive. Every time they stopped at a sale, I rode past thinking to myself, “How do you like me now old timer?” more…Letting Go, Letting Be, Letting Begin…July 3, 2011 by Bob Kleinheksel Think with me of an astronaut’s perspective from high above the earth. Imagine the majesty, the interconnectedness of all things, the amazing web of life. It would be quite easy to affirm the sense of interdependency of all things from that vantage point – that we are all responsible for and reliant upon everyone and everything else. Imagine the seeming peacefulness from orbit, being able to witness the blue, spinning orb…beautiful, sacred, awe-inspiring. Then, imagine the unbelievably intense re-entry process through the atmosphere. Transition. more…The Power of Inspiration- Effortless EffortJune 26, 2011 by Ian Lawton Over the last few weeks I’ve been exploring some of the key features of intention; whether it relates to a relationship, career, goal or vision. This is the third in the series. First I wrote about the power of intention, where you visualize an end point and work backwards, best described by Michelangelo who said about his masterpiece the Statue of David: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” The second week I spoke about perseverance, intention’s close companion. When you are truly jazzed by your vision of the future, you hustle to make it happen. You do what it takes, trying things, being willing to fall down, get back up and push through any number of obstacles to get where you want to be. more… |
