New Books on the Streets and Online
August 23, 2006 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it – there are two new books on the website at http://www.funcilitators.com/parafunalia.htm. One is by a friend of mine, Marsha Lindquist called Why Are You Still Working Your A** Off? A Guide to Life Beyond the Cubicle. It’s filled with her insights and strategies to get a life outside of work and to make it meaningful. It’s filled with her wit and cheeky wisdom on the subject – she’s a ball of fire. It will make you think about what you’re doing – making a living or making a life.
Another book that will be on the site soon – is one that my colleague and speaker buddy, Jeff Tobe had compiled with about a dozen of us experts on the subject of communication. Titled The Communication Coach II – Communication Tips From the Pros for the Pros. It’s chalked full of high-level information for those who want a more advanced look into this thing we call communication. Perfect for HR professionals, managers, teachers, or those who just want to understand their neighbors, co-workers, spouse or teenager. Well, maybe not their teenager…you be the judge of that one. Let me know what you think of it – we’d love your feedback about how it helped you communicate better and also what you’re doing to not be working your a** off.
Cheers!
Gail
Fun & Laughter at Work
June 15, 2006 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Mixing fun and effectiveness at work is good business. Since helping people create that type of atmosphere is my business, I have been off the blogosphere for a while to facilitate just that for some clients recently. Facilitating an executive retreat at Lake of the Ozarks and combining work in the morning with play in the afternoon was a perfect combination to rivitalize the team as well as me. There’s something about being around the water and boats that makes people happy. Have you ever noticed how everybody waves at everybody else in a boat as they pass? The blend of laughter, sun, fun and shared experiences can pull a team together and have residual effects throughout the coming months and years. Creating memories and corporate lore helps cement the bond between employees.
Here’s a sneak preview of an article on my website – the link is above….showing the benefits of laughter and fun at work.
Cheers!
Gail
What’s so funny? This is a serious situation that Americans are in up to their eyebrows in stress and it’s killing them. If we’d just lighten up a little, step back, and take time to work out our funny bone instead of our growl scowl, we’d be much more healthy both physically and emotionally.
Choose to laugh at a situation now instead of years down the road. In many instances it is only the passage of time that makes something turn from unpleasant or embarrassing to hilarious. Why not decide to look at the funny side of it earlier on? Having a sense of humor will energize you and those around you while combating stress and disease. ….. more at http://www.funcilitators.com/articles/funnybone.htm
Practice Safe Stress, Relax & Renew Your Vitality
May 24, 2006 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Are you sometimes feeling that you’re on your last nerve? Have you been looking for a proven way to relax, refresh, and renew yourself? I was in a conference session with the makers of the Holosync system and I was blown away by their research and successful results and you will be too. I just had to share this secret with you to practicing safe stress.
It sounds like science fiction – it is science, but it is not fiction – it’s a very real process that helps you sleep better and your aliveness, vitality and energy increase and your quality of life will improve rapidly. Now there is a way to effortlessly meditate more deeply than a Zen monk, dramatically accelerating the meditation process and create profound changes in your mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
Studies show that 70% of our internal dialogue is negative and this system helps counteract those thoughts that are keeping you stuck in negativity.
The Holosync Solution ™ aides in increasing your mind-power and dramatically raises your threshold for stress. We feel stress when things in the world come at us faster than we can assimilate and handle at one time. Those who have had trauma in their lives at younger ages have a much lower threshold for dealing with these stresses than those who haven’t experienced such trauma. The coping mechanisms when we are pushed over our threshold show up as anxiety, anger, depression, overwhelm, sadness, substance abuse and many others…..doesn’t that sound like the American culture?
By using Holosync, just putting on headphones and sitting with your eyes closed listening to the calming sounds, your threshold is pushed higher and higher the more you use it and your dysfunctional feelings and behaviors happen less and less often and it becomes less often that environmental stresses affect you. Many people experience dramatic improvements in a few sessions, then even more in a week or two and certainly after a couple months, your stress levels will be dramatically decreased and you will be much better able to handle what life throws at you in a more relaxed, less anxious, more centered peaceful state and be more connected to others. You can try this incredible system for an amazing one-year, no-questions asked, money-back guarantee. Check out this dynamic product by Bill Harris at Holosync.
Backed by a mountain of scientific research—and proven results for thousands of users, the proprietary Holosync audio technology placed on CD’s beneath soothing music and environmental sounds will help you get results faster and with less effort than you ever dreamed possible and it’s all guaranteed. Bill has researched this system for 18 years, plus 12 years of other scientific research before him. There are over 160,000 people in 172 countries using this system and not one person has reported any negative results – it’s heartily endorsed by doctors, naturopaths and mental health professionals from around the world. There is no risk at all – except the risk of not having a better life with less stress by meditating and slowing your brain waves to the theta and delta states, which bypass the filters of your left brain in order to achieve greater clarity and easier changes in belief patterns.
Here are some of the ways you’ll benefit:
* Stimulate the creation of new neural pathways between the right and left hemispheres of your brain, balancing your brain and leading you to a high-performance state scientists call “whole brain functioning”.
* Dramatically improve your learning ability, memory, intuition, creativity, and your ability to focus, concentrate and think more clearly.
* Create true quantum leaps in your personal self awareness.
* Significantly lower your stress levels and lower your levels of harmful brain chemicals related to stress.
* Create remarkable improvements in your mental and emotional health—even in areas that have stubbornly resisted change with other approaches.
* Dramatically increase your production of vital (and very pleasurable) brain chemicals related to your longevity, well-being, and quality of life.
* Test drive it yourself, you’ve got nothing to lose, except some stress…. Holosync Meditation.
Why’s, What’s and How’s
May 11, 2006 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
As I do more research into mind-matters these days and how our mindset determines our life-set of circumstances. I wanted to share some insights about the why’s vs. the hows in our thinking and how it affects our movement through the world and the energy we derive from our decisions.
Not knowing how to do something is a direct result of indecision. If we are undecided, then we remain stuck in the realm of not knowing and keep asking how. Once we’ve made up our mind, then the how’s will present themselves to us. Once we know our why and made up our mind about the why of doing something, the why questions cut to the heart of the decision and of the person. Once we know that why, then we can easily manage the how’s of reaching that goal, decision, end-state, or lifestyle or whatever it is.
We need to pursue the why’s of our lives and don’t be seduced by the easy how questions…look deeper inot the why’s and if we can’t find relevance in what we are doing, then we need to find something else to do. So what is relevant in your life – how are you making a difference to the world and why are you choosing that path? Are you choosing the path of making a differeence or of indifference?
You will know by your energy you put towards a project, just which path you are taking. Where intention goes, energy flows and the amount of time you are giving something in your life is in proportion to the priority you are giving it in your life. What is taking up your time these days, what are your priorities, and is it really relevant to you or others? If you can’t find enough time in a day to do everything you want to do, then you need to hire out a life-support system in order to buy your time back.
I’m walking that path right now and hiring out more and more life-support systems so I can focus on the things that bring more relevance to my life and the lives of others. What are you doing to move forward on the path of making a difference to yourself and others.
Just my 2 cents worth on figuring things out and making big changes to get big results.
Spring Clean-out: Get Organized & Get Energized
May 1, 2006 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
It’s spring and time to take stock of other areas in our life where we can clear the clutter, organize, energize and refocus to help us move forward. Research suggests that we waste at least 15 minutes per day looking for stuff. That equals about two weeks per year lost to disorganization. Save yourself some time by employing some of these tips to organize your space, your stuff, your time and your life. Get your own Tip a Day To Keep Clutter at Bay perpetual calendar for even more tips by The Queen of Clutter for $15, which includes shipping and handling by calling 866.386.2896. It’s a perfect Mother’s Day gift.
General
* Analyze your lifestyle, preferences, what’s bugging you, where are the bottlenecks
* Make things logical, comfortable, and convenient to your lifestyle and preferences
* Categorize like things with like things according to your logic, evaluate prime space
* Sort into piles of keepers and tossers – select the maybes only if you have space
* Schedule organizing for high-energy times, set a timer, use logic vs. emotion to decide
* Make a pact with yourself for one-in and one-out to keep clutter away and simplify
Office
* 3 main categories for papers: current files, reference files, archive files – purge regularly and use a color-coded system, toss envelopes
* Start folders for magazine, newspaper clippings for common categories – keep scissors in an accordion file near the reading center, tear out articles vs. keeping the entire magazine
* Before saving papers, think of where you could find the info again, store logically
* Ask to be removed from catalogs and marketing lists, sort mail at the outside trashcan
< : Less Than Perfect is Just Fine, Thank You
August 19, 0201 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Since none of us can be perfect, why beat ourselves up trying to get there. You will always have less than some, and more than others. There will always be others with so much more than us and there will always be others with just a fraction of what we have. It’s not necessarily having what you want that counts, but it is really wanting what you have that is key to being happy with your situation.
Survey what is most important and take a look at the things you think you want – are they really what you want or are they what society or neighbors have or what has been expected of people like you to have or want. Striving for perfection leaves us coming up short most of the time, so give yourself a break and know that you’re enough..
Save your energy to put towards things that give you pleasure instead of driving yourself crazy with minutiae. Stop comparing yourself and competing with others, which will only drain your energy. Try competing against your personal best instead to raise the bar on yourself and measure your successes against your past successes. Celebrate your individualism and your abilities in your unique style and forget perfect.