What keeps us inspired to follow our dreams and stay on course for what we want in our lives? For each of us, it’s something different.
For me, I’ve been getting a lot of satisfaction from listening to Podcasts lately. Doing so satisfies my insatiable appetite for learning. I wish I had more hours in the day for listening! Really. Truth is, I gave my husband an ipod last year for his birthday and he has been downloading everything he can find. And he finds some amazing podcasts that I’ve been enjoying as well.
For example, my new favorite is a Podcast by Kelly Howell, Theatre of the Mind. Kelly offers some wonderful interviews with inspiring people. I’ve been catching up on her earlier Podcasts and enjoying what I missed. Today I listened with her interview with Richard Moss, author of The Mandala of Being.
Richard has created a process, using the ancient symbol of the mandala, a Sanskrit word for wholeness. Most often, mandalas are shaped in circles. Moss’s mandala is a wonderful means of staying in the present or the NOW.
For those of us who have followed Oprah’s Web broadcast with Eckhart Tolle, we are all looking for ways to stay present.
Moss has created a circle with the word NOW in the center of it. Above the word, NOW he places the word FUTURE, below it, the word PAST. To the left of NOW he places the word ME which symbolize judgments we make about ourselves and to the right, YOU which are for judgements about others.
He recommends we place these words in a circle on the floor as a reminder for staying in the NOW. Whenever we think about (or more specifically, worry about) the future or the past or make judgments about ourselves and others, we are immediately taken out of the NOW. This mandala is a simple and profound way of remembering what takes us away from NOW. What a great tool!
When I collaborate with my clients to support them in realizing their goals, I see how often their concerns about these four other directions take them away from what they want.
What I learned from this Podcast inspires me to use in my own life and share with my clients to make their lives more effective. I hope it inspires you as well!