To listen, a transformative force

 

It is not something we naturally learn, and yet listening may be one of the most valuable soft skills we can develop.

Think about its practical impact.

• Parenting. Instead of speaking, correcting or trying to explain everything, experiment with listening to your children. Much of what they say may seem irrelevant… but in between, there is a treasure. By listening, you begin to understand who they are, beyond their behavior.
• Therapy and crisis. Few things are as powerful as offering someone the space to be heard, to listen without interrupting, rushing to fix or the need to conclude. Sometimes, what the other person truly needs is not advice, but relief - the simple act of emptying the heart.
• Friendship. Listening strengthens bonds. With friends, neighbors or colleagues, it is not about remaining silent all the time, but about sensing the right moment to speak or to be quiet, a balance that creates trust.
• Reflection. There is also someone essential to listen to: yourself. Through meditation, journaling or quiet pauses, an inner dialogue emerges. Learning to listen to that soundless voice is one of the most meaningful acts of personal development.

Listening, is not passive. It is an active, intentional act of presence. To listen deeply is to give attention without interference. It is to reduce the inner commentary that constantly wants to interpret, judge or respond.

Many times, while someone is speaking, the mind is already preparing an answer, agreeing, disagreeing or drifting away. To listen is to control the mind and focus.

But as in anything, there are aspects that should be avoided; we may call them subtle traps: interrupting internally, evaluating too quickly, filtering everything through personal opinions, being emotionally affected, being exploited by the speaker and by having your own voice denied.

Real listening requires a certain humility, a willingness to pause and truly embrace the other with your heart. Add a high self-esteem that will keep equilibrium internally.

And if you need another point to develop this soft skill, what about this: by listening more, concentration naturally improves and attention becomes sharper. These byproducts will influence other areas of life making your conversations richer, relationships more genuine and a clarity about your personal purpose.

This is why listening can be transformative; not because it changes others, but because it changes the quality of your own life.

Be your own leader… and motivate yourself

 

Leaders motivate - that’s one of their main roles, regardless of the type of leadership they embody.
So, if you are the leader of your own life, shouldn’t you also motivate yourself? Let’s explore this comparison.

• Leading by example. Some leaders motivate simply through their actions. People follow what they see more than what they hear. Think of Gandhi, who reshaped his entire lifestyle so others could walk the path of his ideas.
• Leading with words. Others move the world with powerful speeches or writings. Martin Luther King and Karl Marx, in very different ways, stirred minds and hearts with the strength of their words.
• Leading quietly. Some leaders don’t look extraordinary at first glance, yet their impact is immense. Eunice Paiva, a housewife, changed her own life and transformed her family’s life after her husband was kidnapped; not only that, she became a pioneer in the fight for indigenous rights - opening a whole new field of social change.

Now, what about self-leadership?

• Discipline - no excuses. Sometimes you just have to act. Doing an action sets an example for yourself, proving you truly can.
• Read, write, record. The words you absorb become fuel. The words you express - whether written or spoken - strengthen your values and shape your world.
• Start small, move big. Small steps, especially during challenges, can transform everything. That one move forward might seem ordinary, but it’s enough to create momentum - and motivation to keep going.

Self-leadership is about becoming both the example and the voice that follows. When you learn to inspire yourself, you’ll find that motivation is no longer something you search for - it’s something you generate.

Self-transformation: is that easy?

 

At so many places, people are talking about self-transformation as if it is the easiest thing anybody can do. Maybe not so much a complete self-transformation, more a constant advertisement of the possibility of change: Easy, very easy change.

I am in a self-transformation path and I should tell you it is that easy… and yet, so difficult!

The easiness comes from the fact real transformation is often going back to a natural state of life, and what is easier than being natural? A big part of a transformation process is to get rid of the unnatural parts of a personality and lifestyle.

The difficulty comes from getting rid of something so unnatural that has turned into natural due to its use.

For instance, a common aspect of self-transformation is a big change in the routine: getting up earlier, including exercises in the routine, starting to meditate, etc. In fact, all of these are natural, I assure you, but after a while of getting up late, not doing exercises and not meditating, all of these must be relearned.

Easy and difficult… that’s the challenge!

So, if you want to make a big change in your life…

Understand what you are going to change and how.

Develop the awareness of how natural is that state – a retreat, for instance, can help that realization.

Walk your path with that awareness and whenever things don’t go as planned or desired, just remember you are going back to a natural state.

Don’t struggle with your own inner resistance; instead, develop resilience by meditating, studying or other methods.

Good luck with your self-transformation!

Errors, mistakes, a good thing?

What to do when we make a mistake?

In the old culture, we would fight against mistakes and condemn everyone who commit them as sinners… After all, we should be perfect, right? At some level, it worked as people tried their best to avoid errors; on the other hand, it created a fake side of our society, with lots of people hiding their mistakes.

Our present new culture is different. An interesting cartoon circulating around shows two parents in the past complaining to their boy about his marks; at present, they were complaining TO THE TEACHER about the same… We tried so much to prevent errors, that we start to think we don’t make mistakes.

A story was sent via internet not long ago, about a person from a new generation. She made a mistake in the text she wrote, and her boss explained it to her. Big oops! The young employee couldn’t accept and made it very clear, not only in her office, but she even called her mother, who, apparently, supported her perfect daughter.

But it is not the young woman’s fault or her mother’s; it is the context we have created along the years, pretending no errors ever occur, of if they do, it is because we were bad people. Very bad people.

Maybe we should visit that topic and rethink it. Errors are not good, mistakes can damage relationships, ruin careers and many other bad consequences, and yet, it is one of the best ways to learn! In fact, it is not realistic to expect perfection at the first time…

Mistakes can be our teacher, if we allow them to do that, instead of making us into sinners or horrible people.

They can be the leverage we need for our transformation.

Why do we think too much?

A short video I saw many years ago was a pony trying to leave its stable… Hesitation, a bit of fear and FINALLY, after a few anguished moments, it steps out of it. All because of a small step on its way. The theme the person who posted it was OVERTHINKING.

And that may be a problem for ponies, I am not sure, but it is for sure a HUGE problem for everyone.

• We need to take a step, but… can we really do it? Is it safe? What about the safe place I am living right now, it is not that bad, you know? I think this is the wrong direction…
• Or, we need to take a jump, we need a big change to take place in our lives. No, I cannot do this! I am not prepared! My (wife, husband, friend, brother…) told me I wouldn’t be able to do it… It is too much, let me wait a little bit more…
• Furthermore, we maybe need a breakthrough. I prefer to stay where I am, it is not so good, but not too bad either. It is too risky!

Overthinking may be everywhere and I am sure, right now, you are overthinking about something…

Or maybe, I am overthinking about you…

There is not one solution, but a few things you can do:

• If you know you will need something, prepare yourself beforehand.
• If the change is small (a step), choose the best moment to do it. Some will prefer to be surrounded by close friends, others by themselves, the important thing is that YOU TAKE THAT STEP.
• If the change is big (a jump), you need to reflect and contemplate on it, but don’t overcook your decision or as some people say, don’t get paralyzed by the analysis. Probably the best thing is to get help from someone in terms of guidance, resources or a good chat.
• Now, if the change is a transformation, you do need help if that generates storms of thoughts in your mind. Perhaps, ask around to see who has gone through a type of change like that; probably it will different, but there are some lessons you can learn.

I hope that will be helpful.

Was it helpful? Are you sure? I don’t know I think I missed something……..

 

Just kidding! Take care!

Rebirth…

I have believed in reincarnation since I was a little child. Not sure who introduced me to the concept, but for me it was obvious that someone who dies, they have to come back.

However, in their new life, they won’t remember their past life. I have learned that it will be present in their attitude and their way to see the world, their virtues and their defects, their differences with their community and also their natural similarities.

So, I was thinking of this pandemic as a kind of death of a society. It means we are living in a reincarnated society.

A society that has forgotten what has happened.

A society whose people’s attitude is similar to their past attitude, even though they are claiming it is different.

Their way of seeing the world is not so different than before.

Virtues and defects are almost the same.

Back to the reincarnation, when there is that awareness, people are also cautious with their actions, trying to avoid the repetition of former mistakes and create a new life. Some would call it a rebirth, not only in the physical sense.

My hope is that our society also experiences a rebirth and people change their way of seeing life. Maybe I am the one to start with it…

Coaching for a better new year

The change of year, even though it happens so often and in a predictable way, stimulates novelty, hope and sometimes adventure.

There is an extra energy in the mind and the will power is stronger than in other times of the year.

So, here are a few powerful questions for reflection that may help you in your self-growth:

• What are the dreams that will be brought about in this year that is starting?
• How do I visualize myself at the end of the next year? What can I do to make it happen?
• In which way can I change my life so that I experience I am starting a new chapter, or even a new book?
• How to put my hopes into practice, turning them into actions and making them part of my life?
• What is it impossible, but I will do it this year?
• How will I empower myself so that all my wishes and desires are fulfilled?
• What are the new adventure, fun and positive anxiety, which will start this year?
• How much will I embrace change and generate transformation?
• And no matter what happens, how do I keep myself being myself: authentic?

You have all resources you need to transform the world - Reason 14

Whilst most people complain about the world, being a leader means to be here to transform the world.

It means being the instigator of change since a leader has all skills he or she needs to change the face of reality.  How does that work?

When a normal person does something, she or he fulfils a certain role and duty.  That gives the person a sense of social belonging, and success comes when whatever this person does is extraordinary or very useful.

A leader will go beyond that as she or he will think of doing it in a different way, and may even change the course of a company or country completely.  There is the classic example in management of Andrew Grove, when he changed INTEL from being a company selling computer memory to a company selling microprocessors[1].  As a normal manager, he wouldn’t do that; on the contrary, he would excel in his tasks and make INTEL an even better memory producing company.  As a leader, he challenged the status quo and changed computer history.

One cannot change the whole world if it doesn’t start with one’s own point of view and life.  As the example above, when a leader changes the world around himself or herself, eventually the whole world changes.

(Excerpt from the book 82 Reasons to be a Leader)

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[1] Andrew Grove (1936 – 2016) was one of the first people to work with INTEL.  This article talks about the book, written by Grove, Only the paranoid survive: How to exploit the Crisis point that challenge every company and career.  https://hbr.org/1996/11/inside-intel

About stages of change

Change in nature takes place gradually. In fact, I am not sure there is any sudden change that happens in a natural environment. Well there are disasters, but it could be said they are also part of the change process.

But we, sweet humans, by not being content with that, we started something called civilization and we change everything. Yes, we change the change.

More precisely, we started many centuries ago to manipulate the pace and stages of change, according to personal or collective convenience, creating the times we live nowadays, when we are not sure what will happen next or how.

There are basically four stages in change and all goes through these.

Change is a non-creative name for the first stage. Sometimes I call it Transition, and it indicates soft and subtle changes. In a whole process like the yearly seasons, everyday there is a change in the temperature, humidity and wind, but we are not aware as they are very subtle.

Besides, they are expected. For instance, if the present season is spring, we are expecting that as time passes by, temperature increases, at least after a certain inflection point. And we are ready for that.

For us, we have maybe tens or hundreds of changes in just one day: clothes, hunger-food, hair style, smiley-serious, humor, opinion, tastes, etc. The key here is we are expecting them, so they don’t shock and many times we are not even aware of them.

But at some point there is a crisis. During the year, rainstorms come, snow falls and the weather becomes quite unpredictable. Crisis is a type of change that is unexpected and normally disruptive, quite often is considered as negative – although we could talk about good crisis when all of a sudden, during winter, the Sun heats our day and hearts.

It is necessary to provide the time and space so that the next season will replace the present one.

I don’t know anyone who is not afraid of a crisis, which name by the way in Chinese does have a character with the meaning of danger, but it is part of the stages of change, there is no way to avoid it without avoiding the whole change, and that is very difficult to do.

We need a certain level of preparedness to overcome the mean effects of a crisis. For the worst case scenario, leadership is necessary to help a person or any collective to come out of it. It is important to keep in mind this is necessary, because only by going through a crisis you can move on with the change.

Another point that distresses people is the fact that changes in our human society don’t happen in order, as in nature. That means, crisis can come and go, and come again during the same change process…

The worst part (apparently) of any change process is chaos, when the lowest or highest temperature takes place, or when floods or drought happens. It is totally unmanageable and besides going for a shelter, nobody can do much.

Not even by excelling in preparedness or the best leader in the world can help when chaos comes, and we, humans, try to prevent them. And yet, it is a stage we all have to go through if we want to come out of it and reach the last and final stage.

Transformation, also called metamorphosis, is that point when there is no resemblance between how things were at the first stage and how they ended. Try to explain to a little child that those leafless and dead trees will be soon blossoming with life… It is impossible to imagine it is true, but it is, because after chaos, after the worst part of a change process, when all looks like lost, life comes back again.

As humans, we don’t embrace transformation as we should. After all, to reach that point we do have to suffer in a way, passing through several stages – and different than nature, repeating those innumerable times – until one day we are transformed.

But we should embrace it, as we should embrace the chaos, crisis and the little transitions in life, because they all give us something much more valuable. See, nature will never transform something into another thing that is worse than the previous form.

Transformation always means good. Excellent. Incredible. It means our lives that reached their worst point and look deprived of energy are now totally different and we have another chance to live.

So, instead of fighting against the processes embedded in changes, it is better to learn about them, prepare yourself and use them for the good of many.

About Transformational Leadership...

And there is the story of this little dog, one of those that look quite common.

According to that story, his (it is a "he", after all!) masters were transferred to a wild zone of Africa. As soon as he saw the openness, the trees and all that field, he got crazy and went away from his masters' house.

After some wandering here and there, he got to a fatal conclusion: he was lost! Not only that, he reached a very creepy place, full of bones everywhere. To increase his fears, he noticed a terrible panther slowly approaching him...

What would you do in this case? Well, if you are a typical person, you would look for some help from outside, which is not available. It is in moments like that you need more than an external leader: you need to be a leader yourself.

Predictable leadership has taught us you just need a vision, a mission and values would be helpful too, to be a leader and overcome situations like this one. However, the question is: what would a vision help this little dog in this case?

Ok, you are not a little dog, but I am sure you have faced already several situations that were beyond your control, like a nasty divorce, a sever illness or the lost of a friend. And I am sure your leadership probably helped you, but I am not that certain you checked your vision and mission and kept moving...

The dog thought to himself, "what should I do?" Then, looking at the scattered bones, an idea come to him... He took a few bones and started chewing them as if they were a feast. After a while, he spitted them out and said, loud enough for the panther to hear: "Ah, that panther was fabulous! But I am still hungry, where can I get another one around?".

The panther didn't know what animal was that, an advantage for the dog, which, due to several hours watching television, knew all about panthers. The panther halted and ran away from the scene, fearing for her life.

Contemporary leadership is all about being realistic in relation to the situation we all live at present. It combines personality, skills and other aspects of a traditional (predictable) leader with a very good manager.

An example: a predictable leader, when reaching the top position of a company, will be only interested in giving the company a new route to follow, influencing everyone around, not much interested in the present route. A manager on the other hand will avoid at any costs a change in his company route.

A contemporary leader will see the process in a holistic way, by understanding the present situation and helping that company to scale up to a new route in a way that allows the leader to show his or her power, but not damaging the company as it is at present.

Any examples in your mind? Maybe you still can't sleep after being downsized or you are still angry with the post company in your country as they were not able to adapt to an Internet world.

A contemporary leader would probably try to help you in case your position wouldn't be needed any more, preparing you for some different work, and she or he will definitely think deeper to help a post company to keep their pace and work.

However, it is still not enough. Just imagine that besides you are being downsized, your child is going to college or after solving the problem and saving a post company, something else totally different emerges and all that planning is now useless...

The dog was very happy with the result of his creativity, however something awful happened: a monkey was hearing the whole exchange. Upset with that... thing... deceiving another proud resident of the forest, the monkey went towards the panther, using the branches to move faster.

After a short talk, the panther realized how foolish she was and went running after the dog, followed by the monkey. The dog now was terrified!

But after a short paralysis, another idea came to his mind. Again, he started to chew some bones and at some point, he practically yelled in a way that both, panther and monkey would hear.

"I AM STILL HUNGRY! WHERE IS THAT MONKEY THAT PROMISED ME ANOTHER PANTHER??"

A transformational leader is a new concept. In the past, it was considered to be a leader who enabled people to go through very complicated periods of crisis.

About change, we will see it later including crisis. The most important aspect of a transformation leader is that he or she will be able to help a situation to move towards its final result (transformation), preventing the effects of crisis and chaos on the way.

A real transformation leader deals with downsizing much before it happens, facilitating the process to her or his people. A transformation leader is aware of the changes that can affect the business in advance, proposing daring ways to overcome that future that will happen at some point.

For instance, a transformational leader will stimulate learning skills by the people in the company, even though those skills are not directly related to their present job; in this way, people will be more confident when downsizing comes as inevitable. At the same time, a transformational leader will be aware of the future scenarios, keeping a think tank in the company, so that the business does not go out dated or cease to exist.

How to become a Transformational Leader? Well, we can talk about that later. By now, just check your own leadership style and the different scenarios related to your business or community, and this will help you to provide solutions that will prevent the damage caused by crisis and chaos.

And after such an adventure, the little dog was able to find his way home, and he lived happily ever after, to the end of his days...

Beyond chaos

Have you ever felt you were in chaos and then you were able to leave it?

Chaos is, according to my own thinking, a stage of change. In fact, it is a very important stage as it precedes the final result, which I simply call Transformation.

Let's take sand from a beach... That is a simple change - the sand goes from the beach to a workshop. Then, put fire on it, creating a crisis between all the molecules there. When it reaches the point of chaos, someone will take it and shape it, and you will have a glass, the transformed sand.

When you go through chaos that is good, theoretically. It means you overcame both stages, the simple change (I call it transition) and crisis, and you are about to embrace the final transformation of your life.

Imagine however that our sand is alive. Imagine it struggling when you transport it to a workshop. Imagine it suffering and keeping the fight against the fire that will melt it, until the point where it can become a glass... It is quite possible the sand, or part of it, can escape the workshop and one day, goes back to the soft beaches.

As humans, we are alive. We only go through change if we really want or our surroundings are pushing us and we can't prevent it. And, when it is time for a crisis our struggle will be amazing, we will look for a leader to lead us out of it, or we ourselves will become a leader and help others to leave it. If it does not work, then chaos will come, and again we will struggle and fight for our lives. During a change process, we will make our maximum effort to go back to our comfortable beach...

However, if we act as it is supposed for us, as humans, to act and try our best to leave chaos, aren't we missing something? Aren't we missing the beautiful chance to be a different person or a person with a different awareness?

Chaos is ugly. It hurts. It is not easy, but we can always do something to live through it: we can learn, we can be our own leader and set new goals; we can survive and use that survival as an example to others.

Instead of trying to go back to our comfortable spot on Earth, a new awareness comes from chaos and it is as precious as a pearl...

So, before your next or first experience with chaos, learn a bit more about who you are and your potentials. Work more on your self-leadership and understand the change you are going through, visualize the final outcome of this process and embrace it in your heart.

The magic of Christmas

There were two magicians who lived in a mountain, which were not mountains like any other, as the two magicians were the protectors of wildlife magical beings living there. For many centuries, their ancestors took care of those mountains, isolating them from other humans, but in the last century - and being the last of their kind, these men have seen that the total isolation was impossible.

Concerned, they get together to talk, fearing that men and women of the two nearby villages would damage the beautiful mountains and would make the beings living there suffer. After all, what most people saw was suffering in their lives: divorces, unnecessary deaths, poverty, depression, fatigue, corruption, exploitation, etc.

Both reached an agreement: the best way to avoid evil is to improve these two villages. But they disagreed with the method as one magician thought they should make the villages into paradise, the other thought that this process should be gradual. After much discussion, they decided to apply both methods in different villages.

The first village - which saw the mountains bathe in sunlight at dawn - went to sleep in the deep unhappiness of their lives, just to wake up completely transformed: poor people got beautiful houses, ugly people got beautiful faces, and streets woke with lots of green and gold... Frightened and amazed, the inhabitants of this town took to the streets to celebrate the transformation, praising their gods. They went dancing and dancing, happy with the amount of food available and how everything worked alone, as if by magic.

In the early years, the experience proved successful, but one day, a neighbor thought his neighbor had stolen a dozen apples. They fought and they went to sleep very angry with each other. Slowly, anger, greed, lust, attachment and arrogance were taking over the hearts of people, and ten years after the magic, little remained of paradise.

Disgusted, magicians focused on the second village - which saw the mountain bathe in sunlight at twilight – as they went to sleep in the deep unhappiness of their lives. The next day, however, many parts of the town had various plants. Slowly, entire fields could give food and within a year, everyone had what to eat.

The magician, who had that idea, went to live in that village and managed to bring together people of good heart, people able to forgive and love unconditionally. He trained them with patience to love others and help them to love one another. Slowly, divorces were disappearing. He are also trained them in the art of medicine, recognizing herbs that could heal present in nature, and how to take care of personal finance. He also taught them how to care for those who have nothing, enabling them to achieve something in their lives. After ten years, that village reached to the same level as the former village had begun, as a paradise on Earth.

With the success of their experiment, they did the same with the first village, and the same results emerged; that village in ten years had become also a paradise.

They understood that paradise, for a human being, is not something external or artificial; it must be born in the hearts of everyone. Humbly, magicians left their experiment and opened completely the way for the magic mountains, as humans were now as magical as the beings that lived there. And finally, these wizards withdrew from the world, waiting for the beautiful death, knowing their duty has been fulfilled.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Nobody wants to be the one

In a world of massive connection and interdependence, where communication is extremely easy and interconnectivity is natural, it is interesting to think this as a world where people don't want to take initiative.

Humans evolve according to our own initiative. It seems that starts a new path in our brain and soul, facilitating the changes and helping creating something different.

Yes, there is lots of creativity and innovation and small pockets of leadership here and there, but the real initiative that made our ancestors to leave their places and go to a land they didn't know anything about, that is missing.

What are the consequences? We are stuck with ourselves, with our own mistakes... I am not mention your recent divorce, but I am speaking about the destruction of nature as a whole and the increasing exploitation of people enslaved in this otherwise wonderful 21st century.

That is what we all need now: we need to be the ONE. The one that stands when something bad happens, the one who changes before anyone does and that one, who is able to tolerate and tolerate, and in this way help the world to be a better place.

Would you like to be the one?

The art of reforming (The 16 celestial arts)

Transformation is in the minds of many and definitely SOME transformation happens. Not necessarily the one we would like to experience.

Let's look into the present world and we will see so many signs of transformation:

• The ascension of BRIC. This is changing not only this present period of world history, but it is the first time when Economy has been as the main changing factor and the first time when at least one power will be in the South Hemisphere (Brazil).
• Climate change. Denied by many (not sure HOW they deny it...), this is affecting more and more economies and societies. At least one country is trying to "move out" as its citizens see their shores being taken by the ocean and that is happening even in one of the biggest countries denying the obvious...
• Social networks replacing social interaction. We can't be blind; people are more into some kind of social networking (including chats and constant email) than talking to human beings.

And much more! But, I guess that was not that the transformation we would expect... For instance, it would be wonderful to read something like this in a future newspaper:

• A human commonwealth. Wealth and poor countries joint efforts to create a unique human society where money is not the main factor. They guaranteed the basics for everyone (food, health, shelter, education and communication) and they created a new method of economic interaction, based in talents rather than money.
• Earth is balanced. After many millennia, humans were able to establish a sustainable balance with the rest of Earth, which prevented the destruction of the environment and the end of many species.
• Humans are humans. It is almost laughable to think that at some point in history, people were paying attention more to a flat screen or a computer screen than to their fellow human beings. Present society values and encourages personal interaction with the normal positive consequences for health and wealth.

A dreamer? Perhaps... But, you see, what is lacking is not something macro or global, it is MY and YOUR transformation, a transformation that comes from will not from obligation. A transformation that starts from mind and awareness, not at some government palace.

When that transformation happens, even though one human being gets transformed, a reaction chain will generate enough energy to affect the whole world. And dreams will come true...

When the butterfly gets stuck

As a natural process, caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies. There is no decision-making, obstacles from other people or anything which is not natural.

Oh, yes, let's not be romantic about it, I am sure a whole bunch of predators is waiting for that moment when the vulnerable caterpillar is becoming something totally different and so many butterflies never see the daylight. However, what I would like to talk is about the differences with the human caterpillar, that is, you and me.

When any person starts his or her own transformation process towards a unique caterpillar, it involves not a decision from nature, but from the person to do it. That is what makes it happens initially. Sometimes, transformation is caused by something external, like the death of a spouse, but the real transformation only happens when its process starts from a deep, sincere and genuine desire for change. If that ingredient is not present, transformation will be something ON and OFF, relying on external factors like how job is going or a physical guru.

During the transformation process, a human being just like the caterpillar counterpart requires a set of situations to happen. If they are not present, then the the human butterfly can get stuck somewhere in the middle, or worse the transformation can reverse and an even uglier caterpillar emerge:

• A final goal. It is fundamental that during the whole transformation period the person keeps in mind her or his final objective in life, that wonderful vision. It is not only to remind the person where he or she is going to, but it is also a powerful motivator when things go wrong, and a real change tends to attract many wrong things.
• A proper environment. The human caterpillar needs space (openness to try, fail, and try again, experimenting with many aspects of life), support (people, books, movies or music that not only inspires but also guides), time (a specific schedule is important for an effective change; retreats, seminars, courses or other events are also efficient ways to use time) and a method (it implies a knowledge, certain values and orientation on how to implement that in life). If the person does not have a good physical environment, awareness can also created a kind of mental stage that will work like an environment.
• Constant checking. In nature things are very easy and when the butterfly is ready, it simply flies away. In the case of human butterflies, it is need to check constantly about the current state of the transformation and be ready to correct the transformation route.
• Enjoy! Probably that is quite similar to the nature: when the human butterfly is ready, it is important to enjoy the sweet fruit of self-transformation.

Hope this can be helpful in your own transformation. Have a nice flight!

Thoughts for a new life & a new world

Just a question for you: do you think a new world is REALLY possible?

Yes, you think it is possible. Yes, you probably work on many fronts for that, whether it is ecological or a new education for children. Yes, you would love that to be real. But, do you really THINK it is possible?

One thing is to think from your desire that a new world is created. Another thing is to think out of possibilities that this old world changes into a new one.

I think it is possible. In fact, I live for that. No, I don't believe in some magic spell changing the world, nor even I would fall in the trap of a nice smiling politician who speaks the things everyone wants to hear. I don't believe it can happen through money or companies interested in doing something good for others. Neither I believe that can happen through an ecological movement or some new age stuff.

I believe it is possible coming from an individual. I believe the change is really possible when a critical mass of individuals change - when they, or we, become new, the world will be new.

This is why, in this new year, a firm determination for a new life is important. A complete transformation of my own attitude and awareness, a change in my behavior and the way I speak, the clothes I use and the time I wake up.

When I change, then there is a chance for the world to change too.

Meanwhile, just hear what that nice leader has to tell you, with a big smile and big promises... But, when you start to change, you will see the new world just in front of your own eyes.


Enjoy your new 2011! Enjoy a new self!