I once read a report that when asked, people guessed they had eighty percent control of their days – schedules, delays, changes, meetings, traffic, reception, et cetera, but that in reality, it was only three to seven percent.*
Anne Lamott

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all.**
Rumi

It’s the fourth elemental truth:
You are not in control,
But I wish I was –
Yet to notice what is going on inside of me
is half of the battle with my ego – who really wants to be
left unnoticed and get on with things –
Yet freedom begins when I take a moment to notice,
As Erich Fromm puts it:
leaving the prison of one’s ego and
achieving the freedom of openness to the world;^
The ego is a finite player, but
the Self is an infinite player.

*Anne Lamott’s Dusk Night Dawn;
** From Rumi’s The Guest House, William Seighart’s The Poetry Pharmacy;
^Erich Fromm’s The Revolution of Hope.

It is happening right now, at this very moment.  Softly repeat the word present.*
David Rome

*David Rome’s Your Body Knows the Answer.

Other than death, there is no finish line or retirement for the creative person.*
Austin Kleon

Everyone knows that Superman and Clark Kent are the same. But which one is the alter ego?**
Todd Herman

And everyone is creative, although
it may not be the work that they we get paid for, meaning that
it’s important to identify our creativity –
our super-work where we find our imagination and innovation and making are
most energised and persevering through the failures that become half the fun.

I’m looking forward to reading high performance coach Todd Herman’s book
about the alter ego, and,
Whilst not wanting to give anything away, I think that
we can share the answer to his question:
Clark Kent is Superman’s alter ego;
Now that’s an interesting twist, meaning
Geoffrey Baines is my alter ego, and so,
Who am I really?

Wrap a story or narrative around this and you have
a purpose that you cannot retire from anytime soon –
It’s why I’ve created dreamwhispering.

*Austin Kleon’s blog: There is no finish line;
**Todd Herman’s The Alter Ego Effect.

A humble mindset has significant effects on the cognitive, interpersonal, and decision making skills. Humble people are better learners and problem solvers … Humility is also the only effective antidote to narcissism.*
Anna Katharina Schaffner

Becoming psychologically flexible is key to personal transformation, not overattaching to your current identity or perspectives. Becoming insatiably committed to a future purpose and embracing emotions rather than avoiding them is how radical change occurs.**
Ben Hardy

Here I am,
Banging on about humility again –
It really is an attribute that meets many needs:
Feeling bad about self – humility,
Worried what others think about you – humility,
Needing to see more around you – humility,
Wanting to learn more – humility
Be open to more ideas – humility,
See new possibilities – humility,
Experience more awe and wonder – humility,
Connect more with people – humility,
Be willing to experiment and try different things – humility,
Wanting to change self and direction – humility,
The power to keep going – humility …
Free and available to all to develop.

*Anna Katharina Schaffner’s The Art of Self Improvement;
**Ben Hardy’s Personality Isn’t Permanent.

Listen to what your life calls you to do.*
Otto Scharmer

*Otto Scharmer’s Theory U.

We have a choice whether we wish to continue with evolution on this planet or not. I vote “yes.”*
Keith Haring

People evolve before organisations do.**

The possibility of a human being
evolving across their lifetime is a
staggering notion, and we have far more
agency towards this than we imagine;
I’m not thinking of what we might simply do that
looks different, but how
we lock the important changes into our DNA,
And I cannot think of better places to begin than
humility – which is to know and respect our Self and others
more deeply, then
gratitude – to notice and be grateful for all that
fills and touches our lives, and
faithfulness – to daily find new ways of expressing
who we are and what we have.

*Keith Haring’s Keith Haring Journals;
**Source lost but it could be gapingvoid’s blog or Seth Godin.

Often, without knowing it, we are waiting for a new idea to come along and cut us free from our entanglement.*
John O’Donohue

Prime is the time we establish ourselves in the world on individual, equal terms. Once we have contact again with an essence and a sense of accomplishment, then we can offer ourselves to others for conversation in a new way.**
David Whyte

We are not plants or some
higher form of animal intelligence,
Blame consciousness but life is more
complex for us;
We have to find different ways of dealing with
reality, and have often found this in
ideas and imagination, so,
When we feel
trapped
dead-ended
pointless
hopeless
restricted
dark-minded
repressed
oppressed
clueless
directionless,
Here are five of the best areas for exploration – these from medieval times:
Being as the deepest reality of all things,
The Oneness of all things in unity despite all difference,
The True found in reality and experience,
The Good as the soul of the world, and the
Beautiful as human inspiration and passion.*

In the morning, in my prime time, the things
I’m reading often offer up many of these in thoughts and
experiences and possibilities,
Disentangling me from most things that
hold me fast.

*John O’Donohue’s Divine Beauty;
**David Whyte’s Crossing the Unknown Sea.

I have found that perhaps the greatest gift you can give another human being is the gift of being understood.*
Erwin McManus

Seeing is a form of pure being, unlike watching or looking at. Seeing is why we’re here.**
Anne Lamott

Perhaps understanding others is
our best practice for one day
understanding ourselves.

*Erwin McManus’ The Genius of Jesus;
**Anne Lamott’s Dusk Night Dawn.

Whatever pain you can’t get rid of, make it your creative offering … It’s not that pain equals art. It’s that creativity has the power to look pain in the eye, and to decide to turn it into something better.*
Susan Cain

That’s the process of evolution. An evaluation criteria for determining whether to convert input to output, I think the initial values that the brain is equipped with are pain and discomfort.**
Ryunosuke Koike

We wish there were no pain,
But it’s always been an important element when it came to
life or death, or at least between
stick or twist,
Being awakened to the power of our imagination to face the
pressure of reality, somehow alchemising
transcendence;
It’s likely that we’re here
doing something we’re pretty good at because of pain
rather than comfort.

*Susan Cain’s Bittersweet;
**Ryunosuke Koike’s The practice of Not Thinking.

Being present demands all of us.  It’s not nothing.  It may be the hardest thing in the world.*
Ryan Holiday

*Ryan Holiday’s Stillness is the Key.