Hey friend,
When it’s hardest to give myself to practice, it’s the most important to do so.
Big changes are afoot in my life, and I - knocked off center - come back to the zafu, sit in front of my quiet altar, draw a card for contemplation from my goddess deck, and receive Kuan Yin. Goddess of Compassion. She will lead my practice today.
I draw at random from my stack of meditation books. It’s Jon Kabbat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go, There You Are. I open to a page at random, and it’s an essay called “A What-Is-My-Way? Meditation”.
I find my way in the few minutes of quiet. The way of surrender. The power of prayer enfolds me, and I surrender to being held by something larger.
I feel my heart constrict, a baby in the birth canal, I am being pushed through this moment, into a larger awareness of self, of potential.
Death and birth are solitary walks. Every moment of it, truly alone…yet not alone. In facing my absolute sense of self, I break nearly into a knowing of the larger truth – that there is no alone.
Compassion sits just outside my reach, because I have placed it there. Presence is, or is not. Presence is releasing expectation, releasing attachment, releasing time.
There is no time in the eternal now, the forever unfolding is-ness of the moment.
I am present, in practice. I am breathing compassion, in practice.
So I come back to the meditation altar, back to the pillow, and sit.
peace.
-LaSara
www.lasarafirefox.com
For those of you who missed our Teacher to call class, all is not lost – Robert and I made it into a training product! And, if you pre-order now, it’s less than half price! Read on for the details.
Change Your Work, Change the World; Teacher to Coach Training Product
with LaSara Firefox, MPNLP, and Robert Allen, BA, MHP
Teacher to Coach is a career call to action for teachers, advocates, authors, and educators to take their expertise and develop a dynamic coaching business! Teacher to Coach is now available as a training product for you to use at home and office.
From coaching styles, to marketing, to self-care, Teacher to Coach offers information on how to transform your area of expertise into a career as a coach, FT or PT.
This value-packed, multi-media home course will help you begin transitioning your entrepreneurial endeavors from teaching to the coaching model. Buy NOW, and as a thank you gift for your pre-order, you’ll get:
- The Teacher to Coach multi-media course for less than half the usual price. You’ll pay only $19.99. (Regular price; $49 – reduced rate ends Sept. 1.)
- AND, a half-hour personalized coaching session with Robert and LaSara as follow-up, for the first 15 people to purchase a pre-order.
- a 45minute audio recording with Robert Allen and LaSara Firefox, that covers the details necessary to begin your coaching practice (mp3)
- Six reasons to Build a Phone Coaching Practice, by LaSara Firefox (pdf)
- How to Monetize Your Blog, by Robert Allen (pdf)
- Introduction to Social Media Marketing, by Robert Allen (pdf)
- Pre-coaching evaluation from LaSara Firefox (worksheet)
- Pre-coaching evaluation by Robert Allen (worksheet)
- BONUS GIFT: Doing Business with LaSara Firefox and Robert Allen – interview with Dan McComb and Lara Feltin, founders of Biznik.com, on How to Choose a Business Network (mp3)
This product is totally green: zero waste! You will receive audio files and pdfs. You can use the product entirely from your computer (or palm-top). Or, print or burn as needed.
Product will be shipped on or before September 1, 2008.
Need more info? You can contact Robert at Robert@coachingwithrobertallen.com, or LaSara at firefox@lasarafirefox.com.
Ecstatic Presence Empowerment: Gratitude Games!
by LaSara Firefox, www.lasarafirefox.com
I wrote this Empowerment for the Thanksgiving holiday. However, every day is a good day to practice gratitude. If you feel inspire to integrate gratitude practice into your life, create a Gratitude Gathering. You can use these games as a starting point.
1. Gratitude Practice: The old standby. Everyone in your cluster takes a turn saying something they’re grateful for. One offering isn't enough? Go around again!
2. "Gratigories": Take turns choosing categories, and then everyone at your table offers one thing they are grateful for in the chosen "gratigory."
At our family Thanksgiving last year we played this, and it was great! Some fun - and surprisingly touching - gratigories we came up with; public utilities, things that happened to or for us when we were teens, family traditions that have been handed down, the influence of famous people.
Have fun with the gratigories! The more diverse, the better.
3. A Grateful A to Z: An alphabet of gratitude! Start with A, and make
your way to Z. Make sure everyone takes a turn. This is obviously a great gratitude game for the wee ones in your crew.
4. Compassionate Gratitude: The most challenging o my gratitude games perhaps, but what better way to strengthen your practice of compassion, than with gratitude?
The point of Compassionate Gratitude is to find things to be grateful about in areas that challenge your lovingness. Politics? Family? America? Media? Culture? Choose your topic, and find the gift in the challenge!
Consider yourself empowered!
About the author:
LaSara FireFox, MPNLP, is mom to two amazing daughters, a life coach, and an educator. She helps her clients and students to find balance in their lives, and alignment with their personal and family-held values.
Visit LaSara’s website at www.lasarafirefox.com for more information. At the site, you can listen to her “Yoga Mama Satsangha” podcast series, download free parenting-related items, and more.
