April 7, 2010

In This Issue

Featured Article: We Are Not Our Bodies

Announcements

Daddy's Little Girls

Welcome to this week's issue of Appreciation (and Authenticity) in Action.

I hope you're doing well, living with passion, and enjoying the journey of your life in this moment!

I got lots of feedback about last week's article, "Give Yourself More Time and Space."  Sounds like it really struck a cord with many people.  Feel free to check it out if you missed it or want to re-read it.  It was also re-published on the Huffington Post.

And, if you'd like to read my most recent article published on Oprah.com, "Who Do You Think You Are?," click here.

Have a great rest of your day and week.  Thanks so much for being on my list!

With Appreciation,

P.S. If you live here in the Bay Area, I'm speaking at a wonderful event in Pleasant Hill tomorrow night, 4/8, at 7 PM.  All are welcome.  For more info and details, click here.



We Are Not Our Bodies

(For this week's audio message, click here.)

I shaved my head again last week.  This is the fourth time in the past five years I've done this.  As has been the case for me before - it feels both liberating and vulnerable.  My hair has been thinning for about ten years (most significantly in the past two or three) and, as I've written about a few times previously, this has caused me a great deal of fear, insecurity, and self criticism.

These feelings are not new and aren't specifically related to my thinning hair (although it is definitely something that triggers them for me in an intense way).  Being critical of my appearance and concerned about my body have been consistent themes throughout my life - as a teenager with acne and braces, as a college and pro baseball player battling years of painful arm injuries, as the natural aging process starts to impact my hair, skin, etc., and so much more - there have been and continue to be aspects of my body that I don't like, feel ashamed of, and worry about.

The deeper issue here for me and so many of us isn't about our bodies themselves, but how much we identify with them.  I've lived most of my life as if I am my body, even though for a number of years I've been aware, at least intellectually, that this is not the case.

We tend to focus a lot of our attention on our bodies, at least superficially.  We think about, talk about, and worry about how our bodies look, feel, and function all the time.  Some of us clearly do this more than others - but if you just pay attention to the conversations, information, media, and advertisements around you on a daily basis, amazing to see how much obsession there is about our bodies and also how much we tend to equate our success, effectiveness, and well being to our physical experience.

While there's nothing wrong with us wanting to look good and it's vitally important that we focus on keeping our bodies as healthy as possible, in many cases, we place a disproportionate amount of our self worth and value (or lack thereof) on our bodies.  In other words, we think that if we look good and feel good, we are good. And, we think that if we feel bad, get sick, feel tired, or don’t like our appearance, we somehow are bad (or at least not as good as we could or should be).

We also don't often make much distinction between our physical state and our other states (mental, emotional, and spiritual).  I remember hearing a story of a Buddhist monk who only slept two or three hours per night, because he was so busy tending to the poor, sick, and needy people in his community.  When people asked him, "Don't you get tired?" he responded by saying, "My body gets tired sometimes, but I'm alive and vibrant."  The story really struck me and illustrated the important distinction between us and our physical body.

Our bodies are brilliant, beautiful, and miraculous - even though we often don't think of, treat, or talk about them that way.  As my friend, Steve Sisgold, teaches in his wonderful book, What's Your Body Telling You?, we can tap into the power of "whole body consciousness" and use the innate wisdom of our bodies to reduce stress, create peace, and attract success in our lives.

I'm not advocating that we disconnect from our bodies (which is so easy for us to do in our culture as we over emphasize the mental aspect of life and focus more on results than we do on experience), but I am suggesting that we disassociate ourselves from the notion that who we are is simply the flesh and bones we travel around in.  Our bodies are an important aspect of who we are, but far from all of who we are.

Our body weight does not determine our worth.  Our level of health (or lack thereof) is not an indication of our value as a human being.  How much hair we have (or whatever other physical issue you obsess about) doesn't make us a good or bad person.  And, how we look and feel is not the ultimate indicator of our success, fulfillment, and worthiness in life.

We are so much more than our bodies!  When we're able to realize, remember, and live from this awareness - we can take back our power, transform some of our fear, and create a healthy, loving, and empowering relationship with our body that serves, supports, and enhances our growth and our experience ourselves and of life in general.

For this week's audio message, including additional thoughts, ideas, and tips - click here.

How much do you identify yourself with your body? How can you alter your relationship with your body in a healthy and positive way?  Share your thoughts, action ideas, insights, and more on my blog here.




Dream Boogie with SARK - Telecourse

Dream Boogie with SARK is an eight-week focused and fun dream productivity program designed and delivered to help you finally make your dreams and great ideas really happen! It takes place on the phone and online, making it easy for you to commit to your dream in a highly focused, deeply joyful, and wonderfully integrated way. This is the first time SARK has offered an interactive, telecourse like this.  And now is the perfect time to re-launch, begin fresh, and manifest your great business ideas, creative intentions, or inspiring projects. It really doesn't matter how many times you've tried to make your dream real before; what matters is that this time is now, and now is finally the time to take your dreams from "thinking about them" to doing them and living them now. SARK is incredible, inspiring, and such a great teacher - you will love this program.  The course begins April 14th.  For more information, details, and videos about this exciting program, click here.

Great New Books:

Heartbroken Open by Kristine Carlson

Kristine Carlson is a dear friend of ours and the widow of my mentor, Richard Carlson - author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.  On December 13, 2006, her life took a sudden turn when, on a typical flight to New York, a pulmonary embolism took Richard's life, catapulting Kris into heartbreak and uncertainty. It was the end of life as she knew it and the beginning of a journey through the depths of grief and mourning that would reveal to Kris her true strength and an immeasurable love that cannot be broken.  She has written a powerful, vulnerable, and remarkable memoir called Heartbroken Open.  It is the true story of a wife, a mother, a woman forced to come face-to-face with fear, insecurity, and the painful but ultimately precious teachings she discovered along the way. This wise little book offers a timeless message of inspiration, empowerment, and courage for anyone who has experienced loss or hardship of any kind.  For more information about this moving book, check out the book trailer.  And, to purchase copies today, click on this link.

The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma

For more than fifteen years, Robin Sharma has been quietly sharing with Fortune 500 companies and many of the super-rich a success formula that has made him one of the most sought-after leadership advisers in the world. Now in his brand new book, The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life, Robin makes his proprietary process available to you for the very first time.  This book teaches how you can get to your absolute best while helping your organization break through to a dramatically new level of winning in these wildly uncertain times.  For more information and to pick up copies of Robin's new book right now, click here.

Wayne Dyer in San Francisco - May 8th, 2010

In this all-new program, "Making the Shift from Ambition to Meaning," Dr. Wayne W. Dyer illustrates how and why making such a shift eliminates our feelings of separateness, illuminates our spiritual connectedness, and involves moving from the ego-directed morning into the afternoon of life where everything is primarily influenced by purpose.  This day-long seminar, based on Wayne's most recent book and his film "The Shift," takes place in San Francisco on Saturday, 5/8 from 10 AM to 5 PM at the Hilton Union Square Hotel.  Michelle and I will be attending and we are so excited.  For more information and to get tickets, click on this link.

In the Company of Consciousness - Teleseminar Series

I'm excited to be a part of a new teleseminar series, In the Company of Consciousness, presented by Nightly Healing. My friend and colleague, Victoria Lichtman, invited me to participate on her panel of speakers.  I'm honored to be joining extraordinary teachers like Guy Finley, Marci Shimoff, Dr. David Simon, Dr. Sue Morter, and many others.  This series, which begins on Monday, April 12th at 3 PM ET, will encourage you to live in consciousness and authenticity, speaking and acting with courage, passion and truth - living your full potential. I invite you to be part of this powerful gathering.  My session takes place towards the end of the series in June, but when you sign up today you can benefit from all of the great speakers.  For more info and to register for free, click here.

"We love our bodies...and, we know there is so much more to us than just our bodies!"
- Samantha and Annarose Robbins

To see more photos of us and
our mommy and daddy, click here.

For some new and very special photos of us, click here.