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February 2007In this Issue: The Cookie Jar |
A number of people I coach are working toward deepening key relationships in their lives. Relationships can be tough going and, of course, sublimely wonderful and everything in between. Without a doubt, conscious relationship teaches me how to become more of the person who I truly am. This month I share a priceless relationship practice I learned from two old friends. I smile every time I think of The Cookie Jar and my old friends Bradley and Carolyn. I think it was the great poet Maria Rainer Rilke who wrote that “relationship was the final test for an individual.” He said that everything else we do is mere preparation for genuine relationship. I like that. As a reminder, from now until March 30 new clients can benefit from an introductory life coaching offer: Three months of coaching for $950. All my colleagues and I ask for this (30% savings) is that new clients make a donation of their choice to a men’s or women’s shelter in the town that they live in. Life coaching can support you to enhance your life. Whether the focus is on realizing your true potential at work, with family, or in seeking clarity during dynamic life changes—you are heard, honored and challenged. I engage clients with presence and contemplative action as we uncover your next step to balanced living.With love, *If you'd like to share this issue with a friend, they can view the newsletter online at http://www.seanleclaire.com/ezine/, or you can use the Forward link at the bottom of this issue. If you'd prefer not to receive future issues of Be The Change, click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of this message. THE COOKIE JARI learned about a provocative and fun relationship practice called The Cookie Jar back in my corporate days. One Saturday afternoon I was engaged in a project with my advertising colleague Bradley, who was married to Carolyn. Her nickname Moonbeam aptly describes what she was all about. Carolyn knew how to live. Bradley and I were immersed in his living room with creative storyboards for a new Molson advertising campaign. Carolyn breezed in from a dance aerobics class. Her sweat and smile filled the room. She touched my shoulder, kissed my cheek, then turned to Bradley. “Honey, don’t forget the Cookie Jar.” She sauntered into the bathroom. Bradley and I cracked open a couple of cold ones and continued to map out our plan. In the heat of our creative planning, Brad popped his head up. “The Cookie Jar! Did she, did SHE say, the Cookie Jar!?!” He dashed by me and grabbed a container resting on a window by the kitchen door. He held the jar in his lap and unscrewed the lid. “You might have to go!” Bradley pointed toward the back door. The jar contained what looked like scraps, small strips of white paper with handwriting on each. Brad opened the lid, closed his eyes, reached in and grabbed one piece of paper and read it silently, the way some kids open their Christmas presents all curled up in a corner of a room. “AAArrrhhh!” He tossed the paper at me. The words mow the lawn were written on the paper. “In early February, remember those two brutal snow storms, we were digging out for, what, all week… it was Carolyn’s Cookie Jar week, and she pulls play 18 at Pebble Beach . We got lucky, grabbed a flight that afternoon; gawd, just WALKING by the ocean on sixteen… She’s a pretty good golfer, you know.” “So, with the Cookie Jar, you just… immediately, drop EVERYTHING, and do whatever you draw from the Jar?” I asked green with envy. “Yup! That’s the Cookie Jar. Carolyn says married life can stagnate. Dry up. Relationships must be nurtured like a garden!” Bradley looked out the window. We could hear Moonbeam singing in the shower. Brad sat contemplating the jar. “What are you doing?” I asked. “The Cookie Jar is mostly filled with wild and wonderful stuff. Every three months, Carolyn and I sit together and we each place about a dozen or so fun ideas… you know… juicy things to do together. ‘Keep things organized AND busting at the seams around here,’ Carolyn says. I love the Cookie Jar, but she sneaks in bummers, like mow the lawn, or paint the shed or plant tulips or…” “It’s a double-dip day man!” Bradley grinned and reached his hand into the jar and read another note. “You gotta go!” “What?” “Go! Go! GO!!” “Where?” “NOW!!” Bradley scrambled to the bathroom. The piece of paper fell to the floor. I moved a chair and picked it up. Written in Carolyn’s elegant penmanship were the words… Waiting in the shower. I rode my bike home laughing out loud. Couples engaged in the life-affirming practice (LAP) called The Cookie Jar enjoy each other. They know how to have fun. Vitality and spontaneity reign in the home. Like every practice suggested in Be the Change, The Cookie Jar is simple and accessible. The Cookie Jar
BODY-CENTERED BREAKS (BCBs)The Body-Centered Break is a body-focused inquiry and awareness meditation lasting only two minutes and done whenever and wherever you are in your day. Benefits as described by coaching clients include: calmness of mind, overall sense of well-being, sharpened mental focus, reduced anxiety, increased ability of autonomous nervous system to recover rapidly from stress, and an increased capacity for learning. CLICK here for an audio-guided BCB at any time you feel the need to slow down and center into yourself. Enjoy the Benefits NOW! HeadRest Radiate QuietMind SteamValve SHARED WISDOMI don't have to have a bad day just because someone I love is struggling. POEMNOT HERE There’s courage involved if you want open place in a lover. Where are compassion in this group. What’s the a howling hurt. This is not a treasury We alchemists look for talent that won’t do. Halfhearted holding back,
INQUIRYWhat would more fun in your relationship look like? PEERS OF INFLUENCEStudying and practicing with Svaroopa Yoga pioneer Rama Berch can be a lot like taking a sip from a fire hose. (I needed that kind of intensity when I first started working with her.) Rama is one of the most profound teachers I have been blessed to work with. The organization she founded, Master Yoga Foundation, offers wonderful and rigorous trainings in yoga philosophy, asana, pranayama and meditation. I deeply appreciate Rama’s dedication to the singular purpose she serves and have greatly benefited from her teachings. Check out her lucid writing on “Having Experiences” (download a PDF copy by clicking here - http://www.masteryoga.org/catalog/Having_Experiences.pdf). And consider attending a Master Yoga Foundation course. EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS In the Company of Men RIGHT ACTIONNurture who you love. |
© 2007 Sean Casey LeClaire, all rights reserved. |
