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Can this humble peace lily improve your business?
Having potted plants in your office is good for the health of your employees which means that it’s also good for your business with reduced sickness rates and increased productivity.
The principle of bringing nature into our indoor environment has always been advocated by fans of Feng Shui and research is gradually catching up to prove the benefits.
In a recent study by Dr Tina Bringslimark of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences the amount of plants that could be seen by employees had a direct correlation to sickness rates: the more plants the lower the sickness levels.
US research has also shown an increase in productivity amongst workers who have plants in their environment. The Washington State University study showed an increase of 12%.
There are a number of reasons why plants can have an effect on us: the production of oxygen and reduction of other toxins in the air; the production on negative ions to counter the effects of electrical equipment; the psychological belief that plants are healthy for us and so we react accordingly.
Each explanation is valid but, before you go foresting your offices take some Feng Shui advice:
- The types of plants you choose should work within Feng Shui principles and be strategically placed to bring harmony to the energy of your space.
- The number of plants should be adequate for the size of your space.
- All plants need to be looked after and kept healthy. A dead or dying plant is probably worse than having no plants at all.
With that in mind, and if you have business issues such as absence rates and low productivity to address, maybe your next business trip should be to the nearest garden centre.
Jackie Notman is a business and feng shui consultant. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
Business Energetics is based on classic Feng Shui principles and brings together your environment and your people into one harmonised and focussed profit machine.
If you would like to find out more about how your business could benefit from living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website http://www.fs168.co.uk/businessenergetics
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Some of you may remember Catweazle. For others he may have passed you by or perhaps you weren’t around then.
Curiosity doesn't kill the Catweazle
Catweazle was the title character in a 1970s children’s TV programme in the UK. He was a wizard that lived in the 11th century and managed to transport himself through time to the 20th century – the 1970s. As you can imagine his new world would have seemed truly magical and amazing when seen through 11th century eyes.
I loved Catweazle: he questioned everything, took everything apart and broke a lot of things to. Needless to say the recent announcement that he is going to experience a movie remake caught my eye.
The original scriptwriter, Richard Carpenter, will provide the screenplay for the new movie. His motivation for creating the original TV series was ‘concern that children seemed to accept technology with barely a thought about how it worked and (I) thought that a character who saw modern scientific advances like electricity and motorcars with a fresh questioning eye would help to interest children in science.’
I started to wonder about the huge technological advances that have been made since the original series in the 1970s: our world now would seem truly magical to someone picked up from that decade and transported here. Yet we take all this technology for granted: being in constant contact with people; having information at our fingertips 24/7; portraying our lives on social media for all to see and living on credit in a virtual money world.
All these things we accept without understanding not only how these systems work but whether they are a good way to live our lives. Slowly, insipidly, we are giving over control of our lives and ‘computer says no’ is no longer a funny catchphrase from Little Britain but a real situation.
If all the world’s computer systems crashed or were hacked it is said that our world would stop functioning. And why? Because we don’t understand the computerised lives that we have built for ourselves and we’ve become so dependent on living through technology that we wouldn’t initially know what to do if it went wrong. Of course, we’d rediscover how to live our lives in a simpler way, but at what cost?
You might think that I’m against technology, harking back to a simpler life and say it’s my age or whatever. I love technology. I love the internet and the potential it offers. But, like everything, technology offers both advantages and disadvantages. Rather than embracing technology completely it might be worth questioning it first. Do a Catweazle: break it down, understand how it works and then just take the best bits for you. That way you stay in control (somewhat!)
Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
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Designing your own workspace improves health, happiness and productivity
ScienceDaily (2010-09-08) — Employees who have control over the design and layout of their workspace are not only happier and healthier — they’re also up to 32 percent more productive, according to new research. … > read full article
This research shows how important environment is to us, whether it’s our home, the place we work or where we spend our social time such as shops, pubs and clubs.
Employers who don’t take this information on board are missing a trick and, in the current economic climate, they can’t afford to do that. Increase productivity positively impacts the bottom line. Not only that but employees who are in an environment that fosters productivity are more likely to be creative and happy – and less likely to leave which negatively impacts the bottom line.
Jackie Notman is a business and feng shui consultant. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
Business Energetics is based on classic Feng Shui principles and brings together your environment and your people into one harmonised and focussed profit machine.
If you would like to find out more about how your business could benefit from living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website http://www.fs168.co.uk/businessenergetics
Here in the UK we’re moving towards Autumn. If you’re an early riser like me you’ll feel a little nip in the air, see condensation on cars and notice it’s not quite as light. If you’re especially sensitive you would have been able to smell the seasons change a few weeks ago.
I’ve always loved Autumn visually. The reds, russets and golds put on a fantastic display before leaves fall and we get ready for the colder months. However, for the last few years I’ve noticed that I don’t like moving towards Winter. Darkness and cold do nothing for me. I’m not sure that I could be diagnosed with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but I know my energies lift when Spring makes a welcome return.
SAD’s symptoms are depressive and bought on by lack of natural daylight. People affected often find that light boxes help their symptoms. These light boxes provide full spectrum lighting which mimics natural daylight. For those not affected, or don’t believe they are affected, it may be hard to understand what all the fuss is about. After all, light is light isn’t it?
Actually it isn’t.
Light is in fact a nutrient and as vital to us as air, water and food. Just as the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat will affect our health and well-being, so too will the quality of light that we are exposed to.
You can't beat real, organic light
Our natural light comes from the sun and reaches us through a spectrum of waves. The length of these light waves will determine whether we can visually see them or not and what colour they are: The visible spectrum is seen as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The invisible are infra red and ultra violet. When we receive full spectrum lighting with all these waves present it is a little like drinking pure water, breathing clean air or eating organic wholesome vegetables. In other words, it’s good for us.
However, when we created artificial light, firstly in the form of incandescent light bulbs and then fluorescent tubes, we created a very poor second to what is naturally available to us. For neither produces light that is full spectrum so, although we can see what we’re doing, we are not getting the full nutritional value of light as we would if we were outdoors.
If you work in any sort of office building you will probably be reliable on fluorescent tubes to provide your lighting. If so, and you are carrying out any sort of creative work then the lighting will probably hamper your efforts because we are unable to see colours correctly unless we are seeing them in full spectrum light. You may have experienced buying an item of clothing or cosmetics that looked the right colour in store but was very different when you got it home. And, if you’ve ever been in a store changing room you’ll probably have noticed that your skin is either very pale or sallow. These effects are all to do with the choice of lighting.
You may also find difficulties reading things printed on white paper because artificial light is not absorbed by white paper but bounces right back at you.
Of course, these problems are just minor compared to the health problems of spending a lot of time under artificial light. I’ve already mentioned SAD but there’s a lot of research being carried out into the effects of full spectrum light deprivation:
- In 1980 Dr Fritz Hollwich studied the effects on the endocrine system. Whilst working under artificial (part spectrum) lighting levels of ACTH and cortisol (hormones produced when we are under stress) were secreted. For people working under full spectrum lighting these were absent.
- A ten year study at John Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore showed a positive effect of full spectrum light on the reduction of breast, rectal and colon cancer.
- In Russia, full spectrum lighting was used in a factory to address high incidences of colds and sore throats. After installation the bacterial contamination of the air was reduced by up to 70%. Furthermore, workers who did not receive full spectrum lighting were absent for twice as many days as those who did.
- Recent classroom tests have shown that students working in full spectrum light have a marked reduction in hyperactivity, absenteeism and an increase in academic achievement.
So, what do you do?
- Use daylight wherever possible. If you’re in an office and you have a window turn the lighting off. Not only will it help your health but it will also save energy.
- Full spectrum lighting is available but it is more expensive than normal fluorescents or bulbs so choose with care where you use it. For example, if you’re a business you don’t need full spectrum lighting for cupboards and corridors and other transit areas. Prioritise the areas where people spend most of their time (ie, at their desk).
- Have one full spectrum bulb at home, the area that you spend most of your time in when you come home from the office. This way you can get some decent artificial light in the dark evenings of the winter months.
- If you have a home office use a full spectrum bulb in there too. It will allow you to work more effectively by reducing stress, minimising glare and seeing colours naturally.
- Take a break in the day. A twenty minute walk at lunch time will bring enormous benefits. It’s not just the fact that you are getting away from your desk that is helpful, but the daylight will energise you. If it’s not too cold try and expose some skin such as your forearms. This will mean that you can take in a little more of the sun’s nutrients.
- Get out and about as much as you can on your days off. If it’s cold then wrap up well but go out and bathe in daylight.
- If you find that you have symptoms that appear to be linked to the seasons then contact a health professional who is familiar with SAD and consider use of a light box.
Just being aware of the difference between artificial and natural daylight will help you enormously because you’ll be able to choose full spectrum light when you can. And light, real light, will lead to a happier and healthier life.
Jackie Notman is a business and feng shui consultant. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
Business Energetics is based on classic Feng Shui principles and brings together your environment and your people into one harmonised and focussed profit machine.
If you would like to find out more about how your business could benefit from living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website http://www.fs168.co.uk/businessenergetics
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There is no such thing as a paperless office – well, I haven’t found one yet. Office workers produce an awful lot of ‘stuff’. Mainly paper but also old computer equipment, files, desk tidies, pen trays and that wobbly chair that’s kept in the corner.
Would you do business with a company who lives here?
It may seem like an inconsequential thing but clutter and disorganisation can have a number of negative effects on your business.
Firstly, piles of paper are a fire risk, especially if they are left close to electrical items. They are also a safety risk. If one of your employees trips over boxes, has to work in cramped conditions or needs to lift things out of the way to do their job, their physical health could suffer which not only means employee absence but possibly a claim against you for not providing a safe workplace.
Paper and files also collect lots of dust. Clutter doesn’t get moved so the cleaners can clean. Instead it sits there collecting dust. And with dust you get dust mites: little creatures that are a common trigger for asthma and allergies.
Now let’s think about your customers. Quite apart from the health and safety aspects already mentioned, clutter gives an impression of your business that you probably don’t want your customers to have. How old are the journals and magazines in your reception? Do they walk through a cluttered office to get to your meeting room? Do you have to clear a space so they can sit down? Your business goals, and the industry you’re in, will determine the type of image you want to portray. Whatever that is, clutter will never support your brand image.
Apart from turning off your customers or potential customers, clutter has other cost implications. Studies suggest that employees waste up to an hour a day looking for misplaced items or paperwork. That’s easy to qualify as a loss to your business. What is not so easy to calculate is the price of missed opportunities: perhaps losing the business card of a prospect that was really keen to meet with you or missing out on an important conference because the deadline came and went.
Studies also suggest that employees who work in cluttered spaces are more stressed, less efficient and, as a result, feel out of control. As a lack of control is another trigger for stress it becomes a perpetuating cycle.
Clutter also has an effect on an energetic level because it slows energy down and may cause it to stagnate. If your workplace needs a creative dynamic team, clutter will hinder them both physically and mentally.
Removing clutter is not just about tidying things up and putting it in cupboards. It’s about finding smarter ways of working, encouraging recycling and saving money.
So, have a good look round your office. If I was a potential customer and had just walked through your door what would be my impression of your company? Would you get my business?
Jackie Notman is a business and feng shui consultant. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
Business Energetics is based on classic Feng Shui principles and brings together your environment and your people into one harmonised and focussed profit machine.
If you would like to find out more about how your business could benefit from living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website http://www.fs168.co.uk/businessenergetics
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You have permission to publish this article as long as the tagline (above) with links is included and no changes are made to the article. A courtesy copy of your publication or link would be appreciated.
Employee engagement is certainly a buzz phrase at the moment. The Corporate Leadership Council (CLC) estimate that 20% of employees in the UK are highly disengaged meaning they are not happy or satisfied in their roles and not loyal to their employers.
However, in this current climate of high unemployment, is that really a cause for concern? People are not leaving the jobs they have or, if they do, plenty of others are looking so they can easily be replaced. Well, that attitude has a logical argument to support it but doesn’t take into account the benefits of employee engagement. Viewing people as the line in the company accounts titled ‘resource costs’ is short sighted and foolish in business terms.
Positive employee engagement unleashes productivity, creativity and pro-activity. All these ‘tivities’ mean an unrivalled energy in your company that is noticed by customers, prospects, suppliers, competitors and other people who want to become your employee.
“You sort of smell it, don’t you, that engagement of people as people. What goes on in meetings, how people talk to each other. You get the sense of energy, engagement, commitment, belief in what the organisation stands for.”
Lord Currie, former Chair of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) taken from ‘Engaging for Success: enhancing performance through employee engagement’ by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, 2009.
Furthermore an engaged employee will behave in certain ways which will define certain outcomes such as improved customer satisfaction because the call centre staff have gone the extra mile, or reduced conflict or absenteeism because employees are happier to be at work. As a result, employee engagement is measurable and more and more research is showing that an organisation with engaged employees out perform organisations who do not have the same level of engagement.
In 2006 a Gallup survey found that organisations with low employee engagement levels had 51% more employee turnover than those with high engagement levels. A second Gallup survey in the same year showed that the Earnings per Share growth was 2.6 times higher in organisations with high employee engagement compared to those with low engagement levels.
Of course, many people are already convinced that employee engagement is a good thing. It’s the application of a strategy that causes problems. There is a plethora of studies that show what has worked for other organisations and there are many companies offering services to help you improve your employee engagement. Where to start?
- Recognise that you are dealing with people who are all different, have different emotions and motivators and need to be treated as individuals. Therefore having a ‘one size fits all’ generic solution will probably not work.
- Measuring and benchmarking is important. If done correctly you will know where to focus your effort and you will know if those efforts have been successful.
- Don’t stay on one level, think outside the box.
The levels I use are:
Intellectual
This is the basic level that most people operate on. There are many models available that help us to build teams, create effective managers, measure and benchmark, etc. It’s all valid stuff but, it’s only the beginning.
Physical
Don’t overlook the working environment. The most recent Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) showed that job satisfaction levels varied across workplaces suggesting that the working environment had an impact on engagement as well as demographics and the role itself.
There are many aspects of our working environment that have an impact on us biologically, emotionally and mentally such as lighting, ventilation and colour. If detrimental this will affect employee engagement.
Metaphysical
This third level is based on classic Feng Shui principles which, in a nutshell, harmonise the energetic levels of the people, with the energetic level of the organisation, within the energetic level of the environment. Harmony is the key word here and it is a crucial factor for high levels of employee engagement.
Pull these three levels together and you have a unique synergistic solution for your organisation. I call this process Business Energetics. It’s a little out of the box and encourages you not to be a sheep. After all, if you want to stay one jump ahead in the market you need to get out of the box first and let the sheep follow you.
More information on Business Energetics can be found here.
Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
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If you were like me as a kid your bedroom wall would have been covered with posters and pictures. For me it was the Bay City Rollers, Jackson Five and, of course Donny Osmond. I guess you can work out my age now! For others a football team, pictures of friends or family.
As kids we put stuff on our walls that we wanted to look at. That allowed us to dream and imagine our future lives. Our pictures inspired us. We knew the value of an image and how it affects us on a subliminal level. But I often wonder if we lose that as we grow up.
Perhaps we adorn our walls now for different reasons: because we’re trying to emulate somebody else, because we saw it in a magazine, because it was a present and we feel we should hang it up, because it matches the colour scheme or because the wall’s bare without ‘something’.
Wherever we go we are inundated with images, so much that we have to block a lot of it out or our brains would frazzle. However, there are two places where images can have a deep effect on us, slowly seeping their message into our subconscious and you may not even know that it’s happening. Those places are our home and our workplace.
So let’s take a step back and think about images whether they are paintings, posters or any other artwork on display. They all visually represent something. It may be something that we recognise or it may be abstract where colour and shape dominate. Whatever is represented we will have a visual/mind reaction when we look at it. We’ll like it, not like or couldn’t really care less.
However, images have a much deeper effect on us and our choices of imagery in our homes and workplaces can be very telling. Once we understand this effect, we can use it to our advantage to make changes in our environments and, therefore, in our lives. This is a vital part of a Feng Shui consultation where images can exacerbate an issue and can often be used as cures.
What are you battling against?
This depicts a scene from the charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. It’s a pretty rousing picture and would not look out of place in a traditional house, perhaps in a study. But it’s a battle, it’s war, people die and there’s lots of blood. It is far from relaxing or inspirational.
If you’re looking at this scene when you work you may find yourself battling with suppliers or fighting to get your customers to pay you. And if you’ve got it hanging in the bedroom well, I think you can work that one out.
Is life a little choppy at the moment?
Here’s a classic example of the type of picture you find on many board room or senior managers’ walls. Now, I don’t know about you, but if I’m dealing with any organisation I’d be concerned if I thought they were going through rough times like the boat is in this picture.
Do you really want a relationship?
This is typical of an arty, atmospheric image. You would be amazed by people who are looking for a relationship, or can’t seem to make relationships last that have this type of imagery in their lives. On the one hand they say they want to find somebody and settle down but their walls say ‘I want to be alone.’
Relax and take it easy
Even abstracts have similar effects. The fluid shape and blue tones here represent water. Water is very Yin and is about stillness, quiet and the feminine. So it will work well in areas where relaxation takes place.
Don't even try to relax
However, this one is the complete opposite. The red makes it very Yang which is fiery, active and stimulating. Also the rectangular shapes represent a rising energy so put this in a place of relaxation and it will have the opposite effect.
Are you starting to look at your walls differently now? Any imagery you use should reflect what you want, what you aspire to. A typical Feng Shui type picture would be a mountain because it represents stability, security and support. However, there’s a big difference between the foothills and the top of the mountain. So, if your mountain picture is in front of you, make sure it’s showing the view from the top, unless you really want to stay stuck kicking your heels at the bottom.
Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
This Feng Shui information is general for everybody. However, there are deeper levels of Feng Shui which take into account you and your specific business or home environment.
If you would like to find out more about living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website www.fs168.co.uk
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The ideas behind the phenomenally popular Law of Attraction subject are not new. Maybe packaged in a different way to allow lots of people these days to charge you money for their books, courses, DVDs etc. but the elemental message is very established.
Forward thinkers of the late 19th and early 20th century such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Florence Scovell Shinn and Wallace Wattles had their own little boom industry selling the same ideas. And even then the ideas were not new.
But I like going back a hundred years and reading the words that they used to express the fact that how we live our lives will determine what type of life we have.
Here is one of my favourite quotes from Christian D Larson, a prolific writer who founded the New Thought Temple, was editor of Eternal Progress and spurned an Optimists’ movement with his ‘Optimist Creed’.
It’s simple but effective and there are no DVDs, books or courses available for you to spend your money on:
Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
Make all your friends feel there is something special in them.
Look at the sunny side of everything.
Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best.
Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
Give everyone a smile.
Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others.
Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.
– Christian D. Larsen
Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
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It was a wet Sunday afternoon and the time had arrived that I’d been waiting for. I had finally managed to get a week off work. No crawling out of bed to the shrill call of the alarm clock, fighting the rush hour or getting through the day to end up sitting on my sofa in the evening wondering where another part of my life had gone.
For a whole week I could……. and then it hit me like a sledge hammer: what was I going to do? I had to make the most of my time but what exactly was I going to do?
So that set the emotional roller coaster going: from happy to a major plummet into something like despair.
I have always been an avid reader (thank you Dad for taking me to the library every week when I was a kid) and in my early 20s I discovered the amazing genre of personal development and self help.
I have always been led into things by my curiosity and, as a result I’ve learnt many things and many lessons. For me, the personal development field became a source of knowledge, ideas and viewpoints that I had never known before.
Before long I was hooked. I had so much development to get through! I discovered so many things about me that needed improving! And for over 20 years I have been out there, searching for answers.
So, back to the wet Sunday afternoon and I’m at the dip in the rollercoaster, the bottom of the despair barrel and suddenly, a light comes on. To call it an epiphany would not be exaggeration. It was big enough to propel me back up to the heights again. This is what was revealed to me:
1. All the books, courses, tapes and CDs had left me with more questions than answers. It was as if I had been led into a labyrinth, getting further and further in with everything I studied. I was discovering more parts of me that didn’t come up to the mark, more work that needed doing before I could ‘get there’.
2. I must have spent a fortune on all those things.
3. How or why would any of these people who created all these theories on life improvement know what was right for me any more than I would myself? Surely I’m the most qualified person to do that aren’t I?
4. In all the years of seeking I had been looking the wrong way. I had been searching outside of myself for answers. Says a lot about my opinion of me doesn’t it? I wasn’t good enough or brainy enough or spiritual enough to provide my own answers that I would take any notice of. I had handed over the responsibility for my happiness to other people.
My happiness? Yes, because that’s really what I want: to be happy. Is it what you want? I don’t know because you’re the only one to answer that but, if I was to make a bet…..?
What I realised was that other people don’t have my answers. They don’t know what’s right for me. They are not following my path. My truth is not out there playing buddies with their truth.
However, my years of worshipping the personal development genre have not been wasted. Neither has yours. In fact, our contribution has been invaluable so let’s pat ourselves on the back.
Well done!
Congratulations!
You are exalted and revered by a huge group of people.
Without you, they would not be where they are today.
You are the key to their success.
You are their lifeblood.
Doesn’t that make you feel good?
Yes? Well IT SHOULDN’T!
Do you know how instrumental you have been in lining the coffers of all the people that have been telling you how to be more successful?
Do you realise that the only reason they are so successful is because people like me and you pay for their hallowed words.
They say
“look at me – see the lifestyle I have, the happiness I have, the money I have, the charisma I have, the health I have……..”
Then they say
“listen to me – I can show you how to get this lifestyle, this happiness, this money, this charisma, this health….”
And then they say
“give me your money and it’s yours.”
And we put our hands in our pockets because that’s what we think we want.
The self improvement market was estimated at $9.6 billion dollars in 2006. How much have you contributed? Think about it:
- How many books, CDs, DVDs, workshop or seminar places have you bought?
- How many books, CDs, DVDs are sitting at home unopened, unread or unpractised?
- Has the distance from where you are now to where you want to be got shorter as a direct result of reading, listening or attending workshops?
- Or do you find that the more you delve the more complex and further away your goals become?
- Do you have more success in your life as a direct result of all this self development expenditure?
- Are you happier, richer, healthier etc, as a direct result of all this development expenditure?
Just think of all those promises that have been made to you. The promises that really found an empathy with what you were looking for, that made you excited about buying the information and that made you think that this time you were finally going to get the answer.
All those promises that made you put your hand in your pocket because ‘you were worth it’.
Did they live up to your expectations?
Are you a happy, successful, fulfilled human being?
If the answer’s yes then that’s great. Maybe you should write a book about your method. If the answer is no, which is more likely otherwise the self development industry wouldn’t exist, we need to understand why.
At the time of writing there are over 56 million results produced from a search for ‘self development’ on Google. It’s big stuff. Our individual dissatisfaction has spurned this industry through what I call the ‘Abundant Circle’.
The Abundant Circle can trap you
So, let’s have a look at this in a little more detail:
- You are unhappy or dissatisfied in some way and you want to feel happier or more satisfied with what you have. (There is nothing wrong with this. If we didn’t want to improve our lot then why on earth are we here?)
- Therefore, you decide to look for help. (Okay so far but this is when things can get a little sticky. Where are you looking for this help? Oh yes – out there.)
- Now remember, if you search on the internet you have over 56 million results that you could search – I guess that might certainly take your mind off your problems. Or if you go into any book shop I guarantee that you will have at least one floor to ceiling section to keep you busy. (As an aside, do you ever look at the other people browsing those books and just wonder what’s going on inside their head or is that just me?)
- Anyway, back to the point. You’re now getting into dangerous waters because you are swimming where the professional fisher of men lurk, just waiting to hook you with their promises and reel you in.
Do you want wealth? Buy my book.
Happiness? No problem, here’s a CD.
You too can have a lifestyle like mine (funded by people who want a lifestyle like mine!)
- So, we buy the promises. This is it. This time things are going to change. This time I will succeed.
- Now we come into the ‘set up to fail’ part of the Abundant Circle because usually one of the following will happen:
- We practise what we are told and it doesn’t work or doesn’t fit in with your lifestyle, makes you boring, loses your friends etc.
- We can’t practise it because we have a normal lifestyle like having to go to work, look after the kids, clean the house, do the shopping etc.
- We don’t understand it.
- We never get round to finishing it, opening it etc.
- As a result we become even more dissatisfied and look for help AGAIN.
It’s a self perpetuating circle and what the industry depends on to keep success, happiness, abundance and whatever else where it should be and away from us so we keep on searching.
I have one question for you. If you have tried getting self development help from external sources and it hasn’t worked, why do you keep on doing it? I’m interested to know because I was caught up in the cycle for many years.
How do you break the cycle? How do you stop giving your money and responsibility for your life to other people? It’s a simple truth and it’s yours. The truth is not ‘out there’ but inside you. Nobody else knows what your truth is. You may say that you don’t know what your truth is. But if you don’t then how do you expect somebody you’ve never met to know and to accept your money for telling you what your truth is. It’s really quite bizarre.
You are a responsible human being so take responsibility. Turn inside, find the answers – your answers – and take responsibility. If your actions aren’t right or don’t work then it’s nobody’s fault. You just have to find another way.
It’s scary all this responsibility. But it’s the only way you can move forward. Don’t hand your power or your life over to someone else. There’s only one place you’ll find your truth.
Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
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There is a certain spiritual writer whom I used to admire. He had a down to earth approach on how to live a spiritual life. After selling many books and earning a lot of money he decided that he could no longer be spiritual in the rat race any more so moved to a remote part of the world to live off his profits. And I thought – what a cop out!
There is a long tradition of using isolation to improve our spiritual connection. Monks would live in caves and people seeking the truth would become hermits. The Bible tells us that Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and seek the face of God.
Mostly these people lived in poverty, gave up any worldly possessions they had and their actions were seen as a sacrifice in order to gain in spiritual richness. They relied on the generosity of strangers or followers. However, that was in a world where money was not the foundation of society.
Can we find spirituality in the real world?
Today, attempting to live without money is impossible (unless you are doing it for a short period and writing a book about it or making a television programme). Removing such an embedded energy from our lives invites distrust, judgement and exclusion. Yes, you can use some of the barter systems that operate around the world. To a point. Or you can rely on the kindness of your family and friends. To a point. But, somebody somewhere has to be earning money to be able to bestow such generosity on you.
Of course, self sufficiency could work but land is expensive, especially here in the UK, which brings us back to money.
So, is the possibility of a spiritual life only for the wealthy? Once upon a time, when people retreated from the world to seek enlightenment, their isolation was seen as a sacrifice in return for spiritual richness.
These days, for those who have money and choose to retreat there is no sacrifice. So, is enlightenment not achieved? Is sacrifice the key rather than isolation?
After all, it’s easy to be spiritual and have good thoughts all the time in a world without difficulties and challenges but the true spiritual pioneers are making it work in this world: where money is the language we all use, where mortgages and bills have to be paid and we have to interact with each other throughout the mundanity of life.
If you can take all of that and still smile and be kind to people I salute you for overcoming the spiritual challenge of life in the 21st century.
Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer. This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.
WANT TO PUBLISH THIS ARTICLE?
You have permission to publish this article as long as the tagline (above) with links is included and no changes are made to the article. A courtesy copy of your publication or link would be appreciated.
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