Way of the Peaceful Complainer

by Greg Provance

I am not usually a supporter of complaining in general. In fact, I’m a quite staunch opponent, but if your voice must be heard regarding an injustice, there is a tactful way to go about it. Let’s say your flight is delayed…for, say 23 hours, with no explaination and no attempt to rectify the problem. (Anyone get the idea that I have experienced this recently?) You may feel the impulse to complain.
If you feel you would like compensation for the event and are not getting any love from the ticket counter, here is a course of action that I found to be quite effective:

1. Resist the urge to use anger! This will get you nowhere fast. In fact, if you think you are being nice, be even nicer. Staying calm, collected and pleasant is your only real shot at being heard.

2. Find someone who can really help you. Keep probing until you get the right person who is qualified to give you what you are asking for. Then, state your case briefly and suggest what you would like in return for your strife.

3. Make your request reasonable. A free ticket or credit toward future flight is reasonable. An open-ended, first class international round trip may be pushing it.

4. Resolve the matter quickly, on the spot if possible. If it is not possible to get the matter resoved right then and there, do not wait to to pursue the case. You will likely lose.

Had a similar experience that you were able to resolve peacefully? Please feel free to comment!

The War of Intention

by Greg Provance
War. War on terror, war on drugs, the fight against cancer…man, it seems like there’s a lot of emphasis on battling things these days. What would happen if we were to shift our consciousness to solutions? What if we started referring to the “war on terror” as “the solution for peace” or the war on drugs to “the movement for better health”? A dramatic shift, indeed, but would it work? My opininion is that by shifting our intention to a positive, solution-based way of thinking and acting we would get dramatic results that err on the side of improvement and positive change. What do you think? Is this attitude of “war” perpetuating a problem or truly a means to an end?

Stillness Speaks

An excerpt from an article written by Eckhart Tolle.
You can view the entire article here: http://www.soulfuliving.com/stillness_speaks.htm

The equivalent of external noise is the inner noise of thinking. The equivalent of external silence is inner stillness.

Whenever there is some silence around you — listen to it. That means just notice it. Pay attention to it. Listening to silence awakens the dimension of stillness within yourself, because it is only through stillness that you can be aware of silence.

See that in the moment of noticing the silence around you, you are not thinking. You are aware, but not thinking.

When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective human conditioning.

Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness.

When you look at a tree and perceive its stillness, you become still yourself. You connect with it at a very deep level. You feel a oneness with whatever you perceive in and through stillness. Feeling the oneness of yourself with all things is true love.

Comments are welcome!

Who do you wish to be?

by Greg Provance

“A person’s character is their destiny.” -Heraclitus

An idea was presented to me recently that has since become one of the most useful tools that I posess for dealing with everyday situations or problems that could otherwise throw my day into a tailspin. This idea can probably best be explained through the experience of a coach I know…(this is completely paraphrased, but true)…
“Recently, I had to make a decision as a business owner to fire an employee. The same week, another employee resigned. I began to take their not-so-pleasant remarks about this experience personally and become stuck in the emotions that arose. It then occurred to me to ask a question of myself, rather than to react to the situation and to resist the impulse to try to ‘do’ something. I began asking ‘who do I wish to be in this situation?’ And then, ‘what would that person do?’ The answer was that I wished to be a successful business owner and a leader, and that a leader would know that this is part of the job, part of the game of being responsible for running a successful business and that a leader does not get bogged down by the emotion of the situation, but rather decides what next steps to take with confidence and integrity and moves on. I instantly felt empowered and confident and was able to acknowledge my emotions but not be ruled by them. I was and I am, in fact, that leader.”
After hearing this story, I knew that what had happened there was transformational, not only for him, but for me. I was immediately able to practice this principle in my own life by acting with integrity and complete honesty in a situation that would have been very easy to take advantage of, if even in a small way. I walked away from this situation with a feeling of freedom vs. remorse or guilt. By alligning my actions with the person I wish to be, I have an opportunity to rid my life of those weapons that I use to flog myself, to eliminate guilt and shame and to walk with purpose, clarity and focus, the marks of true success.
So today (and every day) ask yourself “Who do I wish to be?” and “How would that person act in this moment?”
You just may find that life takes on a whole new perspective!
For your freedom,
Greg Provance