The Constellation Learning Newsletter
September 2009

Is it just me, or did this summer move at the speed of light? Here it is the end of August and the changing light and shortened days herald autumn’s arrival. They also serve to awaken a certain “back-to-work” mindset in me: fall means back to school with new shoes, new books, new teachers, and new opportunities. A world of potential, possibilities, and fresh starts.

That, plus falling leaves, sweaters, and woolen mittens.

Oh, I do love fall—and fresh starts.

Cynthia Barlow

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Monthly Message ~

“We are at the opening verse of the opening page
of the chapter of endless possibilities.”

-- Rudyard Kipling --

I am reminded of a law of human physiology: our cells are built such that they can be in either growth or protection mode at any given time. Were we cars it could be likened unto being in either forward or reverse, but impossible to be in both simultaneously.

When we’re feeling anxious, frustrated, or fearful, every cell in our being goes into protection mode; they gear up for attack and get ready to fight off perceived threats. Conversely, when we feel alive, contented, or hopeful, every cell goes into “woohoo” mode and suddenly we enter the quantum field of possibilities.

When we’re actively engaged in thoughts and activities that ignite our minds and hearts in positive ways, we tap into the universal data base and step onto the shore of synchronicity. It’s a very exciting place, full of magic, mystery and marvelous happenstances that make you smile in awe and acknowledgement. In Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life, author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi makes the point that this place of synchronicity is common to high performing athletes who call it “being in the zone.”

We have all experienced being “in flow” or “in the zone.” Your cells are in growth mode: everything you do or say is just right, the tennis ball keeps landing an inch inside the baseline, the boss nods sagely at your comments during the meeting, you say just the right thing to a friend in pain, you lose track of time while painting, writing, or playing music. You bump into someone on the street you had on your list to contact. You get that “aha” answer after searching for a solution to a problem. Here’s a real example from my son this summer: walking on Yonge street looking to get a haircut, and a guy comes up to him, taps him on the shoulder and says, “you want a free haircut?” It was a new salon, just opening, giving away samples of their service. What are the odds? That’s when you know you’re in flow: “coincidences” keep happening.

I call it a “way made clear” experience. A way made clear experience is one where I feel as though there is someone walking slightly ahead of me, opening the doors as I approach—no stopping and starting, just a continuous flow of results in alignment with my intention.

This summer has proved to be one long way-made-clear experience for Michael and me resulting in a global marketing opportunity. Doors have opened, one after the other. Six weeks ago there was an idea. Now there is a meeting in the States with the big boys who brought you the Snuggie and ShamWow. Um, huh…? (And don’t ask me what it is because there’s a non-disclosure agreement in place—you’ll know as soon as I can release that info.)

While not counting our chicks yet, it has been a delight to watch the eggs be laid one after the other, to be aware of the perfection, to see the synchronicity and simply relax into it, knowing that all is unfolding as it was meant to (i.e. by intention versus predestination). The awareness itself is its own reward—the actual results secondary.

In the world of modal logic and mathematics, they talk of three states: possibility, probability and necessity. There are a bunch of symbols and various equations representing examples of those states. It’s all very complicated—far too much so for my feeble brain—but this form of mathematical philosophy strikes me as over complicating a very simple concept. Human beings are designed to participate in life in such a way as to operate in cellular growth mode: good stuff happens when we do. Doors open. People listen to us. The world is affected in a positive way.

If our every thought or action is a pebble in a pond, then the ripples are up to us.

All I know is every morning is a fresh start, with or without autumn. So why not take a breath, take a chance, and leap into the land of possibilities? Go into growth mode. You, your family and friends, even the world itself, deserves it.

“It is not impossibilities which fill us with the deepest despair, but possibilities which we have failed to realize.”

-- Robert Mallett, Apostilles, 1972 --

(For back issues please click here.)

__________________________________________

See our Newsletter Archives