Forgiveness and Freedom, and the Wisdom of a Desert Flower.

Truly growing up is a conscious declaration of freedom and a choice. It doesn’t "just happen"...

As a child you might have been mistreated in some ways,
Perhaps even abused.

But today, if you haven’t forgiven,
Then YOU are the one abusing your Self, and are keeping yourself prisoner.

Forgive... to free yourself... and come alive!

Realize your truest, most authentic Self and nourish the world with your presence.
Why? Because you CAN.

Growing up is not dependent on circumstances.
Growing up is a choice.

Look at the desert flower…

Its environment is incredibly harsh.
Yet, it somehow finds the strength to break open its shell.
Then it searches deep in the sand to find a drop of a drop of life giving water,
And it reeeeaaaaaaches out to the light, until it eventually blooms.
The flower transforms the desert with its beauty,
And commands respect for its commitment and courage.

The desert is your past,
The seed-shell is your mind,
And the life inside the seed is your Spirit.
You, my friend, are the SPIRIT.

Watch your mind, so it doesn’t hold you hostage in the dark.
And keep your eyes on your animating Spirit.
Remember; circumstances can NOT limit the beauty that you are...
Unless you say so.

Forgive the Abuse.
Leave the Past behind.
And live NOW.
The PRESENT is your GIFT.


Questions you can ask yourself
What are your limiting stories?
Where is the "drop of a drop" in your life?
What are the depths that you haven’t explored yet?
Why are you truly here?

© 2007 Francois Levannier. All rights reserved.

Overwhelm no more!

Do you want to create change in your life? You may even have...  a dream or a vision... but the mere thought of embarking on that journey has chronically brought you a pattern of "Overwhelm" that has kept you from ever taking the first step?

If yes, then you MUST read this short story. (Today could be the day you took your very first step!)

THE MAN AND THE SEE  

By Francois Levannier

Once upon a time there was a young man who lived in the state of Maine, on the East coast of the Americas. But really, he lived in a chronic state of okay-ness with an underlying feeling of boredom and anxiety.  

His life was okay, but he didn't feel alive. I mean ALIVE alive.

One night, he had a dream. On the other side of the Great Big Ocean, in a place called "La Cote d'Emeraude" - The Emerald Coast -- in Brittany, France, was a light. This light was calling him, beckoning him to come over to dance with it.

The next morning, something had changed in this young man. As if some of that light had penetrated him and he was now filled with eagerness and purpose.

He now had a vision: crossing the Great Big Atlantic Ocean and reaching "La Cote d'Emeraude" in Brittany, France.

It didn't take him long before he had built the perfect vessel for his journey. He set the rudder and his compass to the exact coordinates of his destination, and he set off on his adventure!

Our young man spent the next 26 years sailing back and forth between what he called "Heaven and Earth". He was alive. I mean ALIVE alive!

Until one day, something odd happened. That so familiar sense of okay-ness, this strange underlying feeling of boredom and anxiety had come back...

 

That night, he had a dream. On the other side of the Great Big Ocean but far, far south of "La Cote d'Emeraude" in Britanny, France, on the old continent of Africa he saw a light. This light was calling him, beckoning him to come over and dance with it!

The next morning, something had changed in this man. As if some of that light had penetrated him, but this time, hesitation had replaced eagerness and purpose was replaced with doubt. He had seen the light, but now he was afraid. He didn't have the youth and carefreeness that had once carried him forward to make his dream come true. 

If he wanted to reach that light far in the south of the old continent of Africa, then he needed to change his sailing course by 40 degrees; a huge stretch for himself and his navigation equipment!  

He was overwhelmed.

He decided to not heed the call of that light, and he took off, once again, for the good ol' "Cote d'Emeraude" in Britanny, France. But this time, no light was to be seen anywhere. Everything looked grey, dull and lifeless.  And his anxiety came back to haunt him.

He thought of his dream and the light far, far south in the old continent of Africa. But the journey to it seemed impossible, and the mere thought of embarking on this journey felt completely overwhelming to him. "40 degrees?! That's way too much. I can't do it. My equipment can't handle it.  No way!"

One night, when he was back home in the state of Maine, on the East coast of the Americas, he looked at the stars and prayed for guidance. A shooting star crossed the sky, and a thought made its way into his head: "One degree a day." He repeated this thought. "One degree a day." Then it clicked! "ONE DEGREE A DAY!" All he ever had to do was to change his course by one tiny little degree every day, to eventually reach his destination.  

"That," he said to himself, "I CAN do!" and he thanked The Universe for its guidance.

The next morning, he packed his belongings and ran to his boat as he had many times before, but this time, as he left the harbor, he gave his rudder a tiny little nudge. One degree to be exact ;-)

The next day everything looked just the same as it always had. But it felt slightly different, like everything was just the way it was supposed to be. And peace had replaced some of his anxiety. He gave that rudder another tiny little nudge. One degree... And every day our man changed his course by one degree. And everyday, he could sense a growing feeling of joy and light-heartedness in his chest.

Until one day, he noticed a bird he had never seen before. And what a joy, what a celebration! He was overcome with curiosity and awe. He wanted to know all about that bird! He felt incredibly alive again. I mean ALIVE alive!

The weather became warmer and warmer. So he let go of his many layers of clothes and opened himself to the sun's loving embrace.

The water became warmer too and he, for the first time, accepted the dolphins' invitation to play with them.

The light was in him.

And one day, he saw a small island. Music was coming from it. And as he got closer, he could see people dancing on the beach. Soon, they too noticed him and waved him over.  

He got off his boat and was offered food. Food he had never seen nor tasted before. Coconuts, mangos, pineapples, papaya, etc... 

He was in heaven.

He stayed for a while, then, when he knew in his heart that it was time to go, he took off again, changing his course by one degree every single day. And one day he arrived at his destination.

It is when he saw the land of his vision that he realized that indeed:

-       One can accomplish big things easily and effortlessly by making small adjustments daily.

-       One experiences "the Light" AS SOON AS one says YES to it and takes the very first step toward it. One experiences Joy as soon as one says YES to it and takes the very first step.

It is said that this man, an old man now, is still wandering the seas. He's been called many names, but the one that puts a big smile on my face is "Ocean Gump".

So my friend, let me ask you this: do you have a dream or a vision?

Are you moving toward that "light" or away from it?

What is the tiny little step that you CAN take today?  And tomorrow? What is that "one degree" for you?

I am asking, because the world needs your dream right now.

Transform your iPhone into a personal Life Coach!

In my last post, I talked about Personal Leadership, and the importance of "being present", as YOU.

Today, I am sending out a shout about a fantastic spiritual new-tech tool that will help you "find your way" when you're feeling confused and in need of some guidance.  

It is an iPhone app and it is called MY ORACLE.

(Click on this link to go straight to the app store.)

 

I co-created this app a couple of years ago, and since then, thousands of people have benefitted from using it.

I've had people I don't know stop me in the streets, to tell me that they have my app, they love it, and use it all the time for themselves and with their friends and family to find guidance and clarity. It feels really good to hear these testimonials, and I am reminded that what I do "here" can have a huge impact on what happens "there". What came to me as inspiration about six years ago during walks in Marin County's nature, and was put down on paper in my office in Mill Valley, is now reaching and helping people all over the world!!! It's totally mind boggling to me.

Marin Magazine wrote about it last year! 

Great leaders embody great qualities and virtues of the human spirit, and they inspire others to live with an ever increasing level of ethics. MY ORACLE is composed of dozens of "readings" or "messages" that refer back to those virtues. Virtues such as Generosity, Patience, Selflessness or Trust. MY ORACLE reminds us of the qualities inherent within all of us that empower us, free us, and ultimately contribute to the co-creation of a better world for all of us.

MY ORACLE relies on the law of intention and synchronicity. Universe/Life always responds to your thoughts and intentions. When you have a genuine desire to receive guidance, Universe/Life will seek channels to communicate with you. MY ORACLE is one of those channels.

If you have an iPhone, you can download MY ORACLE by clicking on the iTunes tab below.

MY ORACLE is based on the understanding that if something is not working out in your life, then there is something on your inside that needs some attention. Once you identify what it is and course correct, life reflects it back to you as restored flow and success!

The app costs $2.99 to download, the price of a cup of coffee. 

You can drink coffee to give you a boost of adrenaline that will be soon be gone. Or you can get MY ORACLE and have a guidance system that is always ready to support you.

Please leave a review on the iTunes store,  whether you've had MY ORACLE for a while or just recently purchased it!

And please, let your friends know about it!

Finally, if you have any suggestions on how to bring MY ORACLE to more people, please tell me all about it! Here is my information:

Email: Francois@LoveYourLifeAndBusiness.com

Phone: (415) 383-0818 

Peace & blessings,

Francois 

Ps: For those who do not have iPhones, my apologies. I am in the process of creating a brand new app for Android. My apologies to the men this time, 'cause it is a "ladies only" app! Keep posted!!! ;*)

Personal Leadership, response-ability and co-creation

Everyone knows the importance of "Personal Leadership" in one's life. It is personal leadership that allows one to live the vibrant and fulfilling life that one is longing for.

For me, personal leadership is: "To use my abilities to be at choice."

The main "ability" I am referring to is the ability to be present.

And in order to be at choice, I need not only to be present but also to be MYSELF.

Huh right? Read on...

The other day, my wife and I were driving down Miller Avenue in Mill Valley, on our way to having tea and chocolate in the Marina in Sausalito, when suddenly a car, unaware of our presence, started merging into our lane. The car was about to hit us when, flooded with a huge rush of adrenaline, I stepped on the breaks. The driver of that car obviously had had no clue that we were in the lane right next to him! What happened next was very interesting to me...

After the initial fear, which caused me to take rapid action and save the situation, anger arose in me. Who were those lunatics?! I had an urge to find out and "let them have it". I laid on my horn.  

 

It was a car full of high school kids. Before I could drive up next to them, there was a laps of time long enough for me to recompose myself, ground and get clear, but I chose not to. I say I chose, because my inner voice of wisdom was telling me to let it go, not to react, stay present with my inner experience and take responsibility for my feelings, but another part of myself, a more miserable part of me wanted some form of retaliation, make someone else responsible for my emotions and make them miserable too. And I chose to drive up and tell them kids, with an attitude of rectitude, to keep their eyes on the road.

Christi looked at me and said: "Oh my, I've never seen you like this before!" And we started laughing about the jerk I had become for a moment!"

What struck me about this situation is that, in that moment, I hadn't been myself, AND I had actually consciously chosen to not be myself. I had become my reaction and started creating my reality AS my reaction. Not as ME. Now why would I do that?! I had used my power of free will to go unconscious, react, indulge in my reaction, and by doing so loose dominion over my present experience AND over my future.

Yes, over my future too. What goes around comes around right? The energy I put out today WILL come back to me tomorrow...

And I want to make sure that what goes around from out of me, is aligned with what I value and believe in! And it is in my commitment to that, that resides my Personal Leadership. And this requires that I be the authentic "ME", whose response-ability includes responsibility, as always as possible.

It is when I am truly MYSELF that I can choose what Buddhists call "right action".

Every time we choose to let anger inform our thoughts and actions (notice that as personal leaders we are taking responsibility for this CHOICE), we are actually participating in an energy of war in the world. We are in a state of consciousness that contributes and supports wars in the world. I know this might sound a little dramatic or esoteric. But science, with every advance, is confirming the validity of ancient spiritual teachings of the interconnectedness of all things. Quantum physicists discovered that matter literally changes depending on who observes it.  

 

It is the consciousness of the observer that creates the reality.    

So here is what you need to understand: 

Whatever you do in the privacy of your own home, mind and heart is not as private as you might think, and it affects the whole.

See how responsible we really are?

When you react, indulge in your reaction, and let your reaction inform your thoughts and actions, you stop being YOU, and really, you are a threat to the common good. Think about it: who is present when you aren't? Who's making decisions, acting, talking, thinking?

My mentor Patrick O'Neil says: "Reactivity is a sign of misplaced personal leadership."

I'll even say that "Reactivity is a sign of a misplaced YOU."

Okay, so get this! As you slow down your thoughts in that moment of reaction, you might notice that the velocity of the mind can be such that it easy to skip over the fact that it is actually us who are making the choice of going unconscious. But the truth is, that there is this moment where we are choosing to react instead of using our personal leadership abilities to stand by our true selves, and we loose an opportunity to create something truly NEW for ourselves and for a world in dire need of a new way.  YOU can open that new way, by using your Personal Leadership abilities.

WOW, isn't that empowering?

Let's look at places where it's easy to react and abandon ourselves. Notice as you read through the examples, what your energy does, and notice what specific examples trigger the strongest reaction:

-       A letter from the IRS, you're being audited.

My survival program kicks in. Adrenaline shoots through my body. Fight or flight.

-       The presence of a specific family member.

I regress to dynamics that are long obsolete.

-       A big fat chocolate brownie is offered to you.

The desire for it takes over. A "program" is running you. You can't resist even though you had previously decided not to have any for a while, because some of the ingredients are making you tired or even sick.

-       Your partner, or a sexy hunny you just met, promises you good sex in one hour.

Another program is activated. The sex program. Now you have this heat emerging in your core and rising up to your head. You can't wait. You're already fantasizing and can't be present with your child who really needs your attention right now. Or you're driving and are not as present and are not driving as safely as you normally would.

-       You're opening a letter from your employer, you're definitely fired.

Yikes!

-       You played the lottery and you're watching as all your numbers are being drawn one by one! You just won 85 million dollars! You go to the lottery head quarters to cash in your jackpot and find out that your ticket was for the previous week.

No comment.

Did you notice any changes in your experience, your energy, your emotions while reading through? Which situation is more likely to stray you away from YOU and your personal leadership, and send you on a loop of unconscious reactivity?

Mind you, there is nothing wrong with having a banquet of feelings in the celebration of one's life! The question is "Are you having those feelings or are they having you?" In other words; are you maintaining your ability to be present/be you/be at choice, and thus do what's called for in service of the higher good in any given situation, or are you abandoning yourself to a pattern or a reaction and can't help anyone because of it?

Ask yourelf:

Who are you when you aren't you?

When do YOU give up your right to be YOU?

What's the cost?

What do you know will help you in staying present and being your empowered/clear SELF all the time?

Good intentions aren't enough. It is vital that we, as conscious people, are aware of the times and places when we aren't present/us, and commit to do EVERYTHING WE CAN to BRING US BACK!

Because...

YOU is the most precious thing you have.

YOU is the most precious thing your family has.

YOU is the most precious thing the world has.

So here is one tool you can use when you start loosing yourself/react. It is from the Buddhist tradition:

Place your awareness on your different senses, one after another.

What are you hearing?

What are you seeing?

What are you smelling?

What are you tasting?

What are you touching?

Keep circling from one sense awareness to the other without getting hung up in any particular one, and you'll find yourself disengaging from the drama and becoming YOU again.

When you apply yourself to using your abilities to be present and be YOU, you are engaging your personal leadership abilities and create more freedom in your life. You become more response-able, responsible, and the world is a better place for it.

Congratulations on all the work you've done so far in your life! Keep going, stay engaged with your process, and savor the fruits of a well invested mind and heart.

 

Brilliant branding A-has for you and your business.

YOU are beautiful.
YOU are unique.
YOU are magnetic!

YOU are a brand.

You will find value from reading this whether you are a business owner or an individual.

What's the first thing you think when you hear "branding"? Most of my new clients would answer that it is about "image": Logo, colors, letterheads, business cards, cool looking website, t-shirts, banners, flashy commercials, etc...

Sure. But that alone won't bring you the success you are longing for.

In 2009, I had the great privilege to help raw food advocate and culinary genius Diana Stobo with her brand identity. Today, Diana is helping thousands of people, has published two award winning books, is appearing on TV, and has a blog that is read all over the world.

To watch my branding session with Diana on video, click here:

=> BRANDING SESSION WITH DIANA STOBO <=

One of the main key factors to successful brand development is known as "differentiation", so important to "compete".

There is tons of literature on differentiation (and branding in general) online.

In this present article, I'd like you to have one big A-HA around differentiation and competition, so read on.

When I first came here in the United States in 2003, many people told me that competition was tough in my line of work. Sooo many were already doing the same thing.

Well, I don't see things the same way. How can anybody compete with each other? There is only one of each of us.

I am the only ME there is. You are the only YOU there is.

Within two years, I had established a client base of 400. And that's my way of doing business. Taking care of "competition" by finding out who I am and embracing it overtly and covertly. The domain of the spiritual then meets the domain of the economy to transform our reality, individually and collectively. Harmony, flow and ease is restored.

Without getting too "brainy" about it, allow the truth and energy in the statements above and below to impact you.

"No one can compete with me, because I am the only ME there is!"

In regards to Branding. Branding starts with your "vertical alignment" (what Branding experts call "differentiation"). It being the DEEP connection that results from asking yourself: "Who am I? How am I naturally different (what are my gifts)? What do I stand for? What do my clients get from working with me or my company? And by the way... who are my clients?"

The more vertical alignment you have, the more POWER you have in your "horizontal" branding efforts and strategies.

And actually, as we saw above, the more vertical alignment you have, the less competition you have, remember?

Vertical alignment = "Know Thyself".
Know Thyself = Freedom from competition.

This angle on branding might sound a little "spiritual" to you. I sure hope so! Does economy need to be separate from spirituality? We're seeing the results of un-integrated human thinking in the disintegration of our economy and resources.

Andre Malraux's said in the last millenium:

"The third millennium will be spiritual or there will be no third millennium."

I believe that the new economic (and political) paradigm we are moving toward as a whole, has to do with the realization that our "challenges" will find their solutions in our vertical alignment-- "Know Thyself", and I would add "And Embrace Thyself". And that is spiritual.
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE you can make when branding your business, in my eyes, is to play it safe to fit in and lack authenticity.
Why?
Because the most powerful factor in getting and keeping clients is... INTIMACY.

And intimacy can't happen without authenticity.

Ask your friends what they love about you. It is very likely that they won't name all the places where you are "perfect" or common, but more likely your quirks, the ways that make you unique. You want your clients to be able to "feel" you so that they can love you too, and choose you.

Not everyone will love you. Great! That means that they are not YOUR clients. They are someone else's. Can you live with that?

When you know yourself, and you are aligned with it, everything flows naturally, whether it is in your private life or business life.

We are moving from a paradigm of the

"survival of the fittest" to the "thriving of the authentic"!

In short, my admonition is: "Know thyself and embrace it. Your fulfilling success will follow, in your life AND in your business!"

If you are an individual, consider these "vertical questions":

Who am I? What are my deepest values? What gifts and talents did I come with in this lifetime? What gets me REALLY fired up? What is my purpose?

See you on the horizon!

THREE TOOLS TO OPEN YOUR FIELD OF POSSIBILITY

We all get stuck sometimes. And sometimes, we’ve been stuck for years. And sometimes we realize we’ve been stuck, or even “stuck up” (smile) most of our lives. And we’re like: “WHAT FIELD OF POSSIBILITY???”

Realizing how stuck we really are can be a harsh experience. But what a blessing to be aware of it, because now we can do something about it!

In this article, I will share three tools for how you can once again...

“OPEN YOUR FIELD OF POSSIBILITY”.

Yes, I say “once again”, because as a baby you came in this life into a MEGA FIELD OF POSSIBILITY. You (who is “you” btw?...) looked at your hands and saw that you could grab things with them, you looked at your parents and saw that they could walk, and run, and create things, and you intuited that some day this would be a possibility for you too. You could see so much power and possibility around you and you were EXCITED about all the things you were learning and would learn!

As a young one, your hunger for learning was insatiable and like a sponge you soaked it all up, including your parent’s beliefs, the school’s, the community’s, the church’s beliefs. And you soaked up the reality that was agreed upon in your cultural environment, etc…

At some point in life, this excitement gets stifled and the world that was once your oyster is now a somewhat hostile place where safety and being in control have become a prime concern... Why?

At our last Mystic Innertainment event, through different processes and story telling, we discovered that at least two things were holding us back from a life FULL OF ALIVENESS AND POSSIBILITY.

- our limiting beliefs
- our “shoulds”.

One of the stories I shared challenged a lot of common held beliefs around the nature of our reality and what we think is possible. This anecdote comes from my six-month experience living in the Amazon with the Shuar Indians, also known as the headshrinkers.
With no electricity, no paved roads, no phones, the Shuars are in a consistent conversation with their environment. They believe in their connection to a nature that is filled with an intelligence that informs them about their lives and the choices they make. The messages they get can be as clear as talking to someone on a cell-phone.

When I first arrived in the jungle to meet Ernesto, father of twenty-two children, he had left for a few days, but “came back to talk with me”. A bird had told him that he needed to journey back home, urgently, to talk with a visitor. Waow… REALLY?!

After living with the headshrinkers for a few months, one day Ernesto pointed at a bird singing above the door of their hut. This, he told me, means that a visitor will come either tomorrow, or the following day. And sure enough, seemingly out of nowhere, a “surprise” visitor came!

Our capacity for engaging in a conversation with our lives, our environment, and our Universe is not only natural and age-old, but is also our responsibility and destiny in the face of a rapidly changing world to cultivate it.

Our capacity isn’t limited to the Amazon! We can thrive in our urban jungle by tuning in to our subtler guidance system through our intuition.
What stands in our way, is various beliefs that we hold about :“the way things are”, who I am, what is possible, what I deserve, and so on.

So the first step is to become aware of YOUR limiting beliefs.

=> Make a list of the limiting beliefs that weaken your Field Of Possibility now!

Take a moment to ask yourself:

What are your beliefs about life?
Where did your beliefs come from?
How do you know that what you believe is true?
What if it was only partially true? Or even not true at all?

Then we have the “SHOULDS”.

Ernesto had named me Mashu, which is the name of a savior in their legends. He knew that I would help him and his family find the “right action” that would lead them to preserve their priceless habitat and a culture threatened into extinction.
Every day Ernesto would take me on walks through his jungle (2250 hectares!), sharing wild stories from their cosmology, initiating me into various shamanic rituals and teaching me about dozens of healing plants and remedies. And I was waiting to have a vision; how could I help? For three weeks, every day, Ernesto would ask me at the end of the day: “What do you see?” And I didn’t see anything. I felt so much pressure to deliver a solution, and almost succumbed a few times to the temptation to give him some uninspired idea, just to put my uncomfortable and creeping sense of guilt for not reciprocating at ease. I had beliefs about reciprocation, balance, fairness, and more, that created SHOULD-STORIES. I “should” have a solution by now. I “should” give him something in return. I “should” do it now. I “should” etc…But I was deeply committed to providing solid value. I needed to stand strong by my commitment. And I stayed silent. After three weeks, I finally had the vision that contributed to what is now www.fundecoipa.com.
(For the curious ones, we created a three-day eco-tourism attraction.)

=> Now grab a pen and paper:

What are the “SHOULDS” that compromise your sense of possibility?
What are you truly committed to?
Who do you need to be in order to hold yourself to that commitment?


In short, here are my three tips for opening your FIELD OF POSSIBILITY:

1) Have a close look at your beliefs and question the truth behind them.
2) Find out what are the “shoulds” in your life?
3) Use your intention to open yourself up to a paradigm of possibility, where anything is possible, especially your connection with a loving Universe that is all-ways here to support you in living your dreams, no matter your current circumstances.

Do your work and your life will change!

© Francois Levannier 2010

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