Smiling for Peace

It's 7:30am. I'm waiting for a friend at a coffee shop. A mother enters, a 2 year old on her shoulder asleep. The baby's eyes open. I smile. He flashes a grin and immediately falls back to sleep. A moment of Peace I will hold all day.

Smile today. At anyone, to everyone, and give the gift of Peace.

Love,
Darlene

A Different Kind of Dance................

There was a young woman from France,
who chose a new seasonal dance.
While others were shopping and hopping and flopping,
their credit scores dropping, their brains all a knocking,
she waltzed with her best pals, her dog and her sweetie,
donated to hungry, the homeless and needy,
sipping tea in a snuggle with a home fire entranced,
she declared that this year, "I will give Peace a chance"!

Peaceful holidays to you!

Love,
Darlene

Forgetfullness by design!

Did you know that human beings are designed to forget? They are; because the cumulative impact of remembering pain, particularly physical pain, would be unbearable and incapacitating. Ask me about childbirth!

So,the next time you can't remember something, celebrate and know that you are designed intentionally to forget......so that you may experience Peace in your life!

Love,
Darlene

P.S. Several of you reminded me that I forgot to include workable links to several charitable sites last week. So, in Peace, here they are!

For Vitameals: www.creatingfinancialfreedom.millionsofmeals.com
For Oxfam: oxfam.org
For Heifer: www.heifer.org

Peace of a full belly!

You know the deep satisfaction you get from a tasty meal? It's a kind of Peace; the Peace of a filled need and gratitude.

This holiday as you plan your gift giving I invite you to give the Peace of a full belly to those who may not have one but for your generosity. My practice is to give donations in the name of friends and family at Christmas and this year they are getting the gift of giving starving children specially formulated Vitameals!

Here are some suggested organizations:

1. Purchase Vitameals from Nourish The Children. Go to www.creatingfinancial freedom.millionsofmeals.com
2. Oxfam
3. Heffer project

Give the Peace of a full belly!

Love,
Darlene

Abbracci Gratis!

Gratitude is a great way to create and experience Peace. I am grateful for Yvonne Falk who posted a Facebook video where a couple walk around their town with a sign offering Abbracci Gratis or free hugs.

Go to You Tube and search for Free Hugs in Sondrio, Italy; then go offer some free hugs on Peace Tuesday.

The sign is optional!

Love,
Darlene

There is no Peace in bad...............................

Ever judge others as bad?

Consider instead that they are mad or sad: mad as in scared into anger, sad as in depressed or grieving. Mad/sad people disruptively share their pain!

When I hold others as mad or sad, instead of bad, I have compassion for the deep wound compelling them to act out. And I see possibility for healing and Peace!

Practice giving up your need to judge others as bad on Peace Tuesday. Instead know that they are wounded. Send them compassion and Peace.

Love,
Darlene

A Guilt Guide to Peace

Many people feel guilty and then feel guilty about feeling guilty! Buddhists believe that guilt is an artificial, culturally imposed negative focus on the self. Tibbetans don't even have a word for it!

A Peace practice: notice how you feel guilty. Step away from your guilt and see what you learned when you made a mistake. Take an action from the learning.

Choose learning each time you think you have erred and create Peace!

Unlearn guilt! I now you can.

Love,
Darlene

Peace in Loss!

I am losing things, last week a check book and a bill, this week my balance and equanimity. As I age the process accelerates! There is only one way to find Peace in this; ENJOY THE RIDE by seeing the gift in all of it. As I lost my balance, I got to sit and rest. As I lost my checkbook I got the gift of seeing I could manage that. As I lost my equanimity, I gave others the gift of a heartfelt apology and was forgiven.

Lose, learn, Peace!

Love,
Darlene

Peace and Justice are linked.................

Peace and justice are linked, for you and for the world. Let's start with you!

Websters definition of justice includes: to treat fairly and with appreciation. How are you just with yourself; how are you fair with the needs of your body, mind and spirit? How do you appreciate you?

Peace and justice are inextricably linked. When you are just with yourself, honoring your needs, you may just run smack dab into Peace!

Happy collisions!

Love,
Darlene

What's the point in disappointment?

Disappointment is a gift! The pain of it POINTS to a wound that needs healing or an attachment that needs loosening so it can be mended. Disappointment points us toward PEACE!

A Peace practice today: What's a current disappointment? What's the wound that needs healing? Kathy Fleming asks, "What would it take to pour love on that wound"?

Happy Healing!

Love,
Darlene

Peace Connections..........

Peace is one of the greatest creative forces, providing space to think, play and be generative. Steve Johnson (see TED Talks) says that ideas are liquid networks of neurons in our brains that function like social networks. Both neural and social networks are powerful incubators - connecting disparate ideas and generating new thoughts and possibilities.

Which is why we say that chance favors the connected mind!

So, get takes lots of chances and connect for Peace. And check out Steve Johnson's brief talk on TED. Fascinating!

Love you mucho,

Darlene

Claiming "Not Peace"

Menachem Begin said "Peace is the beauty of life..sunshine...the smile of a child,.... togetherness,..advancement, victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth."

Would you like to claim that? Then first you need to claim all the places of "not Peace" in it. When we own those places, we can begin to claim more Peace. Claiming it means declaring to yourself and others where you are not at Peace. It works. Trust me!

Love you lots!

Darlene

This is Peace Day!

The United Nations declared that today, Sept 21, is an international day of Peace. BE AT PEACE TODAY and know that millions of people all over the world are being Peace AND working with great intention to create it right now. You have no idea!

If you want an idea, check out The Peace Alliance or The Shift Network on the web.

Love,
Darlene

Peace Week!

Today marks the beginning of Peace Week. Go to www.peaceweek.info and discover "the largest virtual Peace summit ever, with 70 of the world's most celebrated, inspiring and just plain amazing peace builders". I can't top that!

Peace week ends next Tuesday, 9/21 on the U.N. declared International Day of Peace, a day of declarations and celebrations all over the world.

A Peace practice this week: check the peaceweek website daily and be inspired. Oh yeah and tell a friend!

Love,

Darlene

Boulder Peace!

I invite my coaching clients to create a Top 6 priorities list and schedule time for each priority daily. It's the way we move the boulders in our lives when the pebbles call to us!

What would happen if the the persistent presence of patient commitment, trust and purpose, or as I like to call it Peace, was a boulder you were committed to moving?

I invite you to put it in your Top 6, and be amazed at the transformation that occurs. What you focus on expands. What you prioritize gets legs and gets moving!

Walk with me now!

Love,

Darlene

P.S. Peace requires justice, accountability and transparency in our personal lives AND our institutions. Please go see the Tillman Story, an inspiring and thought provoking independent film being previewed across the country right now as a ways to support Peace.

Let Peace Whirl!

I have this today, inspired by an amazing coach, Anna Meck.

It is easy to get distracted and confused by the whirl of external demands or competing internal conversations. Yet, it is possible to be at Peace in the whirl by focusing on an internal point, a touchstone that keeps you calm in the midst of the whirl. Whirling dervishes do this to connect deeply to a spiritual point; it allows them to twirl for hours without getting dizzy. The whirling keeps them focused internally!

Imagine today having a deep internal point of focus. It could be a commitment, a person, a loving thought. When things get crazy, focus on this internal point of Peace. Then, let the whirling begin!

Love,

Darlene

Enjoying the Heat!

There's an old saying, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen"!

Rather than leaving, I recommend practicing Peace in the heat. Instead of "ain't it awful", replace your underlying thought about heat as bad, with one of heat as necessary, good and even essential. Heat is what forges steel and ripens tomatoes!

Be a tomato today. Imagine loving heat!

Love,

Darlene

Peace Report Cards!

Would you like to see if the product you want to purchase is working against Peace?

If you do, go to www.enoughproject.org where they keep track of the supply chains of tech companies to see if their raw material purchases are financing war; a sort of Peace report card. If you don't like their Peace grade, be sure to send an email to the company telling them why you didn't buy!

Don't you just love it when you can shop AND empower Peace?

I do!

Love,

Darlene

The Most Powerful Way to Create Peace.........

The most powerful way to create Peace (or anything) is to first Imagine it! Imagination trumps information every time. Even more powerful still, WEmagine it!
My Imagination is powerful and OUR collective WEmagination is even more so.

Will you WEmagine Peace today?

Love,

Darlene

Declare Peace!

Human beings judge and evaluate automatically, continuously AND UNCONSCIOUSLY: "This is bad, that is good, she is cute, he is boring, this will end poorly, blah, blah, blah......."!If you don't think so, pay attention to your thoughts for 10 minutes.

What if, instead of judging and evaluating, we declared that Peace is possible each moment, replacing unconscious judgments with CONSCIOUS declarations of possibility? As in, "he/she/this is the possibility of Peace"!

Catch yourself judging today and replace your judgment with a declaration of Peace.
Better yet, walk around with a post it note on your face reminding you to only declare Peace.

Willing to look a little funny for Peace? I am!

Love,

Darlene

Drop the bags!

John Muir said, "Only by going alone in silence without baggage can one truly get to the heart of the wilderness."

I say, "Only by going alone in silence without baggage can one truly get to the heart!"

Peace!

Love,

Darlene

Open Hands for Peace

We all know a smile produces endorphins which improve our mood. And sitting still in meditation or prayer has a calming effect, even if done for a few moments!

Here's another way to practice Peace in your body. Unclench your fists and open your hands! There is a reason that the open hand is a sign of friendship. People who move and gesture with open hands actually feel more Peaceful than folks who walk around with clenched fists.

So, notice what your hands are doing today... and open them for Peace!

Love,

Darlene

Dog Peace

My dog is Peaceful.

Oh sure, you say,easy when he is fed, sleeps and plays all day!

But hold on there. I see another source of my dog's Peace; he trusts - that he'll be fed, that he'll find and eat his coveted cat pooh, that he'll escape if I don't take him out. He trusts that it will all happen.....now or later.

He holds the vision of food, walks and a snooze, WITHOUT ATTACHMENT. And he watches for opportunities, alert for the leash, the cabinet where the food is held, me putting on my gym shoes, an unlatched gate.

Trust, hold a vision without attachment, watch for opportunities = Dog Peace!

Highly recommended by Jack, a very wise old dog.

Love,

Darlene

I assert that imagination is more important than knowledge when it comes to creating new possibilities. Yet we, yes I mean you and I, act as if we needed to know before we will start! Fascinating. Look around and notice that thousands or even millions of people know how to end hunger and only a few who imagine that it is possible are working on it.

When people create Peace, it is from their willingness to FIRST imagine it. They see it, feel it, hear it and taste it in their imaginations. Then they look to see what, IF ANYTHING, they need to learn or who they need to know to make it real.

Imagine Peace today as a first step; Peace within you, in your relationships, community, society, world.

Oh yes, if your imagination muscle is rusty, spend time with a 4 year old!

Love,

Darlene

Fear and Peace

According to research reported by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink, fear is a form of mind blindness. It's an integral part of the adaptive unconscious (you know, your monkey or lizard brain!) where the brain shuts down all non-essential functioning, LIKE REASONING AND LOVE AND COMPASSION! It does this so the mind/body can simply react quickly to a threat. It acts THE SAME WAY whether the threat is real or, get this, IMAGINED!

So, the way to manage our way out of the "automatic higher function brain shut down" that occurs when we get scared, and ultimately the way to Peace, IS TO SSLLLOOOOOOWWWWW DDDDOOOOOOWWWWWNNNNNN!

Got it? Good!

Love ya!

Darlene

Pursuit of the Whole

Plato said "love is the pursuit of the whole". I say love and Peace are spittin' images. THEN to achieve Peace we need to include and love the wholeness of life. We need to welcome all of it - even the stuff that seems "bad" or "hard".

You see, "bad" and "hard" are merely interpretations you've been TAUGHT to make. When we allow and include them as a part of the whole, we can see the gift in them - the opportunity for growth or action. AND we begin to see that our labeling things bad and hard is often THE ONLY THING in the way of growth and action.

What is available to you today when you let go of your need to interpret people and circumstances as bad and hard, when you look instead at how these are part of the whole of your life and look for the opportunity in each of them?

Shazzam! Life and action and Peace might be effortless!

Love,

Darlene

Blessings!

Recently seen: A sneeze is an excuse to bless others! This is cool AND WHO NEEDS AN EXCUSE TO BLESS?

What might happen today if you spent your spare seconds (you know, the ones you spend thinking about what happened on "Dance Your Ass Off" last night) blessing everyone and everything you see? Replace your judgments today with blessings!

You can start with the folks on Dance Your Ass Off and work your way over to the rest of us! Of course you can dance while you're doing this. Boom chaka laka laka boom!

Love,

Darlene

I got it!

A most powerful way to manifest Peace, or any other thing, is to imagine "it is already done". I recommend Michael Beckwith's visioning process for anyone creating anything.

A brilliant client recently put it this way: "I move from 'I gotta' to 'I got it!'. I move from should to it's already here: In GOT - G represents Gratitude imagining that it already is, O stands for seeing the Opportunity in any challenge and T for Trusting I did it. Gratitude, Opportunity, Trust. I GOT it!"

You GOT it too. Can you see that? Can you see how?

The Peace practice today is to catch yourself thinking "I gotta" and switch to "I got it!" Move from should to trust and see what happens.

Love,

Darlene

I promise you Peace when:

You are Present in this moment.
You Embrace
All of the circumstances in your life as an opportunity.
You are Committed to more love than fear.
You Envision how you can bring Peace to your life each day.

It's simple really. Oh, and there's the laughing and singing and dancing and wondering part - something you're already great at. Looks like it's a cinch for you!

Love,

Darlene

From Judgment to Compassion to Peace

I used to have a viscous inner critic, an loud, persistent voice constantly judging and assessing.

Then I discovered it wasn't my voice! It was the voice of parents, teachers and relatives whose fears and judgments I ingested as the truth when I was young. It was the fearful voices of others.

I had a choice: Continue allowing those voices to take up space in a very crowded inner apartment OR practice compassion for them, and the very young me who allowed them in, and invite them to leave.

Guess what I chose? You can too! And Peace was not far behind. Choose compassion so that you may have Peace.

Love,

Darlene

What you feed returns and grows!

A Buddhist monk tells a story of feeding wild animals that wandered into his village. He named them fear, anger, sadness and guilt. When he fed them certainty, righteousness and greed they returned and grew bolder, until one day they threatened his life, demanding more and more. In desperation the monk locked himself in his hut, remaining in solitude for a month until the animals went away.

Be careful what you feed! And know that Peace requires only Peace from you to grow and return.

Love,

Darlene
Ontological Coach

Gratefulness - a path to Peace!

Brother David Steindl-Rast makes this distinction between gratefulness and thankfulness: thankfulness is simply counting blessings, whereas gratefulness is embodied - by giving. Gratefulness occurs when our hearts are opened, moving us to generous action AND it can occur when there seems to be little for which to be grateful.

When we are deeply grateful for very little, when we are generous in the face of scarcity, this is the gift of an open heart. This is gratefulness. A great fullness. And this is a path to Peace.

Practice gratefulness today!

Taking back Mother's Day!

Did you know that Mother's Day was not a holiday invented by Hallmark to sell greeting cards? No, it was originally proposed as a day of Peace honoring women who had lost husbands and sons in the civil war.

This Sunday, May 9 I invite you to celebrate Mother's Day as a day of Peace. Check out www.ThePeaceAlliance.org and sign on to support several bills in congress to promote Peace internationally and in our inner cities.

This mother would appreciate it!

Love,

Darlene
Ontological Coach

Be the caterpillar!

It's spring and caterpillars are raining from the trees. I love to pick them up off the road and toss them gently into the brush. Then I imagine the human reaction to being lifted and tossed into the unknown - most likely screams of terror at the fear of oblivion!

A Peace practice today is to trust; what looks like impending doom may indeed be the giant forces of life saving you from being squished and loving you into a soft landing. You can't know until you land! O.k., you can scream if you think that helps!

Be the caterpillar!

Love,

Darlene
Ontological Coach
415 264-8507

Flip your switch!

Yes, in order to find Peace, your own light must be on.

You must "flip on your internal light switch" first, to shine a light on the Peace that's already out there and the Peace that's possible. And, not to get too tangled up in metaphors, your switch is your commitment!

Today imagine flipping on your commitment switch and walking around with your internal light glowing brightly enough to light the path for yourself AND OTHERS who don't know how to flip their switch :(.

This little light of yours.....da da da da dee dee! Let it shine!

Love you,

Darlene

Ontological Light Switch Coach
415 264-8507

Birthing Trust!

Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB, offers a way to Peace.

He invites us to see birth as a process of moving into the unknown of life and TRUSTING, just as we did with our first birth; and to see that we have many birth opportunities, that life is an ongoing process of being born.

What Peace is available to you today if you reframe your life this way, holding it gently as an opportunity to trust and be born afresh into life?

I wonder.

Love,

Darlene

Seeing things as WE are..........

In Richard Rohr's, The Naked Now, my NFB (new favorite book), he declares,

"We do not see things as THEY are. We see things as WE are".

We see through hidden internal filters, changing what we see based on what we unconsciously want to see; Our minds like tiny film crews, shooting, editing, touching up and playing back instantaneously what we think we are simply "seeing".

We cannot trust what we think we see or we CAN absolutely trust that we are editing and changing what we see BASED ON WHO WE ARE!

This Peace Tuesday, question what you think you know about what you see. When you let go of certainty about even something as basic as seeing, you risk seeing anew. You might see Peace. Now wouldn't that be lovely!

Love,

Darlene

You must be out of your mind!

"There really is no such thing as 'Peace of mind'. When you are in your mind, you are never truly at Peace and when you are truly at Peace, you are never in your mind." This from Richard Rohr's book The Naked Now.. learning to see as the mystics see.

This Peace Tuesday I invite you to practice being OUT OF YOUR MIND, being still and silent for as long a you can, as often as you can.....even when it seems inappropriate or impossible. Or ESPECIALLY when it seems inappropriate or impossible!

Shalom!

Love,

Darlene

Peace is Divine!

You are divine! Yes, you are. Divinity is in each and every one of you. There's not a thing you can do about it. Don't even try.

So, now that that's settled, how about creating something amazing, like Peace.......or art, or music, or hospitality, or reinvention, laughter or new thought, or, or, or, or? Or love! Go create some of that today, oh divine one!

Last one to start is a rotten egg!

Love,

Darlene

Peace in Authenticity

Peace happens when we are able to be fully authentic; hiding no part of us from ourselves or others, trusting it is o.k. to be who we truly are physically, financially, socially, psychologically, emotionally and sexually. Authenticity is access to Peace.

Inauthenticity can be deadly. You can support Peace for those who are LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning) by supporting the Trevor Project at the www.thetrevorproject.org , which provides suicide and crisis prevention help for LGBTQ youth

Support authenticity today for Peace.

Love,

Darlene

Peace is reciprocal

Peace is everywhere. It is reciprocal, simple and effortless; listen for Peace and Peace listens for you. Everywhere, simple, effortless!

Be Peace today.

Love,

Darlene

The Infinite Universe Within

Carl Jung said "the only equivalent of the universe within is the universe without". What a mind boggling idea......a universe within you as infinite as the expanding universe without!

Now, Carl was no dummy and I'm inclined to trust him on this one. So, today on Peace Tuesday, imagine you and everyone else you encounter as having an infinite universe within. Stand in awe of the possibility this presents! And be at Peace.

Love,

Darlene

Chicken's Peace!

Do you know how to calm a chicken when it attacks you? Pick it up, tuck it under your arm and walk around with it for a while.

I think it's the same with people!

While we cannot literally walk around with someone tucked under our arm, we can still hold them close. A Peace practice if you feel attacked this week is to imagine tucking your attacker under your left arm, close to your heart and taking them with you a while.

Cluck, cluck, cluck.

Love,

Darlene

Silence is Peace

Richard Foster, in his book The Freedom of Simplicity, points out that silence is freeing, freeing us from the need to control. Much of our speech is merely self justification, "a frantic stream of words flows from us in an attempt to straighten other out.......we devour people with out words."

How might you be silent today, letting go of your need to convince or judge? Notice what you are speaking for; notice the motivation underneath the urgency to talk. Then resist the urge to speak from any of these needs.

Allow silence and Peace.

Love,

Darlene

Pause, glide, breathe................................

The speaker knows to pause to hold the listener.
The dancer loves to glide.
The singer breathes to float the song.
The pianist rests.
The actor masters the whisper and the glance.
The visual artist embraces empty space.

We create so much when we do so little.

Create Peace today; pause, glide, breathe, rest, whisper and embrace the space.

Love,

Darlene

Peace in the Depths

To steal from Paul Tillich, Peace "is the depth in things"; present when we slow down, stop, rest in the moment, breathe and let go. We need to be willing to steal these moments from our noisy lives in order to find that deepest of places where Peace resides!

Imagine the entire world slowing down, resting, breathing and letting go, then steal a bit of that for yourself today.Be a thief in service of Peace! Paul would love it. So would the world.

Love,

Darlene

Peace in the midst of chaos

It may seem challenging to practice Peace when Haiti is falling apart and suffering. It is tempting to worry now.

And you have a choice in the matter! You can choose to be at Peace AND in action doing and giving what you can, trusting it is enough.

If you absolutely, positively must do one more thing, SEND LOVE AND PEACEFUL THOUGHTS to those who need them. That includes you!

Love,

Darlene