Living and Dying and the Wisdom Field

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

Hello Everyone,

This weeks story is about a very difficult time that my wife, Mary, and I had to face over the last week with regards to our beloved four legged cat, best friend, known as Lulu.
In this experience we found that the Awakened Wisdom supported us immensely and that is why I would like to share this story with you.

Lesson upfront: Always keep your sense of humor, even in the darkest moments.

As of last Friday Lulu had not eaten for many days. Over the last month something attacked her lungs and her lungs are now at 50%, her body is frail, she did not seem to be in a lot of pain, there just wasn't much to hang hope onto.

We had been prepared by the vet, "The decision is near, there is nothing more we can do for her in her present condition, when you are ready to let her go we will do it."
Mary and I agreed to take it moment by moment. Setting a life free is a big decision, even more so for a much loved, four legged family member.

I grieved deeply through the last few days confronted by the impermanence of life, of passing times with loved beings while at the same time not being clear about what was needed. We looked into the wisdom of cycles and timing and recognized that Lulu, at 12 years old could still have a few good years of life, if it was to be.

On Friday morning Lulu had not moved for hours. I would lift her and gently carry her from cushion to cushion or to her litter box. It was all she could do just to hold her shrinking body up as we moved around the house. We were on a vigil, a watch, for a clear sign.

In the book Awakened Wisdom: A guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance I talk about the Wisodm Field and how to listen to it. I was watching everything that was showing up, looking for clues, signs about what was happening and how to respond.
I prayed, cried, and even in my dreams I woke up in a bargaining session with Lulu's guides on the other side. My only clear memory of that dream was that I was meeting with about four guides and that I was representing Lulu to them; making a case so to speak, for the path that would best support Lulu. At the end of the dream I awoke with the words in my mind, "So, we have a way forward then, we are all agreed" They replied, “Yes, we have a way forward.”

I did not know what that way was, just that we had agreed on something.

Back to Friday morning. As I stated earlier Lulu had not moved for hours, we were keeping her comfortable, still, giving her water through a syringe to moisten her lips and throat. As well as water we had been given a solution called Asea. One of Mary’s friends markets this product and she sent it over as an offering for Lulu. Whenever we give her a bit of this solution we could observe a flicker of life and energy in her and at least she could keep it down.

Then, in one of those inspired moments we decided to gently get her on her wobbly feet; the idea was to wet her lips with some broth, to see if she wanted anything. Remember I had asked for a clear sign of which way she wanted to go. She had no interest in the offering of broth. She stood by on her shaky legs. Her resistance to the broth seemed to have energized her even if only for a moment. We turned our heads, looked away for two seconds, only to hear the sickening sound of her rolling down a flight of nearby stairs.

I flew through the air, leapt down the stairs and saw her motionless form splayed out on the floor like one of those awful animal rugs. I landed at her side put my hand on her, my ear onto her back and listened. She was not breathing. She was lying there limp, seemingly, lifeless. I slipped my hand gently under her body and felt the dead weight of her. Limp, heavy, motionless, I remembered past experiences of lifting lifeless forms. It seemed that this might be it. I raised her up and felt her returning to presence as she claimed her body back. She barely moved but she was still here. I set her on her cushion and looked at Mary. We both knew it was time to make the call.

From a Good State of Intention we created the intention to support Lulu according to what was the highest service to her path. That would require us to not let our desire to fight for her life override the possibility that Lulu’s time was coming to completion while staying open to any possibility.

We wanted her to cross over here at her home, in familiar surroundings. The vet agreed to come to our house later in the day. Lulu did not seem to be in pain so we let her rest while we prepared the house for her to cross over. We wanted her to be surrounded by beauty, as she has been so beautiful for us.

All day she laid there, quiet, still, alternating between receiving tiny drinks of Asea and then water as before. Mary and I reconciled each other to the idea that this was the day for Lulu to cross over. We created a sacred space in our house; built an alter; cleaned her body with love, anticipating the moment to come when we would say our final good-bye.

As the time drew near for the arrival of the vet Lulu lifted her head up, she wanted to stand up so I gently lifted her to her feet. It was a beautiful summer day and she loved to take in the sun in the yard so I carried her outside, cradling her in my arms, walked her around the yard, offering her a last view of the home that she claimed for herself all those years ago when she showed up at our door and simply never left.

She was extremely weak but she wanted to stand so I set her down on the ground. Suddenly she rallied and she started to make a wobbly slow motion getaway from the yard. Knowing what she was up to it was hard not to laugh at the sight of her making a break for it. I walked along behind her as she wobbled towards the hole in the fence that had always been her gate to the world around.

When she went as far as I would be able to go with her I gently picked her up and brought her back into the house. She had just attempted her great escape and I felt bad that I had foiled it for her. I know that animals will wander off to die and I do not have the courage to allow her that instinctive way to go.

I am looking for a sign to tell us one way or the other what is the right thing to do here. What did that getaway attempt mean? Was she taking her dying into her own hands, I mean paws or was she showing us that she still had some juice for life?

The phone rang, it was the vet, he would be right over.

I set her on a counter top so that she could take a drink of water. She had just enough strength to hold herself up as she drank from her favorite water bowl. We all heard the creak of the gate as it opened and closed. We listened to the sound of the vet’s footsteps coming down the walkway to the house. The vet was here, this was the time.

Lulu suddenly perked up, she stood tall, proud, her eyes got bright, she sat on the counter top as the vet entered the house and looked at us all as if to say, What’s up? She always loved company.

Mary and I were stunned, the vet was understanding as he looked her over. He agreed that she did not seem to be in pain and though he had no solution to her condition we all agreed that lulu was not ready to cross over yet.

Lulu watched as the vet left the house. As the creaking sound of the gate confirmed that he had departed Lulu collapsed, exhausted and slept for hours. She had made her case, she had given a clear sign.

That was three days ago.

Lulu has been on an up and down roller coaster since and she seems to be slowly getting stronger and stronger. Now she can walk a few steps at a time. She snaps into some bright moments and then exhausted from the effort goes back to sleep. Her trend is getting stronger, she is still not eating but she can now keep down the offerings of broth, water and Asea. Every now and then she will sprint a short distance just to show us that she can, and then she stops to rest, exhausted from the experience.

We have been watching over her twenty-four hours a day and I do think that we have a way forward.
We are willing to let her go when she wants. It is her agenda not ours.
We are her staff and loving it while we can.

Patrick Ryan
Chief Waker-Upper
www.AwakenedWisdom.com

What is needed to find the courage to face into the fullness of our call?

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

I believe that each one of us would like to believe that our life is for the sake of something greater than ourselves. That we contribute in some way, however big or small, to the greater picture of the world is a yearning felt by a great many people. Fulfillment is connected to purpose for many.

Parents demonstrate this every time they make a decision for the sake of their children.

Teachers meet with young and old alike and guide them along the path of learning and development.

The shoe shine person at the airport puts a polish of confidence on a job seekers shoes.

The waitress who notices that her customer is sad today and goes beyond her duty to offer an assuring smile.

These are just some of the ways that people fulfill their yearning to contribute to someone or something beyond themselves.

What will you do today to live more fully into your purpose?

Awakened Wisdom Center

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

Resolving Conflict

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

It is absolutely normal to experience conflicts as people work together on collaborative projects. It is the nature of a collaborative project to be chaotic, plans are made and changed on a dime, times are easy, times are challenging, there is often limited resources of time, money or talented people. All of this is assured to bring people to their edges and when people are brought to their edges, that is out of their comfort zones the result is a lot of stress. When people get stressed conflict is often the result.

In a project it is everybody’s responsibility to recognize when conflict is present and to then be willing to work it out and clean it up. When conflict is left to linger, unattended, it results in energy leaking out in way that cost everyone involved in the project. The cost of avoiding conflict is extremely high and often eventually results in the total failure of the project. Therefore it is worth learning about the nature of conflict and some steps on how to clean it up when it does arise.

1. This process will work very well ninety-five per cent of the time. It does require that all parties involved are willing to be open, respectful, and considerate of each other.Understand that conflict is normal and that cleaning it up will pay great rewards in developing trustworthy relationships.

Whenever there is a conflict between team members it is important to be able to separate the behaviors from a person’s character. Very often good people have a habit of behavior that is not working well for the team. For example if a team member is always completing assignments late telling them that they are a bad or a difficult person is not helpful. Letting them know specifically what behavior is not working out is more effective. In this case the behavior is missing the agreed upon deadlines. Knowing what the behavior is makes it much easier for corrections and negotiations needed to correct the situation.

2. When you notice that there is a conflict on the team ask yourself how you are contributing to it. Anytime something is happening everyone of us is contributing to it. We must be willing to look in the mirror first.

Once you have looked into the question of how you are contributing to the conflict you can then ask yourself what is needed from you to correct the situation. You might think of a simple solution that you can implement and the conflict might be easily resolved.

3. It is then helpful to go to the person that the conflict was with and tell them that you were aware of a conflict between you, that you have looked into your contribution, and that you are correcting one of your behaviors and as a result you feel that the issue is now going to be clear.

You can expect the other party to be quite appreciative that you were committed enough to your relationship to them and to the team to do this.

4. After you have looked at your contribution to a conflict it may be that it requires more than just you correcting your behavior, it also requires something from the other person involved. This will require you to approach them for a discussion on the issue.

A good way to approach this person is to start of by asking them if they are willing to meet you for a conversation intended to clear up an issue that you have noticed.
It is important that we make ourselves available for conversations that are being requested by our teammates. It might be that the conversation will have to be scheduled for another time. If that is necessary then it should be scheduled as soon as possible.
To start the conversation the person who requested it, lets name him Bob, starts by saying that they have noticed a conflict developing between him and the other person who we will name Harry. Bob would begin by stating that he is coming to this conversation because he respects Harry and values a good relationship him. It is important to be truthful here so find something that you appreciate about Harry before you initiate this conversation.
Bob would then describe what is going on. Harry might be aware of this issue or it might be the first he has heard of it so it is important to let Harry catch up here. Once Harry has recognized that there is an issue then Bob can carry on.
Bob would inform Harry that he, Bob, has looked into his contribution to the issue and Bob would report to Harry what he found. It is important to really find your contribution and to report it openly.
Bob would then ask Harry if he is willing to look into his, Harry’s, contribution.
Harry may be able to find his contribution to the issue quickly or it might be that Harry would like some time to think about it. Just as Bob had the opportunity to look into it before this conversation it is fair to give Harry the same chance. If that is the case then Bob and Harry would schedule a follow up conversation.

Note: The follow-up conversation should
take place within 48 hours.

5. Now it is time for the next part of the conversation. Both Bob and Harry have looked into the issue and each of them has listened openly and has looked truthfully into their own contribution to the conflict.
They then acknowledge what they have heard each other say. It would be good if they can appreciate each other because it takes courage and respect to have a conversation like this.
In the next step Bob and Harry would discuss a variety of solutions to the issue. If they are staying open with each other it is very likely that the issue will be resolved at least as good as it can be.

6. If this process is unsuccessful for any reason then it may require the support of a coach to guide the people involved through it again. Though that might seem like an inconvenient or scary thing it is nothing compared to the cost of ignoring or tolerating a persistent conflict issue.

Even the most talented of people and the best of projects will run into these kinds of challenges. Unresolved conflicts shut down trust, creativity, and productivity. Sometimes people even quit working on projects to avoid facing some issues. In the true spirit of you can run but you cannot hide we all must learn how to face into challenges in a way that grows everyone involved.
So the next time you notice a conflict knocking on your door, and you feel that tightening in your chest or gut, rather than turn away see it try seeing it as an opportunity to create a situation even better than it ever was before.
It is worth all the effort and the rewards will be with you a long time.

If you’d like to take your conflict resolution skills to a deeper level or help your team work together more effectively – have a look at the variety of different programs AWE has to offer for organizations and executives here

It Didn't Need To Happen

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

If you own your own business, or are responsible for the actions of others in a large organization you would be well advised to pay attention here because what happened in the gulf could happen to you.

We have yet to discover the full story of what went wrong in the Gulf of Mexico with the BP oil well. I have heard some preliminary information and the one thing that I am sure about is that it didn’t need to happen.

This wasn’t the result of bad luck or some unpredictable event; this was the result of breakdowns in communication, bad choices at individual levels, and corrupted personal, corporate, and governmental leadership.

I want to address the communication and personal leadership aspect here because when we engage in each day from a place of responsible personal leadership then the corporate and governmental levels will take care of themselves.

So what happened? There are many reports of “concerns” that people had for weeks before the rig exploded. It seems that the warnings were there and personal leadership and personal responsibility was abandoned. Why did so many people allow that rig to proceed along its treacherous path knowing that a disaster was impending?

People Colluded with the Cultural Breakdowns

We are going to hear many stories about this event that will show that brilliant people saw this coming and were unwilling or unable to prevent what happened from taking place and that the mistakes were made in a culture that favored expediency.

In Awakened Wisdom we approach leadership from a fundamental idea, which states that, we each are each responsible and that we must engage with the situation from the center of our highest wisdom for the sake of the greatest good of All. All in this context means for the sake of the greatest good of the surrounding environment, communities, customers, the organization and the members within.

Any decision that does not consider all of these constituencies will fall short of the highest possible good. Profit and expediency are not acceptable reasons to negatively impact any of the affected groups in any business decision.

All organizations rely on individuals and teams who are making decisions and then taking actions according to their vision, mission and agendas. No organization can control the moment-by-moment responses or reactions of the people within them. That is why it is critical to create a culture that embodies the values of sustainability and life giving choices for all.

There is an emerging way for the organizations of the future to behave and operate and as we are witnessing in the news everyday the old ways are being exposed through economic world breakdowns, the industrial world calamities, and other big industry corruptions. One thing that is becoming more and more true is that organizations will not be able to run and hide like they might have in the past.

What I am calling us all forth to, is a higher and better walk than what has been happening. To get there does not have to be painful, not getting there will be. It will however take effort and intention to make it happen. Decision makers in organizations need to know that they will be supported when the decision might cost the company money in the short run for doing the right thing.

In Awakened Wisdom we are working with people at that level of behavior and guiding principles for that behavior. It takes courage to go against the group-think of others in an organization. What is needed is for organizations to reward according to the quality of a job well done in consideration of everyone and everything involved rather then on profit or money saved.

It is very ironic that very often, today’s profitable decisions are tomorrow’s more costly problems. Slowing down today will expedite a much brighter tomorrow.

Patrick Ryan
www.AwakenedWisdom.com

How to have an Awakened Relationship

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

Awakened Wisdom is a guide that will not only support you personally in creating an amazing life according to your own wisdom, it can also inform you about the wellbeing of the relationships in your life.

Each of the Eight States of an Awakened Life applies as well to the awakened life of a relationship.

When you are in a relationship with someone else you are both creating a third entity, which is your relationship. Your relationship has a life of its own. Your relationship has a dream for what it is becoming, it has it’s own life purpose, and given the chance it matures, develops, and grows just like each of the two of you that are in the relationship. Your relationship also has wants and needs, things that it requires so that it can be healthy and vibrant.

Just as you must give your body, food, rest, exercise and care, your relationship also requires those things.

Each of the eight states can be used as a guide to gain insight into what your relationship needs from both of you at this time. For example one of the eight states is called a Good State of Words. This state teaches us about the creative power of words in this universe. The words that we speak about our relationship, the words that we speak to each other shape the relationship. They affect the nature of the relationship, the happiness of it, the health of it. When we speak words of love and affection we contribute those energies to the nature of the relationship. When we speak words of blame, disrespect, or hurt we inject that energy into the relationship and the relationship then transforms itself accordingly.

This is really good news because words are such a powerful force of creation we can use this power to shape shift the relationship accordingly.

Another one of the eight states is a Good State of Effort. When we consider our relationship through a Good State of Effort we are asked to consider how much effort we are putting into it and also what is the quality of our effort.

A Good State of Effort asks us to look into the amplitude of our effort. In life in general it is helpful to apply the right amount of effort. Put in too much or too little and the result is not as optimum as it could be.

When I talk about the quality of our effort I am referring to the emotional quality that we bring as we apply our effort. For example if we show up in our relationship with distorted emotions such as resentment then even though we are applying effort it does not get the result we want. It is wise then to be very conscious of the type of effort that we apply. I suggest that for most of us bringing in some ease and delight, fun and intimacy would go a long way to nurturing your relationship.

In Awakened Wisdom I present eight states such as this. I am sure that if they are applied to the relationships in your life you will have a beautiful and amazing experience through both the easy and the challenging times.

Be well,
Patrick Ryan
www.AwakenedWisdom.com

Reclaim Your Brilliance with Awakened Wisdom

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

Manifesting Magic!

Reclaim Your Brilliance with Awakened Wisdom by Patrick Ryan

Patrick Ryan is one of those people who’s life would be improbable if it were presented as fiction. Few people die and live to bring back their enlighten perspective. His life journey is remarkable in all it’s challenges, lessons, discoveries, and the unique paths that have led to his wide awake wisdom.

Ryan died from a drug overdose in his late teens, chose to live, and embraced the path of a successful entrepreneur. Then he walked away from a comfortable life to become a Buddhist monk in Burma. Currently, he is an executive coach, trainer and author based in the San Francisco area significantly contributing to this period of awakened consciousness. This is not a man who lets much get in the way of life learning and soul evolution. As he puts it, “I love the life I am living and I feel blessed every day with the challenges of daily life.”

His newest book, Awakened Wisdom: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance, starts with the premise that each of us has a “diamond” of hidden potential within and that we must shape, cut and polish this diamond of potential to realize our full brilliance through self-development and conscious daily living.

As he defines it, an awakened life means that “You are actively engaged in creating and manifesting the people, relationships, purpose, resources and quality of life that you desire according to your highest wisdom.”
Ryan calls himself a reluctant author. When I spoke with him he explained, “I didn’t feel the need to write this book to be complete. The book tapped my on the shoulder saying ‘You’re the one!’” He describes this as a yearning (one among many that he has followed) that invoked a response from him.

Balancing the mystical with the practical
“We all have our bundle of gifts. Me, I have one foot in the mystical, one foot in the practical. Every time I have a mystical experience I ask how I can convert it for daily life,” he says of his approach to the book’s material. He takes Native and Buddhist traditions and adapts them into a modern application.

At it’s core the book is a response to the truth that “A great awakening is upon us, it is happening, and it is good.” As a world traveler, Ryan says that in all corners of the globe from Asia to corporate offices people are attuned to the spiritual awakening happening everywhere.

Our connected consciousness
“We are so connected. As we are contributing our energy to global consciousness, we are elevating our neighbors (both next-door neighbors and global neighbors). And, as consciousness arises en masse opposing forces are in the last grasps of fighting the inevitable.”

This comment about rising consciousness creating a backlash amongst die-hard power junkies who want to maintain control through fear-based consciousness, reminds me of how perturbed my husband gets at right wing political extremists like Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh. Ryan believes that even these even these extremists know at their heart things are changing.

Ryan focuses much of the first part of Awakened Wisdom discussing the difference between being directed by one’s Divine Essence rather than directing your life from a ego-mind Distorted Self. The second half of the book outlines the eight states of an awakened life.

Awakened consciousness and the law of attraction
“If we don’t do our inner work we could attract all the riches in the world (ala the law of attraction) and still not be happy. Learning how to connect with Divine Essence, we can then look at all the things that we feel arise in us,” he states. “We need to find our wholeness first, and at our core some personal work wants to happen.”

Ryan explains the truth, that anytime our life is a mess something new is trying to come forth. This is usually painful, but it’s a perfect opportunity to embrace that something amazing will come through.”

Accessing our 3 intelligences
To help readers access that something amazing, Awakened Wisdom describes the three Intelligences that we all have access to and that create our wisdom field. These are heart intelligence, mind intelligence and body intelligence. “All the ideas, creativity, and solutions live around us. We just have to open ourselves to it by connecting through mind, body and soul,” he states.

For most of us this means SLOW DOWN not speed up, he remarks with a laugh. He reminds us that there are 7 billion people trying to make their dreams come true at the same time. That means that we need to give the universe a break and take a breath!

I comment that my ego mind finds it a little hard to reconcile the importance of our finding our purpose and living it, with my understanding that to the universe “it’s not personal.” So much of motivation rests on ego mind thinking that only we can bring that something special to the world I remark to Ryan.

Ryan understandingly chuckles at this and explains that the universe wants certain things to unfold and come into being, so it sends out seeds, like blowing on a dandelion. The seeds land with the people with the right talents to make it happen. Of course, not everyone who gets the seed will have the resources to make it come to fruition, or they simply won’t act on the insight or idea, or aren’t fully connected to it. So the universe has to send out lots of seeds. That’s why people from different parts of the globe will have the same idea or concept.

The importance of working together
“Everyone has a contribution, a part to play; there is no waste of energy in the universe,” he assures me, continuing, “Align with the idea that ‘yes, you’re special’ and your specialness is needed and that you cannot do it alone. We need to pull in other beings around us.”

Ryan then makes a very important point: There was a time when you could have an idea and go it alone. That doesn’t work anymore because world is far too connected now. The person doing it alone will get swept over by the people doing it together. It’s the difference between one person making a Twitter post and a group of people making it go viral.

As he says, “The key used to be location, location, location, now it’s timing, timing, timing.”

Reconciling our human nature with our spirit nature
Our conversation moves to reconciling our human nature with our spiritual nature. Ryan believes it’s important to look (observe) everything that shows up in our personal system (heart, mind, body), rather than making our human nature wrong and our spirit nature right. We can always transcend our animal nature and choose to connect to our Divine Essence, to God, the universe.

Ryan puts it into perspective saying, “No matter how far we go spiritually, we’re connected to our human nature. When I died, I realized ‘I am not my body.’ I was held in a field of compassion and love and I was still experiencing that from the human side of the coin.”

Ryan concludes our conversation with this sensible and radiant thought: “We have a responsibility that can be carried with ease and delight — to develop ourselves, to trend to higher levels of spirituality.”

3-Day Guided program
Ryan offers a 3-day guided program that takes participants on a journey to opening to relationship with selves, opening to the wisdom field and responding to what the universe is asking from them. Then participants make a plan and get practical. He also offers advanced training for coaches. For more information about these programs or his book go to www.AwakenedWisdom.com

Melissa Wadsworth is an author, inspirational speaker and creative personal growth guide, specializing in intuitive dream boards and creative intuition tools that take workshop participants from blocked to brilliant.

AWE Advanced Coach Training Program

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

Exciting News!
The Awakened Wisdom Advanced Coach Training Program is a Hit!

The Awakened Wisdom Advanced Coaching Program is underway and getting great reviews already. So many people have had their lives changed through the Awakened Wisdom work and it was their inspiration that motivated me to create this program for coaches. Click here to hear Patrick Ryan talking about the Advanced Coach Training Program

“It's a profound training with an incredible depth of soul wisdom. It is deepening my experience of divine essence and teaching me how to guide my clients to shine brightly and follow their inner guidance to unfold their unique journey in the world. It's an essential gift for you and your clients!”
~ Einav Tadmor, CPCC, PCC

If you are an experienced coach and you are looking for the next level of training that will raise your game as a coach then this program is for you. At this stage we are only working with experienced coaches though we may consider an introductory level program later in the fall. The next programs starts on May 25th and June 17th and we have just a few spots left. Awakened Wisdom is offering introductory prices on these two programs so this is a great opportunity to take advantage of this special pricing.

A few other thoughts from some talented coaches who are taking the program:

“A resonant rich journey that raises the bar for both me and my
clients to practice at a new level of depth and awareness.”
~ Daniel Fine, CPCC

"I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to take
their coaching to the next level of professionalism and world
class transformative mastery."
~ Dr. Rev. Desiree Leigh Thompson, Ph.D

“Phenomenal and groundbreaking! This program gets to the
essence of masterful transformative coaching.”
~ Julia Lau de Guzman, CPCC, ACC

This course if offered by teleconference so it’s accessible from anywhere around the globe. As well it has been approved for continuing education credits by the ICF. Keep your credential current and join us for this fun and provocative program.

See you there,
Patrick Ryan
Chief Waker-Upper

Small business – The entrepreneur’s reflection

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

Small business – The entrepreneur’s reflection
A conversation with Charly Leetham
Blog URL: http://askcharlyleetham.com/blog/

As a small business owner when you look at your business you are looking at a reflection of who you are. Your business will reveal the state of your inner world. As you created it; it reveals you.

Charly: What does it mean to live an awakened life and what connection does it have with being an entrepreneur or Small Business Owner (SBO)?

Patrick: Living an awakened life is to live a life of conscious presence. I have been an entrepreneur and small business owner virtually my entire life. I have also been a Buddhist monk and apprentice to some amazing indigenous teachers. All the time that I was receiving the blessings of those experiences I was mostly fascinated with the correlation between what I was experiencing in my personal life and the results that I was manifesting in my business life.
The smaller the business the closer the reflection is between the small business owners way of walking in the world and what the business is experiencing.
As a business grows and more and more people become involved in its operations then the business reflects the totality of the people in it. Still it is the owner whose impact is likely to be the biggest.
Therefore it is essential for entrepreneurs to develop themselves personally and as they do to then allow the enterprise to shape shift and reflect the owner’s development.

Charly: Is it possible for someone to separately live an awakened life as an entrepreneur / SBO but not in the other parts of their life?

Patrick: No, as the saying goes, you can keep running but you cannot hide. Our lives are as connected to our business and our business to our lives as a spider web connects it’s whole structure to the tree it is built upon. We can put our attention on one or the other for a while but eventually balance will be required if it is all going to be sustained.

I have coached entrepreneurs for years and one of the biggest challenges for us is to keep all the plates spinning in a good way. If you ignore some part of your life, personal relationships for example, it is just a matter of time before it affects the business and visa versa.

That is really good news because when you turn this idea over it also teaches us that as we care for all the different aspects of our life it contributes to the well being of our business and again, visa versa. Balance is the key.

Charly: I like the sound of the Eight States Of An Awakened Life... When considering entrepreneurship and SBO's are there any of these states that are more applicable OR If we consider the cycle of business development and growth, do Business Owners experience the Eight States just as they would experience the cycles of business growth - and is there correlation? Could you expand a little on that?

Patrick: In the book Awakened Wisdom I present the Eight States of an Awakened Life. Taken together these eight states will ensure that an entrepreneur is living, and through their business creating, a whole and healthy life and enterprise.

The Eight States are not linear is their application; all eight states are present and part of our life at all times. What the Awakened Wisdom book does really well is to present them in a way that is easily applicable starting now.
As our enterprises cycle through it different stages of development then what you would look for as you consider each of the eight states may change accordingly. For example one of the eight states is a Good State of Practice. In this state we are asked to look at the daily, weekly, monthly, annual practices that would support us in sustaining a beautiful life.
If you apply that same state to your business it asks you to become clearer about what practices are needed in your business to maintain its health and vibrancy.

If you enjoy reading, yoga, or meditation for your personal development and wellbeing then it is interesting to ask yourself what would yoga or meditation for my business look like. Whatever insight occurs to you when you ask that question would be worth trying out.

Charly: Would you tell me about your book Awakened Wisdom: A Guide To Reclaiming Your Brilliance - why did you write it and why is it an important book now?

Patrick: We each have our own amazing talents, genius and skills and as entrepreneurs that is usually what comes through our businesses. One thing that I am good at is taking big spiritual or metaphysical concepts and distilling them down to practical ideas that we can apply in our life and business right away.

I wrote the book Awakened Wisdom so that other people could have a resource that would support them in accessing their own wisdom. I don’t presume to tell anybody what they should do but rather how to get in touch with their personal wisdom. Each of us has to navigate our own way so I guess you could say that Awakened Wisdom is like a navigation tool.
I have lived many lives in this one life and sharing the ideas that I have found to be relevant is part of my service to humanity.
I have presented these ideas in boardrooms, training rooms as well as in monasteries and desert retreats. The ideas in this book have been offered into many cultures all around the world and I have personally found it thrilling to witness how each group has found themselves in the teachings in a way that had them feel aligned and deeply touched by the work.

Charly: For the parents who read my blog, is the book appropriate for children? If so, which age group would most benefit from reading this book?

Patrick: believe that the ideas of the book are relevant for everyone of all ages. Having said that my style of writing in this book may not relate to young children. I do think that anyone in their teenage years and on up to elderhood would benefit from reading and practicing the ideas in the book.

Charly: From the information you have provided today, could you suggest 1 implementable / actionable point that Business Owners could go out and do TODAY.... What sort of results or experiences could they expect to see?

Patrick: Quite often, as small business owners, we get caught in the day-to-day busyness of our world. There is always a lot to do, emails, phone calls, appointments and on and on. When we get caught in that swirl one of the best things that we can do is to step out of it and to slow down. That often seems counter productive at first and the results are amazing.

The best way that I have found to do that is to go out into nature for at least a day and better yet three and to just free your Self from the emails and calls and allow your Self to dream about where all this is taking you.
When life is challenging it is important to re-member the dream that lives around the adventure in the first place. By being connected more fully to the bigger dream you will get a perspective that will support you energetically and as well, you will be better able to see what course corrections are needed to navigate well.

Being an entrepreneur is a great adventure and every great adventure will have its easy times and its challenges. If you are reading this then I know that we are brothers and sisters on a great journey together. Do not attempt to do this alone, reach out, ask for help and then let it in.
I know that the book Awakened Wisdom: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance will support you along the path.

Journey well,
Patrick Ryan
www.AwakenedWisdom.com

Thoughts On Living An Awakened Life

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Patrick Ryan

The Great Awakened Wisdom Entrepreneurial Adventure

Whose Calling Now?

Or is it, What’s calling now? However it is presenting itself you may be one of the One’s that are being called, right now, as we speak or as we read. Let's check this out okay.

You might be somewhat happily employed, perhaps grateful to have a job as many are these days, and yet you are stirred by this feeling, it is a wondering about something more. You are being called.

You may be well into what was a great career and lately you are noticing that you are not as satisfied as you used to be. Perhaps you’ve raised your children and you now know that you could shift your work into something more fulfilling, something more exciting. You could take a risk now that the family has grown up and you don’t know where to start, so you don’t.

You may be just starting your career, or at least trying to. You are looking for that entry level job that would be meaningful and fulfilling and the only jobs that are presenting themselves to you pay little and you have no connection to them. “They would at least give you a paycheck,” you tell your Self and deep down you notice a tinge of sadness at the thought of it.

If any of these scenarios speak to you then welcome to the world of callings and choices. The calling is what stirs you deep within and the choice here is do you linger, wait, resist, hold back or do you take the leap and go after that dream. Lets call that the entrepreneurial adventure and by the way callings are seldom convenient so there is no point in waiting for a better time.

The calling is now.

You can figure out for yourself what goes with the waiting choice. You have likely been living that choice already. It is likely quite familiar to you.

Lets look at what comes with the calling choice, the dream choice, the way of an Awakened Wisdom Entrepreneur.

What is an Awakened Wisdom Entrepreneur?
It is one that is aware that they are in partnership with this amazing universe that we live in and as a result of that awareness the Awakened Wisdom Entrepreneur is available to follow the call and to respond to the opportunities that are emerging. Through that response the Awakened Wisdom Entrepreneur knows that they are responsible for the impact of what they create, how they create it, and that they are equally interested in generating prosperity for all the people around their calling including themselves and they will do so in a way that is responsible to the well being of all.

What is there to know about sitting on the threshold of this path?

Will it bring fulfillment?
Absolutely, yes. You will be fulfilled because you are expressing your gifts and talents through your great entrepreneurial adventure.

Will it be an easy path?
Sometimes yes and often times it will be very challenging. You will learn how to face into the challenges; you learn how to navigate the uncertainties.

Is it risky?
Of course and if you think that getting a “steady job” is not risky then you haven’t been paying attention to what is going on in the world these days. Now the illusion of security in a job has been revealed for the lie that it always was. There is nothing wrong with a regular job if that is what you truly want but few people who have them feel fulfilled and secure. Every entrepreneur has his or her own risk tolerance and accordingly it can be balanced. The risk itself can be offset according to a variety of choices that you will make.

How do I know I have a great idea?
At this stage you probably can’t know for sure if your idea is a great idea or not. The fact that the idea is calling you, is choosing you to carry it out, is important to pay attention to. Marry your calling to what is being asked for by the world around you. Stay flexible and you will find your way to the idea that is really trying to come through. It might be a little different then what you think it is going to be.

What if I don’t have lots of money to invest in my own idea?
What is that? You don’t have the money to start your adventure. You are lucky then. You have nothing to lose. The people that need to be careful are the ones that have money. It is easy to take a pile of money, buy an adventure, and sink it into the business only to find that you are in a deep learning curve. Even if you have some money, go slow. Leverage suppliers and customer demand. Negotiate terms and pace yourself. Make do with less now and grow as you go.

What if I don’t know enough yet?
Oh, you don’t know enough yet? You want to develop more skills. Of course developing more skills is a good idea. Please do keep developing more skills for the rest of your life. That is not a reason to wait. Instead become a hungry learner, learn in the experience, face into the challenge, and learn it as you go. Collaborate with people who have complimentary skills. Allow people to join you in your adventure. You will succeed together. As you allow others to support you; you are also supporting them.

What if I fail?
Great, fail quickly – learn; and keep risking failing. As long as you learn from your mistakes then they are great mistakes. You will never be able to learn enough to avoid failing. Many people that are pushing away the call are really trying to avoid failure. One thing that is worse then failing is not giving yourself the chance to fail or succeed.

My plan is not perfect yet?
There is no plan that can meet real life without changing and adapting. You don’t need a perfect plan, just an idea on which way to move and what are you creating as you go there. Stay flexible and adapt according to what is happening around you. Understand that to take the leap and fall into your great entrepreneurial adventure is to enter onto a path that will teach you what you need to know, it will call out the best of who you are, it will bring you to the edges of what you know and from there you will be grown. Sometimes you will make mistakes, sometimes you will be brilliant, sometimes you will earn a lot of money and sometimes you won’t. All in all there is no life like it and at the end of the day, after you have battled with your dragons until you learned to love them and found amazing treasures, most of which are within you already, you will come to know who you are in a way that only people who have embraced their own calling will understand.

Awakened Wisdom Experiences is here to support and guide you through this process. Check out our website for our workshops and coaching programs.

Life’s an adventure. Enjoy the ride.

Patrick Ryan
www.AwakenedWisdom.com