Revolutionary Choices with Marian and Glenn Head

This Valentines Day I reflect on my gratitude for the many stewards of the Revolutionary Agreements who are making a difference in the world. The beautiful words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning come to mind:

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

(Please read slowly & savor. Perhaps take each in with a slow breath.)

1. By living my mission:
   To mentor those who choose a great life by living in Truth, Acceptance and Gratitude, with abundant health and prosperity.
2. By building trust with you because you know I’ll always speak my truth with compassion.
3. By looking within when I react, so that I don’t dump my personal, unresolved issues on you just because you’re holding up a mirror for me to see them!
4. By continuing to do what works to serve you and changing what doesn’t.
5. By listening to you with my heart.
6. By respecting our differences, so you always feel safe sharing your perspective.
7. By resolving conflicts directly, and with love.
8. By honoring your choices, and mine.
9. By giving thanks – and fully receiving yours.
10. By seeing the best in you and reflecting it for you to see as well.

This year I’m calling for more magic and less of the “shoulds,” “have to’s,” and “need to’s” that used to assault me when driving toward success. I am choosing to play a new game: “Success-by-Magic.” (Reminds me of the old Paint-by-Numbers days!)

Since I claimed my desire for “Success-by-Magic” all sorts of resources have shown up to help me. Dianne Collins’ new book, Do You Quantum Think? and her husband Alan’s coaching is at the top of my list. Their bottom line: our intent creates our reality.

Intent. Prayer. Gratitude. By whatever name, whatever we focus on–consciously or not–is what we get.

This morning, the following passage showed up while I was reading Deepak Chopra’s book, The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire. It confirmed for my sometimes-skeptical mind just what I’m learning from Quantum Thinking. When you are finished reading this passage, I hope you’ll be smiling with me!

My mostly healthy 93-year old mom has what doctors call “mild cognitive impairment.” I call it “no more sticky cells for new information.”

Yesterday my brother spent the day with mom and called me more than once to vent his frustration. “She asks me the same question over and over even though I just answered her!” he exclaimed.

I asked, “How is she feeling?” “Great,” he replied.

“I’m really worried about her,” he continued. “I told her ten times how to do what she asked, and it was as though I hadn’t told her once.”

“How are her moods?” I asked. He was quiet for a moment and then said, “I don’t think I’ve seen her this happy since before dad died 18 years ago.”

During the six weeks I spent in Florida this winter, I visited mom every day or two at her retirement center. I must say I haven’t seen her this content ever. She is truly enjoying her every moment.

Some of us spend years – and sometimes a lot of money – seeking a place of blissful presence in our lives. We wish to minimize our focus on past events and on future concerns and “be here now.”

Is enjoying life more and stressing out less among your New Year resolutions for 2012?

“The Agreements are the best tools for stress reduction I have ever found,” said Dan, Director of Systems and Development. At the time Dan was introduced to the Agreements he said, “I was seriously wondering how long I would last under the present tumultuous conditions.” Seven months later he told us, “I am in love again with my career.” Find out why.

Which Revolutionary Agreement, if practiced daily, would have the greatest positive impact on your life? Is it “I agree to speak my truth with compassion?” “I agree to look for blessings in disguise?” Or perhaps, “I agree to listen with my heart.” (Review all the Agreements here.)

For me it will be: “I agree to see the best in myself and others.” Even after all these years of practicing the Agreements I still find myself being critical. (Darn!) What a burden it is to judge others – and I’m my worst self-critic. Maybe I should just jump to “I agree to Lighten Up!” (Shhh…don’t tell anyone, but practicing just one Agreement naturally leads us to living all of them!)

To take my mind off of all the commercialism (buy! buy! buy!) during the holidays, I’ve been taking reflective time to observe other kinds of gifts that arrive every day. I am in awe at what I’m discovering.

Every day, in every moment, God/Universe/Intent is sending me gifts. Today I noticed, among many other “everyday” things:

1. Beautiful, warm sunshine accompanying me on my morning walk.
2. The perfect pressure and temperature of my shower.
3. A text message from my 21-year old son.

Not all gifts come in pretty wrapped packages. Some require me to practice the Revolutionary Agreement “I agree to look for blessings in disguise.”

1. A neighbor startled me awake early this morning with her loud, grating voice. Although disgruntled in the moment, later I realized that if not for her I would not have awakened early enough to enjoy a walk on this exquisitely beautiful morning.

2. Frustrated by being stuck in traffic on the Florida Turnpike, we finally could see the cause of the problem: about 30 cars ahead a truck had jackknifed. Cars were in its path. I recalled how stressed out I had felt hours earlier when leaving home because we were running late. Would we have been in that truck’s path if we had left on time?

Everywhere I go, people are talking about the relationships they have … or wish they had.  As I listened to conference panelists on “The Art of Love” I found myself doodling on my notepad, trying to make sense of their random and sometimes contrary thoughts. Suddenly, out of my doodles, this definition arose like a bright sun breaking through a dark cloud:

The Art of Love is bringing out the best in your partner
while being the best of who you truly are.

A few days after sharing this discovery with a friend, she reported that putting the new Art of Love definition into practice had a dramatic positive impact on her relationship with her son — and vice versa. Also, practicing the Art of Love naturally led her to use every one of the Revolutionary Agreements.

What might happen in your own relationships – with your spouse, teammates, friends, children – if you were to put this new definition into practice, too?

The Art of Love is bringing out the best in your partner
while being the best of who you truly are.

Care to join me in becoming a Love Artist?