There are so many lessons in Presence, in Community, Leadership and Cooperation we can learn from animals. Here’s just one more for the holidays. Before you roast that Christmas goose (if that’s your thing) check out what these community-minded fowl can teach us all.
Leadership Lessons We can Learn From Geese
Geese Fact: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the other birds to follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 70% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
Our Lesson: People who share a common direction and a sense of community get where they are going quicker and easier — because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
Geese Fact: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
Our Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
Geese Fact: When a goose tires, it rotates to the back of the formation as another goose flies to the point opposite.
Our Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities and unique arrangement of gifts, talents or resources.
Geese Fact: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Our Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups — where there is encouragement to stand by one’s heart or core values and encourage the same in others — is the sort of honking we seek.
Geese Fact: When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out in formation and try to catch the flock.
Our Lesson: If we had as much sense as geese, we would stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.
Note: Though many others have been credited, Dr Robert McNeish of Baltimore, MD is the author of this piece, which was written in 1972 as a lay sermon delivered to Northminster Presbyterian Church in Reisterstown, MD. Dr McNeish was a biology teacher who enjoyed observing the geese on the eastern Atlantic shores of Maryland. Thanks to the exhaustive research of Sue Widemark for the provenance of this article.
Friendship and love, even across species. This is what it looks like. Check your heart when you look at this picture…that’s what it feels like. (see below for more)
It always amazes me when I meet people who won’t cosy up to another human being, who won’t accept help, whose stiff-necked pride depends on being “completely, totally independent”. I used to see that a lot back when I was a social worker. And even today, in some who would consider it beneath them to accept a helping hand, or others who won’t reach out to their networks when they really need to.
Now I enjoy my financial independence, being an independent thinker and things like that, but will I accept a hug, a friendly nuzzle or a helping hand? Oh, you betcha! And revel in the close-knit communities I enjoy being part of.
Come on, folks. It’s the holidays. If you really need to, and even if you don’t – reach out, please. You’ll be doing someone else the immense favor of allowing them the extreme blessing of giving, and yourself the equal blessing of receiving. No perps, no victims – it’s an equal exchange. Think about it.
Ask your mom or maiden aunt for a hug. Get your dad to help you check your tires or change a lightbulb. Sincerely ask a colleague’s opinion on your latest product or business thought. ‘Tis the season of giving, so give that blessing to others.
In that, we can all stand to learn a thing or two from our animal friends. The first thing we can all do with more of that this pair of buddies has down: friendship and love – even across different species. Thanks to Certified Energy Coach Carol Sanderell for sending this beautiful photo essay and heartwarming story of the fawn Finchen and her wild rabbit companion seen above.
The full essay (in both German and English) with loads of pictures can be found here: http://www.tanja-askani.de/ Talk about magic, communication and inspiration! If you’re a big softie like me, you’ll cry tears of joy. Check out her other photos of interspecies communication. Warm your cockles for darn sure.
"a perfected self template". could it really be that simple? what would it mean if it was? deletions in the foregoing allow for creative expansion. comment if you have gnosis.
Here’s a nice visual Bliss Break for you. Just watch the rainbow incense smoke flow past your eyes and take a little one minute break to fully relax your entire bodymind. This reminds me of how inspiration flows, in many different hues, bends, nooks and crannies of the universe. If you study quantum physics, this is very like the flow of protons on Feynman paths.
Inspiration is flowing from so many sources that I want to share, yet have had little time to write about. I’m finding wonderful online resources just falling into my lap though. Here’s one that will point the way from the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
IONS is a place you really want to check out: http://www.noetic.org and is one of my primary professional associations. I highly recommend it to those who are attracted to my writings and personal transformation in general. IONS sponsors a series of videos at http://oneminuteshift.com entitled: "Snapshots of Awakening" that the below is an example of. Very satisfying and brief Bliss Niblets.
Here, the spiritual teacher Adyashanti speaks about Awakening.
And nope, you really *don’t* need to have all your stuff together to be Awakened.
It can happen any time, any day, any minute, any second. Now, if you prefer.
If you’d like to help De-Stress The World and Get Bliss "Out There", you can grab the code for BlissWidget 1.0 down below, just hit the "Share" button underneath the widget, copy and paste to your blog.
Be sure and hit all the buttons! There are "easter eggs" galore and some nifty stuff you won’t see unless you go through the several pages of this widget. As I update the BlissWidget, you’ll see the changes instantaneously to the widget on your webpage or blog. Keep abreast of all the news from EverydayBliss.org and MaryamWebster.com with the BlissWidget!
I am so blessed in my friends. They are a constant reminder of Bliss in so very many ways. Suzanne Falter-Barns, besides being a good friend, personal platform coach and author, is also accomplished at the art of Joy Cultivation. Suzanne lives on a huge lake and is the picture of vibrant health as she regularly recreates on or around it. I admire her sheer verve and the beautiful lifestyle she’s created. Suzanne recently wrote a blog post I felt compelled to comment on and wanted to share a wise nugget of here:
I’ve come to understand not only how restorative quiet is, but how necessary it is. In order to connect with our creative projects, we really need that stillness. Our tender, fragile creative voices are hard enough to hear. Once you add the static of these crazy, complicated, overly busy lives we’ve cooked up, it becomes downright impossible. There is a reason writers have always headed to the hills to write their opus magnus — they already know the magic of quiet.
She follows this with a great selection of coaching questions around whether you are getting enough silent time in your life. A must-read.
Here is the first of several report posts on Eckhart Tolle’s teachings in San Rafael, CA. This first one concerns environment.
I am not a fully enlightened being. Let me preface the below by saying this, and that I regard what appear to be other people as parts of myself and myself as part of them. Everything around me is a constant and consistent teaching in surrendering to life as it arises, letting forms come and go as they will and being in Bliss with what is. Last week was a powerful, deep teaching in this, and a poignant part of it was my environment.
That said…
Part of my spiritual teachings were in a genre known as Feri, taught by a man who considered himself a Hawai’ian huna priest. (here’s a link to a great mind-map of the Huna way) Hawai’ian locals, he taught, call while people "ha’ole" meaning "without the breath of God" due to the caucasian lack of skin color…at least as the indigenous Hawai’ians saw it. Imagine, a whole race of ghost-like people come to your bright and sunny shores where all around you have a nice healthy tan – you’d think they didn’t have any God inside them too. And when the visitors acted like untutored children and desecrated sacred sites without thought or apology, well, call that corroborating evidence.
In the Hawai’i of today as in the California spiritual community, the word ha’ole has come to mean "those who don’t get it and are acting like imbeciles". It was unfortunate that more than a fair sprinkling of these met Eckhart Tolle in San Rafael this past week.
Tolle’s teachings were as always, inspiring, as always, relevant to a wide bandwidth of people. But since the Oprahfication of his message, the tourist element has been brought into play. Mind you, I’m as big a fan of Oprah bringing A New Earth to the world as anyone else. I think it’s a beautiful undertaking and may well be the best thing she has done yet to further the cause of peace and enlightenment in the world. Brava Oprah, for what you’re doing. You go, girl.
However, association with "Oprah, the brand" is known to produce a predictable array of side-effects. Mass runs on products Oprah endorses. Sudden over-subscription to the trainings and workshops of those she favors. Instant celebrity status conferred upon those fortunate enough to be interviewed by her. These are all to be expected. …
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Leadership Lessons We can Learn From Geese
I am so blessed in my friends. They are a constant reminder of Bliss in so very many ways. Suzanne Falter-Barns, besides being a good friend, personal platform coach and author, is also accomplished at the art of Joy Cultivation. Suzanne lives on a huge lake and is the picture of vibrant health as she regularly recreates on or around it. I admire her sheer verve and the beautiful lifestyle she’s created. Suzanne recently wrote a blog post I felt compelled to comment on and wanted to share a wise nugget of here:
…Or, "Pain-bodies On Parade"…
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