Airports as a Vehicle for Spiritual and Social Transformation

Is there a better place and activity, other than a More to Life Weekend, than traveling through a busy airport to get your daily supply of LIFESHOCKS? I don’t think so!

Airports and travel in general are now my church, my number one location and source for personal and spiritual growth, the place where I get to practice Mastery, and grow spiritually moment to moment – whether I am ready or willing or NOT.

I was thinking to myself a few weeks ago, that I am not using the travel time I have wisely… it is often “wasted time," waiting in lines, walking from here to there, elbowing people out of the way, or simply reading the paper… not noticing. Instead, airports and travel, just as life, is all the time everywhere constantly nudging me to wake up - to bring myself and love to every situation.

I am running late, driving to the airport. Every light is red. The cars in front of me are driving extra slowly. I cannot miss this flight, important meeting, big contract. “I won’t take it” “I won’t take it.” I can take it. I will take it. Breathe. And for the hundredth time I promise God I will get here earlier if I can just make it to the flight on time and alive.

I jog up to the security line, which is usually small or non-existent at the Knoxville, McGhee Tyson airport, and it is winding down to the fountain midway down the hall. I won’t take it. I won’t take. I will take it. Breathe. 45 minutes until my flight leaves.

I make it to point in the process where you need to choose which security line and conveyor belt you will join. And, more importantly, which security agent you think is the fastest. In the process of becoming a now seasoned traveler, I have been wisely studying the agents. The first line, look at it, its going twice as fast. I confidently choose that line.

Ugh. One minute later, they change agents. A nervous agent takes the inspection seat, evidently new to the job and ready to be thorough. Now I am all for safety and fighting terrorism , but our line is not budging. An older man gets beeped as he goes through the x-ray. He needs to return, holding up the line. The agent continues being extra cautious, and takes three times the amount of time that the other agents take. I can’t take this. I won’t take this. I won’t. Breath. I can take this. I can take this. I am taking this. I will take this.

During every trip I take these days, life is helping me to grow. Each time I travel, life reminds me that my daily discipline of meditation is essential, providing me with a reservoir of patience and calm to take me through the day. These daily and weekly disciplines - processing, meditation, reflection, time with community to get and give support. When I do those, everything goes better, or perhaps they just go the way they go, but I am better.

The opportunity to practice Mastery is everywhere all the time. My favorite poet Rumi says: What time is it? It's time to pray. And that’s how I feel in airports, its always time to pray, to notice and be someone that brings helpfulness and humor and kindness rather than frustration or self-centeredness.

So, as you travel this holiday season, remember that the long line to get checked in, the security line that won’t move, the overworked and unpleasant airline employee – are all gifts and opportunities – just for you!

Gratitude as a spiritual discipline

"Develop spiritual
disciplines that maintain an awakened state."

What would happen if you chose to be grateful...period? No matter what.

"Happiness begins
with our choice to say 'yes'
to whatever Life gave us,

whether we wanted it
or not." Brad Brown, Guide Lines to Feelings

Practice: This week, celebrate Thanksgiving by choosing to be grateful no matter what. Chances are you will notice more of what delights you, more of what is beautiful, more of what touches you. There will also be those times that you don't really want what Life is giving you. Then what?

Remember the five practices in the connecting space "above the line"? Notice, tell the truth, choose, create, and then...gratitude.
Happy Thanks Giving!

Willingness to choose service that provides "negative" Lifeshocks

The Courageous Conversation
"To be courgeous means at bottom to be heartfelt. The word courage in English comes from the French word cuer, heart. Life is a creative, intimate and upredictable conversation if it is nothing else, spoken or unspoken, and our life and our work are both the result of the particular way we hold that passionate conversation."
David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea, Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity.

Living Mastery is being willing to have courageous conversations even if your voice shakes and your knees tremble; to provide the truth of what you see, what you hear and what you think, all in the context of being For the other, For Life, and For yourself. Is that not what courageous love really is afterall; being willing to provide the Lifeshock that may serve to awaken and transform.

PRACTICE
Look and listen for your opportunities to have a courageous conversation with a loved one, a co-worker, a dear friend. What have you been holding back? What are you afraid might happen if you said that....
Find your truest, most noble intention and go forward Warrior.

"Wanting the best for you

is wanting the best

for me"

Brad Brown, Guidelines to Love

Ability to contribute without reserve or resistance

I can't

I wont'

I have to.

You should,

I should

I shouldn't.

Why?

I would like to, but . .

sure signs

of a warrior

who has

lost

his way.

Brad Brown, Mental Touchstones for the Warrior of the Spirit

Practice:

Who and where are you shoulding?

Who and where are you being For someone and For yourself?

Which one feels more resistant, tight, constricting; or open, easy, light?

Will you find your lightness? It can be a simple choice....really.

Objective, not identified with the results of one's actions.

Marks of Mastery, K. Bradford Brown

Outward circumstances

neither make nor break us,

unless inwardly,

we have identified with them.

Inside Out: Mental Touchstones for the Awakening Spirit, K. Bradford Brown

PRACTICE: This week, remember:

• "I produce results. I am not my results."
• "I achieve what I set out to achieve, or I don't. Either way, I remain who I am."
• "My results are not a commentary on my worth as a human being."

Then breathe, choose and keep moving forward. By not judging, you are free to simply 'observe yourself with interest' and course-correct rather than waste your precious life energy berating yourself. Now that's a relief!

With love, honor and respect.

Ability to Self-Remember

Self-remembrance can take many forms. It can look like remembering, honoring, and acknowledging all that has been given to you by your significant relationships: parents, children, siblings, spouses, partners, and teachers. We are who we are in part because of those who raised us, taught us and loved us.

Love trusts itself

to find the right words

without rehearsal

K. Bradford Brown, "Guidelines to Love"

PRACTICE: Write a love letter to one of your beloved --- whether they are alive or have passed. Express all the things they have done for you... gifted you with... and how they have loved you.
Decide what to do with the letter. Whatever you choose, it will be the right choice.

Namaste

Objective, not identified with the results of one's actions.

Marks of Mastery, K. Bradford Brown

Outward circumstances
neither make or break us,
unless inwardly,
we have identified with them.

Inside Out: Mental Touchstones for the Awakening Spirit, K. Bradford Brown

PRACTICE:
This week, remember . . .

• "I produce results. I am not my results."
• "I achieve what I set out to achieve, or I don't. Either way, I remain who I am."
• "My results are not a commentary on my worth as a human being - win or lose."

Then breathe, choose and keep moving forward - or not. It's your choice - so long as you are conscious and intentional.

With love, honor and respect.

Development of spiritual disciplines to maintain an awakened state.

Marks of Mastery, K. Bradford Brown

You don't have to do a lot.

You just have to be willing.

The rest falls into place . . .

unless

it doesn't.

Then you continue to be willing.

Inside Out: Mental Touchstones for the Awakening Spirit, K. Bradford Brown

PRACTICE

This week, choose a "discipline" that will awaken you from sleep over and over again. Just as your alarm clock in the morning prompts your shift from asleep to wake, so can you set your daily practice to bring you back again and again to your awakened state. Choose whatever works for you. Here are some suggestions:

• Pray
• Meditate
• Comtemplate a thing of beauty
• Take three conscious breaths
• Read spiritual writings

Notice any tendency of your mind to believe that a "discipline" has to be difficult or time-consuming. In truth, willingness is all it takes.

With love, honor and respect.

What does living masterfully look like?

Contributing without reserve or resistance.

Marks of Mastery, K. Bradford Brown

The day came

when it was more

painful

for the bud

to stay closed

than to open.

Inside Out: Mental Touchstones for the Awakening Spirit, K. Bradford Brown

PRACTICE:

Notice your resistance. That's it. Notice it. Acknowledge it. Then go ahead and contribute.

What happened to your resistance?

With love, honor and respect.

What Does Living Masterfully Look Like?

Willingness to self-remember

on a continuing basis.

Marks of Mastery, K. Bradford Brown

Life

is like

my breath.

It flows

throught me

when I open

to it.

Inside Out: Mental Touchstones for the Awakening Spirit, K. Bradford Brown

PRACTICE:

As Life and life come to you this week, notice if you are resisting or opening. Try this:

• Pause
• Breathe
• See what you see.
• Hear what you hear.
• Feel what you feel.

With love, honor and respect.

What does living masterfully look like?

Detachment from appetites, addictions and automatic reactions.
Marks of Mastery, K. Bradford Brown

It is not true
there are no
guarantees in your life.

Keep thinking
you are worthless,
and you
will
be.
Inside Out: Mental Touchstones for the Awakening Spirit, K. Bradford Brown

PRACTICE:
Be mindful of your "addiction" to believing one of your core beliefs. It may be "I'm worthless" or "I'm flawed" or "I'm useless" or...or... Be the witness in your life, noticing where you are reacting automatically and what you are feeling. Then choose your response.

With love, honor and respect.

What does living masterfully look like?


Development of spiritual disciplines to maintain an awakened state.

Marks of Mastery, K. Bradford Brown

You don't have to do a lot.

You just have to be willing.

The rest falls into place . . .

unless

it doesn't.

Then you continue to be willing.

Inside Out: Mental Touchstones for the Awakening Spirit, K. Bradford Brown

PRACTICE:

This week, choose a "discipline" that will awaken you from sleep over and over again. Just as your alarm clock in themorning promptsyour shift fromsleep to awakenness, so can you "set" your daily practice to ground you in your awakened sate. Choose whatever form works for you. Some suggestions are:

• Prayer


• Meditation


• Comtemplation of a thing of beauty


• Three conscious breaths


• Reading a passage in the Bible, Torah, Koran or other spiritual writing.

Notice any tendency of your mind to believe that a "discipline" has to be difficult or time-consuming. In truth, willingness is all it takes.

With love, honor and respect.

Honoring our Limits

What does Mastery look like?

The ability to go beyond limits set by the mind and to work within limits set by Life and to discern the difference between the two.


“It isn’t so much what you do,
nor when or where you do it,
that makes a difference . . .
It’s the why."
Brad Brown, Mental Touchstones for the Awakening Spirit



Practice: This week, notice what, when and why you say yes to doing more. Are you saying yes just so that you don’t have to say no? What do you feel when you say yes, or no? Sometimes saying no to someone else is saying yes to you and your real limits. Trust your discernment for the "yes" or the "no" to doing more.

Committing anew

What does living masteryfully look like?


Readiness to recommit when in error and course-correct.


"'I'm sorry,' said often, easily, and without tears, is a sure sign that we will do the same thing again soon..." K Bradford Brown, Guidelines to Relationships



"Failing, and coming back again,
Failing, and coming back again,
Failing, and coming back again.

This is the rhythm of creation, of being made free to love." K. Bradford Brown, Guidelines to Spirituality


Practice: Re-committing means giving your word anew about what you will and will not do. It implies a course-correction. This week, when you recommit, make plans for how you will keep your word this time and be "made free to love."

What does living Masterfully look like?

Courage to go beyond fears and insecurities.

"Fear is nothing to be afraid of.

I made it up."

K. Bradford Brown, Signs of Life: Mental Touchstones

for the Warrior of the Spirit

Practice:

Take time to reflect, process and discover your pathway beyond the fear to the Truth . . .

• List any fears you may be feeling about a particular situation, project, or task
• Write the "to do's" that you're avoiding
• Notice what you're feeling in your body; breathe and open to a LifeShock
• Ask yourself: What am I afraid of? What might happen or not happen if I.....? What would it mean about me if ......?
• Choose a process to clear the untruths; (Authority, Clearing, Disavowal/Avowal)
• Take your stand AND
• Identify a choice; commit to an action to take and a way to be from the Truth of who you really are, a courageous human being.

Warrior's slogan: Here be no dragons

Warrior's tonic: Large doses of gratitude

K. Bradford Brown

Where are your feelings?

What does living masterfully look like?

Noticing mindtalk and the negative emotions that result.

"Unexpressed feelings get expressed one way or another."
K. Bradford Brown

Practice: See if you can notice how your unexpressed feelings are being expressed. This list will give you some starting places for your search:

• Physical dis-ease
• A lid on your joy, passion, enthusiasm, etc
• Difficulty in relationships
• Spiritual disconnection
• Diminished self-esteem
• Lack of purpose or direction, spinning your wheels

Note: The More to Life Weekend in Knoxvile is February 15, 16, 17. There is still time for someone you care about to sign up. Knoxville More to Life Center @ 865-588-3553.

What does living masterfully look like?

Courage to go beyond fear and tell the truth to oneself.

"I lost myself when I made you wrong. I found myself when I noticed I was angry."
K. Bradford Brown

Practice: A big payoff for our resentment is getting to avoid feelings we don't want to experience. Who are you making wrong so that you don't have to feel angry - or scared? Go ahead and tell yourself the truth about what you feel, including the resentment that you've created to avoid feeling fear or anger. You may want to use the Cost Process to do this.

Ready to Learn?

What does living masterfully look like?

Readiness to process lifeshocks and learn from them.

"Sometimes life looks like a maze with no exits. The maze is in my head. And there is always a way out." K. Bradford Brown

Practice: The way out begins with noticing that you are caught up in your reaction to a lifeshock (or a series of them!). What is your stand toward your lifeshocks? Are you standing ready to learn from them?

When you notice your reactions, practice identifying the lifeshock.

What does living masterfully look like?

The ability to be satisfied with what you are currently doing.

"Drudgery is a state of mind, not the task we refuse to enjoy." K. Bradford Brown

Practice: Pick some task or chore that you usually approach as drudgery. What does your mind have to say about that task? See what happens if you simply choose to enjoy it.

Remembering and Coming to Life

What does living masterfully look like?

An ability to Self-Remember on a constant basis.

"There are no extraordinary moments. Only moments when we come to life...or don't." K. Bradford Brown

Practice: When you recognize that you've had a lifeshock, you have a choice. You can remember who you are and 'come to life' or you can lose your Self in your reaction.

Noticing is the beginning of Self-Remembering, of being 'above the line', living in that connecting space. What are your cues that you are caught up in your reactions to your lifeshocks? [Hint: notice physical cues, emotional cues, language either spoken or in your mind, and behavior] Once you notice, the choice is yours!