The blog.


Conversations On Change


I love taking photographs and using them on my posts and website but it isn’t my primary focus so unsplash is a treasure chest for me. There is always a photo to capture the essence of what I would love to share.

If you don’t know who unsplash (obscure name) are you found out here – Unsplash is a community where anyone can share high-resolution photos for anyone to use freely; open source for photographyI have been using this site for over 2 years and unlike most sites I subscribe too I receive very few emails and the ones I do receive are gentle reminders of this cornucopia of creativity that I might like to visit. Crediting isn’t required but is appreciated – and why not.

With a focus on connecting & sharing rather than competition & profit it is impacting the industry, Mikael Cho, founder, writes ‘We didn’t start Unsplash to reinvent an industry. We started Unsplash because we thought it might be useful.’

And it is useful – not just for me who wants to use photographs but also for photographers who want to get their work out there BUT there are cautionary notes. Unsplash has grown rapidly – there are mixed feelings from photographers, despite downloads work is often not credited (it can be easy to forget). Zero financial exchange may feel like a new way of doing business but it brings up mixed feelings on both sides; receiving something for free isn’t always reciprocal receiving. As an occasional user I dont mind being an anonymous ‘client’ receiving occasional email but as a contributor with 50K downloads anonymous or soliciting emails don’t cut the mustard (see online stories from disgruntled photographers).

The razors edge for unsplash has to be the line between the kindness, consideration & reciprocity of community and insatiable growth for growth’s sake which is part of the old paradigm of business. I don’t know how unsplash intends to evolve but evolve it will; the challenge is to direct that evolution always tweaking and adjusting.

I congratulate people & companies that are changing the way WE do business, not by changing the way THEY do business but by choosing to create from the source of a passion or a dream.

I work with entrepreneurs and change-makers to master and direct evolution. Feel free to contact me if you want to have a no obligation conversation about your business and how to stay on track and true to your original intention & vision.

Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash

#TheImaginationTechnologist #CrossingFrontiers #BeTheChangeInBusiness #BusinessReimagined

Be The Orchestrator Of REAL Change In Your World

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash
Orchestrated change fails not because of lack of passion, determination or intelligence but because of our individual and collective orientation to the past, to what we already know and believe to be true. It fails because of our inherent efficiency as humans to base our responses and actions on embedded sense making patterns.
 
Purposeful change succeeds when we respond from our connectedness to ALL THAT IS possible and from our ability to dynamically evolve our sense making from the future that is emerging in the moment.
 
To change from a reality that we do not want to one that we do requires us individually and collectively to disengage from our embedded patterns of understanding and sense making, to sit in the space of ALL THAT IS and cultivate a quality of inner spaciousness to listen to the whisper of the emergent future.
 
After 30+ years in the transformation business – systems, structures and people I have distilled my knowledge into a model that guarantees REAL change, change that nourishes the individual, fosters flourishing relationships, promotes thriving communities and is the foundation for business in service to sustainability, re-invention and regeneration.
 
It is a model that serves the agenda of connectedness and heart centred creation:
 
* Based on our human capacity for developmental learning and our capacity to imagine.
 
* requires no special training or upskilling
 
* makes for an effortless shift from reactionary to creative responses in all areas of life the more it is used and applied
 
* can be applied at the individual, group and collective level.
 
* provides immediate insights and results can be apparent in as little as a couple of hours.
 
The model is based on my study and experience of structural dynamics, hermetic philosophy, alchemy, intuition and business transformation methodologies e.g. Agile, Lean sigma, Theory U, Systems Thinking.
 
There are no intellectual property or trademark restrictions and although there is no training required as such to use the model it’s efficacy and the integrity of results are inextricably linked to the interior quality of the Teacher, Leader, Coach or Facilitator – their level of self-awareness, self-responsibility, self-mastery and their agenda of intention.
The quality of change – or not – is a direct reflection of the quality of s/he who orchestrates that change. Whether the reality that is created is the desired outcome or not it becomes the starting point for the next iteration of creation and the teacher for the student who wants to learn.
The key themes of the model are:
1. Inner Sense
2. Structural Integrity
3. Creative Tension
4. Devotional Action
5. Learning & Adjusting
6. Leveraging Momentum
 
Are you a change-maker with a business, product or project that you dearly want to succeed? If you have read this far and you are interested in how to orchestrate successful change I am available for a no obligation consultation on line.
 
Email me on [email protected]

An Invitation: Halcyon Days In Corfu

Halcyon Days is a restorative retreat in Corfu from 26th June – 1st July 2019. 

The invitation is to enjoy 5 relaxing and stimulating days on the stunning island of Corfu to sink into who you really are and what matters to you. This will be a magical restorative time in a simple unspoilt part of the island. The gift of time and the ease of relaxation in the rugged beauty of Corfu will restore you to that which is forgotten but is inherent within you. It is all within us, rich layers of gifts, talents, resources and ideas. Much of this is lost or dismissed as we fulfil the busy demands of modern life. Our focus narrows and we forget how to expand again. Daily creative sessions will connect you to your inner wisdom and light the path to your future. A wonderful time of revival to remember and learn to prioritise what is truly important to you.

Our venue is in a delightful, simple boutique bed & breakfast offering heartfelt hospitality. We will have private use of this Durrell-style villa in the unspoilt mountain village of Magoulades in north western Corfu with easy access to beautiful beaches and the sapphire sea.

Myself and my co-facilitator, Thea Allison, share a passion for the freedom and wonder that follow when we ally self-responsibility and awareness with the liberation of imagination to expand our life choices.

The price of £695 covers 5 nights of twin-share B&B accommodation, all facilitation and our welcome meal on the evening of 26th June. Single room options are available on request.

If this invitation resonates for you please do get in touch.  We would love you to join us in June or, if you really can’t make these dates, later on in the Summer as we plan dates in August and October.

Feel free to spread the word if you know of anyone who would love to ‘receive the richness of life ‘

Click here for more details Halcyon Days.

Dissolution

We are story
Ilusion
Water colour
Rememberings
Kept alive
In the framing of my mind
Invisibly etched
On someplace
I call my heart

I clutch
A painted reality
of yesterday
Making it mean tomorrow
Projecting holograms
Of you
And you
And you
On to the mirror of the future.

Blind to see
There is nothing
There
I am nothing
And you
An emptiness
Of ephemeral meanderings
In the echo chamber of
Some consciousness somewhere.

The me that is I
And the you that is you
Captured by human magic
Pressed memories
On to the ether that is the internet
Or a photo on my phone
While the we that is us
Dissolves and disappears
And we are dissolving still.

The drip dropping of these words came as I was reminded of a friend of mine who passed away almost a year ago in May 2018. The partner of a dear friend; we didnt know each other well or for very long and perhaps there was only one photo of the two of us. A selfie on my visit in 2017 – two distorted moon like faces grinning into the camera as I prepared to depart from Middle Earth. And now……all I am left with is the mystery of it all and the dissolving.

Photo by Lieselot. Dalle on Unsplash

 

Easter Rising*


Perhaps it is the emergence of Spring, the coming of Easter, perhaps it is all of us, or just my desire for new life and emergence but my radar is picking up a farrago of metaphors about the cycle of life and death.

And just in case I dont notice it in this bucolic muddy, bole of countryside that I am living in then it shows up in my mail box and my twitter feeds.

Courtesy of Sharon Blackie of The Hedge School’s newsletter today:

Now, arriving in magic, flying,
and finally, insane for the light,
you are the butterfly and you are gone.
And so long as you haven’t experienced this: to die and so to grow,
you are only a troubled guest on the dark earth.

From The Holy Longing by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, translated from German by Robert Bly

Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash

*Being Irish – the juxtaposition of the words Easter AND Rising is poignant and particular and has a singular meaning. Also known as the Easter Rebellion, it was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week, April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish Republic while the United Kingdom was heavily engaged in the First World War. It is has a personal impact too as a great uncle of mine, Walter Scott, was probably the last child to die in this struggle. This is not the topic I wanted to talk about here but it is part of the mythic struggle to reach the light.

The Ecology To Create A Beautiful World?

Photo Credit: Nipun Metha – ServiceSpace.org March 2019

 “We have all these innovations and technologies and we don’t think about alternate capitals? It’s almost like back in the days when NBC, CBS, and other centralized TV stations were there doing the work, but none of them could come up with a YouTube, because they were so entrenched in that worldview.”
 
Nipun Metha talks active spirituality, real gift ecology, the polyculture of relationships, laddership rather than leadership and the capital of kindness, love and compassion.
 
Nipun’s projects are walking examples of what is possible when we look at life and business in a whole different way. As he says – when he quotes a Silicon Valley billboard “He who dies with the most toys still dies.”
Click HERE to read the full interview.

Painting The Future

photo: Anne K. Scott (c) 2018 Carrapateria, Algarve, Portugal

Painting The Future

I can’t see
I can wield
I can’t know
But I am sure
In my lostness
I am found
And in the hum of the Universe
My intentions
Are subtle brushstrokes
On the canvas of tomorrow

Still You Stand

‘If every remnant of success was gone from you — still you stand as the culmination of all that you’ve learned…’ @AbrahamHicks #CrossingFrontiers

There Are No Preconditions

Hard to imagine that Sargy Mann is a blind painter. There is a colour, vibrancy and shape to his work that seems to be extraordinary when you consider he is not sighted. He shares his story here and says “If you are determined to keep going you don’t have to give up”. In that he reminds me of Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards – who didn’t give up on his dream to be an Olympian. It was his determination rather than his talent that saw him achieve his end result.

What preconditions are getting in your way of creating what matters to you? What would you love to create that you have given up on?

If you want guidance to see the truth of what matters to you and what you need to do to refocus on it I am offering £100 off my one off breakthrough sessions bookings received between now and 15th February 2019. Sessions normally cost £250.

Booking Calendar

I will work with you to explore what is getting in the way of your best intentions, get clear on what really matters to you and establish the next step towards that end result.

#CrossingFrontiers #CreatingTheImpossible

We Are All Alchemists


unsplash-logoKelly Sikkema

Black is just how humans perceive the absence of any significant peaks in the spectrum of reflected light.

The alchemist knows that where there is lead, where there are challenges, there is blackness, there is also gold.

We are all of us alchemists. We activate our ability to release the spirit of the lead when we know that everything in life happens for us not to us. When we turn the eye inwards, when we observe our lives from the perspective of spirit we reveal the spectrum of golden light that is hidden to the human eye. Light that opens up new pathways for us to follow.