True, but partial…

As I wrote last week, there are many definitions of consciousness, depending on the viewpoint of the person creating the definition. Each definition is based on limited information, and the interpretations are all true…but partial.

The problem with partial information…

When we work from partial information, our decisions don’t serve us well because they aren’t taking the bigger picture into account.This is the theme of the Indian parable of six blind men describing an elephant, all of them arriving at erroneous conclusions because they don’t have the benefit of being aware of the whole.

This story has been retold by Westerners in many ways. The version I like best is by American poet John Godfrey Saxe, who wrote “The Blind Man and the Elephant” in 1873.

And so from their different perspectives, six men all misunderstood the essence of the elephant because they didn’t take into account that there was something bigger, beyond what they themselves could observe. These days, we see that happening a lot.

It’s worth wondering…

…in any situation you’re grappling with…

  • What is the “something bigger” that I’m not seeing from my limited perspective?
  • What would I see more clearly if I viewed this situation from a broader, higher perspective?
  • And how can I learn to see things from that higher perspective?

For starters, you might experiment with doing an energy activation, at least once a day but as many times as you like. Sit quietly and let energy work for you.

More energy activations…

Energy activations are designed to enliven (activate) an aspect of your energy field. The words communicate directly with the field, guiding it to a new formation as needed. For more free activations, go to Sarah McCrum’s YouTube channel. For courses and activations to purchase, visit Sarah McCrum’s website.

Worst Day Ever?

Worst day ever? It all depends on how you look at it.

The poem below was written by Brooklyn teenager, Chani Gorkin, for a school assignment. A semi-finalist in a 2014 poetry contest, it was published on Poetry Nation.

As you read this poem, pay attention to the emotions and the energy field it creates. If you can, read it aloud—that will make the effect more palpable.

What was your experience—especially of the energy field created by reading top-to-bottom compared to reading it bottom-to-top? You might think in terms of emotional response or maybe the tone of it. Fancy words aren’t necessary. My experience was depressing compared to uplifting energy.

The unseen dimension of words…

This poem is such a good example of the unseen dimension of words. Words have power, both individually and in the way they are arranged together.

Words, whether written or spoken, can change the energy fields into which they are inserted. This makes them a tool that we can use for better or worse.

Let’s use them with care.

Cultivating empathy…

This is my concluding post on empathy. It’s a subject that has been on my mind a lot as I keep seeing how desperately we need more empathy in this world—and as I’ve become aware that there is room for increasing it in myself.

Two types of empathy…

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Empathy at work…

Last week we heard Simon Sinek speak about empathy in the workplace, and how empathetic leadership is essential for workers to thrive.

Empathy is also related to business in another way—through the output of business, the products and services we buy. The satisfaction we derive from these products and services is greater when the designers put themselves in our shoes before production begins.

That is a common definition of empathy—walking in someone else’s shoes, seeing through their eyes—more formally referred to as perspective-taking.

Industrial Design

Industrial design is an example of empathy at work. Continue reading

The prison of your mind…

Living through a pandemic is challenging us all, in one way or another, especially in the days of lockdown when there were very few acceptable reasons for leaving our homes. In the midst of that, many were chafing at their loss of freedom even when they knew there were good reasons for this strategy. And even now, when we have more licence to be out and about, it’s a challenge to adapt to ongoing requirements for wearing masks and distancing.

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The courage to see things differently…

As Brené Brown says, this is the time for courage over comfort.

That can be a challenge.

Comfort is so tempting.

Retreating to the familiar makes us feel safe. And that’s what our primal, survival brain wants above all, to keep us safe.

Where do we find comfort?

Comfort can be found in something as tangible as a food that your grandma used to make or as intangible as your viewpoint on how the world works. Continue reading

Moral fatigue…

When COVID hit my community, I first felt discombobulated. That seemed perfectly understandable.

But three months in, I was experiencing a deep sense of fatigue. That surprised me because I thought I should be feeling better, not worse, once I knew the protocols and developed new habits. But there I was—feeling out of sorts and profoundly tired of the whole thing.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one. In the midst of my wallowing in that unhappy place, I heard an episode of Tapestry that directly addressed what I was feeling. They were discussing the experience of moral fatigue that arises when we are faced with making decisions where there are no right answers and yet we can’t do nothing.

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Unprecedented…

Unprecedented” must be the most over-used word in the English language right now. I’m tired of it. Especially because it’s used so often without thought.

Unprecedented means never done or known before; never having happened or existed in the past. True, the specific COVID variation of the coronavirus is new (hence the name novel coronavirus). But If we’re talking about pandemics, there’s nothing new there. Humans have experienced them throughout recorded history.

Worst pandemics in history…

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