Gail
A Raucous Holy Fool’s Day to One and All!
Holy Fool’s Day
April 1 is the day to find your voice, speak your truth, and shake things up. Forget the pranks and silly antics of April Fool’s Day. Become a Holy Fool!
Each year I remind you that this is your day to speak out. Here is last year’s post to inspire ideas for the outer expression of your inner Holy Fool.
Comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell talked about the archetype of the Holy Fool. The Fool is the most dangerous person on earth, Campbell explained, the most threatening to all hierarchical institutions. He has no concern for naysayers, and no one has power over him (or her). She is not limited, not stoppable, nor controllable. She knows what she has to do and is doing it, no matter what. Continue reading
Get Your Spark of Madness on For Holy Fool’s Day
Holy Fool’s Day
“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” – Robin Williams
Lately I’ve been applying the above words from one of my favorite philosophers, Robin Williams, to the art of transformational speaking. Most of us tame our madness to fit into what others expect and never use our inherent spark to become the wildly unforgettable speakers and change artists that are needed in these times of shocking transformation.
I suggest you no longer try to lose or suppress your spark of madness and instead give it a voice on April 1, which I have renamed Holy Fool’s Day. This festive and often annoying holiday suggests we play tricks on others with a jovial spirit and once we’ve duped them to yell with delight, “April Fools!”
Yet comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell talked about the archetype of another kind of fool: the Holy Fool. The Fool is the most dangerous person on earth, Continue reading
Don’t Sanitize (or Dramatize!) Your Story: A Lesson in the Power of Real Emotion
Omega Institute
When teaching at Omega Institute last summer, I received a poignant reminder of the power of expressing our emotions as we speak. A woman in my class moved us all with her heartbreaking and heart-opening story. First we learned of the medical error that led to her loss of the child she was carrying, and then she shared her journey of healing that led her to Rwanda and a profound experience of forgiveness.
When Tina finished her story, we were in a place that was beyond words. Those are the rare moments where as speakers we must be willing to inhabit the stillness and allow ourselves to feel rather than fill the space with words. She stood in silence. As her coach, I did the same.
How often we step in to try to comment on the indescribable. Continue reading
2012: Your Life is Speaking – What Story Will it Tell?
Foretellings from many cultures point to 2012 as the time when we pass from an old world and way of being to a new time on planet earth. While we can recognize the economic, political and cultural turmoil around us as fundamental to this dynamic shift, and ultimately a good thing, it’s easy to shut down internally to try to ride out the storm. We want change, in fact for those of you reading this, you are likely one of those working for change. And now that it is happening in so many of the fundamental systems on which we have built our way of life, there’s a tendency to say, “Wait a minute. Not so fast! I haven’t learned how to keep up!”
It is no longer possible to stabilize our lives by managing time. Consider how we speak of time. Make time. Spend time. Save time. Invest time. And, of course, Time is money. The alternative is to learn to feel time and to manage our energy. When I say “feel time” I’m speaking of recognizing and respecting the internal currents that for each of us constitute a rhythm that allows us to operate from our wisdom and knowing, even in the midst of crisis and volatility and outer demands. It changes at different stages of our lives and, when we ignore the needs of our bodies, we risk showing up without a full heart. Continue reading
The Four Bones of a Transformational Speech
Cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien, author of The Four-Fold Way, teaches there are four bones to which we must pay attention if we are to remain fully present in our lives. As in life, so it is in speaking! Here are the four bones:
1. First, the wishbone. That is where our vision resides, the place of dreaming and re-dreaming so that we live the life we came to live. When you’re developing your presentation, what is the vision you hold of what is possible because you choose to show up? A transformational speech begins with knowing the new story you want people to embrace and act upon. So exercise your wishbone as your very first step to a transformational speech. What is the outcome you wish for that makes all the energy of preparing and delivering a presentation worthwhile? Continue reading
The Transformative Power of Place: See the Change!
John Muir
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.” – John Muir
Once a man I loved wondered why I didn’t want to move into his ratty little house. He felt that love should prevail even if I didn’t like the place. When I told my sister about it, she commented, “You should tell him you grew up in a family that would spend two hours picking out a campsite.” Continue reading
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Personal Reflections on We the People
We the People
The U.S. mid-term election results were a reminder that once a constituency is “won,” it is only the beginning of a relationship. Just as motivational fervor is quick to die after the speaker sells a bunch of product, a politician’s success is not sustainable without continued attention to those who voted. Last week’s Transformational Speaking class said it well: Love Your Audience! As evidence of the disengagement of Obama’s base, only 9 million young people voted this week compared to 23 million in 2008. At the same time, the zeal of the Tea Party ignited a movement. It seems the rigor of getting elected pales in comparison to that of governing. Continue reading →