It's Moving Day!

Hello fellow Spirit,

I've got a new website, and it will be the home (from here on in) of this blog.

Come on by to www.privatepracticeseo.com for more, and you'll find the blog (archives now, new posts coming - here).

Namaste, Peter

End of Year Things To Do...

Hi folks,

The calendar (and solar) year is ending. Ahhh. It's been a challenging year in my enjoyment of the year, though my little boy is healthy and my businesses continue to be abundant.

I find that the end of the year provides some chances to take care of some "maintenance" in our businesses, that can open up space and energy for the new year that is about to begin. When the space is open, it's a LOT easier to attract and accept new business.

So, to keep this short, here's the things I'll be doing to end the year on a good note:

* finishing all paperwork filing and insurance billing for 2011. Completion is SUCH an energy builder!

* getting my office deep-cleaned. While the maintenance staff of my building does an OK job, I'm hiring someone to come in and polish it up like it hasn't been in a while. This year, I've invested more in continuing to improve the look & feel of my office - I spend a lot of time there!

* tracking results from 2011 & comparing it to goals I set at the beginning of the year. Goals, combined with intentions, are such a huge tool in achieving big things.

* noting both what I did achieve, as well as what I didn't. Adding that to the list of "bad" (from my human standpoint) things that happened. This is all for gratitude and release work. I am a strong proponent of burns at the end of years. I'll be doing one for myself.

Finally, I'll be beginning my 2012 process - intentions and goals - but that is for another post.

I hope you are enjoying the approach of whatever holiday you enjoy!

Namaste, Your Grateful Guy

What to do once you've gotten what you always wanted

Hi, it's been a while. I've been pretty busy. Two thriving businesses, my first new house, a two-year-old baby boy, well it's a lot. And it's all things that I worked for a long time to manifest. So what's the rub?

Well, what the books might not tell you, is that once you reach what you initially defined as success, you may have a new definition. In other words, you might change your mind about what it is you want.

For the longest time I was focused on business. Business, business, business. I was ambitious and kept wanting to figure out how to grow. This continued through the first months of my new son's life, for more than a few reasons. First of all I was the only breadwinner now, and I wanted my wife to be able to stay home and take care of our child. If you are a parent, you also know that for the first months, the baby is not all that interactive. And finally, we were renting the home we were living in then, getting ready to buy our first house, which is something I've wanted for so long.

But ambition has changed. Or rather, what my ambitions are have changed.

A healthy body. A happy marriage. Enjoying that all-too-fast growth of my son. Some time for learning and friends and relaxation. These are things that felt left behind on the road to business success.

I can write this now, because it all came clear to me at the end of 2010 - that I needed to refocus on a new vision – one that integrated business success, but not at the expense of the rest of my life. And that is where this post finds me tonight, taking step after step toward that balance.

Part of finding that balance, and creating or manifesting a new success, means using the tools I used to get here in the first place. But using them towards a different vision.

So I'm starting with the vision. I'm starting with the intention. I'm starting with spirit in mind, remembering that all things are possible, and remembering all the lessons I've learned thus far.

You know, it got easy to stop doing all of my spiritual practices when I achieved the “successes” that I aimed for initially. Not to say I ever lost my connection to God, but the daily affirmations & use of the tools at hand waned as I grew busier and busier in my businesses. "I don't have time," I would rationalize. I'm too busy working.

I look forward to seeing what I will build on top of the foundation that I've created already. It will be different than the old vision, and that's okay. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Way to go, Ralph.

I encourage you to always allow yourself to change your mind. The journey itself may change you, and what you want.

I hope this post finds you well, and please know I wish you and your loved ones all the very best. Namaste, Peter

I'm Presenting in October!

Hi folks,

While it is more on the webby side than the spiritual tools side, I did want to announce I'll be presenting at the 2009 Practice Building Virtual Conference running October 13-17.

It's put on by Casey Truffo's Therapist Leadership Institute. I am a fan of Casey's consciousness about abundance in our profession. But I'll let you check it out and see what you think.

All the best, Peter

Warning: Tooting of My Own Horn

Hey folks,

This is a self-toot! I am going to be presenting at the Therapist Leadership Institute Virtual Conference this Monday. It's not on the Spiritual Tools part, but it is on growing your business with web marketing.

This is a Casey Truffo thing, and I really respect Casey. She's greatly positive and optimistic and I like working with people like that. 

For me, I am envisioning NEXT year doing a web marketing section AND a Spiritual Tools for Private Practice section! I think that's an exciting vision!

Come in you can - no worries if you don't.

My best to you, Your Ever-Grateful Guy

PS - Am re-energizing my own energies with the help of Spiritual Liberation: Fulfilling Your Soul's Potential - a Michael Beckwith DVD, and in my car with the CDs of the book The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity: A Simple Guide to Unlimited Abundance by Edwene Gaines. The CDs are great. She's a got a Southern accent and is a hoot!

Consider a Media Blackout

Ahhhhh, it's quiet here in my brain. Peaceful. Why? Because I am late in Day 3 of a media blackout.

What's a media blackout? It's a practice of fasting from news. For me, it means not watching the TV news, not reading the newspaper or news-magazines, and especially not reading news websites and blogs.

Having worked a presidential campaign in 2004, I am a bit of a political news junkie. And with the economy doing its tricks, it's been hard to turn my head away from the news. But when you look at it closely, you start to see a few things about "news":

1) It's mostly bad

2) It's mostly things out of my control

3) It's mostly things that don't help me to know

4) It mostly makes me anxious, sad, or depressed

So I am off it. Not sure how long I will do it. But I can tell you my head already feels like a much quieter, more peaceful place to be. And I've suddenly got more time on my hands (added benefit) to do things that I can control, that are good and creative, that make me happy.

I am off to go do them now. All the best, Your Grateful Guy

Two Things Remembered on the Raquetball Court

A quickie for you today, two lessons I remembered on the raquetball court today.

One - as my buddy/playing-partner asked "did you lose weight?" I automatically replied "I can't lose weight." I caught it quickly. I can't? Really? Great self-talk there. Thought and belief definitely manifesting into existence around my midline. 

The truth is I have not been losing weight. I haven't. I didn't. And you know what, maybe I won't. Maybe I haven't really tried very hard. But can't????? That's baloney.

If you are self-talking about your private practice this way, STOP! If you say "I can't have 20 clients a week by the end of April" - STOP! It's NOT TRUE!

I mean, maybe you won't have 20 clients then. Perhaps you don't want 20 clients. Heck, maybe you shouldn't have 20 clients then, but I will not sit with you and believe you can't. It's baloney. 

Two - I made some great plays today. I stretched for things I wasn't sure I could get. It reminded me of a lesson I learned playing tennis in college (for the Pace University Setters - yes, Pace Setters, ha ha ha). I learned to train my mind to keep my body moving for a ball, even when I thought it was out of my reach.

By doing this, it was amazing how many shots I got to, and how much more success I had. I definitely got to balls I never would have predicted I could get to. It was also very energizing and esteem-building when I reached them. 

The lesson is you likely underestimate what you are capable of. You can probably go farther than you think. And for most things, even if you don't make it, it won't be fatal (exception including open-ocean swimming, and hiking through snow - though usually not counseling). So keep reaching, keep reaching, keep going.

All the best, Your Grateful Guy

When You Can't Hold the Vision of What You Want, Intend for What You Need

Hi folks,

Your Grateful Blogger hasn't really been all that grateful lately. I realize that because I've been getting feedback from the universe that has been ungrateful and anxious (that's the energy I've been getting back at me from more people than I care to number). Usually, this is not how it works for me. But I've felt pretty sapped with the baby. As my time and energy have been more divided, my spiritual practice has gotten lax.

A veteran father told me to just ask for, accept, pray for (and be prayed for) Energy. I think that is smart, so I put in a prayer request today at my spiritual center.

It reminded me that sometimes we aren't feeling strong enough, or faithful enough, or ready enough to envision or manifest that big thing we want (The Full Practice! The New Business! The Great Relationship!) and sometimes that means starting by intending, asking for, focusing on the first step towards that vision - the thing we NEED right now.

For me it is Energy. I think I need Energy so I can actually get back on track on the intentions side of things. (I also requested Time, as they seem quite linked for me right now).

For others, it might be Creativity (the ideas for the article/for the business) - or Wisdom (of what to do *right now*) - or Peace (to center myself in Spirit instead of worrying about the storm outside) - or Love (to feel Loved right now, so you don't feel desperate for it in someone else).

So if you don't feel like you can aim big right now, aim for whatever it is you need to aim big :-)

Happy Sunday everyone. So happy to see the sun staying longer in the sky.

Best, Your Grateful Guy

So, About That Recession...

So, fellow Spirits, fellow therapists, fellow businessmen and women, fellow Americans (how Presidential it feels to type that) - I want you to know I live in the real world with you. I can see and hear the news. The overall economy is having problems. The average therapist's business is down. But one thing I know is that overall numbers and averages are made up of individual cases, each of these varying WIDELY. You are an individual case.

We could ponder what the overall decline in counseling sessions will be in 2009 vs. 2008.  10%? 20%? More? We could imagine we will experience that same decline, or worse. But I tell you with full faith there will be people who have less of a drop in business than the average. There will be people who will have no drop in business. And there will be people who will actually build their business during this time.

You can believe in the Law of Averages, and it will deliver for you accordingly. Or you can focus on faith, delivering value, communicating value, helping people, gratitude, and finding creative ways to do all of it. We call it the Law of Grace. I'll pick the latter, thank you.

I was going to tackle the issues of fees in a separate post, but why not just do it here - as it seems relevant. Someone asked me my opinion about lowering fees in this economy. I said I thought it depended on the intention behind it. My opinion is that helping people is what we do. And if you want to offer lower-fee or pro-bono services for people who are out-of-work, or underemployed, or in foreclosure, so that they receive the help they need - I think it's a good thing. Fill the more fallow daytime slots with these clients. Run groups. Offer your help and your value to the people around you. Keep the faith that times will get better overall. Do it from an attitude of service, and compassion, and growth, and the future, and Abundance. Know that your referral engine will be running strong when your client's personal economies bounce back.

So yes, I think you truly can offer lower-fee services from an attitude of Abundance. Or, you may not feel moved to do so. That's OK too.

This is my two cents. Opinions may vary. I certainly wish you all the best in your individual journey.

Sincerely, from late-night babyland, your always Grateful Guy

Coming Back & Finding Strength

Hi folks,

It has been a while. The life of parenting a newborn is as all-encompassing as they say, and as tiring. That it is also happening while the overall economy is in turmoil, and the country's consciousness about what could happen is so shaky, well, that's an added stressor. Because a lack of sleep definitely impacts my psyche, and the lack of time has definitely impacted my spiritual practices.

But I can happily reporting that things are slowly returning to a new normal as my son gets over the 3-month-old mark and starts to sleep more at night - a new homeostasis.

And I had a month or two where I let all the worries and fears, especially about scarcity and separation (that there isn't enough, and that you and I and Spirit and I are disconnected) get to me a bit. Not good times. And when it got bad enough, I reached out to friends to help. And they reminded me of all the good, and they reminded me to turn into what I already knew. And holy moly, has that made the difference.

So, I guess the moral of the story for this post is that when you get scared, get worried, lose faith, or lose your way - turn to a friend. Turn to someone who can remind you of the good. Who will dust you off, and turn you around. I know you have them, I just do. And I bet you've done it for friends and colleagues in your life.

Finally, I have two posts I am working on - one about lowering fees during this time, and the other about scarcity and separation and fear (versus Abundance, Unity, and Faith). But those are for another night.

Until then, I wish you the best. Keep doing all the good you do - it is needed now more than ever.

Best, Your Grateful Guy

PS - and sleep is always the best thing to check when anyone's head is messed up. I was gifted with a full night's sleep on Sunday and I was a new man the next day.

Checking In & DVD Recommendations

Hello dear readers,

Well time is fleeting these days. A newborn baby is an amazing thing, a spiritual journey in itself. There is a long post I am working on about energy, "matter", and the connectedness of things, but I want to formulate that a little more.

In the meantime, I've been exploring DVD's way past The Secret - wanted to let you in on them:

1) What the Bleep Do We Know - Down the Rabbit Hole edition: with all the extended interviews in it, and the ability to have it show you stuff randomly, this is a fun one to watch over and over again. Interesting to watch the movie that really presaged The Secret, which borrowed greatly from WtB in many, many ways.

2) Introducing Abraham - The Secret Behind the Secret: for many folks, the idea of this (channeling) will cause a dead-stop. That's OK, it did for me for many years. But I've decided to stow away my disbelief and see what I thought. There is interesting stuff here.

3) You Can Heal Your Life (Louise Hay) - Extended edition: what I loved about this was Louise (and the other people featured, especially in the extra interviews on the extended edition), and the learnings they were drawn to, almost as if they couldn't escape them. The learning comes from pain and passion, but in some ways these are ordinary people who just ask "why"? That's how I feel about metaphysics. What about you?

4) Consciousness: this is a multi-disc set of one-on-one interviews, apparently done during a conference on consciousness. The production values are minimal, and some of the interviews (I think there are like 25 or so) annoyed me (some poet blathering on in ryhme, etc.). But others fed me new knowledge, and stoked the fires of curiosity. This stuff is good for therapists in their work too - it touches on existential issues and mental health issues too.

That's all from baby-central. I wish you the best, Your Grateful Guy

Intentions Get Answered - In Big Ways

Folks, this is a personal one today.

Last night, as my wife got 5 hours sleep, I sat with our newly adopted infant son in my arms. He was fairly fussy but I got him to sleep finally lying on me (he likes warmth).

You may have heard the adoption process can be long. Overall, it was, but our wait once "in the queue" (that's after all the trainings, background checks, interviews, etc etc etc) was really only 4 months.

We were at our spiritual community on Sunday and the talk was about intentions, and setting them. This has been a very intentional process all the way through (basically, each hurldle makes your re-affirm your intention.....hmmmm, sorta like being a private practice therapist). When I got home from service, I listed my intentions for 2009. One of them was about fatherhood. And the call that we were to be parents came the next day.

Back to last night - I had Louis Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life" DVD playing (for me) in the dark while the boy tried to sleep (highly recommended, by the way, especially for those with medical issues - much deeper advice than The Secret, etc) - and I cried as I told him that he was an answer to our prayers, and that I'd always remember that, and that he should always know that.

I know there will be struggles, and times when he is less lovely to be around (2, 13, etc), but I figure we set the firmament now.

I feel quite warm and open and just want to share that love with you all. I truly wish you all the experience of having your intentions manifest wonderfully in your life.

Namaste, Your Grateful Papa

So It's Serious Work - Be Happy Anyway.

My wonderful spiritual teacher, Kathianne Lewis, was speaking today at our spiritual community. She had a two-part talk, the first part being about Joy and Happiness. I thought it was applicable for us as therapists.

She spoke about figuring out a few years into her career as a minister that she was going to go home for a visit, and then she'd "get to be crazy". And she thought - "I used to have fun all the time, but I haven't been doing that lately."

She realized that when she entered her new line of work, she put on a "mantle of significance". I loved that phrase. I identified with it. When I became a therapist, it was all so serious. There was so much sadness and pain and wounding and processing and depth. And you know, there still is all that, but I think I hit the same point Kathianne did - she realized that you could work with people at all levels of problem, and still be in Joy yourself. Still be Happy. Still have Fun.

I love it.

Usually, in the few minutes between clients, I walk down the hallway outside my office (it's open to the air, and faces the west, for wondeful sunsets). And when I do this, I sing, I dance, I move my body and have a little fun before it's time to go to work.

So, dear colleagues, please do not forget to be Happy. To experience Joy. To have Fun. Remember, we cannot be unhappy enough to make some else happy. (Think about it).

Best, Your Grateful Guy

Share Your Good Results!

Hi everyone,

Sometimes, the online world can have lots of sharing of bad results - all the things that are going wrong. It gets us focused on the sense of ubiquity of these bad results (similar to bonding by complaining - something I am working on for myself!). But the truth is, these bad results are not happening to everyone. And there seems to be a prohibition sometimes on sharing the extraordinary good results.

In the teachings I follow, we call them "effects" or "demonstrations". Sharing them is a way to share and build belief, and to expand what we all think is possible. Celebrating another's successes also brings success to you, by the way. :-)

So I want to first share, and then challenge you to share your good results in the comments, whatever they may be.

First of all, I wrote on Thanksgiving about the two "lost clients" who had refused multiple bills for months, and the checks landing in my office in the same week.

Today, I had two different potential clients, one who initially emailed me IN FEBRUARY, and one in October, both come around after a long period of radio silence and set up first appointments.

I feel grateful for these. They feel like more than what I sense from the "mainstream" (which I am comfortably out of, in different ways now).

And you?

Best, Your Grateful Guy

Changing the Title

Hi folks,

I made a decision - I've changed the title of this blog to Spiritual Tools for Private Practice Success". I realized in the last few months that I am really much more "out" as a spiritual being than I was when I first started blogging here.

I also realized this isn't just about building your practice, it's about success in your practice. It's about enjoying your work, creating change for people, staying sane and centered, making a good living while doing good, keeping positive, and continuing to learn. It's about purpose and meaning. It's about *why* we do this work!

So I'm leading with the Spiritual now, rather than the Private Practice. It feels right.

Namaste, Your Grateful Guy

Scared? Focus on Creating Value

Greetings fellow travelers. Today, I want to talk about creating value.

I first want to say yes, I notice the economy and what is going on. I see the effects in the world. And no matter what is going on in the economy, I know one thing - people always pay when you can give them something of value.

The economic run-up of the last years included a creation of money (money is actually created from nothing, folks) which in retrospect was not matched with created value. Much of the money created was made on Wall Street by people playing various games and gambles, leveraging movements and changes, but not creating value.

Even in housing, the idea of flipping always turned me off, personally. A house that was worth $250,000 one day, was worth $300,000 6 months later, and $400,000 a year after that. Was the value of the house, or living in it, really any more than before? I just don't think so.  There wasn't that much value created.

So now back to our work - therapy, counseling, helping people. Our work does create value in people's lives. And it does it in the way people really experience it - on the level of their emotional state or experiential state.

Ten years ago I learned a concept called "Driving Needs", that taught me that the behaviors and activities we indulge in are really towards the end of experiencing an internal state. It's the feeling or the experience we want, folks! And that's our specialty, isn't it? We help turn depression into feeling more present and joyful and energized. We help turn anxiety into a more peaceful feeling. We turn distance into connection and intimacy and acceptance. We help people feel love!!!!!!

People pay for changes of state. Even in a down economy, what sells? Cigarettes & alcohol & the like! People pay to feel better.

Now it's up to us to really know that we create value, and what that value is. And in a challenging economy, we need to communicate that value clearly. People get stuck on the form, rather than the experience (see the book "Who Moved My Cheese" for more on this).

Value is also helping people avoid more costly or unpleasant things. It is entirely an irrational and illogical argument to say that marriage counseling is too expensive, when you look at the cost of getting divorced. Just the financial cost, of lawyers, and two households (rents, etc) absolutely DWARF the cost of marriage counseling. Feel free to steal this line for an ad: "If you think marriage counseling is expensive, just try divorce!"

So folks, keep your eye on the prize. Keep your Spirit focused on Source. Keep your mind working on creating Good in the world, and creating Value in people's lives. This will keep you in the flow.

As always, I send each one of you my very best. Namaste, Your Grateful Guy

Watching Your Media Intake

Hi folks,

Well, this post was oddly inspired by watching M. Night Shymalan's movie "The Happening" - which was a good scary movie and freaked my wife and I out a bit. I don't think I'm giving away anything by saying the protagonist happens upon someone who doesn't have TV, radio or internet. The woman has cut herself off from the news of the world, and in doing so, there are pluses and minuses. One of the pluses is the peaceful state she can be in.

I was speaking with my wife's uncle on Thanksgiving. He's from Spokane, and I asked him how the economy was there. His answer: it would be OK if people would stop watching the news. Apparently the local economy is fine, but people are freaking out when they see the national news about the bailout, etc etc.

These lead me to re-consider something I did at the start of the Iraq war - a media diet. For a week, I stopped watching news, surfing news sites on the web, and reading newspapers. Instead, I read books, I gardened, I exercised, I meditated and prayed. And it was really great. My anxiety level went down and my experience of Peace increased greatly.

In these times, where we can't control the national economy ourselves, it might be a good idea to reconsider your media diet. Instead of taking in bad news, keep your head down, keep moving forward in your practice, keep feeding your own soul and doing good in the world. Focus on what you can control and what you can do, and do it.

I sincerely wish you the best!
Your Grateful Guy

For Thanksgiving - Gratitude

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." - Meister Eckhart

So early on this Thanksgiving Day, I turn to Gratitude. It's both a wonderful experience and a powerful spiritual tool. I'll keep it short and pithy, as I am sure you want to turn to family, football, and food. :-)

There's never a bad time to turn to gratitude - to list and focus on what is in your life that you are grateful for, and to give thanks for it - to Source, to Spirit, to God (whatever word works for you). On the basis of the idea that we draw to us what is inside us, we should and do draw to us more to be grateful for.

My wife is teaching a class right now, and one of the homework assignments was to track unexpected income, and give thanks for it. I had a strange, wonderful result of that. Two different "lost" clients - people who had no-showed their last appointment, then didn't answer emails, and then ignore multiple mailed bills for the cancellation fee (one 3 months ago, one 6 MONTHS AGO) - both of them sent in checks to me!!! I was quite flabbergasted, but gave thanks. It was unexpected. It can happen, folks!

I've got lots more to be grateful for right now, including:
* two healthy businesses
* many of my year's intentions coming to fruition (this blog being part)
* a continually deepening marriage
* a return to the gym and working out

I welcome comments of your gratitudes too! Happy Thanksgiving! Go Lions! Go Seahawks!

Best, Your Grateful Guy

Got Trouble? Praise and Raise....

So I saw that a colleague was having troubles with a client (not in therapy, but about financial issues). The colleague was upset, worried, anxious and perhaps angry. I could not blame her - I would be too, and have had situations like this myself.

It reminded me that all of us therapists have these moments, these people, these problems from time to time. And the anxiety and worry they bring is unfortunate. Isn't there something we could do?

Yes.

There is a spiritual practice to use when you are having trouble with someone - it's called "Praising and Raising". Basically, it's a way to send healing love to the person you are having the trouble with. Usually, the troubling behaviors of others come from their own pain and feelings of separation. We can meet that with our own pain and anger, which usually continues or deepens the problems, or we can raise our state of consciousness of the situation.

It's quite a simple prayer - and is best done as a posture prayer (a prayer with movement). Here's how it goes......

(with hands together in prayer position) I Praise (person's name)

(with hands held upward and open) I Raise (person's name)

(with hands coming folded over your heart) In the name of Love.

Repeat 7 times. Do that for 7 days. I have experienced this working, and heard story after story after story on it.

For a deeper explanation visit this webpage.

I wish you Peace! Best, Your Grateful Guy

Your Clients *Are* God, Too!

So let me preface this by saying - Wow! I stirred up a lot of feelings, both positively and negatively, with that last post. I knew it felt daring, and I guess I was right. Some of the biggest energy I stirred up was around tithing. Odd, since that wasn't really the main point of the post. I think it was coming back from that pledge dinner that had me all energized.

Anyway, one reader wrote me, and reminded me of another relationship between God and clients (thank you!). That is this - my clients are God.

What do I mean by this? I mean I believe that we are all imbued with Spirit. No one has less or more of it. No one is better or worse in it.

I think inside each human being there is an unsullied Spirit. An essence of Good. A core of Noble Source. Some call it a Soul.

And so, when I sit with them, when I hear their stories, and learn their beliefs - that they think they are broken, or bad, or unworthy, I know not to believe them. Because I am sitting in a stronger, higher Truth. That there is a perfection in them, and that at the core they are lovable, beautiful, sweet, and peaceful. I greet them from this place. I hold onto this Truth as they try to convince me otherwise. And sometimes they try very hard.

I know they have bodies and brains and personalities and behaviors and actions that are not reflecting this. I am a realist, people! And we'll sort that out. But my respect for them, the honor I give each person who comes in, is knowing they are a Spiritual being.

I believe that about you too, whether you agree with what I believe or not.

The Spirit in me recognizes the Spirit in you. Namaste! Your Grateful Guy

PS - and if you want to know how this relates to practice building, I think holding this makes it easier to sit with people. And they feel the love and respect from you. And they keep coming back and working and healing.