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.

Where Do Your Clients Really Come From?

So I just got back from the kick-off of our church's annual giving campaign. I pledged a tithe for 2009. This is my third year of tithing, and it was quite easy and unremarkable this time - no hand-wringing or second thoughts at all. Since I've begun tithing, my monthly income has roughly doubled. But I'll stop - this post wasn't meant to be about tithing.

I'm going to go right at this one. Direct and uncensored. So hold onto your hats.

I believe Consciousness is cause. That Spirit is the source of all Good. That the results we see in the world (we'd also call them "effects") start from Intention, and from the field of Possibility. They start in, and are made from the field we call..........God.

God is everywhere, and in everything.

So, guess where your clients come from? They come from God.

Where does your good come from? God.

And your abundance? Your personal economy? Also from God.

I've proven this to myself over and over again - changing nothing in my marketing, changing only my attention and intention and watching the phone ring and ring, or stop ringing.

I know that right now there is a lot of fear in the air. Great anxiety, and belief in scarcity. I know it will be bad for a lot of people. I know it doesn't have to be bad for you. I have faith in this. What should you do?

Turn your attention to Spirit. To Truth. To the Goodness of God. To your connection with Source. Turn inward and focus attention on the ultimate Goodness and Abundance of God. It's infinite. It's all around you. There is no scarcity here. That's just an illusion. Scarcity only comes in the believed separation from God. Instead, envision your thriving practice helping people. Open up to & accept your Good. Open up to this experience - it may be quite different from those around you. Have more faith in Spirit than in the economy.

You see, you might think your clients come from referrers, or from the web, or from your Yellow Pages ad. But I know your clients come from God.

I give great thanks for all the blessings of life. Namaste, Your Grateful Guy

The Zen Horse Story

There is much hand-wringing going on right now. There is much judging that it is bad, all bad. To remind us that we do not know what all this will be, I remind you of the Zen Horse story (stop me if you've heard this before)....

There was an old farmer in the country. One day, his stallion broke its fence and ran away. His neighbors said "that's so bad!" The old farmer just shrugged and said "Maybe".

The next day, wanting some oats, the stallion returned. And, it brought three wild fillies with it. His neighbors said "that's great luck!" The old farmer just shrugged and said "Maybe".

The farmer's teenage son went out to break one of the new horses. It bucked him, and he broke his leg. His neighbors said "what horrible luck!" The old farmer just shrugged and said "Maybe".

The army then came around, conscripting young men to fight in a war. Because of the broken leg, they didn't take the farmer's teenage son. The neighbors said "what great luck!" The old farmer just shrugged and said "Maybe...."

I present this story because we cannot know what this whole economic change will bring. There will be bad parts. There may be good outcomes too. We cannot know for sure. But be open to the possibility that some gifts will come from this. I certainly wish you those........yours, Your Grateful Guy

In a Changing Economy....

Folks, one of my teachers spoke on Sunday, and I thought I'd share the gist of it with you, as I thought it was important. It can be easy to get caught up in fear and anxiety right now.

One way of looking at what is going on right now is the collapse of smoke and mirrors - the end of things built on debt, the end of things being rewarded even though they bring no real value, the end of an unsustainable way of being.

What that means is the re-valuing of those things that are important. And what we do as therapists is important. People want peace of mind. They crave a relief from suffering. They need help keeping their marriages going. These are the real centers of people lives - not cars or stuff. And so, if you are a therapist who creates value in people's lives (and health and wholeness is valuable), you will continue to get business.

You may need to re-work how you discuss your business to focus more on results. You may need to help people work with their insurance (whether in or out-of-network). You may need to market more. But do not think this is the end of counseling business. It isn't.

More coming on this very big topic..........best, Your Grateful Guy

Before Success: Spiritual Practice. After Success: Spiritual Practice.

Hello again folks, it's been a while. This is another one of those "writing so I can hear it" posts. And hopefully some of you can gain from it as well.

I got so busy doing work over the last 2-3 months, that while I did hit a monthly revenue milestone that I was aiming for (and would never have considered 2 years ago), I found myself unhappy. I was burnt out, a bit out of balance, tired and crabby.

Guess what I'd done? In my eagerness to say "Yes" to more and more Abundance, I'd started letting some things slide. Some relaxing here, some sangha there, some of my own meditation and prayer and spiritual study over there. And while the business still came in, Your Grateful Guy wasn't feeling all that grateful.

I know the famous phrase "Before enlightment: chop wood and carry water. After englightenment: chop wood and carry water." I've also heard my spiritual teacher Kathianne Lewis mention that people will often pray and pray and pray when things aren't going well, then when they finally get better they'll figure "hey, I don't need to do that anymore." WRONG! And I am guilty as charged,

So it's been a week or two since I really re-committed to re-balance, self-care, re-integrating spiritual practice into the mix. I already feel better - and of course my phone has started ringing again with new therapy clients. It's just like that.

OK, instead of writing anymore I am going to go hug my wife :-)

Namaste, Your Grateful Guy

PS - be careful what you wish for. You might get it!

Taking Care of Your Favorite Plants

I'm finishing up my three-part gardening series today with a post about taking care of your favorite plants. We've covered seeds, germinating, and being careful in what you plant. Now let's talk about their care and feeding.

By favorite plants, I mean the ones that provide you with fruit or enjoyment or fulfillment or nourishment in some way. In regards to your private practice, the most important one is of course YOU! You need to take good care of this most important asset, with rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, education, and just plain fun!

But let's get back to my original intention of this post - the external plants whose fruit feeds your private practice.

For me, these mainly include my website, web marketing, and referral sources. I've found I need to water, fertilize and sometimes trim these to keep them producing good and plentiful fruit.

In real life, those actions include keeping my website fresh and up-to-date, continuing to find new places on the web to post about my site and practice, and sending regular thank you notes out to people who refer to me.

And a last thought is that you need to harvest the fruit too, to keep it producing more. I have had referrals from time to time (for both my Google biz and counseling biz) that I was too busy to respond to in a timely manner. The fruit rotted, and I assume that referral source probably soured a bit on me. Thus my garden is only as big as I can work it. Interesting stuff.

All the best, Your Grateful Guy