Self-mastery

The Chinese philosopher, Lau Tzu (6th Century BC), says this about Self-Mastery:

Those who know others are intelligent; those who know themselves have insight,

Those who master others have force; those who master themselves have strength.

Mastering yourself means you know you are in Chicago and not Boston; and you are ready to chart and travel your course to get to your destination, your New York.

And what does your New York look like?

Well, according to Enneagram if you are a predominant 7, for example, your destination is to become a focused inspirer; someone who has the ability to present a viewpoint that something that seems impossible can actually be done. You use your natural strengths: your enthusiasm, quick mind, upbeat friendliness, inquisitive imagination to help others find their voice.

If you are a 7, you would practice to listen fully to others, to go inward and to develop your emotional repertoire.

At our LPG meeting last Friday, we were inspired already by the one among us who has stepped up to take the Type 7 journey.

What about the rest of us? Are we ready to get to our New York?

Enneagram and Knowing where you are

There is one thing in common about LPG members: they are all into self-improvement.

Harry Palmer, author of the Avatar (R) materials says, "You can't get to New York from Boston when you are in Chicago." Knowing where you are--your starting point--is key to getting to where you want to go.

On the surface, the statement seems common sense enough. After all, that's how we use Google map every time we want to get directions to where we are going; we all start with "where am I"?

Carrying it out, on the other hand, is not as straight-forward as most of us want to admit. Determining where you are requires a high degree of integrity and self-honesty that left to our own devices few of us actually have.

The enneagram technique (discussed in LPG march sessions) is a powerful way to assess where you are. It's made more powerful when you use it with the support from someone you trust.

Inteview with God

Sunday night my wife and I got back to Rochester from two weeks of "vacation for the mind" in Orlando, Florida reviewing the Avatar Wizard Course.

Our plane from Chicago to Rochester arrived late by four hours. It was well past mid-night that we found ourselves at the eerily deserted airport.

I even joked with Ray (the only visible airport staff left) who was in charge of airport ground transportation, "Does the airport allow people sleep overnight?"

Ray was friendly and warm. We struck up a conversation and found that he was from Hawaii and just retired as a non-commissioned office from the army reserve and now worked part time at the airport. Though his shift was supposed to be from 3PM to 9pm, he felt compelled to stay behind to make sure that every last passenger got ground transportation. That's called dedication.

As we talked it dawned on him that we lived very close together--at north west Rochester. He offered to give us a ride home instead of waiting with little assurance when the next cab would actually show up.

So, we called to cancel the non-coming cab and got a ride from Ray. On the ride, we got to know a bit more about each other and had a wonderful conversation.

That's the aloha spirit.

And that along with the link to the "Interview with God" that Teresa sent reminded me that the universe's grace and good nature are everywhere. Our job is to simply be open to them.