Tag: chaos

Leaders and full spectrum thinking

Once again in lockdown, I am coming back to still a new terrain with the benefit of a couple of lessons learned. While somewhat more familiar, the environment is still foggy to me. Living inside myself, I have come to recognize various voices: the angry one which hardly ever speaks but clearly has an opinion; the inner child who wants, needs, and desires until exhaustion; the confused one who analyzes and cannot make much sense of the outside world; the feeling voice who actually seems to be the most helpful one these days.

Some of us have the luxury of time and space to consciously face a regular “meeting of the minds” within ourselves. I have found this to be a very useful experience: a new staff meeting of sort! We can actually summon the many fragments that make up the whole of who we are and give them all a chance to speak, take space, and be recognized. Beyond the interest of self-exploration and self-care, this practice can help us discover a universe within that points to many untapped possibilities.

You may already have discovered various facets of your personalities, of course, but you may still be unaware of the multi-dimensional nature of our humanness – all your untapped possibilities. The environmental noise has made it difficult for you to hear the signs, see various signals, pick up on energies you never felt. You will no doubt marvel at how complete chaos has proven most useful to escape the outside noise and tune in to find clarity in this uncertain world – your own clarity: the only one that actually matters for you to identify your next steps. This is the beginning of full-spectrum thinking!

Peace within dictates peace on the outside

There are so many reasons why the world is in turmoil and so few recipes to bring it to a peaceful place. In reality there is only one reason to account for this dire state: we are not at peace ourselves. We feel compelled to blame disorder and chaos in the world on our fellow citizens or global circumstances over which we believe we have no control. Our own disorder seems of little relevance, and yet there will never be any peace in the outside world until we have created peace within. The roots of the problem are firmly entrenched in ourselves.

Where should we start when assessing our own relationship to peacefulness? Should we seek help on the outside or search within? More often than not, we rely on others, on experts’ account to help us interpret what may be wrong with us. We certainly cannot all be psychologists, physicians, teachers to show us the way to healing and enlightenment. The input of specialists is undeniably valuable, but in reality our own sense of the path is ultimately the most important piece. Our own inner knowing and processing of external help is fundamental to healing. We are the authorities in our own lives, and we have the final say on what is our reality. Yet we tend to let others decide for us where the problem lies and what is the cure. We abdicate our own responsibility, often unaware or not trusting enough our inner knowing. As we learn to relate to what surrounds us from within, we discover an inner sense of what is right and a resonance between the outside and the inside – a harmonious and peaceful experience of integration that brings us and the universe closer, stronger, more engaged, and interrelated with a greater ability to make a difference.

Once we have become aware of this special connection between the universe and ourselves and have found the path to manifest externally what is firmly anchored in ourselves, we can share with family and friends, inspiring our communities and the whole wide world. The first step, though, is looking within and choosing the more peaceful resonance over the negative vibrations and chaotic experiences that the world will become a more peaceful place.