Category: Sunday Morning Sermon

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Stop, Look, and Listen – Then What?

I am participating in a 28 Day Shift program called The 28 Day Shift To Wealth, by Beca Lewis. It is a wonderful program for me; because I love the daily bite of perception Shifting that keeps me on track for the rest of the day. Five or ten minutes of pushing the “reset switch” on my point of view, and I have a better chance of staying in the proper state of mind for the rest of the day.

More than five or ten minutes, every day, my attention starts to wander. Sundays are my day for hours and hours of Shifting, luxuriating in the Wonder of it all. Hence, the Sunday Morning Sermon. (I digress – my apologies. Back to the point.)

I am currently on Day Ten. Day Ten focuses on Angel Ideas. Day Ten focuses on how to tell the difference between Angel Ideas and thoughts. Here is what I noticed this morning during my reading.
We have a tool that Del and Beca taught us in The Shift – it is called POL. Pause, Observe, Listen. Rather like Stop, Look, and Listen that Dick and Jane taught us as children (well, some of us, anyway! I hear Dick and Jane have been replaced in kindergarten and 1st grade.)

So here’s the deal – what if we walk up the sidewalk to the street crossing and Stop, Look, and Listen? What if we stand there and Stop, Look, and Listen? What if we stay there? How does that work? Yes, we have paid attention. Yes, we have observed. Yes, we have listened for oncoming traffic. Well, once we pause, look both ways, and listen for oncoming traffic, aren’t we supposed to do something with that? As in, cross the street safely? Wasn’t that the purpose of that particular instance of Stop, Look, and Listen?

There is an additional word at the end of POL and Stop, Look, and Listen. ACT. Angel Ideas, and the A in WEALTH, stand for Action. In the assignment, Beca says, “…You are also writing how you feel about each Angel Idea or thought…” That’s the key, I think. The Action required is to observe how you feel about each Angel Idea or thought, which will identify which one it is, and which will Allow you to follow through with the appropriate Action. Or not. The key, for me, is how I feel about that idea or thought.

Which means, I had an idea; I wasn’t sure whether it was an Angel Idea or a thought; I Paused, Observed how I felt about that idea, I Listened for my knee jerk reaction, and realized that it is an Angel Idea, and I took Action by writing about it!

If you are interested in reading The 28 Day Shift to Wealth, go here.

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It’s All In The Delivery

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Do you know what I love about her writing? The honesty.

She has a knack for writing, like a young friend of mine has a natural riding seat. Both are innate talents. In the case of her writing, it’s not overstated or pressured, or overridden by custom or overthinking; it’s simply laid down in words on a page in the natural Order that comes to her.

(“Her” could be Kathy or Beca or Anne McCaffery or Elizabeth Moon, but today, I’m talking about Kathy.)

Have you read any of the blog posts at Horse Listening?

I don’t doubt that she sweats over every word, or that every post is carefully edited and proofread.

But the initial honesty of the thought and expression remains. Each post addresses something that she has faced, or is facing, in her relationship with horses, but because of the honesty of her writing, each concept is just as easily translated to living. So you don’t have to be a horse person to really enjoy her posts!

My painting instructor taught me to stop when the painting was done. She taught me that, at some point, you just have to put the brush down. One more brush stroke would change the painting completely; would ruin the concept. Usually, it was my instructor who told me when to stop! But eventually, I began to listen to my heart, and I learned to stop at the critical point.

As writers, we must remember that at some point – at THE point – we must put down the pen and be done. When it’s done. Not too soon, not too late.

That’s writing. That’s riding. That’s painting. That’s art.

That’s honesty.