Creating New Meaning: Claiming Our Destiny!

Creating New Meaning: 

 Claiming Our Destiny!

John E. Anderson gave a talk at Unity Center for Positive Living, Centralia, Washington on Sunday, February 03, 2013. The essay below was the basis of that talk. Watch John's 24 minute talk and meditation here.

Last night was the culmination of the last few weeks experiencing the power of the new thought Unity principle that "what we hold in mind, we create."

I was sitting at my computer working on this talk. I had just written about Susan Finlay introducing me to Carrie Powell at Susan's recent Treasure Mapping workshop. I accepted Susan's suggestion and I've taking Carrie's class with Susan at Centralia College "Tuning Your Inner Musician." I typed the sentences and a moment later the phone rang and it was Carrie asking if I'd be interested in going further in my new life as a musician and take some lessons from her.

I told her I had just been thinking and writing about her at that very minute. In the course of a ten minute conversation, I invited her to Unity today and suggested she bring her guitar. Maybe she could accompany our pianist and friend Vonnie, I said. A half hour later, after reviewing this coincidence with Kate, I called Vonnie to find she was feeling too ill to come today. I told her of my call with Carrie and Vonnie said, no accident, Carrie can do the music since John Davis and Sherry are on their Florida honeymoon.

Minutes later, Carrie was surprised when I called her back to invite her to perform today, not just be an accompanist. So that's how we've come to have Carrie play for us today. Thank you Carrie! There are no accidents!

Now, the title of my talk is "Creating New Meaning - Claiming Our Destiny!"

I've experienced January as the doldrums of winter. Both Kate and I, along with Vonnie, most of you and half the country have caught colds and coughs that have lingered for weeks. I've decided to use my creative powers to declare new meanings to push my way through to claim new possibilities. For the last week, I’ve been working on today’s talk. The pieces have been falling together as usual when I write and do talks. A series of loose coincidences began taking shape early Saturday morning with a realization that me creating new projects for myself was an opportunity for me to Claim My Destiny.

So here and now, I want to declare that I Claim My Destiny! I want to encourage all of us at our Unity Center for Positive Living – “Let's Create New Projects to Move Forward. Let's do it here in our Unity Community and support each other individually claiming our destiny!”

I routinely create new business projects. Creating projects for clients is my business. It's unusual, but I am creating new non-business projects for myself to change my way of being and get out of the mid-winter funk. Beyond my projects, our community here has committed to a couple new projects arising from our annual meeting in early January. A Holistic Health Fair is being planned here at Unity Center for Positive Living for March 30th. It was at the annual meeting that the idea was raised and Kristie, JoAnne and others jumped in and are focusing attention on it as a fund raiser.

Another fundraising project suggested at the annual meeting was to rent out the building more for weddings and events. I've promised to put information on our website to encourage folks in the community to rent our building. We did some event rentals last year and we could do more in 2013. I need building rental information and photos to put on the website and we'll make that happen. 

These kinds of community events will let more people in our region know who we are and what we stand for here at Unity Center for Positive Living. It will also generate additional revenue we can use to continue improving the building, like working on our garden room floor or roof improvements. Community and individual projects can help propel all of us to face the mid-winter doldrums.

I'm challenging each of you to identify a community project and an individual project to claim and use to gain support from others, and us all to work together to advance our Unity Center!

Besides my new music project, I’ve been reading, writing and speaking more in business and here at Unity more in the last year or so. Another project besides the music is brain fitness. During the last year, Denny has told me about a book "The Brain That Changes Itself."  It's all about keeping fit mentally, and Denny believes in it deeply. 

Both my folks had Alzheimer's and Kate's mom has it, so brain health is very important for me. As a philosophy student, an entrepreneur and business coach, personal and spiritual growth has been a lifetime pursuit. So the pursuit of brain fitness supports my other interests.

Well here's another recent "coincidence." I'm in Carrie's "Tune Up Your Inner Musician" class and the first session she shows us about 10 books she recommends. One jumps out at me "This Is Your Brain on Music" a book about the lastest brain research, neuroplasticity and how music and the brain work together. I downloaded it and listened to the audio book over the next two weeks. 

At last week's class, Carrie tells us about another book, "The Talent Code." The Talent Code, Carrie explains discusses how deep practice, emotional ignition and master coaching can dramatically shorten practice and make it much more effective. If you want to learn to play music, there's easier ways she's discovered and that's what she's teaching in our class.

Again, another book on optimizing our brains, learning and creating what we want! I'm midway through the Talent Code now.

New brain science and neuroplasticity are the topics I became interested in from Denny last year. Synchronicity is at work here. I am experiencing an additional coincidence. Last month I did a blood test to monitor the prostate cancer I was discovered to have two years ago this month. During 2011 after my prostate cancer positive biopsy result, I took Chinese herbs and my PSA scores went back to normal. 

My urologist said he had no understanding of Chinese medicine, but a way to know if the herbs were an influence was to stop taking them. For the last year, I haven't taken any Chinese herbs and my tests have gone back up. In the last couple weeks I've gone to a naturopath and I'm resuming a Chinese herb regime with healthy diet and exercise.

I'm envisioning myself happy, healthy, playing music and taking good care of myself. Friday, I spent a few hours at the National College for Natural Medicine in Portland and am considering ways I can learn more by being involved in our wholistic health fair we're going to produce here March 30th. In the small amount of research I've done so far, Chinese, naturopathic and in general alternative medicine all teach being more greatly aware of ourselves, what we are feeling and releasing energies and stress that don't serve us. Taking greater personal responsibility for our well being and making thoughtful choices is wholly consistent with new thought Unity principles of what we hold in our mind, we create.

I was attracted to Carrie's class because, like many people, I had some music lessons as a kid. But also like many kids I stopped. I am working to be more mindful and to heal old wounds I notice, as they come up. I've got some unfinished business with music, it appears. When Susan told me about Carrie's class I was curious so I am following my intuition and walking through doors that are opening in front of me.

I'm going to begin her classes to continue the music work I've begun. I'm seeking more balance in my life between business and personal growth projects. This represents a breakthrough for me, a new project. I challenge each of you to consider how you might support others in their projects, get support from others for your projects and for us to work together to advance our Unity Center projects.

Meditation

Look into yourself. What is your destiny? Bring your project to mind. Is there a way your personal project links or fits into a Unity community project. Find a way that as you advance the community project, you’re advancing your personal project. Look at what you're end goal is, being healthy, happy and fulfilled. Now what actions would give you those feelings?

Learn more about John and the organizational development, successor mentoring and owner exit planning done by his management consulting firm - 

Be Cause Business Resources, Inc.