You are blessed with the gift of shifting perspectives and altering your point of view. The more you practice using this innate talent, the easier it becomes to tap into it when you are desperately in need of a fresh take on something … or someone. There are two inner experts that you can call on to help you.
Your Experienced Novice
We often use the term “beginner’s mind” to remember to look at things from a new perspective ~ especially, when we are starting to believe that we already know all there is to know. This creates a new energetic space within which we can grow and expand.
Incorporate your Experienced Novice when you are struggling to see something in your own life from a different angle. Perhaps, you are trying to create change in your world ~ maybe, you want to give something up or start something new. And you can’t seem to escape that voice that reminds you how you have failed in the past or how what you are considering doing didn’t work for you before so why would it now?
It is so easy to get stuck in our ways ~ create patterns in our life that we cling to long past their expiry date. Your Experienced Novice is there to help you see that the possibilities really are unlimited. When you feel like you will never experience anything different in your life, your Experienced Novice is there to help you spice things up and push the boundaries of your life just as much as you need to in order to revitalize your view.
When it comes to providing service to other people, the Experienced Novice will remind you to learn about a person through the information they share with you ~ and sometimes, what they might be holding back. Either way, your Experienced Novice wants you to rely on all your experience has taught you without losing your ability to think creatively outside of the box and without your capacity to be present to the personal story and subjective interpretation that someone is sharing with you.
The Active Witness
If you are into mindfulness at all, you are likely aware of the benefits of becoming the observer in your life. Jon Kabat-Zinn, a leading expert in mindfulness meditation, suggests that we watch our thoughts float through our minds like balloons or clouds ~ noticing that they are there ~ but not becoming attached to them in any way. There is a sense of freedom when we can simply observe our thought patterns and let them go just as quickly as we notice them.
In your role as a Service Provider, you are aware of how important your observation skills are when it comes to gathering vital information and remembering to see those you serve through a holistic lens.
Your Active Witness is the part of you who can engage with your observations in a dynamic way that leads to breakthrough both within your level of self-awareness and your capacity to be more present in your service to others. Your Active Witness questions interpretations you might be reaching as you observe what is happening within you and around you. Your Active Witness does not judge the meaning you attach to any of your observations, rather their job is to challenge any conclusions you may have that are not serving you or others.
When the Active Witness is involved, you will notice a greater capacity to move past any obstacles in your thinking and any limitations you may uncover in your belief system so that you come more quickly to an expanded view of any situation that has captured your attention in the moment.
The Active Witness assists your Experienced Novice to keep asking the questions from a place of genuine curiosity and a pure desire to understand. This combination is powerful!
Join Me
In the next episode of Serving Consciously airing on Friday May 11, 2018 at 12pm PST on www.ctrnetwork.com, I’ll go into more depth with these two characters and offer the opportunity to become more comfortable with these powerful aspects of yourself. I hope you will join me then!
Let’s get started!
How acquainted are you with your Experienced Novice and Active Witness?
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