Your Positive Thinking Mentor - Mind Mapping Mindfulness and Conversation:

Mind Mapping - Mindfulness and Conversation:

Planting Powerful Seds

A few years ago, I was the national outreach coordinator for the
Northwest Earth Institute in Portland,Oregon.

It was a very cool job. All day long, I talked to people across the country
who were interested in gathering once a week with a few friends, neighbors
or co-workers in order to discover more about their ideas, values, and habits
affecting their relationship with the Earth.

Dick and Jeanne Roy, the co-founders of NWEI, had no expectations when
they first made a few copies of articles they found thought-provoking and
shared them with co-workers at Dick's law firm during lunch hours. Always
a stickler for details, Jeanne carefully selected appropriate reading material
and prepared an orderly flow of articles that inspired discussion and connection.

They knew they might get folks thinking.
They knew they might get folks talking.
They had no idea they would change the lives of thousands of participants in all
fifty states.

Those copied and stapled pages became collections of stirring prose and excellent
articles published by outstanding authors.
The Northwest Earth Institute became the distributor of these self-published discussion
guides for use in homes, workplaces, community centers and places of worship.

And yet, as I found in my daily talks with participants of all ages, it wasn't
simply the reading material that inspired people to change their lives--though it
certainly laid the groundwork for the shift. What led to the transformations
was the act of joining these small group discussions to share their ideas with
others who were engaged in the same process of thoughtful discovery.

Whether the subject was voluntary simplicity, sustainable living, developing
a sense of place, or teaching our children about the Earth, the courses led to some
dramatic life changes in those who were longing for a sense of connection and
waiting for just the right catalyst and opportunity for reflection and sharing.

We've all read books that inspired us. Now, imagine that you were reading that
book with a group of 8 or 10 others who gathered each week to discuss a chapter
for an hour. At least, that's the way the discussions begin. The truth is that
the chapters and questions open the door to discussion, and then that door
swings wide open as each group finds their own way to explore the ideas
the readings have triggered.

It's a fascinating process to observe. I've facilitated these groups in numerous
settings--from lunch meetings of Intel engineers to coffee gatherings of mothers
with preschoolers. Each group has its own personality, but the thread that connects
them is a sense of wonder and exhilaration in exploring ideas with others.

The comment I heard most frequently went something like this: "I've been working
next to Joe for ten years and I never would have guessed that he was so passionate
about this topic or had so much in common with me."

We tend to talk to each other on a surface level. We veer away from discussion about
what is meaningful because we don't want to offend anyone or feel too vulnerable
expressing our deepest values to someone who might not share them.

Dick and Jeanne Roy had no idea that simply giving people permission--and a
structure to follow--to engage in heartfelt discussions about what matters most to
them would result in new choices, new lifestyles, new careers, new non-profits,
new energy and a new sense of community among participants (cumulative enrollment

of over 65,000 people).

Dick always refers to "having a conversation" instead of saying he is
"talking" to someone. This simple mindfulness of the power of engaging
with another person in a meaningful way was a seed that started a
tremendous crop of continued awareness and connection.

What will you plant if you have aconversation about what matters most?

What will happen when you sow the seed of an idea in the fertile imagination of a deep,

rich mind?

Start sowing, and see what starts
growing.

Maya Talisman Frost has taught thousands of people

how to pay attention. Her playful, eyes-wide-open

approach to everyday mindfulness has inspired

creative thinkers in over 100 countries. To subscribe

to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage,

please visit:

http://www.Real-WorldMindfulness.com