Photo courtesy of Nick H and Pixabay
Sometimes when I meet someone who I haven’t seen in a long time, they express surprise at how much I’ve changed (my clients often tell me that they receive similar comments about themselves). When people ask me what I put it down to, my answer is simple: getting an understanding of the principles behind clarity. In this article, we’re going to explore the gentle art of transforming your life, and the 3 ‘flavors’ of connection that make this possible.
Let’s start with a story. Once upon a time, in a Thai temple called Wat Chotanaram, there was a massive stone statue of the Buddha. It was considered to be of little significance, and nobody paid it much attention.
One day a group of workers were given the job of moving the statue, and as they started to move it, something completely unexpected happened. The stone started to crack, and the movers caught a glimpse of something gleaming brightly from beneath its surface. The movers realised that what they’d thought was stone was actually plaster, and as they started chipping away at it, a beautiful statue of the Buddha made of solid gold was revealed.
It turned out that many years earlier when the country was under attack, the keepers of the Golden Buddha were afraid it would be damaged or stolen. So they covered it with a thick layer of plaster to make it appear insignificant and without value. As the years passed, the true nature and identity of the Buddha was forgotten, and everyone assumed it was a worthless piece of stone. And that’s the way it stayed until the day they started to move it. The Golden Buddha is made of solid gold, and weighs 5,500 kilograms. The gold it’s made from is worth over $250,000,000 (a quarter of a billion dollars), but the Golden Buddha itself is priceless… unique… authentic… a treasure beyond compare.
The priceless, unique and authentic nature of the Golden Buddha is a metaphor for your true nature; a treasure beyond compare and the source of everything you want to create and experience in your life. And that’s the most beautiful thing…
As you start to wake up to the truth of who you really are and how your mind works, it has a transformational effect in many aspects of your life, and this is what brings us to the 3 kinds of connection:
Your connection with your true self
As you wake up to the fact of your true nature, you experience a greater sense of authenticity, wellbeing and comfort in your own skin because you’re more likely to see yourself for who you really are, and less likely to get hijacked by the ebb and flow of thinking and feeling. This is incredibly powerful, because you start getting in touch with your innate intelligence, which can show up as changes in behaviour around physical health, self-care and greater mental and emotional wellbeing.
Your connection with other people
As you continue to realise who you really are, you experience deeper, more connected relationships with other people, because you’re more likely to see them for who they really are, and less likely to get hijacked by the ebb and flow of thinking and feeling. This is likely to result in greater harmony and less conflict in all relationships, including professional, romantic, friendships and family.
Your connection with life itself
As you have a deeper and deeper experience of the source of your being, you’ll start to notice a greater experience of connection with life itself. The punchline to the old joke about the Buddhist and the hotdog vendor (“Make me one with everything!”) casts a light on one of life’s most persistent illusions. It certainly looks like we’re separate from each other, and from the natural world. But, strange as it may seem, there’s a way in which separation is an illusion. We are all already connected; with one another and with the rest of the universe. We don’t need anyone or anything to “make us” one with everything. We already are one with everything; we always have been and we always will be. As you wake up to the fact of this, you’ll start to experience greater richness, beauty and meaning in life, with all the peace and profundity that brings.
These are some of the ways my deepening understanding of how my deepening understanding of the principles behind clarity are changing my life, and are transforming my clients’ lives.
By the way, for the first time in nearly a DECADE I’m creating a programme that’s focused wholly on your personal transformation (I’ve been spending most of my time training other coaches and therapists to help their clients). I’m looking for a small group of people to work with in a live environment, and here’s how you’ll know if you’re a good fit:
– You want to experience more peace, confidence and clarity in your life
– You’ve had enough of stress, striving and struggling
– You instinctively get that this could have a big impact on your relationships, health, career, wellbeing, and overall quality of life, and…
– You’d like the chance to work closely with me and make some big changes
If this is you, hit YES I’M INTERESTED, type ‘Project Pagoda’ in the email subject line and we’ll send you the details. I’ve now filled most of the seats, and I’ll be confirming the group this week, so if you want to find out more, hit the link now.
Jamie Smart, Sunday Times Bestselling Author, Speaker and Executive Coach
Sunday Times Bestselling Author, Speaker and Executive Coach
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 5 ways I can help you get the clarity and results that matter to you:
If you want an entertaining and impactful keynote speech or breakout session for your conference, offsite or town hall meeting, click here https://www.jamiesmart.com/book-jamie-to-speak-about/
Connect with the growing community of like-minded transformation professionals who are passionate about exponentially increasing their grounding, impact and their livelihood. You can join for free here.
We’re putting together a new practice-building group at The Thriving Coaches Blueprint in August. We’ll be won’t be opening the doors for a couple of months, but if you’d like to find out more now and put your name on the wait list, go to https://www.jamiesmart.com/thriving/
This community is for you if you’re thinking about changing your career or moving from full-time employment to something more fulfilling and “on-purpose” for you. You can join for free here.
If you’re ready to start taking action and transition to doing fulfilling work, the doors on this programme open in June. Click here to let us know you’re interested and we’ll get back to you with details and to find out whether you’re a good fit for the programme (and vice versa). I’m Interested