The F1 Grand Prix is an intense event for everyone concerned. But for the celebrity driver even more so. First there are a sting of social engagements leading up to the race, sponsors demanding attendance at black tie events and then of course, endless press interviews.

When one Australian driver was interviewed about these potential distractions he simply replied, "no, it's easy, I compartmentalise."

To compartmentalise means to put things in boxes. Like to put a work problem aside when out on a date or a deep personal worry away while you work. This is a conventional approach that seems to work for a lot of people - at least in theory.

The driver in the F1 crashed. The person sitting opposite me at dinner last night wasn't really all there. I don't think compartmentalising really works as well as people think.

B's relationship was on the rocks, they had ann8 month old baby and were arguing continually. When I asked him about it he blamed his "needy" family. I didn't buy it.

On further exploration B' revealed a war that was going on between himself and his boss. A hate relationship. But B was trapped, the pay was great and their domestic needs, although he had reserves, were demanding that income.

B thought he was compartmentalising. But he wasn't. He was infecting his marriage, his babe, his health and family with toxin that oozed out of him between the lines of care.

B thought he was compartmentalising. He thought everything was disconnected. He wanted to work on his relationship but really, this hate thing at work, which he blamed 100% on the other person, was at the heart of his whole life struggle.

It took 7 days, 2 hours a day, to swing things around. B finally processed the anger, evolved himself above the situation. And guess what?

His relationship transformed overnight. His "needy" family became a loving, warm, kind and generous place to be.

The moral of this story: it's better to process your judgements than to be under the impression that being tender in your meditation is going to overcome your anger with something or someone in the real world. Compartments just don't work because all human hearts are intuitive, even if the other person denies what they feel from you, they know, deep down when you are not being real.

From the heart of Chris

You haven’t dared yet lose faith – so how can faith grow in you?
You haven’t dared yet risk your heart – to what can you see of reality?
You’re obsessed – still! – with the carnal screams of your life.
How do you hope to step into the Mystery of the King?
You are a sea of gnosis hidden in a drop of dew,
You are a whole universe hidden in a sack of blood.
What are all this world’s pleasures and joys
That you keep grasping at them to make you alive?
Does the sun borrow light from a mote of dust?
Does Venus look for wine from a cracked jug?

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

A love filled home. An open heart. An urgency for life. An obsession with freedom. The courage to sacrifice your self comfort for a bigger cause.

Start with this and you cannot fail.

Bondi beach is a hectic place it runs at a hectic pace. What happens emotionally at bondi beach would take months or years out in the isolation of the countryside.

It's easy to get left behind at Bondi Beach. Information blasts across the streets, people run to and fro, emotions are triggered at every angle.

The lucky ones go to the city to work. They find offices and companies that create routines and boundaries, expectations and grounded performance targets. But there are those who don't leave the pace and who will be accelerating, stimulated by the environment itself, to go faster, do more and feel like the world just doesn't understand.

In every environment there is a pace and if we live slower we get overwhelmed and if we live faster we get ahead of the curve and people don't get us.

Finding the right pace to grow and evolve is a big clue for a happy healthy loving life.

I'd like to share 10 good reasons why you might consider the tenacity and diligence involved in keeping your heart open in everyday life worth while.

1. It's leadership - There are no half hearted success stories.

There are more than 200,000 books listed on the web on the topic of leadership. My book, "Innerwealth, putting the heart and soul back into work and life" is one of a very small number of those books that drill down through the surface games of human tricks and motivational games to understand the real core of a leader... heart and soul. 

2. It's intuitive  - “The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” 

Although it is possible to enter a temple and find solace, or do a meditation and find quiet, the real measure of our inner state is a stillness that travels with us through all the trials and challenges of life. An open heart is the root source of stillness. It is a dynamic of thankfulness, mixed with desirelessness. A complete contentment for what is, rather than what could be. 


3. It's Unconditional Love - “It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.” 

Romance comes to the heart but unconditional love sits there already. This state of unconditional love is most often seen in the affection and loyalty a pet has for an owner. The dog might be punished but its enthusiasm and generosity of spirit is relentless. This is the core of an Open heart and a great necessity in any sustainable relationship. “I'm not interested in being a "lover." I'm interested in only being love.” 

4. It's Youth - "The heart surrenders everything to the moment. The mind judges and holds back.”

You will see the look on a person's face move between childish exhuberance and aged exhaustion. It's is not just about sleep or diet or age or workload... more, it's a sign of an open heart. The younger a person looks, the more open their heart. The enemy of an open heart is therefore worry, pragmatism and stress that causes the joy and enthusiasm for the gift of the day to be replaced by uncertainty, doubt and the ensuing fatigue.

5. It's Bulletproof - “Everything changes once we identify with being the witness to the story, instead of the actor in it.” 

With an Open heart you will treat everyone you meet like God in drag. The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal. It can't be organized or regulated. It isn't true that everyone should follow one path. Listen to your own truth. And to hear it, you will need the previously mentioned stillness. You won't find your heart in a temple until you find the temple in your heart. So, the heart will close if it is left unattended, to keep it open simply remember that what you meet in another being is the projection of your own level of evolution. You can always evolve just a little more each day.

5 More Tomorrow.........

Give everything to your work
Give everything to your Soul
Live as nature intended
Love what you do
No matter what it is - at this moment
And then your heart will stay open
For goodness and health
Make no compromise
Listen to no doubt
Give everything to your work
Whatever that is at any moment in time
Give everything to your soul
Live as nature intended
Turn up for life

You have no doubt experienced the dark side of clutter. You know that feeling of too much to deal with, not enough time and some damp feeling that you have finally been overcome by a noxious gas that's stolen your brain and turned it to muck.

There are four classical responses to this overwhelming sinking feeling that ultimately leads to a closed heart. 

1. Cry ... I tried this and it helps a bit because people come to your rescue when you cry.

2. Become stubborn and persist - and like banging your head on a brick wall, eventually the wall will show signs of fatigue.. you just may not be around to enjoy it.

3. Complain and Blame ... This works too because for some unknown reason we feel better when we are right and someone else is wrong. So, blame makes us right, them wrong and although it doesn't solve anything much, we feel better at least for a while.

4. Go to Yoga ... This works too because if you meditate and do Yoga you feel much better. The trouble is that the stuff still exists and now it's highly likely that you will be even more disturbed by turbulence because you've become attached to peace and harmony etc. So, not the best result.

I'd like to present a fifth option...

5. Sit back a bit.... the further away from something you get, the less of a drama it is. So, for example, your drity dishes are no problem at all if you are on the other side of town but unlike dirty dishes, worry, overwhelm and nervous tension can evaporate before you get home because they are only a construct of your mind. 

THe further you get away from a problem the simpler that problem becomes and that is why breaks, exercise, walks in nature, fun in the sun and good outdoor activity is so vital in a working day. In fact, with my clients I often suggest they make getting out of the office, compulsory for each person at least three times a day in decent weather.

Clutter and overwhelm depend on how you see it. If you can just step away a few meters and try to see a bit of order in that chaos, you'll be doing yourself and those around you, a big favour.

Enjoy the week

Chris

Feeling thankful I hope - the whole of creation loves you - be humble to that and you will have calm, centred and balanced day - balance, centred - calm - no panic.

There is always a gift even in the worst storm - trust your inner child to guide you to the right choices and don't beat yourself up for the joyful moments of wisdom you have.

Balanced, centred and calm is your heart - Only your mind can punish and stress you because mind lives in fear - heart lives in love - love always wins.

Trust this alone - BCC - balanced mind, centred body, calm nerves - then and only then will you hear your indpiration speak - - and then trust your inner guidance to lead you (to love and abundance in all areas of life)

Last week I sat beneath a big old tree in the park with a picnic hamper spread out beautifully on real china plates on a blanket.

We sipped water, ate beautiful food,, fell asleep and talked. It all took 30 minutes really and afterward, we want back to work refreshed.

Stillness doesn't have to take long. It doesn't need to be a "weekend away" either. It can simply be a few moments, out in nature where you can afford to let go and simply BE.

We find ourselfs always wanting. Wanting and wanting and this is perfect. But nature evolves us at the border of chaos and order, so it means we are wise to have some non wanting time, in between the wanting.

In times gone by, we wanted and wanted and wanted all week until exhaustion demanded we sleep in on Sunday or got drunk on Friday. That's the equivalent of square wheels on a cart.

Now, stillness (the experience of non wanting) needs to be a part of every hour of the day. We need to want, want, want then take a moment to stop, stop, stop.

It's not about moderation at all. It is about extremes. Extreme wanting and laughing, then extreme stillness and calm.

Just 3 minutes an hour can provide enough recovery ( if done right) to supplement a whole hour of wanting. And at the end of the day, if you want to go home with more energy than you came to work with in the morning, periods of not wanting, stillness are essential the ought the day.

When you stop to calm your nerves and slow down your obsessions and take a moment to feel the love in your heart, remember Vision, Inspiration and Purpose are the gateways to an open heart and therefore love and consciousness at work.
Chris