What Type Are You?

Have you ever met someone who was just far easier to talk to after 11am than he/she was at 7am? Oh yeah, that'd be me - I'm a night-person. You bright-eyed bunny-hopping morning people make me crazy; how do you do it?? I simply can't cope with the sensory overload until after my system has had a chance to wake up slowly on its own. But give me a party that starts at 9pm or a social phone call that starts at 11:30pm and I'm good to go.

So, Gail is a night-owl. So what?

Not only am I a night-owl, but I'm an auditory, descendant, yin-in-relationship yang-at-work, sameness-processing, 2nd-tier (I think, generally), planning-oriented, INFJ, yellow-red, 6, American white girl. No, I didn't just drift into speaking spy-code, I just expressed my inclinations and my social education in terms of type.

So what?

The great thing about identifying your type across many subjects is that it gives you power - the power to choose circumstances that are a greater fit for you, the power to function more effectively as your Best Self, and the power (if you wish it) to cultivate the other type dynamic's skills. (thank you Frank Herzog for our pretty image of power in the form of a brunette)

However, let's be careful not to imagine we can pigeon-hole the complexity of humanity into a few letters and key words. We're dynamic; we change, we grow, we adapt to suit our circumstances; in infinite ways, we find ways to be unique. We're not simplistic two-dimensional robots who are always simple to categorize.

Meanwhile, I also propose that in the midst of our dynamism, we also tend toward preferred ways of being, in the same way some of us are right-handed and some left-handed. Even ambidextrous folks typically sign their name and eat with one hand or the other, and put their pants on one leg at a time.

In TIA - The Integrated Approach, we are invited to continually cultivate "both/and", rather than living from "either/or".

In this case, "both/and" means cultivating skills across multiple types, across multiple traditions, complementing the skills that we already hold and prefer and are adept with. We each naturally tend toward a particular type, as though we were dealt a hand of cards by the universe in our family, our genetics, our preferences, and our natural abilities. However, how many card games could we win if we always held a full deck of cards rather than the limited hand of cards we are dealt? Ha! With the entire deck we could win any card game we wish to play. Four aces, anyone? Anyone?

If you had your choice, would you walk around with one arm atrophied and limp with the other arm super-powerful? Or would you choose to cultivate and use both arms, even while one arm is stronger?

Likewise, in TIA we know that we have exponentially more power (the capacity to mobilize resources to fulfill the needs of ourselves, our families, our communities, and the world at large) when we are capable of choosing between two sets of skills rather than being hijacked and limited only having one set of skills. The pillar / module of TIA that invites us to this discovery and evolution is called, "Fully Expressed Energies" .

Also, by identifying our type tendencies we can identify our blindnesses, our biases, our unconscious expectations of what's "good, true, and beautiful". We unconsciously develop social biases by race, by country of origin or immersion, by gender, by religion, by political affiliation, by age... And when we remain passively isolated in this particular education or type-inclination, we inadvertently arm ourselves with a weaker, skewed, less complete perspective. It's natural to be inclined toward a particular niche, strength, or bias; there aren't enough hours in the day to enjoy an "occu-passion" and to cultivate omniscient mastery in all traditions' types. However, we can choose - as a form of play - to actively broaden our horizons from time to time by deliberately exposing ourselves to unfamiliar types, cultures, countries, and ways of being. I'm sure you've experienced the expansive fulfillment and value of getting out of your comfort zone at some point in time, haven't you?

Learning about type also is sane-making, in that it shows us "they're not crazy, they're just not us," and "I'm not crazy, I'm just not you." In exposing ourselves to a variety of type trainings we not only cultivate strength, choice, and power, we also cultivate compassion, tolerance, and acceptance of diversity.

From "Fully Embodied Energies", below you'll find a list of types from across many traditions. In each tradition, identify your niche preference / tendency. In each tradition, where do you tend to most often gravitate in your skills?

How much more powerful would you be if you cultivated *all* of the following type-skills? *

Here's to options and possibilities,
Gail


Are you dominantly - a night-owl or a morning person?
Are you dominantly - auditory, visual or kinesthetic? *
Are you dominantly - ascendant or descendant? *
Are you dominantly - yin or yang? *
Are you dominantly - sameness-processing or difference processing? *
Are you dominantly - left-brained or right-brained? *
In business / at work are you dominantly - a planner, manager, or a doer? *
In wealth are you dominantly an employee, self-employed, a business-owner or an investor? *
In communication, are you most often informing or directing?
Are you dominantly - (Spiral Dynamics center of gravity) 1st or 2nd tier? *
Are you dominantly - (Spiral Dynamics center of gravity across lines of development) red, blue, orange, green, yellow, etc.? *
Which Myers-Briggs type do you most identify with (E/I, N/S, T/F, J/P)? *
Which Personalysis type do you most identify with (red, green, yellow, blue)? *
Which Enniagram type do you most identify with (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 + a wing) *
Which world culture do you most identify with?
Which race, gender, political affiliation, religious training do you most identify with?
How old are you?
If you're a woman, which energy do you most often embody: queen, amazon, seductress, comedienne, nun, nurturing mother, whore, superheroine, bimbo, little girl.
If you're a man, which energy do you most often embody: king, warrior, lover, comedian, monk, nurturing father, gigolo/player, superhero, idiot, little boy.


* To learn more about types, or to cultivate your power and skill across types, enroll in a 12-session coaching cycle by calling 1.877.535.5438. I'll even throw in an additional first-hour for you for free, so we can discuss your goals and hopes for the study/practice and cater the program to suit your needs and intended outcomes. It's a toll-free call, so ring me today!

Affirmations 3 - When Affirmations Aren't Enough

Personally I don't believe in affirmations.

What? Yes, you heard me right. Yes, I know I just wrote 2 other posts on affirmations.

Ok so here's the deal. For some people, affirmations are the end-all-be-all - they really work. This is important! There's value here I don't want to dismiss. Meanwhile, for me and for many of my clients, affirmations (as they are conventionally taught) are not powerful. They don't work.

I think that affirmations are a great first step. I think they're absolutely necessary; and, insufficient.

Why?

In TIA - The Integrated Approach (tm), we talk about "melting the ice cube from all sides". We talk about the fact that we're not just mind-controlled entities. We have feelings that impact us, we have underlying needs that we may or may not be aware of. We have abilities or inabilities to take action that's congruent with our decisions. We have old habits of thought, old internalized stories, and inner chatter that may debate with the new attempts to affirm a new way of being. And I believe we are all part of something greater (whether you call it collective unconscious or whether you think we are cells in the system of Gaia or whether you see us as manifestations of Godforce or whether you just think that we are only part of the system of family, community, friends and neighbors that makes up the fabric of our social network). In any case, I believe we're part of a greater interconnected fabric that pulls and pushes and tugs at us completely beyond our will.

In short, we're not just "mind". We're at the very least, "mind, body, spirit, heart, gut and action". We are not just "I alone". We are also part of "we-spaces", and we're part of a system that expands beyond our "we-spaces" into something larger, entwined amongst the tangible and intangible elements of our planet's ecosystem, and beyond.

With all of these factors at play, no wonder New Years' Resolutions are such an endangered species!

So how do we use affirmations or new declarations or make new decisions for evolution (for ourselves, our families, our communities, organizations, or the human race at large) in a way that's more likely to produce the results we hope for?

I hope this "Affirmation Upgrade" will support you at seeing more results easier, faster, and sticking longer.

When Affirmations Aren't Enough

Affirmations are a wonderful start; we're tuning into the cognitive realm, we're playing at the instrument of our subconscious (and potentially the invisible fabric of the subtle body, inviting Providence to align to meet us.)

However, affirmations are far more powerful if you employ the whole system of you: mind, body, spirit, heart, gut and action.

Here's how:

Mind - be sure your affirmations are framed in what you do want; make sure you understand your conditions of satisfaction (ex: "I earn more than ever" is more powerful if you make it measurable, ex: "By December 2013 I am earning more than $80K a year."); make sure they're framed in the present (ex: replace "I would be happier" with "I am happier")

Body - as you work with your affirmations, what posture do you use? Are you reviewing them slumped over on your couch with your shoulders hunched forward, breathing shallowly? This somatic posture is less conducive to learning, growth, healing or evolution than if you reviewed your affirmation while your spine is straight, your head up, your feet planted on the floor, your breath deep and long, and your eyes forward, alert, and engaged. As you work with your affirmations, let your body be a vessel to conduct the message in addition to your mind. You may even choose to embody a gesture that represents the spirit of your affirmation. If your affirmation is about increased power, take on a "Superman Pose" - stand with your arms in the air as if you're flying, with one foot in front of the other. If your affirmation is about movement, walk briskly back and forth through the room as you review your affirmation. If your affirmation is about expansion, what gesture represents that for you? Maybe opening your arms wide (as if you're welcoming the whole planet into a hug) is a gesture that fits. Use your body to help you internalize the impact and spirit of your affirmation.

Spirit - Remember that your benevolent intentions around life increase are congruent with Omnipotence seeking expression in the manifest realm; feel how your practice is a manifestation of the face of Spirit attempting to emerge. If you prefer, simply tap into your own understanding of how you are a part of a greater fabric among the human race - what you do, think, say and practice affects how you interact with dozens or hundreds or thousands of lives each week; feel how your practice is a gift to the larger fabric of humanity. Have you heard of the "100th Monkey" concept? If so, you know that your practice contributes to the collective unconscious and helps evolve all of humanity; take a moment to drink in the gift you are toward life increase and thriving for all on the planet.

Heart - Add an emotional component to your affirmation. Instead of "I earn more", upgrade your affirmation to "I relish the pleasure of the added income I get to enjoy every day." Can you feel how different that lands in your body and in your psychology? Another way you can play the instrument of emotion in your affirmations is described in my e-book and course called "The 10-Minute Manifestor"; we talk about a "pleasure picture" as part of your "bottom line". Imagine you already are experiencing, right now, the affirmation as already done, accomplished, already here, right here, right now. How does your body feel here in this place of having accomplished your affirmation? What sensations do you feel (we're bringing in the body again). How do others look as they greet you, now that you're here in this new place? What do you do and say that's different than you used to? What do others do and say toward you that's different? The heart-element isn't just about emotion, it's also about the power of our visualizations on our subtle-body and subconscious mind. Play with the experience of your affirmation, as though it's here, now.

Gut - When we make up an affirmation, we have (consciously or unconsciously) some underlying values, some benevolent universal need we're trying to meet, some gift we're attempting to give ourselves or others. Are you awake to the values you're trying to fulfill with the affirmation you have chosen? For example, if my affirmation is, "For work, I do what I love and I love what I do," maybe you're trying to gift yourself with more enjoyment, or more fulfillment. Maybe you're trying to fulfill your value for integrity about how you work with others around you. Maybe you are attempting to gift the world with an embodiment that career can be an "occu-passion", a source of joy and delight. Whatever your affirmation is, try to connect with the underlying value, the core motives, the needs you're trying to meet. The more conscious you are about your underlying needs, the more powerful you will be at fulfilling them, and the more likely your affirmations will hold passion and energy for you. Likewise, if you are at odds with your affirmation, it's likely you have an unconscious value that's not yet integrated that wants to be integrated. The more aware you are of your core motives, the more effectively you can create affirmations that account for all of you.

Action - All the repeated affirmation in the world is nothing but fertilizer in a plastic bag, until you spread that affirmation out over the garden of life in the form of action. Then your intentions and dreams will grow. As you review your affirmation, ask yourself, "What am I doing today toward this?" For example, if your affirmation is about your emotional wellbeing, something like, "I like myself," what are you doing today that embodies and amplifies that truth? If your affirmation is about your quality of relationships, what are you doing this week that is a demonstration of your intention? If your affirmation is about organizational change or social activism, what rubber-to-the-road steps are you taking this month toward it?

When we "melt the ice cube from all sides", we align all of the system toward our goal, and we amplify our likelihood of manifesting that intention exponentially.

I have to laugh at the artificiality of separating these six elements. When we act from divine inspiration, is there a separation? When we tap into an emotional state of joy about our desired experience that leads to the body tingling and my face smiling and my mind spontaneously coming up with ideas for how to get me there and then I talk to my neighbors and ask for their help, really is there any division among the elements of the system? I don't think so.

Meanwhile, by paying attention to the six elements of who we most deeply Are, I'm confident you can upgrade your affirmations to statements that are not just mental, but that are also powerful in action, in embodiment, in Spirit, in heart, and in revealing your deepest values.

Yeehaaa,
yes, i said yeehaaa!
*wink*
Gail

Knowledge and Adventure

Henry David Thoreau said most people "live lives of quiet desperation." Are you one of them, or are you a seeker of adventure, knowledge, growth and fulfillment?

What if a 24-hour program could give you everything you need to find an infinite source of knowledge and adventure?

It's not enough to rage against the lie.. you've got to replace it with the truth. - Bono

Isn't it about time you got to replace desperation with adventure, knowledge, growth, and fulfillment?


Here's a 4-question interview that could increase thriving - for you, your family, your work/group/community, and beyond!

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QUESTIONS:

1. If you could see more fulfillment in 1 area of life, which would you choose to start with?

• more for myself
• more for my existing love relationship
• more for my family
• more for my office/organization/work environment
• more for my group/community
• more for my culture/subculture
• more for the planet/humanity at large
• more fulfillment for Isness / Emergence

2. In the area you chose to start with in question 1, imagine 1 thing that could contribute to your sense of fulfillment in that area. What comes to mind?

3. Quantify it - How could you describe your answer to question 2 in measurable terms? How much, by when; how would you be able to know when question 2 were satisfied?

4. Request it - What request could you make (of ourself or of someone(s) around you) that would contribute to your answer to question 3 happening?

5. Skillful Means - On a scale of 0-10, how effective are your requests at getting what you outlined in question 3? 0 = not at all; 10 = I have gotten my request so abundantly met that I'm utterly and completely fulfilled in the area I chose in question 1.

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If your answer to question 5 was 6 or below, you could be more effective in delivering Powerful Requests. You may want to consider enrolling in a coaching program or in a Teleclass directed at helping you strengthen that muscle.

If you had difficulty answering any of questions 2-4, consider calling to schedule a free coaching consultation as a gift to yourself. You cannot fulfill what you cannot name, quanitify and ask for. Give yourself the gift of clarity as a first step.

If you found questions 1-4 easy, and you *still* don't experience the level of fulfillment you want in your question 1 domain, this is good news - the next step is obvious. Here's why:

Like a dealt hand of cards, we each hold a specific set of skills, perceptions, tendencies, and inclinations on how to respond to our world. And, like a hand of cards, this set of cards is limited and often insufficient. Imagine you hold a whole deck of cards in your hands - you could win basically any card game you want to play!

If you already had the cards you needed to win the game of fulfillment in the domain you chose in question 1 - you'd already be winning. If you're not winning, it's because you don't have the cards you need - it's time to get them from someone else. This is why more and more people are turning to Coaches: life coaches, career coaches, financial coaches, organizational development coaches, spiritual coaches, communication coaches...or Integrated Coaches.

Integrated Coaches are coaches trained in The Integrated Approach (TIA). TIA Coaches a trained to help you uncover and recognize the areas where skills, perceptions, tendencies and inclinations are insufficient to expand fulfillment. TIA Coaches can then ask questions or provide recommendations for how to build those skills, widen those perceptions, balance those tendencies, and integrate new inclinations with the prior ones.

Ready to take the first step toward leaving the "quiet desperation" behind?

A single free hour could enhance your adventure, knowledge, growth and fulfillment.

Call and set a free appointment today! 1.877.535.5438

Here's to your thriving!
Gail