cheers, Gay

Many people have heard of the 4 stages of learning - if you haven’t here’s a precis from Wikkipedia:

   1. Unconscious Incompetence : The individual neither understands nor knows how to do something, nor recognizes the deficit, nor has a desire to address it. (We don’t know what we don’t know).

   2. Conscious Incompetence : Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, without yet addressing it. (We know we don’t know but we aren’t ready to address it yet).

   3. Conscious Competence : The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires a great deal of consciousness or concentration. (You are beginning to be able to do it but it is not yet easy).

   4. Unconscious Competence : The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it becomes “second nature” and can be performed easily (often without concentrating too deeply). He or she may or may not be able teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned. (It is now easy and maybe you can even teach others).

I invite you to think about anything you have learnt in your life you will see you went through each of these stages. For example remember learning to drive: At first you thought once you turned 17 it would be easy – jump in, release the brake and go. You didn’t know what you didn’t know.

Then you turned 17 and tried to do just that – you then realised that it took a little more skill than you expected. You then knew that you didn’t know how to drive and started to think about how you would learn.

Next you started to learn how to do it. Put the keys in the ignition, look in the mirror, take off the clutch….. it was hard work until finally it became such second nature that these days you sometimes wonder how you got home – Right?

(If you don’t drive I am sure you can relate this model to something else you once had no idea how to do but now do with ease.)

So this is all very well if (a) you want to learn that skill and (b) you feel reasonably confident about being able to learn it.

But what happens when you are stressed or have a history of difficulty learning something new – or just plain old hate new things?

Those 10 lessons to getting your licence become 25 or 50 or the number of failed tests start mounting up…. and what about all the stuff you don’t even try?

A google search showed something interesting… On one hand a driver who failed 10 times 10 years ago but has been driving safely (if illegally) since tries to get her licence yet again. Despite her confidence on the road, her self-confessed nerves and mental demons made her fail yet again.

On the other hand there is the Grandmother who wasn’t daunted by failing her written test 960 (!) times - she only took 10 practical exams to get her licence, despite never having a lesson. She was quite obviously not stressed by her performance and just focused on the end result.

These two people demonstrate two different ways to shift from the state of Conscious Competence (stage 3 – learning) to Unconcious Competence (stage 4 – learnt).

Brain Gym and Educational Kinesiology (something I have been teaching and using for more than 15 years) teases apart the different ways we can learn. It offers a model to use to gauge whether you are learning easily and then, if not, supplies tools to transform the learning experience into a more effective (and even enjoyable!) experience.   

Let’s explore this model by considering the easy and comfortable way of moving from learning to learnt first. We call this experience INTEGRATED LEARNING. Integrated learning has two steps, when we are comfortable and excited about learning we move from Integrated Low Gear (learning) into Integrated High Gear (learnt).

Integrated High Gear is automatic, Unconscious Competence (stage 4). It is that easy ‘got it’ place where we have learnt what we needed to learn and feel comfortable and competent.

Integrated Low Gear is a little less comfortable because it is challenging, but in a way that keeps us engaged. This is our learning space where we are slowly ‘getting it’. To learn something new, process and then remember we must be able to easily access this state of being. 

These two ways of being – Integrated High Gear and Integrated Low Gear would ideally be the way we approach every aspect of our life and is, in fact, our birthright. How else did we learn to walk! However, circumstances of learning and life create stress and this stress, whether we unconscious of it or don’t know how to manage it, results in what we call UNINTEGRATED LEARNING. Once again we have a High Gear and a Low Gear.

So what does this look like? Unintegrated Low Gear is the state of being where we feel like we are are really ‘not getting it’. We keep doing things over and over, perhaps getting the process done but without any understanding of what we are doing. It becomes very hard to remember anything when it is being done without understanding. 

Unintegrated High Gear on the other hand is the ‘lost it’ place. It all just feels impossible, never going to happen. We give up learning once we are in this place. Again no place for memory here.

Sadly, all too often, our Unintegrated Learning experiences outweigh our Integrated Learning experiences and we start to live our life from this uncomfortable and stress filled place. We constantly move from working really hard but not really getting anywhere to giving up in frustration. Not a happy way of being.

The good news is that the first step out of this stressful way of living is recognising that there is another way. It is as simple as learning to identify when we are in an Unintegrated space and then discovering what gets us back into Integrated High Gear (that automatic, comfortable and joyful space). And then taking the stress out of learning so we can access Integrated Low Gear easily – thereby being able to approach and stressful situations in a measured, optimistic and interested way. 

Natural movement is one key to an Integrated approach to life. Sometimes getting out of the Unintegrated and into the Integrated space is as simple as going for a walk, having a breath of fresh air or taking your eyes for a walk in nature instead of on the ubiquitous screen. Othertimes you need more serious intervention!

I invite you to explore these concepts for a month. Notice when you are approaching something new do you feel like you can comfortably ‘get it’ over time or does that place feel difficult to impossible?

When you are getting ’stuff’ done do you approach it mindfully and with interest or is it just another box on the to do list to tick?

And is your anchor place – the place you return to within yourself – a place of ease and enjoyment or one of stress, overwhelm and hard work?  

If you find that anchor place is not longer – or never has been – a place of ease and enjoyment find something that transforms you and enables you to return to that peaceful place once again.

©Gay Landeta2010

Learn How to Play the Marketing Game – Lesson Five
by Gay Landeta

The big problem many people find with getting their work out there is that there are so many ways to do it. What works? What doesn’t?

Do you know what results you are getting from each strategy you are doing, or even more importantly, why you are undertaking that particular strategy?

Yes, I know–to get more clients, but how will it get you more clients; what role does that actual strategy play in your big picture? And are you sure you are gaining every bit of effectiveness out of that strategy? And how much fun do you have while doing it? Is it just another job on the to-do list?

Robert Middleton, my marketing mentor and coaching trainer, talks of the similarity between playing baseball and marketing.

Hmmm, you might say, but think about it. A game of baseball consists of a bunch of people on a playing field throwing a ball, hitting that ball, catching that ball and running around. Now if you try to take all those people and get them to do that without understanding the game or knowing the rules, mayhem will result.

But if you tell them what the rules are and train them, you can develop a winning team. The game starts in the dugout where the players get ready to play. The field itself is shaped like a diamond (for those of you who don’t play baseball) that consists of four points called plates–home, first, second and third bases. The way to play is to step up to home plate with a bat and hit the ball. Once you do that you can run around the diamond until you get back to the home plate. You must be careful to touch each base or else you lose. A home-run (getting around all bases at one time) is unusual. Mostly you just move around one base at a time.

Robert reckons that you can play the marketing game by following very similar rules. He sees marketing as a game that you can play to win if you understand and master each step. And he reckons it should be fun!

So, let’s play some marketing ball…. start in the dugout and create your marketing message. Once you have a good one (and there is a technique to it – more on that in another ezine) you are ready to begin to play.

Your potential client approaches the home plate.You are strangers at this point. What most of us start to do now is to bombard them with our marketing message hoping to get a home run. But what usually happens is we make the client strike out (which, in our version of marketing ball, is not what we want!). That is because we haven’t taken the time to take this potential client around all the bases, which are all the steps a new contact needs to pass through to become a buyer.

So how do we take those steps? To get to first base a potential client has to move from being a stranger to gaining a connection and becoming aware of you. You must have his or her attention before proceeding. That is first base. Don’t try for a home run at this point. Play it safe and move him or her to second.

The way to get this person to second base is to become familiar, to build that relationship and give more information about what you do before he or she is ready for an experience of you. Think about any client you have, or indeed, your own process in purchasing any service. You waited until you knew enough and were comfortable with the service before you did anything. Sometimes that is a relatively quick process but more often it takes time, like any relationship-building process. And it requires a plan to make it happen. A brochure or a website is helpful here but generally not enough.

Once your potential client has enough familiarity and information about your service, he or she moves to second base and is ready to think about buying. You will still need to be able to meet this person’s needs and overcome any challenges to purchasing your service (third base) before finally bringing him or her to home plate. However, if you have done a good job this potential client will be a qualified candidate who is ready to buy.

One great strategy used in baseball to win is to load the bases.That means to have someone waiting on each base ready to move on to the next one as soon as the ball is hit. That is your funnel of potential clients. You need to have prospective clients positioned on each base, and you must have effective strategies in place to move them around the bases to win at marketing ball.

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This month – the beginning of the financial year – spend some time planning your strategies and your funnel will stay full. And if you want to read the rest of the ebook go to www.marketingwithheart.com.au to get it!

Gay

Anyone feeling the intensity of the energy around at present? The lunar eclipse takes place tomorrow, I just got got a newsletter from Linda Hill about it and I thought I would share this paragraph – have a look at her website for more www.sabiansymbols.com

……The tenor of this blog is a little more intense than my usual newsletters as this is a very intense and meaningful event. Wherever you are in the world, this eclipse is set to have some interesting, intense and profound energies flowing from it. This is because this full Moon is conjunct (smack on) Pluto, the planet of transformations, death, rebirth, sex, and a slew of other deep and meaningful things. Combining Pluto with the full Moon, plus being an eclipse and taking into account the Sabian Symbols points to this being a meaningful, and for many, a deeply transformational time. Some will instigate major changes in their lives, some will have the changes landing on them, sometimes unexpectedly. The trick with this eclipse is, even amongst the more challenging manifestations that emerge, is to take advantage of the life transforming, empowering and engaging energies of this extremely strong lunation. The effects of eclipses stretch on for months, and, if you experience a major event on any level; physically, mentally, spiritually or emotionally, effects can stretch on through the coming months and years. This is a time of crossroads, decisions and change…..

and just a quick plug if you are having trouble with your transformation the work I do can really help you to step into it.

Enjoy!

Gay

This is the best remedy for the rush and chaos of the 21st century. Connecting up with your authentic self just brings such a feeling of peace and contentment.

Stop and sit. Breathe. Look around.

Recognise the support that we all can access by just being.

Whether this is the Universe, God or Guardian Angels; faith in our own ability to get things done or to think things through; trust that we always have and always will … be with whatever it is that sits at your core and helps you to know that it WILL be OK.

Sit with that and just breathe.

Enjoy!

Gay

Imagine a small blue star in the middle of your brain. Gradually make it grow larger and larger until you are in the centre of a wheel of blue light. Feel your emotions, thoughts, organs and body be flooded with the blue light. Imagine that blue light becoming smaller until it is again a tiny blue spark in your head.

Enjoy the peace.

Gay

Cross Crawl Sit-ups are one of my favourite crossing the midline movement because they take a good amount of focus to do them well. They also help keep your tummy trim – always a bonus after holidays! You may have done these at the gym, read carefully for little variances that turn it into a focusing movement.

You will need to lie down for this movement. There are different levels of difficulty with this – make sure you stay at each level until it feels really easy before you proceed onto the next. By feeling easy I mean you should be able to do the movement precisely and with ease and carry on a conversation. Your core is staying switched on. The aim of each level is to feel the connection between the opposite shoulder and hip through the movement. Your internal X. Don’t move to the next level until this feels very clear.

First level. Lie down with your knees bent. Put your hands towards your ears but don’t hold your head. Reach your right elbow towards your left knee and vice versa, lifting your upper body as needed. Once you can do this movement comfortably and hold your upper back and head off the ground with ease you are ready for the second level.

Now, start lifting the knees towards the elbows as the elbows are reaching for the knees. Once your elbows and knees are meeting comfortably you can move onto the next level.

When you are working at this level of integration you will start, still on your back, but with your lower legs lifted and parallel to the floor. As your knees and elbows touch and activate your internal X you will be doing a rhythmical bike movement. Make sure you can keep talking and that your core muscles (tummy muscles) are nice and tight (not bulging).

Once you are feeling nice and focused then you can get back to work! Or play!

Have fun!

I have been feeling impatient lately. I am in a time of perturbation (love that work for agitation!) in my work…. I am in the process of making changes and growing – like us all and, to be honest, I am now finding the waiting and patience bit required to allow the process of transformation really hard!

Yesterday I started thinking about snow. Partly as a grateful Queenslander that our sunny winter days rarely fall below the mid 20’s but also as an ex-Canuk remembering many types of snow. For example there is the crazy blizzard that you can’t go out in without a danger of dying, there is the slushy yucky stuff that just drags you down and there is the beautiful soft silent flakes that drift down.

Seems to me that being in a time of ideas is a little like being in a snowfall. And right now I am in the big soft quiet fall of snow, one that drifts down quietly. Beautiful to watch and even to be in but frustrating if you are trying to make a snowman! Get in too early in a fall of snow like that and you end up with a yucky muddy snowman. Wait and you can create one that lasts long into the spring melt.

So I need to just sit and allow those flakes to fall until they are deep enough to make my snowman. Holding that picture helps me to feel less frustrated and controlling and more quiet and open to change as it presents itself.

Enjoy your snowfalls!

Gay

Yup, laughter is the great healer. What do you like to do that makes you really laugh….. maybe a movie or karaoke, trading silly jokes with a friend or perhaps playing in the park – with or without the kids – or something else? What gives you that natural belly laugh high?

For me Zoolander is one of my great all round fixers…. perfect for ‘one of those days’ or just because. = ) Figure out yours and make sure you do it!

Have fun!

Gay

Some people love change, some hate it but most of us experience mixed feelings about it at some time or another.This is because there are so many factors involved in the actual process that is change, psychological being the most challenging for most of us.

Wikipedia says psychological topics include perception, cognition, attention, emotion, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Whew. When you think about it, it becomes fairly obvious that some or many of those areas will be challenged during the process of change.

Very often, once several of those areas are challenged we move into a ‘fight or flight’ reaction to life. Fight or flight means just that – it is a survival mechanism where once we would either fight the sabre tooth tiger or flee. It is useful in our system in short blasts – not so healthy long term.

Futurist Faith Popcorn suggests that during change, the fight or flight response activated by the philological challenges, result in “cocooning” (cutting our self off from all those around us to try to ignore what is happening) or through actively resisting change through negativity, destructive criticism, even sabotage.

Obviously these tactics are not congruent with a peaceful, harmonious and connected life!

In this article I am going to offer you a handful of tips that can take you out of the reactivity of fight or flight and into being pro-active.

Try them, see which work for you and add your own little helpers to the list. Then, when you notice yourself hiding away or becoming negative and obstructional you will have a few tactics up your sleeve!

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1. THINK. Use your intelligence to find out what you need to know to change your perceptions and cope with change.

Often people are stressed by their VIEW of what is happening. The lens through which they are seeing the change take place. If something they need is missing the whole picture starts to feel scary and bang – fight or flight is activated.

One way to deal with this is to notice what you need to know to make things feel better. Figure it out now and then when you are confronted with change you know what to look for to calm reactivity.

Some people need to know the actual details – all the little things. This may feel pedantic however if that is what you need then find out everything you can. Other people are big picture types, they need to know how this change fits into the larger view of life.

In some situations you can satisfy either of these needs quite easily through researching the situation.

Emotionally some people are more focused on them self and what change will mean for them while others cannot be happy unless they are sure those around them are OK in the process.

Again this is something that you can, at times, have some control over. If so, then be aware that this is how you work and soothe yourself by ensuring you or those around you – or both! – are as comfortable as possible in the circumstances.

NB! A key point here is to recognise what you can and cannot control and work only with the things you have control over. If you are getting stressed about (for example) not being able to make everyone happy or knowing the unknowable then you are probably having control issues and you may need to talk to someone to get a new perspective on what is going on.

2. STOP. Make sure you have enough stop time to allow the chaos of change to settle.

Change by nature creates chaos which many people have a fairly low tolerance for. The antidote for that is to create a space of stillness that you can retreat to.

Find time in your life to slow down and relax. While it is often difficult in times of change to relax it is important to make it a priority.

Either dip into the still place within through a good relaxation CD, yoga, a massage or maybe a run in the park or distract yourself from the chaos through the movies, playing rock and roll, watching junk TV or whatever helps you. It doesn’t matter what it is, just do whatever feels the most relaxing at the time.

And ensure you are sleeping. Lack of sleep is one of the biggest issues in 21st century life. You need sleep. It is during sleep we process many of the events of the day and our bodies have the opportunity to rest. Fight or flight activates the adrenals and once they take over sleep can become difficult.

Seek support if you aren’t sleeping; kinesiology, acupuncture, nutritional support, relaxation techniques and hypnotherapy are just a few holistic ways to change your sleep patterns.

3. PRIORITISE. Learn to prioritise what needs to happen. The just do it and feel satisfied.

One of the biggest problems I hear about is the trouble people have prioritising these days – so many competing and compelling things need to get done.

The reality is that most things, left undone, really matter little. It may not get done on time, it may not get done at all, but for most people, no one is going to die if the list is not done!

Take a reality check on your to-do list. Decide the one thing that must get done today and do that. Feel satisfied with that and know tomorrow is another day.

If you have more time you can always choose a second thing. Most people laden down their list with a dozen important tasks trying to fit in that extra one thing. And then when something unexpected happens, wham, the list is blown out of the water and nothing gets done. Stress levels hits the roof.

So make your master to-do list by all means. But on your daily list only put what needs to happen today.

4. FEEL. Recognise that change involves letting go of the old and often unexpected feelings emerge.

Even in the midst of the most exciting and wonderful experience of change their will be a letting go of the old and often feelings, especially those of grief, will emerge.

Many know of the Kübler-Ross stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance; however these days it is well recognised that the process of grief is not sequential nor is grief limited to those 5 emotions.

So allow your feelings to have expression, even if it feels incongruent to what is happening. There is a part of you that needs to feel and often once you become still and allow them to be they recede and the excitement of change can again take the fore.

If you feel immersed in grief or sadness and it is not shifting then have a talk with someone who works in the area of grief or get some help in letting go of the past that is hanging on.

5. BE GRATEFUL. Keep a gratitude journal and reflect on it when life is chaotic with change.

Gratitude is a great healer. And keeping a gratitude journal is a great way to support yourself in times of change. It reminds you of everything that you already have that is wonderful in your life and that these things have arrived through the process of change.

We often forget that life is constant change, we just don’t notice how much change takes place without our knowing!

Taking time for gratitude also helps us to remember all we have that doesn’t change and to be grateful for all that is stable in our life.

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Try applying these tips next time you are in the chaos of change, or work with them when times are stable to be ready for the next upheaval!

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This Month’s Resolve : to approach change mindfully!

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Have a great month!

Gay

copyright 2010 all rights reserved

I just received my latest newsletter from Babula on the state of the planets – change, change change – here is a precis of what is about in the skies …..and to get your own newsletter or find out about any of Babula’s courses see www.newdawnastrology.com.au

“The time has come the walrus said……..

The planet action is really hotting up now, but I’m sure you’ve all noticed! Things are feeling pretty wired, wild and generally all over the place.

The next 2 weeks bring so much change, new energy, change, inspiration, change, new possibilities, change, excitement, change, upheaval and change, we can either spontaneously combust with the thrill of it all or freak out and have a nervous breakdown.

Below are the dates when these energies are exact, but remember, with slow moving planets, the influence is around for a week or two at each event. It’s always significant when slower moving planets change sign, change direction and/or meet each other in aspect. And we have all that happening in bucketloads over this period.

Here’s the lowdown:

May 23:  Jupiter (expansion) opposite Saturn (contraction)

May 28:  Uranus (revolutionary change) into Aries (new beginnings) !!!!  11.44am Brisbane time

May 28:  FULL MOON in Sagittarius  9.07am Brisbane time

May 31:  Saturn (consolidation) goes Direct (forwards)

June 1: Neptune (dreams) goes Retrograde (backwards)

June 4:  Chiron (wounds, healing) goes Retrograde (backwards)

June 6:  Jupiter (search) into Aries (aggression)

June 7:  Mars (warrior) finally leaves Leo (self) and enters Virgo (service)

June 8:  Jupiter (truth) conjunct Uranus (higher consciousness)

I’ve used simple keywords for these themes, but of course there is much that can be said about each one. this is just a snapshot.

The most significant movements are Jupiter (the planet that represents the search for truth and meaning in our life and the urge to grow, explore, travel and expand our horizons, both literally and philosophically), is now catching up to the slower moving Uranus (planet of cataclysmic and seismic changes, revolution, technology and liberation) both about to change sign together.

But it’s not just any sign they are about to enter. Both are currently sitting at 28 and 29 degrees of Pisces respectively, the last degree of the entire 360 degree wheel of the zodiac, and about to boldly go where no man has been before….into the uncharted territory of Aries!

There is a huge energy of change in the air and it’s bringing instability, uncertainty and revolutionary impulses with it. We’ll see it … and are already seeing it … in the streets, in the halls of power, in the lives of ordinary people like us and in our thinking and perceptions.

We can go into panic and fear, but my suggestion is to simply  welcome in the new and keep welcoming it in.  Of course, where 0 degrees Aries is in your personal horoscope will give insight as to the specifics of how this energy will be affecting you and your life.  For many of you. These energies will be directly triggering and activating your chart.

To put this in perspective, Uranus has an 84 year cycle and spends 7 years in each sign, so he was last in Aries back in the 1920’s.  For him to be entering this sign again, accompanied by the giant and benefic Jupiter is a big deal.

Jupiter and Uranus will be travelling together for some months now and what a duo they are. It’s so expansive it can take your breath away. Movement and radical change are guaranteed across the board, so hang onto your hats.

This beautiful quote came in via an email this week and it’s such a wonderful reminder right now…..

The will of god will never take you where the grace of god will not protect you.

An another glorious quote for these times……

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things … they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”   Steve Jobs