Jeffrey Sumber

Author Archive

16 Dec 2010

The Swamp

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One of the hardest things about being in a relationship for me is witnessing someone so close to me suffer. We all have our own patterns, blind spots, and distortions of reality however when we’re in the swamp, it is often incredibly difficult to believe that it is just the swamp we’re in and not the entire planet.

It is also challenging to believe we know what someone else needs, that one little thing they can do to alleviate their own suffering. As I teach people each day, it is not for any one of us to tell another person what their problem is! Even if we think we know what it is! At best, we have the opportunity to ask for permission to share some insights we might have but without that permission, we are treading in dangerous territory. And our brilliant insights are likely to be met with animosity, resentment and mistrust.

Many people like to then ask, “so what’s the point of friendship, partnership, family, etc. if we can’t tell them what we think and where they are stuck?”

It’s a wonderful question and I believe that millions of people on the planet are right there with you. The truth is, however, that it is not our right, even if we care very much for them. It is absolutely our right if they ask for help or if they are willing to hear what you have to say. Some people believe it is their absolute responsibility to tell someone they love what they should do, need to do, must do! However, whenever we hear the word “should” rolling off our own lips, you can bet we’re headed for trouble.

The Tyranny of the Should is not only an enemy of our own, berating us for not doing more and being more, more, more… it is also an enemy of our loved ones. “You really should” is a problem for relationships across the globe. It is an indicator that we are actually not at peace with ourselves so we feel the need to change others. It can also be a close cousin of false righteousness, the cousin who always seems to know what I should have done and is so happy to let me know after the fact.

When I come from the Realm of the Should, the likelihood is that I, too, am nearing the swamp.

So, please remember: The swamp is not the planet, it is a teansie, tiny spec on the planet. When I am stuck and I feel the world is crap, it is a feeling, not reality!!! It will pass.

15 Dec 2010

A Little Intention for OLD LANGZYNE…

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2010 has been an amazing year in my life. I have been both grateful for incredible blessings and awestruck by intense challenges. I have been touched and surprised by the goodness and love in people as well as pained and dismayed by spite and projection from people. I have experienced moments of greatness from myself and moments of personal disappointment and frustration. Above all, I have been both a witness and a creator of my life, moving through time and space as a willing partner, striving to be more conscious, loving and at peace.

So, when I consider the past year and the year to come, I acknowledge that I stand at the intersection of two profound places: That which was, and that which is to come. The point where I stand, is of course, the present moment where everything exists and everything is possible. What powerful consciousness it is to be in this place!!!

Which brings me to consider the level of intention that I place on New Year’s Eve. When the clock strikes midnight, where am I, really? Who am I being? What am I manifesting, creating, promoting? So, I ask of you:

What makes your New Year happy?

How do you usher in the new year? Are you the kind of person that has three parties on tap for the night and you don’t leave each one until you’ve tapped three drinks from each spot? Are you the stay at home and watch the ball drop from the couch person? Or perhaps you’ve got reservations for two at a swanky dress-up for foam dinner with champagne included?

No matter what you’ve got in store, the question that matters most (in my opinion) is the intention you set for whatever you choose to do. I am fascinated by the common belief that a person needs to be inebriated when the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s Eve in order to really “do it right.” What a funny way to set the tone for a new chapter in your personal history. It goes something like this on the first day back to work:

“How was your New Year’s?” “Oh my God, I was SO inebriated!”

“Awesome!”

Really? Awesome? Is this how we do it? That’s how we roll? I am often curious whether we are actually celebrating or numbing. What does it really suggest about where I’m at in my life when I start my new year semi-conscious or blacked out? Or is it about the year I have just completed? Am I celebrating the fact that I survived a horrible year by drowning its memory from my awareness?
What would happen if I were to stand at the intersection of two units of time and space with the conscious awareness of what I have accomplished, survived or experienced and the intention and potential of that which I choose to create in the future?

Years ago I joined author Natalie Goldberg at her home in Taos, NM for a Mindful New Year’s Party. Her meditation teacher led a small group of her friends in an evening of chants and meditations, gongs and bells, tea and rice. We were so entranced that we missed midnight by twenty minutes.

Another year, I joined a group of mostly strangers at a private home in Santa Fe for an evening of Native American totems and animal guests, break-out process sessions geared to raise awareness of personal challenges and intentions for the coming year. There was also some killer green chile dip.

Don’t get me wrong, I have had my share of drunken parties in my time. I’ve stumbled through the mayhem of Times Square, oinked my way through a pig roast luau on Maui, and I have even yawned at Dick Clark from my couch with sparking cider. They were all fine experiences and I have nothing against a good party.

But when it comes to intention, I have some opinions. How do I choose to live my life? How do I create my reality? Where is my focus? Am I mindful right now? Is this the human I want to be? Where am I really going in my life starting tomorrow, today, yesterday?

Try it. Whether you shell out large bills on dinner or shell it out into a porcelain bowl, you choose the person you are being at any given moment. Set your intention, create your reality, manifest your best self. It’s just another opportunity to be awesome!!!

If your life takes you on a path to do work together and create the life you want to manifest, I am honored to be a part of it. If your relationship is ready to learn and facilitate new tools and create new ways of communicating, I’m grateful for your trust. If I have done anything to upset, hurt or wound you in any way this past year, I humbly ask for your forgiveness. If your wisdom leads you in a different direction, I’m so pleased that our paths have crossed and I wish you tremendous success, peace and love in your life in 2011.

13 Dec 2010

Are you Ritualistic?

2 Comments Self Development and Transformation

Is watching Mad Men every Sunday night a modern Ritual?

I spent the week-end at the Westin Kierland Hotel in Scottsdale, AZ and each evening as the sun begins to head down behind the mountains, clothing the golf course in shadow, a man with long hair and a kilt would stroll up to the edge of the grass and belt out a half hour of bag pipe music.

Yes, it was wonderful to hear the music as the end of day was celebrated by such unique melodies. Yes, it was a great show accompanied by a bonfire and some single malt. Yes, it brought hotel guests together, typically perfect strangers who mostly enjoy their anonymity in the huge box of identical rooms.

All of these elements added to the sunset event but it was clear to me that this practice was not simply a hotel gimmick to bring more people to the bar each night for happy hour. It was a ritual.

My definition of a ritual is an event, practice, and or coordinated behavior that is engaged mindfully and with intention that contributes to the creation of a context for our existence. That gentleman comes every evening ten minutes before sunset and plays for half an hour and then leaves. It is not his job, it is a committed behavior that creates meaning in his life. The ritual not only promotes order for the piper, it becomes something so perfect, significant, and memorable that strangers come to depend upon it.

Most of us do things all the time, often at similar times each day or week. We go shopping, watch television, check emails and make dinner. Yet, how often do we engage these practices with intention and mindfulness?

I used to pray each morning and it became a beautiful ritual that provided a sense of meaning simply due to the fact that it was a consistent practice with focused intention. I used to hike the same trail each morning and it too, established a consistent, meaningful ritual for me where I’d spend the first half of the walk thinking about the past and the second half envisioning the future. It was a ritual I loved that made a real difference in my life.

I consider my life today and there are many consistent acts, but sadly few rituals that add meaning and create a context of mindfulness for my existence. How about you? Do you pray? Meditate? Practice yoga or go running? I’d love to hear about your rituals!

12 Dec 2010

The Law of Attraction or Why I am not sitting in a snowstorm today

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It’s ten degrees today in Chicago with snow touching down in whisks of fifty mile per hour winds. Sounds fun, right?

It might have made for a really good stay home and watch movies day if it weren’t for the fact that I’m sitting by the pool at a beautiful spa in Scottsdale. It set a record (80) here today for this time in December and I wanted to be a part of it.

I came to Arizona this week-end for a family gathering and last night as we were all saying our good-byes, I decided it wouldn’t be so bad if we had to spend another night in this beautiful spot. In fact, I started making plans for how I’d spend the day and how I’d cover my obligations in the office Monday morning. When people spoke about being home Sunday night, I thought to myself, “or Monday night….”

Sure enough, we woke up this morning to email alerts from American Airlines that they had canceled our flight. What is more, they rebooked us so that we leave early Monday morning and get us home before lunchtime! Perfect!

So, after a busy week-end jam packed with family obligations and lots of indoor time, I created a wonderful day of real vacation space where I could recharge and enjoy this beautiful moment in my life.

Some people snicker at the sound of the “law of attraction.” Yet, before The Secret suggested it was a marketable concept with commercial implications, it was simply an idea that people either lived by or ignored. The notion that we can create our reality by focusing our thoughts, feelings and intentions on something is as old as humanity itself.

What hunter set out into the tundra thousands of years ago without envisioning the perfect kill? What mason placed a corner stone without first seeing and admiring the finished temple in his mind?

One need not be a New Age subscriber to identify with common sense. If we go to sleep worrying about rain ruining our picnic the next day, it is very likely that the grill will have an inch of water before we awaken. Try seeing the sun shine, the food tasty and your guests laughing and having a wonderful time.

The choice is yours, is it not? I guess it is all in how you look at it.

The view looks great to me from the pool.

10 Dec 2010

Sweet Caroline or Darling Nikki?

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My dad loved a little John Denver on a snowy Saturday morning. Ann Murray joined us on the car stereo for short trips to the store. He cranked the Kenny Rogers when nothing else would suffice but the Gambler.

I moaned. I yelled. I rallied my tween-age defiance, flicked off the Sony’s power and proudly took my time-outs like a prisoner caught with a shank at lock-down. A classically disenfranchised youngster, I had no say when it came to the theme songs of family time. However, when I think back to my childhood, the background tunes that color my memories are exactly those cheesy, un-hip, “why is this song still in my head” examples of 1970’s Americana.

One of the greatest things about driving was choosing the music that served as the score for my personal movie. Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer blasted through my silly Nissan Maxima as I drove home from the DMV after passing my road test. George Michael cooperatively chanted “I Want Your Sex” as I sat dazed and content after losing my virginity. “It Takes Two to Make a Thing go Right” is imprinted from my first freshman dorm party, the moment I realized I was truly on my own and could party like THIS if I wanted to…

The funny thing is that I don’t listen to the music from that movie anymore. Oddly enough, when I feel nostalgic, I reach for a little John Denver. I look to “Sweet Caroline” and not “Darling Nikki” to soothe what ails me these days. Who put Simon and Garfunkel on my freakin I-pod? Guilty. I can’t explain it other than I’m the product of my environment. I just never thought the environment that would stick would be the cheesy, 70’s one.