Letters

how to operate in a world without devices in their faces.

Today I spend large chunks of my day offline . . . to show myself I don’t need it. Maybe there will come a time when the whole grid goes down and nobody has devices. What would we all do then—those of us who spend hours with eyes glued to glowing screens?

I think we need to start getting used to a life where we might not have substances or devices all the time. It might be uncomfortable at first; the withdrawal might be a sweat-out but, if you can do it, you are no longer owned by the substance or device. You own it!

We can break free of franticness, constant multitasking, split focus of our minds, and racing among Windows and apps and notifications and updates.

It’s great training for the mind to find silence. There is joy and freedom and deep creativity to be found there. In the silence, in the now, is a different awareness and an expanded understanding of what’s possible in your life, what’s true, what’s not, and where nobody is influencing your thinking.

When you practise staying present, you’ll quickly discover the different MindStories that run in your mind.

Some are useful and practical in your life and some are not. Just like going through the applications on your computer and finding old programs you don’t use, you can delete the MindStories you don’t want to have the power to influence your life.

We have packages of data for everything we have experienced in life—for example, the way we see the world, how we view success and failure, and how we behave toward others in challenging situations.

Maybe you like the way you behave regarding your work—for the most part it feels right and good and you are aligned with your core values. You have a good MindStory around work.

Or perhaps you don’t like the way you behave regarding a certain aspect of your work, such as prioritizing your time.

If something feels bad or wrong, it may mean you’re out of alignment with your core values—you get frantic a lot and things are dropping through the cracks. If you bark at people you love, you know you have a bad MindStory that needs re-writing. Only you can know that. Once you’re aware of it and make an intention to change, life will bring you an opportunity to re-write that MindStory. It all starts with intention. For more detail, check out my book MindStory Inner Coach.

The more you practise not escaping into the fantasy world of your unconscious MindStories, the more accustomed you’ll become to choosing the MindStories, roles, scripts, thoughts, and emotions you want. Free yourself of those unconscious, fixed stories that run your life—and that perhaps lead to results you don’t want.

We can say, “This is what freedom from a fixed mind feels like. This is how freedom from closedheartedness feels. This is what unbiased, unfettered goodness feels like. Maybe I’ll get curious and see if I can go beyond my resistance and experience the goodness.”

When we practise choosing the stories we tell ourselves, we can find new freedom to face uncertainty with power and purpose. s Carla Rieger is a motivational speaker, author, and coach who activates team leaders and businessowners to speak with power and passion to build a positive team culture.

©iStockphoto.com/Poula Thorsen

Winter 2020 | Volume 29 Number 4

Published Quarterly by the BC Notaries Association

29

years

Al-Karim Kara, President and CEO of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia

inside: Communicating and New Year’s Resolutions

Publications Mail Agreement: 40010827

Winter 2020

I read your Winter 2020 edition of The Scrivener with great enjoyment. While I have found your past issues very informative, that one was of particular interest.

Over my many years in the Estate, Retirement, Succession, and Philanthropic/ Charity Planning world, I have performed and filled roles that require active listening and communicating; the articles in the Winter issue are outstanding. Communicating is such an important part of the roles we play as leaders for our clients and peers as we strive to help better their lives.

I look forward to reading your future issues. Keep up the great work and the production of an excellent publication. Thanks again, John Donnelly, CSA, CDFA, RFC