Thursday, May 22, 2014
Yes, I did. The photo you see is of the actual spoon I bent; however, this wasn’t bending by force (I think we can all force a spoon to bend if we really put our muscle into it); this was bent without force needed. Let me explain…
If you’ve been following recent blog posts, you may know that I am in Martha Beck’s Life Coach Training Certification. Two weeks ago she had a coaching retreat for her students and we spent a lot of time talking about our personal energy and the need to not only coach our clients from the place where we are connected to our highest and best selves but to harness this connection in all we do. When we do this, we have the ability to do things like, well, bend spoons. “Connecting” to our highest and best selves is often done by meditating or doing something you love so much that you lose all track of time. It can also happen by revisiting (in your mind) something that makes you feel tremendous joy and love. Things like listening to your children laughing, petting your dogs and cats, staring at the ocean, being in the mountains, riding horses, skiing, running… the list is endless as it is different for everyone. I’m sure you can relate or have experienced those moments in your life – I like to call it being “in the flow”. It’s a feeling that’s hard to put into words.
The way to bend a spoon without needing to exert much pressure on it is to actually not think about bending the spoon but about the energy with which you attempt to bend the spoon. As you’re trying to bend it and exerting pressure on it, go to your “happy peaceful” place where you feel that connection, that flow, that joy and as you’re harnessing those feelings, the spoon bends.
So there I sat feeling the strength in my spoon as I started to exert a bit of pressure on each end. I was thinking, “How am I going to bend this?” And then Martha said, “just stop thinking about the spoon and go to your “happy peaceful place.” In that moment, I closed my eyes and envisioned myself at the pond on my property, which is definitely my peaceful place. I saw the sights, heard the sounds and smelled the freshness in the air and as that was all happening in my mind, the minimal pressure I had on the spoon caused it to bend without effort. I opened my eyes in shock as I stared at my bent spoon.
This exercise is powerful because it demonstrates how powerful we are when we can get to that place of peace and stillness within. For some of us it’s not always easy to quiet our minds enough to experience that stillness. As with anything, it takes practice to rediscover the stillness and peacefulness that exists within all of us. That stillness and peace has always been there — it never goes away, we just forget it’s there. When you start to pay attention to those moments when you are in the flow, doing something that fills your heart with joy, or are somewhere that fills you with peace, you begin to recognize exactly how to tap into that energy on a regular basis.
It is definitely worth it to remember what it feels like and to practice spending time there because this is not only where you can bend metal spoons but also is where you can connect with and leverage the power of your highest and best self; that is where true freedom and joy exists; this is where you find answers to the problems you’ve been trying to solve. That is where, as Martha Beck says, “magic happens.”
