Intuition | The Direction of Intention

Step

Posted on February 11, 2014 by davidrobinsoncreative

‘Hope and Prayer’ by David Robinson

I’m in a “life is funny” phase. It is as if the universe is hammering me with this theme: you do not need to see the big picture. You do not need to see the plan or even have a plan. You simply need to take the next step that you see. The next step need not make sense.

Do you remember the scene in one of the Indiana Jones films when Indiana has to take a step that looks as if he was going to step off a cliff and fall into the abyss? What he sees is in direct opposition to what he knows he needs to do. How often does life send us that conundrum! He saw an abyss but knew he needed to take a step anyway. He stepped and an invisible path became visible.

Take the step BECAUSE it does not make sense.

On Sunday, Pastor Tom asked his congregation, “Is your faith by default or by choice?” He told the story of the Roman nobleman whose son was dying. None of the doctors of the day could help the boy so in an act of desperation, the man walked two days to find the magician/healer named Jesus. As Pastor Tom said, this Roman nobleman had the best healthcare plan available and nothing was working; in the absence of science he turned to faith. Of course, we know the rest of the story: the magician/healer told the nobleman to go home. He told him that his son would live. Remember, it was a two-day walk so the question is this: during those two days walking home, did the man have faith or did he want to have faith? In other words, did he need proof to have faith? Did he rush home to see if the magic worked? When he arrived home and found his son alive and well, did he cancel his healthcare policy? What would you do in a similar situation?

Take the step BECAUSE sense-making has nothing to do with it.

Last week Diane wrote a great comment about “knowing” from my previous post, Stand With Hope. She wrote, “…it makes me think about the definition of knowing. I am seeing that, for me, it is not about knowing an answer (like I know that 4 x 4 = 16), but knowing my self and being present with what is happening, and trusting the inner impulse to respond and act. I think this is standing in hope, but for me hope is uncertain faith. But then, when I’m short on faith, I guess I can hope to have hope.”

Take the next step BECAUSE you trust your inner impulse to guide you.

In other words, step because if feels right. Sense-making is a function of the brain. Stepping while uncertain is a matter for the heart. Sense-making is something that always happens after the fact. The next step need never make sense. It does need to make heart.

Take the next step BECAUSE it is what you must do.

Go here to get my latest book, The Seer: The Mind of the Entrepreneur, Artist, Visionary, Seeker, Learner, Leader, Creator…You.

For hard copies, go here

Filed under: Awakening, Body, Intuition, Metaphor, Truly Powerful People | Leave a comment »

Step Onto The Field

Posted on October 15, 2013 by davidrobinsoncreative

The first few decades of my career were rooted in the theatre. In casting plays and assembling companies I’ve held and seen hundreds of auditions. Generally, it was my experience as an auditor (and also in managing auditions for others) that in the first round of auditions an auditor can see everything they need to know about an actor in seven seconds or less. Whether the audition is a prepared piece, a cold reading or some form of improvisation, this “seven second” rule seems to hold. For the auditor, the rest of the audition is usually an act of courtesy or spent hoping that they are wrong about what they already know. Auditors want actors to succeed. They want to be engaged, surprised, and swept into an honest moment. They want to meet the actor on the field of possibility. They want access into the story and the door is always honest action.

What can an auditor see in seven seconds or less that inspires them to call the actor back or put their file in the “no” pile? Probably a more accurate question is, “What can the auditor feel that inspires them to call back the actor?” The honest pursuit of an intention is something that can be felt before it can be seen. This is true on or off the stage, isn’t it? Do you feel it when someone is not authentic? Do you “know it” when you are being told a half-truth? How many times have you said, “I knew it but didn’t listen to myself.” Auditioning others is as an act of listening to what you sense in the first few seconds and the scanner is seeking honesty.

In the past few years I’ve been watching entrepreneurs do pitches for investors. Auditions and pitches are surprisingly similar activities! In both cases, the “seven second” rule applies. Investors know, like auditors know, when they are seeing something honest or something manufactured. An exciting viable idea in the hands of a pretender is a useless thing – just as brilliant plays are routinely slaughtered in the hands of fakers. Entrepreneurs, like actors, are more likely to meet success when they cease giving away their power and show up as they are. Showing up is not passive and has nothing to do with information delivery. Showing up means to share the quest, to bring others along on the pursuit of a dream. Showing up is being present with others. It is inclusive (as opposed to protected).

Rule #1 for entrepreneurs is the same as it is for actors: You can’t determine what others (investors/auditors) see or think or feel or value. You can only bring your best game to the field of possibility and love playing it.

For a humorous look at the wonderful world of innovation and new ventures, check out my new comic strip Fl!p and the gang at Fl!p Comics.

Filed under: Art, entrepreneur, Intuition, Possibility, Power, Truly Powerful People | 2 Comments »

Listen And Be Glad

Posted on June 22, 2013 by davidrobinsoncreative

825. Join me in inspiring truly powerful people. Each day I will add a new thought, story or idea to support your quest and mine.

I woke up this morning in a funk. There was no particular reason that I could attach for the cloud of grey that wrapped itself around my mind –except perhaps the cloud of grey that wrapped itself around the city. It was just one of those days.

I worked all morning to change my energy and lift my spirits but the gloom persisted so I finally stopped resisting it and decided to let it settle in. It was a good day to be in a low mood as I spent much of the afternoon in a darkened room watching investor pitches. I didn’t need to relate to anyone or have bright ideas. I stewed in my grey juices and tried hard to stay focused on the pitches.

Early in the evening I walked back across town. The sun came out while I was in the darkened room so I was moving slowly feeling my body soak up the sun. As I passed the train station I saw a woman sitting on the curb. She was huddled into a tight ball with her forehead resting on her knees, her bag of worldly possessions tucked beneath her legs. Something about her made me stop. The voice in my head shouted, “Ask her if she needs help!” I hesitated. I turned to walk away and the voice shouted louder, “Go back and ask that woman if she needs help!” I stopped. Once again I turned away. I was gloomy and didn’t want to be responsible for another person. This time the voice was adamant, “GO NOW!”

I approached the woman slowly and asked, “Are you alright.” She slowly raised her head from her knees and smiled broadly. She was glowing. She didn’t need my help. She turned her face to the sun and said, “Oh yes! I’m so grateful for the sun and just enjoying being alive. Aren’t you?” I nodded my head. She smiled and thanked me and I walked on, dizzy at the disjoint between what I expected and what I found.

My gloom was gone. It was as if she’d reached in to me and diffused the gloom. Instead of needing my help, she helped me. The voice inside my head smirked, “Now, aren’t you glad that you listened?”

Filed under: Intuition, Perspective, Truly Powerful People | 1 Comment »

Follow Your Gut

Posted on September 22, 2012 by davidrobinsoncreative

562. Join me in inspiring truly powerful people. Each day I will add a new thought, story or idea to support your quest and mine.

Scott and I ate lunch on the patio of Revel, a restaurant that is not to be missed if you are ever in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. It was an unbelievably beautiful autumn afternoon so we sat in the sun, ate dumplings in a decadent sauce, duck noodles, drank coffee and celebrated Scott’s birthday with root beer tapioca topped with vanilla ice cream and cola pop rocks. Oh. My. God.

Our conversation ranged across a wide geography but kept returning to intuition. We are prejudiced to favor the rational mind, though, as Alan might say, the rational mind is nested with in the intuitive. The rational mind likes to think it runs the show (thus our dedication to testing and measurement) but it all falls apart if we include the full canon of human experience, things like love, desire, dreams, and impulse. It is not reason that propels an athlete to spend hours and hours of their lives training for a competition. Einstein’s dream-life opened his rational mind to relativity. How many times have you said to yourself, “I just knew….”

Madeleine L’Engle wrote, “Don’t try to comprehend with your mind. Your minds are very limited. Use your intuition.” To use your intuition, you must look inward. You must trust what you find there. Much of the western mythos is built upon the notion that nature is corrupt which can only mean that your nature is corrupt. This sad notion serves as an organizing principle that would have you believe that your inner voice – your intuition – is not to be trusted. It cuts you off from your self and your greatest guide: your inner wisdom (also known as your intuition). Einstein said it best:

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. We will not solve the problems of the world from the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. More than anything else, this new century demands new thinking: We must change our materially based analyses of the world around us to include broader, more multidimensional perspectives.”

It’s not a bad idea to listen to your gut and your heart in addition to your head. Your head will tell you anything (and does), your gut is incapable of lying – it doesn’t have the vocabulary. My gut told me Revel was the place to meet Scott. Root beer tapioca topped with vanilla ice cream and pop rocks…I just knew; somehow I knew.

Filed under: Intuition, Truly Powerful People | Leave a comment »

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