In today’s episode of “Healing from Within”, your host Sheryl Glick, author of The Living Spirit: Answers for Healing and Infinite Love, welcomes John Murphy, author of Zentreprenuer. John is a speaker and business consultant drawing on his diverse collection of experiences as a corporate director, collegiate football player, spiritual mystic and management coach who has advised countless corporate clients on building businesses with presence. John will share his program of kaizen meetings, which offer the means for change and good results by developing greater teamwork through cooperation and through conquering limiting beliefs of the ego in order to access “zenergy” or a heart based awareness within the dynamics of the business process. Heart based awareness is a mindful and conscious way to become more human and humane, which is also the focus in Sheryl’s book The Living Spirit, which shares insights through her work as a Reiki energy healer and medium in observing the interaction between soul based- innate wisdom, and our ego or physical life; the light or divine aspects of ourselves and the shadow elements, so one may begin to understand actions, reactions, and behaviors that may be either helping us or stopping us from developing meaningful relationships, work experiences and family successes.
John describes a “Zentrepreneur” as a person who combines two powerful strategies: the art and discipline of Zen practice with the science and execution of business and entrepreneurship. Conscious endeavors or the declaration of intentions and then following through in your thoughts and actions is an illuminating way to create success and growth in any area of your life.
In John’s experience as a business consultant, the most common mistakes that hold people back from reaching their desired goals or fullest potential is fear, insecurity and the desire for power over people and situations which create competitive conditions where cooperation is pushed aside for people’s own needs and agendas. When this happens, productivity and expansion suffer.
In The Living Spirit, Sheryl addresses this idea and suggests that the reason many creative ideas are not manifested is because fear or past conditioning and behaviors as well as a lack of self-confidence or self-esteem often stops us before we even try to take a step forward. The doubting people around us and the influences of the outside world attempts to override our sense of innate inner wisdom and personal power. A sense of faith and trust in yourself and your alignment to Universal Source, reconnecting to your life plan and purpose will help you make the best choices towards success. Remember: ego and control issues if not recognized and dismissed, will create unrealistic doubts and will contribute to the demise of many great ideas and wishes. By relaxing and allowing the natural flow of events, once you have put sincere focused attention and efforts with hard work, will help manifest your original intention. So, always take the first step forward… ask for help when needed and work towards making your good ideas a reality.
Conventional wisdom dictates that competition is good for business but we encourage leaders to let go of competitiveness. Why is that? And what is the alternative approach?
Successful zentrepreneurs value cooperation over competition and interdependent teamwork over independent ego. We know that in order to be highly successful with our ideas we need commitment and support from others. We need people to coach us. We need people to advise us, challenge us and reinforce our ideas. Teamwork is a powerful success factor. The ability to pull people together, focus and align behavior and allow zenergy to amplify synergy is essential to turning good ideas into great results. We need to pull people together working for common goals.
John mentions the term “Kaizen.” Kai refers to a place, time and situation. Zen is a process for the better..so bringing Kaizen into reality is a drive towards positive change. Kaizen then, is a good change during an event usually lasting 3-5 days with the mission of making change during this time when the targeted process is analyzed tested and implemented. Kaizen events are different from traditional meetings when people just sit and talk about changes without getting anything done…Kaizen events are an immediate demonstration of a culture change. Many times the emphasis is on correction not prevention of root problems and the management team was spending more time being REACTIVE THAN PROACTIVE. The key is not in finding enough projects but limiting the number of projects to a critical few that really matter.
However, there are many occasions in our lives when our finest ideas are stuck in the chaos or the noise of doubt, fear and uncertainties moving beyond doubt seeing the new possibilities eliminating the constraints and allowing us to be a Zentrepreneur.
John them tells us what happens when a Kaizen team meets and then what follows next. This is where the Kaizen team comes in . First, they spend 3-4 weeks prior to the event collecting data and preparing to display it in a meaningful, impactful way. Next, we use the data to align all team members and the leadership team with a clear summary of the current state..new observations about a waste of effort and energy in the way things are being done and becoming aware at this time leading the way to create new ways of operating. Setting up new policies replacing flawed policies, rearranging the work flow or assignment of time and effort expended on certain work practices and relocating the material and equipment needed is part of the change. Kaizen events are not something we do to people we do them with people. Kaizen events help develop a collective mind and share an expansive vision. We take ownership for making the change and being accountable for the results. There is power in numbers. There is synergy in work. Personal agendas have to be set aside and a collective mindset has to be established. Team work and cooperation are the goals and high performance teamwork is inspired by leaders who step up and demonstrate heartfelt passion, conviction, determination- not Doubt.
As Gandhi put it, “We must be the change we want to see in the world. We must lead by fearless example.”
We cannot tap this infinite field of possibilities if we are afraid or in a state of apathy, denial or resistance…we have to delete the negative programming and limiting aspects of the mind and empty the bowl and open the receptors of the mind and heart to receive and flow.
John writes “Zenergy is ineffable It is difficult to describe with words..like grace love joy forgiveness and compassion it must be experienced to be understood. People describe it in different ways, but the only way to know zenergy is to feel zenergy. Think of it as a divine energy field a cosmic soup surrounding,, connecting, and permeating us. It is within us and we are within it. It is sacred intent. It is a life force. It is Source energy. To tap zenergy we must lead from the heart and soul fearlessly and without doubt. The intellect, while critically important to effective leadership will not show us—or anyone else—true Spirit. We must go deeper to the level where people get the chills.”
Sheryl then tells John this reminds her of a story in her first book Life Is No Coincidence The Life and Afterlife Connection when she was at a type of Kaizen- zenergy meeting. Now that Sheryl has read John’s book and is aware of this terminology, she remembers when at the International Spiritual Federation meeting in Canada, a medium from Sweden stood up and told her she had a message for her from her mother. Sheryl says the message said “Stop thinking with your head and begin feeling with your heart and open up to the powerful informational field of Universal Energy and Spirit and you will be a medium”. After that message, Sheryl did get the chills. “Here it is 12 years later, and I have written my new book, The Living Spirit: Answers for Healing And Infinite Love, and like John offer stories and techniques for each of us to develop our highest potential by aligning to Universal energy and realizing we are infinite energy beings supported by the Universal Oneness and Divine Source”. John’s description of zenergy reminds Sheryl of how she tries to describe Reiki energy healing, which she offers to clients along with downloading readings from higher Spirit. Reiki, like zenergy is the source of inspiration creation and is a higher vibration … the key to deeper happiness, health and prosperity.
Zenergy is an emotional intelligent not a intellectual abstract process and to lead with zenergy we must first experience it and know it from the heart not the head and with a sense of surrender to a higher power and a transcendence of the ego thought system. While we do not have all the answers and are loaded with historical information and conditioning…. in truth- we actually know very little and at the human level change is constant and desirable. How many years were people in the dark with their ego belief that the world was flat. How often do we confuse knowing something with thinking we know something?
John goes on to talk of the ego based thought system and how it doesn’t allow us to know this Spiritual Self which must be known for greater functioning in the world. The ego thought system is a universal fear based way of thinking that is dualistic, comparative, competitive and divisive. It is common for human beings to buy into this thought system, something we often refer to as someone’s ego. A universal thought of the ego referring to our personal identity and physical lives often masks our understanding our true authentic Spiritual self. The ego floods the body with fear and an addiction to drama and a small view of the world and possibilities for Creation. It takes courage and wisdom to let go of this way of thinking and behaving and to see the world through the eyes of the heart and soul.
Sage leaders and Zentrepreneurs is a soul to soul relationship transcending time and space and is infinite omnipotent and omnipresent. It is what brings out the best in all of us and truly defines us as authentic leaders. Some of the Characteristics the Zentrepreneur needs to show the group to encourage positive change and progress are; credibility, courage, belief, ownership, responsibility, accountability, intuition, initiative and optimism.
John tells us the story of what happened to him when he was 17 while he was working on a lawn mowing crew and what that experience showed him then and how it relates to his Zenpreneurship program now. His foot was cut badly and was told he would never play football again. Instead of becoming a victim and blaming others, John owned the problem. It was his foot, his doing, his life and his future. John took charge and moved forward in a positive way accepting the past is the past. John let go of the fear- did the best he could- and 3 years later John was playing football at Notre Dame.
As a result, John discovered a system for analyzing events and making positive moves.
- Facts and data to challenge assumptions fears and doubts
- Aim for projects and solutions of root causes
- Do your homework and build credibility to sell ideas and go forward
- Know your audience and the forces against you
- Be proactive, optimistic and positive..Give good Zenergy
- I accept ownership responsibility and accountability for my ideas and actions.
- I look in the mirror first when things go wrong
- I ask “Why” a lot
Sheryl would also suggest they delve into their own intuitive sense of knowing what is for their best interests and development following their own path of self discovery and using their talents and life experience to honor what feels good and right for them regardless of outside pressures or judgments.
John has shared and integrated the art of positive thinking with the insights and visions of Spiritual well-being or zenergy to overcome resistance to change to becoming more open to seeing possibilities rather than road blocks or obstacles, to transcending fear based and control motivated behaviors and to tap into the creative and extraordinary power of the hidden wisdom and potential of each individual. All towards the purpose of guiding us to the Oneness and bringing this state of uniqueness into all aspects of our lives…our work place our homes our friendships and our soul development.
As John writes, “To lead with zenergy we must first experience it. We must know it from the heart not the head. We must feel it and channel it with the heart, for it is with the heart that we communicate with Spirit. This is a challenge for many head-strong analytical leaders. Zenergy is an emotional intelligence, not an intellectual, abstract debate. It requires a sense of surrender to a higher power, a transcendence of the ego thought system. To lead with zenergy we must recognize and admit that we do not have the answers.”
In The Living Spirit Sheryl suggests our answers for fulfilling our life destiny utilizing our Universal Energy connections and transcending our challenges and fears can be found and come from knowing we are spiritual beings having a physical life and that perfection is an impossibility in a physical world. What is a possibility is the will and desire to develop our intuitive wisdom and make purposeful choices to live in a state of peace happiness and well being and to continue to answer each question for ourselves as they surface and to find love and our divine essence within each action, thought and behavior.
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