As you may know, I spent last week in a residential study retreat that is part of a Masters of Divinity program in Spiritual Ministry and Sufi Studies. I spent a week with my spiritual teachers and the other students in a remote rural area in northern California, immersed in learning about love.
One of the teachings they gave us was about the source of freedom, what might be called the “true” freedom. Not a freedom of unrestricted choices, but accessing a more profound freedom in the heart, and the three steps preceding that freedom.
I made a short video during one of the breaks to explain the teaching as I received it.
Question for your heart: are you currently feeling freedom in your business? What’s your experience of accessing the three necessary steps prior to finding freedom that I explain?
p.s. If you are needing help accessing freedom in your business, you might consider hiring one of our practitioners.
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37 Responses
Hi Mark
This is exactly what I wished for when you made your announcement. We get the benefit of your new path. What a wonderful teaching to wake up to this morning (and may I say that you have relaxed into your video being beautifully- thankyou).
xClaire
PS I finally have freedom with video too (remember my Challenge?) & as I look into the camera I feel I can connect so directly with the hearts of those watching. I feel it is a miracle this technology. And one more step to doing business the HoB way. With gratitude.
Hi Claire- excellent and thank you. Although we do have another announcement coming this week. I’m a little unclear about what you mean by “new” path- I guess for me this being with my teachers is a deepening of what they’ve already given me, even though the M. Div is a “new” program for me. 🙂
And congrats on freedom with video- woo-hoo! It is a miracle.
Wow Mark – this message, your clear explanation, the love, peace and compassion radiating from you and this message as you delivered it is something so so powerful. That is full of strength and I guess is an example of the divine’s presence. I feel totally blessed to have received this confirmation now as I concluded earlier today the outcome of my next level of success in my business will be a feeling of freedom – as in the absence of feeling restricted from within me and that as you so easily spoke of is that spaciousness. Thank you for being such an easy to understand great messenger of the game plan to get there! Sandi
Hi Sandi- so grateful to hear how the message landed with you. Peace!
Your video clip was such a beautiful thing to wake up to. I watched and took notes. It pertains to so many things for me, but especially this one I was crying about before falling asleep last night. Thank you so much, Mark!
Oh, Heidi… I’ve cried about this, too.
Hey Mark,
Sounds like a neat Divinity program you’re completing. Rural setting is good. Gives us a break from the urban noise.
You’re so right about carrying mercy and love in your heart to find freedom. This is such a great topic. It needs to start in youth. Yet, it doesn’t. Children are not taught about mercy in school. They are taught to compete by being “better” than others and to “win.” All over the world, mercy and love takes a back seat to anger. Have you ever seen a government show mercy?
I’ve come to believe that the lack of enthusiasm I see in business owners comes from a lack of love for their own businesses, which in turn comes from a lack of self-love. Marketing, true marketing, is really just spreading your own love for your business and your life. I see them as interwoven rather than separate.
Many thanks! Giulietta
Giulietta- oh, I’m just getting started. 🙂 It’s the first week of a year and half program- although we do 6 or ten days at a time in a residential program.
It does really help to start with children- it makes it so much easier for later in life. Yet, thankfully, it’s still accessible and healing is still possible for those of us who made it through our childhood without those gifts.
And as a matter of fact, I have seen a government show mercy. I’ve seen institutions and governments be instruments of Divine Mercy- sometimes they were doing it consciously, sometimes not.
I think you are on to something with marketing and love, although I have a slightly different perspective.
Wow – I can clearly see the benefit of you having immersed yourself in your Video Challenge – you look so comfortable behind the camera now, like it’s your natural place to be.
Thanks a billion for modelling how we can take an area we’re not so at ease and progress through. And your setting looks beautiful – thanks for nourishing us with what you’re being nourished by.
I find using ‘The Work’ by Byron Katie is a really effective way of finding true freedom. It helps me drop any need to judge others or get away from them, as you say, and instead peacefully & lovingly stay with what is. That’s useful in life generally and of course in business.
Thanks, as ever,
Corrina
It’s true, Corrina, eh? It made a big difference- except I couldn’t figure out how to set up the camera so that the sun was on my face but I wasn’t squinting. 🙂
B.K.’s The Work is definitely an extremely helpful tool. And I find that it, like many other tools, miss something if they are simply tools and we don’t have a way to access and embody the intentions behind the tools. Don’t you think?
I only know what it’s like to use the tool from the come-from place that I have, which involves a belief in a much greater picture and trust in a benevolent Source – and it works for me 🙂
Exactly, Corrina. So glad you have that foundation. I’ve experienced tremendous change with The Work- and I accidentally stumbled on several of the questions on my own through the Sufi healing work. They seem pivotal questions in facing reality.
Good Morning Mark,
Thank you ever so much for your message of love, mercy and freedom. I can see all of those qualities within you and the energy of those qualities transmuted to me while I was listening to your video. Wonderful experience.
You are a beautiful soul, thank you for sharing and teaching and continuing to learn so you can teach and share more.
Love & Joy,
Rhonda
Hi Rhonda- thank you. 🙂
Thank you, Mark. Right on time.
I am excited for you and the journey of your MDiv path!
Me, too, Richard. Thanks for that!
Thank you, Mark. This is a wonderful lesson on how being heart-centered allows us to connect with each other and Source in the most meaningful way.
Sweet- glad it landed like that, Michelle.
Dear Mark,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing the lessons from your teacher(s). I had been struggling with a very personal family business project … elderly parents and I am the youngest of ten! I have love and peace in my being and heart; and neglected the teaching of mercy (which I had forgotten about from oh so long before!) It is exactly what is needed in this moment in my life. I will apply it to all of my business journeys too. I was moved by your gentleness and the video was profound and simple or rather simply profound! :)))
Much love and blessings to you,
Jacinta
Hi Jacinta- you are so welcome. The most powerful things tend to be simple, don’t they?
Thank you Mark for sharing. How timely! It sounds like you have excellent teachers in the Master of Divinity program. I just signed up for their Healing tele class.
Oh good, Tina- I hope you enjoy the class. They are amazing teachers.
Thank you,
love, peace and compassion – that encompasses the spirit and energy that we all need to model and live in the world. thank you so much for being another messenger of the Truth!
Blessings,
Harriet
Hi Harriet- it’s all being done with mirrors, right? Each reflecting the other’s beauty…
Thank you so much for this beautiful message, Mark. It brought back to me wonderful memories of the retreat. It is so important for me to remember why I am doing all this “stuff” for my business. Its like I can get all wrapped up in the details of my work and lose track of what the heck I am here to do anyway. Oh yeah. . .love, mercy. That is so clearly the path.
Thank you thank you thank you.
Blessings, Karen
Karen- so wonderful to see you here. And yes, that was a lovely retreat. Thank you for reminding me of it.
You speak timeless truth. I forget these ideas on a daily basis. I know that I need to go back to my heart and realize that even when I fail I’m still moving forward. That is a beautiful thing.
Too often I get caught up in my failure. I don’t see all the potential for self compassion.
The positive is each time I ship something I learn new intricacies of myself. This learning has helped me become more compassionate and stronger. Can I really ask for anything more?
This is beautiful Mark.
There’s some deep down helpfulness here.
Because, as I listened, I realized that I have the love. And I’ve been giving compassion and mercy to other people.
But I haven’t been giving these to myself lately. And that’s what’s missing.
What you shared felt like a bridge to me. And it’s exactly what I needed.
Big thanks.
Thank you, brother. I’m so glad you saw that, because I have so much love and appreciation for you and what you’re doing, I want to see you totally immersed in compassion and mercy. Just ‘cuz it feels so good. 🙂
Hey Mark – what a world it will be when more and more people run their businesses as a service, from the Heart qualities you so succinctly express.
Whether it be an intimate relationship or a business, the joy of giving is so profound that, when experienced, completely blows away the pettiness of the grasping personality.
Something interesting I’m noticing when comparing your business and marketing teachings with most others, is the feeling of relaxed joy I get from your offering.
Most other marketing gurus leave me tired and with a feeling that involvement with them is hard work (even their exuberant excitement just leaves me flat with exhaustion most times). But watching and reading your offering leaves me feeling gently uplifted and inspired.
I feel that I am imbibing your teaching via who you are at least as much, and almost certainly more than, what you say and write.
with love always,
Leo ?
Leo- “Relaxed joy.” I love that that comes across. I notice for myself, too, that much business advice leaves me nervous, anxious, “hyped-up” in some way- and I definitely want relaxed joy to come through- so how wonderful to hear that it does.
Oh Mark, you are such a gift. This is just perfect. I’m so looking forward to our interview today — and diving deep into cultivating freedom in your heart and work……… 🙂
I loved speaking with you, Satya. Thank you for doing the work you’re doing, and I look forward to more.
I read your post recently on learning and the ways in which learning can be inhibited and you gave the example of having had a painful experience about learning which can slow you down. It was such a wonderful and helpful post to me in thinking about starting a business and also, I realized I can use it to help my son with his beginning to learn to play viola. He is having a tough time with the difference between his idea of what it should be like and what the reality is, and thus doesn’t want to practice.
I couldn’t find that post again. Could you tell me how to find it?
Thanks!
love,
Erika
Hi Erika- do you mean the one I just wrote? More On Letting Go.
Yes, I think so. Thanks for responding. I just couldn’t find it when I went to look for it and it was so helpful.
Thanks.
love,
Erika
Great. Enjoy, Erika.