This Friday I’m leading a Virtual Retreat within our Learning Community, as I do six times per year. I’ve done this for years, and there are many benefits to it.
One of them is that it’s a dedicated space and time for listening to the business.
What do I mean by “listening to the business”?
I want to be absolutely clear that I mean this in a completely woo-woo spiritual way.
It’s been clear to me for a very, very long time that a business has a being-ness to it beyond the people involved with it.
How is that possible? From a spiritual perspective, the Sufi teacher in me explains it this way: Everything is an expression of the Oneness. Everything. Every person and creature, every tree and blade grass. Every rock.
But, also, other things, and this includes ideas, and projects. And businesses. Because if the Oneness is truly a Oneness, a Unity, then nothing is outside that. There is no magic stopping point, or line that you can cross and say, “Okay, *this* isn’t Divine in origin.”
I know this opens up some really important conversations about the nature of good and evil and such, but that’s not where I’m going today.
Today it’s about the recognition that your business, whether it’s in full momentum and has existed for years, or it’s nascent, you haven’t don’t anything with it at all other than dream of it, it then has an existence to it. A being-ness. It has a heart.
This is important, because it’s rare that folks treat their businesses as if they have a heart, as if they are Divine in origin.
It’s a funny thing, because even very spiritual people, very heart-centered, caring people, because of the trauma and misery that has arisen out of the world of business, have a block in seeing their business as a Divine expression.
In the world of permaculture and regenerative agriculture, there is a practice of being with the land before trying to do anything with it. That you listen, and watch, and observe in many ways what is already there, before thinking about planting, before thinking about adding to or taking away. You want to be in a healthy, honoring relationship with what is already in motion.
With our businesses, so many people only spend time with the business when they are trying to get something done, or otherwise be productive. There is very little space that folks carve out to just be with the business, to listen, to watch, to observe.
I want to encourage you to be one of the few, and hopefully we become the many, who bring a quality of witnessing and sacred presence to your business.
I encourage our clients and our members to spend regular time listening to their business. Asking what it wants and needs, and what it wants to give.
I understand the reluctance to do this. There is pressure to get things done, to make sure that money is coming in.
And, more than that, there is often the fear that if we ask what the business wants, it’s going to ask us something terrible, something horribly burdensome.
I have to tell, though, that after more than 24 years of supporting clients in listening to their businesses, there has never been a business that has asked someone to harm themselves through overwork, or to do something terrible.
Yes, sometimes businesses will say, “I really want you to give me more attention.” Or, “It’s important to be focused in a good way, because this project really needs you.”
But, that’s never about working way too much. And, far, far more common are messages like this:
“Bring more playfulness and exploration.”
“Be more joyful.”
“You need to rest. It’s okay to rest, because I want you to be really here when you work.”
I’ve watched so many people become tearful with relief and joy when they actually take the time to listen to their business.
I actually recommend that clients touch in with their business for at least a few minutes each day, and once a week for a deeper listening session. The guidance that starts to come through can be so amazing, and you become so much more focused and efficient.
How to start listening to your business.
There are so many ways to listen to and connect with the unseen. You may already have a good way to do it, and just needed a nudge to do it regularly.
Right now, if you want to take just a few short minutes, you can start.
1. Begin by just noticing how you feel, and how much space there is to feel exactly how you feel. You don’t need to change how you feel and what’s true for you.
Example: I notice I’m feeling stressed, and tired… and whew… when I notice that it’s okay to feel that way, even if it’s uncomfortable… I can take a breath.
2. Ask the question: Is Love available even here? Bring your attention to your heart. The Sufi practice of Remembrance is to call a Name of the Divine into your heart as a Remembering. And our clients often find that question of whether love is available is a wonderful way to open up to that.
Example: As I spend time with the question, and Remembering the Presence of Love, my heart starts to feel warm, things start to feel more expansive. There’s so much available here.
3. Ask to be aware of/shown the heart of your business. Taking your time, not needing to rush, sitting back and letting your heart receive rather than trying to reach out… just notice what you notice.
Example: As I sit here asking to be shown the heart of my business, I slowly become aware of an image of a flower slowly opening. I notice how beautiful it is, even though it’s young and not fully formed. I’m just sitting with it, noticing it, taking it in. Being in appreciation of it.
Not everyone gets imagery. Sometimes folks just get a knowing, or hear things, or sense something. Sometimes it’s very subtle and takes time.
I recommend that you just take time noticing it, even without asking any questions. You can, of course, ask questions, and that’s totally fine. And it can be a beautiful experience just to notice it, really seeing your business, and being in appreciation of it regardless of where it is in its development.
What do you notice? How does this land with your heart? I’m so curious to hear.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
When you want to be able to depend on your business to support you.
New class: Running Groups
There are lots of reasons why someone would want to start running groups in their business. Financial. Opening up more time. Helping a lot more people.
Yet, group dynamics can be tangled, and sometimes designing a group can feel… muddy, not so easy?
In November I’m offering a short, affordable, pay-from-the-heart four session course sharing my learnings, insights, healing and strategies around groups that come from more than 30 years of teaching experience, both practical topics and very spiritual, esoteric topics.
Whether you haven’t run groups yet, or you’ve been running them but things have been maybe a bit bumpy at times, I’d love to support you in making your groups run really beautifully.
