James Wayland M.A., Ph.D.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

2011-11-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

LEADERSHIP VS. MANAGEMENT

Direction Setting Emphasis on handling

(Determination of “what is”

“what will be”)

Vision and Inspiration Control

Leadership of People Management of things

(Programs, resources,

schedules, etc.)

Effectiveness (Doing Efficiency (Doing things

the “right things”) “right”)

Heterarchy (Widely Hierarchy (Clearly

diffused authority and defined chain of

responsibility) command)

Focus on Forgiveness -- Pono and Ho’oponopono, Part 2

2011-10-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

Forgiveness and its connection to anxiety, depression, and overall health and happiness.

by Matthew B. James, Ph.D.

The key to creating lasting change in our lives

Published on February 28, 2011 by Matthew B. James, Ph.D. in Focus on Forgiveness

In my last blog post I talked about the Hawaiian concepts of Pono, of being right with yourself, and Ho'oponopono, the forgiveness technique that literally means to make something doubly right, and how they relate to each other. In other words, our ability to fully forgive others and release negative feelings flows out of our sense of congruency, peace, purpose - Pono.

Where does Pono come from? It begins with knowing your path, quite literally your reason for being here on planet Earth.

Now that might seem like a tall order. And you might ask, can't I forgive others even if I am unsure of my ultimate purpose? Yes, but it is so much easier to let go of negative emotions such as fear, anger, unforgiveness, when we are Pono.

I recently spoke to a group in Portland and I began my talk by asking them to consider the question "why am I here?" Now that's a big one to tackle right off the bat. It's like waking up one day and saying you're going to run the marathon, and you don't even own running shoes! So I suggested, let's start with a simpler question. Pick one area of your life where you are seeking to change, any area, and really ask yourself why you are doing it.

I used to weigh 70 pounds more than I weigh right now. That's an enormous amount of weight to be carrying around. I did a lot of work on myself and yet, at the same time, I was still going up and down, up and down with my weight.

I woke up one day and asked myself, "Why do I want to be healthy?" Once I was able to answer the question, it transformed my thinking about health and fitness. The answer was: I wanted it for myself.

Saying "I want to look good for my students" or even "I want to be healthy for my kids," did not work, at least it did not work for me. And I am not the only one. There have been psychological studies of smokers that showed when they quit smoking for someone else - for their husbands, wives, partners, kids - most of the time, it didn't last. The failure rate for people who quit for others is above 90 percent. It works for a few people but not for most.

The same study found that the success rate for people who quit smoking and did it for themselves was above 90 percent. That is just phenomenal. It shows that when you quit for you - when you have a reason why you're doing it for you - then you are more successful. The reason is that the why in what you're doing provides you with motivation. And motivation is fire. It's desire. It is Mana, the Hawaiian word for energy.

Conversely, when you don't have a reason, you have no motivation. You have no spark. You have no desire. You have no Mana. And one day, the Mana that you did build up to achieve the task just disappears because you have no more motivation.

What does this have to do with forgiving others? Start by forgiving yourself. When you discover the inner peace that comes with being Pono, it gives you the motivation to let go of negative feelings towards others.

Some people might reject this idea as selfish or self-centered, but it is basic psychology. We each view the world from our own vantage point. When we are able to be forgiving towards ourselves, it makes it much easier to forgive others.

So, if you find it a bit overwhelming to think about your whole purpose for being here on the planet, think instead about your goals. Why do you want to be healthy? Why do you want to be in this relationship? Why do you want to be in this career?

When you have a reason that truly resonates with your heart, with your mind, with your gut, then define what that means to you. Stop looking outside and instead look inside and ask yourself, what does that mean to me now, at this moment? When that reason becomes your path, then you will discover what it means to be Pono.

Aloha!

If you have questions for Dr.James, please respond to info@Huna.com or get in touch with him through his Facebook fan page.

Matthew B. James, MA, Ph.D., is President of Kona University and its training and seminar division The Empowerment Partnership, where he serves as a master trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), a practical behavioral technology for helping people achieve their desired results in life. His new book, The Foundation of Huna: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times, details forgiveness and meditation techniques used in Hawaii for hundreds of years. He carries on the lineage of one of the last practicing kahuna of mental health and wellbeing. To reach Dr. James, please e-mail him at info@Huna.com

*****

Got questions for me? Please respond here through my blog or get in touch with me through my Facebook fan page. I will be holding another two-session training in November. Jim Wayland, Ph.D., L.P.C.

Focus on Forgiveness -- Pono and Ho’oponopono, Part 1

2011-10-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

The key to creating lasting change in our lives

Published on February 28, 2011 by Matthew B. James, Ph.D. in Focus on Forgiveness

Forgiveness and its connection to anxiety, depression, and overall health and happiness.

by Matthew B. James, Ph.D.

So many people are struggling with economic conditions, their health or personal losses. My heart goes out to everyone facing such struggles. Yet we are fortunate to live in a time when we can tap into powerful, validated concepts for personal empowerment and healing.

Some of these ideas are very ancient yet timeless in their relevance for us as human beings today. For instance, consider the idea that our ability to forgive others is tied to our own state of being. The more positive our outlook, the less likely we are to find fault with others and the easier it is for us to forgive when we feel we have been wronged.

True happiness is not superficial. It springs from a deep sense of congruency. The Hawaiians express this in the word Pono. It means to be right with yourself. Not as in "I'm right, you're wrong," but to have an unwavering sense of rightness in yourself. This I have found is the key to creating lasting change in our lives.

Over 21 years I have been fortunate to teach thousands of people around the world about Huna, the ancient Hawaiian discipline of energy, healing and consciousness. I studied Huna at an early age under masters such as the late Uncle George Na'ope who was named by the State of Hawaii as a Golden Living Treasure, and my family was chosen to carry on a distinct lineage within the Huna tradition.

Some of these concepts are so simple. For instance, the ancient Hawaiians understood that in life, we are truly meant to be empowered individuals. The more accurate name for what I teach is Ho`omana, which means to be empowered. We are also meant to have happiness. We are meant to have prosperity, to have that optimal experience of living.

We've been led to believe for so many years that we are disempowered, that we live at the whim of circumstances around us. No doubt external factors - the loss of a job, our health or an important relationship - can affect our outlook. Yet there are some basic ideas from Hawaiian culture that we can reclaim to tap into a sense of empowerment, peace, Pono.

It boils down to: How do you view the world and experience life every day? Every day, we're given a seed of positiveness (an ano`ai) and we're meant to plant that seed and incorporate it into our lives.

Are you comfortable within yourself? Are you truly happy? At the end of the day, you are in charge of your happiness. When you understand that, you discover what it means to be Pono.

Now, that's easier said than done. But it starts with focusing on your own state of being. One of the people who contributed a great deal to our Huna workshops, David Sheppard, said, "It'll take your entire life to figure out how to play God in your own universe. Stop trying to figure out how to be God in other people's universes." That's a really nice way of saying, "Focus on you. Focus on your happiness and finding out what makes you happy."

The source of true happiness is not in what we have or what we do but in our being. Because when you know your purpose, what you're meant to do flows from that and what you're meant to have flows from that. Then the things that you have and the things you do will bring you happiness because they are tied to your reason for being.

Out of our ability to be Pono with ourselves flows our ability to forgive others, the process the Hawaiians call Ho'oponopono. But it begins with finding your own path and your own happiness. We'll talk more about that next time.

Aloha!

If you have questions for Dr.James, please respond to info@Huna.com or get in touch with him through his Facebook fan page.

*****

Got questions for me? Please respond here through my blog or get in touch with me through my Facebook fan page. I will be holding another two-session training in November. Jim Wayland, Ph.D., L.P.C.

Georgetown Texas Parks and Recreation Activities

2011-10-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Misha Lee gave an update on activities and opportunities through the Georgetown Parks and Recreation Department at yesterday's Georgetown Chamber of Commerce Network Breakfast. Highlighted were:
--Group Exercise Classes
--Special Needs Dances
--Silver Sneaker for 55+ maintaining strength, cardio endurance, flexibility and balance
--Zumba fitness
--and, Exercise is Medicine for improving health and well-being through a regular physical fitness activity prescription. Special focus will be on Type-2 Diabetes.

Contact Misha at 512.930.3596

Life is . . .

2010-12-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

Life is not the way it's supposed to be...
It's the way it is...
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference.

--Virginia Satir

Faster than light

2010-11-18T15:27:00.000-08:00

Is there anything faster than light?
Close your eyes and go to Mars. Now, that is the speed of thought!