First Quarter Moon in May

Tonight is the First Quarter Moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - growing in light and energy, creating a time for decisive action. I use this end-of-May quarter moon's energy to create synergy with all my partners, and spark synergy within myself.

Agenda Today:

1. Journal queries
2. Make a full effort plan
3. Write a leadership manifesto
4. Read the Creativity Book

1. Journal queries:

Today, at the first quarter moon, I prepare to give full effort to my priorities. My theme is synergy, which requires me to seek unity, embrace teamwork, live holistically, and take persistent right action.

I remember that for each opportunity in life there is a challenge. The challenge to synergy is rigidity. If I’m stubborn and uncompromising, I can't be a useful teammate. Practice giving in, and being willing to offer help.

 

Which of my priorities am I having the most trouble acting on this month?

What do I need (tools, information, allies) in order to best practice the habits of synergy (flexibility, love, unity, right action)?

What do I need to do or learn in order to be a better team player at home and on my committees?

From my journal: Having just finished up a big commitment, I'm ready to regroup, and fine-tune my other responsibilities. I want to make a plan for better communication with my pre-school grandson (not so many "No-no-no's"). I want to make a backward calendar for home and garden projects we want to finish before the family reunion. And I want to list out my goals for leadership with my committees.

2. Make a full effort plan: 

Full effort requires attention (you remember your intentions - what it is you want to do and your deepest reasons why - and also notice your emotions, energy, challenges, etc.); a spark of energy and determination (you connect to your excitement for life, and sustain it long enough to accomplish your priorities); and balance (you hold your intentions lightly in the complexity of life and try not to miss an opportunity to grow, to open your heart, to find peace within).

I'm thinking today about full effort in leadership - with my committees and also with my grandson.

I decided to create a Leadership Manifesto, a public statement that lets everyone know your beliefs and intentions. I think that writing one will help me to clarify what it means to be a leader, and sharing it will help me become a better team leader. 

I got help from this Forbes article: Your Personal Conscious Leadership Manifesto: An Exploration Of Your Philosophy

How to write a Leadership Manifesto: 

1. Start with the big why. Your "why" is your reason for being, the reason you are here on this earth, the reason you are a leader. Ask, “What is my purpose? Why do I want to be a leader? What is the difference I want to make in this world?"
2. Next, think about the purpose of the teams you are leading, and the dreams and vision you have for them. Are there some common threads for each team?
3. Thirdly, define the values and beliefs you have about leadership: Ask, "What really matters to me? What do I stand for? What would I never compromise?"
4. And last, list your strengths, and set some intentions for how you plan to lead.

3. Write a Leadership Manifesto:

My missions are my various big projects or directions in life. Today I'm going to look at my leadership mission, and 

write my manifesto as a poem, because a poem has a unique ability of getting to the core of a Truth. Here's the steps I use:

1. Write a brief, evocative sentence or two describing this top mission in my life, and the significant issues that surround it:

Leadership requires attention, mental flexibility, love and persistent right action. I need to maintain calm and seek unity, especially when my emotions are high.

 

2. List the most exciting or pleasing verbs that describe what I want to do with this mission:

Listen, discern, inspire, encourage, nudge, guide, follow

 

3. Next, list some core values that go with this mission:

Love, Equanimity, Community, Unity, Discernment and Truth, Purpose, Integrity

4. Turn these sentences, verbs, and values into a poem; perhaps a haiku, an unrhymed poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively, or a Cinquain, which is five lines, with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables, that gets to the core of my mission, and gives me a framework for my actions.

My Leadership Manifesto:

1. Listen and discern the unity 

2. Inspire, encourage, nudge

3. Love everyone and stay calm

4. Say Yes more often than No

5. Be so flexible that I can lead and follow simultaneously

4. Read the Creativity Book:

A few years ago I started but didn't finish this book by Eric Maisel (one of my favorite writers). The subtitle is "A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance." Who doesn't want that? 

I'm on to Week 3: Settle into Mystery. "An everyday creative person celebrates, honors, and lives with mystery." He suggests that we don't worry about God's plans or the right way to create something, but that we just keep on creating. "Remember that the creative act is an adventurous whirl in the cosmos."

For an atheist, Eric Maisel has a pretty good grasp of mysticism.  He wants me to accept that there are no rules. I should put all my worries aside and just participate in the mystery of creation.