Exploring systems that work.

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16 posts

Short: Coaching

by David Hadwin
1 min read
short Spiritual Social

As a coach, people don’t necessarily need your knowledge, nor do they need your skills. We’re soon getting to a world where all knowledge will be available, yet people will still be stuck. Material things don’t break spiritual things, only spiritual things can do that. You, your essence, the energy that is intrinsic to your being affects people whether they’d want it to or not…and that’s transformative. That effect is based on your ability to let your essence flow through you unimpeded.

That effect is base on your ability to be you, truly, authentically you.

Just like removing a feather from a leveraged car can send a it falling off a cliff, some people will be primed for that effect. Most people, however, will need that energy, your essence, over a period of time, like lifting a rail car to a different rail, slow and steady. This is what people pay for, the energy required to change rails. Once done, it can never go back to its old track.

Short: Carnivore Diet

by David Hadwin
1 min read
short Health

I've been intrigued with the idea of the "carnivore diet" and have been puzzled by its amazing healing abilities, specifically with auto-immune diseases. But I recently learned that the main protagonist for increased stomach acid production IS protein and while pondering this fact in the shower, the puzzle starting falling in place.

By taking out all other foods but proteins, and their associated fats it primarily increases stomach acid (decreasing pH) meaning that the gateway to the intestines (the stomach) starts to strengthen. With that strength comes its purifying effects on everything that enters your mouth, killing microbes, and pathogenic bacteria. This also increases absorption of key minerals necessary to produce more stomach acid (zinc, and chloride - from salts) leading to a positive feedback loop.

Further down, in this new protected space (your intestines) a new simpler ecosystem develops that exists solely off of proteins, and fats; no longer providing habitat for quick growing, quick dying carbohydrate loving bacteria. This environment gets a chance to stabilize, and the excess protein allows regeneration of the gut lining. Which, in many autoimmune cases was leaking toxins and residue into the bloodstream, poisoning you.

Taken together this reprieve and regeneration of the digestive system allows the body to recalibrate, and once that happens, you can slowly start to reintegrate other foods. The reason why this diet works, instead of simply fasting is that, if you're missing key nutrients for the creation of stomach acid, fasting can further reduce your bodies need to make stomach acid, and while it can also give you gut time to heal...it doesn't build up its defenses like the carnivore diet can.

Just like everything else...this is a tool...

Short: Two Universal Perspectives

by David Hadwin
2 min read
short

I love this practice in Christianity, of sharing your sins; of sharing your struggles. The practice of shedding light on the parts of you that wish to remain hidden in a space with others that have shared those struggles. My favorite part, though this seems to be forgotten by mainstream anyone, is the beautiful space that's provided and held by the others for you to intimately reveal yourself. It's not met with judgement, but compassion, and even more often, solidarity. They too have felt those pains, those fears, those temptations and those struggles. You are not alone, and those parts of you, when brought to light, no longer can hold power over you.

Pair that with another favorite one of Christian beliefs, that God loves you. In all of that shame, and all of that guilt, God still loves you. In all of your failures, and all of your sin, God still loves you. There is nothing you can do to make that false. The only thing you can do is try to run away from it...but, however far away you are, or get, God will still receive you with open arms, just like the story of the prodigal son.

...there only exist two thrones in the universe. The throne of Christ; meaning connection to source, oneness, and light. And the throne of the Ego; meaning isolation, separation, and darkness.

But if we're honest with ourselves, it's usually our shame, and our guilt that keeps us from coming back to God or bringing things to light. We ask ourselves, who am I to be loved, forgiven, and accepted? "How could I be loved when I've done...[fill in the blank]."

I heard this absolute gem the other day from a famous Christian mystic preacher: That there only exist two thrones in the universe. The throne of Christ; meaning connection to source, oneness, and light. And the throne of the Ego; meaning isolation, separation, and darkness. He said, with these two perspectives being the only two perspectives in the universe, if you notice your ego in a moment of not being your highest self, the only way that you could perceive your ego is if you were seated in the other seat, the other perspective. And that the lie that we tell ourselves is that we associate with the behavior that we've witnessed ourselves doing and in our shame, and guilt return to sitting on the throne of the Ego, of darkness, shame, and isolation. "You're such a terrible person." we tell ourselves...

Instead, if we remember that the only way we can be witnessing our own darkness is if we already are seated in the light.

Instead, if we remember that the only way we can be witnessing our own darkness is if we already are seated in the light. And if we forgive ourselves for our darkness we are able to remain in the light. It's not just others that need forgiveness...you do too.

So make it easier to bring light to your struggles and failures by remembering this. By yourself, or with God, or with others, shed light on your darkest parts, and forgive them, for they are not you, nor you them. You are loved, you are kind, and you are a light, so shine like you were meant to. Bless everyone that crosses your path, and in the moments that you don't...forgive yourself.

Short: Constriction is Fear

by David Hadwin
2 min read
short Health Spiritual

As I’ve been aging, my body has been teaching me more and more. I used to think that when I was tight, I should stretch. That’s what we’ve been told—that’s what everyone’s been told. But then I ran across this gem: your muscles tighten when your body thinks they are too weak for the demand you’re putting on them.

Your muscles tighten when your body thinks they are too weak for the demand you're putting on them.

Another telltale sign came from understanding what happens to muscles when you die. Two very significant things happen: you become instantly hyper-flexible (called primary flaccidity), and after your ATP (the energy currency of cells) depletes, rigor mortis sets in, making your muscles contract. It surprisingly takes more ATP to relax than to constrict.

The answer isn’t stretching; the answer is strength and movement. Flexibility comes from strength under load. You need to work out those constricted muscles. You need to build up their confidence. Victory after victory, they learn their capabilities. You aren’t actually stiff—your brain just doesn’t trust you. To protect you, it contracts for fear of being hurt…

To protect you, it contracts for fear of being hurt...

Hmm… you say, that sounds mighty familiar. The parallels to our emotional state are uncanny. You fear, distrust, and constrict your actions—your love, your heart, your soul—because you don’t believe you’re strong enough to handle the pain, the hurt, the lies, or, as Shakespeare put it, “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” But just like your body in total surrender, total relaxation, there is no pain unless you’re fighting the action.

But just like your body in total surrender, total relaxation, there is no pain unless you're fighting the action.

I’ve been inspired merely by the title of a book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, though I haven’t read it. However, that single thought—that single image—has guided my learnings about pain and resistance. What does it mean to be supple, physically, emotionally… spiritually?

In my mind, the word supple brings imagery of a finger poking skin and everything giving way—like a masseuse working muscles with zero tightness. No pain, no fear; a meek confidence. Paired with the image of a leopard, it brings forth ideas of strength, grace, and unobstructed movement. I think to myself: that’s what I’d like to become—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

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Short: Harmonizing Better Together

by David Hadwin
1 min read
short Social

A friend of mine once turned me onto an interesting phenomenon; when humans sing together, the sounds that are in tune constructively interfere, while the sounds that are out of tune destructively interfere. You've probably noticed it before, how a crowd always sounds good. That crowd, however, is usually made up of a range of singers, even some that sing completely off key, yet, as a whole, the crowd has a wonderful voice.

You've probably noticed it before, how a crowd always sounds good

Just like in singing, all that we do, the companies, teams, or communities we build are made up of people who in some areas of life are "in tune" and other areas, not so much. When these people rub shoulders, and collaborate with each other, together, we always have a chance to be better than we are individually...but we need a "song" to attempt to follow. We need some organizing principles that we're individually, and collectively striving towards. Within those organizing principles, we need to have the conviction to speak our minds (whether we are right or wrong) and the humility to accept correction from our group. Not just from any group, but from our group, filled with the people trying their very best to follow the same tune.

This is the blessing and curse of community. In a church, team, or community that's aligned with our song...we are sped towards our destinies, stripped of those notes that aren't in tune (missing the mark). But in a community not aligned with your song...you get drowned out, lost, isolated. Your voice can be jarring. The pressure to lose yourself can be overwhelming...but don't give in...

Find, instead, the people singing your song and join them, at the top of your voice. In the same way that you need them, they need you, and together, you'll sing something beautiful!

Short: Chaos is Good

by David Hadwin
1 min read
short Spiritual Nature

Imagine you're in the middle of a storm, winds wailing around you so close that you can't see but 5ft in front of you. That's sometimes how our lives feel, we try to fix that by scheduling, controlling, and knowing what's ahead. We do that by planning. We try to plan how to get to what we want, and sometimes, that's great, but we also very often have limited imaginations and our stability keeps us in a mediocre life.

Do you know how a virus assembles in a cell? It makes each component of the virus separately, and they all just jiggle around the cell until they form together since each section is chemically attracted to the next. Out of the chaos, comes form.

Instead of looking at the storm as bad, imagine that instead it's building a path for you. If the winds weren't blowing, you'd know exactly what was in that direction...and it might be lacking. But as the winds blow, the stronger the winds blow, the more possibilities exist, the more chances there are for that direction that didn't even exist objectively before.

So, enjoy the storm, take this as a moment to reflect on what you want the storm to create for you, meditate on what your heart is calling for. Remember, the universe is on your side. Trust that, know that, and when the time is right, walk bravely in that direction.

Short: Knowledge and Separation

by David Hadwin
2 min read
short Spiritual

To know something, you need to separate it. To know you, I need to separate you from the crowd. It requires focus, and focus blinds us to everything else. Our left brain is known for naming, logicizing and understanding the world, but it does that through the act of separating it into pieces. Our whole existence has been built on that...

Genesis 2:16-17
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Yet there exists another path, the path of connection, the path of being part of this co-creative dance that happens all around us. Not needing to understand it, not seeking to control it, but seeking its rhythm, its pace. This is the way of the right brain. It's a way of letting us feel the heartbeat of the universe. This is the way of plants, trees, animals and insects. Feeling, sensing, and acting.

Belying each of those worlds exists a gift that can be claimed for whomever wishes. On one hand, control, power, knowledge, and on the other, peace, surrender, guidance. Neither world is better or worse, they both exist within us. In every moment both worlds are active, it only matters which one we play with; which one serves our purpose.

I believe our culture has denigrated the right brain for far too long, and as it has atrophied, our world has suffered. We were made to carry these two worlds for a reason, we were made to control and know...while being connected and in flow.

On one hand you had the Native Americans, who lived with the land and helped it thrive. On the other Europeans who dominated it and discovered new technologies. One was filled with health, and spiritual abundance but lacked "material wealth" the other built on the backs of a sickly cast of workers utilizing nature for their masters means.

One had power. One had life.

Yang and Yin. Yin and Yang.

As cycles go, if Yang won out before and led to our technological boon a the expense of our connection to nature; to the universe; to God. I have a nagging suspicion that it will also lead us back full circle to living again with nature; back in the connection that gave us life...back in the arms of the Divine.

Short: The Universe is On Your Side

by David Hadwin
1 min read
short System

The entirety of everything that exists co-creates the very next moment. It creates that future based on the essence, desires and needs of each individual member and all members collectively. When it does that, that future becomes stable, when one member doesn’t express their needs or desires, or what they truly are, the future that is created is not as stable.

You, with your story, gifts, skills, connections, and relationships, have a certain you that no one else can fill. You are a puzzle piece within the greater puzzle of the emerging future.

Because the emerging future needs you to complete the stable puzzle, the rest of the puzzle is actively pulling you into place. It’s actively trying to bring out your true being, to provide for your true needs, and to fulfill your true desires, because a puzzle based on that is a puzzle that’s not changing.

Curious who you are? Check out HD Genie

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