I was so happy to speak at the Northern Lights Special Education Cooperative Paraprofessionals Conference on January 15!
We unpacked the ‘magic power’ of the serenity prayer (and by ‘magic power’, I mean ‘brain science’), discovering why, and how, speaking this simple request can make such a difference in how we navigate a demanding job (and world!). It can be simply a statement of intent, without directing it to ‘god’ or whomever.
I described ‘prayer’ as any statement of clear intent, spoken wholeheartedly, and with mindful focus on the outcome.
For the purpose of this workshop, I just start it with ‘please….’ And encourage people to direct it to whatever force they feel directs their life… god, goddess, universe, self, vibration, nature, aliens (ha!)… the ‘to whom’ doesn’t really matter, it’s the wholehearted intent behind it that created the changes that are being spoken of.
A central point of the workshop is that this principle isn’t modern. It was really put forth by the stoic philosophers – ‘there are things for you, and things not for you’ – spend your valuable resources in places that matter (things that are for you), and not where they are wasted (things not for you).
1. Get ok with the idea that there is an awful lot that you have no control over.
2. Use your resources (gifts, skills, energy) where they matter.
3. Get skilled at evaluating which is which, and letting go of the stuff that isn’t yours to carry.
We (modern humans) have this compulsion to be everything to everyone, and this workshop is mainly to give people permission to lay down the stuff that isn’t theirs to carry without feeling like that makes them somehow inadequate.
Stay tuned – this will be offered as a webinar in the near future!
Julie OConnor Consulting 