The true energy of business is the incredible power and brilliance of the human spirit.

Every outcome, dollar of profit, increase in the dividend, and innovative solution to a complex problem is the result of human effort.

Maybe you are an individual employee, or sole proprietor running your own business, or in charge of a unit of an organization that employs you. Maybe you’re a senior leader, or a consultant to one, and to achieve results, you need to get the best from a group of motivated, engaged and productive people. Whether or not to expend that effort is a choice, and that choice comes from within.

Every human being is wired to be productive. We come with an operating system that includes perception, the ability to channel those perceptions into an intention to make something happen, and the capacity to draw on the one energy of the Universe to achieve our personal version of greatness.

The decision to bring that level of potency, creativity, and power to our work is a personal choice  – whether at home or in an office, in a field or in a factory or a skyscraper, raising children, raising money for a non-profit, or raising corporate profits.

The important thing is that you have a vision for how you contribute to the world, you know the values you serve, and you are willing to do the disciplined work of building your skills and knowledge so you can make that contribution.

That is the external expression of your sacred path.

​The internal path we travel, through our aspirations, our shadow, and our relationship to Spirit, requires us to address where we are in relation to our dreams, identify what’s stopping us, envision what’s possible, and find within ourselves the strengths and the power to bring those possibilities to life.

There is one power in the universe. And we are using it every day. Every time you focus and direct your energy toward the completion of a task or the achievement of a goal, you are calling upon this one energy. And it will respond to your requests.

We are surrounded by and living in this energy. And as long as we allow it to flow through us, to operate in our lives, we can feel whole and productive, set priorities, and get everything done. But when things are out of balance and we keep pushing and driving relying on our own reserves, we become depleted, exhausted, burnt out, sick, injured, unable to continue.

And for many, the first response is to believe we can’t change our lives. We blame our stressors and see them as inevitable. So we find our nurturing and comfort through medication, addictions, and diversions. But the truth is we each have access to an inexhaustible supply of power to manifest what matters most to us in our lives if we choose to do so -first, by taking accountability for our choices; second, by getting into action toward manifesting what we want; and third, by calling upon that energy to support our decisions for our highest good and the highest good of those around us.

Many of us have developed great skill in tuning in to the emotional state of others. We call ourselves empaths.

Being able to identify your own emotional state, and sense the emotional state of another person before you speak or act, is called emotional intelligence, and is a good thing.

However, when we take on the emotional state of others, we are at the mercy of who is around us. If we are too open to others’ criticism, we will wilt in its presence. If we are dependent on others’ positive feedback to validate us, then when they turn their attention elsewhere we will settle into our default state of self-perception. If we feel inadequate without validation, that is the state we will fall into. The key to maintaining our balance is to recognize and maintain our own autonomy and power.

Dr. Masaru Emoto work showed that the molecular structure of water can be affected by positive and negative messages, harmonious and discordant music. Negativity and discord cause molecular distortion. Positivity and harmony cause the development of beautiful crystalline structure. We also know this works with plants, how could we think that a diet of unrelenting negativity would not affect humans, causing whole groups to adopt a fearful perspective and attack others in response?

Sound familiar?

Here are two strategies that are available to us to maintain our own autonomy and emotional well-being in the face of energy coming at us from without:

• Self-love, knowledge and appreciation – not narcissism, a true and genuine accounting of both our strengths and the shadow work still before us, loving ourselves for what we have accomplished and for our ability to learn the lessons before us.
• Clear and healthy boundaries.

Four things will allow us to maintain healthy boundaries by helping us filter out things which are not in our highest good, and let in things that are.

• Creating a clear vision of the life you want, not just defining what you don’t want
• Knowing and doing your best to live the values and principles that define integrity to you, To me, those values should be consistent with the principle , “Do as you will, but harm none – including yourself.”
• Learning to recognize the two voices in your head - your inner critic, who keeps the inventory of your errors and “failures,” and your inner coach, who reminds you of all you’ve accomplished and your ability to work your way out of whatever you have gotten yourself into.
• A plan for learning, growth, creating positive change, and maintaining your resilience

We will be able to let in those things we judge to be in our highest good and release or refuse to admit those that are not if we can create these four conditions in our minds and use them in solving problems and making decisions.

I walked Green Lake in Seattle today, and saw my first baby ducks. I was very happy and  loudly said "Baby Ducks!" which clearly shows that my Soul retrieval took since one of the parts to return was my enthusiastic inner child.  My next comment was, "We need more ducks." Wasn't sure where that came from, I just loved those little ducks.

As a totem or power animal, Duck represents living in the moment, a focus on relationship and family, and a mystical quality of moving between the realms by being able to travel in air and water, and on land 

This week, I found myself thinking about themes of rebirth because Tuesday was the Pagan holiday of Beltane - a festival day celebrating growth and new beginnings.

This is one of the two times in the Pagan calendar – the other being Samhain, or Halloween in popular culture – when we believe the veil is thin between the worlds, and good times for divination and devotion and connecting with the Ancestors.

It's easy to see why Beltane is about rebirth – the sun is strengthening, the woods and fields are greening, and the energy is all about fertility and growth. There are many rites of passage that create a form of rebirth – initiations of all kinds provide a fresh start. Many spiritual disciplines have three levels, some more – and each level is complete with an initiation, which introduces us to the cosmos as a changed being.  Changed, but not new.

Each new beginning, we are building on what we have learned in the passage before.

Our experiences shape us – and change our capability for learning and growth. Which is why your sacred path is only yours. Your path leads to the same place as all other paths - we are all going Home - but the route is determined by your past experience and lessons learned.

So at Beltane, we have a new Spring time – but the trees don’t start over – they will add a ring in the coming months, and grow a little bigger. And so will we. Through experience and study, we'll grow in capability toward the fulfillment of our sacred purpose.

We'll put on a layer of experience and growth. So w have not come full circle, rather we have reached the same compass point in our spiral of growth.

Our life experiences shape us – and when you envision and follow your own sacred path it allows you to do choose the best growth experience  for you, like a Bonsai expert trims in just the right places, allowing for the best growth for the tree.

We may look at our lives and see what is missing, what has perhaps passed us by, or has not yet been accomplished, but in this Springtime, please look at all you have achieved, what all you have been through has taught you and those around you, and the blessings you have – including how the seeds of your effort in the past year are now sprouting, greening, and becoming because of the energy, care and love you have put into them.

I wish for you to walk your sacred path with wisdom, strength, and joy this year. Because we need way more ducks.