A DAILY PAUSE

365 Pauses

Inspiration Works at Work!

Pause For Inspiration is available to come to your place of business for a free in-service. Learn and practice working in the Pause.

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bo keefer & craig bellew photo
Bo and Craig paused and decided it is a better work day when they are willing to Pause, Step Back, Step Aside and Let Inspiration Guide! Why not Pause? You just might have one Inspired thought that changes how you see things and people and yourself differently.In business it can mean the difference between a satisfied customer or a dissatisfied customer, a deal or no deal. It can be the difference between hating your job and enjoying your job. Working in the Pause! Try it and see for yourself.

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Miracle Sighting at St. Marys


Oh, the things Inspiration shows us when we are willing to see.


Hard to believe that this felt like the first time I may have truly seen my mother. I think my mother looked into my eyes and truly saw me many times in my life, but I looked away. And when we look away from LOVE, we don’t see what is truly there to see. And when we look away from Inspiration, we miss out on being seen truly.

 

  • “Let your mind be a clean slate” is the point of pause at the end of the 2nd of The 4 Decisions:  “The decision to get out of my own way.”
  • Is there someone today who could use for you to see them truly? Are  you willing to be seen truly today?
  • The 4 Decisions is a practice in being willing to see and be seen. Such is “in-sight”.

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    Pause For Cardinals and Cancer


    Nothing stops this woman!


     

    La Verne Holliday has been facing the challenges of cancer for 10 years. No matter what, La Verne finds the strength present in the Inner Pause to step out for Cardinal’s home baseball games as a vendor at the corner of Tucker and Clark in downtown St. Louis. A former well known jazz radio host, La Verne now finds herself selling water, cracker jack, and other goodies, all to make ends meet. She is a true inspiration to John and I and to other customers who pause long enough to see her, listen to her and in their own way extend a helping hand.

     

    La Verne knows something about life that many of us don’t. She knows through direct experience the immense wherewithal available to us if we are willing to open to Inner Inspiration. La Verne’s presence caught our eyes and hearts the first time we met her all dressed up in red cheering on the Cardinals. She had a light about her, she knew this light in her and she was not afraid to share it! You get a lot more than baseball game munchies when you make a purchase from La Verne – you get a light!

     

    This video is from the summer of 2014. La Verne’s health has declined significantly since then. Yet, when I called her the other day she was still wanting to get to her corner and as she says, “serve my customers,” oxygen tanks and all! So, some of us folks have been chipping in to help La Verne, with our time, money, and setting up and taking down her stand.

     

    Would you like to help La Verne? Is there a “La Verne” where you live?

     


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    What Do I Know?


    No plan is ever a “failure”


     

    If we learn to let go of the outcome and allow Inspiration to reveal “Another Plan.” Not all plans are meant to succeed. In fact, Bob Hutkin was known for saying, “Sometimes the best deals you make are the ones you walk away from!” So, whether you walk away from a plan or the plan seems to walk away from you, be not afraid. If you are willing to not go it alone, Inspiration walks with you.

     


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    Caregiving In The Pause: Connecting With Our Elderly Loved Ones

     

    My mom, who is 90, said ” I am wondering what I will do with the rest of my life.”


     

    The elderly, like the rest of us, want a meaningful, useful purpose.

    I am a caregiver for my 90 year old mom. Like many of us she tends to worry and have anxious moments. One afternoon at lunch I was Inspired to practice “The 4 Decisions” together. Here we are using the card to help us both chill out in our minds while hanging out at California Pizza Kitchen. Mom loves their fettuccine and being an authentic Italian cook, that is saying something!
     
    Amazing how the simple practice of The 4D brought us both to laugh and experience how close we really are. And, that my father who passed on in 2010 at the age of 93, is very much hanging out with us, in the “Pause.” He’s laughing too, I assure you!
     
    As caregivers for our elderly parents, it can sometimes be challenging to connect as physical and mental abilities decline and bring various challenges. Feelings come up for the parent and the child, whom is now assuming the role of “parent.” Last week my mom was having a few difficult days due to some confusion and forgetting. It came to me that sometimes caregiving feels like I am taking care of a child who is moving towards the end of her life on this earth – a child who is also my parent, and a long time friend. A mix of feelings.
     
    My mom loves Pause For Inspiration. One evening she was especially anxious so I read to her from the book, Pause For Inspiration. She moved from being anxious, fearful and crying to being calm, focused and asking questions in which she was relating the content of the book to her life now. The elderly still have LIFE left in them and very much want to truly live the rest of their earthly life, just like the rest of us. Pausing For Inspiration is a way to do just that.

     


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    Pause and Receive

    Who I Am, When I Let LOVE, Love Me

    I am deeply consoled in this experience, like spending time with a Dear Friend who has only my best interest at heart.


     

     PAUSE AND RECEIVE

    Everyday is an opportunity to love one another. How can I be a part of this? I choose to begin each day with a Pause and focus on Receiving LOVE. I let LOVE fill me up so I don’t have to try and fill myself up (or anyone else).

     

     A MOVING PRACTICE

    Today I find that I am called to practice Pause and Receive, while engaging in a movement practice. I begin in being willing to LET LOVE, LOVE ME by being aware of the Presence of the Pause. The point is not to move in any particular way, rather to simply move while choosing to be aware of the Pause in our midst. Move into relationship with the Pause.
    You can move in silence or to music. The choice is always yours.

     

     THE MOST EXPANSIVE WAY

    Keep in mind that IN ITS MOST EXPANSIVE sense, Moving In The Pause, is a practice in being present. 

     

     HEALING THE SEPARATION EXPERIENCE

    You are how LOVE enters the world, otherwise LOVE remains mysterious, intangible, invisible – nothing more than an idea, ethereal, a “maybe” to be discussed. In our willingness to respond to LOVE while living our everyday lives, the experience of separation from LOVE is healed, while living our everyday lives.

     

    WHO AM I WHEN I LET LOVE, LOVE ME?

    I find this practice of Pause and Receive to bring me into an awareness of “who I am when I let LOVE, love me.” I experience an open heart, a crystal clear mind and a calm body. Words fail me in these times… and so, I move.

     


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    Less Me, More Joy


    Stepping Back From “Me”


     
    One may think that this me-character is required to live a productive, effective and efficient life – and be happy. In practicing stepping back from “me” I am seeing that me is a distracting energy drainer. Step back from “me” – open to the LIFE in everyday life.
     

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    Pause Goes to Nyeri, Kenya Via Ferguson, MO


     
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    Local Kenyan Pastors and hotel staff of the Victorian Hotel at the final Pause for Inspiration session.

     
     
     
     
     

    Pause For Inspiration met Pastor Michael Robison through Pastor Robert White of Clergy United in our sharing Pause with the  Ferguson, MO community. Pastor Robison packed Pause in his suitcase on his mission trip to Nyeri, Kenya. It is our understanding, these Pastors are now using Pause in their ministry in the villages in which they live! Thank You.

     


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    There Is Such a Thing

    Chicken and vegetables wrapped in tortilla

    Customer Service and the Pause


     

    Moving through The 4 Decisions in my mind (I have it memorized – it’s easy with practice), I stroll into the healthy fast food restaurant on the corner. I place my order, which is a bit “off the menu” as I ask for some sliced avocado on the side as my usual. A blast of light shows up before me in the form of a woman who works behind the counter – wow joy! “Hi, how are you today? Good to see you,” she says. Our joy has met many times before which began with her inspiring me to share “The 4 Decisions” card with her and her fellow workers.  They were all already an Inspiration; talk about supreme customer service. It is unforeseen how placing the cards in their hands might bring inestimable amounts of Inspiration into the hearts and minds of many. So, even if someone appears to not even need Inspiration, that doesn’t stop me from sharing more as it is always good to have some extra on hand. She whispers something in the cashier’s ear. As I hand my cash over, the young girl looks up and smiles, saying, “Oh, your lunch is free today!”

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