It’s not your life … it’s how you choose to look at your life.
It’s
pretty amazing what a little change in perspective can do. It’s really amazing
what the power of thought can do. These are principles I’ve known for quite some
time now, but it was only until recently that I had the opportunity to truly
study them and learn to use them in my day to day life.
I’ve been a fan
of the band Sister Hazel for quite some time now, and I make no secret about how
their music and the community of Sister Hazel fans – affectionately known as
Hazelnuts – have had such an incredible influence in my life. One of Sister
Hazel’s songs in particular that has been an inspirational beacon to not only
myself but to so many others is ‘
Change Your
Mind’. It’s a song about perspective. It’s a song about point of view. It’s
a song about letting go of all the noise that tends to make blurry our
priorities and finding clarity in the simplicity of taking a new and different
look at our lives.
“Did you ever think there might be another way to just
feel better, just feel better about today?”
Over the course of the last
several years, Sister Hazel frontman Ken Block, in collaboration with his wife
Tracy and his friends at 4th Street Training, Dave Neal and Ray White, has
developed a workshop for personal betterment that is centered on the principles
of ‘Change Your Mind’. I recently had the privilege of participating in the
pilot program for this workshop, and to say it was life-changing would be an
understatement.
I’ve always considered myself a very fortunate individual
with a personal history void of major hurdles, trauma and catastrophic events. I
am very blessed and my life, for the most part, has always been in what I would
consider a good place. I did not go into the workshop feeling lost or confused
or seeking some higher form of enlightenment. Quite the contrary. I was bursting
with excitement and anticipation knowing how much the song has meant to me and
so many others, and eager to see how the workshop would be built around the
concept of positive thinking. To put it simply, my expectations were met and
exceeded, and the whole experience was so positively overwhelming.
From
the beginning, the workshop was an exploration into my priorities and core
values; understanding what is truly important to me and how I can incorporate
those values into my life journey. It was an exercise in aligning my goals and
dreams with these core values, and making sure my thoughts and actions support
both the short and long term vision of who I want to be and what I set out to
accomplish. The workshop showed us how to dream big and then create a plan to
realize these dreams. It was eye-opening, thought provoking and, most
importantly, inspiring.
It was also very rewarding in many different
levels. Having had the privilege of knowing Ken Block for several years, it was
very cool to be able to see and appreciate the person he was during the
workshop. Ken is well known for being an open, humble and approachable musician.
I imagine whatever ego he has is something he displays behind closed doors.
Still, during the workshop we got to see Ken Block, the man with the Master’s
degree in counseling and the person who lives with a spirit of giving back and
doing positive things for others. He was still his fun-loving and jovial self,
but it was great to see him be also very deep and passionate as he addressed the
group. Pair this with the focus and energy from his wife Tracy, the superb
presentation and group management skills of Ray White, and the excellent
‘behind-the-scenes’ work of David Neal and Danny Thomas, the Change Your Mind
workshop was an experience like no other.
The best part of CYM is that it
does not stop once the workshop is over. The program is designed to be ongoing,
with the community of CYM participants working together to support each other’s
visions, and to continually make better the program as it grows and evolves over
time. Whether you feel stuck in a rut or that life is good and on cruise
control, the CYM workshop has something for everyone. It is a program I highly
recommend. If you’re unsure about looking into the workshop, just remember that
changing your life is as simple as changing your mind.
Please follow these links for more information on Sister Hazel, Ken
Block (Facebook), 4th Street Training
and the Change Your Mind workshop. You
can find the CYM workshop on Twitter at @ExperimentCYM