Festive season - the gift of story

50% reductions until 15th January only.

Great gifts for work colleagues, career spouses, friends.

Halo and Noose and Story Matters @ Work eBooks US$10 each (usually $15each)

Individual memberships US$15 (usually $25)

Corporate memberships US$100 (usually $150)

Visit htp://www.haloandnoose.com to take advantage of this very special offer

Deeper Mindfulness

“……. the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment' (Jon Kabat-Zinn Full Catastrophe Living 2003).

Practicing mindfulness allows us to be present and in touch with ourselves, develop a real sense of belonging, and improve our alertness in all that we do, all the time.

A young girl approaches her father and asks, “Is it true that when we are asleep, we can wake up?”

Her father assures her, “Of course it is true”.

“Then”, says the girl, “it must also be true that when we are awake we can wake up more”.

IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT OVERCOMING CONSTRAINTS TO MINDFULNESS,  ACHIEVING DEEPER MINDFULNESS WITH REGARDS TO SELF AND OTHERS, PROGRESSING FROM BEING UNAWARE TO BEING OFTEN MINDFUL TO BEING FULLY AND CONSTANTLY MINDFUL, TO POSSESSING A MYSTIC,  IMBEDDED AWARENESS, THEN READ THE ARTICLE IN THE MEMBERSHIP ARTICLE ARCHIVE IN http://www.haloandnoose.com

The Hero's Journey

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are …encountered and a decisive victory… won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man (Joseph Campbell)

As individuals or in groups, our lives, life stages and passages, transitions and events are all journeys. Journeys in which we are the heroes and sheroes.

IN THIS ARTICLE IN THE MEMBERS ARTICLE ARCHIVE OF http://www.haloandnoose.com/ WE COVER THE MAP AND THE TERRITORY, FAIRY TALES AND MYTHS, STAGES OF THE JOURNEY, QUESTIONS AFTER THE QUEST, AND THE HERO AT WORK

6 new articles by 3 authors

Newly posted to the http://www.haloandnoose.com and available to members are the following articles:
LANGUAGE, TRUTH AND LOGIC by Ralph Windle, known as the poet laureate of the boardroom (a phrase coined by the Financial Times, UK), and author of several books including the best selling The Poetry of Business Life
THE THERAPEUTIC VALUE OF SILENCE and COPING WITH THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE, both by Peter Fox, Grief and Loss Counselor and Spiritual Director of St Lukes Hospice in Cape Town
A WHALE OF A STORY on the analogies between hiking and life, and MINDFULNESS, MINDSET, MEANING AND 'MAGINATION outlining the progression integral to successful business transformation, both by Graham Williams with Dorian Haarhoff
THE HERO'S JOURNEY explained, with reference to the hero at work, By Dorian with Graham

A great new book on stories......

I've had the honour of reading a pre-publication copy of Andrew Bradbury's Story Telling in Mind.
It's destined to become prescribed reading at universities, businesses and other institutions serious about their story telling and listening endeavours.
Full of relevant stories, this book contains comprehensive information covering the what, why, how, when, who and where of stories, Coaches, teachers, therapists, story tellers will love it.
Watch out for it!
Graham

Views on Otto Scharmer's Theory U

Theory U calls upon the business world with almost evangelical fervour to save the world from poverty, illiteracy, decaying social sructures, environmental catastophe and ill-health - via a sometimes mystical process. The theory invokes the forces of mindful creation to overcome the forces of destruction embedded in current systems.

But..................in times of austerity, when personal and organisational survival and self-interest are under pressure, perhaps even become all-consuming, do morals take a back seat? Is Theory U going to be adopted by enough businesses to make a real and lasting difference?

What do you think?

Why use story in business?

This article is adapted from a chapter “Why Stories” in our storytelling ebook , The Halo and the Noose (available for download at www.haloandnoose.com), The Power of Story Telling and Story Listening in Business Life.

Africa breathes stories... In Africa things are stories, they store stories, and they yield stories at the right moment of dreaming, when we are open to the secret side of objects and moods. (Ben Okri )

Why is story so vital in business life?

A professor and an old peasant woman are discussing how it is that the world is held up in space and does not fall down.

“Well you see,” says the old woman. “The world rests on a giant plate.”

“Interesting. And what does the plate rest on?”

“On the back of a giant tortoise.”

“And what does that tortoise rest on?”

“On the back of another tortoise…”

“And what does…”

“Don’t bother your head, professor. It’s tortoises all the way down.”

And stories all the way down. Story is the foundation. Everything rests on story - one way or another. Ultimately, it is story that makes the business world go round. Increasingly companies are finding that story is the way to go.

- Join the Halo & the Noose movement today for a once off lifetime membership of only US$25 and get access to this full article, a download of our ebook & eworkbooks on storytelling, monthly newsletters and more. Register online at http://www.haloandnoose.com/

How will story telling help me in the workplace?

If you...

• want to develop your mindfulness and imagination;
• want to be more charismatic and influential;
• want to enrich and enliven your conversations;
• want to be highly valued by your colleagues and friends;
• desire to tap into the minds of others at a deep level;
• need your ideas and offers accepted, speak with authority, impart
  unforgettable messages;
• are a trainer needing to deliver insights effortlessly;
• want to really listen to what your clients really want from you,
  and impress with your responses;
• want to succeed and get the right results when faced with crucial
  conversations;
• transcend limiting beliefs;
  
  …then become a member of The Halo & the Noose movement now!

Register Here - http://www.haloandnoose.com/

Story Telling & Listening Workshops

We offer customised and open workshops that cover all aspects of story in business, are filled with aha and haha moments, are highly participative and interactive and equip participants with valuable new skills, techniques and a toolbox.

Find out more About Our Storytelling Workshops

Discounted Rates to Members of the Halo & the Noose Movement - Register Now

 

Story-listening for Better Relationships and Better Marketing

Below is the first in a series of articles and workshops on Story-telling and Story-listening from the website http://www.haloandnoose.com/

The branches of your intelligence grow new leaves in the wind of listening (Rumi)

Why deep story - listening?

In 1869 Lucy Lloyd recorded Bushman Kabbo’s description of storytelling: “I must first sit a little, listen, watching for a story I want to hear, I sit waiting for it, that it may float into my ear.”

Story telling in organizations is becoming a buzz word. But what of story listening? We all understand the way we respond when we feel listened to. But often in business, office deadlines, hidden agendas, corporate politics and even culture (This is the only way we do things around here) filter the kind of listening that encourages and initiates true dialogue.
How do we listen to colleagues and customer’s stories? How do we take time to sit and allow the story to float into our ear? How do we listen to what is going on in the organization? And how well do we listen those who are our reason for being in business, our customers? If as Kahlil Gibran said “work is love made visible”, and if as Paul Tillich said “the first duty of love is to listen”, then work in which we value others has a lot to do with listening. In this article we consider listening to those that we serve. And here we mean listening without preconceptions, without distraction, with total attention and mindfulness, with the purpose of understanding and learning and responding creatively, with the head and with the heart. It begins with listening to colleagues.

Read more about Story-telling & Story-listening on http://www.haloandnoose.com/