Module Recording

Module 1: Know Thyself

**Heads Up! I cover a lot in this module! I highly recommend listening/reading until you have had your fill then walking away and coming back to it. It may take you 3, 4 or more sittings to get through it all but that is better than being overwhelmed with information. Another suggestion would be to listen to (or read) it all, then come back in a week or so and go through the details again.**

Know thyself, possibly the most important and valuable piece of advice you could ever take to heart. Everything in your life, the great and the ugly, is a result of how well you know yourself and how aligned you have stayed to this truth. Truth, in essence, is exactly and honestly what everything is. But your truth exists in two different forms: the truth of who you are (which is totally perfect) and the truth of who you are right now (which is a reflection of this perfect state in conjunction with your reality)- what is your truth? Who are you? Who are you right now? How closely these two align will be an indicator of how well you are doing right now. The reality is that on most days who you are is not totally your 100% ideal state. This means that if you are not 100% honest, happy, loving, healthy and abundant right now then you are not in your perfect state- but this is OK because this is what it means to be human. Your perfect state isn’t there to make you feel bad about your true state, rather to inspire your true state to not give up.

Your perfect state, aka your best self is who you are in your absolute best form, under the absolute best of conditions, your greatest qualities coming together in the perfect combination to make the most divine version of who you are and who you can be. Sound realistic? Right, it’s not. Then there is your true self, which is how you are actually showing up right now and given the fact that life is complicated, your true self isn’t always an accurate reflection of your best self… but that’s ok and actually neither is better than the other. On good days your best self and your true self are pretty close to each other. Your best self is the one you want to check in with constantly, because it is always guiding you to do your very best work. Your true self you also want to check in with constantly because it’s showing you how you are showing up and what you are putting out, regardless of what you should be putting out. It’s not about being your best self but about being the best version of yourself given the circumstances.

Your true self lets you know where you stand in the scale of balance- are you in balance or are you out of balance? In balance means that you are able to function quite closely to your best self. Out of balance let’s you know that you need to take care of things to help yourself out. Again, out of balance isn’t a shame on you moment, rather a moment that requires some compassion and nurture, recognizing that something is going on that is pulling you away from your best self. Also keep in mind that balance in general is constantly fluctuating and we spend just as much time out of balance as we do in balance, it’s a constant flux, but that’s how we learn, grow and evolve. 

You have a set list of qualities and characteristics that depict your self in balance as well as out of balance. Those out of balance qualities, the criticism, anxiety, irritability, arrogance, depletion and depression are all ways of letting you know that something is drawing you away from your best self and need to be addressed. I call these ‘red flag’ qualities because they let you know when you’re in the red. You individually have a specific list of out-of-balance qualities that you drift towards just like you have a specific list of in-balance qualities that you drift towards. Knowledge is power: it’s important to know your red flag qualities and important to pay attention to, ignoring them means that you’re neglecting your wellbeing and potential. Knowing both in-balance and out-of-balance qualities is like knowing the trail signs that keep you on the right path.

Of course, on some level you know who you are, but to scoff at the idea of checking in with who you are because “you know” would then entail that your life is perfect and you’re always on track… and that’s just not always the case. Point being, it’s important to check in with who you are on a regular basis, because anytime your life isn’t totally perfect it’s safe to say that you are forgetting an element of yourself. The more you practice checking in, the more tuned in you become, the more you are constantly tuning in on a more subconscious level, but even it if is subconscious, the check-in is still happening. Anyone who is doing really well at life is constantly checking in and aware of themselves, whether they do it consciously or subconsciously doesn’t matter.

All of life is a reflection

Whatever is going on inside of you is going to come out of you, in what you do, how you speak, even your facial expressions. If you are irritable (for whatever reason) you will express that irritability in all that you do. It may be in a small way because you are aware of it and trying to not be that way, but even still if you compare this to your best of moods the difference will be apparent. I know that when I’m irritable it comes out, even if it’s just the look on my face (and it’s almost always the look on my face…). You can scale this in anyway you want to explain that whatever you are putting out is a reflection of what’s going on within (and how you are dealing with it). To add another bead to this thread, whatever you are experiencing is going to also be a reflection of who you are in this moment, partially because how you perceive your reality is going to be affected by your mindset and partially because whatever you are throwing out there is going to be responded to accordingly, again if you are irritable it is going to affect how people relate and respond to you. So pay attention! One of the greatest ways you can improve yourself is by noticing what you’re getting from your world and asking yourself what am I putting in to warrant getting this out?.

This is really how the law of attraction works, however I know when I think about the law of attraction I immediately focus on what I am attracting and what I need to do to get it, pulling myself to the desired destination. In truth, the law of attraction works when you are doing so well at being YOU in your best form right now that you attract to you the very best experience and opportunity. If you want to get the best from the world then you have to put yourself out there in the best way possible, and the best way possible is really the most authentic way possible (so stop looking to others). 

Authenticity

Seems simple right? It means that you are being truly you every day (or really, as often as possible). But the thing is, who you truly are can sometimes get mixed up with who you have been conditioned to be. It’s VERY easy to get off track with yourself and it most often comes from slow increments of doing things to please others, to fit in, to get the job done, etc. The only way you are going to get the greatest, smoothest successes in your life is by being yourself. It is good to check in on a regular basis (maybe weekly, monthly or even quarterly) and ask, “who am I right now” and, “How am I showing up in my various roles” and, “Where are things flowing and excelling, and where are things resisting or breaking down.”

Looking to others is a great way to get ideas and inspiration, but beyond that it becomes a great way to escape your own reality or build up a pile of “shoulds and coulds”. Authenticity is both in the input and the output, aka your goals/dreams need to be just as authentic as who you are and what steps you intend to take to get those goals and dreams. Just as it is hard to make your dreams a reality (or even just a good day a reality) by not being yourself and doing things authentically, it is hard to make your dreams a reality when they are not even your dreams!

Awareness

Awareness is being present with and tuned into the moment. Awareness is the answer when it comes to ensuring your best reflection. It is in this moment, right now, that you can focus all of your attention how you are being and doing so that you can know how good of a job you’re doing at reflecting your best self. The more aware you are, the easier it is to align your true self to your best self, the more authentic you can be in this moment, the more likely it is that you will attract to you the very best opportunities, relationships, situations. You see, the future is built off of how good of a job you do in the present. Want a brighter future? Be here now and do your best job now. Yea, it’s good to make goals and envision what you want your brighter future to look like, but if you are only ever focusing on your future and your goals then you are not checking in to see how you are actually showing up now… the problem being that who you are being right now might not be aligned with this future you want. 

Alignment

The term alignment is key to keep in mind with this module, how well aligned you are to your best self is going to help your true self to be as good as it can be. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about keeping the image of perfection in mind when you make decisions so that you are your own very human version of perfection every day. This is the best we can ask for and this is more than enough! A big part of this is that you need to get what you deem “perfect” to be to coincide with the “perfect” that you are… For example, in a situation where your mother constantly bullies or guilts you into doing things, what you think is “perfect” might be doing it for her because that is what you perceive the “perfect” child would be, but the real question is, what would you do if you were to remain aligned with your best self?

Your Personal Ecology

As we’ve discussed, your personal experience every day is a result of 1. How you are showing up (your attitude and wellbeing) and 2. How you are interacting with your world. What is your world? Your world is made up of your people (friends, family, coworkers), your activities (what you’re doing every day) and your environments (home, work and everything in between). We can call all of these things your ecosystem. The different elements of your ecosystem are all of the components that go in to dictate how good of an experience you’re having: your relationships, career, financial health, mental/emotional health, physical health, personal & spiritual connection, fun/play/creativity, self expression & self care. Just like in an ecosystem, all of these elements matter and the individual health of each element adds up to make a picture of your overall wellbeing… and this fluctuates almost every day. This is why it is so important to be aware and pay attention to what’s going on, because it is very easy to make minor course corrections, it’s much harder to change your whole life. 

Terms To Pay Attention To

Ideals

This will be covered in a few different ways throughout the year. Ideals keep us intentional and on track. An ideal is a word that to you represents the most perfect state. To You is the operative term here, because your ideals are going to be different from my ideals, because you are different from me and it is these differences that are so important to pay attention to because they are what keep you on track with yourself, not with everyone else (or who you believe you should be). Getting clear on your ideals helps you to get clear on what matters most to you and helps you to stay on track with it. You can create an ideal for anything: your marriage, your job, your entire life or even just this period that you’re going through now. The point of the ideal isn’t to become the idea, but to allow it to guide your decisions so that you stay on track with your best self. For example, consider your relationships, what are your one or two ideals for relationships? Maybe it’s compassion, in which case you want this image of compassion to guide all of your decisions about your relationships.

Frequencies

This is a term I kinda cooked up on my own, the frequency of something is like the one-word essence of sometime. It is similar to an ideal in the sense that you are taking a situation and boiling it down to one word, except when it comes to frequency we are doing it with any situation, whereas with ideals we are focusing on positivity and perfect. Figuring out the frequency of the situation, relationship, etc. helps you to get clear on exactly what it is that you do or do not like. For example, if you are experiencing disharmony or conflict with another individual, figuring out the frequency would entail getting to the root of the problem, understanding what exactly it is about this conflict that is so offensive to you- was it unkind? Miscommunicating? Controlling? Similarly, if you look at an experience that really filled your cup, it’s good to figure out what the frequency was of that experience that made it so impactful so that you can find ways to repeat it- was it because it was fun? Freeing? Connecting? Creative? etc. It is only when you get very clear and honest that you can better understand how to address it and in general learn more about who you are and what matters for you.

End Notes

• I am probably going to repeat myself in many different renditions of the same points this year, so if you don’t fully grasp it or integrate it now, don’t worry, you’ll probably hear it again. 
• I am going to share with you lots and lots of ways that you can improve your life and reminders of how great you can be and how you get off track… it can be inspiring but it can also be overwhelming. It’s very important that you just listen/read through all of this and let it settle in as it needs to. Forcing anything never gets you anywhere authentic. I will tell you think about a hundred more times: just listen to what I am saying and see what comes up, see what you start noticing and see what makes sense to work on right now. That is the absolute best that any of us can ask for and that alone will add up to some amazing changes. Regardless, the work that we start here and the questions that I ask of you can be used for the rest off your life, because just when you solve the major imbalance occurring right now, it will reveal the next imbalance just below it. You don’t need to be superman, but you also shouldn’t be Lois Lane anymore either, just be yourself.
• We discussed a lot of perfection and being this perfect state- try not to get overwhelmed! Over the next 9 months I will be elaborating these ideas in many areas of your life and also giving you lots of ways to make it all happen. Remember, take your time and above all work on being present and loving of yourself right now. 

Home Practice

I've listed two different practices, one is getting you into your body and one is getting you connected to your breath. Both serve important purposes and ideally you set up a regular, committed routine for both. Try to do something every day, maybe it's not always the 30 minute body scan, that's totally fine! The benefits of practices are going to come from two things:

• doing something every single day
• sticking to a committed routine

Put some thought into this and come up with a general plan for yourself of what you can practice and when. Make sure it makes sense for you and your lifestyle! Put effort into this, but also be very forgiving if it doesn't work as you felt it should. I know many of you have your own practices, please try to make room for these. Trust me, I've been in your seat and I've 'known better than the instructor' but there is something to be said about letting yourself follow what's being asked and seeing what comes out of it (especially in the first few months). Find your own balance between being the rebel and being the teacher's pet :)

The Body Scan is one of my favorite ways of practicing mindfulness… it helps me to feel more grounded and connected to myself and my day, it is my go-to practice when my anxiety is high and I’m feeling too scattered. 

I’ve posted a few different options with different lengths of time so that you can explore them all and pick whatever fits into your day.

A few notes on the Body Scan:

• Know that it is not at all uncommon to fall asleep during the body scan, no judgment!! Some tips that might help… 
• If you feel yourself nodding off, try extending your arms up, it brings life back
• Try different times of day, practicing in the morning is going to feel really different than practicing in the evening
• Try doing the scan both sitting up and lying down, again very different experiences
• If you don’t like it, stick with it. It wasn’t my favorite at first then I really started to love it (but it took a few weeks of constant practice)

The benefits are really going to be experienced when you practice every day, however I understand that that may be a lot to ask. Here are a few thoughts:

Commit to every day for 2 weeks, not the whole month

Commit to practicing it at least 4 days in a row, then give yourself a few break days, for the whole month

Maybe you do it every day but midweek you do the shorter practice and weekends you do the longer practice

I will let you make your own choices, guilt free, just know that doing it every now and then likely you won’t really get the full benefit (or even the point of practice).

Grounding with Breath is a very quick and simple practice to get you used to some elements that we will build upon including the mindful gauge and following your breath. Sprinkle this in throughout the week.

A few tips on Grounding with Breath:

• Try to pick a certain schedule to practice this with, some thoughts are
• Every morning before your students arrive
• At the end of lunch
• At the end of the workday either at school or in the car or right when you get home
• Before bed
• Try to pick a time when you think you could use a few grounding breaths
• Do this with consistency, so yea maybe every day, but maybe you just do it weekdays, or on specific days that could use a little extra love.

Friendly reminder: You are adding something new into your day which is going to be anywhere from an adjustment to a pain in the you know what, yes there is going to be some discomfort in this process (that you will adjust to over time), however this needs to not be an actual stress… know the difference and refer back to my notes in orientation about always being kind to yourself!

The Classroom is an Ecosystem

The Classroom is an Ecosystem

So we have discussed your ecosystem and how the many elements of your life add up to create your overall wellbeing. Well, your classroom is its own ecosystem with its own set of elements, of which you are one. Just like the level of wellness of your relationships, career, creative expression, etc. are going to affect your overall wellness, the level of wellness of each element of the classroom is going to affect the overall wellbeing of your classroom… and from the top down, the overall wellbeing of the classroom is going to affect the individual wellbeing of each element (each student and you). You see, nothing in the natural world is a closed system, everything flows, connects and affects in all directions. The point being: you matter and how you should up matters, same goes for each student. But we can’t control each student, we can’t control anyone beyond our own skin, we can only do our best and hold space for and inspire others to do their best.

You are the apex of the classroom ecosystem… what does that mean? Well, all elements of the ecosystem are incredibly important to the flow of the ecosystem, but you as the teacher have one of the greatest effects and roles within this ecosystem. This perspective is largely why I built this program, because supporting YOU is going to be one of the most effective and sustainable ways of supporting your students, not just for the year but potentially for their lives.

What Affects The Ecosystem?

The personality of the classroom- how it is designed, how it flows, the colors, organization, etc

Teacher/Staff - How you show up physically, mentally and emotionally*.

Student - How each student shows up physically, mentally and emotionally*. 

*Remember this could be every day or as a whole. If, as a whole, your classroom is physically unwell and unfit this is going to have an effect on the success of the group.

Collective Effort - the challenges, voluntary and involuntary, that the classroom goes through. This could be doing a month long math challenge or it could be the coming together to support a family in need. It’s about how these efforts are managed.

Level of Harmony & Camaraderie - how cohesive, kind and compassionate the group is and how well they support individual and collective growth

Interactions with External Conditions - this could be the effects of a visitor or a major change in schedule or it could be natural disaster, etc. 

Trauma - (this is more a subset of collective effort and external conditions) collectively (as a classroom, community & society) and individually

Your Role

You play two roles in your classroom ecosystem:

As the apex of the ecosystem you have a major affect on your students. Who you are and how you show up every day is going to largely shape the students for the year and potentially for their lives. THERE is much more to school than academics, it’s an opportunity to be around so many personalities and go through so many experiences to better understand who they are as they grow up. Having an angry, exhausted teacher will teach students something about themselves and how they want to show up and respond to life. Same goes to the compassionate teachers, the playful teachers, the discerning teachers, etc. You all play a very unique role in these kids’ lives and at the core of you, beyond your own struggles, is an amazing individual. The goal isn’t to disown your struggles, but to manage them so that you can have your best day and also influence all those little sponges that surround you. Because you are not angry or depleted, that is just something that happens under mismanaged stress. 

You are also the conductor of your ecosystem, you have the greatest level of control over how things flow. This is going to be a reflection of your own level of flow and how you are able to manage the victories and losses of your own life. Much of this comes down to attitude, because regardless of how much stress you have, it’s how you view it and manage it that makes a difference. 

Reflection, Awareness, Authenticity & Alignment

Let’s go back to some of the details of the personal module, regardless of how you mask it, what is going on within you is going to be reflected into all that you do and all of your interactions. Want to change your experience? Come back to who you are and how you are showing up. I’ll say this a million times: this isn’t a shame on you, this is a pay attention, notice what’s going on and question why. You can’t even begin to make positive change for yourself if you don’t know why.

How present you are and aware of what is occurring within the classroom ecosystem is going to enable you to maximize your ability to successfully conduct. Goals and big visions are so important, however, remember that the future is built off of the present and the present is the only place you truly have control, thus the best way to ensure meeting your goals and becoming your vision is from being fully present and fully authentic. Just like you have your own Best Self and True Self, so does the classroom. Knowing the two and using the classroom Best Self as a goal to continuously align with is going to help keep the true shape of the classroom on track with its best. Again, this is not about being perfect, but about being the best version of yourself in the moment, given the circumstances. 

Observation

Let’s step back for a second because I have covered A LOT. But again, we have 10 whole months to work on this so now is not the time to be implementing big changes. Just take what you have learned with all of this and allow it to remain in your mind as you go through this first month of school. Just pay attention to your classroom from this perspective… try to do it without an ounce of judgment (oh I showed up in a bad mood and was not nice to a student because of it), try to just notice with a heightened level of curiosity. Before you can change anything you must truly, honestly understand all of the components of what is happening, both in the class ecosystem and your ecosystem, and if you are judging the process you are going to lose some of the honesty. If there are little changes that seem very easy and obvious to make then go ahead and do it, but please do not do anything big and do not force anything. Just notice what is going on and what you are seeing from this slightly new perspective. There is no practice to apply in the classroom this month, just observation and paying attention. Start to notice what your baseline is with your class and with yourself personally so you know better what to build the next month off of. I intentionally didn’t ask you to create goals for yourself for the whole year, because that can get a bit overwhelming and frankly who you are in September is so different than who you are in June. Instead I asked you to create monthly goals, so that each month you are building off the month before. Ideally this supports you in staying very close and intentional with what you are doing without putting too much force on yourself.