600 Personal Development Exercises
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MONK UMBRELLAS It’s late in the afternoon and the attendant is going around the pool, putting down the large umbrellas. He’s tying the cream covers with their cream belts, around their sturdy brown poles. The umbrellas now all stand spaced neatly apart like monks, guarding the ocean here at Cunan, Mexico. The Monk Umbrellas look out across the Atlantic to their counterparts, in the square at Candelaria. Towards the statues of the Guanches kings who ruled the pre-Castillian kingdoms of Tenerife. Together they all wait for a new day and to protect us all in the Cathedral, and by the pool. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What does the arrival of a new day mean to you?  Day 539 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises EXPIATE We can try to make amends for all that we have got wrong. We can try to begin again through our own efforts. We can try to extinguish the guilt we may carry. But expiation does all of this, freely, for us. Expiation is a gift of love that clears the record. It’s as if our mistakes never existed. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Can you accept the gift of expiation? 2. What does it mean to start with a clean sheet?  Day 530 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercise ANSWERS WITHOUT QUESTIONS Have you noticed how if we keep asking ourselves the same questions, we keep getting variations of the same answer, sometimes packaged as ‘new ideas’. After a while we come to see, that we’re asking the wrong questions, and then we gently realise, that there are in fact, no questions to ask, only answers to be received. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What answer would come if you sat, and never asked a question?  Day 452 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises PEN NAME Our God comes with no baggage or history, no image or place, no authority or stories, no religion or belief. For our God has no name, but love. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What does your God come with? 2. What do you call love? Day 438 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
THE GOD WORD God is everything and yet, nothing. God is what we know and what we don’t know. God is what we believe and what we don’t believe. God is the word that is beyond and within all words. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. When did you last use the God word? 2. How might you break free of outdated concepts and allow the God word to open up new possibilities for you ? Day 430 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
SPIRITUAL DUALITY Spirituality talks of exploring and developing an understanding, of the duality of human nature. The focus of this can be known as God, or Love, or simply the Ultimate Reality of everything. For all are one and the same. Our Spirituality asks how can we experience God in times of need, or in everyday events, or with others? But spirituality is also about us in the presence of God’s life. How can we be with him beyond all that we are? This is about us going to his place and not just him coming to us. These two sets of experiences and learning, are not separate or parallel, but are entwined. This is the duality of human existence. The two paths are one. For every road enables us to go, and to come back from our destination. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE? 1. What is the focus of your Duality? 2. Is your journey to be with God, or Love, or the Ultimate Reality of everything? Day 426 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
SUSTAINABLE SPIRITUALITY Our energy use will shift dramatically over the next 20 years. We will move further away from the old fossil fuel economy which creates greenhouse gases. We are learning to work together for the good of everyone. Clean, renewable energy is our aim. It’s a new way of living for all of us. Coal will stay in the ground and we can look after our world, if we all play our part, together. Our spirituality will also shift dramatically over the next 20 years. We will move further away from the old religious structures which create division. We are learning to work together for the good of everyone. A spirituality of love is our aim. It’s a new way of living for all of us. Religions will stay in their buildings and we can build a caring world, if we all reach out, together. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. How will you become a champion of Sustainable Spirituality? 2. Is your belief or non-belief limiting your potential or holding you back from building Sustainable Spirituality? Day 408 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
NEGATIVE CONDITIONING Much of our conditioning about God has come through the media and religions, with their view of what is truth. Much of our conditioning about talking with God, has come through concepts such as prayer or meditation. But what if we made a fresh start, and built our own understanding and personal relationship, with whatever we perceive God to be? For God is really the unknown that is out there, beyond us and yet in each of us, and all of us. Imagine then, if we could go beyond all that negative conditioning and talk with love and kindness, To ourselves and to others. to all that we know, and don’t know. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. How do you imagine a God that is unknown but yet within you and part of you? 2. How can you begin to develop a relationship with your God? Day 402 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
EASTER EGGS It doesn’t get any more radical than Easter Sunday. For Jesus to come back from the dead, goes against all the laws of the natural world that we understand. Easter is an amazing gift. It gives us direct insight of a world yet to come. Easter promises that we will all come back to life and we will live forever. It doesn’t get any more radical, exciting, exhilarating, hopeful and wonderful than this. Easter is the gift that frees us from all that holds us back and encourages us to become all that we should be. Our Easter eggs are a reminder of this gift, from one to another, and for each of us, together. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. As you open your Easter egg this year, be thankful for the amazing gift that is Easter. Day 376 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercise
THEOLOGY You don’t have to go anywhere, to be with God. He is with you now. You don’t have to say anything, to communicate with God. For he knows you well. You don’t have to give any time to God, for he is time, and he gives this to you. You don’t have to believe in God, for he gives you life and believes in you. You don’t have to apologise to God for he is love, and has forgiven everything. You don’t have to ask God for anything, for it has already been given to you. You don’t have to think of God as ‘out there’ for he is already in you, as you are in him. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Write down your theology - your understanding of what God is. 2. What is your relationship with God? How would you describe this? Day 341 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
CO-WORKERS Imagine that God is looking with your eyes, for he is. That is why you are here. To be the eyes of God in the world. Imagine that God is working with your hands, for he is. That is why you are here. To create and build a world of love. Imagine that God is speaking with your voice, for he is. That is why you are here. To bring a message of love to the world. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What are you seeing? 2. What are you building? 3. What is your message for the world? Day 306 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
FREELANCERS Some people pray to the Saints in heaven to intercede for them, and to help them. They believe that these holy people have a good place in heaven. They also have God’s ear. The prayers are usually calls for help with illness, or for situations that are causing stress or worry. And the prayers are not only for the person themselves, but often for those they love. But everyone who has died is in heaven, and has God’s ear. They are all waiting for you to ask for help. So, reach out to those you know who have died, Reach out to those who you don’t know, and ask for their help, too. For heaven is like a team of freelancers, all working together to help us. Heaven is packed with experience and wisdom. You see, the energy and interests, that we have in this life, continue to grow and flourish, in the next. So, what answers do you need? What help are you asking for? Who are you asking? PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What Projects are you planning? 2. Who is on your team of Freelancers? Day 299 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
AGNOSTIC We can promote love without religion or belief. We can love others without religion or belief. We can help others without religion or belief. We can serve others without religion or belief. We can give all we have to those in need without religion or belief. We can promote goodness without religion or belief. We can do what is right without religion or belief. We can give a voice to those who have no say without religion or belief. We can be truthful without religion or belief. We can stand up for those who are down without religion or belief. We can be kind and gentle without religion or belief. We can do all of this each day without religion or belief. We can become love without religion or belief. We can be as one without religion or belief. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. How can we all be as one? Day 296 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
FAITH We think of faith as something we believe in, when in reality, faith is something that believes in us. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What or who believes in you? Day 289 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
MONITORING VISIT I was sitting in the garden early this morning and the gate opened unexpectedly, with a rattle, and Jesus walked in. It was not what I could have predicted! He was dressed in white of course, raised his hand, and shouted ‘hello’ as he closed the gate. I’ve just come to say ‘thank you to everybody for all the good work that you are doing. I know how difficult it is at the moment’. He sat down on the bench beside me and we said nothing. He didn’t need to say anything and I didn’t know what to say. He then got up, shook my hand, gave me a hug and said ‘Good to see you’. As he closed the gate he added ‘Take care, talk soon’. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What would you have said? Day 242 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
LIGHT SWITCH If you switch off when you hear the word 'God', then just change it to love. If you switch off when you hear the word 'love', them just change it to your name. For you are part of all love. We are part of God. And that cannot be changed, ever. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Write a sentence (or two) that includes the words 'God', 'love' and your name. Day 235 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
ATHEISM There is no such thing as God. God is not a fixed entity to be defined in any way, for God is beyond definition. God holds everything and is in everything forever. God is the totality of an expanding, infinite and eternal love. When we create boundaries and limits, we force people to agree or disagree with us. So, stop trying to force God into your system of belief or unbelief. Stop trying to put limits or human boundaries around God. For God encompasses all thinking, all beliefs and non-beliefs, and all time. God rests in each of us and in all of us as one. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. If we define God as love, then we can begin to see how this is 'in each of us and in all of us as one'. Starting from here, how would you explain what God is to a child. Day 223 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
APPRENTICESHIP People used to look to religious bodies for spiritual guidance and the path to salvation. Nowadays, many of us work to find our own path in life, and our own way. For we know that there is no one way and no one map. There are different maps and so many ways. We can each find a path that works for us. Our path will be like no one else’s. It will be like no other. We will learn and do what works for us. And that is exactly, how it is meant to be. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What journey are you on? 2. How would you describe your path or your way - so far? Day 219 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
LIFE INSURANCE Insurance is a way of life. We cover our house, our cars and indeed, our life. But life insurance doesn’t protect us, it just helps those we leave behind. So, what if there is a heaven and God? What if we’ve ignored this throughout our lives, and then we find they do exist? Perhaps we should buy some real life insurance so that our future in heaven (if it exists), is protected. We cannot buy this life insurance, for it is available to everyone for free. To avail of this lifelong offer, simply spend some time thinking about the possibility of God, and having a life beyond here. God or heaven may not exist, but it makes sense to think about it, as an insurance policy, just in case. Who knows, you may need to cash it in someday. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What real life insurance have you taken out? 2. What is your 'just in case' contingency plan? Day 208 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
TURNOVER It was so much darker when I awoke this morning. Summer is slipping away. It’s cold and raining. I marvel at the continuous and seamless transition of the seasons. Year after year. They tell me that we also move through different phases, and that we too, are continuously, renewed and reborn. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What phase of your life are you moving into? 2. When you look back over the last year, how have you changed or developed? Day 196 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
COFFEE TIME It used to be in churches with stained glass windows and stillness where our grandparents found respite. For quiet, peace, reflection and rest it is now to the coffee shop, with its soft chairs and quiet corners that many go. The carefully designed colour schemes of Café Nero or Starbucks soothes our minds. The lighting creates a mood to help us relax. But God is just at home in a coffee shop. For us to rest and reflect is really what matters for body and soul. God is with us wherever we are, not just in Churches or Costas. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. When will you take some time to rest and reflect today? 2. Is it coffee time yet? Day 183 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
JOB DESCRIPTION Our spiritual journey isn’t necessarily a holy or religious one! We are all called to be part of love in our own unique and special way. For some this is in business, others in acting, others in nursing, others in sport or teaching, or retail or manufacturing. But these are only careers or jobs that describe what we do and not who we are. It’s who we are that is the real spiritual journey. It’s how we interact with people. It’s how we reach out. It’s how we help others. It’s the times that we are kind. This is the real day-to-day spiritual journey that we are all on. And it doesn’t matter what our role or job or situation is. For every connection with others touches something deep within us. It gives meaning to who we are in that moment. Each interaction connects us to the same love that is working within each of us, and that we all share. We are all on the same spiritual journey together. A journey that is written by each of us as our own job description. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Write out your job description. Remember, it's unique to you. 2. How will your job description change in the months and years ahead? Day 182 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
VENTURE CAPITAL The taxi collects me at 8:40am from my hotel in Seef and takes me some 20 minutes to the Sacred Heart church in Manama. The driver and I have enough English between us, to arrange for him to come back for me at 11am. I spend two hours captive in this compound with no distractions. It’s a haven of peace for me. I leave at 10:58am and my driver is here, waiting to take me back to my hotel and swimming pool. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. Where is your haven of peace? 2. What is your next new venture? Day 160 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
REFLECTION We can only really see ourselves properly when we look in a mirror. The reflection comes straight back to us. Our bathroom mirror shows us how we look today. We can only really know ourselves fully when we look to see God. The reflection comes straight back and shows us just like a mirror all that we really are. Until we look there can be no reflection. There is no picture. There is no image. Until we look to see God there can be no real understanding of self. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. What do see when you look in your bathroom mirror? 2. Where else can you look to know yourself better? Day 153 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
CALL TO PRAYER The church clock in our little village chimes at 3 o’clock as I cut the grass. It’s my call to prayer and I pause for a moment. At 4 o’clock we repeat the process. It seems like a fitting end point, working to God’s time. Time for thanks and a cold beer. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE 1. When do you pause in your day to give thanks? Day 146 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises
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