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The School of Life

As I hiked up the path to the Peaceful Valley Chapel, I relished the quiet of my early morning solitude. After many years as a participant and assistant instructor at Thomas Crum's Journey To Center Program, this beautiful and energizing ten-minute hike had become a personal ritual. Each morning of each Journey to Center week, before our breathing and meditation session at 7, I always hike to the top of this small mountain to be inspired by the view of a much higher mountain range in the distance.

I stare at the 14,000-foot peaks, open my arms and breathe, inviting their energy, power, beauty and peace into my being. I contrast their stability and their "just there-ness" with my own approval-seeking energy, their effortless poise with my striving to do the right thing, and their natural and graceful essence with my desire to appear knowledgeable and beautiful and centered.

Could I possibly just BE? Like the mountain? There.

That turned out to be my practice this year - and I let the mountain be my teacher. Each time (well, most times) that I found myself in striving or approval-seeking mode, I stopped, breathed, and thought about the mountain. Thought about just BEING - like the mountain.

Each time I practiced, I felt my body come back to a relaxed stance, mind clear, my being at rest. It was as if I had been leaning forward - out of myself - looking for something, someone, to be okay. As I thought of the mountain, I came back to center.

Is there a place that helps you return to your own powerful presence? Your needs are met, you are okay just the way you are. Find it now - in your office, your home, your cubicle. Bring your mountain back into view. And have a great journey to center.

Judy Ringer

Judy Ringer is Founder of Power & Presence Training, a Portsmouth, NH company specializing in unique workshops to help organizations manage conflict, communicate effectively, and co-create a positive work environment.

The author of Unlikely Teachers: Finding the Hidden Gifts in Daily Conflict, Ringer provides training throughout the U.S. and Canada with unique workshops based on mind/body principles from the martial art aikido, in which she holds a black belt. In addition, she uses her expertise in several best practice communication models to bring to life key concepts such as self-management under pressure and appreciation of other viewpoints. Her programs are interactive, experiential and energetic.

Clients include Maine Medical Center, The National Institutes of Health, BAE Systems, Sony Corporation, Honda of America Manufacturing, Bose Corporation, Maine General Health, The American Red Cross, The National Education Association, and the States of New Hampshire and Vermont.

She has written numerous articles on the relevance and application of the aikido metaphor to conflict and communication, including articles for Aikido Today Magazine and The Systems Thinker. She is the author of two newsletters, including the award-winning Ki Moments, and the book, Unlikely Teachers: Finding the Hidden Gifts in Daily Conflict.

Ringer is also chief instructor of Portsmouth Aikido, Portsmouth, NH. She can be reached at judy@judyringer.com.