Kategoriarkiv: #English

Tender Greens x 5

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When Julie drove me down from Apple Valley to Santa Monica we had the good fortune to stumble upon Farmer’s Market, as well as Tender Greens restaurant in Santa Monica. We had the most delicious lunch there. In fact, I also ate dinner there, and lunch, and lunch, and… well, I ended up eating there five times in total, it was that great a place! If you ever have a chance to eat at Tender Greens – nip it in the bud, you won’t regret it!

Happy veganHappy Vegan salad

Grilled veggies on arugulaGrilled veggies on baby arugula

Salad in the rawSalad in the raw

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Mediterranean Spinach

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Harvest salad

Have you got a favorite restaurant like that, that just keeps drawing you back?

What is quality?

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Headed for Hässleholm for the first of four half day classes in Quality & Environmental Management Systems at a school for electro engineers. It’s the fourth year in a row I give this class (normally to automation engineers as well, but there are no 2-year students this year) and I love doing it.

After an introduction where we address our expectations on each other (teacher, student, the course itself) I let the participants start with a discussion on this question:

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It’s an interesting question if you think about it – because we all have so many preconceived notions about quality.

What’s your answer to the question what quality is?

Beer makes for great stories?

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Going walk-about in Santa Monica one evening, I stumbled across this sign outside a bar:

Beer and good stories

I’m not so sure about the truth to this statement though. First of all, I’m not that fond of beer in the first place, and I do believe I can tell a story or two. But also because I’ve heard a lot of great stories with no beer  in sight, some of them told over a plate of salad.

I do believe we all have great stories to share though. Some of us might not realize it, and hence, we keep silent, not sharing our stories.And that’s a shame, because we are a story-telling species, as Jonathan Gottschall writes about:

One of my favorite podcasts, The Moth, is about just that, sharing stories, in this form:

True stories, told live without notes

If you were to attend a Moth-event – what story would you tell?

The problem isn’t the problem!

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Day three of Foundation Weekend at Supercoach Academy 2014, Michael Neill invited Cathy Casey and Mark Howard in to be our teachers. 20140121-153531.jpgHowever, he set up a public event the night before and one of the most interesting things I brought with me from that 2-hour session, was this:

20140121-151740.jpgMight be hard to decipher, but what this drawing shows, is that the problem isn’t the problem, your thinking about the problem is the problem. Do you get it?

Let’s take an example. How about, not being able to fall asleep. You lie awake at night, trying to get to sleep, tossing in turning in your bed. right. I’m sure you’ve experienced that.

Well, what happens is that you start to worry and fret about not falling asleep. And that keeps you awake, going nuts, worrying about not getting enough sleep to get thru tomorrow etc etc.

You think (worrying) about the problem (not sleeping). If you’d not worried about the not sleeping part, you’d probably either have fallen asleep, or you could have done something else during that time. Maybe read a book, or even write one, plan the weekend outing or whatever. That way you would go about your business, using this extra time awake for something or other. But worrying about not falling asleep – where will that get you?

So, do you see how the problem isn’t the problem, your thinking about the problem, the initial issue, is?

Day 4 Foundation Weekend, SCA2014

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Well. What a trip this has been, in more ways than one. Am sitting at LAX airport right now, waiting for my flight to take off for home. Had some serious insights today, which for sure will make for some blog posts in the future. Thank you Kenny for being my partner in crime for that last coach session. 🙂

Me and LisaHotel CarmelHad lunch with Lisa, my wonderful room mate at Hotel Carmel, and fellow SCA2014 attendee, before going to the hotel, finishing the packing, and took of on the Big Blue Bus of Santa Monica. Real nice that, can’t beat a one dollar ticket to get to the air port, can you?Big blue busLAX sunsetLAX

Have a long journey ahead of me, and luckily, it’s evening now, so I hope I will be able to sleep on the flight. Right now though, I just want to be at hoooooooome with my family! You know that feeling?

Day 3 Foundation Weekend, SCA2014

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Started the morning doing a sample CoachWalk with my roommate, a really nice experience along the Santa Monica Beach, walking into the rising sun. Not to mention the fact that Ethan Hawke came running past us. So there’s my celebrity spotting checked off the to-to-list for my LA-visit.

At Supercoach Academy, Cathy Casey and Mark Howard have been our catalysts for the day, providing ample space for a lot of deep conversations. Lots of laughter, recognition, insights. But right now, I just feel confused. The lovely prospect of that is that my thinking will clear, like a snow globe, and then there will be clarity of mind.

Muddled mindAt least, that’s what I am counting on right now. So that’s it for me. But please tell me, what you do when you feel like you have a muddled mind?

Day 2 Foundation Weekend, SCA2014

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Another day done, 2 days to go of Foundation Weekend. Time flies when you are having fun! And I must say, so far it’s really been a treat. And luckily, even though we are ending early today, there’s more to come, since there’s this thing tonight between seven and nine, that I am planning to attend.

Attending SCA2014

I am very glad that SCA is set up in such a way that it gives room for plenty of in between spaces. The breaks, the one-on-one-conversations and coaching sessions as well as the long lunch break, gives room for me to land. To pick up on the analogy of ensuring a good foundation, the in between spaces gives my foundation time to settle.

Do you ensure you give yourself that type of space in your ordinary day-to-day life?

Day 1 of Foundation Weekend, SCA2014

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It’s been a full day, but still, I come away with a sense of calm. That feeling is helped along by my realization that there’s another 15 days to go, in total, before Supercoach Academy 2014  comes to a close in September. So there is plenty of time to create loads of wonderful conversations, meet with all these magnificent people, and get to a deeper level of my understanding of the three principles of Mind, Conciousness and Thought. And that, my friends, makes me one happy camper!Morning walk

Morning walk on beachI started the day with a walk along the Santa Monica beach, and ended it in a similar fashion. Can life get much better than this?

Icy magic!

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IMG_5841Write this sitting on the flight from Zürich to Los Angeles, and after having watched two movies and had lunch (or dinner? Who knows aboard an airplane!?), I am getting a bit restless. With seven hours to go, I opened the window blinds by my window seat (all blinds are turned down to make people sleep), looked out and was instantly wowed!IMG_5838

The beauty of Greenland underneath us is amazing. Untouched snow for as far as I could see, cold Atlantic water speckled with ice sheaths, the setting sun (coming from the other side of the plane though) making the sky turn into a fiery pink, purple and blue canvas.

Greenland - at winterHow many years until Greenland becomes, yearlong, what it’s name indicate?

Thanks for the visit, Serrano Cougars!

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My high school friend Julie, from Lincoln, Nebraska, is someone I got to know 20+ years ago, and lost touch with a handfull of years after that. However, thanks to Facebook, we connected again a few years ago, and since she lives within driving distance of Santa Monica where I will be attending Supercoach Academy, I asked if I could come visit. I have been, since Sunday, and it’s been great!

IMG_5860Julie is a teacher at a 7th and 8th grade school called Serrano middle school, in San Bernardino, and since I am so interested in school development, I asked if I could join her for a day at work. She asked the principal, who approved it, so that’s where I spent all day Tuesday.Serrano Cougars

I see many similarities between the Swedish and US school system – and a whole bunch of differences as well, of course. The conversations I’ve had with Julie and her colleagues makes me even more determined to continue my quest for a globally changed school system though! But right now is not the time to dig into that. But more reflections will surely come.

As I write this, it’s still ”yesterday” where I am at, i.e. Tuesday, and I will just post this (on Wednesday, no less!) before going to bed. Tomorrow Julie will drive me down to Santa Monica where the real adventure starts on Thursday – Supercoach Academy here I come!

Are you gearing up for any adventures this year?