Greetings and welcome to my corner!

WELCOME TO MY CORNER!

I’m so glad you found my corner and decided to join the community!

Right off the start, I want to share that writing blogs and newsletters is new for me and there are times when I feel slightly lost…

I know a lot of people can relate to feeling lost these days so I decided to make “getting lost” the theme for my welcome newsletter.

Feeling lost and finding our community.

I've never liked the idea of getting lost. Maybe it's a pilot thing, maybe it's a human thing. The idea of letting my thoughts and feelings get lost in me is a bit scary too, though less now than it used to be!

There is a part of me that is untouchable by chaotic thoughts and feelings. It takes courage to trust this, but when I can let my thoughts and feelings get lost in me, then I'm not lost. I'm anchored to what's most important, grounded, in my being.

Easy? No. But the quality of my life depends on it.

Embracing "Don't lose yourself in thoughts and feelings; let them lose themselves in you."

In order for me to embrace these wise words of Rupert Spira (a teacher whom I study with) I need to dig deep and trust myself. I've been able to build my inner trust by surrounding myself with people I look up to (ie Mooji, Dan Siegel, Brené Brown) and gathering resources from them. I'll be sharing some of my favourites with this growing community. Who do you look up to? Do you have a resource folder? I'd love to hear from you on this.

Finding support through connection.

Another way I've found support is through building a sense of community with like-minded people; people like you! This is one reason I've decided to dive into this newsletter project and I am grateful you're with me.

I'd like this newsletter to leave you feeling more connected with people who align with your path and purpose. Carl Eisen and Ryan Van Haren are two close friends/colleagues of mine who are doing great work in bringing a sense of wellbeing and connection to pilots. Please consider them a part of YOUR community too.

Meet Carl Eisen, founder of MindfulAviator, recently retired from commercial flying. He and I have partnered up with leading organizations around the world to support pilots. I recommend you check out Carl's "Guided Goodwill Meditation" at the bottom of this page.

Meet Ryan Van Haren, founder of Cardinal Aviation. He and I flew Twin Otters together and share interests in mental health and work/life balance. He hosts interviews, and we recently chatted about connection and wellbeing. Check out our conversation here.

Pausing and trusting the process.

Some words I live by: “The best way to go fast is to go slow.” This means to intentionally build pauses into your days - as many pauses as you can. This seems especially meaningful with all the changes out of our control in 2020. Lately, I've noticed I'm more susceptible to getting entangled in a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. For me, the idea of "going slow to go fast" was counterintuitive, but over time, my practice of slowing down and pausing has increased the quality of my tasks and my conversations. It has also increased my stamina, allowing me to get more accomplished. Perhaps most importantly, making a routine of pausing has helped me build trust with myself and with how my life is unfolding.

In many mindfulness communities it is said we need to make time to pause and practice awareness as if our life depends on it because the quality of our life certainly does.

I hope this message inspires you to pause, to untangle yourself from the whirlwind of thoughts and feelings.

I'll write again soon and if you have any questions or requests, please reach out. If you're interested in connecting live with me and a community of like-minded people, check out my schedule of upcoming Path Toward Stability courses below.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Gord

Would you like to carve out space for nourishing yourself among a supportive community? Join me in discovering a "Path Toward Stability". All courses are by donation “pay what you can”, or write to me about scholarship options. Click here to learn more.