The Art of Connection.

Welcome. I appreciate your visit and curiosity. If you don’t mind a dirty, little secret: I struggle with what to write here. What to share. It’s ironic, I guess, that my “expertise” is in creating connections for organizations and individuals by uncovering (and sometimes recovering) alignment that we then develop into the authentic messaging and stories. And yet I struggle to find the right words for myself. Then again, maybe that’s the very thing that makes me good at what I do. Maybe we’ll find out.

I believe in the power and importance of connections. Connections between humans and other humans, humans and the(ir) environments, and/or humans and themselves create alignment and action. They create movement and motion. Motion that becomes ripples. Ripples that create changes.

Changes in perspective.
Changes in behavior.
Changes in experience.

Changes that when practiced become even deeper connections, and return us to our truest, move fundamental foundations. Together, we use these foundations to build awareness. And we use this awareness to do the work.

Thank you, again, for showing up — not only here, but wherever you are. I hope we have the opportunity to connect. – Todd Lieman

Leonard Markidan, Podia Chief Operating Officer

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Straight from the pages of my journal today “Open Space: It’s both a command and a location. In Open Space, you’re free. You can old your hands wide and spin. Bonus points for doing it in the rain. When you Open Space, you release yourself from confinement. And when you’re in Open Space, you are no longer confined. To Open Space requires Vulnerability and Truth. To stand Bare and Raw in Open Space requires the same. A state of mind. A state of being. A state of play. To be an Open Space. To have an Open Space. To be in an Open Space. More often than not, I have felt confined and have accepted it. Only recently have I had the courage to Open Space and then invite myself into it. To see a version of myself I’ve never accepted, but always wanted to know…” and it continues. This is a profound thought for me. Maybe just me. And that’s okay. More than okay. #adaywelllived Last week, a brilliant longtime friend of mine showed me how I express Fear in a way I had never before noticed. It was a profound Truth that punched me right in the throat. So, as I do, I have been noticing Fear (hiding) in lots of places. In words. In actions. And it’s good. Fear is not something to, well, Fear after all. It’s something to See and Approach. It’s something with which to Engage. Fear gets Lonely and wants to be Seen. Just like the rest of us. But we often run from it without Thought, so it has learned to hide and be a little sneaky. If we can Identify it, tho, and make Peace with it…It becomes something entirely new: Truth. Fear is on a Hero’s Journey to Truth. That’s why I always call it a Guide. (As others call it a Liar, which only serves to Shame it/Shame ourselves for Feeling it.) Fear is trying to Teach us. So, Hello, Fear. I See You. Thanks for being here. #adaywelllived What do you choose? And I suspect it’s not as black & white as that. Always one or the other. Still—the human experience is filled with situations where a celebration can replace the suffering. Even just for a moment. Ideally that turns into two moments and 10 and more. This isn’t to deny feelings, but turn them over and see what’s in the other side. I’m working on those moments of celebration. And finding the small things to celebrate. Like so many other things, it’s a practice that is kind of foreign to me. I was taught to suffer and not celebrate. Rewarded for it. It’s not the way. It’s not the way. #adaywelllived ❤️🙏🤘⚡️ I was walking my dog in the pouring rain this morning. It’s been raining and raining and raining. I was starting to whine about it in my head, when the thought was interrupted by another, “It always passes.” Rain. Anxiety. Pain. Even Joy. It always passes. Discomfort. It always passes. All the thoughts. All the feelings. All the experiences. They pass. That isn’t to say that they don’t come back and remind us of their presence, they do. But then they will pass again. Always. It always passes. There’s some relief in that, isn’t there — even for the Joy? If we know it will pass and we know it will come back and then pass again — we need not sit in the suffering for long. AND, we need not feel any pressure to “keep this feeling forever.” Because we can’t. It’ll pass. It’ll be back, but it always passes. There’s a great deal of comfort in this Universal Truth. It’s helps make the moments more meaningful and the experiences more mindful. It’s a Reminder. Perspective. All the things. Whatever it is — It’ll pass. It always does. #adaywelllived Somebody sent me a note suggesting that these scribbles were art and it made me laugh out loud. But then…maybe they are. Not for me to decide. I was thinking about the word Compassion and realized that it has “Compass” hidden inside and wondered how much knowing and following our own inner Compass might dictate our ability to have and Practice Compassion. And Ion—a molecule with an electrical charge. So if we charge the Inner Compass — it creates Love and Compassion? I like that. There are all kinds of other words and messages inside of Compassion: Coms (communicate), Pass, Ass, Passion…Powerful word and words. Perhaps all driven by that Compass. I find the more true mine is, the more I have to offer. Makes sense, I suppose. Hope it’s a great weekend. #adaywelllived I was looking at a picture last night. And watching a video. They are less than two months old and I could feel my insecurity in both. I could feel myself thinking that I didn’t belong in the room. Not with those people. The thing is — I did. I belong in every room. At least I can if I accept myself for all that I am. And see myself in the whole. Belonging isn’t about the rooms we’re in. It’s about how we feel about ourselves. We Belong everywhere. Whether or not we choose to feel that way to specific situations is up to us. Our Belonging cannot be taken away from us. We’re not searching for Belonging. We’re searching for a comfort in BEING. Accepting myself for all that I am…and am not. And I know this gets especially tricky around hate and politics and social issues and and and. I’m talking about me. My feelings. How I show up. Where I show up. And where I don’t. When I make choices from that aligned place of BEING, well, then I can Belong in the most import place of all—inside myself. And that can go everywhere. #adaywelllived We’re good of saying (as I have), “It’s simple, but not easy.” We know what we need to do, but it’s more complicated than all that simplicity. Why? Why can’t it be Simple AND Easy? Because the meme told us so? Mostly, I think it’s because we’ve just accepted it as such. And I’m thinking that the only thing that keeps the Simple from being Easy is is. We complicate it. We muddy the waters. We create all the hard parts. Yes, of course, there are experiences and bits here and there and everywhere that will get in the way of making the Simple universally Easy… So? If it’s difficult to find our Voices or our Joy or to face whatever Monsters we need to face — do what it takes to make it Easy. And I don’t mean ignore it! I mean deal with it. All of it. Until the Flow is Simple AND Easy. We need not apply difficulty. We need not accept any other way. #adaywelllived I’ve added the @wakingupapp to my daily practice and @samharrisorg talks a lot about “Begin Again.” And I’ve been considering it ever more deeply as an important practice. The ability to Begin Again is a real skill. Regardless of the size of the thing that needs to be restarted. Begin Again. And @jamesclear also writes about this in his book, Atomic Habits. Strive for 1% better each day and if you falter—just Begin Again. Falling off (whatever wagon) used to mean a long, dark spiral into the unknown for me. Days could easily become weeks. And now? This Begin Again practice and awareness is like a Super Power. It allows resets and restarts without judgment. I used to think my Super Power was my ability to bounce off the bottom. The awareness and permission to Begin Again means I no longer have to hit the bottom. Such a thing need not even exist. I can recenter. Breathe. Write. Walk. Text a friend. Whatever the moment calls for and Begin Again. There so much simplicity in this practice. Begin Again. Begin Again. Begin Again. As many times as is required. #adaywelllived This is the message of my 55th birthday. Do the Inner Work. I’ve always known, or have known for a long time, of course, and I maybe even convinced myself that I was doing it… But now I really see what it means. Going deep below the surface. And deeper still. Asking hard questions. And accepting even harder answers. I suspect it’s the answers that are even harder. At least for me. You think you’re convinced that you know something — and it turns out… maybe not. I’m really quite proud of all the things I’ve learned the last couple of years. I’ve come a long way. I understand my Intuition. I’ve uncovered it and I understand it. I’ve met my Inner Child. I understand him too. We still fight sometimes, but I know he’s just trying to share his Fears. He’s safe. We’re safe. Because of this Work. Healing is an Inside Job. So is Loving. Especially Loving. #adaywelllived

Giving Back

Our work together helps support a variety of mental health organizations by donating a percentage of proceeds from my work. I look forward to sharing more about this as we grow.

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