The Passionate Man’s Pilgrimage

pilgrims at Santiago de Compostela, Spain

The Passionate Man’s Pilgrimage

by Sir Walter Ralegh

[Supposed to be written by one at the point of death]

Give me my scallop shell of quiet,

My staff of faith to walk upon,

My scrip of joy, immortal diet,

My bottle of salvation,

My gown of glory, hope’s true gage,

And thus I’ll take my pilgrimage.

Blood must be my body’s balmer,

No other balm will there be given,

Whilst my soul, like a white palmer,

Travels to the land of heaven;

Over the silver mountains,

Where spring the nectar fountains;

And there I’ll kiss

The bowl of bliss,

And drink my eternal fill

On every milken hill.

My soul will be a-dry before,

But after it will ne’er thirst more;

And by the happy blissful way

More peaceful pilgrims I shall see,

That have shook off their gowns of clay,

And go apparelled fresh like me.

I’ll bring them first

To slake their thirst,

And then to taste those nectar suckets,

At the clear wells

Where sweetness dwells,

Drawn up by saints in crystal buckets.

And when our bottles and all we

Are fill’d with immortality,

Then the holy paths we’ll travel,

Strew’d with rubies thick as gravel,

Ceilings of diamonds, sapphire floors,

High walls of coral, and pearl bowers.

From thence to heaven’s bribeless hall

Where no corrupted voices brawl,

No conscience molten into gold,

Nor forg’d accusers bought and sold,

No cause deferr’d, nor vain-spent journey,

For there Christ is the king’s attorney,

Who pleads for all without degrees,

And he hath angels, but no fees.

When the grand twelve million jury

Of our sins and sinful fury,

’Gainst our souls black verdicts give,

Christ pleads his death, and then we live.

Be thou my speaker, taintless pleader,

Unblotted lawyer, true proceeder,

Thou movest salvation even for alms,

Not with a bribed lawyer’s palms.

And this is my eternal plea

To him that made heaven, earth, and sea,

Seeing my flesh must die so soon,

And want a head to dine next noon,

Just at the stroke when my veins start and spread,

Set on my soul an everlasting head.

Then am I ready, like a palmer fit,

To tread those blest paths which before I writ.

(photo – pilgrims at Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

10 Keys to Successful Negotiation …

Effective negotiation is an art, one that requires preparation and practice in order to be successful. Consider these ten tips for preparing for negotiation and improve your odds for a resolution.

1. Know what you REALLY want.
Many people enter negotiation only to find they did not have a clear desired outcome defined in their own mind. Write down your desired outcome as concisely as possible and use this outcome as the center point of your preparation.

2. Know your opposition.
Learn as much as possible about who you are negotiating with, what they want, their strengths and weaknesses, and their likes and dislikes.

3. Consider the impact of timing and method of negotiation.
Whenever possible, negotiate face to face. It is easier to say NO over the telephone and in writing. Initiate the negotiation process so that you have the advantage of preparation and timing.

4. Prepare your presentation… point by point.
Outline your presentation carefully. Place emphasis on benefits to the other party.

5. Anticipate reactions, objections and responses.
If possible, brainstorm with others who have had similar negotiations to get a jump on what to expect. For each objection or reaction, list positive responses, alternatives and examples that counteract the negatives.

6. Structure your presentation to ensure agreement on one or two points at the beginning of the negotiation.
For example, “I think we can agree right away that we have a problem and that we both/all want to resolve it.” Initial agreement on minor issues or points early on in the negotiation process sets a positive atmosphere for agreement in later, more significant stages.

7. Determine paybacks and consequences for each party in the negotiation.
A clear understanding of paybacks and consequences makes it easier to determine when and how to make concessions and when and how to stick to your requirements and requests.

8. Prepare options rather than ultimatums.
An ultimatum should be used only as a last resort when you are sure you can back it up and the other party knows you can back it up. Even then, in virtually every negotiation there are options and alternatives that reduce defensiveness and lead to positive resolution for all parties.

9. Get comfortable with silence.
Many negotiators feel compelled to jump in with arguments and comments each time there is a pause in the interaction. Practice holding back on comments and responses. Silence can be a very powerful negotiation tool.

10. Close all negotiations by clearly outlining agreement.
When agreement or conclusions have been reached and you are ready to end your negotiation, review the agreement that has been reached.

from http://southerncalifornialegalservices.com/aboutus.html

Gandhi’s 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World

Mahatma Gandhi’s advice:

1. Change yourself

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

If you change yourself you will change your world. If you change how you think, then you will change how you feel and what actions you take. And so the world around you will change.

2. You are in control

“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”

What you feel and how you react to something is always up to you. You can choose your own thoughts, reactions and emotions.

3. Forgive and let it go

“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

Fighting evil with evil won’t help anyone. Forgiving and letting go of the past will do you and the people in your world a great service.

4. Without action you aren’t going anywhere

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”

Without taking action very little will be done. However, taking action can be hard. And so you may resort to preaching, or reading and studying endlessly. But you have to take action and translate that knowledge into results and understanding.

5. Take care of this moment

“I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.”

Stay in the present as much as possible, and be accepting. When you are in the present moment you don’t worry about the next moment. And the resistance to action comes from imagining negative future consequences or reflecting on past failures.

6. Everyone is human

“It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”

When you start to make myths out of people, you run the risk of becoming disconnected from them. Keep in mind that everyone is just a human being no matter who they are.

7. Persist

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Be persistent. In time the opposition around you will fade and fall away.

8. See the good in people and help them

“I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t presume to probe into the faults of others.”

If you want improvement then focusing on the good in people is a useful choice. It also makes life easier for you as your world and relationships become more pleasant and positive.

9. Be congruent, be authentic, be your true self

“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.”

When words and thoughts are aligned then that shows through in your communication. People tend to really listen to what you’re saying. You are communicating without incongruence, mixed messages or phoniness.

10. Continue to grow and evolve

”Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.”

You can pretty much always improve your skills and habits, or re-evaluate your evaluations. You can gain deeper understanding of yourself and the world.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, on death

Aître Saint-Maclou in Rouen

Death is the touchstone of our attitude to life. People who are afraid of death are afraid of life. It is impossible not to be afraid of life with all its complexity and dangers if one is afraid of death. This means that to solve the problem of death is not a luxury. If we are afraid of death we will never be prepared to take ultimate risks; we will spend our life in a cowardly, careful and timid manner. It is only if we can face death, make sense of it, determine its place and our place in regard to it that we will be able to live in a fearless way and to the fulness of our ability. Too often we wait until the end of our life to face death, whereas we would have lived quite differently if only we had faced death at the outset.

There is a patristic injunction, constantly repeated over the centuries, that we should be mindful of death throughout our life. But if such a thing is repeated to modern man, who suffers from timidity, and from the loss of faith and experience which prevails in our time, he will think he is called upon to live under the shadow of death, in a condition of gloom, haunted always by the fear that death is on its way and that then there will be no point in having lived. And death, if remembered constantly and deeply, would act as a sword of Damocles for him, suspended over his head by a hair, preventing the enjoyment of life and the fulfilment of it. Such an approach to the saying must be rejected. We need to understand mindfulness of death in its full significance: as an enhancement of life, not a diminution of it.

Read entire article at http://www.metropolit-anthony.orc.ru/eng/eng_06.htm