3 steps to begin the most important conversation you could ever have.

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Pete here writing again....

Start Your Divine Conversation (I use the word Divine, but you should use whatever word works best for you!)

Learn to Access your inner wisdom and power

Integrate deep meaning with every day life for Inspired Living

1- Experience your deepest connection with Life – begin your conversation with the divine!

So much of our lives can be put on automatic.  So many days are filled with simply moving from one obligation to another.  Who among us has not asked the question along the lines, “Is this really what my life is about?  Is there more to me and this Life experience?  How can I live a deep and meaningful Life consistently?” 

The answer is a resounding “YES!” there IS so much more than meets the senses, but how do we experience it if it feels outside of our everyday life?

Enter, Your Deep Conversation with the Divine!

2 – Say YES to accessing your inner wisdom, connecting with your spirit and purpose and expressing your heart’s desires in the world. 

A conversation with the divine is simply connecting with who we truly are in our essence.   This is about seeking true security, enthusiasm of deep connection and experiencing the beauty of clear acceptance.  It’s a conversation that happens not only in the mind, but more importantly, in the heart.  It maybe more appropriate to say it happens through us. 

At this point you might be saying, that’s nice but, how will this affect those around me?  I can’t drop into this conversation because it might have negative repercussions in my life.  But actually it’s on the contrary, by having this conversation you become MORE available for those around you, you carry a quality if deep connection that is beneficial to all you interact with.  In fact, I believe this is the greatest step to world peace one can take, but that’s a later conversation we can have ;-)

Also this sounds like some lofty goal to achieve, speaking with the divine.  No matter what your background with spirituality or religion might be, it’s actually a conversation that’s so close, it can begin at any moment.   The divine does speak through you already, it breaths you, beats your heart, it is the intelligence the governs all of the visible and invisible world around us. It is your thoughts, your desires and your dreams.

My conversation began years ago with a small crack in my life story saying, “There’s got to be something behind all of this (life).  I want to connect with that, nothing else seems as important.”  I later read that Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “I want to know God’s thoughts: the rest are details.”   And so I have lived my life seeking to listen to that voice, that conversation.  When I’m tune with it, life seems to be filled with magic!  And,  When I’m NOT in tune with it, when I close it off for some reason (usually Fear based, more about that later) life seems chaotic, scary, unhealthy   and out of control.

Yet deep inner wisdom of the ages has found a way to speak to these seemingly frightening conditions, such as in the Zen proverbs which state so beautifully, “The obstacle IS the path” and “The snow falls, each flake in it’s appropriate place.” 

3 – Let your deep conversation be your guide to peace, security and happiness!

Now, I have the privilege to be in conversations with many special people, in many stages on their walk of Life’s journey.  Most commonly when talking about this deep conversation with the divine I’m asked, “Where’s a good place to start?  What’s a good beginning conversation?”  That’s why I’ve developed this pilot program, to make it easier for you to begin and sustain the conversation wherever you find yourself in Life’s journey.

Once you’ve begun the conversation, learn how you can then infuse and implement the inner wisdom, compassion, creativity and divine guidance in your everyday living.  

I'm ready to lead this new online course (get the details below)  I'm ready to support.  To inspire.  Are you coming?

Deepening the conversation - a Podcast, a video, a new pilot program!

Hi all, Pete here once again....
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I’ve always had a desire to go to the deep stuff in life’s conversations.  Asking the big questions, “Why am here?”  “Who am I?”  “What is my life for, what is the purpose of it all?”  Rather than shy away from these questions, many people are intrigued and even are excited when someone else is asking the same questions.  Yet, for most of us, we then go back to a daily life nearly void of the wisdom gained by asking such questions.  Well, isn’t it possible to embody both realms of experience?  Living a life that encompasses all the day-today details while simultaneously remaining connected to the deeper truths of Life itself? 

YES, OF COURSE IT IS! 

These are not some lofty ideals available only to the spiritual devotees of yesteryears, but real-time, authentic, and easily applicable life wisdom queries ready for us to access NOW!  These seemingly lofty queries are the most natural and accessible of all human queries.  It’s not amazing learn of their usefulness, what’s amazing is that they’ve been all but removed from our modern culture or ostracized and therefore forgotten by us to be the most vital questions we may ever ask in our lifetime.

Here's some new information about how you can join me  in the brand new offering I've created to safely and in a nurturing way begin your own deep conversation.

Become part of the Pilot program to co-create this new course, watch here:

email Pete for more info: psibley(at)wyoming.com

And listen to:

Pete's Deepening the Conversation Podcast

How Deep Listening creates beautiful harmony anytime & with anyone.

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Hi All, Pete here again....

Sometimes things are so close we don’t recognize them for what they are.  For me, that happens when Anne and I are singing in harmony.  I rarely think about the mechanics of harmony singing; the pitch, the phrasing, the subtleties of pronunciation and so forth.   

I do experience something more attune to a picture in my mind of where our voices are moving together and the effect and influence it has in that moment, in that setting for that particular song.  Honestly, I’m amazed at how it seems to happen by itself sometimes!  And yet, I’m always keenly aware of how this is only possible when we both are in a state of deep listening.

I’ve come to explain this occurrence as Deep Listening.  In my life I explain it as a state of Being, a kind of heightened awareness dedicated solely for that moment in time.  In workshops and in retreats I tell participants that it’s as if you’re listening with your entire body.  You feel the sounds and the space around you so fully that the listening becomes something of a physical act.  Thoughts usually slow down or sometimes they stop completely, yet you’re very alert and responsive to the person or situation at hand.

It can be fascinating when you bring this Deep Listening into practice with music, you’re more aware of the subtle qualities music can take on.  This is the reason why music can help you feel better, happy or sad, contemplative or whatever.  You can actually “feel” the music and it brings on a certain “feeling” in us.  Maybe that’s why I’ve had so many people tell me the banjo just makes them feel happy yet they don’t know why. Or when people tell us that our harmony singing makes them feel calm.

Anytime we’re interacting with another person, we’re creating a certain harmony, whether we’re singing or not.  There’s two of us and we’re bringing our story, our song, our voice to that moment.  We are all capable of bringing a certain quality to each interaction.  Do we sing in a complimentary harmony or are we competing for the soundscape?  Do we bring Deep Listening or is there so much going on in our own heads we can’t hear or feel the other person?

I try to bring Deep Listening into every conversation and interaction I can.  Sometimes it comes in easily, like singing with Anne, and with deep satisfaction and other times, not so much ;-)  But hey, I’ve been singing harmony with Anne for 20 years and I’m still learning how my voice can sing!

Let me know how you experience Deep Listening and how easily or not you can bring it into your everyday conversations.

3 things playing the banjo has taught me about the deeper meaning of life.

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This weekend I have the great opportunity to share some stories with high school seniors about what it’s been like living a life of being a musician.  Actually, more about living a life attempting to follow my heart's passion.  It kinda made me think of what giving a commencement speech would be like…..well, here’s what I would say, if someone asked this Spring at graduation time...

I love banjo playing in the airport

Dear Graduating Class of 2015,

Standing here at the dawn of the rest of your life I can think of nothing more fitting than to talk about...the banjo!
No seriously playing the banjo has been a great teacher of deep wisdom and truths.

Actually, I find that anything in our lives can be looked at as a deep teacher of wisdom and truth.

From washing the dishes, to going for a walk, petting your dog, or talking to your mother.  Everything is showing us our perceptions, our reactions, our judgments, our beliefs and what it is that's most important to us.  It’s all there all the time waiting for us to take notice.

For me, being a musician, more specifically knowing how to play the banjo, has put me in so many different situations over the past 12 years that they have opened my eyes and mind to the secrets of what it means to be a human being on this crazy journey called Life.

So here are three things I believe are part of the living wisdom of Life itself.  All of which I’ve gleaned while being a banjo player:

1 – People are good, just open yourself to receive – When Anne I and left on our cross country tour in 2010, we sold our home and drove out to share our music (play the banjo) in a larger way.  We were following our heart’s passion to bring beautiful music to people who would hear it.  People supported us everywhere we went, with meals, homes, childcare, money and everything in between.  Sitting around hundreds of kitchen tables, sharing meals and living space, we witnessed the true essence of people from Wyoming to Tennessee and New York to New Mexico.  PEOPLE ARE GOOD.

2- Live from your passion and people will want to support you – When Anne and I began our music life (playing the banjo), we did it because it made us feel so good.  However, as we progressed, people began to feel that vibrancy coming from us and it awoke a desire in them to see us succeed.  As if they would somehow benefit from us continuing to be passionate for what we wanted.  When we live from our passion and that which inspires us, we inspire others, stirring their intuition which says, “This is worthy of my support.”  Dare to live from this space of passion and inspiration.  Dare to lead with your heart.  It will light the flame in others.

3 – Fear contracts, love expands – Having put in our 10,000 hours of live performance, it’s fun and amazing to me that I still get butterflies in my stomach sometimes before performing.  It’s reserved for special occasions mostly (like our recent audition for The Voice) or when I’m trying something new on stage.  Yet, every time I’m vulnerable on stage and in life, I grow.  On stage it feels as if there’s nothing beneath you and you are falling over the edge of a cliff and suddenly, it goes perfect and you’re not falling but flying.  In life it’s more subtle: the chance to be wrong as a parent or admitting to being petty with your spouse.  These moments always, always make me like more of the person I want to be in life: authentic, loving, compassionate and grateful.  In the case with my child, I usually end up getting the best hug ever, with the spouse, I no longer need to hide what scares me and on stage, the applause of hundreds of people cheering my success.  So ask yourself, “Does this feel like contraction or expansion?”  Fear or Love?  I CHOOSE LOVE!

www.anneandpetesibley.com

The EXPERIENCE of Joy

On Feb 8th, Anne and I hosted a retreat called, Awaken Joy.  (watch the video on our YouTube channel) With a room filled with courageous people, we sang, shared stories and wrote about Joy in our lives and how we can support ourselves and each other in allowing Joy more access  in our daily lives.  Personally, it was very moving and I shared the following with the retreat participants.  Perhaps it might be of interest to others, so here it is for you to read over and comment on. 

It's a privilege to be able to share our songs and ourselves with you all!

 
Thanks,
Pete

Hi All,

I’m curious to see how you all did on Monday.  Did you feel there was a new perspective on things or that you felt alright with how the day unfolded?  Did you find yourself reflecting on your weekend?

Or did any of you feel the old momentum try to remind you it was there on Monday like I did?  Sometimes when new shifts or deep experiences happen, the old patterns attempt to assert themselves as to not loose their hold on us and our thinking.  If this happened to you, I recommend to first simply allow it be and then using the “deep listening” approach, see if there’s something inside you that is ready for change or ready to be heard.  This takes tremendous courage and can even be scary.  It could be you felt tired yesterday, maybe things felt lackluster or perhaps you wanted to just disappear under the covers.  For me, it was the feeling of there’s too much to get to and I don’t have enough time.  Anxiety coupled with the fear of failure.  When I finally allowed it be, rather than trying to use sleep, the internet or reading to avoid the feeling, I saw it was an old story, an old fear.  Oddly enough it was fear of an exciting and bright future.  Fear that somehow I would mess up all the good in my life if I didn’t use worry and anxiety to keep myself motivated.  I then remembered to apply this quote from the author Eckhart Tolle,  “It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.”  This created more space for me to enter a place of deep listening and respect for this old, familiar fear/ feeling.  Because of our time together the day before I saw that this was my chance to EXPERIENCE my desire to allow JOY to come through me, even at this seemingly impossible time.  As I accepted this fear by silently witnessing it, I felt the hint of peace underneath the fear.  Like our conversation the day before, I realized again that Joy is always there, but we tend to cover it up with blocks.  I noticed there was nothing for me to DO to get to the Joy, I just asked it to come through me.  Some people might call this, “Let go and let God” others say it’s accepting the present moment.  However you name it, I thank you all for helping me touch Joy on Sunday so I could more easily find my way back.  Like tasting honey, I have again experienced Joy.  This happened shortly before I went to bed and I soon fell into a deep sleep and woke up this morning feeling refreshed and amazed.  How did this happen?  Through knowing that life continues to give me opportunities to EXPERIENCE joy awakening within me. 

So let the river flow, allow yourself to fill in the statement, “I’ve always wanted to…”  Let yourself want more good, more joy, more love.  Be okay with letting go of things that aren’t working, no mater how familiar they might be.  We all want you to succeed and we’re all wiling to help you do so.  Remember, even those voices in your head aren’t always true, like my father’s voice that turned out to be less true than his actual deep love and support for me and my dreams!

With gratitude,

Pete

Finding the treasure of Experience!

 Hi All, Pete here typing....

Have you ever been on a treasure hunt?  Someone gives you clues and you piece your way to the final prize? 

This past Christmas morning I created a small treasure hunt for our kids, Leah (7) and Sam (4).  I had wrapped a package for both and inside there was a short, handwritten clue.  Each clue led them to a new destination with another clue that then led to the next location.  After several clues, they finally came to a box and inside was their present.  The present wasn’t any more special or unique than any other of the “hundreds” of presents they received that morning.   However, they both still comment on the “treasure hunt” present and the adventure of searching for and finally finding the present!  Why is that, because we are beings who FEEL and EXPERIENCE life.  We love to experience things, more than simply get things.  The experience is how the vibrancy of life gets to move through us.  This is nothing new to any of us, we’ve all gotten something only to have it lose its luster over time.  But lately I’m being reminded of that truth over and over again.

This weekend Anne and I drove to Los Angeles to audition for NBC’s The Voice, a reality TV show.  Several things came up as we even began the process of signing up to audition.  First of all, Anne and I haven’t had a TV in our home since 1999.  Second, we aren’t well known for our current list of popular cover tunes that are an essential part of the program.    And third, with the thousands of performers auditioning, it’s highly unlikely we’d gain a second audition let alone make it to the final round of appearing on the show.  Then why do it?  Why go through all the trouble of lining up babysitters, finding a place to stay, sitting in a car for 10 hours, eating Wholefoods’ sushi?  Because we knew this was an opportunity for us to experience our own belief in ourselves.  To experience our own sense of worthiness.  How?  The entire audition process, the 4 hours of waiting, the 45 seconds of singing, the kind rejection at the end were all chances for us to EXPERIENCE our own self worth!   To witness that worthiness does not come from outside of us but from within.  It’s one thing to know that truth in your mind, and something completely different to experience that truth!  This is why we speak so highly of stepping out of your comfort zones, because it affords you a chance to get to know the truth about what you think and believe about yourself.  What are the thoughts and stories you tell yourself?  These are the very structures your life is built upon.  How do you examine them?  By stepping outside of the story you’re telling (all the stuff you name as you, I am this, I do this, I am good at…) and taking a look around. 

The day after we auditioned for The Voice, we drove an hour east to a beautiful town surrounded by mountains outside of LA.  There we sang for a man in advance stages of Parkinson’s.  We’d been invited to sing for him by his family.   So we sang and shared stories of our adventures and inspirations for our songs while his family and friends gathered around this man and each other to weep, clap and sing along with us.  This shared EXPERIENCE was a profound mixture of love, sadness, joy and acceptance one that I know I will cherish for many years.  Their courage to step outside of their comfort zones, to be vulnerable with us and to weep, afforded them the experience of a love and connection that few people are willing to break their hearts open with!  Incidentally, they asked us to sing Anne’s song, “Wide Open” twice.  It was the song we sang at our audition the day before and contains the lines:

“I’m gonna lay my burdens down. 

I’m gonna fly with no excuses. 

I’m gonna break this heart in two. 

Break it wide open, a heart wide open, I’m gonna try!”

Thank you for supporting our journey!  Thank you for having the courage to keep showing up in your own life!  As we care for our own path, so it becomes impossible not to show up and care for others’ as well.

Awaken Joy Retreat

Embracing Vulnerabilty

Hi All, Pete here....We talk about it ALL THE TIME in our house.  The fact that life isn't meant to be lived carefully but rather with a willingness to go over the top in the name of Love and following your heart's passion.  Recently, I caught an interview with, Paulo Coelho,  the author of The Alchemist, who said, and I'm paraphrasing, "In the end the meaning for our entire lives comes down to one question, did you LOVE enough?"
For me, being vulnerable falls in the category of attempting to "love enough".  How?  Well, when I'm vulnerable I'm more attune to the immediate moment, I'm more present.  When I'm vulnerable I'm willing to ask others for help.  When I'm vulnerable I'm more authentically the person I want to be in the world rather than trying to be a certain type of person.  When I'm vulnerable my heart pushes the blood through my body unlike any other adrenaline rush I know.  When I'm vulnerable, I shatter my own limited expectations of what I can and can't do.  It's the times that I've been vulnerable that I look to as my own inspiration.  And recently, Life is giving me PLENTY of chances to test my willingness!!
In the end, "Loving enough" does not necessarily mean love directed at another person, but rather, love brought into the world through me.  Vulnerability allows me the opportunity to drop what I know about love and lets me BE an expression of love.
Here's a video of me assuming the "vulnerable pose"  Here is the first time I've ever played piano and sung at the piano live in a public concert, hope you enjoy.

PS This song will be featured on our upcoming CD!