Jamie Greene

If you were ever to find yourself at the cliff’s edge on a foggy day, so thick you could barely see your hand in front of your face, and you realized that your next step would plunge you on to the rocks below – and in the next instant the fog cleared… wouldn’t you instantly know what action to take?

Maybe you’ve become confused or disenchanted by the empty promises of spiritual pathways, eager to change your life circumstance, plagued by fear and regret of missed opportunities or at a crossroads in your life and unsure which fork to take.

As your personal coach, I am available to do one-on-one private sessions and serve as your personal guide to help you make courageous decisions and changes in your life.

When the fog clears, we see vistas and landscapes that purge any fear, doubt, confusion or hesitation

If you feel the fog closing in around you and you’re ready to move away from the cliff’s edge, I honor you for your bravery to open your heart and mind to the landscape about to be revealed to you.

Remember, it was there all along… cloaked in fog.

Off The Couch Consulting, Inc.

To set up a one-on-one private coaching session in person or by phone, please contact me at: jamie@jamiegreene.la

You can also leave me a confidential voice message on (310) 906 0116

Clearing The Fog by Jamie Greene is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I recently had an illuminating session with a couple who have strongly opposing views of the world. Or so it seemed…

The question of the meaning of life comes up at least 3 times a day in my coaching work with clients these days. Maybe it’s the current spate of natural disasters and global tragedies and seeming randomness and injustice of it all, but the question keeps coming - Why?

Far be it for me to be the authority on such matters, but I do believe that part of my role as coach and voice of reason is to help others make sense of the world around them. To that end, the matter of life’s purpose must be readily accessible to all of us, rather than remain a perpetually ambiguous existential dilemma.

One Good Reason
We all need a good reason to leap out of bed in the morning…
A reason to smile,
Someone to serve,
A cause to fight for,
An object for our affection,
A task to strive for,
A purpose to fulfill,
A gift to bring to the world.

So, what is the source of meaning and how does God fit into all of this?
Let’s go back to my couple and their heated debate. Like many of us, they are struggling with a common dispute of the existence of God, a Higher Source behind all creation.

He is an atheist and she is extremely spiritual.
Her argument: Spirituality is not about God or religion.
His stance: There is no God and we are hurtling towards chaos… You get the picture?

In listening to their passionate debate, I realized that she just wanted to feel closer to him and share her ‘embracing’ view of life. Yet, he stood firm so as not to be ‘smothered’ by her religious dogma, rituals and ceremonies. Their challenge… how could they love each other and establish a deeper commitment with such opposing views of reality?

Agnostic Ambivalence
In approaching this tricky impasse, I cut to the core of where they were really struggling as a couple. She felt he was limiting their intimacy with his spiritual resistance. He envied her grounded, peaceful demeanor and grace, while fretting with relentless anxiety over the minutiae of his day-to-day pressures.

It seemed clear to me that this apparent chasm of purpose between them was really not so wide. After all, he acknowledged she was happy and purposeful in her spiritual approach to life, yet he was miserably angst-ridden in his God-less existence! He longed for the joy and zest she exuded and confessed to feeling trapped in his awkward agnostic ambivalence.

My assessment: Like all struggling couples, they both want to feel calm, centered and close; both yearning for joy and limitless revelry. They just want to feel that there is a purpose for their being together and for their love to flow.

It seems he is a spiritual fellow after all! He understood that spirituality is actually inside us. It’s our awareness, presence, and the meaning we bring to every moment. A spiritual atheist… I like that!

Altar Ego
One could assert there is no need for rituals or ceremonies in order to feel joy and passion. Often times, a ritual is a daily discipline to practice self-control, containment or compassion. It has its purpose in our lives to keep us focused and on track.

We could look at a workout at the gym as a ritual to build stamina, increase muscle mass and decrease body fat. The treadmill as our altar, the gym our Temple and the members, our congregation. We no more ‘worship’ the treadmill through ritualistic cardio-training than sitting quietly meditating to clear our minds in a quiet patio.

The assertion that these practices make us strangely religious is of course ludicrous. It’s a little like assuming a ‘couch potato’ an agnostic!

Our Essential Task
The need for meaning and purpose, therefore, exists in all of us and manifests uniquely. Our essential task is to find our gift. But, without meaning and direction, the expression of one’s gift is stifled.

It’s a bit like having a talent that you never get to express. Does it really even exist if there is no one to share it with? We’ve been given gifted talents for the sole purpose of their expression.

If you write, express it with purpose; if you sing, belt it from the roof tops; if you’re an athlete, knock it out of the park and if your gift is to connect with people, then give them all you’ve got!

It has been said that true power is the gift of being fully present.
Now that’s a cause worth fighting for!

God And A Treadmill by Jamie Greene is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Living in Los Angeles certainly has its rewards. Just witnessing the weather across North America for the past three months has reinforced my appreciation of Southern California and all its glories. None more so than how we are spoiled for choice when it comes to nature. The hiking trails, canyons, lakes, ocean breeze-cooled beaches and Mulholland Drive vistas are a few of my favorite things.

Finding Your Place
It’s one of the more common presenting issues that many of my clients are facing today; What do I want and where can I find it/him/her? You might be struck by the question yourself as you read this now. Even if you’re happily ensconced in a healthy relationship, there is often that nagging question of what really makes us happy, complete and fulfilled in a way that gets us leaping out of bed in the morning.

Sounds of Silence
What I have found to be true for many of us is that we are just too busy to slow down and connect. Connect to those haunting questions of meaning and purpose, connect to our yearning, our fears and insecurities, our anxiety, our anger, our passion. But most of all, we often avoid connecting to the Universe!

There, I said it. We have abandoned our Higher Selves, avoided the guidance we so crave from within and diminished that inner Voice that quietly whispers inside us.

Voice of Reason
I often refer to my role with my clients as a ‘reality check’ or Voice of Reason, all the while serving merely as a guide to redirect them to their own! Gone are the days when I would be concerned about giving advice or directing a client with an important decision. I do it all the time. My clients request it, they demand it from me and they trust me to tell them the truth. But what I offer them is the way to discover it for themselves. I invite them to find their place.

Wherever you go, there you are!
I first found my place in the meandering trails of  the Santa Monica Mountains. More excursions led me to the sacred discoveries of Franklin Canyon Lake and the Hollywood Reservoir. For others, it’s a quiet spot on El Matador Beach or a meditative drive along Angeles Crest Highway or hugging the spectacular contours of PCH all the way to Big Sur.

What does it sound like and what am I listening for?
Essentially, dropping in to a quiet space allows us a few moments of solace, stillness and clarity. If you’ve ever meditated you know what I’m taking about. Not easy… We might become restless, bored, antsy or agitated. Even a reprieve from our handhelds can cause us to break sweat!

Chamber of Wisdom
What I’m suggesting starts off for many of us as a self-discipline to switch off the constant bombardment of distracting thoughts. Allow a few sacred moments to go inside a “Chamber of Wisdom” that exists in each of us. There you will find a lock with a combination code uniquely designed for each of us.

The way to decipher the code that unlocks the treasure chest of answers is to ask questions. Then, simply listen…

No Stupid Questions!
I’ve often heard that there are no stupid questions. The blockage is in not receiving the answers. This might well be one of the primary challenges on your quest for truth. Approach every deep yearning question as if you are looking in a ‘Divine’ mirror. An answer from within is merely reflected back, it has no agenda of its own.

Location, location, location.
No matter where you are, from the tropical climes of the South to the lush pastures of the Mid-West or harsh snow-swept streets of Manhattan, take the time to find a quiet spot to tune in and connect. It sounds so simple and obvious but it’s amazing how much resistance we have to going inside for the answers. It’s far easier to ask for advice, seek counsel or create gurus. The irony is that whomever that sage is you go to for advice, they likely found their answers by going inside and trusting the wisdom they received.

Now go discover for yourself… Create a date with the Universe!

A Date With The Universe by Jamie Greene is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

All it takes is a momentary vision for entire new frontiers to unfold before us. An instant captured, a glimpse.

This is all available. It has been for millennia. But you cannot go it alone. You must be invited, courted, guided.

I found such a guide and in the coming weeks, I will share my journeys with you.

There are days when all we see is what we know. Trapped in one-dimensional thinking, we cannot reach beyond our stretch, nor feel beneath our sensory cave. On these days, I ask for more.

This is what I heard…

A journey is a glimpse into what could be. The “work” is experiencing the reality where we can actually live it.

These are the poignant words of wisdom I recently received in guidance, as I diligently forged ahead through the Amazon of my over-intellectualized mind. How refreshing to know that there is another way to see, another way to think and another way to be. But, we can only get there through image-making.

It’s probably why we are all so obsessed with movies that make us cry, scream and leap out of our seats. The images on the screen give us hope and excitement and carry us far from the mundane confines of the cineplex walls.

I want to travel. I want to see vistas with no fees, reservations or placards. No backpack. No duffel or carry-on.

Just a pathway and a clearing and an open ticket to journey. Like the wardrobe in Narnia, I want to step through a portal into a world where the natives aren’t restless, the weather is temperate and the vines guide and twist their arms in embrace.

The first lesson brought a simple message that touched a nerve buried inside me… a deep need to belong.

We are all driven by a need for belonging. It’s only when we step outside the group that we begin to recognize the well traveled path of a soul searcher.

Remember, this is the purpose of this web site: For me to serve as a personal guide for those of you whose previous pathways have led you to dead ends and dismay.

The journey is the reward. We will walk it together. I welcome your comments and questions.

Pack ‘em up, move ‘em out…

A Glimpse by Jamie Greene is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.