S4 E1: Live Your Sacredness

Ned Cooney loves meetings, good meetings! Ned says that just as a river guide may not know a particular river or a particular group, the guide has been on a lot of rivers and knows what to do if the boat turns over. His job as a facilitator is to bring a group of people together and bring out the best thinking that leads the group to a better path. Listen and Ned and I discuss how his facilitation skills and his knowledge of music and its effects on the brain to bring out the best in people. How finding sacredness leads to fulfillment How asking why you do what you do leads to discovery Why forgetting self allows you to be fully present Links Mentioned: Helpline https://connectriverside.org/helpline/ Malcolm Gladwell quote https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3364437-outliers-the-story-of-success Gracious Space http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/publications/email/pod/convio/leadingedge/au17/gracious-space.htm Open Space https://openspaceworld.org/wp2/what-is/ Ned Cooney www.nedcooney.com Show Highlights: 1:00 Introduction 4:08 Exploration of the sacred, being invited into a community and share in exploration 9:50 What it's really like to bea facilitator 15:35 Fearlessness -- what it means to Ned 20:55 The role music plays in Ned's life 33:00 Ned's journey toward facilitation 41:20 Meeting strategies and the spectrum of "tions" 51:30 Ned's self care tips Favorite Quotes: "Sacredness, to me, is being invited into a common mission to help people with their passions." -Ned Cooney "Selflessness helps me be fully present. When you forget yourself, you can be open to what comes and what shows up without having to own the outcome. -Ned Cooney "When you are nervous, switch your energy to being eager. Eagerness allows us to use energy without being frozen in fear." -Andrea Catherine "Music creates richness, collaboration and connection. It is a common experience. Music makes us conscious of things we're not really conscious of. It improves our lives and hearts. It touches people's core without words." -Ned Cooney "Music is a uniquely human endeavor. Our brains are wired to respond to music." -Andrea Catherine "If we're going to be a civilization that has institutions and organizations then we should not avoid meetings or destroy them with our lack of attention." -Ned Cooney Everything that we are passionate about or care about probably started with people gathering together to talk about it." -Andrea Catherine Meet Ned: Ned Cooney, Facilitator/Consultant is an independent consulting practice, specializing in nonprofits, philanthropy and public agencies. His early career has been in the nonprofit sector, as executive director, program staff and board member. Now, Ned serves many organizations by helping people learn and make better decisions together. Ned specializes in organizational planning, board development, funding strategies, support for executives, and meetings/retreats. He is also rumored to be one Mellow Waters while singing songs on stage with a guitar.