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[S1000]Stevie Wonder Higher Ground

by Ada Porat, Ada

Take a moment to really feel what is going on. You are not stuck... you are simply constrained. Yes, the old way of doing things is no longer working, and you are trying to adjust to radical new ways of looking at life, doing things, and even living.

Outside yourself, the whole world is going through a spin cycle. Deep wounds in the collective psyche of mankind are surfacing, releasing both great horror and amazing opportunity. Societies hunger not for war or peace, but for Truth to cut through illusion and bring about spiritual healing at the deepest levels of being.

Never before in the history of the planet has there been such a clarion call for healing to avert global destruction. The time for dilly-dallying and empty promises is over. It is time to heal our world - starting with ourselves!

The truth is that, throughout this time of constraint and upheaval, there are unseen forces holding you steady while you learn to run this new kind of energy... the energy of oneness with Divine purpose. It is your Divine connection, hosted in a human shell. Long ago, before you ever came into this life, you chose to embody this energy at this time. It is your contribution to the shift of the ages, and now is your time to fulfill that agreement.

The energy of Divine oneness or unity is the most powerful force in the Universe. It is powerful enough to constrain you when you try to separate from Divine guidance at your core and assert your human will.

In the old way of life, we learned to accomplish goals by asserting our human, egoic wills in the external reality. We were conditioned to be willful and determined, wanting whatever we chose to have when we decided to have it.

This way no longer works. When we assert our human, egoic will in the new energy that surrounds us now, there are numerous obstacles constraining us.

To move past these constraints, we have to give up the drive to accomplish things by sheer force of will. Instead, we need to align with the power of All That Is. We need to surrender to trust: trust in the Divine, in Higher Guidance, in Spirit, God... whatever you choose to call the essential life force energy.

When we choose to trust, the energy of the ego yields and aligns to a bigger plan - the higher picture of Divine perfection. From that place of alignment, we are able to flow with creative energies to create a higher reality than we could have ever conceived of before.

It is no longer possible to more forward in ego and still make spiritual progress. The constraining force of Spirit will block your movement at every turn - the old ways of doing need to be surrendered to embrace higher ways of being.

Spirit will get you through the time of transition, no matter how difficult it feels. Those same unseen forces that hold you steady now, can and will lift you out of all illusions of despair. All it takes is for you to let go of the old way of using power, and to embrace the path of alignment, the pathway of trust and allowing.

We are living in a very different reality now than we were in even five years ago. The old life with its hopes and dreams, has been filed away in the archives of All That Is. To keep looking for it, merely deters our progress.

Instead, now is the time to embrace what shows up in your life moment by moment. Look for new ways to reframe things, new tools to do things with. Go inward. Drink deep from the wellspring of life. Let the timeless wisdom and healing energy of sacred teaching wash over you to renew your soul. Develop a dialogue with Spirit and ask for guidance and clarity. Stay present in the moment and allow the answers to flow to you through circumstances.

When action is indicated, do it. When circumstances open up for you, move forward. And when doors close, don't try to break through them. Sometimes, we need to spend a while living in the in-between: learning to let go of the need to control, the need to logically understand. At times like these, we need to ask ourselves what we really want and why...even as we surrender the need to know how it will come about. We need to simply align to the Eternal Presence and be present, be patient, and be still.

You don't lack power. You are a powerful being. What you lack is remembrance. There is nothing wrong with you that complete remembrance will not heal. Like a survivor who has buried the unbearable agony of trauma beneath a layer of amnesia until they are ready to process it, we have chosen not to remember everything at once. As we proceed on the path we are shown, more is revealed to us. Through the integration and healing of each memory that surfaces, we reclaim our wholeness and power.

Powerful new healing modalities and tools for personal growth are emerging at this time to support our transformation. We are indeed blessed to live at this pivotal time in history - and this blessing carries with it the clarion call to learn, to grow, to heal and to transform our world. Do you hear it?

For many centuries, mystics lived on the fringe of society. They did not mix with the masses or participate in affairs of the world. This has all changed. Today, the level of consciousness on the planet has tipped the scales to offer potential for unprecedented growth and change.

Spiritually awakened beings are called to participate in this worldwide shift by becoming mystics in the marketplace - not on the mountain or in the monastery. We are called to be the change we desire to see in the world, as Gandhi said.

To answer the call, you need to learn how to commune with your soul to access the inner guidance that is stirring there. Every change that you wish to see in society starts with you and the field of consciousness that you are holding.

You are called to be the very change you desire to see in the world, and you change the world around you through the power of your evolving consciousness. As you consciously evolve in response to the Divine nature within, you hold the higher energies of the life force field wherein everyone's consciousness can evolve. In a world crying for healing, there is no greater service you can offer!

I still remember sitting in the car with our French representative on the way to our customer's factory north of Paris some five years ago. At that time I was Director International Sales for a German technology company. The conversation went this way.

"Alain, what do you think? How much of a discount will Monsieur Ribault expect? You know, we offered the instrument including all accessories, installation and commissioning for 350,000 USD."

"The last time, we sold the same machine for 280,000 USD was four years ago. Also, I know, you added some features to the machine that improved its performance. However, knowing M. Ribault, it will be tough to achieve a higher price than last time."

"The price for the previous machine was already at the bottom. Our cost increased, not decreased, with higher wages, higher material cost and improved design. So we need a higher price this time."

"Well, we can try to get him on 300,000 USD. Would that still be acceptable?" I inquired.

"Actually not, but o.k. At the same time we need this order now, so if he can decide immediately, we are willing to compromise to 300k."

I knew that M. Ribault was a tough negotiator but I also knew that his company, a multi-national automotive corporation, was very satisfied with the machine they bought four years earlier.

When we met M. Ribault, he opened the conversation by saying that his top management's requirement was to reduce the cost for any supplier by 3.5% per year on the average. This policy was introduced the year before.

M. Ribault was not a man of many words and he frankly stated: "We need your price to go down by 7% at least, i.e. the maximum we can pay for this machine is 260,000 USD. If you can't follow our policy and efforts to reduce our cost, I'm afraid that we will need to look for alternative suppliers."

Wow, there I sat, expecting to get a better price and now I had an important customer seriously saying that if we didn't lower our price to 260,000 USD, we would be out of the game.

At first, I tried to explain why in this case it was impossible for us to lower the price and that we actually needed 7% more, not less. I realized quickly that this attempt would lead nowhere.

So what to do? Negotiate and pressure him so long until we reached a somewhat still tolerable compromise? Perhaps to reach at least the same price as last time? Give up? Give in? It seemed like one of us had to lose and that one would most likely be us, no matter if we compromised or not.

When I thought more about it, I realized that M. Ribault's company would also lose. I knew that our instrument was by far the best the solution they could get for this application, so if we gave up, they would lose by choosing another supplier. If we gave in, they would lose because with such a bad margin on our side, service would be reduced to an absolutely necessary minimum in order to recover at least some of the lost margin.

Was it a lose-lose situation that couldn't be overcome?

Suddenly, I realized that any common ground would not be attractive enough. We had to do something outside the box to turn this negotiation into a win-win situation for both parties.

Traditional negotiation practice teaches you to optimize your position when trying to establish a common ground. Common ground negotiations are straight forward and usually the fastest way to achieve an agreement. In most cases, they require compromises from one or both parties. Common ground negotiations are the appropriate procedure if the compromises are still attractive for both parties. Unfortunately this is often not the case.

So what do we normally do?

We either compromise our desired position through a sub-optimal compromise or we pressure the other party into an undesirable compromise, or both. In the worst-case scenario, we exit and let the negotiation fail.

Some might think, well, no problem if the other party compromises their position as long as we get what we want. A win-lose situation is a win for us and therefore is o.k.

I wholeheartedly disagree with this concept.

I strongly believe that if one party loses, both parties lose. Any win-lose situation eventually ends up as a lose-lose situation and is therefore not desirable.

So what else to do?

The answer is "Higher Ground Negotiation" which means to leave the common ground and to look for a higher ground that is attractive to both negotiation parties. To do this successfully, we need to have a few pre-conditions in place:

1. True trust between both parties

I elaborated on the issue of trust and it's three key elements in our July edition of this E-Zine. Kindly refer to this section.

2. The willingness of both parties to create win-win situations

Of course, many hardcore negotiators still believe that a win-lose outcome is desirable. You may attempt to change your negotiation partners? beliefs on this by coaching them through the potential consequences of win-lose situations. However, if this turns out not to be fruitful, you will need to decide on whether or not you want to continue doing business with people who want you to lose every time you deal with them.

3. A thorough understanding of what is important to the other party

If you have built some trust with your negotiation partners, they will help you understand what is truly important to them...and that may go way beyond the price of your product or service. You need to gain a thorough understanding of the other party to find a higher ground that is attractive to both them and you.

Once you have these three pre-conditions in place, you can start exploring an attractive higher ground. You will have to think outside the box and be creative. A solution might not be evident right away, so you might need to do some meaningful brainstorming.

In the case of our French customer, we discovered that there was an upcoming need for certain other products this company would typically source from our competitors. For a long time, my colleagues had tried to sell these kinds of products, but without success. I knew that we had rather big margins on them and could compensate for the loss of margin caused by selling the other instrument at 260,000 USD.

So everybody won. M. Ribault got his cost reduction, we got the order not only for this instrument but also for the other products and therefore could still get a good overall margin...and my colleagues were happy to finally get a chance to have their equipment employed at this important company.

Conclusion: "Winning" in negotiations means creating win-win situations. If one party loses, ultimately both parties lose. If the traditional approach of finding a common ground doesn't lead to any attractive outcome for either party, you may need to look for a higher ground. Higher Ground Negotiations require trust, the desire for win-win situations on both sides, and a thorough understanding of what is important to the other party. With creative out-of-the-box thinking, an attractive higher ground can be found which results in true win-win situations making it unnecessary for you to compromise your position with a compromise.

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Both Ada Porat & Charlie Lang are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Ada Porat has sinced written about articles on various topics from self improvement and motivation, Religion and History. Ada Porat is an energy kinesiologist and life balance coach with extensive international teaching and clinical experience. She uses body/mind/spirit techniques to help clients live fearlessly. For more information, visit. Ada Porat's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.

Charlie Lang has sinced written about articles on various topics from Leadership, The Internet and self improvement and motivation. Charlie Lang's mission is to change the image of sales through the completely buyer-oriented Stop Selling! approach. He is a passionate and professional executive Coach, Trainer, Public Speaker and Author of over 100 articles related to leadership, coachi. Charlie Lang's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.