Thanks for showing interest in what I’m offering.  Let me tell you a little about myself.

My Life Perspective

I’m a more mature man who knows the value of the flow of insights, understanding, wisdom and mutually uplifting synergy that takes place when people of different generations communicate openly with one another.  Modern society separates us into categories and encourages us to live stratified lives, exploring mostly if not exclusively within the demographic categories or boxes with which we most readily identify and feel comfortable.  Yet remaining confined to our comfort zones within known (already explored) boxes stifles life’s growth.  At the physical age of 72, I am classified by most people as a “senior citizen.”  (I’ve been qualifying for senior citizen discounts for some time now!)  But that does not make me a typical old person.  I’ve learned to accept myself as atypical and enjoy being who I am.  I can help you learn to do the same if that interests you at your current age and for the rest of your life.

Through my life experiences, I’ve learned that separation, stratification and classification (by age as well as by gender, economic class, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, educational level, sexual and gender orientation, etc.) deprived me of a more enriching and rewarding life until I explored beyond these boxes and barriers and shared more openly and honestly with others, including those not in my supposed “category” by any definition.  I discovered that I like myself as an egalitarian, nonjudgmental, social-justice-oriented adult regardless of how unsettling my acquired taste for positively directed, creative nonconformity can sometimes be for others.  Now, I enjoy listening and talking with younger adults to share our perspectives in expectation that our sharing will bring greater clarity, understanding and wisdom to all participants in our conversations.

I do not view this process as “downloading” answers from one generation to the next as if an older person automatically has “the answers” or more to offer to the conversation than a younger person.  I view it as sharing in a process — the process within which all listen to each other’s hearts and minds and appreciate the joint perspective that takes shape on account of our sharing.   I don’t have all the answers to questions that may concern you.  It’s important that we both admit that we don’t have all the answers.  The process of sharing openly and honestly allows us to search for answers more effectively because we “see” more with two (or more) sets of hearts and minds than we’d see with only one set. We will apply an expanded version of the adage, “Two heads are better than one” by adding our two (or more) hearts to the mix.

In essence my perspective on life includes honoring your perspective on life and believing that our shared perspectives will reveal more to us and prove to be more helpful than if you were to simply “obey” the authority figures in your life and assume unquestioningly that they always know best.  Sometimes they may and sometimes they may not.  It’s important to examine that assumption in learning all you want to learn.  Amid our rapidly changing world, it’s a challenge to know what’s in our best interests.  I’m here to add my perspective on the process of “how to know” and “how to decide” through cooperative, respectful, mutual appreciation.

My Life Experiences

My life experiences include having been an excellent student in high school, undergraduate college and law school.  Although I graduated near the top of my class in all of these levels of formal education, I still needed to discover more about being satisfied with my life beyond merely performing well and creating socially acceptable images of myself suited to different circumstances.  Only life experiences opened me to such discoveries.  Although circumstances in my life generally supported my success as a student, I worked while going to school and good grades did not come easy.  In some ways, I was an overachiever. In other ways I was an underachiever.  Learning to nurture balance in all aspects of my life has been vitally important.  (Kudos to Karate Kid!)

My first career was as an attorney.  Because I handled a wide variety of cases, I learned a lot about life from my clients while helping them.  I learned most of all to listen to, talk with (not “at” and certainly not “down to”) and value my clients as people.  The cases involving family issues and domestic violence taught me the most about life, but they also proved to be the most emotionally stressful and required me to discover how to be more aware of my emotions and care for my heart.   Eventually, I moved on from my legal career to try new things including assembly line work, office management, sales, training and workshop facilitation.  I discovered I have significant natural talent for some activities and little or no talent for others.  I also explored volunteer opportunities to expand my horizons.  I experienced a process of evolving growth that I now view as based on faith in the Golden Rule. (For an expansive exploration of the Golden Rule throughout humanity’s diverse religions and philosophies, you may find it interesting to visit http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc2.htm.)

Initially, I did not have a formal philosophy of life. I simply tried to be a “good” person and get along with everyone else.  In time, I had to take stock of why I lived that way.  I discovered that fears (and related emotions like pride and shame) shaped my decisions more than was healthy for me in my relationships and other facets of life.  Because my heart yearned to experience a multifaceted life beyond the narrow bounds of my earlier social training, I learned to overcome my fears and no longer allow them to determine the outcome of my life.  I learned about the patterns of thinking that the ego establishes for us as our way to “survive” and learned that mere survival deprived me of opportunities to thrive and enjoy life more fully.  Now I can encourage others to explore being multifaceted diamonds, radiating brilliantly with the light of peace, hope and joy as they share their lives wisely with others.  That’s true freedom. By our nature we long to experience it, as this song describes:

Through my experiences, I learned how to exercise power in my own life and share power with others.  I learned about different forms of power, how fear can block the flow of power in my life and how truth works as a power source that sets me free to experience the synergy of more expansive and rewarding love as I become progressively freer to be, express and share all of me.

My Qualifications

My ability to help you springs from a blend of formal education, independent studies, experience-based informal learning and faith in the Spirit of Truth to share insights, understanding and wisdom with both (or all) of us as we listen and talk.  If you are open-minded and tune into your heart, as we talk you’ll sense the energy of the presence of the Spirit of Truth within you too.  The truth that guides your life will come forth from within you.  Your desire to listen to that truth and act upon it may be why you are looking over my web site and considering whether or not to contact me.

If what you find here resonates with you, I encourage you to contact me.  Feel free to ask questions.

There’s an ancient saying that goes “When the student is ready, the teacher will come.” The converse is also true, “When the teacher is ready the student will come.”  Let’s be students and teachers of truth together as a unified learning team and see what we discover.  You are likely to be amazed and well pleased by what is revealed to you in the process of our shared explorations of the possibilities life is offering you.

© Art Nicol 2021