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| |  | Michael Fox CPCC,
founder of m·agine!,
is a professional
coach and trainer,
author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout
the world.
Michael is a
Certified Practitioner
of the
Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator.®
Do you know someone
who might benefit
from our weekly email?
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Late one rainy Sunday evening long ago--well, actually, much longer than that--I traveled a lonesome two-lane highway from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee to Tupelo, Mississippi. I planned to overnight in Tupelo and continue my journey the next day, south through Jackson, Mississippi and west to Monroe, Louisiana. It was half a lifetime ago.
To this day, I retain a mental image of a spacious A-frame hotel lobby--midway through my journey--illumined by a hearth fire, surrounded by rustic cottages nestled among the trees. The property beckoned weary travelers to come in and there find rest. But I resisted the strong, intuitive discernment to pull in, and instead continued toward Tupelo--according to agenda. There, common sense argued, I'd be better positioned to finish the drive the next day.
Oh, how I wish I had listened to my "gut."
I finally made it to Tupelo late in the evening. The highway morphed into the town's main thoroughfare. The street was strangely quiet, even for a Southern town at 9:00 PM on a Sunday. I checked into a Holiday Inn on the north side of town. My room was on the back side of the property. I parked in the back lot, found my room, and unloaded the car. In spite of the cars in the parking lot, the hotel appeared uninhabited.
A few minutes later I was back in the car, hoping to find something to eat. But restaurants, shops, and even grocery stores were closed; streets and sidewalks were void of cars and pedestrians. Finally, I found a Pizza Hut open. Well, mostly open. There were no other patrons in the dining room, and workers were busy vacuuming and scouring. With pizza in hand, I returned to the hotel. The silence, the stillness, the emptiness, had grown eerily palpable. By this time, I was sufficiently disquieted that I grabbed my pizza and sprinted the short distance from my car to the room.
In those days on Sunday evenings I routinely checked in with my parents, who were yet living in Los Angeles--letting them know how I was doing, what I was doing, and where I was currently doing it. On this night, my father seemed distant and preoccupied as I told him of my odd experience in Tupelo. We bade each other good night, and I tore into my pizza.
After a few minutes, the telephone rang. It was my mother. She sounded concerned. "Dad wants to talk to you," she said. "Stay inside. Lock the door. Get out of there in the morning," he sternly advised. The day's front page of the Los Angeles Times had reported racial unrest and rioting in Tupelo. The town, as it turned out, was under curfew.
Oh, how I wish I had listened to my "gut."
The next morning, I left town quickly, ignoring historical markers urging motorists to visit the birthplace of Elvis, just off the boulevard.
Elvis could wait. Michael had left the building.
Properly developed, intuition and discernment are powerful tools. Do you have a story of either listening to or resisting these voices?
How have you learned to distinguish intuition and discernment from an anxious spirit or a bad burger?
The enduring image of the A-frame hotel lobby, so warm and inviting in the night, has become a symbol encouraging me to listen to my instinct, to trust my discernment. Is there a symbol in your life that reminds you of the importance of at least giving ear to your instinct and discernment?
What's the learning?
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Michael Fox
m·agine!
530/613.2774
407 Myrtle Drive
Farmerville, LA, USA 71241 |
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In addition to personal and professional coaching,
m·agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching,
employing its proprietary models
--Values, Vision, Voice and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength--
as well as
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® curriculum
published by CPP, the People Development People.
Michael's books include
Complete in Christ,
Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook,
and Biblio·files.
Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details.
For additional information, visit our website at maginethepossibilities.net.
Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching.
On the flip side, if you are able, please inquire about opportunities
to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford coaching fees.
View our archives!
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