The last two days have been interesting .
I did not have a whole lot “to do”.
What I did have to do, was not calling to me.

I chose to take it easy.
I had some resistance coming up, and I had an opportunity to sit with it.
By sitting with the resistance, and working my inner process, I learned some things.

I am beginning to make peace with my Self.
For years it seemed that Life was a war.
Now I see that it can be, if I choose it to be.
Sometimes those old patterns of thought seem to be choosing war for me.
It is in times like these that I am learning to let go, to care for my Self, to listen more, and do less.

I was working with a student today.
He did not want to do any work.
I laughed to myself, because neither did I.

We played four games of Uno.
Something inside told me that this was okay, for today.

I had a sense that he appreciated the break from his own inner wars.
I know that I did.

It can be subtle, tapping into genius.
Some days it is a gentle process of floating, rather than paddling upstream.
With the energy I have conserved, I will be ready to go, any day now…

For more inspiring cartoons from Darrell Fusaro, click on the link: www.darrellfusaro.com

Hello Everyone!
I am writing to get the conversation started about the effects of unresolved grief on education, on life.
I am working with a student who is frequently angry, combative, and attempting to get out of doing school work.
Deep inside I can sense that he is dealing with the avoidance of unresolved grief.
I know that he has had a challenging past, from a very early age.

Upon reflecting on this, and in service to my own life, I am now pursuing help to resolve my own unresolved grief.
This is a sweet and somewhat daunting piece of my Earth school experience.

Today I spoke to a friendly voice who offers grief counseling and tomorrow evening we will have our first meeting.
One of the pieces of the puzzle of my life that I have not fully honored is my relationship to death, to change, to transitions.

I can sense that I sometimes, in the past, have avoided being fully present because I have been afraid of facing that weight I have held in my gut.
I can sense that I have spent an excessive amount of energy, in the past, avoiding my Self by avoiding intimacy with others.
It has triggered some deep hurt, what else can I say.

I will let you know how my session goes.

In the meanwhile, I will share that I am cautious in my practice with children and adults whenever I am considering attempting to manipulate someone into doing something that they are intentionally trying to avoid.
I never know what valid reason they might hold for not wanting to look someone in the eye, or not wanting to stand up in class, or speak up on the playground.
Having this type of compassion builds trust.
If that person then chooses to step forward and face whatever they have been avoiding, they will know that I am here for them, without judgment.

A big part of tapping into genius is, for me, having the patience to wait for, and work toward, inner alignment before forcing an action or idea onto someone else.
In other words, I attempt to fully believe in something myself before expecting someone else to do it.

I know that we are all on this planet to learn and I do my best to remember this when I am engaged with my students, family, and friends.

So the next question is, “What do you think?”

For more amazing cartoons by Darrell Fusaro, click on the link: www.darrellfusaro.com

Hello again,
My name is Edward Biagiotti.
I write the posts for Tapping Into Genius.
I have come to a place where I am not sure what my next step is.
I have talked to coaches, teachers, healers, friends, and family.
All of these people have given me great insights and I appreciate all of it.

Today I find myself somewhere new.
I recognize this place.
It’s called’ “what do I do now!?”

I feel called to serve.
I feel called to heal.
I feel called to feel more joy by recognizing more joy in my Life.

I have a calling inside me to heal the world by healing myself.
Healing myself means being myself, sharing myself, knowing myself as the Love that is everywhere.

I see that there is more room to let you know who I am and how I have come to this place in my Life.
I do a whole lotta things and they all involve tapping into genius.

Tapping into genius with teachers, parents, and students.
Tapping into genius as a father, and a husband.
Tapping into genius as a songwriter, a musician, and a poet.
Tapping into genius as a person on the street.

My intention is to bring more of me to every post.
With this intention comes more fun and more interesting stuff to think about and digest.
That way I can rest easy knowing that I have put it all on the table.
Hopefully that will give you the subtle nudge to do the same, if it is a nudge you need.

That is what tapping into genius is to me.
When I tap into the Love, tap into my Self, and tap into Joy, all my problems disappear and I remember that I am already right where I need to be.

For more great cartoons by Darrell Fusaro, just click on the link: www.darrellfusaro.com

I was working with a young man today.
I was brought on the case because this young man has been having challenges getting his work completed and turned in.
He has also, in the past, had a hard time avoiding arguments and conflicts with his teachers and peers.

Today he told me that he had no homework.
Another thing this kid has been prone to do is lie.

I did some investigating.
I looked through his notebooks and spoke with an assistant that works with him during the school day.
I came up with several assignments that needed completion.

The young man completed the first with grace and ease.
He also completed a pre-writing activity for a 10 line poem that he had to write using an emotional tone that he got to choose.
Fittingly, his poem would be written with a tone of outrage.
He told me that he felt outraged at teachers and assistants that don’t listen to him.
Next he spent 30 minutes arguing with me about why he did not really have to write the rough draft of the poem.
I encouraged him, to no avail, to write about his outrage rather than focus it on me.

Then I noticed something.
It just hit me that this young man was at war with his world.
He refused to lose this war.
He was sure, in his mind, that it was not okay to lose.

As I sat back, and observed him, I released any desire to win.
I breathed deeply and thought about how many ways I have fought with my world.
I forgave myself for judging him for doing something that is rampant in our world.
I surrendered my own personal war.

When the session ended, though the poem remained unwritten, I felt a great calm.
Feeling compassion toward this young man and toward myself is healing.
I remembered why I love this job.
Working with children gives me a chance to have compassion for myself.
I am able to tap into genius by witnessing the perfection in people who are doing their best with what they know.
To top it all off I am left with a feeling of appreciation for this young man, and I look forward to our next session.

For more cartoons from Darrell Fusaro click on the following link: http://www.darrellfusaro.com

Hello again!
I am writing to tell you that I am growing along with you.
I am choosing to use my tools, even when it makes no sense.
I am here to say again that it is all okay.
Stuff comes up from deep inside and it doesn’t always feel good.
Big ideas come up and feel great and then can leave us wondering how they can ever come to pass.

I facilitate several social groups throughout the week for the school district where I am employed.
This week I hit a wall.
I had the sense that nothing makes sense.
I felt genuinely overwhelmed.
It did not feel good.
It was a moment of choice: push through or let go.
I chose to let go.
I chose to step back.
I chose to give myself a break.
I am glad I did.

What I found was that this choice was the professional choice to make.
I realize that I would have been reacting to circumstances that were not nearly as tense or challenging as I was making them out to be.
By stepping back I was able to support myself and, in turn, all of my students, that much more.

No one can be aligned all the time.
This life takes practice and reflection.
This life takes self care.
This life takes gentle determination.

So I am learning.
I am grateful that there are people like you who are choosing to learn along with me.
Individually we are each responsible for the way we feel.
We are each responsible for sharing our gifts.
We are each responsible, should we choose to go for it, for tapping into genius.
Together we can share our triumphs, our healing, and an amazing experience as a community of people who are tapping into genius.
That is cause for celebration…

Happy Mother’s Day!

Today I was listening to Taking the Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.
In his inspiring book, Gay writes about living life inside the zone of genius.
This got me thinking about what it really means to tap into genius.

Tapping into genius takes looking at life through a different lens than many of us were taught to use.
Tapping into genius means looking at everything in life as perfect, even the stuff that hurts, and especially the stuff that feels good.
As a parent and an educator I see and hear things that are often not what I expected.
I do my best to look at it all as information.
This information tells me how aligned I am at any moment which then keys me in to what is trying to happen on a larger scale.

What is love trying to teach me?
What is going well that I have not yet appreciated?
What is going on that I am making out to be worse than it really is?
Where am I hurting?
What is my heart telling me?
What is my intuition telling me?

Through this type of conscious exploration, a new picture emerges.
This picture is genius.
This is the picture of an inclusive and ever expanding, loving Universe.
I have many practices in my bag that help me tap into genius.
I intend on sharing them with you.
I have already written an ebook called

10 Simple Practices for Connecting with Children

that you can purchase on the right for $5.99.
My wife, Jennifer, illustrated the ebook.

Photograph by Jennifer Biagiotti (http://www.jenniferbiagiotti.com/)

Hello again~
I wrote yesterday that I am okay and that we are okay.
Today I woke up aware of that truth and yet feeling pulled by some nagging thoughts and combative energy.
I gave a voice to some of that frustration with my wife and with a co-worker.
I started to feel the weight lift.
Then I watched a video that inspired me and gave me some new perspective.

In the past I have gotten so wound up because I would see a potential and then feel offended by those around me that did not see it.
I would then either put myself down or engage in a struggle with the person who I perceived as holding me back.
Today I am accepting all of it as part of my path.

As a man, a father, and an educator, I see that I am anchoring this new paradigm, which is not really new, into our world.
I recommit to enthusiastically resting in my okay-ness as I continue to learn to embody a peaceful way of being.

I know that the potential for peace, the potential for success, and the potential for genius is in everyone.
I know because I have found it in me, now I am learning to see it in myself and others, and to continue seeing it even when others are not ready to.

So wish me well as I continue to tap into genius, and I am sending you love as you choose to do the same!

The Sun comes shining through...

To check out the video that inspired me click on this link:
Abraham Live in Pheonix

Hello there,
I am writing because I am standing up to say that we are okay!
All of us.

I know kids with Autism, ADHD, and Emotional Disturbance.
I know parents that come in twos, and parents that come as ones, and parents that come in fours.
I know teachers that are older and teachers that are younger, and teachers that don’t fit either of those categories.
I know principals and therapists and custodians.
I know assistants and outside agencies and inside agencies.
I am here to tell you that we are all okay.

I am saying this because I know it is true.
We are all connected and we all have access to genius.
I say this because we are living in a world where there are no mistakes.
We are all here to learn, to grow, to find more joy.

So come on along and let’s tap into genius together.
Things can get so much easier, even the hard stuff!
So I invite you to stand up with me, take a deep breath, and say, “I am okay. We are okay. I can let go now.”
Let’s have some fun, shall we?

Click on the cartoon below to see more cartoons by the amazing Darrell Fusaro!

Why do I choose to invest my energy into connecting with children?
I have seen seemingly miraculous changes occur in young people’s lives when they choose to engage their lives fully.
I have seen a loner become a friendly fellow, admired for his artistic talents.
I have seen an unreliable type become the most reliable person I know, at the age of sixteen.
I have seen a self destructive, angry young man, become a bright light with friends across the campus.
Did they really change?
Yes and No.
They did not change who they are.
They did change their attitude about what was possible. They engaged their life in a new way, and they recognized their own beauty.
What did I have to do with that?
I simply held a loving space and chose to connect with who I saw in front of me.
Sometimes I had to look beyond compulsive lying.
Sometimes I had to look past active defiance.
Sometimes I had to look past self injurious behaviors.
I continue to learn that no one suffers more than someone who is lying, someone who is actively defiant, someone who injures himself.
I take responsibility for how I feel, as best I can, and connect, as best as I can, with the Love that is always present in every child, every person, in every moment.
I find that after a while, my students start to see it for themselves.
It is in these moments when they start to tap into genius.
This path takes faith and a willingness to let of control, to surrender to the process, to accept the perfection inherent in every situation.
This path also takes a willingness, on my part, to let go of limiting beliefs about what is possible.
The benefits include witnessing amazing events unfolding, and a greater sense that I am living in a loving universe.
That is so worth the investment.

Sometimes it takes some silliness...

Do you think I would let him decide?

I can relate to this statement.
I see this as something that all parents can benefit from reflecting on.
My intention is to make peace with this statement, to rest in this statement.
To rest in this statement is to act in this statement.

I decide.
I decide how I will respond.
I decide when I will respond.
I decide if I will respond.
I decide if it is time to throw away everything I thought yesterday.
I decide if today is the day to embrace the things that I fought with yesterday.
I decide.

Tapping into Genius is about deciding.
The great ones decided for themselves.
The great ones were ordinary ones until they decided.
Tapping into Genius happens when we decide.
The game changes.
We write the rules.

Children are great teachers of the “I decide” philosophy.
Recognizing decision making as a skill has changed my relationship with children.
Recognizing this as a strength has changed what once seemed like serious problems into a learning game.
Tapping into Genius is about deciding to play the game that we came here to play.
(…and, in the words of the great Charlie Sheen, “Winning!”)