The Red Velvet Lawyer

What I Really Need or Love (Part 1) My colleague, Henry, helped me get the new job.  One year ago, he finished a 3-year contract in the same job.  He's been a marvelous resource.  When I asked about the move, he said he moved in two suitcases. A new Facebook friend, who moved to Dubai last August, said he moved with two suitcases, a carry-on bag, and his laptop case. Lordy, lordy.  From the mouths of men . . . . Employment Benefits As I decide what to take, what to store, what to ship later, and what to give away beforehand, I am influenced by the following benefits offered by Qatar University College of Law . $2,000 moving allowance.  I've checked.  I could carry 10 suitcases on the plane for $200 each for this international flight. I could also ship, by boat, additional items, but I don't have pricing on that yet. I do know it takes three months to cross the ocean and make it through customs.  $10,000 allowance to buy furniture and other furnishings.  

If I Don't Love it,  It's Gone, Girl! Since I got the job offer in mid-March, I have had to think deeply about what I really care about keeping.  I've settled on three sets of items:  my extensive CD collection, some of my original artwork, and my ADR book collection.   The Crap I Don't Even Miss! As I readied the house for sale, I made one purge. Brenda, my personal assistant on the home front, carted off trunk loads of clothing, purses, kitchen items, linens, and other things I don't even miss.    (Brenda's friend, Jean, wants one of my Michael Kors purses, but she's not getting it.  My Kors purses are the only purses I'm taking with me, except for four evening bags.  Silly that I think I will need four evening bags, but they are small and won't take up much room in a suitcase.) Jerry, my handyman, carted off several truckloads of stuff, including some furniture. He's putting an aquarium on this side

Qatar? Over the next several months, I intend to share my process in manifesting an international job change in what is now four and a half months.  I am calling this series "Countdown to Qatar." Information About Qatar Let me first start with some information about Qatar . National Goals According to one guide for expats, the King and his administration seek to make Qatar "the Middle Eastern flagship for social development and intellectualism."  "[I]t has worked hard to create a 'knowledge economy,' and to promote ventures like the Museum of Islamic Art and a massive Education City." Location The country extends into the Arabian Gulf off the Arabian Peninsula.  It shares a border with Saudi Arabia.  Economy Qatar is one of the smallest countries in the world ranking 164 out of 234 countries, by area.   But, it has the highest per capita income in the world at about $101,000 per person.    This wealth is largely gener

              Always There   Intention, as Wayne Dyer explains the term , is an infinite field of energy and potential that animates life and is the source for all life.  Its explanation ties to what we know about quantum physics.  Many folks would just call it God. Dyer further explains: We are connected to this field of energy.  The more in harmony you are with this field of intention, the more you are able to do all that the field of intention can do: heal, attract, and find. People in harmony with this field are especially concerned with cleansing the link to it which may be compromised  by the numbing effects brought about by all the concerns of living at ordinary levels of consciousness.  Dyer quotes Nobel-prize winning scientist Max Planck , whose work explored the nature of atoms: "As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear-headed science, to the study of matter . . . . [Planck said]: 'There is no matter as such.  All matt

Alignment with Source and Spirit  Yesterday , I started a series of posts focused on the inspirational phrases I've collected over the last three years.  Today, I want to share the phrases about "energy."   For these purposes, I think of "energy" in very broad terms.  It covers the energy used to take divine inspiration, through thinking about the idea, to voicing and discussing it, to generating even more passion about it, and then to exerting your own will to bring the idea into being. It also covers the energy required to connect with others to manifest the idea in tangible form and action.  That energy, in turn, connects with the broader energy of the environment in which you live. It also connects to the energy of the earth, the planetary system, deep space, and ultimately to the source of everything we experience in the material world.     Yes, I know I had you there for a while until I took that turn to woo-woo. Hang in there.

May the Force Be with You I'm in a very reflective stage right now.  Perhaps the transition to spring reminds me of the path of growth I have walked the last three years.  As part of that process, I wrote phrases that inspired me on index cards.  First, I tacked the cards to my bedroom wall so I could see them throughout the day.  Later, I tucked them into an envelope.  This week-end, I read through them and decided to share them with you over the next several posts. Prayers to the Universe This post takes the broadest view as seen through my collection of phrases.  It talks in terms of the universe, the energetic field, or the force field, but many people would choose instead to talk about God.  I've included the source of the phrase, if I captured it on the card. The force field constantly pushes for wholeness. The universe is limitless, abundant, and strangely accommodating. Absolutely anything is possible! Trust the field of infinite possibilities.

In for a Penny, In for a Pound In March 2013, I posted my first post on this blog.  After several months of business coaching with Christine Kane and exposure to the concept of "content marketing," I wanted to explore the platform and its uses. I wanted to run an experiment.  How long would it take the Google bots to find me?  I'd been told it would take a year of daily blogging.  So, I committed to that publication schedule.  In 2013, I made 182 posts over a ten month period.  Not exactly every day, but just about 20 posts a month or 4.5 posts a week.  In the process, I regained the voice I had had as a columnist for the magazine published for members of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL).  The coverage is eclectic, but then I promised broader coverage in my description of the blog:  "Discussing new ways to meet the needs of law firm clients, mediation parties, negotiators, and law students." Two years later, I have publis