Holding the Vision
or, How does Soul-purpose translate into success?
Richard Shulman
I love the process of discovery in which pieces of a puzzle appear and eventually a whole picture takes shape in ways that seem miraculous. I have experienced this process most profoundly in the creation of my music, and in my personal spirituality. That ecstatic adventure can be the way of being in every part of life, I have no doubt, and yet there are aspects of life which haven’t always flowed as beautifully as my music. To bring the same joy of creation into the business of selling music that excites me in the creation of the music itself is the challenge which I wish to address in this article. Joy is the hallmark of true success, and we will explore ways of integrating joy and a healthy bottom line.
Hold The Vision
The translation of a potentially beneficial talent, service or product into one which positively impacts the world takes hard work, a willingness to grow, and persistent commitment over the long haul. It is the passion of a soul-infused vision which is going to make the difference between a dream-come-true and a project never finished. “Winners never quit and quitters never win” is a great expression, and, we need to have a compelling reason not to quit.
What is your vision? Who will benefit from its fulfillment? Are all parts of your being aligned with making this dream come true?
During my last tour, I visited a metaphysical bookstore that was in the midst of an expansion financed only by sales generated cash flow. The two owners were at the point of burn-out, with one holding the original vision of the store’s purpose, and the other increasingly concerned only with the bottom line. The “visionary’s” concern was that the store would become “just another gift shop”.
As I listened, I tuned into the energy of the room and perceived that this store truly is a community resource, where people come in for their own peace, healing and inspiration, and that the vibration of the store supports personal growth. The vision is being fulfilled. But at what cost?
The Bottom Line
I related only too well with their story. My latest album had been underfinanced, and I had been paying our suppliers with tape and CD receipts from the road. My concerts held great gifts for the audiences, and sales were up 50%, but I was on the edge of burnout from the stress, and having to be very careful with my personal energy.
What am I creating? (Discernment, risk assessment, and setting conditions)
Hindsight is 20/20; my discernment is now more refined, and I am less apt to fall into the same situation again. Sometimes it’s really worth it to slog through the muck to further a dream. But why if we’re doing Soul-infused, God inspired work, in which we are bringing higher dimensional energies to Earth, must we sometimes have to move through such difficulties?
I see three areas which must be addressed as we evolve in our ability to consciously create what we want. At the first, or densest level, Karmic reaction can distract us from the necessary energetic focus. In other words, if we’re busy concentrating on what other people are doing “wrong” or reacting to the seeming impossibility of our project’s success, we’re not placing our attention on the goal, and the force available for manifestation is very weak. Forgiveness and letting go of fear-based thought patterns allow us to find the gifts in the seeming obstacles, refocus, and reconcentrate our energies. It is at this point that we become aware of miracles and synchronicities supporting our creation, and we enter the second phase.
I received much clarity on this phase from reading the chapter on the Law of Action in “The Light Shall Set You Free” by Dr. Norma Milanovich and Dr. Shirley McCune. Those of us who have tasted and have remembrance of the manifestation process in higher dimensions expect the immediate appearence of whatever we focus on. However, in an environment as dense as the earth is at this time, it takes tremendous mastery to create quickly by thought power and love-desire alone. This is where the Law of Action comes into effect. I for one can sense the vibration of the dimension I am living in mentally, emotionally and physically. When I am in a very high vibration, doing ecstatic work/play, the business will often almost take care of itself. When I’m in a more “normal” state of consciousness, I have to make that phone call, plan that tour, or do whatever is necessary to move the energy towards realizing my goals.
Once we realize that we are responsible for creating our own reality we can evaluate our manifestations. If we have accepted less than satisfactory conditions, or neglected to ask for everything we needed for a project or for ourselves in the past, new conditions can be set. Then we must insist that these conditions are met.
As we honor ourselves in this way, we find that our personal space-boundaries become a container or Holy Grail for Spirit and Spirit’s manifestation. And by holding or allowing ourselves to contain such a vibration, life reveals its ecstatic adventure.
Bringing Heaven to Earth
What does a Soul infused business look like? I can speak most easily of the development of my own business, RichHeart Music, and most clearly about the music we market. In the mid eighties, I made a fundamental shift in the purpose behind my music. From expressing life experience in music, I turned to the expression of the Divine behind life experience, and the expression of Divine qualities and vibrations through the music.
Purity of expression replaced intensity of expression as a primary focus, and a vision of a better world replaced the emotional expression of a world “as is”.
With this vision I was lead to create works of increasing refinement without much concern for how this music would be marketed. Finally in 1990 as I worked towards the completion of “Light From Assisi”, I came to the realization that this album was to be such a pure expression of the love of St. Francis that it deserved my attention to its marketing.
The newly created RichHeart Music was intended to reflect in business the integrity and strong intention of purity in my music, and I started out by calling a few stores each day and sending demos with almost no follow up. Fortunately, I already had a previous connection with New Leaf, so distribution was available.
During the seven years since “Light From Assisi” was released I have learned much about the music business, dealing with other people’s expectations, holding my own integrity and co-creating fair agreements with partners, suppliers, clients and those who work for me. Some of these lessons have been hard, some easy, but in the midst of it all, the service of creating and marketing high vibrational music for the world has continued and grown.
In our day-to-day business we maintain certain practices to help us hold space for the Divine to manifest. Each day we read our mission statement and say affirmations to reset and strengthen our intentions, and before we make any phone call we silently honor the other person so that the energy of the Highest Good will manifest in our conversation.
While doing our best to maintain our own vertical alignment (Relationship with the Divine) we are working to create business relationships which reflect the harmony, beauty and “RichHeart” in our music. These business relationships, and most importantly our relationships with the people who buy and listen, encourage and support the creation of new music, and thus album by album I am able to create a “film score” which will help set the stage for the Golden Age which is the Dream-Come-True we all are co-creating with the Divine.
