Breaths and Birthdays
As I turn 58 tomorrow, I smile at how much the number 8 has come around yet again.
Several years ago, when attending a meditation retreat, I sensed the name Awake8
that begged the question, “Be awake to eight WHAT, exactly?”…
The past thirteen years I’ve been journaling and reflecting on the mysteries of how the dying process informs our living process. I’m now dusting off those stories, principles and tools to share the lessons I’ve gathered over the past thirty years of holding a dual-career in both leadership development and end-of-life work.
You now have a front-row seat to me refining these tools into a comprehensive framework called, Awake8.
Here is the upcoming menu of options in the “Awake8 Café” as I stir into this stew the best of what modern neuroscience teaches us about high performing habits combined with gentle self-care recipes. These practices have been handed down through generations from mentors and teachers who have demonstrated how to live an emotionally engaged and relevant life to the communities we serve.
The 8 Ways That Being with The Dying Teaches Us About Leadership, Career and Life
The 8 Powerful Practices: The Secret Soul Life of Executives and High
Performers
The 8 Pathways for Guiding yourself and others towards Being Wider Awake
The 8 Principles for Moving Energy and Conversations through a Group
The 8 Chute Conversations That Bring Our Energy Down
The 8 Ladder Conversations That Pull Our Energy Up
The 8 Powerful Qualities & Questions
The 8 Arenas of Life
Leadership in businesses, non-profits organizations or in the government sector requires an increased reservoir of courage, creativity and resilience as we break more fully into the complexity and pace of change that the 21st century is demanding of us.
I’ve spent my life sensing what connects us as we each embody our own unique way of caring for ourselves with the same intensity that we serve others.
My premise is that there are some universal themes, approaches and skills that we can make our own as we build on both the challenges and strengths of “caring for ourselves while we serve others.”
Awake8 is designed to give you moments of brief pause to hold the
complexity of it all and to sense the clarity that comes when we hamore structure and support.
For now, my gift to you is the very first tool within this emerging framework, The One-Minute S.A.W. Method.
This simple process occurred to me when leading addiction recovery and mental health support groups decades ago and while I was also using it when coaching executives, mentoring fellow teachers or coaches and leading moments of reflection during meetings and workshops.
During COVID, a small group of us began practicing this method once a week and checking in with each other during a brief thirty-minute huddle to care for the body, mind and spirit during uncertain times.
This current small group is reserved for clients of a cancer support center that I serve, but we are interested in partnering with others who want to sponsor their own connection time for any teams working on “must-not-fail projects” or groups of friends supporting one another to be gentle during a difficult transition and moving towards their goals.
I encourage you to review and put into practice The One-Minute S.A.W Method.
You may share it in a meeting (it only takes a minute), you may share it with students, and you may share it with clients (or with anyone you meet).
One colleague shared it in his consulting practice with busy health care professionals and then again at night when he tucked his son into bed. It’s designed to be that practical and universal.
The One-Minute S.A.W Method is intended to be a tool that is shared wide and far this year. My team can even work with you to customize this PDF with your own culture or brand to meet your unique needs for sharing it if needed.
Or, use this current format to invite others to become familiar with the tools being shared by Awake8 in the coming months.
As I dedicate 2025 to this work, I am inviting you as my inner circle to be the first to read about and to experience these tools. The point is to do SOMETHING to start sharing these tools! Why is this so important?
Sharing tools that help all human beings remember their innate sense of connection with all of life is getting more and more urgent and important during these uncertain times. There’s a lot of people on this planet all needing support.
Do you know approximately how many? 8 billion.
There’s that number 8 again.
With an unrelenting commitment to your innate capacity for clarity, joy and purpose,
Patrick Davis, MA
Career & Life Transitions Strategist
Founder Awake8