~how to be a monk at work~

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Sacredness Is Not Just an Idea, but an Experience

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From my morning reading in Lodro Rinzler’s book, Walk Like a Buddha:

Sacredness is not just an idea. It is an experience. Having a realization of sacredness means that you experience an element of power and dignity in everything, including the ballpoint pen you are using, your comb, taking a shower, or driving your car.”

~Chöygam Trungpa Rinpoche, Smile at Fear, p. 112

I have long held that there are both meaning and significance to be found in the simplest of tasks if we hold the intention to experience them.

Filing important papers, waiting for a meeting to begin, making that first cup of coffee at work: all can be inherently sacred moments.”

Re-reading Rinzler’s book in recent days, and especially coming on to this quote from Chöygam Trungpa Rinpoche, has been like the appearance of guideposts along the path I walk, indicating the way forward.

The Key to Effecting Change in the Workplace is Practicing Mindfulness

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If you’re unhappy with the culture of your workplace or the general level of professional behavior in your office, there is no better way to initiate the change than to start with yourself and consistently be the best version of yourself each and every day.

In my opinion, the only way to effect change is to first become the change.

When you bring your inner monk to work, you show up as the same person you are when you’re on the meditation cushion. I realize that just by possessing a positive outlook and modeling positive behavior isn’t often enough to bring about changes in others, but as a Buddhist practitioner, it’s the place you must start.  [Read more…]

Anti-Awareness and The Miracle of Mindfulness, Revisited

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I’ve been re-reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Miracle of Mindfulness on my Kindle. I’m having a beautiful experience revisiting this volume that I read so many years ago.

You’ve probably had this same experience whereby you begin reading a book you read years ago and suddenly remember how lovely it was the first time, right?

I’ve recently experienced a heavier weighted reliance on mindfulness: In part because of work pressure, in part due to personal issues, and partly because I want to cultivate more awareness on a moment-by-moment basis.

It’s too easy to slip into the lazy habit of being somewhere else. I want to be here now…and now…and now. It is a positive way for me to be in the world and it reminds me, especially in times of challenge, to remember the faithfulness of my breath and how it supports me both physiologically as well as spiritually. [Read more…]

Work as a Practice for Awakening

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I’m currently reading Zen of Business Administration: How Zen Practice Can Transform Your Work and Your Life by entrepreneur, Zen monk, and former Zen Center Director, Marc Lesser.

The premise of the book is that Zen practice can lead to the dissolution of the often self-placed boundaries between work and play.

At the heart of Zen is the absence of a separate sense of self. I have to admit that this is a concept that I’ve yet to fully understand.

I’m only about one-fifth of the way into this delightful read, however, I hope that by the time I get to the end I’ll have a clearer understanding of it. [Read more…]

How To Use Mindfulness to Survive and Thrive in Today’s Open Seating Work Environments

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Open seating workspaces aren’t what they’re cracked up to be

Open seating offices are all the rage in both Silicon Valley companies and across the globe, but for many, they’re a problem.

While proponents of the concept boast about improved productivity and ease of interaction between team members, there is a growing body of evidence that sheds light on some of the more harmful aspects of the model.

In this article on Forbes, David Burkus -author of the titles, The Myths of Creativity and Under New Management– takes a look at the various studies that identified some startling negative effects on the inhabitants of open seating offices.

The findings include a 2005 study from researchers at Australia’s University of Sydney that found: [Read more…]