Mindfulness

Bullet Journal® Creator Opens Up About a Pervasive Problem and Advice for Correcting It

01/08/2019 by Barry Leave a Comment

I’ve been a fan of Bullet Journal^® for a number of years. In fact, multiple years spent using and improving the system contributed to ZenJo’s development.

About 10 days ago, in a post that was long overdue, Ryder Carroll acknowledged that his original model had become overshadowed by (and synonymous with, in my opinion) the colorful, artistic collections and spreads that are so prevalent in social media.

In the post, Ryder wrote that during his tour to promote The Bullet Journal Method, his book that tells the story of Bullet Journal^® and its applications, he heard numerous times how users had abandoned their BuJo practice because they felt pressured to conform their notebooks to the standards created by more artistic spread designers and Washi tape fans.

There is a growing number of Bullet Journalists struggling to develop their practice in the quicksand of social validation. They design increasingly elaborate or complex collections, investing ever more time, for “likes”. This is problematic for several reasons, but primarily the more you focus on the needs of others, the less you’re paying attention to your own. It shifts the Bullet Journal method from a personal practice into a performance.” -Ryder Carroll

It’s a bit ironic that a few years back I wrote about this as an example of how, in my opinion, Bullet Journal^®had “lost its way” and had become synonymous with Instagram photos of pastel-colored charts and habit trackers while losing sight of its purpose.

I received no small amount of hate mail and derogatory comments for suggesting this and now it seems that the creator of Bullet Journal^® feels the same way.

Back to Basics

Ryder addresses this in his post and suggests that his system is like an empty house and that it needs to be furnished with whatever the resident feels comfortable with (extended metaphor, mine). He suggests that users feeling out of touch with their notebook should get back to basics and focus on what works for their situation.

Strip away everything that doesn’t support your purpose. Start simple. Build slowly. Your practice doesn’t need to be profound, or beautiful. It needs to be real, relevant, and effective. Most of all, it needs to be yours.” -Ryder Carroll

I whole-heartedly agree with Ryder on this last point and that’s exactly why Zen-Journal^™ has always been a minimally-designed analog system focused primarily on handwritten entries, emphasizing organization, efficiency, and mindfulness over artistic content. In fact, both Bullet Journal^® and Zen-Journal^™ have this in common.

Serving the higher purposes

It doesn’t matter how attractive your notebook is; what matters is whether or not it serves its purpose: helping you get tasks completed; moving you toward your goals; reflecting what’s most important in your life; helping you become more mindful in your daily planning.

These are what I call the higher purposes. The lower, more superficial purposes are those aimed at simply attracting attention and self-gratification, a fleeting satisfaction at best.

The reason we use an analog planning system like Bullet Journal^® or Zen-Journal^™ is that they allow us to reflect our personalities within the pages, explore ideas, plan our lives, and confront the deeper issues we face with journal entries in the length we choose without running out of space.

They serve our higher purposes and in doing so, they help us become more present, more mindful, and more whole.

Sacredness Is Not Just an Idea, but an Experience

05/28/2018 by Barry 1 Comment

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.

Morning Zen: Getting Ready for Work

05/23/2018 by Barry Leave a Comment

Perhaps while getting ready for work, maybe see everything you do in prep as part of a sacred ritual.

@zen_journal

#monkatwork #zen #BeABuddha

The Key to Effecting Change in the Workplace is Practicing Mindfulness

05/18/2018 by Barry Leave a Comment

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

05/16/2018 by Barry 1 Comment

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

01/19/2018 by Barry Leave a Comment

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

07/30/2017 by Barry Leave a Comment

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…]

8 Ways Regular Mindfulness Practice Can and Will Transform Your Brain

06/27/2017 by Barry Leave a Comment

Mindfulness practice is a transformative practice. If you engage in eating ice cream five minutes every day, do you know what would happen? Your waistline would be transformed… and probably not in the way you’d want. 🙄

You wouldn’t see it changing each day, but over the course of a few weeks, you’d notice some changes.

That’s how it is with mindfulness practice.

After five minutes on the first day you might not notice any transformation occurring, but over a few weeks you’ll notice some significant changes.

[Read more…]

Your Workday Doesn’t Have To Feel Like You’re Living a Scene from ‘The Shining’

06/25/2017 by Barry Leave a Comment

REDRUM, REDRUM…

OK, that’s a bit dramatic…(if you’ve seen the film or read the novel, you get it), but life working around Type-A folks can certainly evoke some really strong reactions.

Anger, feeling hurt, annoyance and other forms of upset are examples often how we choose to respond to various stimuli at work and maybe even at home, on the freeway, or around our kids.

It’s almost as if we possess a negative-reflex-thinking mode that becomes our go-to response, triggered over and over again each day.

Unfortunately, this leads to increased stress levels, a dumping of stress hormones in our bloodstream, and ultimately to disease states like hypertension and heartburn.

That’s an unhealthy way to live. [Read more…]

From Whom Should You Learn Meditation?

06/16/2017 by Barry Leave a Comment

“I’m thirsty, but I guess I should wait for an aquatic scientist before drinking.”

There is no need to wait

Searching for a certified, aquatic scientist before making the decision to drink water is ludicrous, right? I mean, who in their right mind would even think of that?

Yet that’s exactly what some trained and certified (by their tradition) meditation teachers advise new meditators. Frankly, I think that’s a load of crap and it promotes further division along sectarian lines. Yes, I understand that Buddhist meditation isn’t something that anyone can teach, but let’s be realistic, sitting in silence, focusing on your breath, and learning to be with yourself isn’t rocket science.

The argument seems to be that non-certified meditation teachers can’t take a student deeply into their meditation journey and, therefore, might omit the finer points that a traditionally-trained meditation teacher would be equipped to teach.

So, respectfully, I get that, but again, we’re not talking brain surgery here. Ok, we are kind of talking about a brain-changing experience, here is where I think that logic breaks down. [Read more…]