Perhaps while getting ready for work, maybe see everything you do in prep as part of a sacred ritual.
@zen_journal#monkatwork #zen #BeABuddha
Anti-Awareness and The Miracle of Mindfulness, Revisited
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
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
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…]
My Most Meaningful Work – A 40+ Year Path of Gradual Awakening
And we dance, To a whispered voice;
Overheard by the soul, Undertook by the heart;
And you may know it, If you may know itNeil Diamond, Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Roles help us find ourselves
I’ve played many roles in my life: physician, professor, a college dean, a college president, a window washer, a retail store manager, consultant, and a guy who cleaned eyeglasses and hawked some anti-fog stuff for eyeglasses…yes, many roles and obviously not in that order.
You probably have played several, too. There is nothing wrong with playing these roles. But like we do in perfecting our golf swing or crafting the perfect cup of coffee, hopefully…eventually…we find a sweet spot. We find that one type of role within which we could stay in character for the rest of our lives.
Roles help reveal what comes easily to us. On a deeper level, we call these traits, talents, and strengths. Over time we experiment with different roles to determine our interests. I see roles as hugely important because the results of these experiences ultimately inform us about our deepest work.
The rest of this post is somewhat autobiographical. It discusses various phases in my life and the roles I played. It talks about the fractured process of discovering my strengths, talents, and ultimately, my deepest work and concludes with how you can avoid a similarly painful 40-year search for your deepest work. [Read more…]
8 Ways Regular Mindfulness Practice Can and Will Transform Your Brain
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.
