Silence Looking Out
The deep end starts here!
Over the years, many clients have commented that Fusion sits squarely in the center of the business and intellectual universe, yet draws on material from the extreme reaches of both the ancient wisdom traditions, and the new age frontier. Said a participant, “One minute I’m sitting in a modern business office talking about an advertising campaign, then somehow I’m transported to an ashram in India or a Zen Temple in Humboldt County, discussing the nature of personal identity…” We might observe, “So, you think these are not connected? “What in the world is more important than connecting one to the other? Fusion.
Herewith, this week’s Cornerstone…
Does the Noise in my Head Bother You?
By Steven Tyler
Lead Singer – Aerosmith
(1948 – )
“The natural state of a rational mind is silence; looking out.”
Zen Roshi
Temple of the Perrenials
Weston, FL
Most people are sharing their headspace with a crazy roommate… one who mutters, worries, criticizes, talks over the conversation, judges, obsesses about the state of the finances, deems you worthless, and sweats the Yankees (Mets, Dodgers, Patriots, Bulls), all while the rational side is valiantly and thanklessly attempting to pay full attention to the business (or pleasure) at hand. (The Asian name for this is “Monkey Mind.”)
Is it any wonder that – in the middle (muddle) of this incessant distraction we occasionally lose track of the business conversation?
How can we control this internal interloper? Turn down the volume or, better yet, shut it down altogether?
We suggest three solutions – from three perspectives:
1. Short Term – Attention/Looking: Zen
2. Medium Term – Affection/Loving: Hindu
3. Long Term – Distinction/Leaving it Behind: Holosophy
1. Looking
The Masters of Zen long ago discovered and taught that the noises in the mind can be silenced by directing the attention solely to the task at hand – focusing on a spot on the wall for example (ref. Bodhidharma boring a hole in the wall of his cave with the intensity of his meditative stare). We build on this ancient tradition by assisting clients in managing their eye contact so that through the focus of their attention, they no longer provide mental space for anything but the person in their focus – the task at hand. When the attention is narrowly focused, nerves and mental noise fall away. Look where you intend the arrow (or the idea) to go…(It also works for Zen Archery and Kung Fu).
2. Loving
The Hindu Gurus taught that unconditional, loving acceptance is the thing that all beings seek and is the ingredient that makes life liveable, bearable and meaningful. That voice in the head is usually critical, judgmental, dark, negative, full of invective and frustration. Have you found yourself on the way to work, reaming out the driver who cut in front of you, then arriving at the office and terrorizing the staff, bursting a blood vessel over the projector that’s not functioning, then dumping on yourself as you mis-present a big idea? That voice is perhaps not grounded in affection…
What if you chose instead to notice, not judge the events in your life – no voice? What if you ascribed no importance to the car that just swerved in front of you; and even sent the harried driver some compassion? How about just notice the projector isn’t operating and look for the unplugged cord? What if you accepted your own inherent limitations in business meetings and began to like the grand game of making things happen in and through corporations? Would your day go more smoothly? Would events unfold more auspiciously? Would contacts and clients appear more magically? Perhaps calm acceptance (Love) is the answer.
3. Leaving it Behind
What makes you think that voice in your head is right, or rational or good – or you? It’s easy to consider that a voice in the mind, or an attitude or a residual dark malevolence – is yours because it’s “in your space.” Perhaps any or all of those items might be present, but they may not be you. “The thinker is not the thought. The listener is not the sound!” “The stuff in the head doesn’t become yours or you until or unless you choose to own it or act on it.”
Obviously this is a big sort of mental/spiritual discipline – a holistic philosophy – the sort that distinguishes masters, saints and people of rarefied intention. But it is within our reach if we simply concentrate on the task at hand, accept what is happening without judgement and then choose not to own a critical thought simply because it’s there. Choose your path one step at a time, and in choosing, leave behind all the noise – which may never have been yours to begin with. Making this distinction between the listener and the noise is a tenet of Holosophy. (Holosophy is an eclectic, currently evolving study which seeks to unify and align the best efforts of the great philosophers.) (Don’t Google this yet. The term is misused on the Internet. We’ll clear this up in subsequent posts. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more, drop us a line.)
What does all this have to do with creating a successful career or presentation?
The old masters, and those still with us suggest that looking, loving and leaving the past behind are three components of an enlightened and successful life.
Application
At home: When listening to your mate, children or friends – silence the noise by looking – don’t judge. You may hear and learn something.
At work: When listening to your colleagues or boss, silence the noise by looking – don’t judge. You may hear and learn something.
If the noise in your head bothers you, just think what it’s doing to someone else. Recognize it may not be you and choose not to own it.
Welcome to the deep end – jump in!
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