Ideals in Motion

Choking is about thinking too much.

Panic is about thinking too little.

Thoughts on emptiness…

Coming to and moving through life as an unexamined vessel is not an effective way to live. I say this because, as a principle of attraction, there is no telling what I will draw to me. This is very esoteric and here’s my thinking… With the Buddhist tenet in mind that says all events are “empty” until I fill them with meaning (my interpretation) I want to have a strong sense of who I am and what I’m about. This is because I want to “fill” my world with the types of experiences that are useful to me; that are fulfilling to me; that are validating to me. The more my ideals are in motion through my practice of clarifying what they are, standing for what they are, and acting in concert with what they are, the greater the probability that I will have experiences (i.e., fill my life with events that support and validate) that are consistent with what these ideals mean to me. Life is neutral until I show up to interpret it. In a very real sense this is Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle at work. It’s not that I create events in life – all possible events are occurring at all time. What happens is that my “meaning” filter isolates for notice specific events and chains of events. These then “become” my life. What am I setting in motion through my observations? How and what am I wired to observe? What have my life’s practices pre-disposed me to pay attention to? What different seeing is required to create a different life? How do I structure this new way of seeing? What new practices do I need to develop? This is man’s evolutionary journey. It requires introspection as much as (and probably more) than action. War will continue to be “seen” as a meaningful course of action until our practices match our ideals. Inappropriate competition within organizations will continue to be “seen” as a meaningful course of action until our practices match our ideals. Until we recognize that, through our daily practices, we are each filling our worlds with much that we don’t want or need nothing will change. Our practices become the way in which we put our ideals into motion as attractors that fill our world with meaning, richness, and fullness.

The Ideal Workplace

The ideal work environment for me – and that is a distinction that I believe is important – revolves more around the experiences people have access to than any structured dynamic present in the workplace. These experiences culminate in having access to fulfilling work. I fully recognize that being used as a resource is a function of participating in a workplace endeavor. When that use is framed in a way that provides meaning and leads to a fulfilling experience contribution is natural and life is much richer.

Conformity to rules and regulation is not an issue here – nor is it even desireable. There will be (and must be) disagreements. The distinction is that these disagreements are born out of diversity and become the fodder for innovation and creativity.

This is important because diversity is a key component to an ideal workplace. It fosters a different kind of learning. A learning that is focused on relating. This workplace becomes a catalyst for societal change. The workplace is the dominant social medium in today’s developed world. Using it as a source of spirit and transformation will require deliberation and a mindful attention to the process of designing the workplace.

Unlike with today’s workplace, training and development are not primarily about skill development in this ideal workplace. These activities are predominantly about instilling new practices in the everyday behaviors of the workforce. These practices revolve around addressing and altering the “imprints” that form future actions. They are about setting the stage for increasing levels of tolerance and acceptance – while at the same time honing the sharp edge of competition that leads to innovation and increasing abundance. This fosters a competitive dynamic that is not based on a zero sum concept but is cumulative.

The net effect of this ideal workplace is a world in which ideals are in motion, where ideals are generative, and where work becomes a meaningful expression of one’s life.

Ideals Are Not Perfect

Ideals are not perfect…

The ideals of my life are made up of my core values, my dreams, my aspirations – my understanding of the “for the sake of what” that gives my life meaning. These ideals encompass my family, my career, my company, my legacy, and, even, my golf game. Clarified and defined, they can and do have the potential of leading to a more perfect experience of my life. And it’s important for me to be mindful that, when speaking of ideals, I am not speaking about creating perfection in my life where there is no variance from what was planned.

Ideals are to be aspired to – there’s a lot of wiggle room. They provide a roadmap and maps are only approximations of the territory that is being traveled. When you walk the trail, wind has blown a tree down, rains have swollen the river, a volcano moved the earth (I live near Mt. St. Helens), and the map doesn’t account for this. This is true for individuals and for organizations.

What’s important about my ideals isn’t what they are…it’s what they make possible. They make it possible for me to encounter the downed tree, the swollen river, the moved earth and keep moving – because I know why it’s important. The “for the sake of what” has been answered. Not for all times. But for a now that allows me to move beyond the rigidity and shame demanded and imposed by aspiring to perfection. There is room to regroup. There is a quarter offered that encourages learning. There is room to breathe. And that’s not to be underestimated in today’s world.

Mindfully Centered

When moving through the world with ideals in mind, the grace and fluidity is in being “centered” around a well integrated organizing principle or process. When I move away from that center the internal experience of grace, of elegance, is diminished. My balance is off. Maintaining the practice of coming back to this center reconnects me to a powerful “for the sake of what” that gives the ideal meaning and import. Interestingly, doing the work to define and organize the center provides the implicit definition of the “for the sake of what”.

Because of the work done in defining it as part of a centered place I find I don’t need to consciously focus on or be aware of the “for the sake of what” while moving. When life inevitably grabs me with the unexpected or unwanted, coming back to center is enough to maintain the flow and the experience of dancing with the ideal in a state of elegance and integration. Having the center somatically defined (e.g., intellectually, emotionally, physically and spiritually) provides an “ideal home”. A home from which it is possible to move into and in the world with a sense of purpose and productivity that is fulfilling, generative and ultimately enriching.

How the world is (or could be)...

Thinking about the implication for how my world is…

Ideals, by definition, are inclusionary and benevolent. By this I mean that my ideals will never compromise or denigrate another’s. Ideals are expressions of perfection. Together, your ideals and my ideals and “their” ideals form a mosaic. This mosaic is life. It is life’s expressions and it is an expression of the potential perfection of life. It must be so that by putting my ideals into motion I empower life. By putting my ideals into motion I enable the mosaic of what could be. By putting my ideals into motion I set in motion a process that seeks to fit my piece of the mosaic into the perfect whole. My ideals seek their place in life. They will be in relationship with other’s ideals as the consequence of seeking the most elegant, the most perfect fit. It’s in this relationship with other’s ideals that my ideals take on meaning, that they are literally defined. Through the process of relating, my ideals become known and the ideals of others become known. It is in the knowing and the coming to be known – the sense of place and fit and perfection – that makes possible the creation of a more perfect world.

When my ideals are inert, when motion is constrained, the world is missing a vital element and becomes less than perfect. When ideals are held in check the world holds its breath. I must have the courage to let the world breathe – the courage to give my ideals life through motion. In motion, all things are possible. In motion, I continuously have the capacity to come back to a place of center. A place from which all things are possible and all directions have the potential to be the expression of perfection that life so eagerly and passionately seeks to be.

Beginnings and Endings

Beginnings and endings. How do we know which is which?

I practiced breathing in a different way in my meditation this morning. Used my “out” breath as the beginning of the breathing cycle and the “in” breath as the conclusion. Many insights…chief being that what I (and I suspect most people) believe to be the beginning (the “in” breath) is actually the ending of unity with a greater whole. A baby’s life begins with its inward breath AND that breath signals the conclusion of its physical unity with its mother – it’s the process of individuation writ small.

As we grow, we become accustomed, through this subtle practice of breathing, to being and thinking of ourselves as separate from others. The implications of this are profound!

·         The profitability of my company is dependent on and is a function of what I do. I’ve looked on my independence as a source of pride and the result is I’ve built a company that works (has revenue) only if I work. As a mechanism for putting my ideals in motion this may not be me being my most effective.

·         Ideals in motion come into being on the “out” breath. Extension and expansion and connection are the mechanisms. The context is the rhythmic breathing of life. Do the ideals take form on the out breath? This is the birth viewed from the perspective of the creator. In order to be viable and keep in motion the (my) ideals need to be giving birth to movement in others. It is the way of the breath.

The practice of mindfully breathing in this fashion – the inhalation being the end is a paradox. I feel myself as separate and life has meaning only in the connections I forge. The forging is quickened on the exhalation – the beginning!

Containment

Containment…

Stories are told in the literature of mystics of experiences whereby one finds oneself standing on the edge of the universe gazing into infinity. While this may very well be a valid view into the nature of enlightenment it is also a view that is reputedly accompanied by unimaginable fear. It seems the problem with unbounded freedom to be is that there is NO THING to hold the ideal; no container to provide context; no context to provide meaning; no meaning to provide relevance; no relevance..."I" am lost.

The inestimable value of containment is that it gives meaning to what it holds. More than that...it also gives the possibility of nurture and succor to that which is held. Just as children will wither and die if not held, so to will my ideals and dreams.

We need a containment field to hold our ideals as they grow. Not one that is unbendingly rigid but one that provides boundary and relevance. And within that boundary, constraint enough that is able to generate the pressure that insures expression. Too loose, and there is no coherence; too tight and there is no creativity; just right and the ideal is born into the light of day free to redefine the containment field that will allow it to thrive until it’s time to be reborn again.

Meditation Notes

Keeping a central focus is unbelievably difficult. The intrusions, the seductions, the voices and conversations! When I think about this in relation to offers I make into the world (the way I position my ideals to be in motion) it creates an awareness of possible limitations that can be moved.

The breadth, scope and size of the offers I make can be (and often are) determined by my sense of belonging. Another way of saying belonging is integration. In my meditation, the difficulty of achieving a sense of wholeness – an experience of integration or coherence with the quietude of being – is worth exploring within the context of impact on the offers I structure and make.

I’m thinking that the scatteredness experienced in the meditation is a powerful measure that allows for me to develop an internal body that is organized in a manner that truly empowers the cogency and attraction of my offers. The more I belong inside myself the more grounded and articulate will be my offers.

It offers an interesting paradox – the more integrated I am in my stillness the more my ideals will be in motion.

Practicing Ideals

"You can tell your intention by the results you produce". This is a phrase I’ve lived with since I was a young man working for a company called Lifespring back in the early 1970's. The company was one of the major players in the nascent human potential movement of the 1970's along with est, psi world and Actualizations. The thrust of the phrase was to induce an examination of life – what do I have and is it what I want? If not, then the place to look is inside myself.

Ultimately, the message became that if one didn't have what one wanted then it obviously was not one's intention to have it. Unfortunately, this orientation often became commingled with will power – if I am intentional enough then I can change my life. What was missing in our discourse with students was any conversation about how one becomes intentional. What are the daily practices that reinforces and contributes to one’s intentionality.

If intention is the metaphoric iceberg then these daily practices comprise the bulk of the 90% or so that lay under the surface of the water – invisible to all observers in the moment but completely influencing the velocity, direction and substance of the intention. These practices are essentially my habituated ways of being and living. They are comprised of such things as my internal thoughts about who I am and where I belong in life, the way I sit in a chair, the way I walk, the way I hold my head, the way I focus my eyes when speaking with another, the depth and position of my breathing, the way I start and end my days, the amount and types of foods I regularly eat…my habits. Taken together these all conspire to create my intention in life. As a consequence, it is not surprising that just having “positive” thoughts about a new life desire or goal often fails. There is so much below the surface that is often pulling in the opposite direction.

Bear Bryant, the legendary coach of the Alabama Red Tide football team, was once quoted saying that he'd never met anyone that didn't say he didn't want to be successful – it was just that he almost never met anyone that wanted to practice being successful. John Wooden, another legendary coach (basketball, UCLA Bruins) had his players "practice" putting their socks on a specific way every single time. When was the last time you practiced putting your socks on?

It's the little things that, when taken in aggregate, make the difference. What am I practicing? What do I need to stop practicing? What can I start practicing that will shift my intention? What practices will create my ideal life?