Watching NOVA the other evening I experienced Kensho. Sure it may only be a moment of enlightenment but in that moment I saw where I was going as I travel down the path of Zazen. And yes once the moment wears off my understanding will be mostly intellectual, still I have seen for that moment a synergy between the effort which is Zazen (meditation) and the moment in which enlightenment is present.
I won't attempt to explain the Bose-Einstein Condensate, NOVA and other online resources do a great job and you don't need to be a physicist to understand the basic point being made. I do encourage everyone to watch the NOVA series Absolute Zero for a fascinating explanation of cold and of the Bose-Einstein Condensate.
For many of us who practice Zazen by ourselves it is moments like this that compensate for not having a teacher. Moments like this can help shake off the shackles and beliefs that we are all prone to develop, to create in our practice. Just for a moment emptiness is just emptiness and then we go back to painting colors on the windows we view ourselves through.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Tomato Jane
Jane was looking for a way to make money working for herself. As she was looking out her studio window across the fields to her neighbors farm stand the view transported her imagination into the store and what she saw started a rolling epiphany in her life.
Jane saw a farm and gift store that stopped selling fresh fruits and vegetables after thanksgiving, she knew they stayed opened all through the winter and did a really brisk business selling candles and baskets.
Without having to ponder the ramifications of what had unfolded in her imagination Jane walked over to the farm stand and told the owners she wanted to supply them with fresh veggies in the winter months. Jane went on to discribe the cutting edge hydroponic garden she would construct in her studio. They loved her enthusiasm and made an agreement to accept gourmet salsas packed fresh and bottled along with fruit pies for the first year and revisit the agreement during the summer.
Now two years since she produced her first salsa from her lovingly grown tomatoes, Jane has 3 part time employees and delivers not only salsa and pies to 23 stores but also fresh veggies she grows to 6 restaurants year round.
The epiphany Jane had has less to do with what she produces and more to do with the fact that she produces something that is her own. Creating your own product or array of products is not a new idea, but it may be a somewhat forgotten idea. You can't turn around on the internet without being bombarded with marketing and affiliate ads washing over you. It seems everyone wants you to sell their ideas and products and for doing this they will pay you almost nothing.
The key to this story is as old as marketing itself. Find what you love and produce your own unique product or service. Who knows maybe others will sell it for you and you can keep most of the cash.
*this story is an amalgamation of a number of people I have known.
Jane saw a farm and gift store that stopped selling fresh fruits and vegetables after thanksgiving, she knew they stayed opened all through the winter and did a really brisk business selling candles and baskets.
Without having to ponder the ramifications of what had unfolded in her imagination Jane walked over to the farm stand and told the owners she wanted to supply them with fresh veggies in the winter months. Jane went on to discribe the cutting edge hydroponic garden she would construct in her studio. They loved her enthusiasm and made an agreement to accept gourmet salsas packed fresh and bottled along with fruit pies for the first year and revisit the agreement during the summer.
Now two years since she produced her first salsa from her lovingly grown tomatoes, Jane has 3 part time employees and delivers not only salsa and pies to 23 stores but also fresh veggies she grows to 6 restaurants year round.
The epiphany Jane had has less to do with what she produces and more to do with the fact that she produces something that is her own. Creating your own product or array of products is not a new idea, but it may be a somewhat forgotten idea. You can't turn around on the internet without being bombarded with marketing and affiliate ads washing over you. It seems everyone wants you to sell their ideas and products and for doing this they will pay you almost nothing.
The key to this story is as old as marketing itself. Find what you love and produce your own unique product or service. Who knows maybe others will sell it for you and you can keep most of the cash.
*this story is an amalgamation of a number of people I have known.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Value Merchants
If you stop just for a second and look around you'll see the benefits of complexity being hawked and praised from every direction. Generally those touting complexity do so as a way of build their own niche into one that appears to have value. If it appears to have value then naturally they can charge you large sums for the perceived value.
Value really needs to be measured by "what you need". A group may create a spectacular presentation at your office that highlights what you can achieve by exploiting the value they are offering. Their perception of the value they are offering, may have nothing to do with what you need to achieve your business goals or meet your projections.
Before you engage any company or group that is selling their value, make sure you know what it is you need. Spend time mapping out your questions and the direction you want your business or organization to go in and stick to it when you meet with the value merchants. It is always possible to add extra value to your plan after the basic one is implemented but rarely is it possible to erase the extra value after you have already paid for it.
Rarely do the value merchants see the needs of your business like you would. Instead they see your needs through the colored glasses of maximizing their value.
As the short story that follows shows, value is everywhere.
A monk told Joshu, "I have just entered this monastery. I beg you to teach me." Joshu asked, "Have you eaten your rice porridge?" The monk replied, "I have." "Then," said Joshu, "Go and wash your bowl." At that moment the monk was enlightened. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
Value really needs to be measured by "what you need". A group may create a spectacular presentation at your office that highlights what you can achieve by exploiting the value they are offering. Their perception of the value they are offering, may have nothing to do with what you need to achieve your business goals or meet your projections.
Before you engage any company or group that is selling their value, make sure you know what it is you need. Spend time mapping out your questions and the direction you want your business or organization to go in and stick to it when you meet with the value merchants. It is always possible to add extra value to your plan after the basic one is implemented but rarely is it possible to erase the extra value after you have already paid for it.
Rarely do the value merchants see the needs of your business like you would. Instead they see your needs through the colored glasses of maximizing their value.
As the short story that follows shows, value is everywhere.
A monk told Joshu, "I have just entered this monastery. I beg you to teach me." Joshu asked, "Have you eaten your rice porridge?" The monk replied, "I have." "Then," said Joshu, "Go and wash your bowl." At that moment the monk was enlightened. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
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