Beginner's mind

Zen time again.

I mentioned in a previous post the beginner's mind notion (forbidden word in zen, by the way, more on this in another post). It comes from the famous quotation by Shunryu Suzuki:


“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few”

from his classic "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind".

First time I read this, I thought it makes sense - I can imagine a programmer trying to convince his tech-retarded boss that what he is suggesting is a crazy idea. 


But crazy not in the cool "we can do it eventually and make a lot of money" way. More in the "I   know you're bored to death, while I'm working my ass off so that you can collect your big paycheck, but please stop wasting my time, willya?" way. (wow, long one!)

Actually it does make sense, but not the one I was thinking about. To make my point I'll tell you (actually, copy and paste you) a story:

Empty Your Cup

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

So beginner's mind is all about 'emptying your cup' from everything that it contains - preconceptions, prejudices, knowledge, ideas; and being open to the reality as it is, in its 'suchness' (another favorite zen word). And then the expert's mind is all about having the cup full - how can you see a possibility if your mind is in chains?

That is one of the reasons why the most radical forms of zen deny the written knowledge and the learning process as we know it - because it obscures the mind with concepts, ideas and prejudices. Which is what I'm doing right now - consider this too.;)

So are you having a beginner's mind? Or you know everything beforehand?

How (im)mature an organization can be?

I've been involved with big organizations and projects for the most part of my working experience - which is not such a long period actually - around 6 years or so. Long time or not, I've seen quite a lot and some realizations emerged during the process. Yet, I'm still being continually surprised with the unbelievable heights to which inefficiency and incompetency can be brought. (I've always wanted to say this!!!) Sounds familiar? Yeah, I thought so...

Behave yourself, Yavor!!! Stop with this bad, bad criticism!!!

To put it in other words, organizations (especially big ones) have a whole lot to improve in certain areas. And let me give you an example.

Yesterday I attended a meeting at work. With several colleagues we were discussing how to improve the outcome of a task which was unsatisfactory. As the meeting developed, two approaches clashed: the 'follow the rules' approach against the 'get the work done' one. This is a situation common for the everyday work more or less everywhere - quite often the 'rules' or the 'policy' or whatever else the bureaucratic manifestation can be called, goes in the way of getting the work done. As in my particular situation: apparently the 'comply with the rules' mindset produced a negative outcome. And still - there was strong resistance against changing it.

And 'follow the rules, no matter if it makes sense' is kind of mentality that companies (and governments for that matter, but don't get me started on this one :)) try to impose on us. They are trying to limit the 'thinking' and 'creativity' and increase the 'compliance', which has the following major effects:

• on the positive side:
• makes people easier to be managed (yes, it sounds harshly, but the alternative is downright chaos)
• provides a well tested path to follow (as opposed to repeating the same mistakes again and again)
• on the negative side:
• can be used to evade personal responsibility
• the value of the people diminishes dramatically.

Considering this, I'm suggesting that organization's policy enforcement shouldn't be a means of suppressing the common sense and creativity in people. It is a framework to build on, not one to set limitations and to be a tool to evade responsibility.

And I believe that the extend to which organizations manage to successfully strike a balance between enforcing a policy and keeping people's individuality and creativity intact is a key indicator of the maturity of that organization.

Wow, that was tough one. Hope, you enjoyed it. See you soon.

Funny is the new serious!

It doesn't need to take yourself seriously to make a difference.

On inertia

According to Newton's first law - "a body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion with a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a force".

In his great book 'Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It', Marshal Goldsmith writes about inertia, which he considers to be the default response in our lives.

See any similarities? (The Newton's law is also known as 'the law of inertia'.)

I know you do. However, this doesn't mean that we can draw a conclusion on that basis. The first statement is a fact - it is a proven law of physics. The second one though, concerns life and our response to it, and this could not be further from exact science.

Anyway, I believe it to be truth. For me - it is yet another evidence that the physical and meta-physical worlds act under the same laws. Am I getting creepy here? OK, I'm stopping with the philosophical mumbo-jumbo.

So let's talk about life's inertia. The bad thing about it is that we continue doing what we are doing even if is not good for us anymore. Why? Because we are lazy, unmotivated ... or we are unaware of what is going on.

Thinking about my life lately I've found a lot of inertia, happening without my awareness. And this insight is freaking me out. Am I living or just going through life? Who is at the steering wheel? It's got to be me, right?

As usual, I'm too tough on myself, but it is worth to make some changes. Small and big ... it is all about balance, right? Let me know.

zen gift

I've been into zen for quite a while now. Particularly, I enjoy reading zen stories and koans.

If you are interested in zen, you know that there is a thing about the zen texts that makes them not easy (to say the least) to comprehend. And it is not exactly 'thinking' that unlocks the meaning.

It is a kind of mystic experience when the famous 'satori' hits you, leaving you wondering 'how come I didn't realize this earlier - it is so obvious'. It seems like the story somehow enters the subconscious and do its magic and then something happens and the wisdom comes to one's awareness.

Who knows? I don't - just guessing. In fact it is an 'uneducated' guess, but never-mind - I'm using my beginner's mind which in zen terms is a good thing (Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind).

But back to the point - here is a zen story I like.

The Gift of Insults

There once lived a great warrior. Though quite old, he still was able to defeat any challenger. His reputation extended far and wide throughout the land and many students gathered to study under him.

One day an infamous young warrior arrived at the village. He was determined to be the first man to defeat the great master. Along with his strength, he had an uncanny ability to spot and exploit any weakness in an opponent. He would wait for his opponent to make the first move, thus revealing a weakness, and then would strike with merciless force and lightning speed. No one had ever lasted with him in a match beyond the first move.

Much against the advice of his concerned students, the old master gladly accepted the young warrior's challenge. As the two squared off for battle, the young warrior began to hurl insults at the old master. He threw dirt and spit in his face. For hours he verbally assaulted him with every curse and insult known to mankind. But the old warrior merely stood there motionless and calm. Finally, the young warrior exhausted himself. Knowing he was defeated, he left feeling shamed.

Somewhat disappointed that he did not fight the insolent youth, the students gathered around the old master and questioned him. "How could you endure such an indignity? How did you drive him away?"

"If someone comes to give you a gift and you do not receive it," the master replied, "to whom does the gift belong?"

So we can refuse being involved in something if it is not good for us. We can refuse being unhappy, anxious or negative. Is that so? I don't know. But it is worth to give it a try, isn't it? Let me know.

What blog?

So here I am again to present my new blog.


Eager to start. Yep! I'm a kind of person who likes to start afresh and anew (consider that 'likes' is not the same as 'doing it successfully'). And everything starts with a 'start', right? WRONG! In order to start you have to stop. Yeah, that's right. Give it a thought for a second and you'll see I'm right (and I'm always right, mind you :)). Because in order to start something new you first need to stop something old, so that you have a room for it. Let's say you are starting a new blog (you can see what an imaginative example I'm giving), first you need to stop doing something else so that you can have time to write. These are the two ingredients of a change  - you stop some old behavior/habit/whatever and start a new (hopefully better) one. More on this - later - when/if my creativity strikes.


But let's get back to the point: what I'm planning to do is to stop waisting (part of) my free time and start doing something sensible with it. I'm keen on jumpstarting my own creativity. Sounds cliche? Sure it does. But it is only the start of my creative transformation, so give me some time.


Yavor

Start blog?

Hi!

My name is Yavor. I'm Bulgarian. I live in Sofia. I'm 28 years old. I'm IT pro (yes, geek), zen follower, music fan and overall boring person.

And I'm smart, educated, handsome and outstandingly successful... OK, almost.

This is my first post in my brand new (cool, fancy, incredible, innovative, unbelievably valuable... Damn it, my English is so limited!!!)  blog.

So, why am I starting a blog anyway?

   Simple question - cause everyone have one!
       Smiling silly here.


   Well, not really. Actually I'm starting it for all the wrong reasons, namely:

•    because I want to try something new;

          Ouch, this sounds like taken from a job interview.

•    - it seems kind of fun;

                    Better?

•    - I want to improve my English writing skills;

                    Seriously!?!?

•    - I have free time to fill up;

                    Don't tell my manager!!!

•    - I have things to say... What things? ... You'll see.

Quite boring so far, isn't it? I hope to improve though... Actually I hope to win the lottery also, but I wish I stand a better chance here. :)

So : Is it a nice first post? Let me know.