Creating a Better Life

Gratitude for Interconnectedness

It’s been quite a while since I wrote a post on gratitude, but a few things, as well as a few new understandings, have come into my life that I’m extremely grateful for.

This was inspired by a couple of books that I finished reading yesterday. As a matter of fact, this article started off as an exploration of those books - but I realized that it goes much deeper than the books themselves.

I’m grateful to my mom and dad (if I remember right, it was mostly my mom) for giving me a love of reading. It’s opened up worlds to me that I would never have known, and it gave me a desire to produce the same thing - words that will uplift, inspire, and show others a way out of suffering.

One of the books I finished yesterday was a gift from Nneka of Balanced Life Center - Open Secrets - The Letters of Reb Yerachmiel ben Yisrael by Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro. It sat on top of my computer monitor, unread, until just about a week ago. It’s given me a new understanding of God, and I feel like I’ve finally got a rational way to look at myself and my relationship to the I Am. I’ve always known that they are one and the same, but I guess it took a teacher from a familiar, traditional religion to help this spiritual atheist become comfortable with the G word.

The second book is by Eckert Tolle - A New Earth - Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose. I was first told about it by Deborah, and I was able to purchase it from Amazon.com because of a gift from Karen. I’ve been reading on my lunch hours at work.

The biggest thing I think I got from this particular book was the idea that What we do isn’t quite as important as How we do it (a very similar idea to doing things in the “Certain Way” a la The Science of Getting Rich). The What is secondary to the How… because no matter what it is we are doing, we can only do it now… and to worry about the what takes us away from that.

I also got a new look at the idea of reincarnation from this one. While Buddhism is one of the religions that I often feel most in touch with, I’ve never held much stock in the idea of rebirth - I’ve always figured that I would take it One Lifetime at a Time. But Tolle gave me a new understanding of it - we are always being reincarnated, every single moment… and Karma affects us right now.

In just a few paragraphs, I’ve already mentioned quite a few people and things to be grateful for:

My Ability to Read
My Parents
Nneka
Open Secrets
Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro
Eckert Tolle
A New Earth
Deborah
Amazon.com
Karen

If I look even deeper, though, there is so much more beyond these things to be grateful for.

Look at the first one on my list: My Parents

If my parents hadn’t had sex back in 1969, I wouldn’t be writing this today.

If my grandparents hadn’t done it way back when, I wouldn’t be writing this today.

If I continue to go back as far as is rationally possible, if the Big Bang [chuckle] hadn’t happened (if it really did), I wouldn’t be writing this today.

OK, I’ll get off of the sex thing now.

What about the people who published these books? What about DARPA, the creators of the internet, which brought all of these people, organizations, books into my life? What about the nameless editors, warehouse workers, shipping personnel, the people who fed them, the cars they drove, the cell phones they used, and the people who created those… all of the things that came together to create this moment.

Without billions of people, alive and dead, I wouldn’t be writing this today.

Thank you - in some way, you who are reading this have touched my life.

The next time you want to generate some gratitude, just pick anything in your environment that you are glad you have… it can be anything - the cup that holds your coffee, the chair you are sitting in, the computer or paper you are reading this on…

Then think about where it came from. And where that came from. And where that came from.

And realize just how much the universe had to conspire to get that cup of coffee, or book, or chair, or computer into your life.

It’s all connected. It’s always now. And it’s all God.

And for these things… I’m truly grateful.

[This post has been submitted to the 2007 Season of Gratitude project on Balanced Life Center]

Ebooks Added This Week

New stuff added to the Personal Development Ebooks page this week:

Inspiration Newsletter - Get a free personal development ebook a week, from the same publisher as the free 24-week Master Key System course by Charles Haanel. (note: affiliate links)

Productivity, Meditation, Prioritization, Spirituality… these are a few of my favorite things… and they are all a part of Silencing Overwhelm, a fantastic ebook by Adam Kayce of Monk at Work. As many of you know, I download and read a lot of ebooks (and I mean a lot), and this one was a real breath of fresh air. You can get it for free by subscribing to the Monk at Work blog.

Keep the Power Flowing

“There is a Power greater than yourself in the universe, and you can use it.”

I first read those words on the cover of a tape set version of Ernest Holmes’ “The Science of Mind.”

I was struck by the similarities to the second step of Alcoholics Anonymous:

“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

Many spiritual and religious traditions have this thread of an idea running through them - that there is a power in the universe that we are a part of, but that doesn’t originate with us.

That Power is unlimited.

Jesus himself said “It isn’t me, but my Father in me who does the works.” (John 14:10)

We don’t generate the power that we have. We take the power and convert it to use as we please. It’s like your computer: if it isn’t connected to a power source, it’s just an expensive paper weight. It can only function if the power is flowing to it, and it’s in good working order.

Three things need to be in place for your computer to work.

1.) There has to be a power source.
2.) There has to be a connection between the source and the computer.
3.) The computer has to be working properly. It needs to be able to take that power and convert it to useful action.

When it comes to your own personal power, all you need to be concerned about is #3. The power source is there. The connection is there. You just need to be sure that you are in good working order, accept the power, and convert it into useful action.

One of the biggest mistakes that we make when it comes to our personal development and spiritual growth is when we decide that WE are the source of our own power. Our ego’s are strong things, so strong that quite often they decide that they exist in a vacuum, are the center of the universe, and are able to both produce and use the power at will. While the connection is never broken, it can be blocked.

We are the only one’s who do the blocking.

Our job is to keep keep that power flowing, to keep ourselves from being blocked from it by our own decision to “go it alone”, and to keep our computers in good working order.

Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual - these are all important aspects of you, the greatest computer system ever created.

Keep the switch turned on, and stop trying to be the one who generates the power. It’s there… you just need to learn how to use it.

Start by getting out of it’s way.

—

This article was inspired by the birthday celebration of Live the Power. Happy Birthday!

Is it Ego or is it Intuition?

In an interview with AccidentalCreative.com, David Allen, productivity guru best known as the author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity, discussed something that I’ve thought about quite a bit:

How do I know which thoughts that pop into my head come from all of the “stuff” floating around up there, and how do I know what’s coming from my intuition?

I usually attribute the “stuff floating around in my head” to my ego. And when I say ego, I’m referring to that part of me that is necessarily selfish, that is concerned with who I am and what I need to do to survive and thrive. The problem with my ego is that it’s really smart (and incredibly good looking), but it also gets scared really easily. Give it full reign and it will start thinking that everything is a threat. That’s when it becomes self-centered, worried, and even frantic, and starts spouting off stupid stuff like “I’ve gotta do this now! It’s gotta be God telling me to purchase this get-rich-quick scheme (stop smoking product, or productivity tool, or whatever).”

When it kicks into this mode, those smarts I mentioned earlier go right out of the window.

12 Steps to Getting Things Done

One of the things that I’ve always been fascinated by is the connection between the secular and the spiritual. Personally, I don’t consider them to be separate; they are like two sides to the same coin. But since they are two sides, we can look at each individually.

The question of “Is it ego or intuition” made me think of a passage from the book “Alcoholics Anonymous”:

Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it’s not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely on it. — Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition, pg. 87

One thing to keep in mind about this passage is that it comes as a part of Step Eleven: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Another way to write this step could be:

Sought through thought and contemplation to improve our ability to follow our intuition, looking for the best possible course of action and the strength to do it.

Not as poetic, but it works for me.

This is important to keep in mind because, in the context of the 12 Steps, Step Eleven is #11. It’s assumed that the majority of the life garbage that the person who is working these steps has been trying to clear away has been dealt with to the best of their ability at this point.

Or in GTD terms: The initial trash cans have been dumped, and everything is in it’s proper place.

Personally, I believe that the connection to God (can I please stop writing “or whatever you want to call it” now?) is always there, and it’s always on. It’s all that “stuff”, all of that trash that’s accumulated over the days and years, that block us from it.

Only after this stuff has been cleared away will we be able to distinguish what’s from God and what’s from our ego.

And when we are in that clear space, it’s amazing what we can have, do, and be. I’m not there 24/7 (not even close… and I don’t know anyone who is), but when I do hit that sweet spot of being, I wonder why I ever go back to the muck.

It doesn’t matter what system you use to clear away the junk that’s blocking you. Try a few on for size. Give them an honest evaluation - just keep what works and chuck what doesn’t.

Get More Done by Doing Nothing

I’ve been asked by Ellesse of Goal Setting College to participate in a group writing project started by Ben of Instigator Blog: What’s Your Top Productivity Tip?

Mine is Doing Nothing.

At least that’s how it would appear to my culture’s go go go do it now get it done yesterday attitude.

Of course, we can never really do nothing (which I learned from Simpleology 101), and this is no exception.

I’m talking about the practice of insight meditation, also known as Vipassana.

The technical, Buddhist “religious” reason for practicing insight meditation is to free oneself from suffering and to achieve enlightenment, but when I first read about this project, I immediately made a connection and realized that meditation offers many productivity benefits as well.

The bottom line in this practice is learning to experience what is going on now.

Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but now.

Not 30 minutes ago, not later today, but now.

For this project, I think it’s more appropriate to write about why I practice, rather than how to practice. While I’ve dipped my toe in various forms of meditation for years, it’s only been over the last few months that I’ve made a sustained effort to incorporate this into my daily life.

I’m far from qualified to teach it.

People have been practicing insight meditation for thousands of years, and there are over a million resources related to it on the web. My personal favorite resource for meditation and mindfulness instruction is The Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. (I’ve only visited them virtually, but I hope to one day check them out in person.)

So anyway… why do it, and how does it relate to productivity?

• Serenity - You could also call this relaxation and/or stress reduction, but because of my roots in recovery, serenity is the best way I can describe it. Things just don’t seem to bother me like they used to, and I’m able to pull myself back from going over the edge in my head when something happens that I think is going to be a disaster. When I don’t have fear and anger running around in my head, I am less distracted and have more energy, and am able to put out fires that need to be put out, or let them burn and be OK with that.
• Improved Concentration - When one sits for 15 or 20 minutes a day, focusing on the breath and watching the thoughts that come and go, the mind is getting practice at doing just one thing at a time. As distractions come up, I’m constantly telling myself “Back to the breath, back to the breath”, and this spills over into my daily activities. It reminds me to say “Back to the customer” or “Back to the writing” when a thought like “wow, a cigarette would be outstanding right now” pops into my head.
• Improved Memory - When I was complaining to my last sponsor in AA that I could never remember anyone’s name at the meetings and blaming it on brain damage from the alcohol and drugs, he told me that it was because I was too selfish to pay attention to anyone but myself. And he was right. I was so concerned about my own petty problems that I wouldn’t take the time to think about anyone else. It may sound like a paradox, but by spending a little time each day focusing on what’s going on with myself right now, the distractions of my own thoughts have lessened, so I can now pay attention to what’s going on around me, and therefore actually remember some of it.
• The Ability to Accept People, Including Myself - After watching my own thoughts and just accepting them as they are, it’s made me realize that, on a fundamental level, others are just looking for the same thing that I am: happiness. We all just have some goofy ways of trying to find it. I don’t have to like, or condone, or even allow some of the things people (including myself) do or try to do, but I can accept them as being what they are in the moment. Once again, this lessens the distraction of worrying about what others are doing, and allows me to focus on my own stuff.

Do you have a top productivity tip to share? If you do, feel free to join in the project. If you aren’t a blogger, I’d love to hear your tip in the comments.