How many of you own a calculator? Well whether you own one or not, so many of us find ourselves attempting to calculate every situation — trying to figure out and reduce things to their minutest details… to the point of exhaustion.
We believe that this intense calculating will lead us to an understanding, a breakthrough. Because in order to attain something, we must work “hard,” right? No. Because we can easily — without even knowing — calculate ourselves out of success entirely. And who wants that?
Sometimes the best thing you can do is just continue flowing on, sliding forward without stopping to consider every possibility or every inevitable hiccup that arises. Don’t become complacent, but also don’t become obsessed with the details.
There’s a beauty in the mystery. As light shines through a tree, it produces (or projects) a disorderly and stochastic pattern of shade. And in this randomness, there is no calculation. No consideration of how/why the light shines through the leaves. It’s just created and presents itself.
Whatever it is that you are pursing, remember to be that same light cutting through the leaves, leaving yourself open to randomness and the mystery of what will be projected.
Last night we rocked it on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the Gramstand Cafe with another Mind Petals Gathering. Great news, Mind Petals Organization is planned to become a non-profit organization which I announced last night in my intro. So I’m happy that we’ll be growing the organization in that direction.
We had just over 20 people come out last night. It was sweet! Ha, everyone always makes fun of me because I wait ’til the last minute to take the group shot, usually by that time a lot of people have left already. But oh well, it’s cool. It’s coo!
So what happened last night!? We spoke, we shared thoughts, played some chess, I learned more about photography from Amy, Melissa taught people all about patents, Avi gave a talk on “Naked Functionality,” I gave a discussion on “Samadhi,” Orian spoke about the world of RSS, Mike discussed his site “Swarrm.” And the list goes on. Etc… Etc… Basically, a bunch of people came together to be intellectually entertained and that’s exactly what happened.
Let me shut up and you can view a short video of some members introducing themselves.
MP Member Introductions
part uno
part dos
Here’s some more pics.
As always, please contact us if you’re ever in the New York City area at nyc[@]mindpetals[.]org. The last Tuesday of every month at 7PM is when we gather. When we conduct our diabolical plans to take over the world!!! hahahah!!! No, for real, we welcome you with open arms. Come plant some seeds in our garden of inspiration.
I’ll be posting the discussions on the site within a few days, so stay posted.
I find myself studying all sorts of things: photography, biology, physics, tea, yoga, Buddhism, writing, publishing, Hinduism, food, natural remedies, psychology, neurology, animals, plants, words, meditation, and the list goes on and grows every single day. There is SO much to learn and experience. This is truly the spice of life, learning and basking in new things, all the time.
Pluged In: Surfing on the Cosmic Current
And this is perfectly okay; in fact, it’s our nature to do so. It�s our nature to study everything that life has to offer. Note, I use the word �study� in the most playful and casual manner, meaning to �play� with and �have fun� with something that you are getting into. Something that you dig. Something that fascinates you and awakens your inner joy.
Better, it�s more of a �plugging-in� to the universe. Think of the universe as one large electrical socket with infinite amounts of energy. And every time you have a new experience, learn something, and open your mind up to more ways of thinking, you are totally plugged into this cosmic current of information.
You are having a blast, charging up and surfing this cosmic wave. You aren�t tied down to anything and you continue to coast through all sorts of people, books, experiences, events, talks, parks, beaches, all sort of places that totally electrocutes your mind to the world and all the beauties it has to offer. What an amazing ride when you�re plugged in. Such a charge never ends � you�re just powered up and surfing away, full speed ahead.
The Battery Charged Automaton
Or maybe you�re an automaton that isn�t plugged-in at all. And you energy is supplied by a few double AA batteries that were inserted into the back of your neck when you popped out of your parents. Yup, that day in the hospital your giddy daddy was so excited to pop those batteries in and flip the ON switch. And there you were, a perfect robot that looked and functioned just like a human.
This is what I�ll call the �Battery Charged Person.� Let�s see how it differs from the aforementioned �Plugged-In Person.�
When you�re running on batteries, you aren�t surfing the cosmic current at all. No sir. Instead, you are carrying out a specific set of parameters and functions that have been programmed and installed into your brain from childhood. You go to school like everyone else, graduate, and then your software randomly chooses one of the preset professions that have been programmed into you (doctor, lawyer, accountant, programmer, whatever it may be… doesn’t matter) � and there you go! You are now an engineer and that�s all you do because, as far as you know, your batteries will run out one day so you need to dedicate your life to one thing and one thing only.
And what do robots do…?
Since you�re essentially a robot, your software tells you that focusing on one thing is the most efficient route to happiness and success (to best use your battery supply). So life passes you by. You stake out a profession and stick with it forever. And 40 years later, there you are, battery weakened, body malfunctioning, and your retirement program now kicks in. You�re 65 years old and have a few select memories of two or three things that you experience in your lifetime � school, college, work, retirement. And in a few years, that�s it, your batteries will run out and you�ll be discarded in the scrap metal box.
I use these purposefully dramatic examples to underscore these two very different mindsets, yet very ubiquitous mindsets. On one hand, the minority, we have those that are plugged-in this world. In fact, they�ve always been plugged-in and they know that. They surf through life with such a vigor and moxie, learning new things, meeting new people, and going on all sorts of adventures. For them, it�s all about the journey � never about the start or end. Those things really don�t matter to those plugged-in.
Then we have the robots who treat life as a drag. Trudging along waiting for their battery pack to expire. They want to adhere to protocol (the status quo, parents, peers, society perhaps) and have no desire to get involved in all sorts of things such as nature, science, philosophy. Why? Because as far as they are concerned, it�s not a part of their software. Not something that they are �supposed to do.�
But what are you supposed to do, exactly?
�Supposed to do.� That is exactly the fundamental difference between the two mindsets. Those plugged-in realize that they aren�t �supposed� to do anything at all. They aren�t supposed to be anyone. Aren�t supposed to go anywhere. Aren�t supposed to claim a certain stake. They just do what they do and that�s it. The automatons feel that they are supposed to do such and such and only such and such. Such as a program is supposed to carry out a specific set of functions and that�s it.
We need to examine what’s outside in order to see what’s inside
Sadly, the robot can never truly understand who he/she really is because they have nothing to compare themselves to � nothing to cross-reference. And that�s precisely how we grow, by examining others. In the same way that we pinpoint two other locations to define ours � triangulation � we are able to discover ourselves by immersing ourselves in other cultures, books, societies, sciences, nature� heck, even technologies. You can discover yourself from (better, “in”) ANYTHING. Even the ant walking across the floor.
A rather cursory example would be that of the psychiatrist whose job is to diagnose, examine, and study various conditions of the mind. Now what if the doctor only had one patient ever, and he diagnoses him with bipolar disease? Well this wouldn�t be possible at all. Because wouldn�t the doctor need to know what bipolar was �not� in order to understand what it �was.� He would need more information � need more minds to study in order to validate and truly know what bipolar was.
And in the same way, we should (but needn�t if you are playing the battery charged game) examine all sorts of things in life. That�s right! Get into everything you can. Learn new things, talk to new people, and have a blast. Seriously, go �nuts� and study all those things that you�ve always wanted to. That “wanting” is your true nature. The only time is NOW.
Good friend and one of the most insightful, joyful, and intellectually refreshing people I’ve ever met, Anna Miller starts Mind Petals Boston Chapter. But it’s not a “Chapter,” it’s a Garden of intellectual entertainment and infinite possibilities .
For those of you out in Boston (what’s the word… Bostonians?), we welcome you to come out to the first gathering on Sunday, February 3rd (7pm) at The Other Side Cafe [407 Newbury St ]. Food and drinks will be there.
Our Garden is all about having a good time, sharing ideas, uplifting each other, positive energy, synergy, amazing stories, and smiles . We hope you can make it out and help us grow our community.
Mind Petals Organization is run by donations, so we are grateful for any contributions. If you’d like to get in contact with Anna, she can be reached at: anna [at] mindpetals [.] org. If you’re on facebook, join the group.
I’ve really been thinking about this concept a lot lately, evaluating and investigating my own life, and my own thoughts, to uncover areas where I’ve been holding myself back.
I found a big one. I found, within my consciousness, major, major fear. A deeply ingrained fear, that in all truthfulness, has been dominating me since I was a little child. This may knock over some sacred cows, but they now need to be knocked over. For all of my life, I’ve been afraid of one fundamental, underlying entity – my parents.
The Fear of My Parents
And let me speak from first-hand knowledge, this is a traumatic, tormenting, paralyzing state of being. I don’t wish it on anyone. I’m not going to delve into all of my thoughts about my parents right now, but I will say with all confidence, that it cannot be the least bit healthy to be scared of one’s own parents.
I have to end this fear. I have to seize control of this situation, otherwise my life will continue in the same holding pattern that it’s been struggling to get out of, for decades now. I have to grow up. I have to say NO to fear, even if it means…
Fear gets held within my body. I can feel it. I feel the stress pains in my legs, I always have. I have frequently felt even more pain in my lower back. I can sometimes see the fear in my face, when I look in the mirror, and it pisses me off, royally. I am not supposed to, meant to, designed to, or destined to live in fear, of any kind. I am meant to live in beauty; a beautiful world of my heart’s creating. I am meant to live in a world of abundant perfection.
Fear Fuels your Problems, Love Soothes them
Fear is the root of all “problems.” Fear stems from doubt, which are anti-forces of Love and confidence.
Love, which when operative, produces Confidence, creates all beautiful and perfect things in the universe. Fear, which is the product of doubt, stymies Love’s creative abilities and darkens the world around you, even within you. Fear, is not an alive, viable energy, like Love. A dark room can easily be controlled by a lightbulb suddenly switched on. Likewise, fear can easily be eliminated by Love switching on.
But all the darkness in the world can’t overpower even a single lightbult.
So it’s clear: Light dominates darkness.
So Fear is just the absence of Love, like darkness is just the absence of Light.
But Fear has no living, eternal source, of its own. There is no such thing as a “dark switch.” You only create darkness by turning off all the lights! Fear and doubt don’t create anything, they only stymie Love’s creative abilities, if allowed to do so. Fear is bondage. Fear is torturous. Fear is paralyzing. Fear is imprisoning.
How many of us live each day scared of a number of things? Scared of failure. Scared of trouble, of disaster. Scared of what people will think, or say. Scared of others’ perceptions.
Scared of something, more than likely, if not some things.
Fear is My Only Enemy
It is clear to me that Fear is my only “enemy.” Fear and its father, doubt. But the good news for me is that I can control this, I can govern this, I can even eliminate this internal wrestling match as I nurture my love, nurture my confidence, nurture my seed of Life inside me.
I know My Life is infinite in nature, the seed inside me, that IS me. I know this to be true. But at times, I’m not able to walk the walk. I can talk the talk, because I’ve learned the language. But like a little boy learning to ride his bicycle for the first time, without training wheels (for me, those training wheels is the corporate environment of “job security” which I loathe and detest), I still get scared. My parents tell me it’s impossible. My friends watch only from a distance, waiting to see that I fall, so they can feel better about remaining in their prisons.
Only a few folks are out there trying to ride this bike of life without training wheels. Only folks like David Askaripour, the Self-Made Chick, etc… Obviously there are others, I’m only saying you will indeed be in the minority at first. It takes a Love and a Confidence like nobody around you has to ride this bike.
Stepping Up to the Plate to Bat Away Fear
To live this life, to create this world you see within you – it’s going to take growing up and kicking fear and doubt in the …
It requires Life’s energy, which is available in abundance within us, but it must be utilized. It must be tapped into. Otherwise it sits there dormant, like a seed sitting on your kitchen table. Doing nothing, producing nothing. Remaining potential, but never being realized.
And Life’s energy is Love. It is the tune we, and all of creation, dance to, as Einstein said.
Click! Snap! Click! Snap! I’m clicking the lego pieces together and building something — connecting the pieces one by one. The lego pieces stick together like glue, immovable and solid. Fixed and inanimate.
You see, for many of us playing The Game of Legos was one of our first games that we learned in pre-school. And we still play it today. But I would like to propose, through an analogy of “Playing the Game of Legos” that we are still snap/clicking the pieces together. But we have become the pieces to the game and the world has become our playground where the lego pieces take shape.
Let us first consider the implications of the “groups” that our teachers broke us into starting from youngsters in school. We are broken up into groups of five or so and told to go off into a corner to play with those certain kids over there. Of course we don’t question our teachers and we merrily go off and play.
Now, this is the first time that we are exposed to “groups,” or what we’ll now call “clicks.” Why, because we “clicked” into them. Now that the group mentality has be imbued into our psyches, we learn and accept that clicking into groups is natural and okay. So it begins — the group mentality. Also known as the herd mentality.
The Game of Legos
Now in high school the Game of Legos continues on as we click into one of the following: jocks, nerds, drama-freaks, chess club kids, popular kids, etc… And you better click in or you’ll be left out! If you’re lucky you may be able to click into the popular herd! Hurry up! Try your hardest! You can do it!
So you spend your high school years desperately clicked into your selected group and you remain a loyal member to the herd of your choice.
Then in college, oh man, the pressure to click in is even greater. Especially those crucial first few weeks of freshman year. Hurry up…!! Click into a fraternity. Click into a sorority. Click into the Spanish Club. Click into the Asian Club. Click into the Stoners Club. Click in before you get clicked out!
Now you’ve graduated and it’s time to start clicking again. Geezz… aren’t you getting tired of this game already? No, I guess not. Okay, so it’s time to click into that “Dream Job.” You know, the job that’s going to pay you the 100K+ a year. Forget about if it’s something that you really love doing or not, right? Who cares if the job sucks, it’s a dream job! Click away baby! Keep playing that game. Whooo… Hoo..!! And you better keep on clicking up that latter. Kiss ass. Cheat. Lie. Who cares, do whatever you have to do to keep on playing The Game of Legos.
The Game of Skipping
Now let me propose something else. What if, perhaps…. just hear me out…. What if, we skipped instead of clicked. When we click into things our whole lives — jobs, fancy titles, certain ways of living — we become as the lego pieces — fixed, locked in, and glued together. But what happens when we skip? When we skip we get to experience so much more.
When we allow ourselves to skip — to borrow a line from Big Papa Jesus — we become “as children,” and skip into all sorts of things in life. We merrily skip into ALL groups of people. We skip into ALL sorts of fun and adventurous jobs and projects. And we’re never locked down, always skipping along life’s paths and having a blast.
No titles. No pigeonholing ourselves into fixed categories. No glue. No jailing ourselves into this or that group. Just skipping and flowing — accepting the reality that everything is always moving and changing.
Now I’m not saying to give of playing The Legos Game (you can…if you choose to). Absolutely not. If that’s your game, then please play it. The game can be fun, no doubt. Just make sure that you take apart the pieces and pack them away when you’re done. Then get out there and skippedy skip skip.
How does one describe that which cannot be described? When Alan Watts calls words “clumsy,” that is to say that words will never suffice to describe anything in life — to really describe.
Words are merely clever tools that we have nearly arranged to help us communicate “things.” I draw attention to “things,” because it denotes a separation or distinction between me and the world (but we’ll use it for now). Words are really — here it comes… — inert. Funny that I should say that, being a writer n’ all (but I, too, can play this game).
All in all, words don’t measure up and are poor means of brining forth true understanding. What do we say when we meet a new girl/boy that we’re totally diggin’? Perhaps someone we met over a cup of tea and later on that day embraced, followed with steamy, wet, and enchanting kiss.
What is it that you feel, now walking back to your car… grinning ear to ear? Some would say, “I have butterflies in my stomach.” But what are these butterflies in your stomach? What does this really mean? Others would describe it as “a buzzing sensation throughout the body producing side-effects of uncontrollable smiling, increased heart-rate, sweating, and an insatiable desire to think about said person over and over. But what is this buzzing sensation, I ask?
For that matter, what is the meaning of life? Why are we here? How are we growing? Amusing questions, no doubt. Such questions have lead to endless debates and grueling discussions of “I’m right and you’re wrong!” Discussions that go on ad infinitum, ad absurdum.
It’s amusing because no matter how hard we try, words will never be able to satisfy these questions. The plant IS life. The blastocyst in the mother’s uterus IS growth. Your purpose for being here is absolutely — and beautifully — purposelessness.
Words just won’t do, only “That” will suffice. That is to say, when you are “That” which you are attempting to describe, you suddenly realize that you no longer need to wage this futile war with words. Because you have become (or better, figured out that you are), That which danced on the tip of your tongue but just couldn’t seem to roll off.
There is no need to verbally express the inexpressible, because when you are That your mere existence IS the expression. And, to contradict myself, every word that comes out of your mouth, every touch, sight, and thought, is now that expression as well.
In this realm duality ceases to exist and logic is useless. No words from others can ever break your resolve. You are One. And One is not exclusive, it’s all-inclusive.
A few days ago I was speaking to myself, going over some notes that I’ve been preparing for an upcoming discussion. I was having fun laughing and discussing various sections of my discussion with myself. And it was great, because I came to the realization that I should never be serious when speaking to anyone. Giving a “speech” and “presentation” is a totally different experience than simply having a “discussion.” When one is serious, you become “concentrated” (in the bad sense of the word). Meaning that you become tight and overly concerned with every little thing, leading to a collapse in creativity and Beingness with the environment. But when you aren’t serious, you are truly concentrated. And real concentration is the ability to let go and become totally involved without even trying to think about it — it’s just happening.
Go For a Ride, Stop Resisting
You just allow yourself to float away. And when one allows for this “floating away,” you can truly see the artistry in everything that you do. For me, when I was going over my notes and speaking out sections of my discussion, I became a painter. Painting stories, experiences, and thoughts onto the infinite canvass of the universe. If I had been serious about what I was doing, there would have been no painting. I would have been a one of those scrupulous sketch artist hacking away with my eraser every 2 seconds trying to correct every little touch outside of the line — producing drab and mundane work. Even the serious surgeon is bound to make a mistake if he isn’t letting go (as paradoxical as that may sound). Being serious about anything in life is tantamount to walking around with a blindfold. You’ll never really see the beauty in anything.
Be Sincere instead of Serious
When you are open and relaxed, sincere (re: seeing the truth in all that you do), and not serious, you allow the universe to blow you away as it does with the autumn leaf. When you are the leaf, you are allowing the universe to take you on a journey. Think of it as a universal roller-coaster. It’ll take you to new heights. Sometimes there will be sharp turns. Seemingly abrupt stops. And scary maneuvering….but don’t tense up. Don’t hold on tight. Just trust in the ride and let go. Fly away. Soar. You are the bird soaring above the mountains. A bee buzzing above the rose. The trout allowing the current to effortlessly coax it downstream. Just let it happen. This is the nature of sincerity, never seriousness.
If I was born in a tree, high up in the canopy of the forest, would I be scared of heights? If I was born near fire and grew up around open flames, would I now be scared of fire? If I grew up on a mountain top with Buddhist monks that lived a simple life, would I desire riches and flashy material items?
I think not.
If I planted corn seeds in fertile soil and nurtured these seeds, would they grow? If I spread hatred and negativity towards all I met, would people love and respect me? If I poured oil and toxic waste into a pond, would the fish survive?
I think not.
You see, the organism will always define the environment. And equally, the environment will always define the organism. They are One.
We’re Ignoring the Environment of Every Situation
Just as you don’t find ants without dirt as you don’t find dirt without ants. We humans overlook this simple concept as we continue to try and explain, analyze, and calculate situations, events, and happenings without considering the environment invariably encompassing the situation (of the organism). No wonder why we find it so hard to help each other.
Take Joe, for example, who is having a hard time excelling in school. Constantly failing test after test. Joe asks his friend Sarah: “Hey Sarah, I don’t know what to do. I keep on failing. Help me, please! What should I do?” To which Sarah responds: “Okay, relax…all you need to do is concentrate and study harder — just try harder, that’s all.” “Gee, thanks. You’re the best,” Joe responds.
The semester progresses and Joe continues to flunk his exams in every subject. He’s fallen into a state of despondency and deep depression. He’s totally lost.
Our Minds Are Narrower than we Think
Now surely this wasn’t Sarah’s fault, however her advice was entirely narrowed-minded (using the literal sense of the word narrow) and didn’t take into account Joe’s environment whatsoever. Let’s take a deeper look into Joe’s (the organism) Life (re: his surrounding, environment).
Joe wakes up at 4AM every morning to give his sick grandmother her pills and cook her a special diabetic meal. He then takes her on a walk around the neighborhood park to ease her intermittent claudication, a result of her severely blocked arteries in her legs. As soon as he gets back home, he’s already out the door to begin his 40 minute drive to a community college that he’s attending. Upon returning home, he has just enough time to fix his grandmother’s lunch a walk her to bed for a nap, then he’s out the door again to begin his hour long drive to work at the steel factory until 12AM. Upon returning how, now roughly 1AM in the morning, her checks to see if his grandma ate the dinner that he left by her bed. “Yup, she ate it, good…,” says Joe as he slumps over the kitchen table with is head in his hand now thinking about all his exams that he hasn’t even began to study for.
It’s now 1:40AM and Joe is fast asleep on the kitchen table after a futile effort to read a few paragraphs from his American History textbook. You see, Joe’s parent’s died last year during his senior year at high school. He assumed responsibility of his sick grandmother after they passed and he decided not to go away to college. Instead, he enrolled in a local community college and commutes there daily so that he can be at home to take care of his elderly grandmother.
We Become Our Environment
This is now his environment. And everything that happens in Joe’s environment now defines him. He IS his sick grandmother. He IS the late night job at the steel factory that he works to pay for tuition and his grandma’s medical bills. He IS the accumulated stress and anxiety that builds up throughout the day.
Now here comes along Sarah with her myopic, narrow-minded view of Joe. Her fault — or better: ignorance — is that she sees Joe as “Joe.” Not Joe as an organism living in an environment. Just as one would see a flower living in a field. Now what would happen if that entire field received no water? The flower would surely suffer, right? Sarah’s mind can’t see Joe as that flower living in an arid field. And see responds with: “study harder and concentrate” as a solution to his problems.
One Can Love Without Understanding
Sarah’s heart may have been in the right place, but her understanding was off. She did as so many of us do — ignore the environment. The environment defines us. How can we ignore it? Joe isn’t stupid, he’s just under a lot of mental / time pressure which leads to stress and an inability to study for his exams. A better initial response from Sarah would have been: “How are you feeling?” “I’m feeling stressed,” responds Joe. “Really, why is that?” asks Sarah. And so on and so on, leading into the true understanding of Joe’s situation.
If we can grasp this concept of “environment/organism - organism/environment,” we can see the whole of any situation instead of just the half. And although we can never fully comprehend any situation in it’s entirety — because, as Alan Watts says, “to do that is to understand the entire universe” — we’ll be much better prepared to offer sound and intelligent advice to anyone seeking.
Like David, I’ve long used The Story of the Seed as the fundamental illustration of Life’s inside-out, unlimited workings. A seed holds infinity within, it’s plainly obvious. And the environment it’s cultivated in, goes a long way toward determining the realization of that infinite potential.
What I want to discuss today is one final aspect of this seed and this ground. A part that only recently have I actually contemplated, and the part that I’ve never heard anyone else talk about.
I want us to take notice of the invisible part of this Life equation. You see, we can touch and feel an orange seed, or a watermelon seed. And we can also get our hands dirty in topsoil or dirt. And obviously we touch, feel, taste and smell the juicy fruits when we cut them open. Those parts are tangible and visible. They are physical. But my question is…
Why does…
The Seed + The Ground = Fruit ???
What actually MAKES an orange seed literally transform itself into an orange tree, just because it’s planted in the warm soil of the Floridian peninsula?
The answer is very profound. VERY, VERY profound!!!
There must be a Life Force. An invisible, operative entity that actually causes Life, causes growth, causes the transformation of the invisible internal into the visible external.
“That which is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Antoine de St. Exupery
The Invisible Force is Constantly Flowing
You see, there is a literal, physical and spiritual FORCE at work in this universe that causes a seed to transform itself into fruit. Otherwise – if there was no force – the seed would just sit there in the ground, doing nothing. But that’s NOT what happens, is it (not in good, viable soil, at least)? Something definitely happens! Change happens! Transformational growth occurs! Mr. Sperm doesn’t just meet Mrs. Egg and just sit there. They integrate with each other, become one, and wah-lah, that single cell transformed itself into you and me!!!
(Also note, when you partake in a banana, it’s equally accurate to say you are eating a seed. THEY ARE THE SAME THING! The only difference – one is on one end of the transformation spectrum, the other on the other end. But the fundamental makeup is the same. More on that later…)
My point: the seeds inside you – the pictures, the ideas, the dreams, the visions, the passions, the loves, the thoughts – have within them that same ability to transform themselves into external, visible manifestations, a.k.a. fruit.
In fact, this is the way Life works. I’m not a religious fellow in the least, but Jesus even used this Story of the Seed as his fundamental teaching about Life, saying if you can comprehend this Life phenomena, you can grasp everything else!
Please hear me again – the universe has this invisible force at work in itself, all the time. Just like the cornfields in Iowa have this innate ability to turn countless corn seeds into countless ears of countless varieties, the universe at large has the innate ability to turn your seeds into an abundance of fruit, an abundance of Life!
In fact, there is no other way that Life operates. Florida oranges don’t just appear out of the sky. Iowa corn doesn’t just fall from the clouds. In fact, little babies don’t get dropped off by the stork.
Everything comes from within, in every aspect of life!
It’s the way Life has been set up, and it’s plainly obvious with just a little observation.
The Seed + The Ground + The Innate Force of Life = Fruit
Because The Force of Life makes it work. It’s just been set up this way, as nature illustrates all around us!
So all we have to do is plant our seeds
Don’t hold them back – don’t keep your ideas, your passions, your thoughts, your visions inside you. Don’t let them get wasted in the wrong soil (the environments of fear and doubt). Don’t let unenlightened mentalities (the thought that something is impossible) keep you from transforming your seeds into your Life. Cultivate your mind, cultivate your thoughts, cultivate your understanding so that the seeds inside your heart can grow and be nourished, so they can transform before your very eyes from mere imaginations into tangible, visible realities!
As someone said, “even the largest oak tree began as a tiny acorn.”
Living near a big city has its advantages. One of the greatest things I love is public transportation (and the answer is no, I am not crazy). But there are plenty of unique people that ride the rails through the city of Chicago. Like many philosophers of old and new, I like to learn from all different perspectives and here are three contrasting ways to run a business that I learned from people I met on the subway system of Chicago.
THE SUBWAY PERFORMER
Chicago’s subways (like New York’s) are famous for their starving musicians looking to make a buck by performing for the commuters and more for the tourists. They know the tourists are the ones who they’ll get more money from.
On a particular stop under the Wicker Park area there was a black man with a guitar and the voice of a drunk Jimmy Hendrix on a bad day. Though his sound was off, he still had some soul in his music, beating out tunes from Clapton and The Temptations. When he finished his second solo, he looked around to see most of the train station ignoring him.
So, what did he do? He got peoples attention, yelling, “Excuse me. I don’t care if you like what I play, I don’t care if you give me money, but I demand that you clap when I am done.”
What a guy.
Now, what do you think happened after he was done with his next song? Not only did people clap but also now he had their attention so more and more people were giving him money in his guitar case.
He was the most aggressive businessman. He demanded attention and got it. He did not say give me money (even denouncing it). Instead he said he just wanted to be acknowledged and that made all the difference.
THE WHEEL CHAIR VETERAN
This guy has to be one of the most interesting fellows I have ever met. He was an old black man in a wheel chair wearing a tattered army coat. He had a salt and pepper beard and a southern farm hat with the front flipped up. On his hat was a button that said, “God’s hand controls all.” On his lap was a sketchbook.
Intriguing.
Just his persona made him stand out in the subway tunnel. It was great. And he clearly used this to attract people. He did not have to say anything, just his appearance was enough. Then when my friends and I did approach him he did not pitch us right away. He talked to us, asking what we were out doing today. He got to know us a little and then, as it happened, we asked him to draw us.
Again, we asked him to draw us. It was as simple as that. The man did not have to speak a word for us to know what he did. His image was enough. He could talk pleasantries and really seemed like a decent human being. Business came to him because of this.
Then he just named a price when asked. Bingo. His price. He knew he had us hooked and he kept control over the entire situation without pitching us at all.
THE DANCING SUBWAY GUY
This was my favorite of the three. He wasn’t selling anything. He wasn’t trying to pitch an idea. He was just being himself. As I rode the subway, approximately under Madison Ave., a big white man in a blue parka sat adjacent to me in the train car wearing headphones. The music was loud enough to faintly hear throughout the car. It was clearly techno.
At one point the man got up, with a grin on his face, not looking to see if anyone was watching and started dancing to the music. Being a big man it was very funny to see him flailing about while not disturbing anyone else’s’ personal space. When the song finished, he just sat down, smiling. I could tell he really enjoyed himself.
I want to be the Dancing Subway Guy.
Not literally of course, but he was clearly doing what he did for the love of it and not for attention. Quite the contrary, he dismissed other’s possible presumptions about him and did what he wanted.
In creating a venture that will change the world this is, I think, how an entrepreneur should act. Not necessarily be ridiculous, but be themselves and do things how they think is best regardless of the inevitable criticism. The Dancing Subway Guy could be an inspiration to all entrepreneurs because he is simply doing what he loves.
Now imagine if he had a hat to put money into and did it on the railway. I guarantee I would have put in some money.
// Warren Greeley is an Entrepreneur and writer at Zen Problog where he writes about professional lifestyle.
This is curious to me. People feel compelled to qualify their responses. “What did you do for New Years Eve?” A fitting question for this time of year. From such an answer you’ll receive one of three typical response:
Response #1:
“I went to a party”
Response #2:
“I actually didn’t do anything, just stayed home because I just wasn’t up to it this year. And I was tired. And I didn’t feel well…” And ad infinitum…
Response #3:
“I went on this awesome cruise to Hawaii and partied hard with 10 super-sexy Playboy models as I drank $500 dollar bottles of Cristal and smoked rare Cuban cigars. And this and that…” And this ad infinitum…
These are, more or less, the generic response categories that one would receive from any question posed. Now let’s examine them.
Responder #1: This is what I would call a simple and sincere response. The person is confident and is not afraid to tell it how it is. They aren’t trying to impress anyone, because that simply makes no sense to them. When someone asks a question, they respond with the simple facts — nothing more, nothing less.
Responder #2: This person feels the need to qualify their responses with a reason and/or explanation. The “action” taken is usually the truth, but the qualifier — the “Because” and “And..” — are usually fiction and created on the fly as a direct result of a lingering fear. This injection of fear is a product of not wanting to step out of the Game. What Game? The Game of remaining in good standings within your social circle; and, to a larger degree, as a member of what you define as your Society. This person uses qualifiers as a free pass to stay “cool.” And those that are “cool,” remain as active members of the club — the Game.
Responder #3: This a the response of a total Fake. Having an immense feeling of insecurity within and under the constant illusion that “I” need to one-up “you” and the rest of the world which “I” live in, this person projects their fantasies as truths to feel complete and whole. Remaining in a total state of falsehood, lies, and deceit; this person is as far removed from reality as an ant beginning a journey from one end of a football field to another.
Our responses to questions, situations, anything in life, will always reflect our current nature — our current flow. If we’re feeling risky, we may take risky actions. If we’re feeling that we’ve been betrayed, we may feel like betraying someone else to feel better. If we’re feeling angry, we may act with malice. These are the masks that we feel the need to put on in order to turn into someone other than ourselves — to suit a need, fulfill a request, or whatever it is. Here are a few:
Business Mask:
“Sure I can get the job done in 2 months, no problem!” [Knowing that it'll take around 4 months] “Sure, it’ll be delivered on Tuesday” [Knowing that it will be delivered on Friday]
Cool Mask:
“Look at my new shoes, they cost me $500 bucks!” [I hope that he thinks I'm cool now] “Look at that fat-ass walking over there” [ Let me see if I can make them laugh at my jokes -- then maybe they'll like me]
Badass Mask:
“I’m going to kick your ass!” [ When I said that, I flexed my biceps. That'll let him know who's boss!] “I got totally wasted that night and punched that dude in the face [ I'm a tough-guy -- aren't I?]
And these masks go on an on… Fueled by our egos, maintained by our fears, and protected by our Society… we’ve amassed piles of makes so high, that our closets are overflowing. But do we need to wear them? Do we need to be someone other than ourselves given a particular situation? Do we need to continue playing this game? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s for you to decide.
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In nature nothing happens “fast.” It just happens on it’s own accord — at its own pace once it has been put in motion. Look at a seedling for a few days and you’ll probably see aggressive growth up until the point it becomes a “mature” plant. But maturity is an illusion. Look at a so called full grown “mature” plant for a couple of weeks and you will probably see little to no growth. But what you can’t see with your naked eyes, that continued internal growth, is still happening.
Growth is still occurring. And, in time, you will be able to recognize this growth if you are patient and let go of your expectations to “see” growth. The same growth process of the tree occurs throughout everything that we do in life — Everything.
The Invisibles of Growth
Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, would call this a “tipping point.” The critical point at which everything falls into place and you can now see the aggressive growth of whatever it is you were creating. But Gladwell forgets to discuss the “invisibles” of growth. The invisibles are the things that are utterly un-trackable and beyond recognition of our senses — but can only be felt intuitively (or via the sixth sense).
Do you think the tree knows that it has grown 5 inches? Absolutely not. It, just is, 5 inches taller. That is now the tree. And, without any effort or consideration, it grows that 5 inches. Of course, within the ideal environment and conditions for such growth. Am I comparing human behavior to the likes of a mere tree? You bet I am. Why not? We’re just as much a part of nature as a tree is. We water ourselves (drink), fertilize ourselves (vitamins and minerals) and absorbs the sun rays — just as the tree does to grow. Yet the tree doesn’t think about it — we seem to. And in everything we do, we expect to see — no, we demand! — to see aggressive burst of growth!
We “Demand” Growth, Never “Allow” Growth
We demand to see profits. We demand to see people reading our articles. We demand for people to fall in love with us. We demand the waitress to serve our food this instance. We demand for people to agree with us, “or else.” We force every situation to feed our desires. We want to “see” everything happening with our two eyes — instead of feeling it happening. Because “feeling” isn’t enough. It’s weird. It’s not tangible. You can’t reach your hand out and grab what you can’t see. And what you can’t see may scare you. You may tell yourself that it’s really not happening if “I can’t see it happening.”
Maturity as an Illusion
When you come back to the “mature” tree in a few years, you will now “see” how much it has grown. Why? Because it never stopped growing and evolving. But when your were trying to force its growth and constantly waiting and watching it, you saw nor felt nothing.
Just as the newborn baby begins its journey to death from the day that he’s born, upon examination of the baby 10 years later, he will not be dead — only older. Visit the baby 100 years later, and he will surely be dead.
And in that same way, our ideas, projects, interactions, and situations always continue to grow and mature, but never reaching “maturity.” When you plant a seed — start a company, kiss a girl, spread your love, or share a smile — don’t monitor its growth and constantly expect to see radical development. Instead, continue to love that seed and nourish it with water of passion, soil of determination, and rays of positivity. These are the ingredients for growth — not forcing, not expecting, not monitoring every minute detail to the point of exasperation.
It’s happening. Forever and always. And seeing beyond the illusion of having to see it happing is essential.
The reason I throw that word Authentic in there is because there’s likely no concept more misused and misunderstood than the idea of leadership. Someone’s title, or position, no more indicates one’s Authentic Leadership ability than me in my Carson Palmer jersey indicates my NFL quarterbacking ability.
To grasp Authentic Leadership and what it truly is, let’s just think about the word “leadership” itself, before we even dive into examples and illustrations. And when reading these, think of your own life and workplace and the “leadership” you see. Also, remember Harvard’s findings that 90% of American managers are ineffective.
To lead:
To go first. To be first. To think first. To act first. To visualize first. Think about it, if you’re not going first, you are following somebody who is.
To move. To not be stationery. Think about this – if the status quo is simply being maintained, no one is being led anywhere. Things are just staying the same as they’ve always been. (Hmmm… sound familiar???)
To have others actually follow. I don’t even need to clarify this, it’s so obvious. If someone calls himself a leader, yet no one follows in his footsteps, then he’s just out taking a walk! (John Maxwell)
To expand a little bit, think about what it means to go, be, think, act, or envision first. Think about what is required to do this. It’s actually quite extraordinary!
Cre*ate, (verb): to evolve from one’s own thought or imagination, as a work of art or an invention. Dictionary.com
To create the first telephone means telephones didn’t exist before. So what “model” could Alexander Graham Bell possibly follow? To invent the airplane, what forefathers of flight did the Wright Brothers have to learn from? To declare the sun, and not the earth, to be the center of our universe, what encouragement could Galileo have obtained from his predecessors, who like him, were all severely persecuted for questioning anything the church ordained absolute? To pen the Declaration of Independence and create the world’s first democracy, what footsteps did John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin have to follow in. Who dared rise up against English royalty?
The Discovery of Self Knowledge — From Within
What knowledge did Martin Luther King, Jr. have to glean from in declaring his dream?
What predecessors did Rosa Parks follow after when she refused to leave her bus seat?
What American coffee company did Howard Schultz model Starbucks after?
Whoever actually did invent the internet – did they just read a previously written college textbook to find the idea?
Did Nelson Mandela think it’d be a breeze to oppose apartheid in South Africa?
Now look at all these examples, and so many more, and notice the common threads of Authentic Leadership.
Without much reflection, you quickly see the traits of extraordinary courage, relentless passion, eternal vision and almost an unending source of energy that compels and propels these people to pursue things that followers only talk about as if they’re science-fiction concepts.
Also, I’d venture to say, most of these folks were not looking to be leaders. Even Albert Einstein, who obviously rose to great fame and notoriety later in his life, often mused at the irony of his situation. He, a man given to solitude and much reflection, eventually found himself to be one of the most famous men on the planet. And life was not always easy for young Albert. He was even quoted once as saying, “In my mind, I imagine a clock at every point in space, but in reality, I cannot even afford a single clock for my house.”
Yet he continued on.
Abraham Lincoln’s life has also been well documented. The dude wasn’t born in Kennebunkport, Maine with a prestigious last name. And the dude wasn’t handed success right out of Oxford. In fact, in the military, he actually started out as a captain of men, then later settled into his rightful fighting place – as a Private!
All of these people – Authentic Leaders. They believed in something not seen before.
Walt Disney also comes to mind. Where would Orlando, Florida be without that cat? Still partially under water, most likely!
Authentic Leaders are ones who see things first. They see and envision possibilities within themselves, as there ARE NO outside creations to copy. They have something alive within them that stirs them, awakens them, and pushes them. They see first, they say first, they build first, they act first. There is nothing for them to follow – except their own voices, their own inspirations, their own thoughts, dreams and ideas. They create brand NEW things, and this is the definition of Authentic Leadership.
And you’ll notice, these people all made society better. They made life, if not the entire world, better. And not just for themselves, but for millions and billions of people.
And these are the people we owe our own lives to. The few, but life-bettering, Authentic Leaders who dared not follow the status quo of mediocrity, but believed in themselves enough to forge a much better life and a much better world, for all of us to follow after!
// read more of EPM’s inspirational work at his blog
Orian continues his presentation on building and maintaining a founding team for your business. His principles for building a team can be applied to many situations, not just your business. The book mentioned in the presentation,The Partnership Charter , may be of interest to you and your team.
Orian is co-founder and CEO of Eluciv Knowledge: an upcoming RSS / feed filtering service that’s going to revolutionize the entire process of how people receive, store, and review the content from all the blogs you read. We’ll definitely be talking more about their disruptive service in the upcoming months. Oh, and Orian also knows how to throw an awesome party! hehe…
Topics discussed in presentation:
Set clear expectations for your team members
Be prepared to explain “why” you want to go in a certain direction
Don’t be scared to talk to your team about ANYTHING
Be open and honest with your team
Never let a team member hold you back from pushing forward
If it comes down to it, give your team member an ultimatum
Catch up on our other Mind Petal-icious Presentations over at MP TV.
"Young and Hungry: The New Entrepreneur" will take you on a journey of two young entrepreneurs who share their thoughts, experiences, and lessoned learned while in the process to finding success. Everything from discussing entrepreneurship with your parents to building a business team -- it's covered in this book. Read now »
So what happened last night!? We spoke, we shared thoughts, played some chess, I learned more about photography from Amy, Melissa taught people all about patents, Avi gave a talk on “Naked Functionality,” I gave a discussion on “Samadhi,” Orian spoke about the world of RSS, Mike discussed his site “Swarrm.” And the list goes on. Etc… Etc… Basically, a bunch of people came together to be intellectually entertained and that’s exactly what happened.
Good friend and one of the most insightful, joyful, and intellectually refreshing people I’ve ever met, Anna Miller starts Mind Petals Boston Chapter. But it’s not a “Chapter,” it’s a Garden of intellectual entertainment and infinite possibilities .
. We hope you can make it out and help us grow our community.
My point: the seeds inside you – the pictures, the ideas, the dreams, the visions, the passions, the loves, the thoughts – have within them that same ability to transform themselves into external, visible manifestations, a.k.a. fruit.
, would call this a “tipping point.” The critical point at which everything falls into place and you can now see the aggressive growth of whatever it is you were creating. But Gladwell forgets to discuss the “invisibles” of growth. The invisibles are the things that are utterly un-trackable and beyond recognition of our senses — but can only be felt intuitively (or via the sixth sense). 
