Words of wisdom _a collection prt 1

 “Energia Kobiet” is a new book comprised of interviews with Poland’s most influential women, by journalists that I know, like and respect. In this article from Gazeta Wyborcza, Polish readers find a summary of the debate that followed the premier of the book. In it, guest speakers and psychologists sought to define what it means to live a life of meaning. A few of the conclusions are about mindfulness, though not in name. It seems that, even though Poland is not on the breaking crest of the mindful revolution, the need for non doing, reflection and a non judgemental apprach to ourselves is already very present.

Words of wisdom _a collection prt 2

I often find inspiration in articles from Fast Company magazine. Their editorial approach speaks to me even though I am not in thier core target group, which is innovative business people. I am, however, fascinated by creative people and thier endevours. Whether they make art or innovations in business – I think the process and attitude are remarkably similar. Indeed, I think a successfull business is not that much different from a succesfull play, book, song or work of art. All these are manifestations of someone’s or a team’s vision that finds resonance in the outside world. If an artist makes art that no one cares about, he is exactly the same kind of bankrupt as an entrapreneur whose innovative product no one wants to buy. Actually, the first place where I doscovered mindfulness was Fast Company magazine. I continue to find inspiration there, which I will occasionally catalogue here for use during my course. And for your reading pleasure :-).

Read the article: The Quotes That Motivate The Most Successful People

My take away quotes:

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” — Steve Jobs
“I did then what I knew how to do and when I knew better, I did better.” — Maya Angelou

Just being yourself is a lonely business

Gollumn and his precious…self

I’ve taken an interesting turn on my road to MBSR trainer – I’m on a streatch that’s suddenly pretty lonley. Being a teacher in training requires giving meditations and the proces as well as its effects a lot of attention and time. Maybe this is the reason I have begun to feel isolated from friends and family. Somehow though, I think it’s a symptom of coming into closer contact with myself.

When you look into yourself regularly, with no expectations and the intention to not judge but simply to meet what you see, the perspective is practically bottomless. You see that stories you have told yourself about the way you are, the things you can and can’t do, the things you like and those that scare you, are all literary works of fiction authored by your thinking mind. But not by the „you” that is the sum of all your inherent parts: your mind, your body, your heart. When you put those parts together you get a living, pulsing spark that twinkles. By that I mean – it changes. It shifts. It’s lighter, darker, stronger, weaker. Being alive means being in flux.

This becomes clear when you look into your mind and heart one day and find strong convictions, optimism, and a sense of direction and then the next day find all those things in an uproar. Your precious (think Golumn) „self” is a boat being tossed about by many different types of weather. So how can one story be true for long about a being that is in a constant state of change? It can’t. It’s true for a moment. And then it grows, morphs, unulates and takes on a different form.