Not dead yet, not by a long shot

We all reach periods in our lives when events unfold that cause us to question the path we're on and whether it feels right. One such case involved an American university lecturer in New York. Oneday, he opened his door to peer down the barrel of a .38 revolver to see real bullets in its chambers. His life flashed in front of him.

As this lecturer obediently lay on the floor, he wondered silently what the point was to all his formal education, and what life was really meant for if it could end so suddenly. Lucky for him, this drug dealer realized he had the wrong man before he pulled his trigger. The gunman apologized and left. The lecturer grew to feel that stranger was perhaps brought into his life by an angel, who desired that he discover a spiritual seeker inside himself. He felt he was given second chance to add meaning to life, and to meditate on the self. He evolved along a path to become a swami.

During my professional life, in varied roles, I've learned much about history, politics, how the external world works and who controls it. Yet, rarely have I met people who encourage me to explore my inner self. Science and tech developments have dazzled and challenged me yet, I sense they don't transform people. Adults research and collect information to expand the intellect, but this doesn't develop other levels, which they may in fact, disregard. Why is it people increasingly discover a disturbing emptiness amidst an influx of data? Inner worlds of thought and feeling deserve attention. Two people who entered my life remind me I still have much to discover.

One woman who influenced my revelations about life directions had considered the path of a nun, but later evolved to change her mind. Nonetheless, she remains a highly-spiritual person who encourages me to continue writing as a means to explore my inner consciousness. I met her intermittently in a foreign country. She has taught me that nurturing a positive mind can enable me to go beyond the mind, to better understand my inner self. I've learned it requires effort to turn off my thinking and the echo of outside influences. I learned to do that even after she recounted intermittent terrorist attacks close to her home that likely threatened her life.

One man who influenced my most recent revelations offered me a book which discusses the essence of the self. He met me in passing yet, seemed to know me. Later, he conveyed to me in writing that no amount of effort exterted in the wrong direction will attain my goal. He reminded me our true self can be experienced spontaneously, through what seems to be an accidental encounter or, interactions with a person who turns out to be an intuitive friend. This older engineering professor explained his work priorities didn't enable him to devote time he would've liked to his inner development, but he sensed I had other priorities. Not bad intuition for an angel of sorts, who met me for a handful of hours on a plane.

Throughout your life, people you meet enable you to open your eyes to the world around you and see it differently. Is your own self obscured by the thoughts and emotions of dissatisfaction? Imagine a murder took place and the victim was decapitated. If police asked you to identify the body and you asked for a mirror, what would this reveal? You'd realize you needn't look outside you to recognize who you are. You know, without looking into the mirror, that the corpse can't be you. Your sense of the inner world comes from knowing and introspection. Wherever you go, your inner world travels with you. You're not dead yet, not by a long shot.

No rest for the living

Tzu Kung grew weary of study and told Confucius, "I want to find rest."

"There is no rest for the living."

"Than shall I never find it?"

"You shall look forward to the lofty and domed mound of your tomb and know where you shall find rest."

"Great is death! The gentleman finds rest in it, the mean man submits to it!"

"Tzu Kung, you have understood. All men understand the joy of being alive, but not its misery; the weariness of growing old but not its ease; the ugliness of death but not its repose."

How often do you allow negative thinking to shape how you view your circumstances? The main barriers to perceiving your life for what it is are the words you hear and use, the theories you hear, and the conditioning you have been given. In different settings, authority figures in charge have taught you what they think is acceptable or unacceptable behavior. Have you evolved in your own life experience to see beyond their prejudices?

For example, you have learned to work, to devote time and energy to a task or a cause. You have come to realisations about your physical, emotional and other limits. This usually happens when you surpass them and become injured or, when you overstep someone else's boundaries. Each of us has been trained to listen and interpret words. We all have to take in theories about what's acceptable in a given place at a given time with particular people. If you reflect on all this conditioning, how do you evolve to discern your truth? Do you ever rest?

At times, as you sort through your dilemmas, you may borrow answers from people as a strategy to resolve the matter, and move on faster to something else. Yet, over time, you may come to believe other ways of perceiving and judging are not your own, and be left unsatisfied. Thinking may enable this reality to reveal itself to you. At some point, your inner voice must go silent. At this time, you'll know no barriers to improving yourself and realize they never existed. Uncover the truth about your mindset in order to recognize why you head away when answers lie right here.

Not just a superficial exercise

Those people who dream of more sustainable living may be inspired by changes in business practices. For companies that sincerely care, this isn't just a superficial or short-term exercise.  Internal policies are changed and company culture evolves. Certain companies actively take steps to become more environmentally aware. This leads them to recognize the importance of developing more sustainable, eco-friendly practices, and to raise standards for staff and contractor behavior. This influences ecological company reputations and has been shown to positively shape their market shares. Two examples are Patagonia and Land's End which manufacture clothing. Consider some ways these companies have translated their eco-friendly mindset into positive environmental action.

1) They deepen their appreciation of the source. Patagonia launched its 2006-07 environmental campaign on oceans. The company goal is to raise global awareness of human connections to what lies under our seas. Patagonia research and fieldwork compares sea bottom fish-trawling to clear-cutting forests. The company catalogs, retail store and website images reflect 18 months spent with marine scientists, writers, surfers and fishermen, to learn and also teach customers inter-dependence between humans and marine environments is life-preserving. As Patagonia takes steps to translate appreciation of the world into business practices, this company inspires us to become better stewards of the oceans and other waterways.

2) They realize how dependent they are. Patagonia has evolved in its latest environmental campaign to raise awareness of ocean contamination. From plastics and wrappers you observe floating in the harbor to invisible pollutants under the surface, contamination poses a serious threat to marine environments we depend on to survive. Patagonia employees and executive participate in ocean clean-ups and recruit local people to teach them what they can proactively do to make a difference. Patagonia has also donated over 20 million dollars to grass roots environmental activism projects. These organisational projects were reviewed, deemed meaningful, and were otherwise unable to secure corporate or other funding.

3) They take steps to eliminate abuse and restore ecosystems. Land's End staff travel widely to locate partners that offer the best combination of quality, price and service. In developing standards for partners worldwide, Land's End adapts to diverse cultures, encourages workers to be proud of their work, and respect local environments. Compliance with high standards is a prerequisite for becoming and staying a business partner. If Lands' End determines a business partner has violated Standards of Business Conduct, and corrective measure aren't initiated, the business relationship ceases. New rules mean Land's End staff could arrive for unannounced environmental or employee practice evaluations. Land's End has evolved to view relationships with clients, contractors and environments very seriously.

The above examples prompt us all to rethink how well we know the environmental positions and business practices of companies we support. It's a case of reconnecting with the source of your consumption. Ask yourself where it comes from, why you chose it, and whether your beliefs and principles are compatible with your business choices. You're free to change. Its a question of developing critical thinking and environmental awareness.

An analysis of human nature

My first book invites readers to examine different facits of human nature. This is an approach to promote personal growth and improved health and well-being. I systematically explore select human emotions, ambitions and life experiences for the benefit of people who seek to better know themselves and make uplifting self-discoveries. If you choose to take the journey with me, you will simultaneously be on a journey to clarity and increased self-awareness.

Unbeknownst to you, reasons exist for why you make choices and actively or subconsciously shape your life experience. Whether or not you recognize what you're doing and why remains to be seen, doesn't it? Writing exercises can draw out parts of yourself which may have seemed dead or buried. What you may not know on a conscious level will be drawn out of your soul. Develop courage and join me.

How often do you question your range of abilities and the scope of your vision? It may be time to reframe your perception and invite other means of understanding into your life. Writing will serve a purpose you may not have expected. Feelings, a sense of grounding, what you think you know and experience, each only offer you a piece of a puzzle that I'll empower you to connect. If part of you yearns for a new sense of completeness, rest assured, you can learn what it takes to experience and develop this. Join me for a deeper analysis of your own human nature.

Move beyond seeing black & white

Narrow-minded people tend to perceive things as clearly black or white, good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable, based on a rigid standard or point of reference.  The ideas of attachment and detachment to what you experience greatly shape who you are and how you see your growth and fulfillment.

Ask yourself whether you or anyone you know defines happiness based on what they gain or lose.  Consider whether being too results-oriented may limit your self-view and understanding of the implications of praise or blame. Reflect on whether a lack of desired status or fame necessarily invites feelings of disgrace, low esteem, or lack of self-respect. Learn why you may have conditioned yourself to recognize and devalue opposition in people and things around you. What are the artificial distinctions based on? Who or what happened to generate or reinforce your attitude?

Take the example of modern wedding planning. At one end of the spectrum, individuals desire luxury, many guests, expensive gifts and gourmet meals. The organization and complexity of the affair can be daunting, and so can the pricetag. What causes people to develop expectations where they feel entitled or feel they must plan for ages to afford a lavish wedding? If this is a baseline, will growing desires and egos in each person ever really be fulfilled?

At another end of the spectrum, individuals celebrate their love differently with contentment and simplicity. They avoid extreme luxury and create a setting for companionship that doesn't produce emotions like attachment, pride, arrogance, or lead them to dwell on what they dislike. Internal thoughts of self-acceptance are nutured and developed. To gradually become less selfish and gain more respect for another, and how your behavior affects that person, is an attitude which nurtures love and compassion in a relationship and beyond.

No matter what your point of reference, and whether you're married or engaged, giving up attachment doesn't imply you must sever ties to everything and everyone you cherish. As you nurture desire for happiness in yourself and in others, you can learn to better understand your reasons for attachment and detachment to people and circumstances. What works or doesn't work begins inside. Learn to identify destructive beliefs that are purely self-serving. Remind yourself that progress can be partly defined by external, material things yet, improving yourself means inner development and self-awareness become inseparable from how you regard what you do in the outer world. Which of your actions are based on fallacies?