Book blender

Ingrediants:


The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment


Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life


The result:

I've been on a bit of a sabbatical from writing and posting. During this time I spent some time reading the Power of Now and Making It All work. For me, these are the types of book you read one sip at a time. One or two pages leads to a day of self observation and experimentation.

The Power of Now (PoN) really has some very interesting and challenging ideas. It exposed me to a larger universe of concepts that helped frame why things are on my mind. The "mind" is an interesting thread between both books. I found that the books complete each other (to steal a line from the Jerry McGuire movie).

The PoN talks about "psychological time." The amount of "mental cycles" you either spend in the past or the future versus being present now. GTD gives you the tools to name, label and expose those mental cycles. "Why do you need to have the same thought more than once?" is a prompting statement from David Allen.

Getting things off your "mind" is the key to clarity. It is the key to being present "now." I've also discovered that it helps channel energy toward resolution. Try this:

(1) Imagine a person walking toward you and bumping into your shoulder. You feel the physical conflict in that interaction.

(2) Now imagine the same scenario but you change your engagement with it. Instead of taking the blow to your shoulder you turn, put your arm around the person, and start walking in the same direction. In this scenario, you are working with the energy of the situation and experiencing the energy from the other person's perspective.

(3) Last now imagine the person walking toward you and you simply step aside and watch them walk past. You then continue walking in your original direction. The energy was the same. How you engaged was the only difference.

These physical examples can be applied to the thoughts that flow through your mind. I submit the way your body feels them is roughly the same. Just replace the "person" with "a thought."

- How many time are you "bumping" into the same thought?
- How many times do you to yield to a thought and follow it?
- How many times do you see a thought and let it pass on by with no lingering residue?

Does any of this ring true with you? If yes, why? Does is sound hokey? If yes, why?