In the last couple of hours I have been working with two individuals, separately from each other. Now, as I look back on my day because I need to write about something, I realize that I used the The Truman Show as a metaphor in the first session and The Matrix in the second. In both cases I argued that we will never solve the puzzle of our intrinsic unfulfillment from within the paradigm we hold to be true. We must break out of the paradigm.
I thoroughly believe that the wisest, smartest and most compassionate thing we can do is to create proper circumstances where such a breakthrough can happen. In the old days monasteries were invented for this purpose: places where you could devote your entire life to spiritual practice and service to the community. I wonder what the modern answer is.
I am imagining a place, a building for example where the people who work there share a commitment to be real and mindful. It is not about being holy but just about trying to avoid mindlessness and ignorance. The workplace becomes a place of practice, meaning that at the end of the week you actually learned something about yourself and others instead of merely exhausting and depleting yourself.
Everybody commits to spiritual and physical development because we acknowledge that the most important thing we can do for ourselves and others is to be as sane and clear as possible in an insane world. As we see it as a priority the building has the proper facilities. Just like NIKE wants their employees to be fit and Google realizes it cannot afford itself to not explore the edges of consciousness because that is the place where innovation is bound to come from.
The different companies that inhabit the building have in common that they have a mission that is aimed at a higher purpose. One company might aim for bringing sustainable energy to all households in the nation, another company might aim for helping businesses find their higher purpose and a third one designs healthy and inspiring workplaces from recycled materials. By joining this commune of professionals you are saying “I want my company and my team to be part of a movement that encourages and supports all life and we walk the talk”
In a way – and this doesn’t come as a surprise – I envision a collective of Warrior Businesses that are run inspiring Warriors and who have created the perfect conditions to keep the Warrior spirit alive. All Warrior leaders know darn well that our skills will fade quickly if we don’t keep practicing and we all know that it is easier and more powerful to practice and train together.
Now before you visualize a bunch of hipsters being hipster all day: I think the place should breathe the spirit of Zen and mindfulness. No clutter, a clean and well-organized place, use of natural materials. The atmosphere is calm, focused, almost serene. If you walk inside the building you can feel that people meditate there, if you shake somebody’s hand you can feel he is fit and if you meet somebody he will look you in the eye and you can feel kindness and dignity.
Something like that.
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This is episode 48 in a series of 100 blog posts that will be published daily during the 100 Day Warrior, a unique program around physical strength, inner wisdom and meaning. All posts are written by Atalwin Pilon, founder of Basic Goodness and creator of the 100 Day Warrior. For requests for motivational speaking, in-company workshops, online coaching and mindfulness training click here. If you would like to join our international community of brave and inspiring human beings or just follow this blog and receive updates, please click here or sign up on the right side of the page. Atalwin specializes in coaching smart and creative people, both groups and individuals. If you are interested in a free coaching session click here.
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