I am on a fourth month sabbatical/retreat from my work at Humentum through the end of 2021. You can read more about that here. I am thinking and will be writing about the mind, the mind at work, what we know and don’t how, and why we have not become very effective at building healthy and higher performing teams of knowledge workers.
I am doing lots of projects around the house and plan to finish the Finger Lakes Running Challenge to keep the body busy.
I am continuing to explore brining more samatha into my meditation practice and will be sitting a three month silent retreat in November. I am grateful for the teaching guidance of Ayya Dhammadipa, books and guided meditations from Bikkhu Analayo and the talks from Thanissaro Bikkhu at this point in my practice.
I am working on building a reading list for the sabbatical; so far it contains, but it needs more content from the emerging neuroscience about our minds at work.
The Timeless Way of Looking: Christopher Alexander
How to Live: Derek Sivers
Hell Yeah or No: Derek Sivers
Deep Work (again): Cal Newport
Bonsai: The Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees: Peter Chan
Mindfulness of Breathing: Analayo
Creating a Life of Integrity: Gail Andersen Stark
Be Here Now by Ram Dass
Empathy matters, but is just the first step to Compassion in Leadership:
1. Being fully present to someone(s) anger, fear, anxiety, or overwhelm.
2. Asking yourself “Is there something I can do to help?”
3. Having the wisdom to recognize and accept that sometimes the answer to question number 2 is no. Yet committing to being fully present anyway.
Updated September 8, 2021 from Ithaca, NY USA
(This is a now page, and if you have your own site, you should make one, too.)
