 |
|
|
 |
|
April 2009 |
|
 |
 |
Sage words for tough times |
 |
A talk with Marc Allen, New World Library publisher and author of Visionary Business |
 |
Spiritual advice from New World Library authors |
 |
Hot New World Library titles — save 40%! |
|
 |
| back to top |
 |
|
It's hard to keep your mind off the tough economic climate we face. This month we asked a few of our authors to share the spiritual practices they have found most effective for getting through difficult times. We'll share more practices with you next month.
— Your friends at New World Library
|
|
|
 |
| back to top |
 |
Meet Marc Allen |
|
| You write, "You have to have a higher purpose than making money in a business." What do you mean by that? |
That's not only ethically and morally great advice, but it's just good solid business advice as well. If you make business decisions motivated only by your desire to make money, you can make some very poor decisions that can end up really hurting you. Look at Enron. Look at Merrill-Lynch and all the other banks and insurance companies that are in deep trouble now. They forgot their main purpose in business, and when they focused just on making money, they ended up building a house of cards that came tumbling down.
It's good to reflect on your own higher purpose in business and in life and find it in your own words. But one thing I know is that it will involve service of some kind. Every business, even every artistic expression, is there to serve people in some way. Enron forgot it was serving people by distributing energy. The big banks forgot they were serving their customer's financial needs. When we forget our purpose, we can make some really dumb decisions that we will regret later on.
|
| Visionary Business is subtitled An Entrepreneur's Guide to Success. Is the book just for entrepreneurs? Has it been helpful to other people as well? |
| The book appeals to a very wide range of people. Over the years, I've heard stories — some of them definitely miracle stories — from a great number of people, including people who have solo careers, artists, and people who work for big corporations, as well as entrepreneurs who start and build their own companies. |
| The book tells your story — is it a true story? Did you really go from rags to riches? Was there really a Bernie? |
| It's based on a true story, but it's a highly fictionalized account, especially when it comes to Bernie. There really was a Bernie, but he didn't actually tell me all those things; some came from various other people, and some of them I just came up with myself. But in writing the book, I found that it made a much better story to put everything I ever learned in his voice. In my first draft, I told the story as it actually was, but it was just too confusing with too many characters delivering one short piece of the puzzle and then leaving. So I had Bernie be the main character.
The rags-to-riches part of the story is absolutely true. I was a total poverty case through my twenties and well into my thirties. Then I took a few simple steps — writing down my "ideal scene," listing my goals, and making simple one-page plans for those goals — and my life changed dramatically in just a few years.
|
|
|
|
| back to top |
 |
New World Library authors answer the question, "What spiritual practice or technique have you found most effective in getting through these difficult times?"
|
From Shakti Gawain, author of Creative Visualization:
When I am stressed and facing difficulties and challenges, I make it an absolute priority to get outside and be in nature. I will often take a walk or go for a swim, but sometimes just sitting outdoors, in the fresh air, feeling the sun on my face, gets me centered and reconnected with myself. Once I feel that connection, I have a sense of calm and ease. I can often think more clearly about a situation I’m experiencing or find clarity with a difficult decision I am trying to make.
Right now, these times are challenging, and many people are in crisis. However, within these times, there are also many opportunities to reshape our community, redefine how we do business, and inform how we live together on this planet.
I believe that what is going on in the world externally is a reflection of our process internally. So while we need to be active in our communities, to volunteer, to vote, to recycle, to conserve our natural resources, we also need to be doing the work that is critical and necessary for our human evolution — and ultimately the catalyst for change — which is to work on ourselves in an effort to bring consciousness into every aspect of our lives.
From Isha, author of Why Walk When You Can Fly?:
Through the practice of the Isha System, I have come to realize that fulfillment in life depends not on what you are going through but on how you are taking advantage of your situation in order to grow. Times of external unrest, for example, can become great opportunities to find inner security.
When the outside is unstable, we are reminded of the fragility of the material world. It is the time to go inward and start to base our happiness and fulfillment on something more solid, more permanent. This can be found only within, in the experience of what I call love-consciousness, the boundless source of love that is our true nature.
The Isha System has brought me to discover this freedom. Today I travel the world, sharing my experience with others, but wherever I go, I feel at home. When your happiness no longer depends on your surroundings, you are no longer at the mercy of the shifting sands of the world. But when it is based on something as unpredictable as the people and things around you, you're definitely in for a bumpy ride! With internal security comes freedom from fear. We are no longer afraid of losing anything, because we have found fulfillment within. We are no longer worried about what might happen tomorrow, because this moment is whole and complete. This doesn't mean we don't take action to face the challenges and changes life is throwing at us; it simply means that when we do so, we do it from a place of calm, safe in the knowledge that everything is unfolding perfectly. And we see that in reality, nothing that is real can ever be lost.
From Brad Warner, author of Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate:
Zazen gets me through difficult times because it helps me accept what is actual and real. It helps me see life for what it is and not what I think it might be. From that standpoint you can act with clarity. It is the only thing I'd ever recommend. It's the only thing that's ever worked.
But zazen is not a spiritual practice or technique. Body and Mind are one; they are two different manifestations of the very same underlying reality. So zazen is as much a physical practice as a spiritual one. The specific style of zazen I practice is called shikantaza, which means "just sitting," and that's essentially all it is. You sit on a cushion on the floor with your knees touching the ground and your spine held such that it balances on top of your hip bones. You make as little muscular effort as possible to hold yourself up in a dignified upright posture. It's all about balance. Your eyes are open and you're facing a wall or some similar neutral object. Keeping the eyes open helps you keep balanced and also acknowledges the outside world. Zazen isn't something you do inside your head! So you don't want to shut out the world; you want to welcome it. It's part of you — as much as what's inside your head is.
This practice won't bring instant bliss. But bliss is something we avoid in Zen. Zazen is a grounding process. And after a time it becomes extraordinarily profound and deep. All of the great Buddhist Sutras are just expressions of this simple practice.
|
|
|
| back to top |
 |
Hot New World Library titles —
save 40%!
(Please order by April 30, 2009.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
If you would like to subscribe to this monthly newsletter click here. If you would like to be removed from this monthly newsletter click here. You may also use the "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" buttons at the top or bottom of this newsletter. We respect your privacy and will not sell or trade your email address.
For more information about New World Library, visit us online at http://www.newworldlibrary.com or email us for a catalog at customerservice@newworldlibrary.com. You may also use the buttons at the top of this newsletter.
This is a post-only message. Please do not reply to this message. To ensure that you have no trouble receiving future newsletters, please add newsletter@newworldlibrary.com to your address book in your email program.
Do you wish to share your comments and suggestions to improve this newsletter? Please email us at customerservice@newworldlibrary.com.
|
|
New World Library • 14 Pamaron Way • Novato, CA 94949
415-884-2100 • Toll Free: 800-972-6657 • Fax Number: 415-884-2199
|
|
|
|
|
