Garbage In, Garbage Out

Image by extranoise

Almost 20 years ago I was sitting on a classroom at the ‘Universidad de Los Andes’ learning about System’s Theory. In that class-room, I learned a very useful paradigm: Almost anything you care to look at, can be interpreted as a system that takes some inputs; processes them; and provides some outputs.

Throughout my career as a consultant, I ended up calling this framework the ‘I.P.O’ equation , which confused many of my colleagues who were convinced IPO stands for ‘Initial Public Offering’ instead.

One of the corollaries of this thesis is that with any system there are three ways to improve it:

1. You stream-line its processes, making them quicker (more efficient) or better (more effective)
2. You intercept its outputs before they reach the end-user by establishing stringent Quality Assurance rules, and discarding anything that does not meet those rules
3. You control its inputs and ensure that they are of the highest possible quality

So what happens when we apply this level of thinking to ourselves? One of the critical inputs we have in every day of our lives is our emotions. But how do we control our emotions so that our interactions are more positive and fulfilling?

Sorry to say, but you can’t. At least, I have not found anyone that can truly control how she or he feels. This leaves us with a serious dilemma: If we can’t control a very important input into how we experience every moment, what can we do about it?

The answer is rather obvious: We find ways to improve the way we ‘process’ our emotions. This is particularly important for negative emotions. How do you process them? Wen you process them, do you try to ‘release’ or ‘discard’ them?

Let’s take a closer look at a few of them:

How do you release anger? Do you punch, throw objects, or scream? What impact does that have in others and in yourself? Are there other ways in which you could process anger? Maybe you can try to identify songs, places, even thoughts that make you calm down. How about next time you’re angry, you process that anger by thinking of a calming idea, or going to a place that makes you feel peaceful?

How about Hurt? Do you withdraw or go on the attack? ‘Fight or Flight’? Do you talk things over, or do you make assumptions that you know ‘why’ the other person hurt you like that, and you know it was maliciously intended? Maybe you can try instead to put yourself in the shoes of the other person for a second, and understand their situation. What could be going through his mind to make him act like that, despite his typical good nature and caring attitude?

You can do the same exercise for Resentment, jealousy, despair, sadness and even grief. Denying those emotions in your life will only bottle them up until the pressure escapes through a very destructive explosion. Instead, you can prepare for them by developing a higher awareness of what you do when in ‘automatic pilot’ (we all have one of those), and identify alternative ways to deal with them.

You may be wondering what made me think of this topic. Over the last year, I had a couple of instances at work where I got extremely agitated about the way things were done, and my automatic pilot drove me to become more vocal and aggressive on the topic. I wanted to ‘win the argument’. Later on, one of my mentors made me realise that feeling passionately that an injustice was being carried out was actually a very good emotion to have; but that the way I decided to act on it had not taken us on a positive path.

Then last week, I got some news at work that made my blood boil. I felt hurt, angry and betrayed by some of my leaders. I had to take some time out in order not to go straight to their offices and ’sing a couple of truths’ to their faces. I had to actively choose to process those emotions in a very different way than what I would have done a year ago. And I think the outcome achieved was far more positive than if I had allowed my auto-pilot take control.

So there you are. Systems theory applied to the realm of human emotions and life as a system itself. I encourage you to reflect on your own automatic ways of reacting to stress, injustice, or loss. Are they serving you well? If not, how else could you process them? What can you do to ‘kick you out’ of your automatic patterns, and consciously choose a different path?

COntrolling your emotions? You can’t. So if you can’t control a critical input, what doyou do about it?

You figure out how to process them; and as importatly, how you ‘dispose’ of them.

How are your emotions being actively released, particularly negative ones?

What do you do to release anger? Hurt? Resentment? Jealousy? Despair? Sadness? Grief?

Can we fall out of love?

Image by Ester G

When I started this blog, I wrote for myself. The blog started as a collection of random thoughts I was having, primarily during boring business meetings (What? I thought this was about love!” You’re right, dear reader. Hang on there and we’ll get to it in a second)

However, as time has passed, these reflections have been evolving. My blog has become an interactive channel of reflection. Huh? Let me explain what I mena by that.

When I was a teenager, I had a lot of trouble finding a girlfriend. It was VERY easy for me to become friends with girls, but I continuously fond myself at the pointy end of a conversation that started with “I-don’t-want-to-ruin-a-wonderful-friendship-by-becoming-involved’; or had to listen (again!) to my crush of the moment start telling that “It’s-not-you-It’s-me-I-only-see-you-as-a-friend”. Despite an enormous amount of energy going into the pursuit of romantic fulfillment (Hollywood style, nothing less!), it wasn’t until I started University that I had my first real girlfriend. During all those teenage years I also spent a lot of time ruminating on a variety of topics. This habit of thinking and using my brain for other pursuits led me to an engaging and regular social setting. With my five best friends, we established the routine of getting together (at one of our places) every Friday or Saturday night; open a bottle of Rum, ‘Aguardiente‘, or the alcoholic beverage of our choice at the time; and have ‘deep and meaningful’ discussions on any topic. We talked about religion, art, politics, university, love, and comic books. We called these meetings our ‘Tertulias de los viernes’. (Friday’s Tertulias)
As I left Colombia and my group of friends behind, I stopped participating in these regular intellectual debates. I also found my other half; married her; and have spent the last 12 years of my life with her.

Then I started this blog. I reflected on my own. And then the most marvelous thing started happening: I found some bloggers who shared some of my interests. I started perusing their writing. Regularly. And since a few weeks ago, I started having my own virtual version of ‘Friday’s Tertulias‘ by responding to their posts in my blog.

There it is. That’s the intro to my article on whether we can fall out of love or not. What started me thinking about this topic was (you guessed it) another blogger. Moriah posted an article entitled Ramblings on internet dating/long-distance relationships , in which she explains why internet dating just does not appeal to her; and why on the other hand long-distance relationships hold a certain level of appeal (I know it sounds weird, butwhen you read her post, it actually makes a lot of sense. I suggest you head over and read her post; you will probably agree with my comments). Through the comments section of that post we engaged on a dialog. On my first response to the article, I discussed how the ‘getting to love’ someone happened along slightly different paths in today’s world than in olden times (think ‘arranged marriages’ vs ‘falling in love’)
Then Moriah asked Can one fall out of love permanently or does it take one moment, built upon another, until one’s heart becomes hard toward another? My immediate reaction to her question was that one can (and one does) “fall out of love” permanently; but that it is not something that happens instantaneously. Let me rephrase it. Love is like a viscous liquid: It takes a while for your glass to fill, but it also takes a while for your glass to empty.

As soon as I wrote this, I realised that part of the problem we’re having is one of semantics. Falling “in love” and falling “out of love” are reasonably immediate actions. Getting to love someone, on the other hand, takes a bit more time and energy; and I don’t think you ever stop loving someone you once loved deeply.

People that go from relationship to relationship without giving themselves (or their partners) an opportunity to experience a deep sense love are usually following the fickleness of their hearts; moving with the wind as they fall in and out of love with others. This notion plays very nicely to Hollywood’s romantic view. You must feel butterflies in yout stomach when you see him; want to spend every single second in his presence; laugh at his every joke, love his every hobby, and think he is the most handsome man in the world. But as reality sets in, and you realise that his passion for collecting stamps is rather boring; that he has this funny lock of hair that gets into funny places and makes him look more comical than handsome; and that his sense of humour is not as sharp as you once thought; well, when you realise all these things, you start feeling like you fell out of love with the guy. And temptation sets into your heart to look for ‘the one’ – you know, the one who is perfect. The one with whom there are no compromise for you to decide on.

But life is *full* of compromises!! As we mature, we develop the ability to recognise this fact, and to act in ways that help us be better off. With maturity, we are able to start making the right calls: We stay with a partner despite the fact that she drives us crazy with her inability to close the proverbial tube of toothpaste the right way; we stay with her because, as we look at all the positive and all the negative aspects; as we explore all the frustrations we have whilst with her, and compare them to the joy we get from simply being around her, we come out ahead. In a way, maturity gives us a process for assessing and constructing an ‘emotional balance sheet’ with withdrawals and deposits, and to use it in our decision-making through life.

So to answer the original question: Can we fall out of love? Sure we can: “What goes up, must also come down”. But we never really stop loving those with whom we established a deep emotional connection. This is true for most romantic and platonic forms of love. And in this sense, we can never truly ‘fall our of love’.

Stumble It!

Do you believe in Karma?

Yesterday I came across a blog post that related the sad story of a 76 year-old Trishaw driver in Singapore who was taunted and abused by 3 young and (obviously) immature men. (link to Youtube video)

In the last sentence of the post, the author extols us to “take a good look at those bastards and remember their faces. Ever see them around when you travel, don’t hesitate to give them good punches in their faces and kick their crotches between their legs.“It was interesting to see that he post was entitled “I believe inKarma; Do you?”, because with this closing paragraph, the author revealed a very shallow understanding of the law of cause and effect, or ‘Karma’.

Just as fascinating as the post itself was the litany of comments that followed. A few went along the lines of “I am Catholic, so I’m not supposed to believe in Karma… “. There were also references to the Bible’s reference to “What a man sows, this he will reap” (St Paul’s letter to the Calatians 6:7). And another one said “These two should get the karma they deserve.”

I must admit it was disturbing to see 3 young and fit men riding in the back of a trishaw that was pulled by someone twice their age. To see the lack of respect shown to this man trying to earn a decent living was heart breaking. And I do believe that sooner or later, what you do catches up with you. I have no doubt these 3 will suffer the consequences of their actions.

But the original post reminded me just how misunderstood is the concept of karma. ‘Buddhism for busy people’, by David Michie is one of the best and easiest to understand books I have read about Buddhism; and has a great explanation of Karma and its more interesting details:

You see, it’s not only the big things we do that matter. We don’t have to do anything as dramatic as defraud our employers, or write a large cheque to charity, to create negative or positive karma. Both of those actions, like all others, began as ideas in our minds, so that it is here, in our mind, that karma arises.

We all tend to have habitual thoughts, or attitudes, and we need to be very careful about these. Often they build up, and have a cumulative effect which is immense. As Buddha said in the Dharmapadda:

The word manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into a habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
and let it spring from love borne out of concern for all beings…
As the shadow follows the body,
as we think so we become.

We can see then how these young men’s actions are already part of their karma. And how they will also continue to shape their future and destinies. What is worth highlighting is that according to the passage above the mere thought of violence is something we must carefully watch and guard against just as much as we guard against violence itself. It is in thoughts that our Karma is born, Buddha argued.

Within this context, the original writer’s desire to have other people seek these men and punch them in the face or groin is just as heinous as the act that these 3 committed when taunting the old man. I know it sounds extreme, but let’s explore how that could be true. The thought gave rise to the words on the blog. The words on the blog may plant a seed on some Singaporean visitors’ minds. And these seeds may germinate and develop into actions. And who is to say these actions may not target some innocent bystander that ‘looked like’ one of them?

Both Buddha and Jesus spoke of love and compassion. Jesus himself loved those that were considered ‘unlovable’ by most of his contemporaries: Prostitutes; Thieves; Criminals. Buddha teaches us to have compassion for those that are confused and do not yet understand the nature of Samsara. Jesus teaches us to offer the other cheek. It all comes down to Karma, in a way. Read the words above. Think of the consequences that your thoughts can have. Watch carefully, and sow the habit (and the character) of love and compassion in your everyday life.

There is one more misconception that is evident in the original post and the comments that followed. Karma, as a Buddhist concept, is closely related to the idea that our current life is one of many that we have lived, one of many that will be lived. Reincarnation is a key tenet of the Buddhist philosophy, as it means that ‘getting it wrong’ will simply mean a longer path to Nirvana (salvation, in Christian terms). Unlike the Christian view that we have ‘just one chance’ and will then be judged, with the result of going either to heaven or to hell; Buddhists explain that we have an infinite number of lives to learn from our mistakes (Although some would say that getting ’stuck’ in this crazy world for a long number of lives would be the same as being in hell, and that the two views are thus in fact one and the same). Within this context, the comments made by others to the original post miss the point: Karma does not dictate that these 3 men will be ‘punished’ for their actions. Rather, Karma articulates that their actions will have a consequence. That is why Karma is also called ” The Law of Cause and Effect”. It does not establish a punishment; simply that whatever thoughts and actions we have and live will have a reaction (consequence), and we will have to live with them.

Response to a fellow blogger – Part 2

This is the second part of a comment to a post from a fellow blogger. You can find his post here, and the first part to my response here. I hope you enjoy these new reflections on his essay about the dangers of overspecialisation.

- The crazy Colombian

REFLECTIVE COMMENT #1 – ON LETTERS AND THEIR HIDDEN MEANING

Andrés Melo Cousineau, a fellow blogger, wrote ‘Reflections: T and Omega, a critical stance on our dangerous desire for overspecialization‘. With it, Andres takes us on a journey of reflection about the strong underlying current of over-specialisation in modern society; warns us of its perils; and articulates an alternative: The proactive and conscious development of ‘Omega-type’ of individuals, through the application of liberal education principles.

In his essay Andres reflects on letters, their hidden meaning and their values. I particularly enjoyed Andres’ transcription of Anne Carson’s Eros the bittersweet, a poem where an illiterate man describes with great beauty the letters (in Greek) of the word Theseus. At the end of his ruminations, Andres encourages us to reflect on the letters that make our own name. What additional insights about ourselves could be hidden in their form? What additional beauty can we find in their intrinsic shapes?

I decided to take Andres’ challenge, and look at my initials: the lettes ‘D’ and ‘V’. As soon as I thought about it, I realised the high degree of symbolism hidden in them. We’ll get to that in a few minutes. Let me first review some of Andres’ ideas. In his writing, Andres’ shares an equation that is a good synthesis of the evolution he advocates:

↑ < T < ∆ < > ۞ Ω

On the left hand side, we have an upward arrow; a symbol of the forever increasing levels of specialisation in our modern society. On the right-hand side, we have the letter omega, a symbol of a well-rounded individual that results from disciplined application of a liberal approach to education, both in the classroom and outside of it.

According to this sequence, My initial (D, or in greek, ∆) tells me that I am two steps short of the ‘highest’ level attainable in Andres’ evolutionary hierarchy. To some extent, this is in concordance with my self image of a self-actualised ‘T-minded’ type who is on a journey to become more well-rounded. My own self-image is that of someone who is expanding his horizons and wants to develop skills at a deeper level than I currently have, but doesn’t want to become an expert in only one topic. In other words, I believe I am trying to become exactly what Andres’ describes as a ‘Well rounded Ω-type individual’. I can also see how I am beyond the mere ‘T-type’, with its shallowest understanding of all topics except that in which expertise has been built. According to Andres’ hierarchy, I can safely say I would consider myself a Delta (∆), and my Name’s initial confirms this.

What about my last name’s initial? The letter V reminded me of Dan Brown’s best seller The Da Vinci Code. In this book, Dan brown tells us that the letter V symbolizes the womb, where all life is created; and the chalice, where ‘the blood of Christ’ is collected for the sacrament of communion. What could this say about me?

Using the image of the womb, I could say that maybe my initial motivates me to be a nurturing person; to be one that cares about helping others grow and learn. I think of myself as someone with a passion for teaching and helping others’ in whatever journey they’re in; whether that’s the way I come across or not, I guess, is something I might have to ask others. Nevertheless, if I take my most recent project (‘Pass it Forward‘) as an indication of how I really am, it may agree with that meaning of the letter V.

A second explanation is that I am someone with a deep spiritual vein; someone for whom symbols and rituals are important. This is only partly true. From an early age in my catholic upbringing, I abandoned the rituals of going to church on a regular basis and participating on the sacrament of communion. On the other hand, I have built into my life a series of rituals (let’s call them habits) that sustain my spiritual growth; The latest one of which is a discipline to meditate either at the start of (or in the middle of) the day. Either way, this desire to build routines and rituals to achieve a deeper level of spirituality in my life could resonate with the second meaning of the letter V.

There is a third, more sinister meaning of the letter V worth considering. As Andres reminded us, Shaw once said “More and more, we know more of less; until there will come a time when we will know much of nothing, and nothing of the whole.” In a very graphic way, the letter V depicts this journey: At its top, we have a broad base, which then narrows quickly, like a funnel; until we end up covering the uni-dimensional space of a dot (“Until we know (…) nothing of the whole“). In this meaning I see a hidden warning within my own initial to avoid overspecialisation. Why would such a warning be required when I am a Delta-type of individual? Because at my most-inner core, there is a deep passion for success; and in today’s world, success is directly correlated to the level of overspecialisation one has. Thus a warning is required.

As I wrote this, I was reminded of an Oracle tool that I use with frequency, and the way it describes many situations. This tool is the I Ching , an ancient Chinese book also called ‘the book of changes’. It is based on hexagrams of broken and solid lines, with 64 possible permutations. Each hexagram is composed of two ‘core’ trigrams; and each trigram has its own name. Think about the I Ching’s hexagrams as the initials to two names. Interestingly, in the description of each oracle sign found in the Spanish translation of this book, you will encounter very graphical descriptions and interpretations of the trigrams and hexagrams. For example, it will say things such as ‘With weak elements on the tips and strong elements in the middle, this hexagram represents a wooden beam, under some pressure and strain, bending at the tips in its weakest points.” (N.B. I am writing this from memory, so it may not be totally accurate). This type of analysis of the FORM of a symbol reminded me of what Andres did in his entry, and of what happened as I took on his recommendation to ask myself the hidden meaning of my own name’s letters.

But enough about me. The reason I started writing this post was because as Andres reflected on the transition from an upward arrow (I contend it should point downward) to a T, to a ∆(Delta), to an Omega, I was reminded of something else. As some of you may know, I worked for one of the world’s top Strategic Business Consulting Firms. Within ‘The Firm’ (as they called themselves) there was a strategy to develop in their people ‘double T’ type of individuals.

What did they mean by this? Well, that they wanted to offer the opportunity to their consultants to work across a broad range of topics; whilst at the same time help them develop a deep specialist ’spike’. Why double T? Because there should, idealy, be two spikes: An industry they get to really know; and a functional area they are experts in. So for example, you may became a specialist in Financial Services (Industry) and Operations (function); Or in Telecommunications (Industry) and Marketing (Function). In some cases, the spikes were much deeper: I developed expertise in Marketing analytics (deep functional spike) for Financial Services organisations (Industry spike).

This brings us back to the letter Omega. To some extent, the letter still has two ‘foundations’ at its base; It also represents an Arch, with its implicit balance supported by two solid foundations. This configuration really resonated with my previous experience of ‘double spikes’; And so there is one more reason why the letter Omega, in addition to its illustration of ‘Well rounded’ individuals, can also give way to the idea that our specialisation should be in two areas, not just one. It is those areas that become the foundation for a well balanced, well rounded individual

Response to a fellow blogger – Part 1

Hello reader; we find each other again. I have an announcement to make. Over the last month, I found someone very similar, and at the same time very different to me. His name is Andres Melo, and like me, he is a Colombian expatriate in an English speaking country (Canada).
Like me, he has a reflective blog. Unlike me, he works in academia instead of industry. And unlike me (an engineer by training and trade), he studied Political Philosophy and is well versed in the classical and contemporary philosophers. His latest post prompted me to write a comment in his blog. But this comment grew; and grew; and grew! Suddenly, I realised what I had was not a comment; but instead an entire new post for my blog. And I had only covered the first topic of two that I originally envisioned leaving as a response to his insightful essay. As a result, I have decided to post that entry here, and refer him (using the comments section of his post) to come over and join us in this place.

I encourage you to read his essay before you come back to finish reading this entry; and the next one. You will have a greater understanding of my words and messages if you decide to follow my advise. I hope you enjoy this reflection, and that you will at least give Andres’ blog a try. It is a fascinating, if sometimes long, read.

-The crazy Colombian

REFLECTIVE COMMENT #1 – ON WRITING STYLES

As you know, I was born in Colombia. I lived there until age 24. Then I migrated to Sydney, and have been living here for 13 years.

You will also remember how I love writing. To those that know me in real life, this is strange in a way, given how I have always been classified as a ‘numbers person’ . I am an engineer, after all; My workplace is a bank; and my work regards ‘marketing analytics’ using sophisticated statistical techniques.

Yet I have experienced a deep stream of literacy in my life. I have written short poems. I have written small essays. I have written academic papers (none of which were published, by the way). I have written short stories.

I have also read. A lot. All types of books. Serious books. Frivolous books. Short, tall, thick, thin books. Fiction and Non-Fiction; From thrillers to biographies. I have enjoyed business books, science fiction books, and real science books. You name any style, and it is almost for sure I can find at least one book from the genre that has gone through my hands.

Sorry, I kind of went on a tangent there. There is a reason why I mention this deep interest in letters, this passion of mine for words. Throughout the last 13 years, I was forced to be more aware of my natural writing style. Through this increased awareness, I have come to the conclusion that Spanish is a ‘flowery’ language. Take a book by any of our highest-ranked writers: Garcia Marquez; Laura Esquivel; Isabel Allende, or any other of your choice. Then observe the length of their phrases; the lengthy, sometimes incredibly tortuous path of description and narrative that are used to describe the situation at hand; the complex minutiae of the moment they are trying to capture in simple and sometimes not-so-simple words. Go back and look at Andres’ own essay, the one that prompted me to think again about this. Observe the length and richness of his phrases. Then come back and contrast them with the first part of these reflections. Do you notice a difference? Long vs short. Beauty vs utility. I have found that English is a much more utilitarian language, as a general rule. And I have noticed how much better I express myself in English when I force myself to write shorter phrases. Now, don’t get me wrong. There are ways to embed beauty in short English sentences. There are great poets. Great writers. Great English masters who use a style of writing that goes through similarly complex paths as those of our Spanish-writing colleagues. By the same token, there are Spanish speaking writers with horrendously long phrases; with phrases which have no beauty and are hard to understand; with phrases made obscure through a lack of pauses and punctuation. Yet my observation still stands. As one that likes to call himself an Omega type of individual, I have also experimented with both styles. And in the process, I have achieved a higher awareness of the possibilities. I have also enjoyed the journey of discovery, and admired it for is beauty and the pleasure that it gave me. Like a surgeon that is awed by the beauty of his drawings of the human body; this engineer has at times been awed by the beauty of his ruminations in a different language.

I encourage you to try it out. There is no ‘write’ or ‘wrong’ (yes, I misspelled that on purpose). Try a different voice, and enjoy laughing at yourself if it sounds typically
burlesque. Admire it if it sounds beautifully different. Ignore it if it sounds honestly
annoying. But play nevertheless. You will find yourself a more rounded individual for the experience.

Meditation through prayer?

As some of my readers will know, I have been increasingly interested in the Buddhist traditions. Over the last 18 months, I have read a lot about this philosophy; learned about meditation; and increased my meditation practice from about 15 mins every few months, to about 1 hour every day.

Last Sunday, I was listening to Radio National’s “The Spirit of Things” podcast while gardening. The podcast I listened to was an old one, from the 3rd of June, 2007. Halfway through the program, the presenter discussed a mediaeval mystical text called “The Cloud of Unknowing”. This book has been used by the World community of Christian meditation, an organisation I did not know anything about until last week. Rather than re-write about the central message of this book, let me quote from the Podcast:

“You have first a Cloud of Forgetting, which means forget all the thoughts that have to do with your own personal life, in fact do what Jesus said, leave self behind. That’s the Cloud of Forgetting, because all our personal thoughts are ego thoughts, are in a way a veil, a cloud between us in God. We’re so caught up in our own thoughts that we cannot see beyond the reality of God that completely envelops and penetrates us, we can’t see that.

But then when you go on, you then come to the Cloud of Unknowing, and the whole idea is that God cannot be known rationally. Our brains are much too limited. We are very proud, quite rightly, of our achievements of the mind, but they are nothing compared to God, and we cannot conceive of God. So it is the cloud of Unknowing is coming to that acceptance that God is more than we think, that God is limitless, cannot be caught, hence the Cloud of Unknowing. And it’s also to go back to what I said to Jung, it’s going from the rational knowledge of the mind, into the intuitive knowledge of the heart where you actually know intuitively. So it is a way of letting go. Of one way of knowing and entering another way of knowing. In my book, I explain that very much in brain terms. But it is the early desert fathers, very much talked about moving from the mind to the heart, which is exactly what The Cloud of Unknowing is saying again.”

Having just read a number of books on Buddhism , I was flabbergasted to find so many similarities between the messages in ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’ and some of my recent reads (such as ‘Buddhism for busy people’). In both cases, there is an argument that we must let go of our ‘mind’ / ego in order to reach spiritual realisation. In both cases we are told to stop the incessant chatter of our brains, and to move our attention to our centre: our heart.

At the end of the podcast, I was left wondering: Is there really that much difference between a buddhist monk and a christian monk in a monastery? Are they not using similar techniques (mantras and meditation for the buddhist; prayer and reflection for the christian) to achieve a state of high consciousness and spiritual enligthenment?

For the first time in my life, I looked at some of the traditional practices of life in a monastery with a very different eye. It no longer seems like the practices of individuals that are trying to punish themselves. Instead, I started to understand that the practices of some of these priests are designed to achieve the same level of detachment and acceptance sought after by meditating Buddhists.

Am I going too far? I am a total amateur at comparative religion, so this post will look positively childish to anyone who is well versed in these topics. But as a child that wonders in amazement at the simplest discoveries, I have enjoyed the experience of discovering new interpretations to some simplistic ideas I have held on to for a long time.

, of christian origins.

Are you a specialist or a generalist?

The UnAwakened always rewards Specificity.Only the Masters enjoy Balanced Versatility.

Image by Argenberg

Specialisation is highly regarded in this modern world.I have discussed career goals with many professionals, and I am yet to find someone who tells me “I want to develop a broad range of skills – I want to be a generalist“. But as the quote above (from an article by Steve Ilg) says, only the true masters enjoy balanced versatility.

There is that pesky word again: Balance. I don’t remember ever using it as often as I have over the last 18 months of my life.So why is ‘balanced versatility’ so important?

Because its alternative – excessive specificity , or ultra-specialisation – comes with a price tag that we should all realise is just too high for most of us. Truth is, no one has noticed.

Let’s talk about careers. Developing highly specialised skills is rewarded by higher salaries. As the supply for those rare skills in the market place is smaller, the price for the services increases. This is true in professional sports, in the corporate world, and even in the medical sciences. Professionals seek to gain a deep level of specialist knowledge, so that they will eventually be recognised as ‘experts’ in their field; write insightful articles; and receive awards at international conferences.

You can also look in the direction of social relationships. People advises you to develop your unique personality and flaunt it. Be generic, and no one will notice. Be unique, and people will appreciate you for your individuality. This advice, we are told, has proven to work in today’s world.

What about the scientific domain? Same thing. I challenge you to find a scientist who wants to be a mathematician, chemist, and philosopher, all at the same time. No, the knowledge domains are too vast to have a generalist knowledge base. Scientists accept as proven wisdom that you’re better off choosing a very specific topic and becoming well-recognised for the high quality of your work. I am sure somewhere out there we can find aPhD on the physiology of the left cornea of redheads in rural North Ireland.

Behind all these examples is the insidious influence of the industrial revolution. With the arrival of organised industry in the late 18th / early 19th century, we started accepting that high degrees of specialisation lead to efficiencies of scale, mass-production of items at low cost, and larger economic markets. Along the industrial revolution we then saw a social revolution that applied the same principle to the fabric of our own culture and society.

Unfortunately, this revolution came with some nasty side effects. A high degree of specialisation has a significant and often hidden cost. Over-specialisation stiffles creativity, generates work and social environments lacking on diversity and its benefits, and reduces the level of innovation. In the sports arena, over-specialisation will lead to unhealthy and unbalanced individuals. Don’t believe me? Just look at this picture of an ultra-endurance athlete. Can you guess how old she is?

She is only 45!!

Overspecialisation, like most things taken to an extreme, is not healthy. The question is what are you trying to become: a generalist, or a specialist?