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Quieting our thoughts is
opposite of struggling to experience something pure or perceive something special. The purpose is not to dwell on a particular state of mind. It is to be, in a simple and straightforward way, with everyday beauty, boredom, tension, joy, lethargy, and speed. You have thoughts of your successes, your relatives, your coworkers, driver who cut you off in traffic this morning, sounds from neighborhood, how thirsty you are, pain in your legs, fear of failure, fears for your children, and. You are aware of basic dignity, an insect that has landed on your arm, thoughts of basic goodness, thoughts of chores that need to be done, all thoughts.
No state of mind is important. Everything is equal. Everything is simple, accepted clearly and precisely, as it is.
The foundation, method, and results of quieting your thoughts are same. The foundation is your natural disposition to be as you are, to be with your world and your experiences as they are. The method is a reminder to relax and be natural in this way, bring humor to any situation. And result is settling down with natural processes of your body and mind, so that your human qualities of intelligence, warmth, and power can be strengthened and evolve. We begin to realize that each moment can be mined for joy.
Organizational life may seem to some like a relatively odd place for spiritual growth; it is however rich with opportunity. So much can go right and wrong. "Stuff" happens: unwanted complications come your way, service you've been waiting for is long delayed and when it does come it is unsatisfactory, your bright idea is claimed by someone else, your working conditions are lacking and royal "they" are not fixing them, try as you might you don't seem able to satisfy anyone, this one is angry at you, that one is disappointed, and other one is not paying you attention you feel you deserve. Right away in our habitual thinking we can only be miserable -- there are no choices. We whine in washroom and complain in coffee room, make up stories in which we are either hero or victim, take revenge, do less than our best, comfort ourselves in righteousness, question quality of our relationships with others, sabotage our contributions to our organization and to world, attempt to build ourselves up by putting down others.
The beginning of spirituality comes with awareness that we can see things not as way things are, but as a choice. As we recognize choices, we are invited to abandon victimhood and righteousness; we accept responsibility for our condition and for condition of our systems, we accept our place as co-creators of these conditions.
