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Sambodhi's music
Sambodhi has created music to represent the three types of behaviour described in the books.
Ticking to a Stride represents the Transactional (sexual) organization
Turning up for Life to represent a Loving organization
The Path of Fragrant Grasses to represent the Compassionate organization
Here is what he says about his music.
A good start
Relationships, in the widest sense of the word, are like journeys of discovery. A start of a relationship can be full of hope and excitement. We embark on journeys together and, if we're open to it, we can grow in understanding - understanding ourselves and each other. We humans are part of one fabric, we affect each other.
They say that many successful businesses are started with three people in a pub… With a couple of beers sparks of inspiration fly, people make plans and when the chemistry is there, magic can happen. Lots of money can be made and a good time for all can be had, but only if everybody shows up for work the next day (and the next and the next…) and with a good dollop of lucky breaks.
When Henry Ford was asked about his success he said that it was just a matter of continuing to jump, so that when the next opportunity comes, he was already in the air, ready to jump on it.
Quite a few ingredients to make a signature dish. Music is a bit like that. You have to show up and practice your instrument otherwise you will sound like a kid with GarageBand. But when you create music you also need a spark of inspiration, that indefinable whiff of stardust to give your music sheen and sparkle. These things are gifts, you can ask for them, but you can't demand them. Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk illustrates this particular point most eloquently. Watch it, when you have a moment.
Inspiration, hard work and luck, if they are happening to your business you make a bucket of money, enjoy it, but don't stop there…
Have a heart
What do you do when your business has become established and is ticking over beautifully like a finely-tuned engine? Do you keep it the way it is because you should not 'change a winning team'? And then, when you turn 65, will you join the grey world-cruise brigade? Or is business a bit like music - a path that you start but that never ends, because there are always new horizons to explore and new lessons to learn.
Have the heart to become exceptional in your business, revisit your mission statement, set higher goals without losing sight of the fundamentals.
Here's an idea to get you started: Appoint a person whose job it is to do nothing, yes you heard it rightly, I said "nothing". His or her job description is so open, so non-defined, and so unspecific that you feel to apply for it yourself… The only humble request that would be made of that person is for him to spread love, awareness, compassion and kindness throughout the company, to have the well-being of his co-workers as his highest priority and to set an example.
Why would you do such a thing? I have never come across a company who has tried this, it is an untested theory, but think of the repercussions this will have on the people that make up your company. How long will they be able to remain jealous of a person whose job it is to do 'nothing', but who showers them with genuine love and kindness, who attempts to raise their awareness and who is able to listen without prejudice?
Obviously, winning their respect will be one of this person's tasks. He will show everybody that it is the way that you do your work, that counts, more than what you do. This person will have a deep understanding of what goes on in the company, because you cannot have compassion towards people if you don't understand what they are up against.
The right person for this job will create a ripple effect of well-being, affecting every aspect of your business. It will make your business the place to be, because working at your company will be nourishing on many more levels than working for the competition.
As you can gather, the selection process to find such a person will not be an easy one. His job sounds like the easiest job in the world, but it is not so - there are very few people who have the skill to create a loving, compassionate atmosphere around themselves and inspire others to do the same.
This person will be very busy, because there will be many aesthetic changes that he would like to make, to the spaces where people work, to how people interact, on every level. This person would have full access to every business meeting that happens in the company and would always be able to voice his opinion without fear of repercussions. 'Fear of repercussions' would simply not be in this person's dictionary. He would be the wild card, the fool, the benevolent joker.
Is this a loony idea? Maybe not if you would see your company as a court of a king in ancient times. The jester was part of the court, he played an important role. In his purest form the jester was a wise person, the wisest around, who would remind people how fleeting life is - to not get entangled in trivia, to see the big picture and to laugh at one's self.
Or you could see your business as an Italian, family owned winery where the grandparents, the father, the mother, the sons and daughters are all working together. The grandfather might be so old that he can only give blessings, but these blessings are important, they give the younger ones a sense of place and belonging. The grandfather will understand that life is a constant flux, always changing - he will welcome the innovations that his son will initiate, he will know that his time of wielding the sword of power has gone, that now his role is of emanating wisdom and giving inspiration.
These people are important to give your business a heart.
Being there
Will the journey end there? No, there's more. There are greater responsibilities to be taken and they will become apparent the more successful and wealthy you and your business becomes. If you're ready to listen, your wealth will give you a sense of these responsibilities. Without wealth you have limited 'ability to respond', but with wealth you have a bigger sword to wield. Use your power well.
Don't let money and business success lull you to sleep, stay at the job and show up for work. Your business is there to transform you, if it is not doing that, it is not yet a perfect business and there is still more work to be done. Serve your customers and in doing so you will serve yourself. Then you will make the world around you a little more beautiful, before it is time to leave.
About the music
I create music from a meditative perspective and I approach life in a similar way. Being creative, having the 'ability to respond', all are side effects to a state of being that is pivotal in my life, that state is meditation.
Meditation in its purest form is being alert in every moment. Not only musicians need it, not only business people need it, everybody needs it. It does not matter what you do, if what you're doing is in tune with existence, slowly, slowly over time, you will learn what it is like to be in the moment. Meditation helps with all this.
Sambodhi Prem
Titirangi, 29 June 2010
Ticking to a Stride represents the Transactional (sexual) organization
Turning up for Life to represent a Loving organization
The Path of Fragrant Grasses to represent the Compassionate organization
Here is what he says about his music.
A good start
Relationships, in the widest sense of the word, are like journeys of discovery. A start of a relationship can be full of hope and excitement. We embark on journeys together and, if we're open to it, we can grow in understanding - understanding ourselves and each other. We humans are part of one fabric, we affect each other.
They say that many successful businesses are started with three people in a pub… With a couple of beers sparks of inspiration fly, people make plans and when the chemistry is there, magic can happen. Lots of money can be made and a good time for all can be had, but only if everybody shows up for work the next day (and the next and the next…) and with a good dollop of lucky breaks.
When Henry Ford was asked about his success he said that it was just a matter of continuing to jump, so that when the next opportunity comes, he was already in the air, ready to jump on it.
Quite a few ingredients to make a signature dish. Music is a bit like that. You have to show up and practice your instrument otherwise you will sound like a kid with GarageBand. But when you create music you also need a spark of inspiration, that indefinable whiff of stardust to give your music sheen and sparkle. These things are gifts, you can ask for them, but you can't demand them. Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk illustrates this particular point most eloquently. Watch it, when you have a moment.
Inspiration, hard work and luck, if they are happening to your business you make a bucket of money, enjoy it, but don't stop there…
Have a heart
What do you do when your business has become established and is ticking over beautifully like a finely-tuned engine? Do you keep it the way it is because you should not 'change a winning team'? And then, when you turn 65, will you join the grey world-cruise brigade? Or is business a bit like music - a path that you start but that never ends, because there are always new horizons to explore and new lessons to learn.
Have the heart to become exceptional in your business, revisit your mission statement, set higher goals without losing sight of the fundamentals.
Here's an idea to get you started: Appoint a person whose job it is to do nothing, yes you heard it rightly, I said "nothing". His or her job description is so open, so non-defined, and so unspecific that you feel to apply for it yourself… The only humble request that would be made of that person is for him to spread love, awareness, compassion and kindness throughout the company, to have the well-being of his co-workers as his highest priority and to set an example.
Why would you do such a thing? I have never come across a company who has tried this, it is an untested theory, but think of the repercussions this will have on the people that make up your company. How long will they be able to remain jealous of a person whose job it is to do 'nothing', but who showers them with genuine love and kindness, who attempts to raise their awareness and who is able to listen without prejudice?
Obviously, winning their respect will be one of this person's tasks. He will show everybody that it is the way that you do your work, that counts, more than what you do. This person will have a deep understanding of what goes on in the company, because you cannot have compassion towards people if you don't understand what they are up against.
The right person for this job will create a ripple effect of well-being, affecting every aspect of your business. It will make your business the place to be, because working at your company will be nourishing on many more levels than working for the competition.
As you can gather, the selection process to find such a person will not be an easy one. His job sounds like the easiest job in the world, but it is not so - there are very few people who have the skill to create a loving, compassionate atmosphere around themselves and inspire others to do the same.
This person will be very busy, because there will be many aesthetic changes that he would like to make, to the spaces where people work, to how people interact, on every level. This person would have full access to every business meeting that happens in the company and would always be able to voice his opinion without fear of repercussions. 'Fear of repercussions' would simply not be in this person's dictionary. He would be the wild card, the fool, the benevolent joker.
Is this a loony idea? Maybe not if you would see your company as a court of a king in ancient times. The jester was part of the court, he played an important role. In his purest form the jester was a wise person, the wisest around, who would remind people how fleeting life is - to not get entangled in trivia, to see the big picture and to laugh at one's self.
Or you could see your business as an Italian, family owned winery where the grandparents, the father, the mother, the sons and daughters are all working together. The grandfather might be so old that he can only give blessings, but these blessings are important, they give the younger ones a sense of place and belonging. The grandfather will understand that life is a constant flux, always changing - he will welcome the innovations that his son will initiate, he will know that his time of wielding the sword of power has gone, that now his role is of emanating wisdom and giving inspiration.
These people are important to give your business a heart.
Being there
Will the journey end there? No, there's more. There are greater responsibilities to be taken and they will become apparent the more successful and wealthy you and your business becomes. If you're ready to listen, your wealth will give you a sense of these responsibilities. Without wealth you have limited 'ability to respond', but with wealth you have a bigger sword to wield. Use your power well.
Don't let money and business success lull you to sleep, stay at the job and show up for work. Your business is there to transform you, if it is not doing that, it is not yet a perfect business and there is still more work to be done. Serve your customers and in doing so you will serve yourself. Then you will make the world around you a little more beautiful, before it is time to leave.
About the music
I create music from a meditative perspective and I approach life in a similar way. Being creative, having the 'ability to respond', all are side effects to a state of being that is pivotal in my life, that state is meditation.
Meditation in its purest form is being alert in every moment. Not only musicians need it, not only business people need it, everybody needs it. It does not matter what you do, if what you're doing is in tune with existence, slowly, slowly over time, you will learn what it is like to be in the moment. Meditation helps with all this.
Sambodhi Prem
Titirangi, 29 June 2010
