There is a Buddhist axiom about Crazy Wisdom. When you are standing on the edge and staring into the abyss, the pain, confusion and fear that surrounds you can actually be the catalyst for clarity and understanding to emerge.
Discipline and directness take the place of devil-may-care, willy-nilly-ness, and a new set of muscles manifest; Suddenly, you are able to ‘carve’ new paths and reach heights that heretofore were unattainable.
I believe that now is a time for Crazy Wisdom – when Rome is seemingly burning, when the stakes that we hold most dear seem most tenuous, and when the road ahead is cloudy and as confusing as it has ever been.
Time to develop a clear personal narrative of who you are, what your unfair advantages are, what you have to offer and what you require/are looking for in return.
Time to commit to practicing consistency, clarity and grace under pressure.
Time to concentrate, breath deep, relax and then faithfully walk through the fire to get to the other side.
(Side note: watching Obama and McCain the other night in the third debate was akin to viewing the yin-yang picture of consistency, clarity and grace under pressure, as contrasted by the NOT example. There is much worth emulating in Obama's deeply reasoned approach.)
Related Links:
- Read Crazy Wisdom (the book): I have been a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism for ~15 years, and consider my virtual guru to be the late, great teacher, Chogyam Trungpa. This book is part of a series of books taken from seminars, and the structure is very powerful. Each chapter starts with an explanation of the concept by Trungpa himself so you get the "official" explanation of the construct being covered. Then, in the next section you have questions (from the seminar audience) and answers (from Trungpa) on the concepts presented so you get another dimension of understanding. And of course, as the reader, you make your own analysis. I have found such an approach to be a great way to triangulate on informationally rich concepts. Be forewarned, though. These are serious, conceptually dense readings that take dedication, concentration and a 'one chapter at a time' mental investment to meaningfully get through.
- Hold a Picture in your Pocket: Cognitive dissonance and manifesting change.
- On Intellectual Honesty: See things as they really are; act on that knowledge.
- On Life as Art Poetic Truths & Getting Rich: Read the poem at the bottom of the post - it's a classic from the book referenced in the post.
