Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World
Over the past six weeks or so, I’ve adopted Hindu practices to understand more about myself. I took a few minutes every morning to pay my respects to the Hindu god, Ganesh, I suffered through 90 minute hot yoga sessions, and I read important Hindu scriptures, including the Bhagavad Gita and selections from the Upanishads.
A few months ago I read the excellent book Shopcraft as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work. The author, Matthew Crawford, examines the nature of work, what it can teach us, and why the crafts (loosely defined as manual trades) are significantly more satisfying and enriching than the typical office job. I decided
I sometimes struggle with Impostor Syndrome. Though this is typically the domain of the successful (a group to which I don’t claim to be a part of), I do, occasionally, suffer from its symptoms. For example, over the past few months, approximately 250 people have subscribed to this blog, and a handful of these readers
We have all taken personality tests before. At work, your company have made you take the Myers-Briggs personality test in order to teach you how to effectively communicate and work with other people. Or you might have taken a less serious personality test like the “Which Disney Princess are you?” At best, you received some
Here’s a quick recap on my third week of Hinduism: Daily Puja (Bhakti Yoga) This past week I’ve been inconsistent about making my offering to Ganesh. My girlfriend’s mother had been visiting and staying with us and my shrine is right next to where she sleeps, so I didn’t want to disturb her in in the
Origins of the Caste System The idea for the caste system in India, came from the Bhagavad Gita. In the Gita, Krishna describes four groups to which people belong: The different responsibilities found in the social order – distinguishing Brahmin [Priests], Kshatriya [warriors], vaishya [traders/merchants], and shudra [agricultural/labor class] – have their roots in
The concept of detachment has been a recurring them throughout this project. The Stoics were, of course, huge advocates of the concept, and every religious tradition I’ve explored since teaches some form of it. So you would think that after 6 months or so of studying detachment in various traditions that nothing in the world
Every morning, I go through my prayer ritual, or puja, to Ganesh. It involves a series of steps, one of which is lighting incense. I’ve grown quite fond of the ritual, especially the incense. It’s incredibly pleasant to have your morning coffee and write while breathing in the calming aroma of incense. Initially, I thought
I recently finished the outstanding book, Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life by former Yale English Professor, William Deresiewicz. The book is his manifesto against the culture of (over)achievement that elite schools have developed over the past several decades. He rails against the production of future
Employee engagement is the latest fad in organizational culture/HR world. Engagement is loosely defined, in this NYT article, “Why you hate work” as “involvement, commitment, passion, enthusiasm, focused effort and energy.” Researchers have confirmed an obvious point: engaged employees improve companies’ bottom lines. For this reason, companies want get all their employees engaged. However, engaged