On Mindfulness and Engaged Spirituality

I often think that one of the great ironies is that there are books written about contemplative spirituality and the Dharma of the Enlightened and Anointed Ones. Ironic, because in order to truly derive any benefit from those words, we have to be able to recognise them as meaningless.

There are volumes of books written on mindfulness. And it is true that one must understand what mindfulness is, and that it is healthy to learn ways to practice mindfulness. I've written books on the subject myself. Yet none of these books can really help you achieve mindfulness. Only you can do that for yourself.

Mindfulness is the term we use to describe the practice of bringing our full awareness to the moment. It is a practice of continuous refocus, breath-upon-breath, until that focus is so refined that we are consciously aware of the space between those breaths.

The great Perennialist Rabbi Jesus taught his disciples to refocus their minds on the true nature of their "god" -- which Jesus defined as being Love Itself. Nearly four decades after the legend tells us that Jesus died, during a time in which other legends tell us that he and his family were in Kashmir, another Perennialist teacher, Paul of Tarsus would call this way of mindfulness "the mind of Christ" -- describing it as something we already possess, but "forget".

The essential truth is that we don't need complicated explanations of what mindfulness is, because mindfulness isn't complicated. In fact, whatever complicated explanation you might have heard about mindfulness, you can be certain was what mindfulness is not!

If you simply sit still, right now, and close your eyes, allowing yourself to hear, smell, feel and touch all of the sensations occurring inside you, around you and through you... and then gently open your eyes, allowing yourself to notice each of the things you see and perceive... you have just practices mindfulness.

With practice, the awareness you just brought to that series of moments, which may have been distracted right now, because you were reading this article, will become richer, fuller, more present. If you did not stop what you were doing, and did not attempt the exercise, you know what mindfulness is not... and you experienced, with equal value, the way in which distractions and unuseful decisions can keep us from spiritual growth and awareness.

When I authored the book, The Dharma of Compassion, my original publisher called it "a great contribution" to the world of spiritual development. I laughed at her comment. There was nothing great about the book itself, nor about its author. And the book was no great act of compassion. It was a book. In order for that book to have any merit, it would have to reduce the suffering in the world. In and of itself, it could not do so. Therefore, only if that short book inspired someone to take action -- to volunteer at their local hospice or soup kitchen... to clean up the side of a highway... to engage the spiritual lessons they embraced in a meaningful way that impacts and ensures social justice -- only then would it have been a worthwhile contribution to the overwhelming mountain of literature that already exists on the subject.

Several folks have emailed me to ask what kind of "sanctuary" I intend to build for the Spiritus Project -- a grassroots, interspiritual movement, that operates under the auspices of our Buddhist-Camaldolese Order.

Put simply, it will be a place of Great Tranquility, where practitioners can come to learn the Dharma of Compassion, and be trained in practical ways to engage their spirituality in forms of service, social justice and healing work, back in their home communities.

It will be a place where I teach those who are ready to delve more deeply into the practice of awareness in the moment, so that they not only focus on the breath, but on the space between the breaths... the place I call The Origin -- borrowing from a Japanese Zen teaching -- which is known more commonly as Sunyata. There, each student has the potential to experience sunyatananda -- the bliss of the Origin/Emptiness.

But it will also be a place where most of the teaching is not structured, but occurs organically... in the Sacred Silence... a place where people from all spiritual traditions can come together, and dig deeper into their own paths, by learning more about the paths of others. And it will, I am hopeful, be a place that inspires others to continue the work we are doing.

As I write this, I am in bed, with 102.4 degrees fever. My back, my arms and my head are aching. I am tired. But through all that pain, I am not suffering, because I move through the experience of pain, and continue to look for whatever lessons might be hidden in each experience. Now I've never been terribly interested in the "live forever" thing, so I don't spend too much time dissecting dis-ease, and trying to come up with the right metaphysical solution for it. I simply affirm that I am not my body, and know that what is perceived as "me" or "this one" (as Nityananda referred to himself), is impermanent. So I will continue to work toward that vision, believing that the funding is already there, and simply working out the details of manifestation... but more important, hoping that every day, in some small, but consistent way, I can contribute meaningfully toward both alleviating the suffering of others myself, and inspiring others to do the same.

You already have all you need to know, within your heart. It rides on the current of each inward breath, and is shared with the world around you on the exhalation. Just take time to sit with it, listen to it, and when the seemingly endless chatter of the exterior life dies down, you will hear Her... the Mother of the Dharma... your own interior voice or Sakti. And you will have found your home in the Silence.

Namasté!

 

 

Internationally respected, life coach and teacher, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, O.C., M.Sc.) is a Buddhist and Franciscan contemplative, and author of the popular book, "The Dharma of Compassion - One Monk's Reflections on the Teachings of the Enlightened and Anointed Ones". He is best known for his on-going contributions to helping people unlock the power of their own minds -- teaching them how to apply that power to create strong, loving relationships, make more money, and live more meaningful, prosperous, health and satisfying lives.

You can join his primary social network and interact with him directly by visiting:
http://www.6dgr.com/index.php?mode=join&refs_id=8412 

Copyright ©2008, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Three Keys to Increasing Your Revenue Online

You've seen the websites promising to reveal the "secrets" to success, but if you've taken the time to look at what 98% of those so-called "experts" offer, you've likely discovered that the only "secret" is that most of those folks have no clue about network marketing strategies or effective online marketing.

My commitment is to provide entrepreneurs with a way to achieve greater success, in less time. And we created a product that will immediately qualify our associates for savings of thousands of dollars, while empowering them with a system to increase their monthly revenue by a minimum of $700-$900 in their first couple weeks... all without investing more than $25/week in themselves.

(We do this without trying to convince entrepreneurs to switch programs, join a new "lead generation" deal or "viral marketing website", or anything else of the sort. We can recommend excellent lead generation portals, viral marketing sites, and other free marketing tools... but those things will NOT produce income, without the training, support and strategies we offer our team members... and we do NOT ask you to quit any venture you may be doing... We want to help you succeed at WHATEVER IT IS YOU ARE DOING ALREADY!)

There are three important keys to immediately increasing your income and success, month-after-month:

KEY ONE: Sort... don't sell.

Realising that not everyone is "wired" for success, and even fewer people are serious enough about achieving success to be willing to actually devote 30-90 minutes a day toward achieving it, we need to move out of the typical MLM mode, where we try to "recruit" everyone into our business.

Lead lists might provide you with hundreds, even thousands of names and email addresses... but 98.5% of those people will never be serious enough about success to actually pay attention and work for it. And timing may not be right for the remaining 1.5%.

So instead of "selling", we "sort". We let folks know what we can offer them, and let those who are serious come to US, instead of chasing THEM.

You see, I know that I've created a system that realistically allows people I work with to increase their actual income by an average of $2100/month in their first four to six weeks... without inventory, without hotel meetings, and without paying for new websites, recruiting systems, etc.

I also know that it takes 30-90 minutes a day to develop that kind of income, because I did it, and 85% of the people on my team have done so.

So when someone is serious enough about wanting to succeed, the first thing I tell them to do is to put their wallet away, because I don't want or need their money. What I am interested in is helping them succeed... and they'll do that by taking action, not by spending money.

In fact, I'll give any entrepreneur who asks, access to over four and a half hours of high-definition video and audio training materials from some of the top names in the industry. And that information will do two things: it will help them immediately begin to profit, and it will sort out the ones who are serious from the tire-kickers and whiners.

KEY TWO: Build Depth.

Unfortunately, it's a little difficult to address this issue, without sounding like I am bashing certain companies' compensation plans... which is not my intention. It's a fact that some compensation plans are weaker than others, and don't always provide the proper incentive for networkers to support their downline team.

But compensation plans can change. What matters is that a professional networker learn to discipline themselves to shift their focus from some of the nonsense that is passed off as "traditional wisdom", and focus on strategies that work.

Chief among those ideas is understanding that duplication is the key to your success. We teach our team members to focus on developing a team of five serious entrepreneurs, and then focus their efforts on helping those five to do the same thing. And it works.

Starting with five aspiring wealthbuilders, I grew my organisation to 358,000 men and women, in under 18 months. And we did that without sponsoring any "teams" from other companies. All we did was teach a simple, fun and duplicable system.

I would ask aspiring networkers:

"If I could show you a way to increase your income by $700 to $900 in the next couple weeks, without inventory, expensive start-up kits, hotel meetings, or making a list of friends, family, etc., do you think you could find five other people who would LOVE to learn how to increase their income by $700 to $900 in the next few weeks as well?"

If they say yes, we roll up our sleeves and get started... and then I focus immediately on helping them to do the same thing. As a result, they actually end up earning closer to $4200 in their first month, but our focus remains on helping EVERYONE to make that extra $700-$900 in two or three weeks, first.

KEY THREE: Customers or Associates? Stay focused.

Too often, I encounter people who are so emotionally invested in their company's products that they are ruining their businesses.

I know that sounds a little strange, but when you become emotionally attached to a product, especially to the point that you begin believing all the hype about it, and imagine that it is the "best" whatever, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Very few entrepreneurs got into the business because they love a particular product. They got into the business because they want to increase their income. So they choose network marketing as the VEHICLE for their wealthbuilding, and the product is the FUEL used to power that particular vehicle.

Don't get emotional about a product. Recognise that your business will grow in direct proportion to the number of customers and associates you bring to the table, but that in most cases, you'll prosper faster, by having a stronger team of associates. For that reason, we consciously look for associates, who will also be customers.

For example, my primary company offers the first, and most extensive range of high-definition, exclusive personal development, training, business and financial training programs in the world. Fortunately, it's a product that every one needs, since personal development, on-going education, financial training and marketing training are keys to success in any walk of life. So I look for people who are not only dedicated to bettering themselves, but those who share my concern for all of humanity, because I know those customers will also become a source of referrals, and will benefit from the income opportunity at the same time they benefit from the training.

The longevity of any business is dependent on "lifelong customers". So I am constantly cultivating relationships with people I believe will benefit from my product. Some of them will become my customers, but even those who don't will become my friends... and friends always happily refer new business to their friends.

Put these strategies to the test! And if you're seriously interested in success, just drop me an email and I will send you private access to more than four and a half hours of informative, success-building training and personal development video, audio and eBook content... absolutely no strings attached.

Internationally respected, life coach and teacher, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, O.C., M.Sc.) is a Buddhist and Franciscan contemplative, and author of the popular book, "The Dharma of Compassion - One Monk's Reflections on the Teachings of the Enlightened and Anointed Ones". He is best known for his on-going contributions to helping people unlock the power of their own minds -- teaching them how to apply that power to create strong, loving relationships, make more money, and live more meaningful, prosperous, health and satisfying lives.

You can join his primary social network and interact with him directly by visiting:
http://www.6dgr.com/index.php?mode=join&refs_id=8412  or by emailing him at: successcoach@prosperityreinvented.com

Copyright ©2008, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Relationships... getting through the rough spots

It's easy, when things aren't going smoothly or according to our plans, to discard or run away from a difficult relationship. In fact, our perception itself is that there is something wrong with the relationship or the other person, rather than carefully looking to see if the problem isn't just one of mutual fear, anger or miscommunication.

I have two friends, who are in a relationship, and who both suffer from the same painful effects of Multiple Sclerosis. The older of the two struggles, in a very real way, with the loss of her manual dexterity and coordination, during times when the spasticity or muscle stiffness interfere with her daily activities. She's an educated, self-sufficient and warm individual, with an amazing heart, but there are times when the pain and frustration get the better of her, and she snaps at those around her. As someone who suffers similar pain, I can only imagine what it's been like for her, close to a decade now.

When her companion tries to help her, she sometimes grows resentful, and eventually lashes out, claiming that he's "taking over her projects" or "treating her like an invalid". In reality, he was just raised in an environment, where you didn't ask if it was OK to help someone having difficulty, you simply jumped in and helped. And if the other person didn't need your help, they would kindly thank you and say it was unnecessary. But in time, he learned that his companion was sensitive about those things, and I think that because he faced some of the same issues with pain and functioning himself, he understood her feelings, and out of respect, resolved to stop interfering with what she was doing...

Except that suddenly, now there were times when she expected him to magically understand that he was supposed to jump in and finish things at times, and at other times not to. This might sound completely irrational to you or to me, but I sense that when you are in the midst of that frustration, it seems very natural.

My friend now feels like he must walk on egg shells. When his companion is in pain, she is permitted to talk about it, but if he does so, he's "being a martyr". I think that she's just so afraid that he is feeling "put out" by helping her, that she is unconsciously sabotaging their relationship, because she imagines such irrational behaviour is easier to deal with than the risk of losing someone she loves. I don't believe he'll ever leave her, because he's pretty clear about the difference between a person's behaviours and the person themselves, having heard me talk "endlessly" about that for the past few years.

He also recognises, as I believe she will too, that running away from or sabotaging a relationship, just because we don't want to invest the effort in working through the rough spots, only means that we will eventually have to work out those same issues with someone else, until we resolve them and learn the lesson that was meant to be learned (inescapable karma). So why not learn the lessons with someone you already trust, and with whom you share a deep and genuine affection?

In my friends' case, the conflict has nothing to do with either of them... they are both warm and loving people. And they are both genuinely concerned about one another's health and pain. The conflict is ego-driven... it's based on the irrational perception of one person's ego that the other person, who casually mentions having pain, or brings up the things he does to help her, is somehow being "a martyr". It's the ego that he has, at not allowing her to express such irrational fears, without responding to them, and then feeling like he isn't permitted to express himself, without fear of reprisal and resentment. They both need to work through those issues. And they will.

Challenges in a relationship are impermanent phenomena. They are like clouds that move through the noon sky. Even the greatest, darkest cloud, which might obscure the sun entirely, will pass. And during the darkest storm, though we cannot see the sun from the clouds, it is still there. And that sun is the Love that unites all beings... especially my friends.

My sincere hope for them is that she doesn't resort to taking the easy way out, and rolls up her sleeves to work on the relationship a bit. Maybe she will notice that she's struggled alone for so long, that without realising it, she can sometimes seem inconsiderate, self-absorbed, and unreasonable. And her companion may realise that he is so afraid of seeing her suffer, that he oversteps his bounds, and is actually interfering. He may realise that expecting others to show the same consideration for us that we show for them is unreasonable, since everyone is always doing the best they can in any given moment... and we ALL fail to show consideration for others from time to time.

I know he has completely shut down this weekend, and hope that he will allow himself to find balance again too.

Any time a relationship is based on love, it's worth working through the challenges... because the challenges are the very "stuff" by which a relationship deepens, matures and grows.

Buddha taught that no matter how hard or long one churns water, they will never produce butter. So too, if we try to pursue healthy relationships, without challenges, we'll never manage to do so. It is the abrasive grain of sand, which gets into the oyster shell, which produces the lustrous pearl.

Namasté!

Gurudas

 

Founder and Spiritual Advisor of the Spiritus Project, and Director of the Society for Buddhist Contemplatives, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda has been leading dharma retreats, teaching, and counseling individuals interested in Buddhist contemplative spirituality since 1979. He is an ordained Buddhist monk, a Franciscan contemplative, and former Eastern Catholic priest and bishop. He holds a dual-doctorate in theological anthropology and Buddhist philosophy, a masters in clinical pastoral counseling and lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Copyright ©2008, Gurudas Sunyatananda - Lojong Ashram, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Engaged spirituality...

At a time when unprovoked wars, domestic violence, racial and gender-based genocide, environmental irresponsibility and economic uncertainty are causing untold suffering in our world, there has never been a more important time for people to come together and work for social justice.

In my previous dharma talk, we looked at one of the two reasons people tend to shy-away from the interior call to a contemplative or monastic life. We talked about "sacred indifference" or "joyful detachment".

In this talk, I will address the second area of misunderstanding. There is a common misconception that those who enter the monastic or contemplative life are doing so as a means of escaping their relationships, responsibilities and the need for meaningful stewardship.

And this misconception is only a partial misconception really, because there have been, for more than 2500 years, individuals who sought the "solace" of the monastic life for those very reasons. Such individuals are monks or nuns only in name and appearance, but do not embrace a truly monastic or contemplative life.

Immature, selfishly-motivated and self-aggrandising teachers, gurus and so-called "spiritual leaders" have also played a role in deflecting monastic and contemplative practitioners from their potential realisation and wholeness.

A life of meditation, silence or contemplation for the sake of setting oneself apart from others... appearing to be holy and pious... or to avoid social responsibility is narcissistic and nihilistic.

The late Pope John Paul II frequently condemned the Liberation Theology movement in South and Central America, and there have been those who have condemned the "living in the world" decision made by our own monastic community in 2001, including the Roman Catholic patriarchy; and yet, these movements, and others like it, arise out of a need to "engage" the Buddhist philosophy, or teachings of the Great Rabbi, Jesus the Nazarene.

There are times too, when people have entered the monastic life with the intention of escaping responsibility and interaction with the world around them, only to discover themselves, and emerge more radically committed to social justice, service and engaged Buddhism/Compassion/Spirituality than ever before.

This is one reason the Contemplative Order of Compassion, while rooted in three primary spiritual paths (the Buddhist dharma, the Way of the Christ, and Science of Mind), renounces all formal connection to "religion" itself... especially here in the West, where religion is constantly filtered through and interpreted by a Western worldview that is narcissistic, materialistic, and largely fundamentalist/literalist.

When we made the decision to separate from our Benedictine, Franciscan, Buddhist and Camaldolese heritage, the monks of our order mindfully rejected the temptation of "quietism" -- a narcissistic inclination among contemplatives, to escape and withdrawal from society and interaction with others. Instead, we committed ourselves to find new and increasing ways in which to engage and connect.

Just as we did, there are many other organisations in the Buddhist, Pagan, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu paths, working to become catalysts for socially-engaged spirituality, striving to offer a public witness, through our practice, our service and our embodiment of non-violence, wisdom, generosity and loving-kindness.

And it is with this in mind that the Spiritus Project intends to fulfill its vision of creating a sanctuary for the study of interspiritual dialogue, community service, meditation, artistic expression of spiritual ideas, social justice and engaged spirituality. Our objective is to find the funding to establish such a sanctuary in the Tennessee Cumberlands or Arizona desert.

 

Namasté!

 

Founder and Spiritual Advisor of the Spiritus Project, and Director of the Society for Buddhist Contemplatives, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda has been leading dharma retreats, teaching, and counseling individuals interested in Buddhist contemplative spirituality since 1979. He is an ordained Buddhist monk, a Franciscan contemplative, and former Eastern Catholic priest and bishop. He holds a dual-doctorate in theological anthropology and Buddhist philosophy, a masters in clinical pastoral counseling and lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Copyright ©2008, Gurudas Sunyatananda - Lojong Ashram, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Joyful detachment

Of the thousands of people who read my dharma talks each month, there are literally hundreds, who feel a deep personal "call" to contemplative or monastic life. There are generally two reasons for their hesitation to take the next step, and contact a community, such as the Spiritus Project or Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path. The first of these is the belief that in order to live an authentically contemplative or monastic life, one must be poor and celibate; and the second reason is a perception that monastic life is somehow akin to "running away from responsibilities".

We're going to look at the first reason in this post, and will visit the second issue separately.

It is true that many ancient cultures originally interpreted the essence of what I call "sacred indifference" or "joyful detachment" as requiring literally dispossession of all material things, including the renunciation of sexual expression and intimacy. The idea was that these things cause attachment, and therefore, ultimately lead to suffering and are distractions. And while that perception could be true, it could also be true that one could become "attached" to the idea of poverty and celibacy, which is something I frequently have seen in both Christian and Buddhist monastic communities for years.

When Jesus and Buddha spoke of detachment, I do not believe they were speaking of an indifference toward things, people or natural expression of sexuality themselves, but rather to their controlling effects on our lives. I also believe they were clear that when our worldview is narrow, we seek pleasure from things, people and other impermanent phenomena, for purely selfish gain. This self-absorption leads us away from a mindful awareness of the unity of all things, all people, all phenomena as manifestations of Primal Love.

Thomas Merton, writing in the classic No Man is an Island, notes:

It is only when we are detached from created things that we can begin to value them as we really should. It is only when we are 'indifferent' to them that we can really begin to love them... We have to be detached from health and security, from pleasures and possessions, from people and places and conditions and things. We have to be indifferent to life itself, in the gospel sense, living like the lilies of the field.

One of the things I try to impress upon our novice monks and contemplatives is the awareness that monks do not jump to conclusions. They observe their initial perspective as simply the first layer of illusion, and peel away the ego mind, one perception at a time. The learn that our attachment to our "view" is a much greater obstacle than an attachment to sexual intimacy, material possessions, status or recognition; and that when we learn to let go of the attachment to view, we begin to assimilate the teachings of the Buddha and the Christ in ways previously not possible.

We learn to strip away the attachment to the words, which might mislead us to believe the scriptural accounts of the supposed "miracles" attributed to these two great teachers as literal or historical fact, completely missing the purpose and meaning of the texts themselves. By clinging to a fundamentalist or literalist interpretation, we are not truly appreciating the text and are incapable of real gratitude for any value that might exist in having read it.

When we let go of our opinions, our ideas and our perceptions, we begin to penetrate the inner meaning of things. This joyful detachment -- and it does give rise to joy -- allows us to see the Sacred in Everything, without need for personalising It into a cast of divine mythological characters. Sacredness and Love become synonymous, and everything comes more clearly into focus as neither "good" nor "bad", but simply "phenomena".

For this reason, there are in the Spiritus Project, many families -- both traditional and "non-traditional"; and among our monks, there are those who are involved deeply in our work, while still able to freely express their human sexuality without apology.

Embrace the path to which you are called. Realise that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to be present in the moment. When attachments arise, and they will, recognise them and gently let them go.

Even these words you are now reading, are a reflection of the impermanent and imperfect understanding and perceptions of a simple, punk-monk... nothing more... nothing less. I share them, allow them to wash over me, so that what truth exists in them might find fertile soil in which to take root, and let go of them.

As should you.

Namasté!

 

Founder and Spiritual Advisor of the Spiritus Project, and Director of the Society for Buddhist Contemplatives, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda has been leading dharma retreats, teaching, and counseling individuals interested in Buddhist contemplative spirituality since 1979. He is an ordained Buddhist monk, a Franciscan contemplative, and former Eastern Catholic priest and bishop. He holds a dual-doctorate in theological anthropology and Buddhist philosophy, a masters in clinical pastoral counseling and lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Copyright ©2008, Gurudas Sunyatananda - Lojong Ashram, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

What you DON'T need...

 

You don't need to join another credit mailer, safelist, downline builder or viral community portal to achieve success...

And you don't need to invest in expensive MLM start-up costs, monthly autoships, hotel meetings, DVDs or anything else of the sort!
What you need is a team of dedicated mentors, who have a vested interest in helping others increase their incomes by $700 to $900 in the first few weeks, and as much as $4200 in the first four to six weeks... without ever expecting you to invest money in products, marketing materials, websites or leads.

In fact, the reason we're building our 6DGR network, is to become better able to help more people succeed at whatever it is that they've chosen to pursue...

So we ask you to roll-up your sleeves, invite a minimum of ten of the people you'd like to stay in touch with to join your social network here at 6DGR, and consider accepting this very special invitation from me to you: http://prosperityreinvented.com/invitation

And while you are at it, consider grabbing my free eCourse on the Law of Attraction: http://prosperityreinvented.com

-- Expect the BEST!
Gianmichael

Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, O.C., M.Sc.
Prosperity Reinvented Global Consulting
46 North Prince Street
Second Floor, Suite 1
Lancaster, PA 17603 USA

Metta -- Loving Kindness

The Dharma path is a way of life, in which one strives to generate karuna (oceans of compassion) and metta (loving-kindness) for all life.

Although it is motivated by an altruistic desire to end suffering for all sentient beings, and arises as a result of becoming more mindful of our essential interconnectedness with all things, it is also a path that leads us to ultimate happiness ourselves.

There are times when it is certainly not easy to follow this path, particularly in the West. At times, even those we love most dearly will interpret our compassion and loving-kindness as "interfering" or "trying to be their teacher". Other times, we may be accused of "martyrdom", by those who cannot comprehend a level of consideration for others that is truly selfless, and trusts that we, ourselves, will be provided for and protected along the way.

True loving-kindness is effortless. It does not concern itself with wanting to be loved. It does not concern itself with the repercussions of sometimes demonstrating compassion in a way that challenges unhealthy or destructive behaviours or attitudes.

If there is a relationship that honestly matters to you, particularly if that relationship is facing challenges, try setting your needs and desires for fulfillment aside, and simply allow yourself to be love for that other person. Real loving-kindness and compassion want nothing except to be love itself. (Read that again. I did not say "except to be loved;" I said to be love itself).

Going through life desperately wanting love or validation is exhausting and not terribly useful. Your worth cannot ever be measured by opinions -- whether your own or others' -- because opinions change. Sabotaging present relationships, based on past experiences, is unproductive and meritless as well. In fact, expecting to "find love" in a relationship is one of the surest paths to suffering, because no relationship is able to provide you with love -- ever. Love is generated within. It is the expression of your true nature. Seeking it anywhere else will lead you to pain, suffering and disappointment.

From time to time, those we love may misunderstand us. Even more often than that, they will become frustrated with us, or upset. And let's not delude ourselves either... from time to time, we will misunderstand them, become frustrated by their behaviours, and become upset over one thing or another. All of this comes from our forgetting that nothing is ever as we imagine it to be. Our perception is the cause of our disappointments, our frustrations, our anger and our suffering.

Once, someone very close to me lashed out and said, "I don't need a teacher!" Immediately, I understood that this individual was perceiving my concern and my way of thinking and acting as an attempt to inflict my teaching upon them. I am a teacher, and have no desire or inclination to change that. Fundamentally, I believe that the best teachers are perpetual students, and since I am always learning, I naturally (and without thought) attempt to share those things I've learned. For 18 years, while living inside the monastery walls, this was not a problem. But outside the structure and culture of a Buddhist or Franciscan monastery, people are less mindful of the interconnectedness, and grapple all-out with a need to be "individual". So it is likely that my offering what I have learned outside the monastery walls is less useful, and even intrusive.

The point is that true loving-kindness and compassion is dynamic. It never has all the answers. There are no rules. It is fluid, and in the example above, put the feelings and opinions, even the delusion of individuality and "independence" over the desire to free that person from the self-inflicted suffering they might be creating by not letting others in.

Take a look at the relationships that matter in your life today. See if there might not be one or two things you can do, right now, to show greater compassion and loving-kindness for the other person. The impact of such seemingly small acts can be far-reaching, especially when we do them without concern for ourselves.

If you want to truly be happy, forgive yourself and others... be grateful and say thank-you often... and make an effort, particularly at times when you find yourself wanting to "fight back" or "be right", to show loving-kindness, understanding and patience with one another. Compassion, always and without fail, arises and increases in such times.

Namasté!

 

Founder and Spiritual Advisor of the Spiritus Project, and Director of the Society for Buddhist Contemplatives, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda has been leading dharma retreats, teaching, and counseling individuals interested in Buddhist contemplative spirituality since 1979. He is an ordained Buddhist monk, a Franciscan contemplative, and former Eastern Catholic priest and bishop. He holds a dual-doctorate in theological anthropology and Buddhist philosophy, a masters in clinical pastoral counseling and lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Success and emotional attachment

Success in business is neither magical or mystical. Success is the result of consistently applying a few proven and effective strategies on a daily basis to a carefully chosen venture. And that is what gets most network marketers and aspiring home-based business entrepreneurs into trouble... even the "heavy-hitters".

Ask any successful real estate investor the first law of creating wealth in real estate, and they will tell you, "Don't become emotionally attached to any property!" The moment you become emotionally attached to a property, your decision-making becomes clouded by those emotions, and your risk of losing money increases commensurately.

Both Eastern and Western philosophy and spirituality admonishes against attachments. Buddha Sakyamuni taught that attachment was the root cause of all suffering, and Jesus the Nazarene taught that true followers of his philosophy ought not worry about "burying the dead", but "leave all they own and follow".

It isn't the material possessions that cause the suffering, but the unyielding emotional attachment we place on them that causes trouble.

One friend of mine -- a guy who has been recognised the world over for his pioneering contributions to the network marketing industry -- got involved with a company some time ago, because he genuinely believed the three prominent owners, and the multi-billion dollar a year companies they represented, virtually assured the success of this new venture. All the red-flags were present from the onset:

• A company with an overpriced and extremely limited product range (two products)...
• A company employing one of the "binary-hybrid" compensation models (known and proven to be one of the most poorly designed compensation models in the industry, with no one but the company and a very small segment of the "top" people earning 97% of the income from sales generated)...
• A company whose corporate (executive management) was encouraging such unethical "deals" as offering "secret bonuses" to those who would move their groups over to simulate growth, and who were openly encouraging slick sales reps to "sell" positions for $20K, $30K, even $45K each (which is unquestionably unethical AND illegal in the United States and Canada)...
• A company with limited presence in the global market -- operating only in the United States and Canada...
• A company whose recent "convention highlights" include absolutely no "major announcements", enhancements to the business system, and offer nothing more than a five-minute "fluff" piece of "T&A", upbeat music and lots of money wasted on tuxes, black dresses and convention space.

Last month, that company, in which my friend and his son were "top producers" -- having generated more than $4 million in sales in the past ten months -- failed to pay him or his son, and dozens of their people, the commissions they were owed. That in turn caused my friend and his son to fail to keep their financial obligations to people like me, for services and training we provided their group.

I didn't hear a word from them for three weeks about the money they still owe me. But last week, my phone rang, and it was my friend, calling to pitch me on a new deal he was thinking about joining.

I knew that both my friend and his son, whom I have known since he was a teenager, desperately need to replace the income they've lost with their present company -- particularly since all the hype about a "revolutionary new nanotech product" recently released turned out to be nothing more than an overpriced knock-off of one of the great gel-nutriceutical products manufactured by the company whose (awful) compensation plan they already copied two years earlier. So much for breakthroughs, leadership and income potential.

But my friend is emotionally invested in this company. He's worried what will happen, when his downline realises that he and his son have been hiding the truth from them... that all of them were sold a "bill of goods" by their respective sponsors.

Now my friend is well aware of the fact that his downline are an exceptionally committed, success-oriented and personal-development focused group of people. And because of that, he knows that they could, in one week's time, move their entire teams into my primary business, where they could virtually ensure that every member of their team was earning a minimum of $4200 this month, while the producers earned incomes of $45K, $60K or more...

...And they could do all that while reducing the amount of money they are spending to "play the game" by 30% or more! In fact... every member of his team could STOP spending $165 to $235/month on overpriced autoship orders, and start a business that is positioned in a market segment in which there is no competition, for about $99/month... including all the websites, communications tools, marketing tools, software and other expenses needed to operate their business at maximum income potential.

But my friend will not tell his people that this option exists. He won't warn them that neither he nor his son were paid the money that was owed them. He won't tell them that they've all been taken advantage of. And so, eventually, their people will fail... their group will fall apart, and just as my friend has had to do at least four other times in his career... he will have to start over again.

"Oh, but my 'network' won't be interested in a personal development opportunity," he told me, as if he actually were inexperienced enough to believe that people get involved in a company because it's what they want to be doing! People get involved in network marketing companies for one reason -- to create an additional or replacement income. Period. My friend knows this. He's just worried that he's going to have to own up to having let a company take advantage of him, and so his emotional attachment (ego) is in the way of his making money.

He'll lose his home, cars and who knows what else this month, if he doesn't do something fast. But his emotional attachment are taking priority over his common sense. His son, who isn't making payments on his car (well, actually, it's not even his car, it's his father's car) will lose the car, and possibly their home as well. The son has dozens of "investors", who have been "taken" by being told to illegally invest in dozens or even HUNDREDS of positions, so that their team would APPEAR to be growing incredibly, are now faced with monthly autoships that they cannot afford to keep up.

The house of cards is about to fall... and yet, neither father nor son are willing to do the right thing, and save themselves and their teams from financial ruin.

I am not emotionally attached to any company. I am a business person. I invest time, money and effort into developing relationships -- not companies. In return, I am handsomely compensated for those efforts -- sometimes for years, other times for months. Occasionally, someone like my friends, will take advantage of my efforts, and will think they "got away" with not paying me. But the Law of Equivalent Exchange is always and everywhere in effect... they've already begun to lose much, much more than the money they failed to pay me.

If you are involved in a home business, you need to ask yourself if you are exercising sound business judgment, or allowing emotional attachments to cause you to suffer:

• If, after 90-days, your business is not paying you back a minimum of FIVE TIMES the amount of money you are investing in monthly operating expenses, autoship orders, website hosting, leads, and marketing costs... you are doing something wrong or in the wrong business.
• If, after 90-days, you have not been able to position yourself to maximise the profit potential of that business, without having to spend more than $25/week on your business to do so... you are doing something wrong, or in the wrong business.
• If your upline are still trying to convince you that "making lists", attending hotel meetings, or passing out expensive magazines, DVDs, or CDs is the way to succeed... or if they are trying to convince you that their viral-network of the week is the "answer" to your problems... you are in the wrong business.

Ask your upline for a simple, duplicable 30-day plan. You should be able to increase your income by a minimum of $900 this month, by finding no more than five serious marketing partners. Within four to six weeks, if your upline's strategy isn't one that can realistically put $2-$4K in your pocket -- without your having to spend more than $99 total (including your autoship, website, marketing expenses, and leads) -- then you need to find a different strategy or different company.

This is a business, folks... Don't let people play with your emotions! Don't fall for the hype and nonsense that has become popular among the inexperienced, which tries to convince folks that instead of selling products to the masses, they should focus on a business that sells $500 to $4000 "vapourware" (imaginary product) at a higher commission. Ask yourself, would you rather sell one out of every 700 people that come along, and know that what you are selling is without value or merit... or would you like to be like Ray Kroc, whose McDonalds' franchise sells billions of burgers to the masses?

In the time that it took to write this article, I sponsored two people in the business... how about you?

Live with passion --

Dr. G

Dr. Salvato can be reached at: successcoach@prosperityreinvented.com 
Find out more about his business opportunity by visiting:
http://prosperityreinvented.com/invitation

.........................................................................................................
For more than 27 years, pioneer in the field of entrepreneurism and emerging
Internet marketing technologies, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, has focused on the
fundamentals of personal and business development, peak performance, and
wealthbuilding in the postmodern marketplace. Recognised as an innovator, and
called the "new mentor to the millionaires", Gianmichael has worked with such
notable mentors as Jim Rohn, Lawrence Thompson, Anthony Robbins, Louise L. Hay,
Dr. Kennedy Shultz and Dr. Jose Silva.

A noted Buddhist contemplative and teacher, Dr. Salvato has leveraged his achievements,
as consistently earning within the top-five percent of Network Marketing professionals
worldwide, using that income to fund programs for the homeless, the hungry, sick and
marginalised, as well as providing education and support to underprivileged communities
for more than 20 years.

Creator of the breakthrough approach Networking Reinvented® and developer of the
Prosperity Reinvented® workshop series, and co-founder of the Networking Reinvented®
Global Success Team, Gianmichael has shared his message with 3,400 audiences and more
than a million people. He continues to conduct seminars, dharma workshops and business
events throughout North and South America, the European Union and the Pac Rim, and resides
with his companion and partner, in a quiet, understated historic home in Downtown Lancaster,
Pennsylvania -- the oldest inland city in the United States.

.........................................................................................................

Copyright ©2008, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.
.........................................................................................................

Silent Illumination... a simple meditative practice

Most meditation practice, whether secular or spiritual, Buddhist, Catholic, New Age or from another path, consists of placing one's concentration on a single point -- the breath, the light of a candle, an icon or religious image. The objective of such practices is to achieve a heightened awareness and understanding, or to gain insight and illumination. The Sanskrit word for this state is samadhi.

This is probably the most familiar form of meditation, even among Buddhists, particularly in some of the more ritual paths. This type of meditation produces the kinds of spiritual insights that we often label as "mysticism", and includes the beautiful writings of Teresa of Avila, Anthony de Mello, Maharaji Neem Karoli Baba, Therese Lisieux, John of the Cross, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. One could easily find Tibetan Buddhists, Thai and Southeast Asian Buddhists, Hindu sadhus and teachers of the many yogic schools, who likewise practice this form of meditation.

There is, however, another path... One which we find in the writings of the ancient Zen masters, in the teachings of Sensei Morehei Uyeshiba, the writings of Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, Henri Nouwen and the Mahatma Gandhi. It is the path of the solitary Benedictine monk, living in a Camaldolese abbey, and the Zen Buddhist contemplative, living in the American heartland. It is called silent illumination.

Silent illumination draws on the understanding that there is "nothing to attain", and therefore, no real need to engage the mind, in the "study" of Dharma. It is a path of practice, in which we recognise that just because a window is obscured by years of accumulated dust and particulate obstruction, so that it appears dark outside, does not mean the sun is not shining brightly.

The meditative practice of silent contemplation recognises that our simple remembrance of the ever present illumination is enough to break through the layers of dust, so that radiant and clear light emerges.

It is a practice the moves us ever closer toward a full mindfulness of non-duality, and therefore, need not focus on any one thing, since all things are at once present and absent in the Silence.

In the late thirteenth century, Zen Master Muso noted that people practicing this form of Zen "carry out their ordinary tasks and activities in the midst of meditation and carry out meditation in the midst of ordinary tasks and activities. There is no disparity between meditation and activity."

People often ask how they can learn to integrate the Dharma and meditation more fully into their daily lives, without distraction. I try to explain to them that the concept of there being activities that occur "outside the practice" is the only distraction they must overcome. Once we learn to stop perceiving a difference between our meditative work or spiritual work and "other ordinary activities", then nothing can distract from the practice of the Dharma.

In many of the ancient schools of Buddhism, monks meditated and studied twenty-four hours a day. Similarly, in the Christian monastic orders, particularly such contemplative orders as the Benedictines, Camaldolese and Trappists, we find similar monastic rhythms of silent meditation, but interspersed with periods of communal prayer.

While the intention of these schools is to foster a greater and more expedient spiritual development for the monks themselves, what has happened historically is that many times, these orders attracted individuals who became monks in order to avoid the burden of having to live in the secular world. Their fear of "the real world" became their attachment, and distracted them from their true spiritual practice.

The Great Teacher admonished his disciples, "Love one another." That was really quite simple, and yet one cannot help but wonder how such a simple and profound teaching became so distorted, as to make the study of discipleship into such an ordeal! Instead of focusing on the simple path, we have courses on Patristics, Christology, Hermeneutics, Exegetics, Theology, and "History". Very little of any of these subjects, most of which I spent the greater portion of ten years of my own academic life studying, does anything to cultivate a greater awareness or practice of love.

Similarly, in the Great Lotus Assembly, Buddha Sakyamuni demonstrated that the Dharma was beyond the limitations of words, and that there was nothing to attain; and yet we have Buddhist monasteries today, which require ten to fifteen years or more of monastic formation, studying and memorising texts, engaging in discourse and debate. Again, I spend more than ten years of my early formation with such studies, but did not learn to cultivate compassion until I simply took the time to sit; where, in a moment of awareness without discrimination, great wisdom appears.

Suddenly, it made sense that Buddha and Christ, God or Goddess, are simply temporary names for what cannot be seen when we look... for what can not be heard when we listen... for what cannot be felt when we grasp.

In the fullness of Silence, we experience the single source of all awareness. Some call this single source, "God" or "Goddess", some find it in their saviours and enlightened masters; for some it is the Christ, while others call it Buddhafield. As the Zen scripture on Infinite Light says, "Rivers, lakes, birds, trees, and forests all invoke Buddha, Truth, and Communion."

It is a non-discursive path, neither reached by analysis or by the supression of reasoning, but by simply sitting, and realising there is nothing to attain, nothing for which to grasp.

Once one understands the Four Noble Truths, and engages the Eightfold Path, there are no more lessons to be learned intellectually; just as the seed of the lotus, once rooted and provided with the conditions required for growth, need not "learn" how to become a lotus blossom, and will continue to unfold to completion over time.

By stilling our minds, and realising that nothing we perceive is as it seems, we dissolve the delusion in which we perceive there being a division between the "self" and the vastness around us. Our "hold" on this imaginary "self" softens, and as the palms open, so too does the heart... and with the heart, the eyes are freed of the dust of the kalpas, which has so long obscured our vision.

-- from the Discourse on Meditation, given by Gurudas Sunyatananda at the General Assembly of the Monastic Order of Compassion (October 2008)

 

Internationally respected, life coach and teacher, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, O.C., M.Sc.) is a Buddhist and Franciscan contemplative, and author of the popular book, "The Dharma of Compassion - One Monk's Reflections on the Teachings of the Enlightened and Anointed Ones". He is best known for his on-going contributions to helping people unlock the power of their own minds -- teaching them how to apply that power to create strong, loving relationships, make more money, and live more meaningful, prosperous, health and satisfying lives.

You can join his primary social network and interact with him directly by visiting:
http://www.6dgr.com/index.php?mode=join&refs_id=8412  or by emailing him at: successcoach@prosperityreinvented.com

Copyright ©2008, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Building a Social Network for Success...

One of the things I recall my mentor, Jim Rohn, telling us years ago was that good people are found, not changed. He told us about a newspaper advertisement, which read:

"We don't teach our people to be nice. We hire nice people."

Wow! What a clever shortcut!

Social Networking represents that same kind of shortcut for you and me.

There are hundreds of thousands of "nice people" -- serious, aspiring entrepreneurs, business executives, stay-at-home-moms, retired individuals and students out there, using such successful social networks as MySpace, FaceBook and Multiply. Instead of viewing these folks as your "competition" -- a mediocre view, at best -- see them as your peers.

Why not invite those who are out there, making an effort to better themselves, to become part of your free social network for entrepreneurs and aspiring wealthbuilders?

Jim Rohn also reminded us frequently, "If you share a good idea long enough, it will eventually fall on good people."

I know that there are people out there, right now, who could use the support, training and encouragement I offer my downline organisation... but they may be involved in a different company or business. So what?

The Law of Equivalent Exchange says that in order to receive something of value, something of equal or greater value must be "given up". That's why I have never had to "ask" anyone to join my business... because I am willing to help folks with whatever it is they are doing, and that will always attract those who are actively looking for an opportunity to come ask me about our business. The other folks... well, if they are happy with their companies, and making money, ought to get the same kind of encouragement and support I give my folks. And so I do!

Leadership is the challenge to become something more than average.

Invite five to ten people you know to become part of your "success network" -- without the expectation of them joining your company, or you joining theirs. Just find ten people you'd like to network with, and "connect".

In fact, because I believe that real leadership says, "Let's do it!" rather than "Go do it...", I am going to extend that invitation to everyone who reads this bulletin as well... and will cross-post it on my blogs elsewhere.

...so if you're reading this, and would like to network with me, please accept my invitation to join our free social network for entrepreneurs (there are actually two of them we're using).

For the referral link, email me directly at:
successcoach@prosperityreinvented.com  or visit:
http://networkingreinvented.com/salvato

-- Gianmichael

Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, M.Sc., P.A.
Prosperity Reinvented®

Ask the Monk® - Questioning the Death Penalty

I've chosen this week to paraphrase a lengthy email I received, in reaction to my response to a question in which I was recently asked what I thought of the death penalty. Because the email was coloured with lots of derogatory words, and couched in the whole "ask Jesus to forgive you, and accept him as your personal saviour..." routine, I thought it best to simply say that like most of those who seem incapable of recognising how potentially dangerous having someone as inept as Sarah Palin in office would be, this person was "morally outraged" that I would have no problem burning the flag, and that I oppose the death penalty.

My favourite line in the email, however, said: "I [sic] bet if someone you loved was raped and beaten you'd change your tune..."

Well, Virginia, not only is there no Santa Claus (or adequate grammar instruction, apparently), but you see, someone I love was raped and brutally beaten, with a loaded gun put to their head, and the trigger pulled. (It fortunately misfired.) It happened on the 10th of May, in 1983. And the "loved one" who was the victim was me.

And I still oppose the death penalty.

While there are a number of reasons for finding murder an unacceptable solution to heinous crimes, the most fundamental reason I am compelled to work for the abolition of such barbarism is because it deprives another human being of the possibility for self-redemption.

Each of us, according to our circumstances, environment and opportunities, can better ourselves, or become worse. Each of us has made, and will likely continue to make mistakes and errors in judgment... some worse than others.

Make no mistake about it: I consider such things as drunk driving, murder, rape, torture, reckless endangerment, terrorism and other so-called capital offenses to be unacceptable, horrific and the worst kinds of crimes. The crimes themselves are evil. And I am in favour of bringing criminals to justice.

But you see, I perceive a remarkable difference between seeing a criminal act as being "evil" or "horrific", and labelling a person as "evil" or "horrific". I believe that the crimes of the Bush Cabal ought to result in an international tribunal trying King Duhhbya the Illiterate and his band of terrorists. And I believe they ought to be punished for their crimes, particularly the loss of lives on September 11th and in their unprovoked war that followed. But as intrinsically evil as I believe their actions were, I do not believe it is possible to consider Duhhbya the Inept as being evil himself. He is a person, and I don't believe a person is capable of "being" evil. Their actions can fail to reflect the inherent goodness of all life.

When a bear attacks a tourist, we do not consider the bear to be evil. Neither should we, in my opinion, treat human beings any less.

Unfortunately, there are people who are not at all concerned about the harm they inflict on others. These individuals accumulate massive amounts of negative karma, and bring suffering upon themselves in this and many future lives. But we must guard ourselves against accumulating even greater karmic consequences ourselves, by calling for a violent response to the violence of another.

I have vowed my life to protect all beings from suffering, so far as I am possible, and to alleviate the suffering of others, whenever and wherever I can.

Therefore, it is impossible for me to rationally justify something as awful as the death penalty.

Namasté!

 

Internationally respected, life coach and teacher, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, O.C., M.Sc.) is a Buddhist and Franciscan contemplative, and author of the popular book, "The Dharma of Compassion - One Monk's Reflections on the Teachings of the Enlightened and Anointed Ones". He is best known for his on-going contributions to helping people unlock the power of their own minds -- teaching them how to apply that power to create strong, loving relationships, make more money, and live more meaningful, prosperous, health and satisfying lives.

You can join his primary social network and interact with him directly by visiting:
http://www.6dgr.com/index.php?mode=join&refs_id=8412  or by emailing him at: successcoach@prosperityreinvented.com

Copyright ©2008, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Reflections on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi

This past weekend, as the Contemplative Order of Compassion wrapped-up its General Assembly -- an annual meeting of the entire community to discuss matters of the Order, plan for the coming year, and spend time in fellowship and service to one another -- we celebrated the patronal feast of Francis of Assisi, the reluctant saint. The life of Francis was one in which we find a poignant embodiment of the path taught by the Great Rabbi Yeshua the Nazarene, whom Francis revered as his saviour.

There are, as often happens in the tales of the saints, fanciful explanations of how Francis, enrapt in prayer one morning, received the mythical wounds of the crucified Christ upon his hands, feet, forehead and side. Scholars, including Franciscan scholars, now recognise that it is much more likely that Francis bore the wounds and open sores of leprosy, after spending decades caring for and serving the outcast lepers throughout the Umbrian countryside. He ate and drank from the same bowls as those he served, unafraid of disease, because his heart was near bursting with genuine love and compassion.

Francis, I believe, understood that the mythology and superstition, ritual and refinements of the institutional church were in contrast to the real message... that what the ancients called "God" was, as their own scriptures proclaimed, "Love". And so Francis became the incarnation of that "divine love", and made it visible to all, just as his Beloved Yeshua did.

Now I have no reason not to think that Francis, like most Catholics, actually imagined that the fables of the Christian and Hebrew Bibles were all true and literal accounts. But even with that errant perspective, something deeper about the texts resonated with Francis, and he "got it".

In the gospel attributed to Mark, Rav Yeshua (Jesus) is speaking to his disciples, and says, "To you has been given the secret of the Divine Realm, but for those outside, everything comes in parables." The account goes on to say that although Jesus continued to preach in parables, he would explain those parables in private to his closest disciples. (cf: Mark 4:11-34)

We know that Francis often did the same thing with the friars and sisters.

This tradition of private teaching extends back more than five centuries before the time of Jesus, and is actually mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya, where we read: "Such talk on the dharma is not given to those clothed in white (lay people). Such talk on the dharma is only given to those who have gone forth (into monastic vows)." (Majjhima Nikaya 143.15)

It wasn't that these great teachers wished to keep the truth from the laity or the uninitiated, but rather that they wanted to ensure that more mystical teachings were properly understood, and so reserved them for those with whom a stronger disciple-teacher bond had been established, and with whom some deeper and more intimate background teaching was already foundationally laid.

This weekend, our community visited many of these same issues -- discussing how best to proceed in sharing the Dharma of Compassion with an ever widening audience, while ensuring that the teaching would always be clearly conveyed.

There were no easy answers at times.

Similarly, we discussed the emotionally-charged question of the role of tradition, ritual, religious habit/robes and traditional titles. There were, once again, no easy answers; as I recognised that wearing the traditional Franciscan habit or Tibetan monk's robes are a public witness to the way of life a monk or nun willingly takes on for life. However, the Franciscan habit was, in Francis' own time, simply the clothing of the poor. And the original monastic robes of the Buddhist monks were made from cloth given to them, and coloured by hand, often piece-meal patchwork.

Unfortunately, as both orders progressed further from their sources, the robes were refined, and so today, a Franciscan habit can cost $200 to $250, while a Buddhist monk's robes can likewise cost $150-$200 as well. It is my belief that such money could be more appropriately spent feeding the hungry.

I still own one somewhat tattered Franciscan habit, one white "universal" monk's robe, and the outer robe from my Buddhist ordination (having recently gifted the saffron to a young man being ordained in New York).

But today, the simple clothes of the poor are denim, t-shirts and jeans, sweat shirts. And as for our public witness, what need is there for us to "show" that we are monastics, if it is not evident in our lives themselves?

Francis of Assisi didn't ask a leper if he or she were Catholic, before feeding them, or redressing their wounds. It didn't matter.

When Mother Teresa of Calcutta opened her first hospice and hospital, in an abandoned Hindu temple, she didn't attempt to convert the Hindu or Muslim, Sikh or Jain to become Catholic... she said that her hope was to inspire the Hindu to become the best Hindu they could be... the Muslim to become the most reverent Muslim... and the Sikh or Jain to become more devout and faithful to their paths.

I don't believe Jesus or Buddha were interested in creating converts to a religion either. In fact, I don't believe either one would be particularly happy to see that their teachings have been distorted and manipulated by some to become "religions" at all.

In the end, the Order decided that we would continue to seek grant funding to establish a small monastic house, where we could care for the sick and the elderly, and live as a grassroots community, dedicated to the teachings of the anointed and enlightened ones... while working to establish a greater interspiritual dialogue between people and cultures.

I lost the "battle" over my desire to dispense with the titles of "Venerable Lama" and "Rinpoche", but the compromise was for the Sangha to try to become more comfortable with permitting me to simply introduce myself without titles, if I wish. (So I formally request that everyone reading our blogs simply consider me your brother, and since brothers are not referred to with honourific titles, you should feel comfortable simply addressing me by my Buddhist or Franciscan monastic names (Gurudas Sunyatananda or Francis-Maria) or even by my secular (former religious) name (Gianmichael). In fact, you can even refer to me the same way that many of the closest friends have taken to doing, which is to simply call me "G" (so that it works for both the secular, religious and Buddhist names).

The most important thing that was discussed and unanimously agreed upon this week was the decision to continue our work to alleviate suffering, true to our monastic vows, and to continue permitting me to teach publicly.

It was, on many levels, a very emotional, at times very painful, and certainly exhausting week, for reasons that I am not at liberty to share at this time, or in this forum. But it was a weekend filled with love, fond memories and hope for a day when we can return to our contemplative roots, in the mountains of the Tennessee Cumberlands.

Namasté!

G

 

Internationally respected, life coach and teacher, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, O.C., M.Sc.) is a Buddhist and Franciscan contemplative, and author of the popular book, "The Dharma of Compassion - One Monk's Reflections on the Teachings of the Enlightened and Anointed Ones". He is best known for his on-going contributions to helping people unlock the power of their own minds -- teaching them how to apply that power to create strong, loving relationships, make more money, and live more meaningful, prosperous, health and satisfying lives.

You can join his primary social network and interact with him directly by visiting:
http://www.6dgr.com/index.php?mode=join&refs_id=8412  or by emailing him at: successcoach@prosperityreinvented.com

Copyright ©2008, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

A Brief Rule of Life

The following Brief Rule of Life was reconfirmed as adopted by the Monastic Order of the Eightfold Path, and the Spiritus Project Intentional Community (collectively known as the Contemplative Order of Compassion, at the commencement of the General Assembly of the Sangha, 2nd October 2008.

The monks and lay members of our Order live according to a simple rule of life, adapted from the Brief Rule of St. Romuald of Camaldoli. Unlike many religious orders, we mindfully choose not to bog ourselves down with extensive documents, when the Noble Eightfold Path, the Sutras, our Charter and the Brief Rule make it clear and simple, how we are to live:

    THE BRIEF RULE

    Sit in your cell as in paradise;
    put the whole world behind you and forget it;
    like a skilled angler on the lookout for a catch
    keep a careful eye on your thoughts.

    The path you follow is the Dharma of Compassion --
    never abandon that path.

    If you've come with a novice's enthusiasm and can't
    accomplish what you want, take every chance you can find
    to chant the sacred Mantra of Chenrezi:
    OM MANI PADME HUM
    in your heart; if your mind wanders as you chant
    don't give up but hurry back and try again.

    Above all realise that above all else, you are
    in the presence of Divine Perfection;
    you hold your heart there in wonder
    as if before your sovereign.

    You are that Sovereign, for it is written,
    "The sovereign domain of the Enlightened One
    is within you."

    Empty yourself completely;
    sit waiting, content with the gift of Silence,
    like a little chick tasting and eating nothing
    but what its mother brings.

    With all your heart,
    as the sun rises and sets each day:
    Vow to do all you can to end the suffering of all beings;
    Vow to uproot endless blind passions and attachments;
    Vow to penetrate the Dharma Gates beyond measure;
    Vow to realise your birthright as an Awakened and Anointed One
    for the good of all sentient beings, and as a caretaker of all Creation.

 

Internationally respected, life coach and teacher, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, O.C., M.Sc.) is a Buddhist and Franciscan contemplative, and author of the popular book, "The Dharma of Compassion - One Monk's Reflections on the Teachings of the Enlightened and Anointed Ones". He is best known for his on-going contributions to helping people unlock the power of their own minds -- teaching them how to apply that power to create strong, loving relationships, make more money, and live more meaningful, prosperous, health and satisfying lives.

Copyright ©2008, Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda, O.C. (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato). All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Don't Quit Your Company... (Part One)

Most reasonable people agree that network marketing just makes sense. The opportunity to build a residual income off the sales made by an entire team, rather than having to rely exclusively on your own efforts, is certain to be a better strategy for the creation of wealth. Right?

So why is it that so few people are actually making money in network marketing?

I believe there are several key reasons, and that was the reason I developed the Networking Reinvented® approach and training system -- as a means of helping others -- not just my own team, but folks from a variety of different companies -- to finally achieve success.

I'll admit that originally, I considered making my system exclusive. But it seemed to me that the industry was so severely damaged by clueless "heavy-hitters", "top producers" and upline "leaders", that the only way I could help my own team achieve lasting success was by helping to educate, reform and revitalise the entire industry. And so the Networking Reinvented® approach became a grassroots effort, which was dedicated to helping every entrepreneur that wanted it to succeed.

I've been quoted in dozens of publications and blogs as having stated, "Network Marketing is dead!" And that is a statement I still stand behind. But I do believe that the industry can be "reinvented", taking the best of the best, and discarding those ideas, approaches and practices that either don't work, or continue to harm the integrity and credibility of the industry.

Over the past eighteen of the almost twenty-eight years I have been involved as a Network Marketing professional, and as someone who achieved the distinction of being among the top five-percent of income earners in that field, I have been hired as a consultant to eight of the top -producing  companies in the industry, to advise them on ways in which to increase their marketshare, reduce their recidivism (drop-out rate), and remain competitive in the marketplace. Unfortunately, only two of the eight companies actually put those recommendations to work. Three of the remaining six actually went out of business, for all the reasons I stated; and another one of those companies is now facing a significant "crunch" in their growth and profit.

So let's look at some of the key factors affecting the Network Marketing industry today, and then focus on ways to turn things around for the individual entrepreneur.

MARKET CHANGES

The Internet changed our world. Not only were our day-to-day lives changed by the digital age, but entire industries were impacted by this new access to information as well.

In the 1980s, I was part of the first company to introduce herbal nutrition to the West, and the very first nutrition company to import herbal ingredients from Japan, China and South America. Our company went on to become a multi-billion dollar producer, and earned me a high six-figure income my very first year in the business.

Our success was simple. We introduced people through video cassettes, audio tapes, and later became the first company in the world to do television infomercials for our opportunity (on the original USA Network). We told people about the results we experienced on the products, and the results others experienced; invited them to a Business Opportunity Meeting at our homes or a local hotel; oh, yeah... and we wore the now iconic white lapel buttons, that said, "Lose Weight Now, Ask Me How".

Our leaders told us to distribute flyers, make a list of everyone we know, apply the "three-foot rule", always have inventory on-hand, and get to every corporate event. And we did just that, because it worked! In twelve months, I had a little over 7,000 members in my group, in several countries, and grew that team to several hundred thousand members worldwide, when I left that company in 1990.

Amazingly, if you look around the industry today, you'll find that the vast majority of "heavy-hitters" and "big earners" in the industry are still recommending the same approach. Oh sure, there are now self-replicating websites, which we didn't have, and there are weekly telephone recruiting calls, which we didn't have back then, but the general approach is still the same: making lists, bugging the people you know to get them to a call or hotel meeting, trying to sell the product to folks, handing out samples, DVDs or magazines... business as usual.

But this isn't 1990.

Many of us are familiar with three major health breakthroughs of the past decade: proanthocyanidins (grape seed extract); super-antioxidant juice drinks; and gel nutriceuticals. There can be no question that these three advancements in nutritional science, along with more recent advancements in understanding the role of glutathione, SOD and catalyst in the body, have the greatest potential for people to regain the health that is so lacking in our society as a whole. And the fact that most of us are familiar with at least two or three out of the above four breakthroughs can be attributed wholly to one source: NETWORK MARKETERS.

It was through the effort of persistent and dedicated Network Marketing professionals, and leading-edge manufacturers, such as Herbalife, Melaleuca, ForMor, 4Life, Agel Enterprises, Max International, MonaVie, Xango and Via Viente, that the global public began becoming aware of the health benefits from such ingredients as noni, acai berry, mangosteen, collostrum and glutathione. And initially, there was some decent money to be made by introducing these products to the marketplace.

But let's face it... the giant manufacturers... the ones who market their products in the healthfood stores, grocery chains and even online, have billions of dollars that most MLM companies lack. And when a product like these succeeds, and demand reaches a critical mass level, those manufacturers immediately create products with the same or higher potency ingredients, at prices that usually fall 60% to 90% lower than the MLM companies are selling them.

We've seen this happen with the super-antioxidant juice drinks. We've seen it happen with meal replacement drinks. We've seen it happen with every herbal supplement imaginable. And lately, we've seen it happen with gel nutriceuticals too. And that means one thing... loss of marketshare for millions of hardworking Network Marketers!

That's why I refuse to become involved with health and nutrition companies as a business. Now, understand this... if more of those companies would permit people like me to purchase the products I use and like occasionally, when I need them or want them, and without minimum monthly orders, inflated shipping and "handling" charges, and at prices that were more reasonable, I would be their loyal and dedicated customer. But like most educated consumers, I won't pay $60-$80 for a supplement I can get elsewhere for $29... I won't pay $40 for a juice drink that my local grocery store sells (in higher potency) for $15... and I won't consider businesses with such questionable practices to be sound long-term business investments... because they are not.

COMPENSATION PLANS

If you look at the historical progression and evolution of the Network Marketing industry, you'll find that the companies that have achieved the greatest long-term success -- that is, sustainable global growth for ten years or more -- have been companies whose compensation plans most closely resemble the almost identical structure employed by the insurance industry -- Unilevel Plans.

Ask any financial analyst to examine compensation plans in the Network Marketing industry today, and they'll almost universally warn against becoming involved in plans that were designed to cause distributors or "independent business owners" to "miss-out"... especially the "binary", "binary-hybrid" and "one/two-up" plans.

And don't be deceived by the "diversion tactic" by which a company promises "matching bonuses", because that is simply a mechanism by which they distract your attention from the unimaginable absurdity of not paying you on your "stronger leg", and requiring you to "balance" those legs in order to get paid.

There are only TWO groups of people making long-term money in those plans:  the companies themselves, and the "heavy-hitters", who jump from company to company, moving their entire teams with them.

Recently, I discovered how a few of those most successful binary companies do the numbers they do, and attract heavy-hitters, who should be smart enough to realise what a risky situation a binary-plan represents. Two of the companies listed above asked me to come on-board to help grow their "top teams" business -- both of which had become a little "stagnant". I never agree to move my team from one company to another, and in 27.5 years, have never done so even once. But both of these companies arranged for me to have a "special call" with their top (company-sponsored) distributor.

On each call, I was told that they would put a minimum of $300,000 over a three month period of time, into my "strong leg" (the one I don't get paid on), in order to allow me to put "all my people" into the weaker leg, and earn on them. The idea was that I could then claim a HUGE first month income with them. And I recognised what they were doing instantly.

In fact, in the most recent situation, I knew that the "diamond leader" of their team, who was supposed to be earning $40K+ each month, wasn't earning close to that amount anymore... and he proved that to me, when he failed to be able to keep his pawltry obligation to pay just $1400/month in licensing and training fees, for which he was obligated, based on the marketing system self-replicating websites, multimedia portal and conferencing system we put into place for his people. Of course, he was already lying to his team, telling them he was earning $60K or more each month. But his entire team consisted largely of people he moved over from one of two previous failed MLM companies with which he was involved.

Another team created "superstars" out of virtual unknowns, when the internationally recognised "sponsor" moved his team from his previous business, and placed just enough folks under his buddy, to create a "stir".

And so it goes in company-after-company... making these binary deals look like they are thriving, but never really letting you see how relatively few people are ever earning more than a couple hundred dollars a month on their programs.

START-UP COSTS & AUTOSHIPS

The final two issues that will kill the long-term growth of any company in the new millennium are initial start-up costs and on-going qualications (or autoships).

The average start-up cost in the Network Marketing industry today is $850, which is obscene. Oh sure, the companies will tell you that "if you bought a McDonalds® franchise, you would pay millions", but the McDonalds® franchise also includes a 50+ year brand recognition, an existing demand for the product, and a proven performance record of similar restaurants in that particular geographical area. So the comparison isn't even germane to the discussion.

I wouldn't even recommend a company with anything more than a $200 start-up cost ever, and even then, only seldom.

And if a company requires a minimum monthly purchase, in order to qualify for commissions, then that minimum monthly volume, combined with the cost of their self-replicating company website, training calls, and access to the back-office portal must be $100 or less, or they are ripping you off. Period.

A FINAL WARNING...

The criteria above can be applied to any legitimate business opportunity, but there is one other precaution that must be taken.

Such programs as "safelists", "downline builders", "opt-in list builders", "link exchanges" and so forth, must never be considered to be "business opportunities". These programs may offer affiliate or referral commissions, and are very useful, within certain guidelines, as means of growing your contact lists. But the income from their programs ought to be considered as part of your on-going advertising revenue. None of these programs has withstood the test of time, and generally last 6-12 months or less. So understand their limitations, and use them with care.

REINVENTING THE INDUSTRY...
A BREAKTHROUGH APPROACH

Alright... enough looking at why the industry doesn't work well today, and why the typical marketing companies out there suffer from the increased competition, better pricing, and poor compensation plan offerings.

In life, my mentor taught me that we have to decide whether we want to be part of the problem or part of the solution... so what do we have to do to become part of the solution?

We have to first of all recognise the definition of stupidity is continuing to do the same things, and expecting different results!

If you are not earning the kind of money you were "promised" or "imagined" possible in your business, then you cannot continue to do the same thing, and expect to succeed.

BUT YOU SHOULD NOT QUIT...

Don't be so ready to jump ship... at least not until you've given serious and deliberate consideration to ways in which you might be able to increase your business, using the ideas I share with you! And that is especially true if you genuinely like the products your company sells. If that is the case, I can personally guarantee that if you use these ideas, you will, at the very least, always be able to afford to buy the monthly minimum purchase required, so that you're getting those products for free.

(If anyone is in that situation, there is a simple formula that can be applied to determine what you need to do to accomplish that. Just drop me an email at: successcoach@prosperityreinvented.com and I will walk you through the process.)

Succeeding doesn't necessarily mean that you have to quit the company you are with, and more times than not, you CAN succeed -- even if you made the decision to work with one of those binary or binary-hybrid deals. You just have to learn to stop doing what doesn't work, and begin taking a new approach.

NETWORKING REINVENTED® -- A BUSINESS OF RELATIONSHIPS

Network Marketing, at its best, is a business of relationships. That is why, one of the first things I recommend for every aspiring entrepreneur to do is to do a little "due diligence" and discover what works and doesn't work. And I always recommend that they do that from a third-party perspective.

I always recommend that they begin by reading a book that one of our colleagues wrote -- a colleague who is not involved in my business -- so they can be sure of the quality of information, and the lack of bias. When they read this free eBook, they'll find out why no one seems to care about their business opportunity... why "word of mouth" advertising is a myth... and why no matter how hard they push themselves, or how "motivated" they become, they still find themselves no further than they were one year ago.

And yes, I recommend that you take the time to read it too!
http://teamvision.the7greatliesofnetworkmarketing.com

SOCIAL NETWORKING... THE OPPORTUNITY MEETING OF THE FUTURE

Over the past several years, websites such as MySpace and FaceBook have grown to more than two million members. People are learning how to "social network" and are having a great time doing so! And there are some savvy entrepreneurs who realise there is a great opportunity to build their business on these social networks... but 98% of them are doing it ALL WRONG.

And so you'll find folks joining FaceBook, and every other day, they start a new "group" and invite everyone under the sun to join their group, from which they promote their program, add daily links to everything imaginable, and at the end of the week, have no new enrollments.

There are two social networks that I encourage everyone to join, and once you've joined them, to please consider adding me as a contact and colleague.

The first one is a site that is doing so well, FaceBook and MySpace have banned and continue to censor articles and posts that mention it. You can check it out, and sign-up for free at: http://join.zenzuu.com/prosperityreinvented

The second is a more professionally-oriented site, which continues to impress me every day. To join there, just go to:
http://www.6dgr.com/index.php?mode=join&refs_id=8412
(If asked who referred you, type in my username: networkingreinvented)

Both of these social networks are places in which you will immediately be able to add hundreds of people to your "circle of influence", and start meeting people with common interests, goals and business ambitions.

It's also a place where real leaders in the industry come to share their training ideas, build relationships and stay in touch with other leaders in the business.

And for me, it's a convenient place for me to be able to make myself available to help folks from other businesses to really succeed at whatever it is they're doing.

Now I know that a few of my colleagues are freaking out right now, because they see people like me, Brian Tracy, Robert Kiyosaki and other big names in the industry, plugging into these sites, and frankly exposing the reasons why some of those upline leaders don't WANT you to succeed. But more and more of them are warming up to the idea, because they realise that while someone like me will never join their nutrition company or binary program deal, I can still help their people achieve some level of success... and these guys know I'm "for real", when I say that the only way I can make this a better industry for me and my team is by making it a better industry all around.

In our next blog, we're going to talk about two of the most misunderstood ideas in Network Marketing...

"Always be Selling" and "F.O.C.U.S."

Stay tuned!

-- Dr. G

P.S. -- Don't forget to get your free copy of that eBook, by clicking here.

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For more than 27 years, pioneer in the field of entrepreneurism and emerging Internet marketing technologies, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, has focused on the fundamentals of personal and business development, peak performance, and wealthbuilding in the postmodern marketplace. Recognised as an innovator, and called the "new mentor to the millionaires", Gianmichael has worked with such notable mentors as Jim Rohn, Lawrence Thompson, Anthony Robbins, Louise L. Hay, Dr. Kennedy Shultz and Dr. Jose Silva.

A noted Buddhist contemplative and teacher, Dr. Salvato has leveraged his achievements, as consistently earning within the top-five percent of Network Marketing professionals worldwide, using that income to fund programs for the homeless, the hungry, sick and marginalised, as well as providing education and support to underprivileged communities for more than 20 years.

Creator of the breakthrough approach Networking Reinvented® and developer of the Prosperity Reinvented® workshop series, and co-founder of the Networking Reinvented® Success Team, Gianmichael has shared his message with 3,400 audiences and more than a million people. He continues to conduct seminars, dharma workshops and business events throughout North and South America, the European Union and the Pac Rim, and resides with his companion and partner, in a quiet, understated historic home in Downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania -- the oldest inland city in the United States.

Copyright ©2008, Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato, All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.
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Dr. Salvato can be reached at: successcoach@prosperityreinvented.com 
Find out more about his business opportunity by visiting:
http://prosperityreinvented.com/invitation
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