‘For some people, the enhanced focus and creativity that often comes from training the mind through meditation might translate into Getting Shit Done. For others, greater intimacy with their bodies and the inner workings of their minds might result in Getting Less Shit Done as they reconsider what is most important in their lives… Using meditation as a productivity tool is like using your car for a greenhouse. It’s not that your car wouldn’t be a good greenhouse; it very well might… [But] your car is good for a lot of things, including driving to the market on the odd chance that your own garden fails.’
I screen-shotted this quote from one of those newspaper articles about the value of mindfulness, and I find it helps me to remember that, whatever people might do to sell meditation (and I do it myself in the marketplace these days), really it is beyond any of that. If you want a more in-depth version of this thought, and the difference between zazen and shuzen, perhaps you should join my class tonight!
Shundo David Haye 