Is Spiritual Computing The Next Level of Evolution
October 31, 2007
This is a Google TechTalk, given by Craig Warren Smith, a former Harvard (Kennedy School) professor, a founder of the global movement to close the Digital Divide on the 28th of September 2006. In the mid-1990s as a consultant to Bill Gates, Craig led a strategic planning process that helped Microsoft and its founder find the distinct role of philanthropy in its corporate culture, the effect of which also shaped the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In this talk at Google Craig brings up the question, “Can the next generation of technologies advance the spiritual development of individuals and communities?” Craig who is also the director of The Spiritual Computing Research Group, will argue that several trends – Web 2.0 innovations, neuroscience’s interactions with the Dalai Lama, and West’s new embrace of premodern wisdom traditions – all combine to bring spiritual principles at the doorstep of the world’s technological laboratories.
The upshot: today’s system architects may be able to measure fuzzy notions like user empowerment. “Tech researchers will get algorithms that show if they are empowering users, addicting them or just delivering ease of use,” he says.
Spiritual technologies, he says, could release enormous pent up demand for web services in advanced markets (where 83% of users are “spiritual”) and in emerging markets such as India where spirituality is fundamental for survival. Examples: versions of Wikipedia in which wisdom, not mere knowledge, rises to the surface; gaming as spiritual quest; online enhancement of Islamic rituals; locative technologies that use feng shui to create sacred spaces, biofeedback interfaces that bring mindfulness into cancerous organs; technological support for 12 step programs that transform addiction into empowerment.
Enjoy the talk.
You Absolutely Have To Identify Which One Of These Two Path You Are On by Manoj Sharma
October 30, 2007
Are you on the path to something or nothing. Read on and identify it for yourself. Your harmony, peace and bliss is on the line.
Everything in the known material universe originates through thought. From thought, through a series of processes, the world as you know it created and continues to create itself.
Every thing you see, the world, every region, every country, every community, every organization, every landscape, every infrastructure and even every human being, is the way they are, because of thoughts that were there and thoughts that were not there. Everything and everybody is the result of thoughts that express themselves materially and non-thoughts that do not express themselves materially.
An artist has a painting in mind before he paints and then creates a painting. An architect has a building in mind before she plans and then creates a building. A director has a movie in mind before he directs and then creates a movie. An entrepreneur has an organization in mind, before she organizes and then creates an organization. The material of life is created from the non-material of thinking and non-material of thinking comes from the subtlety of mind. Appreciating this truth opens up the knowing that everything and everyone forms as a result of thoughts, and equally, does not form, as a result of a missing thoughts the origins of which can be traced back to mind.
The mind allows things to appear. What the mind is on, appears and what the mind is not on disappears. This is a phenomena I often refer to in my initiatives as The Appearing-Disappearing World Phenomena which at some level every human being is at the very least, at least once in their life, subconsciously aware of. Naturally few are consciously aware of this in everyday moment to moment reality and fewer still understand its true power in manifesting and un-manifesting their realities as they would like them. Regardless of your depth of appreciation for and competency with The Appearing-Disappearing World Phenomena at present just understand that in the presence of mind things appear to the observer and in the absence of mind things do not appear to the observer.
So, where there is no mind, there is no appearance and where there is no appearance there is nothing. A nothing that, in that reality, cannot be contrasted against any something - an emptiness that, the more we remain in the presence of, the more we appreciate as the progressive evolutionary experience from harmony to peace to ultimately bliss. Harmony, peace and bliss being amongst the top three things a human being ultimately desires.
Please note that all human beings are born without a presence of mind and all human beings learn at their own pace to have a presence of mind. Also please note, that not all human beings learn to no longer have presence of mind and then wonder why the continuing experience of harmony, peace and bliss elude them.
Truthfully examine and you too will realize that to gain presence of mind required an interaction between teachers, coaches, masters and you. The quality of your teachers, coaches, masters along with the quality you were willing to develop in yourself determined the quality of presence of mind you presently have. Similarly to gain absence of mind also requires teachers, coaches, masters and you. The quality of your teachers, coaches, masters and you will determine the quality of harmony, peace and bliss you are to experience.
Human beings do not have to, but tend to go through, usually due to ignorance, the three paths of survival, security and success as a means to the ends of their real desires. Most human beings don’t realize that they are wasting a precious lifetime on the three paths of survival, security and success, and that they are spending time on the path of scruples when they could accelerate their progress by investing time instead by being on the path of serenity. The path of serenity is the path of harmony, peace and bliss.
Now, while everybody has a mind, obviously nobody has seen it because it is not material, and way too subtle. However everybody can have and has had various experiences of it. The challenge is not in experiencing the variations of the mind, the challenge is in experiencing the consistency of the mind. The challenge further lies in that, when you attempt to fully experience the consistency of your mind, your mind itself starts to fade away. If you stick with it as it is fading and are still able to be with it when it can no longer fade you will find that what is left behind is your mind in its original, most subtle form. Your mind in its original, most subtle form projects “I”.
The “I” from which all thoughts for you and most other human beings arose. The “I” which you learned to relate to as a child that distinguished you first as some-thing and then as some-body. A some-thing that was different from other-things and then a some-body that was different from other-bodies. The rest of your progression through life, while important, is arguably trivial in relation to this insight. Unknown to you and your teachers, coaches and masters, you fell (as they may have fallen before) ignorantly into the process of limiting yourself and experiencing yourself thereafter as a limited being.
Consider that while the first thought of the dawning mind is always “I am something” the last realization of a dusking mind will always be, “I am nothing”. Paradoxically, living as “I am something” limits, while living as “I am nothing” liberates.
As humanity, as a generalized whole, continues racing on the path to be some-thing it needs to, or at least a critical mass needs to stop long enough to appreciate that to have our collective ultimate desires met we need to learn to be on the path to no-thing.
Only either the wise through themselves or by proxy, or the brilliantly illuminated through bitter experience, can fully appreciate that the path to some-thing, whatever that some-thing is, is paved with fleeting survival, security and success and is laden with one suffering after another. All the great masters of the world, throughout our known history attempted to get this point through - very few understand why.
Know that only the path to no-thing can bring about lasting harmony, peace and bliss.
So which path are you on?
As you answer please note that the above is not an opportunity for an opinion, it is an opportunity to experience the truth for only once you are on a path can you taste the fruits of that path.
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com
What Does All Of Humanity Desire by Manoj Sharma
October 29, 2007
All of humanity knowingly or unknowingly ultimately desires to re-discover, re-connect and re-merge with the source of the universe. This does not necessarily have to only happen in seclusion, it can well happen through the normal course of an active modern life.
The above is true for all people, of all ages, all educational levels, all economic standings, all political affiliations, all societal variations, all geographical regions and all manner of sophistication. And this in itself should be spectacularly illuminating.
Those in the know, know that something magnificent comes to light from within a human being as the human being pursues this most ultimate of human desires. A certain clarity of mind, stability of emotions, soundness of body and freeing of the spirit are just some of the obvious observations.
While it is intuitively well known that there is something very powerful, purposeful, meaningful, timeless and true at play in the pursuit of this desire, unfortunately too few people actually experience this often enough in their lives. You are about to be the exception to this rule.
Through the pages of this book, you will give yourself the opportunity to independently, through your own effort, experience living your life at a much higher level of integrity, service, achievement, expression, knowledge, trust, happiness, freedom, peace and ultimately all the other things that are most precious to you. I do not know if it is already clear within you or how fast it will become clear within you that the rewards for your effort are very high, regardless I feel compelled to let you know your inkling about the great gift you are about to give yourself is true.
While traditionally this desire to re-discover, re-connect and re-merge with the source of the universe has been addressed via various religions, in todays world, many of the wisest suggest it is better addressed individually in the sphere of personal spirituality, internally, without any external bias or dogma.
Historically, what we now term as “religions” were all started at various particular periods of time and were intended to illuminate the lives of the particular people, at that particular place with a particular message that could but unfortunately did not necessarily translate well on to other people, at another place, at another time.
Therefore over time, almost out of necessity, new particular religions formed and organized. When the perspective of the followers of various organized religions are taken into consideration, we get to know these organized religions to be the continuation of the source of the universe manifesting into being (or through a being) and guiding people to re-discover, re-connect and re-merge with “the one, the only, omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient” divine. The irony being that to most of these organized religions only their religion best allows people to re-discover, re-connect and re-merge with the “the one, the only, omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient” divine. It seems to be a case of “my Ego has no room for your Ego”. It is said that this is the problem with organized religion and its select group of misinformed adherents (who by logic have difficulty considering themselves misinformed) and because of this organized religious itself has been accused, especially as of late, to be “the root of all evil.”
To compound the matter, over the millenniums, based on the challenges and perspectives at various times, various factions within various religious have arose. Factions that way too easily fall victim to the Ego’s desire to distinguish itself, leading to agreements on certain principles and disagreements on many others. Factions that seem to become blind to the truth that what is most important is mostly similar and what is least important is the least of differences.
Upon closer examination, the message delivered across these factions has been essentially the same. However, who delivered it, how it was delivered, where it was delivered, when it was delivered and why it needed to be delivered has varied greatly. Unfortunately, these variations, have over time, mostly due to human ignorance, misinterpretations and mis-promotion, led to many mis-appreciations, disagreements and ultimately conflicts.
While various organized religions surely can afford to take a higher level of responsibility and ownership for their teachings and how their teachings are practiced in reality, the organized religion as a whole need not necessarily be straddled with the accountability of what its followers do in its name. This accountability needs to rest (and in a bigger scheme of things it does rest) squarely on the shoulders of those who have and are violating the universal principles of not just their religion but all religions, under the guise of religion.
The organized religions we know of were never intended by their founders to be a marriage of convenience and therefore they should never be permitted to be. Any erring done in the name of any religion can always be traced back to a human erring. A human erring fueled by the human Ego, caused by a separation from Consciousness.
To realize this truth is to know that any representation of Ego is itself a separation from Consciousness. Due to the separation from Consciousness, Egoistic craving by those who cannot discern the real from the un-real, the valuable from the un-valuable and the beneficial from the un-beneficial have lead to a shying away from scruples and serenity. Instead the rampant pursuit of self-gratifying (but not self-fulfilling) survival, security, success and supremacy can be observed that nobody really gains from in the long term.
In light of this it seems the world either needs a new religion, a new appreciation of their own religion or to dispense with organized religion altogether and potentially pursue a religion-unspecific spiritual path filled with the wisdom of the ages instead. A wisdom of the ages path that makes humanity realize, recognize and live the truth that there is a certain Oneness - a one Universal Supreme Being. A Oneness that does not go by any one name, that does not have any one face, and that does not have any one form. A wisdom of the ages path that is universally tolerant, accepting and inclusive of the light of a larger truth. A wisdom of the ages path based on the larger truth that exists in all faiths, that can be received by all people of - all ages, all educational levels, all economic standings, all political affiliations, all societal variations, all geographical regions and all manner of sophistication.
It is important to note that this book is not a replacement for any religion and should never be view as such. In the pages of this book, while numerous insights can equally be credited to various religious and spiritual traditions know that these insights are impartial to them all.
A human being is unique on this planet in many ways. One of the unique features of a human being is that we have been endowed with the power of consciousness, contemplation (perceiving, distinguishing, thinking, recalling, holding, imagining, analyzing, reasoning, synthesizing, assimilating) and choice. Because we have the power of consciousness, contemplation and choice we have the ability to more intimately know our real fears and desires; to understand what causes us pain and pleasure and its impact on us; to create, sustain and destroy our own empowering and limiting tendencies; and re-look our own selfish and selfless orientations.
Every human being is at anytime in the pursuit of one of the following things - the pursuit of survival, security, success, supremacy and serenity. Unfortunately we seem to pursue these ends without scruples - without the ethical considerations that factor in all of humanity. And that may need to be the first thing to change. Regardless of how successful and supreme you may or may not be, you can certainly afford to live your life as a better human being and enjoy everything material and non-material that comes with it.
So, at the very least this book is designed to do is to assist you to enjoy a better life by raising your awareness in the course of your daily activities. The end result of which is to assist you be wealthier spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically and financially too.
A human being not driven by ego is a conscious human being, a conscious human being is automatically scrupulous. While there is no effort required of a conscious human being to be scrupulous it does take effort to be conscious. The primary effort required of a human being to enjoy greater lasting wealth is simply to be conscious and not fall victim to his or her ego. To do that the human being simply needs to be in the knowing of principles and the best way to do so is to assimilate the wisdom of the ages. The wisdom of the ages that synthesize the practical and basic universal principles that all human being at various levels can immediately profit from, not just for their sake but for the benefit of all of humanity.
Gandhi said, “You have to be the change, you want to see in your world.” I invite you through the pages of this book to be the change you want to see in your world.
Be the change, be the cause, be the difference, live the wisdom of the ages.
The above is an except from the book The Wisdom Of The Ages by Manoj Sharma that is available in all major bookstores.
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com
You Are The Problem & The Solution by Manoj Sharma
October 23, 2007
The Problem is that You are Seeking the Subjective.
Seeking higher levels of Subjective Survival, Security, Success, Status and eventually Serenity.
This very Seeking causes Struggle, Stress, Suffering, Sacrifice till you eventually Surrender.
Surrender to the realization that the Subjective will never Satisfy the Seeker.
As long as there is Subjectivity there is a Separation; Separation between the Seeker and the Sought which compromises Satisfaction.
The Solution lies in the Shift from the Seeker Seeking the Subjective to the Seeker Seeking the Subject; the Subject of the Seeking.
And only when the Subject becomes the Sought can the Solution reveal itself.
Know that You are both The Problem and The Solution.
For VijaySai for embracing The Principles Of Money so wholeheartedly.
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com
Things To Remember In Relation To A Dialogue by Manoj Sharma
October 21, 2007
Remember that….
1) Your life is a living laboratory, for you to experiment and experience till you gain the liberation of enlightenment.
2) Human relationships are a dialogue and that when the dialogue is over, the relationship is over.
3) For there to be a true dialogue, human being needs to “check in” with themselves and other human beings too. We can loosely term these “check ins” as intra-personal communication and inter-personal communication that involve becoming present to intentions, contexts, contents, feelings and meanings.
4) Once people re-discover the value of a dialogue, it is like a re-recognition of an art form they knew and a re-gaining of something they seem to have lost.
5) Having a real dialogue, is having a real awakening that once had is impossible to put to sleep, as it is being in the midst of the most sublime of experiences.
6) Just because you are having a conversation with another party it may not tantamount to a dialogue.
7) A dialogue does not exist on its own. That in a modern society the art of dialogue at work, home and play is virtually lost. That to enjoy the benefits of a dialogue you need to learn how to create, sustain and even destroy it - all in its own time.
8) The opportunity to understand the value of a dialogue must be sought. That a dialogue has always existed in ancient cultures and that it is one of the true universal practices that distinguishes humanity.
9) In and around a dialogue there are always creators, sustainers, abstainers, restrainers and destroyers.
10) In a dialogue the biggest problem and opportunity is actually your ego. Your ego that is separating you from the reconnection to consciousness that a dialogue is ultimately designed to induce.
11) That your private, intra-personal dialogues of yesterday are your public, inter-personal dialogues of today.
12) A dialogue from an inter-personal sense is not something you do to another, but is something you do with another. The intent of which, when brought into reality, opens up areas for all parties that they could not previously have imagined.
13) Dialogues and non-dialogues point to intentions, illuminate contexts, give substance to content, explore feelings and highlight meanings.
14) Dialogues allow the un-listened to be listened, the un-spoken to be spoken, the uncover the covered. Dialogues also allow the listened to be un-listened, the spoken to be un-spoken and the covered to be un-covered.
15) Dialogues promote awareness, acceptance, acknowledgment, action, adjustment, achievement and advancement.
16) Dialogues encompass different cultures, different languages, different thinking, different assumptions and different worlds and bridge them towards greater comprehension of points of view which result in resolving conflicts and collective benefits.
17) Knowing dialogues is knowing success, knowing power and knowing mastery.
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com
If A Man Empties His Purse Into His Head by Benjamin Franklin
October 17, 2007
“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him.
An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Give Every Man Thy Ear by Lord Polonius from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
October 17, 2007
“Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!”
– Lord Polonius from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Success by Ralph Waldo Emerson
October 16, 2007
This is truly the curse and wonder of being famous. The following quote, while often accredited to Ralph Waldo Emerson, is nowhere to be found in his body of work. Nevertheless it is a beautiful piece whoever the author may be and gives us an opportunity to re-look how we live our lives.
“To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.”
– supposedly by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Professional Wealth Coaching Program by Manoj Sharma
October 15, 2007
Today we launched a fabulous program that has been in the works for the past 3 years. Being the first launch of it, it is by invitation for past alumna and alumnae only and by special interview only for those who are new to us.
The program does not discriminate against how financially and non-financially successful you already are as it is future focused and entirely about how much more successful you desire to be.
To give you the reader of The Manoj Sharma Blog a brief feel of the program and a priceless early opportunity I have extracted and highlighted below some of what the program will do for you, just in case you are able to see value and are interested to attend it to enhance your personal financial and non-financial wealth.
So here is what this Professional Wealth Coaching Program will assist you with.
DifferWorld’s Professional Wealth Coaching Program will…
- Assist you clarify your present financial and non-financial wealth.
- Assist you craft out a congruent financial and non-financial wealth future.
- Assist you create a compelling financial and non-financial wealth target.
- Assist you comprehend everything you need to know about financial and non-financial wealth creation, wealth protection, wealth multiplication, wealth enjoyment and wealth contribution.
- Assist you conceptualize your unique financial and non-financial wealth strategy.
- Assist you compel yourself to action your unique financial and non-financial wealth strategy.
- Assist you coach yourself till you hit your financial and non-financial wealth target.
To be invited for a personal interview to see if you meet the selection criteria of attending please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now!
The Blueprint For Inspiring Next Generation Leadership by Manoj Sharma
October 14, 2007
As a modern leader, especially in an international organization, you wear many hats, you play various roles, you juggle multiple responsibilities and you are accountable for numerous key targets. What is required of you over the years has evolved and will continue to do so. Your responsibilities have shifted from simply delivering great profitability, to including having to inspire performance and ensure the fulfillment of those around you.
The role of a modern leader; your role, is no longer simple, it has become complex and requires higher levels of sophistication on your part to execute successfully. You simply cannot keep up with everything that is going on around you, but by developing your congruency, competency and compassion you can prepare yourself, your teams and your organization to rise above whatever challenges that may come your way. Don’t wait for the future to catch you, catch on to what it will take to develop yourself and the other leaders in your organization as inspiring next generation leaders right now.
Become A Congruent Personality
If not forever, just for a while lay down your arms, drop your armour and allow your humanity to come through. This will give you the opportunity to iron out the chinks you know you possess even if they are expertly hidden from your very sight. Face the truths you have been shying away from no matter how tough this may be. Stop playing small, be big. Get to know your motivators, strategies, gravitations and orientations even better than before while gaining more depth. Understand your value system, fuel your passion, crystallize your vision and live more purposefully. Fully enjoy the fruits of your labour and live as a truly congruent personality.
Enhance Your Communicate Competencies
Become a world-class communicator. Learn to lead yourself at higher levels through improving your intra-personal communication. Then learn to lead others more effectively and ultimately inspire others to lead too. To do this you need to start by first polishing up your communication with yourself - this is virtually impossible for you to do on your own as your mind will get in your way. Once you have sorted out your intra-personal communication competencies, enhance your inter-personal communication competencies. Become well versed not just in communication models and theories but develop the skill sets of various facets of communication that will last your entire life time.
Use The Language of Compassion
A human being - any human being relates universally and most powerfully to compassion. Learn to use the language of compassion when you lead. Understand the values that make other human beings tick and learn to speak directly to this value system as you communicate vision, missions and strategies to inspire profitability, performance and fulfillment for your organization, your team and you too. Become an expert at rhetoric with a new appreciation of ethos, logos and pathos. Furthermore learn to synergize people through stories, metaphors and similes.
Learn how to do the above three things, develop them as you and you evolution as a leaders will be spectacular within in a remarkably short time. You will easily become more confident, clear and compelling in one-to-one, groups and even public speaking environments. Do not be surprised if people suddenly find you more charming and charismatic as well, as all of the above are a function of becoming more congruent as a human being, enhancing your professional communication competencies and using the personable language of compassion.
Now that you have a blueprint for inspiring next generation leadership what are you going to do next?
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com