Satinder Dhiman - Seven Habits of Highly Fulfilled People: Journey from Success to Significance

Copyrighted Material

Seven Habits of Highly Fulfilled People: Journey from Success to Significance

Copyright 2012 by Satinder Dhiman. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

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Personhood Press
PO Box 370
Fawnskin, CA 92333
800-429-1192
www.personhoodpress.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012933831

ISBN: 9781932181913

Printed in the United States of America

Cover and Interior design: 1106 Design

Dedication

Tavadiyam vastu Govinda tubhyameva samarpaye:
O Lord! I offer unto You what is really Yours!

Moments: Searching for our Sweet Spot!

70. Life is fleeting: Gone, goneAwake, Awake each one! Dont waste this life.

C onsider for a moment our present circumstances. Especially, for those of us living in a developed country, lets take stock. Food: we have more than we need. Water: plentiful, clean, and ubiquitous. Health care: ambulances, emergency rooms, and hospitals abound. Communications: internet, Iphones and Skype. Education, the arts and sciencesingenuous institutions of all kinds flourish. For those of us fortunate to live in a modern 21st century country, we are endowed beyond imaginationliving amidst marvels and prosperity that is shocking to behold.

And yet, when we take stock, we also confront the vast devastation and suffering that spreads out across our globe: on any typical day, the planet loses 40 to 100 species; and 24,000 children die due to poverty and 100 million people live without a home. And looking back from whence we came, we find that over 180 million people died in all the wars, massacres, and oppressions of the 20th centuryfar more than in any century in history.

And now, as the 21st century dawns, we find ourselves wildly endowed and facing profound crisesan invitation to take some portion of responsibility, no doubt. Yet, despite our circumstances, a peculiar dilemma seems to have grabbed our collective attention. Despite our endowment and despite our vast distress, we seem hi-jacked and distractedchasing a relentless often numbing promise: the possibility of fashioning a seamlessly convenient world.

Consumerisms nonstop entertainment; technologys ingenious toys; databases of endless information; modern medicines devices and psychiatrys medicationsas we brilliantly shape our future, we find ourselves chasing a promiseoften unspoken, but shiny. Intriguing, yet shapeless: maybe this new century will solve the problem of being alive!

Now, pursuing an inspiring vision is not a problem, of course. As human beings, we have always chased our dreams and fulfilled our wildest aspirations. But, today our creative passions are being roused in a disturbingly bizarre directionnot in pursuit of fresh frontiers, but in search of distraction from reality; not in the service of wisdom and compassion, but in an anxious often pointless urge to shield our vulnerability. When we pause and consider our circumstances, we find that we are often mesmerized by materialisms false promise; searching for somethinganythingto get us comfortably through the next momentgrasping for whats about to occur, rather than searching for what is fundamental.

In the midst of this frenetic 21st century race to solve life rather than face it, we find that many of us are well aware of our distressing dilemma. The relentless speed cannot deny our yearning to pausea quiet weight in our hearts haunts usreminds us to slow down and reconnect with something we have lost touch with. Its as if the faster we move, the more we long to linger. The more we communicate with tweets, email, blogs and posts, the less we have to say; the more we try to solve life, the more we long to live it.

And it is here, as this yearning merges with our daily life, that we may remember that we are connected with thousands of years of human historythat in our pursuit of what is new, shiny and intriguing, we can also reclaim our noble birthright, reaching back to our ancestors to take delight in their wisdomto recognize what is profound and fundamental as we bring our new century to life.

And so in the midst of our marvels and crises, as we ponder our pointless pursuit of seamless convenience, a modern contemplative life gently unfolds: business men practicing Buddhist meditation; military officers following the way of Tai Chi; teachers bringing yoga into their classrooms; physicians healing with the Prana-breath. Whether its the wisdom of the Upanishads or the practicality of Aristotles Eudaimonia, or the gentleness of Quaker silent prayer or the austere clarity of Zen, more and more of us are seeking the natural quiet brilliance of our humanity. And we are doing so in the very midst of our 21st century pacefully attuned with the marvels and misfortunes; the hopes and fears; the yearnings and disappointments. Living such a contemplative life while engaging such fantastic demandsas a lawyer, doctor, scientist or cheftakes tremendous courage and gentleness.

And here in these pages, we are invited to explore such courage and gentlenessto reach back to our ancestorsto listen to them once again and to accept their gifts. Here, in this wise text, we are guided through a spiritual journey of stories and insights where our yearning for stillness can open wide to the wisdom of Vedic philosophy, the meditative disciplines of Buddhist psychology and the natural presence of yoga. And, as the title suggests, we can live these gifts of gratitude, generosity and kindness to become profoundly fulfilled people as we journey from success to significance.

So, enjoy the wisdom of this text: let it invite, tantalize, shape and provoke. And, as we take stock of our 21st century circumstances, we might slow down and take a deep breath and just give in to our yearning for stillness and ease. And if we listen carefully to the voices settled within these pages, we may hear the lions roar of our ancestors reminding us to step beyond our pursuit of pointless convenience and to wake up to the divine silence of our soul.

Michael Carroll
Awake at Work
The Mindful Leader
Fearless at Work (Shambhala 2012)

In other living creatures, ignorance of self is nature; in man, it is vice.

~ Boethius