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A Short Guide to Gross National Happiness Index
Lecture: Professor Dr. Erhard Meyer-Galow
Thimphu, Bhutan, December 4th 2013
The usage of psycho-pharmaceutical drugs is growing double digit as well. We landed in a dead end street with our growth orientation. We need urgently a change. But should we change? But which change? How to change? Important questions!
We are facing a global crisis, not only a financial and economic crisis, but also a multifaceted spiritual crisis, aspects of which manifest in a multitude of ways. This crisis will only be resolved when each of us, individually, commits to a change of our personal mindset. Let us consider shortly the material side of this crisis.
States undertook borrowing money at a previously unprecedented rate, temporarily averting the collapse of the entire financial and economic system. Still in denial that we had been living beyond our means for far too long. After the rescue of the banks, it was business as usual with the greed and avarice continuing as if nothing had happened. It was a foolish act of courage to combine the countries in the Euro Zone without consideration of the large differences in their productivity and competitiveness. In the past, soft-currency countries could always compensate for their disadvantages by devaluating their currency. This is no longer possible in the Euro Zone.
Countries with weak, unstable economic policies have historically failed to impose the necessary firm legislation. Rather, politicians chose short term, opportunistic practices. Trust has now been lost. Faith in the European Union is steadily decreasing; now being as low 40% according to recent surveys. Speculators are betting on the depreciation of the Euro. While during the previous financial crisis companies were at risk, now it is entire states. The possibility of an explosive disaster is greatly multiplied!
Is the modern Psyche Undergoing a Rite of Passage?Nature and the Human SoulWhat was its price?
One could say: The Outside reflects the Inside. Everyone is longing to return to his inner center. Then the well-being is a gift.
If thou art seeking what the gods bestow.
This is the simple, safe, and certain way
That leads to knowledge for which all men pray
Of higher laws to govern things below.
But in our restless discontent we go
Drowning the inner voice that strives to say
Only be still, and in the silence grow.
We delve on books, and waste our forces so;
We cling to creeds that were not meant to stay,
Oh wouldst thou see, and understand, and know?
Working with this spirit as Director or Chief Executive Officer I was very successful in several companies. But at the age of 56 former business activities have lost importance for me. I devoted all of my energies to them for long enough.
Indeed, it has no form, much less a name;
Eyes fail to see it; It has no voice for ears to detect;
To call it Mind or Buddha violates its nature,
For it then becomes like a visionary flower in the air;
It is not Mind, nor Buddha;
Absolutely quiet, and yet illuminating in a mysterious way,
It allows itself to be perceived only by the clear-eyed.
It is Dharma truly beyond form and sound;
It is Tao having nothing to do with words.
Wishing to entice the blind,
The Buddha has playfully let words escape his golden mouth;
Heaven and earth are ever since filled with entangling briars.
O my good worthy friends gathered here,
If you desire to listen to the thunderous voice of the Dharma,
Exhaust your words, empty your thoughts,
For then you may come to recognize this One Essence.
This Golden Wind blows, of course, around us at all times. But for too many it is hardly ever perceived, even after a lifetime in its presence. Many people have lost the sensitivity of even perceiving themselves, let alone the Golden Wind, even though as we are permanently immersed in it, there is no searching involved. We possess the sails, the essential experience to feel the Wind, but we do not know how to make use of these sails. While the Wind blows, the sails hang down limp; we forget to set them.. We are constantly flowing through the most important sectors of experience, but are never mindful enough. We do not realize what experiences we could manifest. We are in a trance of non-perception, of non-awareness. We are paralyzed by our Ego-centeredness and do not move as we did when we were children. But life is movement.
We can experience the Golden Wind with our sails when we enter, with a decisive awareness, into the fullness of experience which then become our sails. Then, as we consciously set the sails, and only then, will we experience the Golden Wind which will safely carry us through our life.
Our ability to experience is blocked by our Ego-centeredness, which was established in the first two thirds of our life. It has often been demonstrated that even people with untold material wealth, more than they will ever need, are often unhappy. We fool ourselves when we say:
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU DIE!!
BEGIN NOW!!!
But why should we not approach this enlightenment earlier in our life through internal growth?
While happiness may have trigger activities such as an exercise program or the completion of a difficult task, happiness can also result from leisure, experiencing love, good food, friends, or satisfying achievements. It is wonderful when such opportunities for happiness materialize, but the state of happiness resulting from such external sources is not permanent and may quickly be lost when the triggers for happiness disappear.
Here in Bhutan you make it very clear, that according to your understanding happiness
Ricard explains in his book, HAPPINESSBeyond Happiness that
How to experience Bliss? The Vedas have told us already 3000 years ago:
It is my experience in the West, that it is very difficult for people to meditate daily and continue all your life your meditation practice. I recommend an easier way to feel the GOLDEN WIND. We are many times a day in spaces which we can use for meditation if we enter mindful, focus and the let the focus go.
You may perform some kind of manual labor, (Latin: labor = tribulation) or you may spend your days in a profession where you are working towards an opus, the mastery of some aspect of society, (Latin: opus) on behalf of. Either way we often feel that we are just laborers and are burdened by our hours of daily work. Our life is not meant to be like that. It is tempting to work hard in order to gain the prestige of success, a practice adopted by the majority of people in the business world. Success is a drug and thus the price one pays for it will not be questioned in the beginning.
The Ego is both greedy for and addicted to success. It motivates us and drives us along our path towards forging a great career for ourselves. Only when we realize the transience of success and the first signs of suffering are evidenced will dissatisfaction, anxiety and loneliness have the opportunity to pry open the doorway leading to personal change.
Ego is essentially a feeling or awareness that we live apart from God, separated and distant from our original nature. Our judgment and discrimination gets clouded and we are caught in the cobwebs of jealousy, greed, anger, hatred, and negative thinking which the Sanskrit language calls Avidya (ignorance).
In top management positions one is a great performer in a trance like state. I decided from that time forward that I would complete my daily work differently from the way I began it in the morning. My goal was to structure my work in terms of opus rather than to be imprisoned by over achievement and relentless activity. Then I could say to myself, Now, I am Finally Here! From that day on the process of my maturation accelerated. I embarked on a difficult path of disciplined exercises. My daily practice of sitting in silence (jap: Zazen) was a tremendous challenge; easy to perform but requiring tremendous perseverance and patience. The experiencing of the moment, the here and now, is a difficult concept to master demanding a tremendous discipline of awareness.
Without practicing daily no results are possible. We need to strive for a constant synchronicity between meaningful work and an attitude of mindfullness, which one may call contemplation in a world of action. The founder of the famous Jesuit order St. Ignatius of Loyola spoke of contemplatio in actionibus. Our Ego never rests! This is not necessarily detrimental to our development as long as we remain constantly and directly in contact with the Golden Wind.
For the past 30 years we have been oriented towards Sustainable Development in our economy, where individual companies with their unique principles and cultures have approached a sustainable development orientation in diverse ways. Some have lost their orientation and are in need of a renewed vision, a new compass.
It is up to the managers at the higher tiers to let both light and shadow unfold on the lower levels; to motivate employees for the light and to control the outcome of the shadow, recognizing that the good and the evil are inherent in all employees, knowing that this will not be detrimental, but of benefit to the company, its employees, its customers and all of its other stakeholders.
This pre-supposes first of all that the manager should become conscious of his own and of others Dark Brother and learn how to handle him wisely by not neglecting the inner sage. Executive managers have to make sure that the people they are responsible for do not harm other human beings and the environment when they act out of their shadow.
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Do you know how we can detect the egoists?
1. There is always someone else to blame
2. They are easily hurt by criticism
3. They need ongoing recognition and reward
Conclusion: Our workplace is an excellent space to experience the GOLDEN WIND and to be successful in a very different manner than the egoists.
Dancing has played and continues to play an important role in my life. I like to dance. After long periods of sitting in silence in meditation seminars I also enjoy and benefit from the meditative walking practice called Kin Hin. When dancing, any and every single step requires a maximum of mindfulness. You find that the more you practice a dance the more that it is no longer you who controls the various steps; the dance takes over and you become one with the dance. This is another opportunity to open into receptivity.
Only he who can let go and observe the flow of life as a non- doer without binding expectations is openly receptive to receiving from the Cosmos. It is a pity that dancing has largely disappeared as an expressive art form in much of modern society. It was once a dominant form of expression in every culture around the globe. Every dance can be meditative just as any activity can be meditative.
It depends upon the receptivity of the dancer to being open to the unknown. If you are not distracted by focusing upon purpose and control but rather simply trust and enter into mindfulness, you will sense the Golden Wind.
All religions offer several ways to experience the GOLDEN WIND.
I have mentioned some very important spaces of experience, but your daily life may also become an important, powerful space of experience. If we live each and every moment with full awareness and mindfulness then each moment is encouraging and supporting your inner growth. All activities, things like waking up, cleaning your teeth, washing your face, sitting, walking, standing, writing, reading, shopping, driving, waiting, looking, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, putting on your shoes, greeting people and shaking hands can all enhance your personal growth if done consciously with the recognition of joyful purposefulness.
It is entirely up to you whether you move through all these moments automatically without conscious attention or with meditative awareness. Why not avail yourself of the opportunity to turn these necessary tasks into growth experiences? Not surprisingly, mindfulness is the necessary condition for creating serenity, cheerfulness, humor and compassion. Activities performed without deliberate attention may lead to tension, stress, anxiety, anger and sadness. You risk losing compassion for others because you separate yourself, fostering isolation and loneliness. You have the choice of continuing your life as a caterpillar or becoming a butterfly!
A metamorphose is essential in order to transform a caterpillar into a butterfly. Growth implies change. We begin to change when we begin to be present in each and every moment. Day by day our daily activities are waiting for us. We begin a new each day. There is no past and there is no future. There is only the presence of the moment. Both the totality of all life and your life proceed in each moment that you are alive. Whether you limit the experience of living to one of mere mechanical repetition, or enrich the experience of living with a mindful awareness is entirely under your control. Keep in mind that your life is not a dress- rehearsal; it is your opening night, for better or for worse.
Walter Schwery told me about a monk who approached him and said:
There are blockages and constraints in our deep-psychology personal structure, which may stop the process of individuation when, despite all of our disciplined practices and enlightened experiences, our Ego manages to trigger non-compassionate thoughts; ones which do not hold love at their center. A psycho-therapy may be necessary.
The path we must follow to achieve and maintain a healthy state of maturity may sometimes be long and arduous, but it is always worthwhile.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pretty sure that, with your background, you all understand well what I mean with GOLDEN WIND MANGEMENT. I understand your GNH concept with my background of the GOLDEN WIND.
We have a joint conviction to develop a better world for the people we are responsible for. As we are all connected, everybody is responsible for everybody to
MAKE THE LIVING MORE LIVELY!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
