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| Pandemic opportunity: Online practice of the Meditation on Twin Hearts with my family. (2020) |
A decade or so ago one of my professors in the MBA was explaining how the same phenomena may be interpreted as both an opportunity or a threat, depending on how you look at it. To illustrate it, she shared the following anecdote:
Two competing businesses in the shoe industry sent one of their analysts to India to explore the possibility of expanding into that market.
The first businessman was quite disappointed when he came back:
"Forget about India, nobody wears shoes over there."
The second, however, came back extremely excited:
"We absolutely must grow our business in India: nobody wears shoes over there!"
The first businessman was quite disappointed when he came back:
"Forget about India, nobody wears shoes over there."
The second, however, came back extremely excited:
"We absolutely must grow our business in India: nobody wears shoes over there!"
Both businessmen observed the same phenomena. The difference lays in the meaning each gave to their observation. Whilst the first interpreted the fact that people don't wear shoes in that particular country as a threat to their business, the second saw it as a major opportunity for developing a new market.
I have no idea where this anecdote came from nor how much it is based on any true event whatsoever (for the record, a few years back when I went to India, shoes were just as popular as anywhere else). The story, however, gets the point across: Very often our limitations lie not in reality itself, but in the meaning we give to what we observe.
With the COVID-19 crisis, millions of people all over the world are now isolated in their homes. While it's easy to interpret this as a threat to our lifestyle, to some of our goals or aspirations, it's also not that difficult to see how many opportunities may open to us amidst this physical restriction.
I have a desk calendar called Pearls of Wisdom, which has an inspirational quote by Master Choa Kok Sui for each day of the year. Interestingly enough, this is today's quote:
"Power comes from Self-restriction. Steam in an open space would just simply scatter in different directions. Steam contained in an engine can move a whole train. Success comes from One-pointedness and Constancy of Aim and Effort."
The quote prompts me to ask myself some empowering questions, a great concept I learned from Tony Robbins:
- What opportunities can I seize while in quarantine?
- How can I improve the way I take care of my physical body, my emotions and my mind?
- How can I use this situation to increase my spiritual connection?
- What skills can I learn and develop?
- And, more importantly, how can I contribute to improve other peoples' lives, to make the world a better place?
There are infinite empowering questions that we can come up with, and there are infinite correct answers for each of them.
For the ones above, there's one particular technique that can enrich them all: Meditation on Twin Hearts.
This simple, guided meditation technique has tremendous potential to improve our health at all levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. The benefits, however, go beyond the personal level: by putting on the genuine intention of becoming a channel to bless the Earth, we are actually promoting gradual, positive changes.
Leverage the self-restriction to develop the discipline of practicing this meditation on a daily basis. The full extension of the benefits go beyond the capacity of my brain to understand or to put down in words. This is something most begin to comprehend after just a few weeks of daily practice.
- Eduardo Sztokbant