"We are born for meaning, not pleasure, unless it is pleasure that is steeped in meaning." -Jacob Needleman
"Meaning has become a central part of our work and our lives. Pursuing meaning obviously is no simple task. You can't buy a cookbook with the recipe for it—or open a packet of powder and add water and stir. But there are two practical, whole-minded ways for individuals, families, and businesses to begin the search for meaning: start taking spirituality seriously and start taking happiness seriously." (Pink, p 219) The search for meaning has always been prevalent in our society. Even the author of, Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl had his wife sew his theories on meaning into the lining of his coat before they were sent off to Auschwitz in 1942. The coat was lost, obviously, but Frankl learned even more about meaning in the concentration camp, when him and fellow people in it were able to find a sense of purpose even while being subjected to such a horrible lifestyle.
"He demonstrated that meaning is possible in spite of suffering—indeed, that meaning can sometimes grow from suffering. But he also emphasizes that suffering is not a prerequisite to finding meaning. The search for meaning is a drive that exists in all of us—and a combination of external circumstances and internal will can bring it to the surface." (Pink, p 217) More and more people are are starting to recognize this desire to find meaning that seems to be a part of all of us, on some level. It is playing an increasingly important role in modern society.
"I believe the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we are all seeking something better in life. So I think the very motion of our life is toward happiness." -The Dalai Lama
(This video is not the MIT conference the book talks about. It is just a clip from another talk the Dalai Lama was giving regarding the Meaning of Life. It's not exactly the same message, but it's still relevant, if anyone was interested.)
"What is the Dalai Lama doing at MIT? He's here for the "Investigating the Mind conference—a two-day gabfest about what science can learn from Buddhism and what Buddhism can learn from science." (Pink, p 220) Spirituality and science are coinciding more than ever now. The Dalai Lama is getting together with scientists to stay current on what scientists are finding out about the brain. In turn, scientists are doing the opposite, by studying spirituality's impact on the brain. They are doing this by having monks being put into MRI machines to study various aspects of their brains, such as attention and emotion.
"As the well-known molecular biologist Eric Lander told the crowd, science is merely one way to understand the world. Across many different realms, there's a growing recognition that spirituality—not religion, necessarily, but the more broadly defined concern for the meaning and purpose of life—is a fundamental part of the human condition. Indeed, our capacity for faith—again, not religion per se, but the belief in something larger than ourselves—may be wired into our brains. Perhaps not surprisingly, this wiring seems to run through the brain's right hemisphere." (Pink, p 221) This offers more proof that the world is becoming more right brain oriented. Right brain vs. left brain argument aside, a desire for spirituality exists in all of us, and religion is just one way that people try to fulfill that desire. Spirituality is all part of an even larger quest to find meaning within our lives. Many people turn to trying to work towards something larger than themselves because it gives them a greater sense of purpose, and provides them with that meaning.
"At the very least, we ought to take spirituality seriously because of its demonstrated ability to improve our lives—something that might be even more valuable when so many of us have satisfied(and oversatisfied) our material needs. For instance, some of the maladies of modern life—stress, heart disease and so on—can be allayed by attending to the spirit. People who pray regularly have been shown to have lower blood pressure on average, than those who don't, according to research at Duke University....This is tricky and controversial territory—in part because so many charlatans have invoked the power of God to heal the infirm. If you depend on spirituality alone to battle cancer or to mend broken bones, you deserve the disastrous results that will follow. But a whole-minded approach—L-Directed reason combined with R-Directed spirit—can be effective. As I noted in chapter 3, more than half of American medical schools now have courses in spirituality and health." (Pink, p 222-223) Having proven, enhanced benefits in health is another advantage to allowing spirituality into your life. This isn't to suggest you should expect yourself to magically heal because of it, but as Pink says, a healthy mixture will work well. A recurring theme in this book seems to be the medical analogy with all of the themes. It has been discussed multiple times in the discussion board posts as well, so there's not much else to say. However, spirituality is starting to make its way into hospitals, and more and more patients are curious about it. "According to Newsweek, "72 percent of Americans say they would welcome a conversation with their physician about faith."" (Pink, p 223) Even people that aren't generally religious eventually start to enter that quest for a deeper meaning.
"One other field that has begun to take spirituality more seriously is business...After interviewing nearly one hundred executives about spirituality in the workplace, they reached some surprising conclusions. Most of the executives defined spirituality in much the same way—not as religion, but as "the basic desire to find purpose and meaning in one's life." Yet the executives were so understandably concerned that the language of spirit in the workplace would offend their religiously diverse employees that they scrubbed their vocabulary of all such talk. Meanwhile, Mitroff and Denton discovered, the employees were hungering to bring their spiritual values(and thus their whole person rather than one compartment of themselves) to work, but didn't feel comfortable doing so...Mitroff and Denton also found that companies that acknowledged spiritual values and aligned them with company goals outperformed those that did not. In other words, letting spirituality into the workplace didn't distract organizations from their goals. It often helped them reach those goals." (Pink, p 223-224) Religion is often a touchy topic for a lot of people, since opinions and views can be very strong regarding the matter. However, when taking the universal concept of spirituality, you remove the differing opinions and possible tension that could result from bringing it into the workplace. It's this universal concept that can make a business's employees feel more at ease, and even improve your business, as a whole, when introduced. "As more companies grasp this idea, we are likely to see a rise in spirit in business—a growing demand from individuals for workplaces that offer meaning as well as money. According to one recent U.S. survey, more than three out of five adults believe a greater sense of spirituality would improve their own workplace." (Pink, p 224) Employees have spoken their mind about it via surveys, and the results have shown that spirituality has a positive impact on business. It is becoming more apparent as time goes on that welcoming spirituality into the workplace can become an added benefit instead of being that taboo topic that no one dares to bring up.
We all have different views on spirituality. Most of you probably know how spiritual you are based on your religious affiliation, or personal views already, but this quiz may show you that you are more spiritual than you originally thought. Yes, it's a little biased towards a religious-based type of spirituality, but it's interesting nonetheless. There are only twenty-five questions, and the results appear after completion of the quiz.
"You're not going to find the meaning of life hidden under a rock written by someone else. You'll only find it by giving meaning to life from inside yourself."-Dr. Robert Firestone
"For most of its history, academic psychology focused on everything except happiness. It studied disease, disorder, and dysfunction, and largely ignored what made people satisfied and fulfilled. But when Seligman took the helm of the American Psychological Association in 1998, he slowly began guiding the ship of psych in a new direction. Seligman's research, as well as that of many other scientists who have turned their attention to satisfaction and well-being, has begun to unlock the secrets of what makes people happy—and to encourage the wider world to take happiness seriously." (Pink, p 225) Like spirituality, happiness is gaining recognition as something that we all strive for. Although we all achieve happiness in different ways, it is another, universal part of our brains that is built into the design.
"According to Seligman, happiness derives from a mix of factors. Part of it depends on biology. We're all born with a relatively fixed natural range of well-being imprinted on our genes. Some of us tilt towards the gloomy end of the spectrum, others towards the cheery end. But all of us can learn how to reach the upper portions of our individual range—where happiness can ensue. Among the things that contribute to happiness, according to Seligman, are engaging in satisfying work, avoiding negative events and emotions, being married, and having a rich social network. Also important are gratitude, forgiveness, and optimism. (What doesn't seem to matter much at all, according to the research, are making more money, getting lots of education, or living in a pleasant climate.)" (Pink, p 226) Misconceptions that money will make you happy, or sources of happiness such as being married, or avoiding negative events are more obvious. However, engaging in satisfying work is the main takeaway from this section, and really the main takeaway from this book. Finding meaning in what you do is really what it all comes down to, in terms of achieving happiness. If you enjoy your work, and feel like you make a difference in the world, it's a lot more fulfilling than having a huge paycheck.
"We are not human beings on a spiritual path, but spiritual beings on a human path."-Dr. Lauren Artress
"Mazes and labyrinths are often lumped together in the popular imagination, but they differ in important ways. A maze is a series of compartmentalized and confusing paths, most of which lead to dead ends. When you enter, your objective is to escape—as quickly as you can. A labyrinth is a spiral walking course. When you enter, your goal is to follow the path to the center, stop, turn around, and walk back out—all at whatever pace you choose. Mazes are analytical puzzles to be solved; labyrinths are a form of moving meditation. Mazes can be disorienting; labyrinths can be centering. You can get lost in a maze; you can lose yourself in a labyrinth. Mazes engage the left brain; labyrinths free the right brain." (Pink, p 228)
<<<This is a simple online maze. You can see how the goal is clearly defined. The contrasting pictures below show the differences between a maze and a labyrinth.
"There are now more than 4,000 public and private labyrinths in the United States. They are surging in popularity for many of the reasons I've discussed in this chapter and in the rest of this book. "In an age when many Americans are looking beyong the church pulpit for spiritual experience and solace, a growing number have rediscovered the labyrinth as a path to prayer, introspection, and emotional healing," reports The New York Times." (Pink, p 228) Labyrinths are more of a metaphor for the point Pink is trying to get across, of finding your own meaning instead of following a set path to the end, but they also serve as good tools for meditation as he also mentions.
The path to finding meaning in one's life is mainly achieved by living each day, and figuring out how you can offer yourself a sense of purpose, and make yourself happy. This is often times found through spirituality, which isn't necessarily referring to religion. Meaning can improve business, hospitals, and your own life.
