Category Archives: Systems

Order of Essenes: Book One [Old, New Thought Resurrected to Offer an Operating System for Life]

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Order of Essenes

Order of Essenes

For a number of months, I’ve been studying a 24 “book” mail-order course from a now-defunct New Thought organization called the Order of Essenes.

Also referred to as “Life Science.” I dig the science of living. 🙂

New Thought is a bit tough to define, but if we must…New Thought as defined by Encyclopedia Brittanica:

New Thought, a mind-healing movement that originated in the United States in the 19th century, based on religious and metaphysical (concerning the nature of ultimate reality) presuppositions. The diversity of views and styles of life represented in various New Thought groups are difficult to describe because of their variety, and the same reason makes it virtually impossible to determine either membership or adherents.

I don’t necessarily prescribe to the board idea of New Thought, but I am a fan of systems…

Before the internet, people actually took courses through the mail. Not email, actual mail. Crazy, right?!

The Oder of Essenes mail correspondence course was recently put online by John Greer (also mentioned recently in the Box Breathing post.)

I’ll let Mr. Greer share his background with the Order of Essenes: A Few Notes on American Magic.

For purposes of this discussion, a few points…

  1. I’m going to share my notes from the 24 Books here.
  2. These notes allow me to digest what I read and easily review going forward.
  3. These thoughts align well with the systems thinking I mentioned above.
  4. To move into Book 25 and beyond, the Order requires written commentary on the passages – I’m hoping these posts qualify to see what’s next.

The “books” are short, but they are full of insights on life – love, work, relationships, self-improvement, spirituality, etc.

The books are intended to be reviewed 1 per week – read, think, practice, rinse and repeat.

Each book also offers a direction or instruction for the week.

Check out the list of great thoughts in Book 1, including some basics on water…

Order of Essenes: Book One

  • The greatest sin is fear.
  • The best day is today.
  • The best town is where you succeed.
  • The most agreeable person is one who would not have you any different from what you are.
  • The great bore is one who will not come to the point. A still greater bore is one who keeps on talking after he has made his point.
  • The greatest deceiver is one who deceives himself, The greatest secret of production is saving waste.
  • The best work is what you like.
  • The most ridiculous asset is pride.
  • The worst bankrupt is the soul that has lost its enthusiasm.
  • The cleverest man is one who has always done what he thinks is right.
  • The most dangerous person is the liar.
  • The most disagreeable person is the complainer.
  • The best teacher is the one who makes you want to learn..
  • The best play is work.
  • The greatest comfort is the knowledge that you have done your work well.
  • The greatest mistake is giving up.
  • The most expensive indulgence is hate.
  • The cheapest, stupidest and easiest thing to do is find fault, The greatest trouble maker is one who talks too much.
  • The greatest stumbling block is egotism.
  • The meanest feeling of which any human being is capable is feeling bad at another’s success.
  • The greatest need is common sense.
  • The greatest puzzle is life.
  • The greatest mystery is death.
  • The greatest thing, bar none, in all the world, is love.
  • Careful planning, backed by enthusiastic effort, is as essential in human engineering, as it is in structural engineering.
  • Millions now living are dead but don’t know it. Dead to the possibilities of their future. Dead to the opportunities of lite. Dead to a vision of their own potentialities.
  • Experience is cumulative and the next best step begins where the last one ended. We can’t go back and do the thing over; neither can we reach a destination ahead without setting our gaze in that direction. The shortest route is a continuous straight line.
  • It is not selfishness to think about yourself, only by self-enlightenment can you be prepared for a full measure of service, giving of yourself, and thus attain your cherished aims.

Instructions – Water 💦:

  • 85% water
  • Vehicle of life
  • 2 quarts per day
  • Drink when you get up/before bed
  • Drink balance of 2 quarts through the day
  • Don’t wash food down
  • Best time is 20 mins b/f eating

Wu Wei: The Foundation to Systems Thinking and the Game of Life

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If ever forced to choose one philosophy, Taoism seems like a rad path to wander.

One of my favorite Tao parables is about a farmer.

Alan Watts spins a nice esoteric yarn… [hat tip Kottke]

Once upon a time, there was a Chinese farmer who lost a horse. Ran away. And all the neighbors came ‘round that evening and said, “that’s too bad.”

And he said, “maybe.”

The next day, the horse came back and brought seven wild horses with it. And all the neighbors came around and said, “that’s great, isn’t it?”

And he said, “maybe.”

The point, according to Watts’ interpretation of Lao Tzu’s teachings, is “to try to live in such a way that nothing is either an advantage or a disadvantage”.

The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and it’s really impossible to tell whether anything that happens in it is good or bad, because you never know what will be the consequence of the misfortune. Or you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune.

[Hat tip Medium]

Making the most of whatever comes your way. Flexible. Accommodating. A level of emotional intelligence to remove labels – no good, no bad. Taking responsibility to maintain the flow of the every day, every moment.

Much easier said than done.

The simple always is.

The Tao refers to this idea as Wu Wei – literally, the art of non-action, or non-doing.

The Tao, like life, is a paradox.  How do you “do” nothing?

The Wu Wei of the farmer is a great model.

Brue Lee offers another metaphor – “Be like water, my friend.” [Hat tip BrainPickings]

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” ~Bruce Lee

I’m tempted to share a personal example. Yet, better left undone.

We ALL live so many examples of Wu Wei every day. Every moment is an opportunity.

If the Game of Life is won with happiness, Wu Wei keeps a smile on your face.

If systems are designed to maximize success, Wu Wei leverages available strengths.

I like this description by Stuart Wilde – find your middle way…

Aligning to nature and its softness is the middle way. It involves no struggle, or confrontation, you can act coherently in life, but you do not need to force your way along, as the emotion of that often pushes things away from you. It’s like the Zen philosophy, it’s a solid calm, it’s the way of love and the path of least resistance. The Tao is full of love because it respects animals and nature, and other humans, also in the calm of the middle way you can communicate more clearly with yourself, aware of your feelings and intuition.

Related Posts:

If Life is a Game, Then You Make the Rules [Leverage the Compounding Effect of Consistency to Accomplish Great Things]

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consistencyThis seems like a good post to kick of the New Year.

I recently shared the idea that it may be helpful to think of life as a game: The Tao of Tetris. A quick sum…

  • Use your resources wisely
  • You compete against yourself
  • Life moves fast
  • Play in the present

I’ve enjoyed this perspective. It’s allowed me to seek opportunities to improve, but not take life, and myself, too seriously.

That balance between improvement and enjoyment is a tight line to traverse. Erring on the side of fun seems the wise choice, and games are meant to be enjoyed. Good match.

Your gaming strategy becomes the art of improvement. Your systems are your daily practice. The practice is the set of rules we choose to live by.

The daily routines, rituals, and habits. The consistency that accomplishes great things.

This is not an invitation to make promises we won’t keep. It’s an opportunity to make daily progress, keep score against yourself and enjoy the process.

Where to start? Gather info, make a plan, get to work.

Take what you can from others, but this is your life, your time, your skills. You are unique. Build your unique game.

I’ve kept the eye on the interwebs and located some ideas to kick us off.

There are more great ideas to be found. But no need to wait. Now is the time. Simple. Actionable.

Mindset

The greatest tool at our disposal is the right attitude. Open. Creative. Excited.

Inflexibility breaks. Flow creates.

In my humble opinion, meditation may be the best training ground to build the right attitude muscle.

Ryan Holiday shared a post about the great power of greeting it all with a smile – awesome story about Jack Johnson…the boxer, not surfer/singer.

The world is going to try to knock us down. We will face unfairness, animus, even evil. How will we respond? With anger? With rage? By letting it get to us?

No. We should instead respond with the excitement and smile of a Jack Johnson.

Personal Rules Lead to Great Things

Every game starts with a set of rules. A framework to build the game.

Understand the rules so we know how to bend them. Know the standard so we can exceed expectations.

Rules may seem limiting, but personal rules offer freedom. The freedom to simplify and clarify.

Reduce decision points. Stop negotiating with yourself. Know your clear direction.

Your personal rules lead to power, independence.

Kaizen Method

A strong overarching strategy is 1% progress, daily. The Kaizen Method.

Leverage the compounding effect of daily progress.

It applies to all aspects of life, and you can tackle many habits at once. Simply ask…

What is one small thing that I can do to improve X?

The Art of Manliness has a great post discussing the Kaizen Way – interesting background and simple suggestions.

System-focused, not goal focused. Build your systems to continually improve. The goal is progress.

Kaizen has become my first thought when considering how to improve. But the game of life is broken down further into multiple systems.

Each of these systems is broken down further into individual steps – habits. Each of these habits is the opportunity to improve by 1%.

Regardless of your goal, narrowing down your focus to small manageable tasks that can be done daily is the secret weapon to achievement. – 10x Your Results, One Tiny Action at a Time

Fail More

The vast majority aim for mediocrity. It’s a bit of a paradox, but the medicore has the most competition, while few aim for great.

99% of people are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most competitive. – Tim Ferriss

Ryan Holiday wrote a great book on this subject a few years ago – The Obstacle is the Way.

Obstacles are exciting. The large majority will give up. Keep pushing.

Aim high. Don’t be afraid to fail…seek failure!

Present, Pause

The Ancient Greeks had two concepts of time – Chronos and Kairos.

Chronos is the time we refer to on the ticking clock. Kairos carries a spiritual significance – a sense of presence and attention to the moment.

Chronos is a necessity to operate in the daily world. But Kairos is where we find joy, motivation, and greatness.

Create Kairos – know your purpose, set aside quiet time, create quiet space.

Be ready to pause when the opportunity presents itself.

There is a new Leonardo da Vinci biography the interwebs are buzzing about. One of the highlights the author has pointed out is da Vinci had distractions just like we do today. One of da Vinci’s strengths was the ability to pause and focus when he was inspired.

You can’t always schedule quiet moments for reflection. Even when we can schedule Kairos, inspiration may strike off schedule.

Cultivate the habit of the da Vinci Pause. Cultivate Kairos.

Be present. Be aware. When inspiration strikes, pause. Focus on the moment. Focus on the inspiration. See where the flow takes you.

Create Your Time

The game of life is a long game. There are daily, moment to moment, opportunities to improve.

Systems and daily practices evolve. The game evolves. We evolve.

The evolution of the best you is a fantastically rad process. But it helps to have a few reference points to start from…

  • Bullet Journal
  • Deep Habits: Plan Your Week in Advance
    • Cal Newport – “[T]he return on investment is phenomenal. To visualize your whole week at once allows you to spread out, batch, and prioritize work in a manner that significantly increases what you accomplish and goes a long way toward eliminating work pile-ups and late nights[.]”
  • Perfect Morning Routine to Have a Good Day – AOM
    • 10 minutes
    • Rule of 3 – three most important items to accomplish
    • Set Intentions – purpose helps Kairos time…see above
    • Plan for fires – what distractions could come up today
    • 15-20 minutes of physical activity
    • Set a reward for the end
  • Fixed-Scheduled Productivity – Cal Newport
    • “Fix your ideal schedule, then work backwards to make everything fit — ruthlessly culling obligations, turning people down, becoming hard to reach, and shedding marginally useful tasks along the way. The beneficial effects of this strategy on your sense of control, stress levels, and amount of important work accomplished, is profound.”
  • Productivity tips that could be worthwhile…
    • Single task – forget multi-tasking, one task at a time
    • Nightly prep for the AM
    • Sunday prep for week
    • Text to audio – pro tip, 2X speed
      • I just realized Instapaper does this, and I’m “reading” more now than ever.
      • Only way I listen to podcasts as well.
    • Meditate
    • 1 minute rule – if it takes less than a minute, do it
    • 7 second rule for clothes and dishes – do you have 7 seconds to put them away?
    • 1 touch rule – only touch things once; clothes, mail, dishes, emails, etc.
    • Stand while on the phone – conversations go faster, less distractions, and motion creates emotion
    • Big projects before lunch
    • Automate repetative tasks
      • Outsource, virtual assistant?
    • Know when/where to work. Know your personal cycle