Good morning, everyone. Welcome. Welcome to Green Gulch Farm. It's a rainy Sunday morning. And welcome, children. It's first Sunday of the month, so it's the children's program out here at Green Gulch. So I'm going to spend the first few minutes talking to the children, but I'm assuming that we'll all be children here for a few moments, and hopefully the whole talk and day. What I'm going to talk about this morning is framing it around, I have a new book that I just wrote called Less, and the subtitle is Accomplishing More by Doing Less. And in particular, what I want to talk about with the children is the issue of making less assumptions, making less assumptions.

[01:05]

And I want to tell a story, a story that this is a true story, something that actually happened here at Green Gulch when I lived here many, many years ago. And it's long enough ago that actually I think it's true. Well, there will be some people probably here in this room who were here, and they'll tell me there's another version of the truth, but that's partly what this is about. This story was when I was living here, and it was in the winter, and at that time there were these heavy wooden sliding doors that... were on either side of this living area, on the other side of the zendo called the gaitan, where many students live. And one of the doors kept being left open. And the wind would come in.

[02:07]

We would have these work meetings there, and it got to be really cold, so someone would have to close the door, even during the day, the doors would get left open. And at all these work meetings, it seemed like day after day, there'd be an announcement made at these work meetings that said, please remember to close the door. Like, after all, this is supposed to be a place where we're practicing, you know, playing attention. So please, please close the door. And this went on and on. And it actually got to be, so these announcements at work meetings seem to have they had a sense of irritation to them and a sense of people were getting upset with, like, who... Like, people would look around the room and think, who is it? Which one of you could possibly be so not paying attention and not remembering to close the door?

[03:09]

And then at one of these work meetings, just as that was happening, the dog, Sierra, with her nose pushed open this heavy wooden door and came walking in. And everyone kind of laughed at themselves at seeing that there was this tremendous, this enormous assumption that was being made and a lot of emotion was happening and it turned out that this particular thing that people thought was happening just wasn't so. And And I think that in some way, we do that all the time. We do that all the time. Yes? What does the word assumption mean? The word assumption means that what we predict, what we believe, what we think, and what actually is are different.

[04:09]

That there's some difference between... It's kind of like a prediction. Right. So and often, you know, often we are making these predictions is important and necessary. So like, you know, when we're walking down the stairs, our bodies assume that the next stair is going to be there. That's an example of an assumption or a prediction that is vital. But this example I gave about the prediction or assumption that we made about that it must have been some person in this room who left the door open, this was one that was wrong. Or we make all kinds of assumptions about who we are or who other people are or what our strengths and weaknesses are or all kinds of things. Good question. Thank you for clarifying. Yeah, well, maybe I'll just end by saying that, you know, these...

[05:11]

Buddhas here, in a way, are to help us with our, you know, these are in a way antidotes to our often less than stellar assumptions that we make about ourselves or about each other. So these remind us that we all are amazing. We all have amazing, amazing abilities and creativity and And Buddha nature, something that's quite spectacular, quite spectacular. And we have inside of us everything that we need. And these statues are here to remind all of us that this is so. So thank you very much, children. I think the children's program is now officially over. You're welcome to go. You're welcome to stay. Thank you very much. Thank you.

[06:12]

I made an assumption. Phase two. This part. Well, good morning once again. I want to read just a few paragraphs from this book, which is hot off the presses, called Less. And it starts actually with a quote by Mark Twain that sets the tone for why the book was written in a way. It says, having lost sight of our goals, we redouble our efforts. Having lost sight of our goals, we redouble our efforts. I don't know if this sounds familiar to anyone. There's an old story of a man riding very fast on a horse. As he rides past his friend standing on the side of the road, the friend yells, where are you going?

[07:17]

The rider turns toward the friend and yells, I don't know, ask the horse. The pace and intensity of our lives, both at work and at home, leave many of us feeling like that person riding a frantically galloping horse. our daily incessant busyness, too much to do and not enough time. The pressure to produce a to-do list and tick off items by each day's end seems to decide the direction and quality of our existence for us. But if we approach our days in a different way, we can consciously change this out-of-control pattern. It requires only the courage to do less. This may sound easy, but doing less can actually be very hard. Too often, we mistakenly believe that doing less makes us lazy and results in a lack of productivity. Instead, doing less helps us savor what we do accomplish.

[08:20]

We learn to do less of what is extraneous and engage in fewer self-defeating behaviors. So we craft a productive life that we truly feel good about. Every life has great meaning. but the meaning of our own can often be obscured by the fog of constant activity and plain bad habits. Recognize and change these and we can again savor deeply the ways we contribute to the workplace, enjoy the sweetness of our lives, and share openly and generously with the ones we love. Less busyness leads to appreciating the sacredness of life. Doing less leads to more love more effectiveness and internal calmness, and a greater ability to accomplish more of what matters most to us and by extension to others and the world. I also want to read just a quote.

[09:30]

Let's see if I wasn't planning on reading this, but I think I can find it. Actually, I think I... I might have even talked about this the last time that I spoke here. This was a quote that really surprised me because it was from a David Brooks quote, the conservative columnist for the New York Times, wrote an article. This was in May of 2008 called The Neural Buddhists. It was an article where, interestingly enough, neuroscientists, brain scientists, are discovering what the Buddha discovered 2,500 years ago. And there's being this scientific proof. Well, I'll read this quote. It says, the self is not a fixed entity, but a dynamic process of relationships. People are equipped to experience the sacred, to have moments of elevated experience when they transcend boundaries and overflow with love.

[10:33]

And what he means by that people are... people are equipped that neuroscientists are finding proof that there seem to be parts of our brain, parts in our DNA, parts in our cells that are equipped to experience no boundaries between ourselves and other people and a sense of real sacredness. And what this says is that our Our practice, then, is how we stop doing the things that get in the way of that. And as I was saying to the children, these Buddha statues and so many of the practices and philosophy and practices of Zen are, in a way, are antidotes to the ways that we get busy, the ways that we tend to run our own internal conversations, external conversations, activities, and thinking that takes us away from the basic sacredness, love, creativity that exists within all of us.

[11:52]

I also may have mentioned this previously, previously, but one of the things that I'm excited about that I'm doing in my life is a program that I'm teaching with Norman Fisher at Google called Search Inside Yourself. And one of the things that we seem to say at the beginning of each of the classes is that you all have all of the motivation and creativity and wisdom that you need. It's all there. It's just a question of not getting in the way. And in this book that I've written, I try and really bring together much of what I've learned in my coaching practice and in my working with groups of people and in my years of contemplative practice and Zen practice.

[13:01]

And you've probably noticed that busy is the new fine. When you say to someone, how are you? People don't say fine anymore. They now say busy. And there's extra credit if you are checking your BlackBerry while you're saying busy. And really extra credit if your phone rings. So there's a sense that the more engaged and busy we are, the more somehow successful we are. Or at least, if we're really busy, we're not losers. And I understand that we live in really, the times that we live in right now are really difficult. There is a lot of suffering. There's a lot of fear in the unknowns around, particularly the unknowns that many, many people are feeling about money and economy, the economy.

[14:05]

And it's interesting that the assumptions that we can make about this and how, in a way, it's almost, right, our assumptions can make it more and more difficult. We can easily spiral down in that realm of what we assume is going to happen and the fears about what are going to happen. And... there are kind of five categories of things to do less of that I talk about in this book. And I've been kind of mentioning two of them. The first one is fear. The second one is assumptions. The third is distractions. The fourth is resistance. And the fifth is busyness. So... These are kind of five activities that I'm suggesting that we all do practices of doing less of.

[15:06]

And the one I'm mostly going to focus on this morning is continue to talking about various practices for having less assumptions in our lives. I want to tell one other story about, and this is something that happened here at Green Gulch a few years ago, and this was a, I was asked to facilitate a two-hour session in the middle of a three-day meeting that was happening here. This was a board of directors meeting of a large non-profit, and this board was consisted of CEOs from companies and executive directors of non-profits from all around the country. And they were meeting here at Green Gulch for three days to develop their strategic plan for the next several years.

[16:09]

And I was asked to come in right in the middle and do something, do whatever I wanted, to meet with this group of about 16 or 17 people. And I had a two-hour session. And This was over in the Wheelwright Center, just the building just on the other side here. And as I was walking in to do this session, one of the CEOs greeted me, took me aside and said, this meeting is not going well. We are having a lot of trouble. People are unhappy. And we just fired the last facilitator. Welcome. Welcome. So I... Of course, I gulped. I walked into the room and I could see and feel the level of tension and unhappiness in the faces and bodies of these people. And I looked around and said, let's do some meditation.

[17:13]

And about four or five people, mostly women, leaped to the front of the room. I think they were so anxious to stop this conversation. all these discussions and there'd been a lot of conflict. So about a third of the people leaped to the front of the room. Another third seemed interested and kind of sat there. And the other third, mostly men, sat in the back of the room with their arms crossed like, we're not going to have any of this. Who is this woo-woo guy who's come in? But we did, I rang a bell. We sat quietly for about 10 minutes, 10 or 15 minutes. I talked a little bit about being aware of your breath and your body. And after 15 minutes, I rang a bell and I suggested that we all have conversations in small groups. This is something that I love doing.

[18:16]

I think it's really important. And I got them to... just randomly get into groups of four. So there were like four groups of four or five. And I posed three questions for them each to talk about for five minutes. And I asked them each to talk for five minutes about why are you here on the planet? Two, how are you doing? And three, what might you do? to do better in response to how you answered the first and second questions. And much to my relief, they really entered talking about these questions. And I went around to these little groups that were meeting in different places in Green Gulch, and I could see some people were, like, there was a lot of emotion. There were some tears at some of the meetings, and clearly people were addressing these questions in a way that was real.

[19:17]

And each person had five minutes to talk, and then I think I gave them a little more time. And I rang a bell. They came back to the room, and the feeling and energy in the room was completely, completely different. I mean, even, even, I noticed that even the men who were like this, they weren't like that. And the muscles in their face weren't quite as, weren't quite as tight. And someone, someone raised their hand and said, we, We should have started our meeting this way. This was what was missing. We tried to just jump in and do a strategic plan without there being any real heart connection, without there being any real meeting, without any developing even some trust. It takes a lot of trust to have these kinds of conversations about making decisions and getting stuff done in the world. And in a way, this meeting, I think, is an example, the story, of even these kind of five categories.

[20:29]

So fear, there was a lot of fear that they weren't going to get stuff done. So that was partly, it's like having lost sight of our goals, we redouble our efforts. So they hadn't been dealing with their fear. They had made a lot of assumptions. about that there was some shared trust, some shared commonality, and they just assumed that without establishing it. They got really distracted in a way. I think they spent the first day and a half kind of spinning wheels with getting distracted because they didn't establish that kind of ground. And there was a lot of resistance. There was a lot of resistance I could feel when I came in. There was resistance to stopping. There was a lot of resistance to this idea of stepping back. And I think, too, they got into a sense of real busyness. And I had heard that there was one of these executive directors, actually it was a woman who was the CEO of a venture capital fund

[21:41]

on the East Coast, she had expressed a lot of resistance and concern about me coming in and doing this kind of a session in the middle of their meeting. And she said that she was someone who was very resistant to anything that smacked of woo-woo. And these were her words. And after the meeting, I heard that the rest of the meeting went really well, that they made tremendous progress on building and agreeing on a strategic plan. And I got an email from this woman who's the head of a venture capital firm saying, if what we did and if what you did was woo-woo, I want more of that. And many of the, I think some of the key practices in Zen practice

[22:41]

as I mentioned, are antidotes to the kinds of assumptions that we make. And three that I want to mention are what are referred to in Zen practice or Buddhist practice as the three marks. And it's said that in order for a teaching to be a Buddhist teaching or be a Zen teaching, it needs to contain these... these three things. And these three things I think of as powerful antidotes for the kinds of assumptions that we tend to make over and over. And these three are impermanence, no self, and awakening. Impermanence, no self, and awakening. And so impermanence, in a way, is an antidote to the way that we tend to fall into thinking that everything is permanent. So we think that the downturn in the economy, that there's a kind of a permanent feeling to it.

[23:50]

We tend to have a real hard time sometimes thinking that we're going to change or that somebody else is going to change. Of course, we do a lot to avoid thinking about death, thinking about that we are actually getting older, that everyone around us is getting older, that everything about our lives is impermanent. And by avoiding this reality of impermanence, we lose a lot of the joy, sacredness, and mystery that is right there, that's already built into us. So this is, again, there's an assumption that we make about permanence and imper... Impermanence can be a wonderful way to practice to counteract that assumption. And one way to experiment with that is you could actually even imagine that something happened and that you died.

[24:57]

Something happened and that you died, and that here you are. Here we are, back. Suddenly we've died, and now we're back. And we have a whole other chance, free from all those assumptions and ideas that we had during that life that we were living. So this is, in a way, this is what meditation practice is. The practice of, with each breath, letting go of what we assume. With each breath, letting go of the assumptions that we make about who we are. Suzuki Roshi used to talk about that when we take a out-breath, with each out-breath, we shouldn't even assume that there'll be another in-breath, that our sitting can have that much power and energy to it that we just don't know if the next breath will be there.

[26:03]

And this is actually true. I mean, we really We really just don't know. And this is another wonderful practice in our meditation practice and in our lives, the practice of just don't know. Just don't know. What if we don't make assumptions? What if we question the things that we're assuming? The second mark is no self. And it's interesting. This was something from the David Brooks quote that neuroscience has come to this proof that there is no identifiable self. And again, how could that be? I mean, we all become very, very attached to this self that we all

[27:05]

see and feel and we name it and we identify all of these things to make sure that there's some solid self. One of the experiences that I find really interesting in this realm of self is, and probably many of you have had this, and I had this just the other day where I think I was, you know, I call it, it's a great shopping experience or Or if I'm shopping at Whole Foods, and out of the corner of my eye, I'll see some person, and I'll think, oh, look at that old woman over there. Interesting. And then as we get closer, I can see that it's someone that I know. And this old woman, usually if they're my age, they become much younger immediately. But everything about that person, it's almost like the chemistry just all shifts and they become this person.

[28:09]

Whereas just a second ago, it was an old woman and I was just looking at them in some really, really interesting way. And so again, this meditation practice and Zen practice is being able to have that, what if we could have that experience with ourselves. I actually had that walking in here this morning. It was a great moment when I was walking in and I got confused. I saw the water there and I immediately thought, oh, I guess I'm supposed to sit there. And I started to bow and I saw Abbott on that seat and said, oh, I'm bowing to the Abbott's seat. I wonder where I'm supposed to sit. And then Linda said, Mark, over there. So, actually, it was a wonderful moment of, you know, it's these little moments of confusion, of when, like, I really didn't know in that moment.

[29:12]

Also, I could feel myself tighten. I could feel a little tightness. And then I also then, I was so, I also thought, boy, Linda's sitting, Linda's going to be sitting really close. This is going to be cozy. But it's sometimes in those little spaces. So often, and I could feel myself there, there's a tendency to tighten and wanting to cover, you know, it's like wanting to cover it, wanting to cover that confusion. We want to know. We so much want to know and want to create a sense of it's looking good or safe or whatever it is. And so I want to encourage to open to not making so many assumptions and to allowing ourselves to not look so good, to not have this self so fixed all the time.

[30:17]

And the third of these marks is awakening or enlightenment or nirvana. And this is... This is a pretty interesting assumption, right? This is an amazing assumption that Zen makes, is that we all are awake, that we all have in us the seeds of awakeness, and that we all are awake. You know, there's that wonderful, again, Suzuki Roshi quote, where he says, you are perfect just as you are, and you can use a little improvement. You're perfect just as you are. And you could use a little improvement. This is Suzuki Rishi speaking to the perfection that exists within all of us. And yet, I thought about doing that with the children, talking about you're perfect just as you are.

[31:20]

And then I realized I'm going to get in big trouble. I could see... when their mothers ask them to do things, the children will say, but mom, I'm perfect, just as I am. So this is true. We all, I think, could use more of that practice of being perfect, just as we are. I think I'm just going to mention I made a list of practices that I think also as antidotes to assumptions and the busyness part of assumptions. I'm just going to mention them. You'll have to read the book if you want to. One of them is listening, just the practice of listening.

[32:21]

rather than assuming. Another is to become familiar with our own emotional triggers. And by triggers, I mean things that happen, our own conditioning, our own patterns, in which suddenly something has grabbed us and we're like a deer in the headlights. In fact, I often define a trigger as when you... see the world as you either want to kill, attack, or run away because you've been emotionally set off by something. And this happens all the time in our relationships and in our work world. So just knowing and having strategies for what to do with these when we're in these emotional situations. And the next practice is a great strategy, which is the practice of pausing, the practice of pausing.

[33:22]

And this is something that I find I'm recommending over and over again to people in the business world is during the day, just to actually several times a day to stop, just to stop and be aware of your breath. People think that it's the most unbelievably impossible thing to do. Imagine taking 30 seconds. And actually, it really does help you be more productive. It helps you get more done by stopping and pausing. There's a lot of these practices around assumptions have to do with communication and developing clear communication skills. Like I have, I talk about what I call the no festering rule. And this is a rule that I find I bring into lots of teams in the business world and the nonprofit world is so often people are angry with other people.

[34:26]

People are making assumptions. People are somehow dividing themselves and unhappy. And those things tend to fester and things get worse and worse. often get people to make a pact that they will agree with each other to not let those assumptions and feelings fester and to create a no-festering rule. Easier said than done, but having such an intention and practice can be really helpful. And then these last three are just what I think of as things that I think for many of us there are ways that we can improve our communication and make less assumptions. Again, these are antidotes to assumptions. Making more requests, right? Actually, like, for a lot of, it's interesting if you ask yourself, when's the last time, now this doesn't apply to everyone. Some people make too many requests.

[35:26]

But I find most people actually tend to be a little not clear about I request that you, or I ask that you. there's a sense of beating around the bush, of not being clear. So the practice of making requests, the practice of asking for help, and the practice of making offers. These are kind of, to actually practice with these things as a way of reducing the amount of, as opposed to making assumptions. I think I want to finish by just reading couple of paragraphs. This is from the epilogue of this book, Less. And actually, the epilogue starts with the Suzuki Roshi quote, you are perfect just as you are, and you can use a little improvement. Yeah, and actually, this starts by talking about a woman who lives, who

[36:39]

lived here at Green Gulch for many, many years. A doctor friend I have known for many years was recently severely injured in a head-on collision with a driver who had a seizure on the Golden Gate Bridge. She broke nearly every bone in her body and was in a coma for several months. It is a miracle that she not only has survived but appears to be in the process of a nearly complete recovery. In her online journal, she writes with a sense of deep knowing and powerful urgency. We must remember to get on with our lives. Do what is important. If you haven't been married, get married. If you need to get divorced, get divorced. Just do what is essential and important. That is what matters. the very last paragraph of the epilogue. We must embrace the paradox that despite being perfect, we can all use a little improvement.

[37:47]

Needing improvement does not make us less perfect. Instead, this idea simply recognizes that nothing is stagnant. Everything is changing. There is always the possibility for developing more awareness in this moment. We can almost always develop ways to work better and increase our effectiveness. We can always find more ways to benefit others and improve our lives and our world. That is why we are on this planet. Of course, change brings the possibility of pain, of failure, and of new problems to solve. May you meet them, too, with less effort, more composure, more effectiveness, and greater joy. I think... I believe that Green Gulch has been kind enough to get many copies of this book, and it's a great way to...

[38:58]

support Green Gulch, buy books, buy vegetables, make donations. Of course, it's a great way to support me also, buy books. Come visit me. I've finally given up my resistance to the blogosphere, and I now hang out more than I'd like to on doingless.net, of course. And I hope you all really enjoy this beautiful rainy day, and thank you very much.

[39:30]

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