Mind | Balanced Action

Sketchnote: J. Krishnamurti on fear – part 1

February 22, 2015 by philipp68

Here the first part of a sketchnote about fear, inspired by J. Krishnamurti. You can find the full text on Krishnamurti online. Fear warps our minds, makes us live in confusion and feeds our aggression’s. Our fears are real, they are part of life. It’s the internal observer who does not want fear. The observer is separate from fear. He is in a constant battle between himself and fear, which is such a waste of energy. In the next post I will […]

Categories: Sketchnotes • Tags: Fear, Mind, Sketchnote, Wisdom

Sketchnote: J. Krishnamurti on understanding pleasure

February 4, 2015 by philipp68

A good friend gave me Freedom from the Known from J. Krishnamurti to read. I instantly liked it a lot, maybe because it is talks about mindfulness, long before mindfulness became a trend. Freedom from the Known is a tough read. So I decided to start sketchnoting some of the chapters, hoping that the visual representations of the text would help me and you gain a deeper understanding of Krishnamurti’s timeless wisdom. Here the visual summary of chapter 4 you can read in its entirety […]

Categories: Sketchnotes • Tags: Attachment, Meditation, Mind, Sketchnote, Wisdom

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The mystery of consciousness

January 3, 2015 by philipp68

Here some illustrated quotes on consciousness that inspired me in 2014. I wish you all the best for 2015. Thank you for reading my blog and leaving a comment here and there. Happy new Year!

Categories: Life & Work • Tags: Consciousness, Mind

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Melancholy

December 23, 2014 by philipp68

Here a visual summary of a short Facebook post by Michael Stone. I wish you peaceful, happy Christmas holidays. If I get melancholic taking a deep breath, relaxing my face, focusing on inhaling and exhaling, usually helps a lot. It makes me open my senses to the world around me, just being there in the moment. What do you do when you get melancholic? Namaste, Philipp

Categories: Life & Work • Tags: Depression, Meditation, Mind

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The world is not a Lego set

December 13, 2014 by philipp68

Here a short story how the mind likes to take the world apart, so that it can store all the concepts it learns for later reference. It want’s to keep us save, by building up a complete, internal Lego set representing the world. Thus creating the illusion of control, if we could just understand how everything works. Namaste, Philipp

Categories: Life & Work • Tags: Illusion, Mind

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Let your body learn how to dance

October 13, 2014 by philipp68

To learn anything we need to let our body do the steps, without our critical mind interfering all the time. The rational mind is great for setting goals, but learning always happens in the body. Introduction This summer, on the ferry back to Athens, I finished The Inner Game of Tennis by W.Timothy Gallwey. One of the best books I’ve ever read and I don’t even play tennis. The inner game is what takes place in our mind What fascinated me was […]

Categories: Life & Work • Tags: Action, Mind, Mindfulness

What can we learn from peeling potatoes?

April 27, 2014 by philipp68

My latest hero for awesome advice is Alan Watts. In his books he addresses the big questions of our existence by describing and contrasting the different schools of thought of east and west. I like that he never takes sides, that he sincerely wants to put the reader in a position to decide for himself what a fulfilled life could look like. And the best: according to Zen tradition Alan knows that life is far too serious to take it too seriously, and that often […]

Categories: Life & Work • Tags: Attitude, Meditation, Mind, Nature, Wisdom

Sketchnote: Shawn Achor on the happy secret to better work

October 25, 2013 by philipp68

Sometimes the economical and political realities at work can crush even the best of intentions, making us see obstacles as problems not opportunities. I remember a meeting some weeks ago. We were discussing approaches to create a better future for our clients and ourselves. What started off with the best of intentions ended with the realization that we currently didn’t have the time or resources to make our dreams come true. Heads hanging, dreams crushed, everyone was slowly getting up […]

Categories: Sketchnotes • Tags: Happiness, Meditation, Mind, Modern Workplace

Sketchnote: Coaching Essentials

September 8, 2013 by philipp68

I had the opportunity to attend a coaching seminar a couple of weeks ago. People from different companies and backgrounds attended, all interested in learning how to use coaching to create a more empowering working environment. It was interesting to feel how a well-meaning coach can act as a guide through our mind, each question triggering thoughts and emotions that could prove helpful to better understand, probably resolve a tricky situation. My hope is that the following sketchnote motivates you […]

Categories: Sketchnotes • Tags: Coaching, Emotion, Mind, Sketchnote

Your Life is your Message

July 25, 2013 by philipp68

How dreams are important, but solely focusing on the fruits of your dreams will make you unhappy.

Categories: Life & Work • Tags: Action, Attitude, Bhagavad Gita, Mind, Wisdom

Sketchnote: Amy Cuddy on how your body shapes who you are

March 5, 2013 by philipp68

We all experience moments of insecurity: A job interview, standing in front of a large group of strangers, teaching our first Yoga class. Often this insecurity shows in our body language, our state of mind affecting our posture. What if we could affect the way we feel by acting out a power pose for a couple of minutes, helping us preparing for a stressful, social showdown? In her TED talk “Your body language shapes who you are” Amy Cuddy explains […]

Categories: Sketchnotes • Tags: Body, Mind, Sketchnote

Sketchnote: Andy Puddicombe on meditation

February 27, 2013 by philipp68

A friend had recommended watching the presentation “All it takes is 10 mindful minutes“. So the other day I sat down in my comfortable chair in the living room with my notebook on my lap and started sketching. Andy does an excellent job at de-mystifying meditation. To quote the New York Times: “Andy Puddicombe is doing for meditation what Jamie Oliver has done for food!” Andy wrote the book “Get Some Headspace” and runs a website about mediation. I really like […]

Categories: Sketchnotes • Tags: Emotion, Meditation, Mind

The three pots

January 12, 2013 by philipp68

Early in January, while thinking about possible new years resolutions, I stumbled across the story of the three pots by Pema Chödrön. “This is it!” I thought. “An excellent reminder I can print out and stick to the wall behind my desk. Reminding me to keep a calm, open mind. Allowing me to fully experience all the good and bad things that will happen to me in this New Year.” The three pots Each of the three pots represents an […]

Categories: Life & Work • Tags: Attitude, Buddhism, Emotion, Mind

Losing and finding paradise

November 5, 2012 by philipp68

Everything we experience triggers an emotional reaction. When something feels bad our mind tends to fabricate a complicated story, telling us what object or person to blame for the bad feeling. Emotions are important guides we should carefully listen to. What we tend to forget is that the story our mind fabricates is dependent on what we believe, our current emotional state and cultural background. In many situations it is our mind that is creating most of the drama, when […]

Categories: Life & Work • Tags: Action, Bhagavad Gita, Illusion, Mind

The Bhagavad Gita Part 1: Facing a difficult Decision?

June 12, 2012 by philipp68

This is the first of a series of posts, where I would like to explore how an ancient text like the Bhagavad Gita can help us taking overdue decisions and engaging in action. I use the example of decision making, because in life and at work we often hesitate to take decisions, especially if a decisions leads to actions we would like to avoid. We act a little bit like Arjuna, the hero of the Gita, in the opening of […]

Categories: Bhagavad Gita, Life & Work • Tags: Action, Bhagavad Gita, Body, Decision, Dharma, Heart, Intuition, Mind, Wisdom