What is life all about?

During a buddy program I joined a class with my guest at the Suan Dok Temple in Chiang Mai connected to the Buddhist University.

Buddhism is not a religion. It is a philosophy of how to live life without suffering. This tuesday afternoon the theme / teaching was; "What is life all about?"

I will try to express my understanding and feeling. During the class I discovered that life has to do with Peace, Mission and Forgiveness. 

Peace, in the first place, has to do with the peace within yourself. When you are suffering, most of the time you are not in balance between thinking (creating your own reality, but not thé(whole) reality) and feeling (intuition  / insight / inner wisdom). And when you are not in peace with yourself, it’s easy to start a war with somebody else (the world around you). So when you want to live who you really are you first have to work on peace within and accept who you realy (all one) are.

Nobody is here at this world to do nothing. You have to learn and to fulfill your mission. To find out your mission is one. It’s only to recognize all your talents and gifts and to discover the way you are called to bring them into the world. 

The second thing is to come into action to do it. Be the missionary to bring all (your unique set), instead of only a few, of your talents and gifts into the world. You are in charge to do the things you have to do. The world is waiting for it. 

Forgiveness is a topic on itself. Not realy a Buddhist one. 

Life is NOT about suffering. Pain is inevitably. This is not a pessimistic view. It is the reality of life. Suffering is optional, a choice. Again you are in charge, you make your own decisions. You have the possibility to make free choices. Stop your general excuses, think out of the box and see your obstacles as opportunities. You are not a failure as you fail. Every failure is a step closer to success.

Forgiveness is to let go. To give a new chance to do good. And think about the idea that you are the only one that decides what is ‘doing good’ (for you and out of your reality). It’s only your perception.

You can be disappointed or maybe even ruined because of disappointment in hope. False experienced hope.There is a lot in life that hurts us. You can sometimes feel hurt by what other people have done to you.But people are human, they make mistakes, they may be under stress sometimes, they say a sharp word. When your heart is open this can sting it. But most of the time there is no real malice, nothing personal intended in that. It is just that people are fallible and in different situations they act hastily and make mistakes. It is really easy to turn oneself in somebody wronged…, thinking; ‘this always keeps happening to me…’, everybody is against me.

Maybe, in a different way you think, they try to make you a success. We are not perfect sometimes.

So open up to forgiveness. We need not feel graved and feel not retaliate when things turn against us. Because actually everybody has his best interest and heart but some of the times they don’t show it. Some people are unfortunately so out of touch with compassion, love and wisdom, that they persistently do things that harm others. That’s  tragic but we should not lose heart when we notice that. We have to know that there are people who are desperately confused and have yet to learn that the way to live is to abandon desires and cultivate kindness to all beings.

And remembering this, that enables us to live unselfish, live for the good of all beings doing that with promotes happiness and harmony.

Life is about peace, mission and forgiveness. What an insight. 

Frans Captijn
Host / Catalyst / Talenteer at Captijn Insight

Captijn Insight: “Catalyst in your process to new sustainable flow. Whether you are an individual, couple, team or an organization.” 

www.captijninsight.com

captijninsight@gmail.com

What actually is Mastery, what to do with it?

I deliberately don't want to give it a true definition because I do not want to give it a label and put the word in a kind of ‘prison’. I see it as a loose and involved form of competence and wisdom out of growth, development and maturation. Mastery goes beyond 'expertise', 'life experience' and competence. It is an attitude of personal freedom one of 'you are who you are' in an environment that allows you to be exactly that way and should be. It would be regrettable for yourself and those around you if you don't show everything that you have.

Mastery has an interesting natural control of yourself or on what you do. A personal leadership in which you feel free and not being chased. When you know what you can and should contribute and what is expected from you in a situation just by sense.

You share your complete, unique and specific set of skills and talents, whether or not with others, to move forward in your life. Which will cost you in that way hardly any effort. You have your abilities in your backpack for a reason and you know how to keep your balance. You frequently take a short break to enjoy (celebrate) the results, to learn from the experience and to recharge for your next small step.

Those masterful qualities that you don' t have you know fast enough how to find them by addressing others through your energy, enthusiasm and inspiration, This is regarded as an inviting and stimulating way of sincere cooperation with respect and appreciation for their specific qualities. Deliberately not trying to get those qualities for yourself. That, after all weakens you, can put relationships under stress, and it takes too much time that you can use in a better way to improve a more beautiful world for yourself and those around you. 

Why would you go looking for the mastery in yourself and / or your organization? 

There are much more valuable beautiful things in people and organizations to achieve than is usually done (and which is paid for). People, and thus organizations  have a lot more to offer to move more freely and easier forward on the road of life, known as 'profit' or getting targets. And that's not often by convulsively management or 'steering'  according to all sorts of procedures and / or fixed patterns. Wanting to keep a grip is a commendable (and sometimes measurable) aim but it also brings inflexibility and cramps along with it.

In the rush in which we live and work, we barely get to look at and listen to ourselves. Letting in inspiration, sometimes from less well-known sources, and looking from different angles at ourselves and the challenges around us. Choosing for Mastery is choosing for connection, commitment, passion, talent, creativity and above all, free (inner) space. More fun in which the person is the main objective. A higher quality of life, in my opinion,  as it is intended to be (and also a higher quality of the product/gift you share).

Quest for Personal Mastery? An adventure to understand and getting new insights on (life) questions. An expedition to find unexpected creative solutions and or answers who will let you 'breathe' again and help you to find your way. You only have to engage in the discovery ... 

Frans Captijn
Host / Catalyst / Talenteer at Captijn Insight

Captijn Insight: “Catalyst in your process to new sustainable flow. Whether you are an individual, couple, team or an organization.” 

www.captijninsight.com

captijninsight@gmail.com

Have to dismiss people? You are dismissed? Make the difference in style!

If you know how to recruit as an employer, and also when you accept a job as an employee (be honest), you will know that everything begins and everything also can have an end. This is a simple truth. There is a time for beginning and there can be a time for ending.

It does not have to be that there is a wound in it. See it as a time to learn, thank each other and part ways. Not in anger, not in rage, not with a grudge, not with any complaint, but with gratitude and thankfulness.

Every person is unique and worthwhile (even when you are or have to be dismissed). But when you are not totally aware of all your talents, your gifts and your life mission and your habitat is not the right one to flourish… It all seems not to be right. No future in sight.

Wake up! There is a new future! Is this only a problem or can you accept it as an opportunity as well? Leave your general excuses as for instance being too old to find another work environment. Look behind your inner believe. Save sending out negative energy. Work, with a little bit support, on yourself to find new ways. Come into action. Don’t complain, don’t judge, don’t blame. Without even knowing you are infecting and intoxicate not only yourself but also your love ones and environment around you. 
Do not believe in yourself but trust in yourself! When you cannot trust yourself, who on earth can you trust?

Work together as a team (yes, that’s still possible) and make the most of it. Use this period as an opportunity. Not as an ending but as a fresh new beginning. Analyse and support each other. Work, examine and prepare on taking courageous challenges and steps for the future. Don’t forget to breath!

Give it a try. Remember, it’s not only about the money. It’s more about getting joy in life and living. Make the difference in style. Use this time to find new sustainable and good feeling solutions for both in a separated future. Take the responsibility as an employee for, and take control over, your own life so attractive further steps will arrive. Let your (former) employee, by giving him or her some support during this process, be your business card in his or her new future.

Why give so many attention to the problem and procedures instead of giving attention to different most of the time even cheaper and better fitting and feeling solutions. If one, well known, door closes automatically another, sometimes not yet seen, door of opportunities opens.

So when ‘the end’ is near choose a different way to say ‘good-by’ to each other. Don’t fight and spend lots of money on lawyers when it’s not (yet) necessary. Be creative, offer and take possibilities, give and take chances, invest in (former) human capital, do not harm, save both of your names. Make this change worthwhile for both employer/organization and employee.

We experience, working with people from different parts of the world and from different cultures, it works. Off course you cannot guarantee. We are working with people... But still, a lot of progress, a lot of insight and a lot of change out of inner power of clients. They are (also) open and willing to find their own way out of personal strength.

Save emotions, (negative) energy, extra work and money. See the challenge and make the difference and change in style together! Invest in the beauty of change!

During our special retreat program we experience this ‘obstacle’, for both, can be a huge and much more easy positive opportunity.

Frans Captijn
Host / Catalyst / Talenteer at Captijn Insight

Captijn Insight: “Catalyst in your process to new sustainable flow. Whether you are an individual, couple, team or an organization.” 

www.captijninsight.com

captijninsight@gmail.com

Your life cannot go wrong

About a month ago I received this article written by Jeff Foster. A great guy who sometimes showed up at 'The Padma Centre' in Middelburg - NL to give a presentation. The place where I for several years joined a nice and inspiring meditation and philosophy group, living my 'former' life in this life.

Jeff's theme often is a topic during a communication cafe or other dialogue with guests here in Northern Thailand. It's causing lots of beautiful in-sights as well as relief. The way Jeff describes in his article, in my opinion, is so wise and touching it should be a shame not to share in our blog. Be aware maybe you need some time to deeply understand and to suppress your first coming up thoughts. 

Your life cannot go wrong

In reality, your world is set up so that nothing happens to you, but everything happens for you - for your awakening, for your growth, for your inspiration, for your exploration - even if you forget that, or sometimes cannot see it, or sometimes fall into distraction and despair.

When there is no fixed destination, you cannot ever lose your destination, so you cannot ever lose your path, so nothing that happens in your life can take you off your path. Your path IS what happens, and what happens IS your path. There is no other.

Everything is a gift on this unbreakable path that you call your life - the laughter, the tears, the times of great sorrow, the experiences of profound loss, the pain, the confusion, the times you believe you'll never make it, even the overwhelming heartbreak of love - even if you forget that sometimes, or cannot see that sometimes, or lose faith absolutely in the entire show sometimes.

But even the loss of faith in the show is part of the show, and even the scene where 'something goes wrong' is not indicative of the show going wrong, and so you are always exactly where you need to be, believe it or not, even if you are not.

Life can be trusted absolutely, even when trust seems a million light-years away, and life cannot go wrong, for all is life, and life is all. Understand this, know it in your heart, and spirituality is profoundly simple, as simple as breathing, as natural as gazing up at the stars at night and falling into silent wonder. The universe is more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

Jeff Foster

Frans Captijn
Host / Catalyst / Talenteer at Captijn Insight

Captijn Insight: “Catalyst in your process to new sustainable flow. Whether you are an individual, couple, team or an organization.” 

www.captijninsight.com

captijninsight@gmail.com

What's the nature of honesty?

In my life I had to deal a lot of times with people who were dishonest. This week, talking to a guest in one of our programs, I got a new insight of the character of honesty. I found that, maybe, I was totally wrong, or better to say not complete, in my inner belief of understanding honesty.

When I got the question: “What is the nature of honesty?” it took me a while to think about it. After the first thoughts and spontaneous commends this question touched me and I started to learn and discover something more about honesty. And again the Buddhist principles showed me an angle I did not recognize before. An eye-opener.

One of the main life “rules” in Buddhism is; “Life is about doing good things”. So do not harm yourself in the first place and do not harm the people around you. One of the deeper levels used in Karma (action).

Let’s first skip the ‘Machiavelli idea’ that people have the active intention to use lies so they can rule. This has nothing to do with soul-engagement in (love) relationships. It’s being totally aware of misusing other people in an active way to help to raise themselves one step ‘higher’. A kind of stealing, or criminal intent.

When you talk about honesty, the first thing to do is to be honest to yourself. And to be honest to yourself you only have the reverence of YOUR reality. It’s your base for karma, action (giving & receiving). This reality is the mirror for you how to receive messages from the world (relations) around you.

So when you get the feeling that people around you are dishonest, first look deeply in yourself. Ask yourself if this is really true. Can you be totally sure? Do you know the reality of the other ‘party’? Did you take the time to investigate his or her reality / background?

The fourth guideline in Buddhism is about avoiding false speech. With our speech we can cause harm and other people can harm us.

You can sometimes feel hurt by the, in your opinion, lies that other people tell or told. But people are human, they make mistakes, they may be under stress sometimes, they say a sharp word. When your heart is open this can sting it. But most of the time there is no real malice (there is no intention to speak false), nothing personal intended in that. It is just that people are fallible and in different situations they act hastily and make mistakes. They have the intention of truthfulness, sincerity and openness. Sometimes they only use the wrong words, tone, or melody in there explanation. Maybe they are not even aware, in the same way like you, that there can be other opinions, cultural backgrounds or inner believes.

It is really easy to turn oneself in somebody wronged…, thinking; “this always keeps happening to me…’, everybody is against me and / or lying to me”. Maybe, in a different way you can think or even better feel, they try to make you a success. It’s all a lesson to investigate things from different angles and positions before thinking and /or telling that what you heard was really a lie. It helps you to keep trust in a relationship. Without trust there is not a single soul-engagement.

When you are / stay in balance (equanimity) you can find a moment to discover more and to ask the other person(s) about the background of their answer or statement. I am sure, most of the times you will be surprised to look to yourself into their mirror. Maybe you even laugh. When you do… skip yourself a little wink and open up to forgiveness (Forgiveness = giving a new chance.). A topic on itself. Through meditation we can understand what it means. It teaches us that we need not feel graved and feel not retaliate when things turn against us.

Because actually everybody has his best interest and heart but some of the times they don’t show it. Some people are unfortunately so out of touch with compassion, love and wisdom, that they persistently and without even knowing do things that harm others. That’s  tragic but we should not lose heart when we notice that.  We have to know that there are people who are desperately confused and have yet to learn that the way to live is to abandon desires and cultivate kindness to all beings.

The Buddhism teaches that we are living this lifetime to learn.  Everybody is learning, changing and growing. Remembering this, that enables us to live unselfish, live for the good of all beings doing that with promotes openness, happiness and harmony.

Frans Captijn
Host / Catalyst / Talenteer at Captijn Insight

Captijn Insight: “Catalyst in your process to new sustainable flow. Whether you are an individual, couple, team or an organization.” 

www.captijninsight.com

captijninsight@gmail.com