Why Do You Work?

I was hit by a flaming arrow by a Forum piece in USA Today last Monday written about God (The God Choice).  It was written by Barbara Bradley Hagerty whose new book is Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality.  Her book asserts that all of us are confronted with a nagging choice.  Under scenario one all of human consciousness resides inside the three-pound slab of meat called our brain.  In this scenario, the meaning of both the universe and our daily life, our family, and anything else we might care about are the results of brain chemistry.  All meaning and all morality is made up.  All reality is material.

The other choice is to look at our brains’ design as a radio receiver capable of receiving inspiration and wisdom from a source beyond our personal biology.  Furthermore, this greater wisdom is constantly being broadcast whether we tune into it or not.  Neurological research on people who meditate, for instance, develop parts of their brain that enables them to reduce negative stress, improve sustained contentment and creative responses to challenges.  This she proposes is like putting a big antenna on our inner radio so we can receive clearer, deeper and more inspiring wisdom from a source beyond our brains.  Why should we believe this?

Well, the truth is no one knows what consciousness is.  What we do know now is that people who have had all brain wave activity cease in their brain due to a medical procedure can still experience complete consciousness even when they are brain dead!  (See the case of Pam Reynolds).  The implication is that our unique human consciousness appears to exist independent of our physical brains.  Wow.

So what’s spiritual meaning have to do with our daily life?  It turns out, plenty.  I was conducting a training of a global brand name company last week for a group of senior sales executives who were dealing with the brutal impacts of unrelenting stress performing at a high level in this crazy economy. One of the questions I asked is “Why Do You Work?”  As the answers flowed it soon became apparent that we work to live rather than live to work.

Then I asked, “What makes life worth living?”  In the many decades of doing this kind of work the answer is always the same.  The people we love make life worth living. Relationships are at the core of meaning because healthy relationships require us to go beyond our self-interest.  They ask us to love when people are acting unlovable.  They ask us to understand, to listen, to encourage, to be loyal and committed even when it’s inconvenient.  Especially when it’s inconvenient.  It’s relationships of love that give us the glimpse of what’s possible when we authentically connect with another.  It is then when we feel the energy of selfless love instead of the grimy world of survival of the fittest.

So is love real, or is it just the result of brain chemistry and DNA?  Well, again, it’s a choice.  For me hell would be believing that life was meaningless and that love was a mirage.  It means that patiently listening to a grieving friend is meaningless self-indulgence.

Heaven on the other hand, begins when I have a moment of intense presence with someone I love.  In those moments heaven crashes over me in an ecstasy of profound gratitude that connects me to every element of the universe.  And in those unique moments I feel oneness.  Is that made up?

Of course sophisticated brain scans can identify the parts of the brain that light up when people feel this transcendence.  Some cynics believe because we’ve discovered the human antenna that there is no need to consider the source of the divine music.  It seems no matter what they insist, life has no absolute meaning.  But what if life does have meaning?  What if the common human experience of love is what makes life worth living because love is real?

My choice is to believe it’s more real than anything else.  My choice is to believe it’s more real than the economy, politics, retirement, a job, the Internet or my personal stresses and disappointment that the world does not conform to my agenda.  That is my choice because it is my experience.  What’s yours?

The Meaning of Life

We have begun a new year, and the milestone that marks the passing of one and the beginning of another encourages us to look where we have been, and where we are going. Will we choose to live the New Year with purpose? Or will we simply walk aimlessly to some distant horizon? Why did you get out of bed this morning? Was their a purpose or was it just something you had to do?

As I look back at my own life and the year that has passed, I see both types of days. The interesting thing is that when I lived life with purpose and meaning, nothing could get me down. I knew why I got up in the morning, I understood the purpose to my actions, and everything I did meant something. When one chooses to live their life with purpose the distractions that drain of us of our life’s energy loose their power over us. When I have purpose I don’t get worked up if someone cuts me off on the freeway, says something I find offensive, or if someone doesn’t live up to my expectations. Why would I allow such a small thing to affect me when my life means so much more than such trivial distractions?

Stop for a moment and think about a time in your life when you felt truly driven. It needn’t be anything world changing or even life changing. Maybe it was a job interview that you felt really good about, or just a moment where you embraced life and enjoyed it.

I recently had such a moment on New Years day when a quick New Years jump in to the ocean turned in to a cold water endurance contest. For thirty minutes my daughters and I bobbed and floated in the surf without wetsuits, embracing the cold winter touch of the Pacific Ocean as it bit at our finger and toes. That simple act of embracing the experience turned something uncomfortable in to something joyful and filled with purpose and meaning.

One of the reasons that we frequently fail to find purpose and meaning in our lives is that we tend to look to others to find the meaning in our lives, when the meaning lies inside ourselves. How often do we suffer because some one fails to meet our expectations? This is what happens when we look outside to find happiness instead of finding it from within and enhancing it with the presence of friends and loved ones. It is unfair to burden someone else with the weight of all our hopes and dreams, and each of us must find the purpose and meaning inside of ourselves.

Another reason we frequently fail to find the purpose and meaning in our lives is that we fail to see that meaning has it exists right now. What does this moment mean to your life? To see the meaning in the past is nostalgia, the meaning of the future a hope and a dream, but to see the meaning of now is liberating because now is when your future is created. One of the most influential books I have ever read is “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle which goes in to great depth on the topic. The meaning in our lives must be constantly renewed if we are to overcome the ups and downs that life brings.

There are many resolutions that I could pursue in the year ahead. I could lose weight, do a better job at managing my money, or just resolve to do something great. In the end however, I realize that understanding the purpose and meaning in my own life is the foundation upon which all of these things rest, and my resolution is to renew the purpose of my life and give it meaning each day.

What is the greatest thing you can do to live a meaningful life in 2009 and beyond?