At Work

Many people today know that they are wasting their time at work and have even learned to consider this normal. Working for the money they can make, they learn to take a very limited view of their own capabilities. Their energy and creativity go into wishful thinking and the pursuit of pleasure. How wonderful if through our actions we could demonstrate a better way!

--Tarthang Tulku, from Mastering Successful Work

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Making Work Fullfilling

In Skillful Means, working is seen as a path of personal development; at the core of it is facing and taking on challenges. Challenging your awareness and energy, perfecting your inner resources, you can be successful in any activity. Whether this is your outlook on work depends on whether you approach it with the right attitude.

If you see work as an unavoidable duty, something unpleasant to be avoided whenever possible, work will end up controlling your life. Even if you work out of a sense of obligation to do well—what is commonly viewed as the ‘work ethic’— you will not be taking full advantage of the opportunities work offers.

If you see work as a journey toward fulfillment, however, then each challenge you master transforms who you are, automatically bringing abundance and a sense of well-being. Work becomes more like art: You work for the joy of working. You may not be able to say for certain whether you will succeed at whatever you do, but by giving your full effort, you create the possibility of producing something richly creative—unimaginable and unique. This approach to work is the attitude that Skillful Means fosters.

Working "In"

When you work with Skillful Means, you do not just work for or to; you work in—in the mind, in time, in energy, in space. You do not just learn skills, but learn who you are and how to develop your inner capacities: your knowledge, your communications, your decision-making. You discover how to use the raw materials for success and spiritual fulfillment alike: contemplation, awareness, energy, and time. Fully engaged, doing your best, you contribute to the success of the business and guarantee your own deep satisfaction. You can be loyal to your work because of what it gives you; in fact, there is no separation between you and your work. Because it does not descend upon you like an outside force, work does not produce pressure and stress; instead, it provides opportunities to taste the joy of meeting new challenges.

Working in this way, you discover that you can embody experience as you go along, drawing on each new event to develop more skill and greater knowledge. Learning through each activity, you realize that learning itself is knowledge, and prepare yourself to become a master of learning. The more you learn, the more full and meaningful life becomes. Because you are using the abundance of knowledge available to you, your actions automatically generate inspiring results. You yourself become the source of success. For such a person, work would have fulfilled its potential as a spiritual practice. It would hold out the promise that each of us could do anything—create anything!

e-Skilllful Means Program:

Levels I – 3 

There will be twelve weekly sessions, each with a unique topic. Each will be introduced by a video clip, and will be sent to you by email. Each session will include a narrative with some highlights that provide a theoretical basis for the topic, a suggested focus for the week, exercises to practice, and required and optional readings.

At each level, we offer the option of three coaching sessions by phone with one of the team leaders at the Center for Skillful Means. In these sessions you will have the opportunity to discuss and plan your progress in study and practice.

    Level I – The Spirit of Life:

• Topic 1 – Inner Freedom
• Topic 2 – Restoring Balance (Transforming Stress into Wellbeing)
• Topic 3 – Mindfulness
• Topic 4 – Body Awareness
• Topic 5 – Sensory Awareness
• Topic 6 – Leadership
• Topic 7 – Perennial Truths
• Topic 8 – Core Beliefs and Self-Images
• Topic 9 – Time to Change
• Topic 10 – Transforming Emotions
• Topic 11 – Inner Knowing
• Topic 12 – Collaboration

For more information or to register for an e-Skillful Means program: Call us: 1-800-873-4276 OR E-mail us: programs@dharmapublishing.com

Transforming Stress into Well-Being

This 3-month, standalone e-program, not only reduces stress, but even transforms the energy of stress into joy and effectiveness.  Utilizing Buddhist principles of Skillful Means that reveal structures for success and well-being, the Transforming Stress e-program offers tools to deal with change and to help focus on what is important and what needs to be done on time.

You will learn to:

1. Understand the principles of well-being
2. Know the causes and conditions for stress
3. Maintain balance in all circumstances
4. Develop confidence in times of change

Students will receive 12 weekly classes over the course of 3 months along with 3 transcriptions from Dharma Publishing's "Stop Burnout" workshops.

For more information or to register for an e-Skillful Means program: Call us: 1-800-873-4276 OR E-mail us: programs@dharmapublishing.com