As much as we're living in the Information Age, it is also an age of dire
confusion. We might call it the Mis-information Age! You can easily find thousands of opinions on virtually any subject
from politics and flower arranging to movies, books, and every consumer product imaginable. Many (if
not most) of these opinions, however, have not been thought through very
clearly—they're often nothing more than someone's random musings or, worse
still, outright complaining. Few of those opinions are subjected to any kind of
editorial or peer review; sometimes they're only speculation without the backing
of experience; and seldom are opinions checked against any kind of
timeless wisdom.
Furthermore, one never knows if there's a hidden agenda lurking behind those
opinions—people seem all to willing to sell their souls to the highest bidder
and become a willing mouthpiece for such interests. It's even difficult to trust
what is supposed to be the bastion of objective fact—science—as we often see
"experimental" results omitted, fudged, or outright fabricated to support a
favorable outcome for whoever sponsored the study. People also make all kinds of
outrageous interpretations of such sketchy facts, extrapolating, for example,
new recommendations for human lifestyle choices based on the physiological
responses of a few laboratory rats.
Thus we also live in an age of cynicism. With so little basis for trust we
habituate ourselves to rejection: jettisoning the true along with the false. Is it any
surprise, then, that many consider life meaningless or hopeless? Few have the tenacity
to sort through mountains of garbage to find a single grain of gold, if they
even have a basis for recognizing that gold in the first place. It's much easier
to simply escape into other realities altogether, which our vast entertainment
industry so readily provides. (Notice however the news, politics, and religion
are now often structured as entertainment!)
Antidotes to confusion and cynicism are desperately needed—an antidote being
a state of mind in which confusion and cynicism lose their power. Problems,
however, cannot be solved on the same level of consciousness that created them.
Confusion cannot be solved merely by adding another round of muddled debate or
another dozen blogs; cynicism cannot be cured by another act of rejection. A
higher level of consciousness is necessary—a perspective that sees things from
above, a point of view that looks at problems in relationship to a greater
reality.
Darkness cannot be driven out with more darkness, but it flees before its
opposite: light. Similarly, cynicism—the act of rejecting negatives—can only be
overcome by embracing positives, and confusion is dispelled by clarity.
Embracing clarity and light, consciously and powerfully, is the key to
finding true solutions. It is this embrace that I seek to exercise and share in my
life and work.
Problem-solving is in my very nature. As you can see from my
bio, my
schooling and professional experiences are in engineering, a problem-solving
field extraordinaire. As an engineer I learned to always ask not whether
something seems right or feels good, but rather—to use the words from a
mock problem-solving flowchart we had at Microsoft—"does the damn thing work?" If
it does, then don't mess with it, or only mess with it if it can be made to work
better. And if it doesn't work? As the flowchart suggested: "shitcan it."
The practice of engineering can only take one so far, however. While it can
produce the more efficient means to an end, it doesn't generally ask whether
that end is right and true. To use a somewhat tired cliché, engineering can
answer whether something can be done but not whether it should be
done.
That was my personal point of departure from the high-tech scene. I clearly
remember sitting in a huge meeting of Microsoft's Business Systems Division in
the spring of 1996 where one of our vice presidents shared his complete enthusiasm for the
next round of networking/Internet technologies we'd be developing. While
in years past this sort of stuff could spin my jets, I was now more occupied
with deeper questions of meaning, purpose, and direction (see Chapters 12 and 14
of my book, Mystic Microsoft).
"Where is all this going?" I wondered. "What does it really mean for people?
Is there a greater purpose to all this than just making more products to sell,
increasing the value of our stock options, and getting rich so we can 'enjoy'
life?" While I could invent a few answers to these thoughts, I knew I needed to
go much more into them—and into myself. Where was I going? What meaning
and purpose did my life have? And how did those personal imperatives
relate to broader realities?
It was right around this time that my wife and I (she was asking similar
questions herself) immersed ourselves in the search both mentally and physically,
joining an intentional spiritual community outside Seattle. (Actually a network
of spiritual communities, known collectively as Ananda, of which the Seattle site
was a branch.) We embraced living among like-minded souls along with intensive
spiritual practices like Kriya Yoga. We also studied and trained to become
members of the Ananda Monastic Order (now known as the Ananda Sevaka Order), which is open to married people and those
with children (a category we joined in October 2006).
The guiding philosophy for these communities and the monastic order is put
forth in the book
Cities of Light: A Plan for This Age along with
Hope
for a Better World: The Small Communities Solution, both by J. Donald
Walters, Ananda's founder. That philosophy is called Crystal Clarity:
To live in Crystal Clarity means to see oneself, and all
things, as aspects of a greater reality; to seek to enter into conscious
attunement with that reality; and to see all things as channels for the
expression of that reality.
It means to see truth in simplicity; to seek always to be
guided by the simple truth, not by opinion; and by what IS, not by one’s own
desires or prejudices.
It means striving to see things in relation
to their broadest potential.
In one’s association with other people, it
means seeking always to include their realities in one’s own.
It was in these books that I found my engineering background both validated
and brought to a higher level: the level of light and clarity. Community life
and monastic training taught me how to clarify what, exactly, I was wanting
(versus what I merely didn't want), how to embrace it with all my heart, mind,
soul, and strength, and how to give it active, appropriate expression in my own
life and in my relationships with others. In this I found meaning, purpose, and
hope, whether I was involved in technology, office administration, construction,
retail sales, forest management, childhood education, singing, homemaking,
ministry, and all kinds of other roles.
It is now, after more than ten years of such immersion, that I feel
ready to expand the sphere of relationship further. There are many questions and problems and issues that need
solutions, that need an infusion of clarity and light through which new
solutions and opportunities will appear. I hope to share the results through
this website, such as my book,
Mystic Microsoft,
that offers the story of my notable (first) career at Microsoft from
the standpoint of its spiritual meaning, even though at the time I pretty much
considered myself an atheist!
I also recently completed
Finding
Focus: How to Clarify Your Priorities and Live with Purposeful Simplicity.
This book addresses a common mental ailment: scatteredness. That is, having so
many desires and priorities and interests that little energy is left for
accomplishing what truly matters to you. This book offers a series of exercise
through which you can discover those true priorities and then apply them in any
number of situations to bring the fulfillment you seek.
I'm also working toward Solving Stress, a book that applies clarity and light to one of
today's most pressing health issues. Instead of trying to fight stress with
other forms of stress—as happens with most stress management strategies—this
book focused on how to embrace the opposites of stress: relaxation, calmness,
and self-control. The methods given in this book are not new, mind you--you can
find them amidst the jumble of suggestions offered by any number of other
titles. But what I've done is to pull out and present, with focus and clarity,
those core exercises that really are the most direct and effective (as
the engineer in me demands). The book also explores the further opportunities
that those same methods give you to also find and embrace what's most meaningful
to you.
Much more will hopefully follow as I write on various issues and subjects.
Now you might be asking, in light of what I said earlier, whether what I'm
offering here is just another opinion and whether I have a hidden agenda of my
own. I say no to both, but obviously there's no assurance I can make here that
won't be subject to the same doubt. Nevertheless, let me offer a few relevant
thoughts.
First, I have no special or commercial interests backing me, period. Though
I'm again gainfully employed by Microsoft these days (I'll return to this in a
moment), my core livelihood comes
from interest-bearing investments and I have no
compulsion to satisfy others for that livelihood. Well over half of those income-bearing
investments are also not related to any kind of commercial activity. And while the
remainder consists of mutual funds, a few stocks, and a few corporate bonds, I simply
have no need or interest to promote particular companies.
Now as I said, I'm actually working for Microsoft again (as of
September 2008) as a Program Manager, not to build a career or for
ego-gratification of any kind, but for the simple expediency of
supporting my young son's future growth and education. While our
investment income was sufficient for a simple lifestyle even with a
child, it introduced some practical limits on things like specialized
education and travel. I mention these because it was apparent by Liam's
first birthday that he would probably benefit from both. As a calm and
introspective soul, who seems sensitive to the vibrations of his
environment, attending a small, private school (such as the
Living
Wisdom School of Beaverton, OR, where both my wife an I are Board
members) will certainly be important. And he's already shown an ease
with travel and seems like he'll be, along with many of his peers, no
doubt, a "citizen of the world" and thus be interested in experiencing
that world.
In my role as father, then, I've once again undertaken career
responsibilities to serve his needs. But this decision in no way alters
the life philosophy I'm describing here: it's simply another opportunity
to practice that philosophy. It's somewhat foreign to me, in fact, to
have to think in terms of "building a career" as employees are asked to
do. I really seek only to serve, that is, to do my best with what's
assigned to me and to help others succeed in their work. That's really
as much as I can do anyway, for even if I tried to promote commercial
interest, fact of the matter is that I'm a lousy salesman!
For various reasons, then, I offer much of my work free of charge here and
on other websites (like
www.mysticmicrosoft.com). I'd prefer our relationship (e.g. author to
reader) to begin on mutual interest and inspiration rather than a financial
transaction. I certainly welcome reciprocation if you find something of value
here, but I'm just as happy if you donated that money to a worthy cause of your
choice. Also, my interest is in sharing content rather than selling packaging. A
book, for instance, is a product (the story or information) in a package (the
physical bound volume). Much of what you pay for in a book is the
packaging--typically the cost of the content (i.e. author's royalties) is 25% or
less of the total. Personally, I prefer to buy things with as little packaging
as possible, so I want to provide that option to you--written works here, for
example, are available in HTML and/or PDF, with printed editions available
through print-on-demand facilities. That way you have the choice yourself.
As for hidden agendas? I have none other than to share clarity, light,
and solutions with the world in the hopes of encouraging others to focus their
own energies in positive, constructive ways. I am simply not promoting any
persons or groups (including Microsoft and Ananda), and have no need to accept
"incentives" for any kind of favors. The bottom line is that only need to please
myself, or, more accurately, my Higher Self, with honesty, sincerity, and
integrity.
You may find this hard to accept. But let me explain that an essential part
of monastic training is renunciation of selfish interests, the offering of one's
entire self into a greater reality. My deepest interest is Truth, not opinion,
and I endeavor to attune my thoughts on matters to that Truth, to the wisdom of
the ages as taught by great spiritual teachers of past and present. It's a
devotion to what is, not what I or anyone else would like it to
be. (This is even reflected in my spiritual name, Satyaki, which I use within
the context of spiritual community. This Sanskrit same, pronounced SAHT-yah-kee,
literally means "devotion to Truth.")
Of course, you are free to doubt any and all of these claims, as is your
right. In the end, I'll simply leave it to the works posted here to speak for
themselves. If you find them inspiring or instructive, if they offer you a sense
of hope or a reassurance that things like love and beauty do exist in the
world, then I've done my job. All I ask of you is that you then act on
that inspiration and hope in some way of your own choosing, regardless of
anything I might suggest.
The key here is for you to become a channel, as I aspire to be,
through which clarity, light, beauty, love, hope and all other positive forces
can flow into our world. For that alone—not legislation, social programs,
military might, homeland security, or the United Nations—is what makes the world
a better place. Don't wait for others to do it. Don't wait for some big movement
to get organized. Do it now. Yours is the power. I pray I can inspire you to
claim it, and use it.
Kraig Brockschmidt
Portland, Oregon
www.kraigbrockschmidt.com