THE PRESENCE OF MIND
BY DIRK STRODA
Give Your Mind Space to Function
My interest has always been in Architecture + Art.
I was fortunate enough to know and work with one of the leading architects in the late 90ies in Europe. I learned that a creative mind needs positive and enriching influences; that's why successful individuals flock together in creative business centers, learning facilities and connect with nature. Creative and free-thinking minds enjoy when they get sucked into creative vortex that moves at a high speed and brings disruptive ideas and solutions.
The mind plays a massive role in the way we live our lives; it can hinder us and it can propel us forward.
And how to make life work for each of us is a skill; an artful skill.
Our life skills are unique to us and mostly invisible for us. It works (more or less) in a way that we assume it should work.
Life works best in the state of presence.
I visited the Taliesin West location last week in Phoenix, AZ that Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 - 1959) created for his own creative mind and for teaching the free-thinking mindset to his students.
Frank Lloyd Wright was a genius and he was non-traditional. He was disruptive and changed the landscape of architecture world-wide.
But a creative mind and free-thinking spirit can only grow when it's engineered well and is based on fundamental skills.
So, how is architecture comparable to life?
Both can be designed, changed and both can become art. Art and life are unique like a fingerprint and like Wright explained "it must be understood as a whole".
Once you understand the fundamental life skills you will prevail and life will fit perfectly to you. If you understand the details, you will be able to find excellence.
Assignment for the week
Make a list of your environment and workspaces such as family, friends, club, parents, office, home office, at my client location, open public meeting spaces, etc.
Observe your productivity, engagement and happiness when you are spending time in those locations and evaluate them with a number from 1-10 (10 is the best; 1 the worst).
You will find out that your productivity and engagement is directly related to your happiness. But please do the work and find out on your own.
Recap: put the locations on the vertical axis and productivity, engagement and happiness on the horizontal axis. Monitor it for one week and draw your conclusions.
Drop me a line if you wish to discuss with me (1-800-756-8027).
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