Why do you think/sense/know that you as an individual are here on planet earth? There are two phrases which really resonate for me. The first is ‘the great mystery’ and this to me speaks of higher truths about existence that are beyond our ability as humans to know.
The second is the very start of the Tao Te Ching which is sometimes translated as “the Tao which is the Tao is not the Tao”. This for me is a reminder of the ineffable, that which cannot be put into words. As we write about in Customer Experiences with Soul, language both reveals or discloses reality to us, while at the same time also concealing reality.
With that in mind, I think all of us have our own challenges to overcome and lessons to learn. If I think of the themes in my life, the triumphs and the challenges, the one key word which comes to mind immediately is ‘wholeness’. This is a theme which has been with me since my university days, and as I have grown older, I have had the opportunity to reflect more and study more, enabling me to better understand fragmentation and how we miss the dimension of wholeness in our being.
So I think I am here on earth in this lifetime to understand and know wholeness in as complete a way as a human being.
What is it that makes your life worthwhile? I think the interesting thing about this question is the need for a level of self-awareness which alerts us to the miracle that is life. Life is so precious, just remembering this fact can make even the most mundane experience remarkable.
If I think about my own life though, I think it is when I realise that it is possible to have a positive impact on other people. There is a huge satisfaction of just having a coffee with someone, and planting the seed of a thought or idea which then triggers within them a meaningful shift.
What do you want to manifest in your life? For myself, for my friends and family, and for society, I always wish for health, happiness and harmony.
On a strictly personal level, one always hopes as an author for your words to have an impact on people, and not to be lost in the ether.
What does it mean for you to be present? I have a very lucid imagination and while this can be amazing when harnessed, I have to remember to be fully mindful at times. So being present for me is quieting myself and really focusing on what is being said, how it is being said, the motives behind what is being said, and not losing myself in my own thoughts in order to give my full attention to the present moment and those around me.
What is your understanding of success in life? For me a successful life is a dignified life. A life in which the five universal human values of peace, truth, love, righteousness and non-violence are lived, since if these are truly understood and followed, a life cannot be lived any higher than these.
Which issues keep you up at night? (not because you worry about them but because you want to gain deeper knowledge/knowing about them!) The big question for me is understanding being in every sense of the word. Not just from a human perspective, but from a cosmic level as well. What exactly is light? What exactly is magnetism What exactly is space and time? What exactly is matter? It seems no matter how many books on quantum physics I read, I have not yet managed to get to the deepest essence of what these truly are, if that is indeed possible.
Simon Robinson is the co-founder of Holonomics Education and the co-author of Customer Experiences with Soul: A New Era in Design and Holonomics: Business Where People and Planet Matter.
He is a member of the Emerging Future Institute,
a member of the Strongly Sustainable Business Model Group at OCAD University, Toronto,
and editor of the blogs www.transitionconsciousness.org and www.cxwithsoul.com.
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www.holonomics.co.uk (English)
www.cxwithsoul.com (Customer Experiences with Soul) www.transitionconsciousness.org (blog)