Live What You See, Not What You Know

In this issue:

Live What You See, Not What You KnowZen of Coaching: Course for Executive CoachesA Poem, by Robert BlyWhat I’m Watching, Joan Didion, The Center Will Not Hold

The artist Ruth Asawa, instructed her students: “Draw what you see, not what you know.”

I saw this quote on a wall at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art, surrounded by hundreds of Ruth Asawa’s creations; taking ordinary objects and turning them into beautiful pieces of art. It felt to me like a good description of Zen practice and of how I want to live — less assumptions, more seeing and living with clarity and wonder; living with more openness and less bias.

Becoming aware and familiar with our biases is surprisingly difficult and important – in the development of our character, how we relate to others, and how we live in this complex and changing world. Meditation, mindfulness practice, and mindful leadership could be described as the practice of becoming familiar with our limited thinking and our biases – in how we see ourselves, our relationships, and our work.

Confirmation bias is a good place to start. We notice and pay attention and give weight to what matters to us, and hardly notice what we’ve decided isn’t as important. This influences how we listen, what we hear, and how we relate to our family members and those we work with.

In-group bias is particularly subtle and powerful. Some combination of our genetics and our environment leads us to separate those in our in-group from those not in our in-group. Our in-group can be those who look like us, or think like us, or adhere to the same religion, or even those who support the same sports team. Here is a short clip by David Eagleman demonstrating the power and perniciousness of the in-group/out-group bias.

The anchoring bias refers to our tendency to give extra attention or weight to information that we first receive. First impressions can color, mask, or highlight how we see other people or events in ways that distort clear thinking and action.

These are just three of a host of biases. Others include bias for optimism, for pessimism, and the halo affect. For a deep dive in the art and science of understanding our biases, read Thinking Fast And Slow by Daniel Kahneman. In an NPR/Hidden brain interview he is asked if studying and understanding biases results in him not being affected by them. Daniel Kahneman laughs at this question, and points to the way that biases often have a way of being unconscious and live and act below the surface of conscious awareness.

Practices:

Experiment with this phrase: Live what you see, not what you know.

Bring awareness to yours and others biases, starting with confirmation bias, in-group bias, and anchoring bias.

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Tangle Blue Lake, Trinity Alps, California.

Zen of Coaching: For Executive Coaches: Transforming Others, Becoming Your Best Self, Changing The World

An online course, beginning October 24th

Coaching is a way of helping others find the deepest places of their hearts.

Program Overview

Zen of Coaching is a transformational program for executive coaches and leaders who want to deepen their presence, expand their impact, and build a coaching practice rooted in wisdom, not just performance. Blending Zen principles, mindfulness, and real-world leadership experience, this course—created by Marc Lesser, the Zen teacher and CEO who helped bring mindful leadership to Google—supports you in cultivating stillness, navigating complexity, and coaching with greater authenticity, clarity, and purpose.

To register and for more information.

A Poem, by Robert Bly

“Things to Think”

Think in ways you’ve never thought before

If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message

Larger than anything you’ve ever heard,

Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats.

Think that someone may bring a bear to your door,

Maybe wounded and deranged: or think that a moose

Has risen out of the lake, and he’s carrying on his antlers

A child of your own whom you’ve never seen.

When someone knocks on the door, think that he’s about

To give you something large: tell you you’re forgiven,

Or that it’s not necessary to work all the time, or that it’s

Been decided that if you lie down no one will die.

What I’m Watching

Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold – A 2017 documentary , filled with cultural insights, navigating personal loss and resilience through interviews, archival footage, and reflections, revealing a writer’s life shaped by fragility and fierce observation.

Warmest regards,

Marc

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