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September/October 2011 Spirituality
How to Lead Like a Samurai

by Anne-Marie Marron

To travel the terrain of an authentic leader requires a level of listening, witnessing and an open-heart, similar to the way of the samurai.

The unwritten samurai code of conduct is known as bushido or the way of the warrior. The bushido code holds that the true warrior must possess loyalty, courage, veracity, compassion and honor — traits that are important, above all else. The samurai's code is in honor of their masters and fellow warriors.

How can we apply the warrior’s code to the parts of ourselves and others that we defend, judge or reject?

Listen. How do we listen and invite the messages of our inner experience to the conversation? These messages include the emotions, physical sensations, thoughts, stories and even our intuitive senses and intellect. The distinction is to listen for rather than to all the stories that toss us into interpretation and into working to understand.

It is not a journey of following each thought and story as if they represent what is true. Rather it is an opportunity to recognize them as they arise and to allow them to be what they are — a simple thought, interpretation or belief. From this space, we can ask ourselves what is really true and challenge our assumptions and the validity of the stories.

Witness. The practice of listening invites a greater capacity to witness rather than being pulled by every thought like a Whac-A-Mole arcade game. Here’s how the game works: There is a playing board with six holes and a hammer. The object is to whack the mole with the hammer when its head pops up. It happens at warp speed — a mole pops up, grabs your attention and by the time you’ve whacked (and usually missed), the mole pops up somewhere else.

This tendency to Whac-Our-Life in pursuit of meeting the demands of the conditioned mind doesn’t allow us to rest into just being. When I move from a place of internal rest, I draw from a resource of wisdom rather than conditioned mind.

What do I mean by internal rest? For me, it looks like growing my awareness around my mind’s particular language and patterns so I can witness how it speaks. The resting comes when I learn not to whack but to listen, sit back and move from a deeper place.

Rather than furiously whacking away, I now have the space to create more conscious conversations, speak what is true in a loving way, and experience greater freedom, connectedness and ease.

Open heart. The open heart is a direct result of this welcoming home of all the fragmented parts of us that have felt exiled for so long.

The common denominator we all face is our attachment to thoughts, beliefs and expectations. I also refer to this as the conditioned mind. What expectations do we hold of ourselves, our lives and what others want or need from us?

Often times the expectations are obvious and can be addressed in mindful ways. Other times they blindside us. If a button gets pushed or an emotional outburst arises, most likely there is an unconscious expectation or belief driving the situation.

Authentic leaders ask, “How many moments do I respond with consciousness and how many by conditioned default?” They recognize the influence their thoughts and actions have on themselves and others each day. Rather than trying to avoid the experiences of the conditioned mind, they practice recognizing the stories of the mind as they arise.

It's a moment-to-moment journey of bite-size experiences of awakening and openness to whatever arises, rather than a goal in the future. This way of being is available now.

Our invitation is to be present to our immediate experiences with or without dismissal or resistance. Even our opposition to resistance is more of the same pattern, and the merry-go-round continues.

Modeling through our behavior and actions is a powerful influence to impact and sustain change. How different does a moment unfold when we are willing to respond based on being present, vulnerable, honest and authentic rather than right, protective or agenda driven?

Anne-Marie Marron is a Colorado-based conscious business and life coach. Visit www.revealingwisdom.com.