Zen Tools - How To Think Effectively
The Stronger Your Response To Events - The Better The Outcome
Introducing Zen Tools
Zen Tools is all about learning 2 key skills:
- How to think effectively
- How to stop thinking
Developing these skills matters because, over the long term, the outcomes that you experience are determined by how you respond to the events in your life.
Many of the things that happen in your life are random and beyond your control.
But, the one thing you can control is how you choose to respond to these events - and it is a choice.
The long term impact of these choices can have a major effect on your health, wealth and happiness.
The Law Of Response And Outcome
The outcomes that you experience are determined by your responses to the events in your life.
This can be expressed as:
Outcome = Event x Response
The strength and quality of your response is determined by the skills and the experience you bring to it, and that is based on knowing how to think effectively.
The stronger your response - the better the outcome.
All of this is especially relevant as at time of writing, the world is coming to terms with the economic and financial consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war, and right now the Israel-Hamas conflict, and very recently the overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria by rebel forces.
Everything I share on this site is all based on real-life practical experience from my own personal experience.
How To Think Effectively With Zen Tools
To really learn how to think effectively we have to learn and master the art of not thinking.
We live in a world of complexity. It is impossible to comprehend all the moving parts, and even if we could, we can't control them.
Living within a complex system means navigating a world where multiple interdependent factors interact in often unpredictable ways.
The most important factor to bear in mind is that as one of very many small moving parts within a complex system, how you are is as important as what you do.
Traditional thinking is not enough, dealing with complexity requires a more intuitive and collaborative approach.
A quiet mind is an insightful mind and a resourceful mind.
The most effective way of achieving this is with the zen practise of mindfulness.
The key word here is "practise". Zen is entirely practise based, there are no beliefs or dogmas.
Zen simply means: "direct experience in seeing things as they really are".
Your mind isn't going to stop thinking on demand.
The goal of mindfulness isn't to suppress thinking, but to surpass it and to experience that you are not your thoughts and to learn how to respond to your thoughts resourcefully.
Our brains process and organize information in a variety of ways.
We have a wide range of thinking processes that are built into our brains; we use them all the time and automatically.
But we don’t always use them efficiently.
We need to learn thinking skills.
Thinking critically, deliberately and systematically processing information enables you to make better decisions and generally understand things better.
Focusing on how to think not what to think, you know how to apply the most appropriate cognitive processes to the task in hand.
Why Zen Tools?
I have called this site "Zen Tools" for 4 reasons, because it:
- Provides resources and tools that support and develop mindfulness practices.
- Creates a mindfulness based framework and foundation for learning how to think effectively.
- Teaches you how to think effectively and provides the tools and resources to do so.
- Facilitates the renewal of your mind with a range of practical skills.
In these tough times:
The better your response to events - the better the outcomes you will experience.
Personal Background To Zen Tools
My name is Stephen Warrilow and I'm based in Singapore and the UK.
Everything that you read from here onwards is based entirely on my own direct, lived experience of how to think effectively, how to stop thinking and how to cope with tough times. All of the resources that I suggest or recommend are things that I have done (or still do) and that work for me.
I am NOT a therapist, priest, Zen master, psychotherapist, mullah, rabbi, teacher or counselor and I am no way qualified to offer any form of professional support or guidance on how to change your life - I am just a simple businessman.
If you are undergoing any form of counseling, professional treatment or support (or if you feel you need to be) please stick with what your professional expert is telling you – or seek professional help (if you need to.)
Nothing I share with you will harm you, quite the contrary, but experience has shown that it is far more beneficial to follow one path or line of treatment and stick to it for the duration of the treatment – and as I have already told you, I am not a professional!
It’s probably best to think of the material on this site as one fellow traveler sharing with others.
Why Am I Doing This?
The internationally renowned priest, author and respected professor Henri Nouwen once said that:
"What is most personal is most universal... by giving words to these intimate experiences I can make my life available to others."
Without trying to sound too pious, precious or up my own backside about
it, I feel that this is the energy behind where I’m now coming from now.
OK, more than enough said!
How To Think Effectively - Main Themes
Changing
How To Think
Focusing On How To Think Not What To Think
How To Benefit From The Law Of Response And Outcome
Understanding And Relating To Consciousness
How To NOT think - Main Themes
Supporting Articles
These articles develop and support the main themes outlined above.
LATEST ARTICLES
And So This Is Christmas
There Is No Path To Peace - The Path Is Peace Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, and peace activist, often spoke about peace as a state of being that begins within on…Curiosity Skilled The Cat - Optimize For Interesting
Curiosity Fuels Excellence The old adage, “Curiosity killed the cat,” warns of the dangers of venturing too far into the unknown. But what if we reimagine it not as a risk but as a gateway to developi…Let Stillness Speak - Living Within A Complex System
To let stlllness speak is to learn it's first major lesson: you are not your thoughts. To let stillness speak is about stepping back from the constant chatter of your mind and allowing a deeper, quiet…Understanding Complex Systems Thinking - It's Not Complicated
Understanding, and being able to work with, complexity is an important thinking skill.
We are all working with complex systems, and we do so every day. The biggest one is life itself. We automaticall…Stay On The Bus - When To Keep On Going
The Helsinki Bus Station Theory
Have you ever started a new project, initiative or role with a big vision and a determination to make a difference? Initially you were full of enthusiasm and highly mo…Zen Thoughts Email Series
Conversations With A Friend Zen Thoughts is an email series of 50 short messages spread over 3 months. The messages are written in the style of a conversation with a friend who is going through a toug…How to Get What You Value by Changing What You Measure
Give Up Control & Gain Influence To Get What You Want
The metrics we choose to focus on can significantly shape our outcomes, sometimes in ways we don't intend. The challenge is to make sure that you…How to Become A Master At Overcoming Hard Moments
"The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It's because they lose again and again and have learned how to deal with it." This quote from Roger Federer has got a lot of cover…Drop The Story - Deal With Your Demons and Transform Your Experience
Are you living your life from the stories you tell yourself? Learning how to drop the story and deal with that voice in your head can be a game changer. When you can do this you will have a powerful t…Standing In The Gap Between No Longer And Not Yet
Standing In The Gap In Conditions Of Imposed Change. This is about imposed change and surviving a dire and desperate situation where you are stuck in a difficult or seemingly impossible set of circums…Preparing The Ground - For Things You Can Not See
We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the ground. The phrase "preparing the ground" is a metaphor for making the necessary preparations to create the favourable conditions for something to…Easing The Weight Of Expectation
Don’t you often feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your back? Our start point is understanding that the ego has a very clear idea of how things ought to be, and its intention and ex…Coram Deo - Living In Consciousness
In you there is a dimension of consciousness far deeper than thought. It is the very essence of who you are. Coram Deo is about living in consciousness. It is a Latin phrase which literally means “to…The Power Of Patience - Why You Need The World's Toughest Quality
Nothing in the world can take the place of patience. Patience and persistence are omnipotent. In everyday life, patience is often overshadowed by the desire for immediate results. We live in an era of…Demonizing The Other and Personal Acts Of Compassion
What Does Demonizing The Other Mean? Demonizing the other refers to the act of portraying a group of people or an individual as inherently evil, threatening, or inferior. It often serves to justify di…