“Hustt...ada-ada saja kau ini!”…

 
Mau bilang apa lagi. Semua akan terbuang percuma. Bahkan aku hampir lupa, akan kata-kata yang hanya semenit kau bisikkan. Memang sengaja ingin aku lupakan. “Maaf jika semua sudah kuhapuskan”. Kawan, Aku sudah memilih. Apa perlu aku sendiri yang meneriakkannya di hatimu. Bukankah itu akan membuat senyummu semakin beku, menjadi terpaksa dan resah dalam kebohongan. Awas, jika nanti kau akan terjatuh lebih sakit lagi karena senyummu. Bagiku, senyummu masih rapuh, senyum egois karena dibutakan oleh khayalan.
“Tak usahlah kau bertanya ada apa padanya?”
Tanpa kau tanya, aku yang akan menjawab. Ya, karena aku yang memilihnya. Bahkan jika kau pun juga membongkar keburukannnya, bukankah sudah kubilang, aku yang sudah memilih dia.
“Dengan begini, aku harap kau mengerti?” Ah sayang sekali pikirku.
Sudahlah. Jangan terlalu gila dengan hayalanmu. Bisa jadi itulah akibat dari senyumanmu yang berlebihan. Apa kau pikir senyummu itu, bisa membawamu terbang? Kalau itu yang kau pikirkan, terbanglah setinggi mungkin. Tapi aku tidak akan terbang bersamamu. Kau telah berhasil terbang dan melayang pada dunia yang aku sendiri tak menganalnya.
Lebih baik senyumlah dengan baik, kembalikan senyummu yang indah seperti dulu, kawan.

"katanya, ini sebuah paragraf terahir dari persahabatan"....

MENJUAL SISIR KEPADA BIKSU

Ada sebuah perusahaan pembuat SISIR yg ingin mengembangkan bisnisnya. Management ingin merekrut seorg SALES MANAGER baru.

Setelah menseleksi ratusan calon kini perusahaan itu menghadapi masalah menemukan calon yg tepat di posisi tersebut.

Sehingga management membuat sebuah tugas yg sangat SULIT utk tiap orang yg akan mengikuti wawancara terakhir.

Tugasnya adalah : "Menjual sisir pada para BIKSU (yg GUNDUL semua kepalanya) di sebuah wihara".

Hanya ada 3 calon yg bertahan utk mencoba tantangan di terakhir ini. (Mr. A, Mr. B, Mr. C)

Pimpinan pewawancara memberi tugas :
"Sekarang saya ingin anda bertiga menjual sisir dari kayu ini kepada para biksu di wihara. Anda semua hanya diberi waktu 10 hari & harus kembali utk memberikan laporan setelah itu."

Setelah 10 hari, mereka memberikan laporan.

Pimpinan pewawancara bertanya pada Mr. A :
"Berapa banyak yg sudah anda jual?"

Mr. A menjawab: "Hanya SATU. Para biksu di wihara itu marah2 saat saya menunjukkan sisir pada mereka. Tapi saat saya mau keluar wihara saya bertemu dg seorang biksu muda. Dia membeli sisir itu utk menggaruk2 kepalanya ada ketombe."

Pimpinan pewawancara bertanya pada Mr. B :
"Berapa banyak yg sudah anda jual?"

Mr. B menjawab : "SEPULUH buah."
"Saya pergi ke sebuah wihara & memperhatikan banyak peziarah yg rambutnya acak2an karena angin kencang yg bertiup di luar wihara. Biksu di dalam wihara itu mendengar saran saya & membeli 10 sisir utk para peziarah merapikan diri".

Kemudian, Pimpinan pewawancara bertanya pada Mr. C : "Bagaimana dg anda?"

Mr. B menjawab: "SERIBU buah!"

Si pewawancara & 2 orang pelamar yg lain terheran2.

Si pewawancara bertanya : "Bagaimana bisa??".

Mr. C menjawab:
"Saya pergi ke sebuah wihara terkenal. Setelah melakukan pengamatan beberapa hari, saya menemukan bahwa banyak turis yg datang berkunjung. Lalu saya berkata pada pimpinan wihara:
"Biksu, saya melihat banyak peziarah yg datang ke sini. Jika Biksu bisa memberi mereka sebuah
cinderamata (oleh2), maka itu akan membuat hati mereka lebih gembira. Saya punya banyak sisir & biksu bisa membubuhkan tanda tangan pd tiap sisir sbg hadiah bagi para peziarah itu..".

Biksu pimpinan wihara itu sangat senang & langsung memesan 1,000 buah sisir!.

NOTES:
Universitas Harvard telah melakukan riset, dg hasil :

1) 85% kesukesan itu karena SIKAP & 15% karena kemampuan.

2) SIKAP lebih penting dari kepandaian, keahlian khusus & keberuntungan.

Dg kata lain:
Pengetahuan profesional hanya menyumbang 15% dari sebuah kesuksesan seseorang & 85% adalah: Pemberdayaan Diri, Hubungan Sosial & Adaptasi Diri.

Orang bijak sering berkata: "Jika hidup anda terlalu nyaman, maka pribadi anda akan lemah. Lingkungan yg KERAS membantu untuk membentuk pribadi anda, sehingga anda memiliki nyali untuk menyelesaikan semua masalah."

Ingat & perhatikanlah, saat keadaan ekonomi baik, banyak orang jatuh bangkrut.
Tapi saat keadaan ekonomi buruk, justru banyak jutawan baru baru yg bermunculan.!

Terus semangat entrepreneur muda indonesia..!. Makin KERAS keadaan, Makin "menarik" perjuangan kita.!

Mengapa AS tidak jadi Menyerang Indonesia

“Kenalan saya di Beijing mewartakan sebuah berita penting (dikirim lewat email) untuk masyarakat Indonesia khususnya, dan dunia internasional pada umumnya”. Berikut isi berita tersebut:

Pentagon membayangkan jika AS terpaksa harus menyerang Indonesia berapa kerugian yang harus dipikul pihak AS, dan berapa keuntungan pihak Indonesia dari kehadiran tentara AS di sana.

Pertimbangan AS tidak menyerang Indonesia:

( 1 ) Begitu memasuki perairan dataran indonesia, mereka akan di hadang pihak bea cukai karena membawa masuk senjata api dan senjata tajam serta peralatan perang tanpa surat izin dari pemerintah RI. Ini berarti mereka harus menyediakan “Uang Damai”, coba hitung berapa besarnya jika bawaanya sedemikian banyak.

( 2 ) Kemudian mereka mendirikan Base camp militer, bisa di tebak di sekitar basecamp pasti akan dikelilingi oleh penjual Bakso, Tukang Es kelapa, lapak VCD bajakan, sampai obral Cel-Dam Rp. 10000 3 Pcs. Belum lagi para pengusaha komedi puter bakal ikut mangkal di sekitar base camp juga.

( 3 ) Camp akan di kenakan retribusi parkir oleh petugas dari dinas perpakiran daerah. Jika dua jam pertama perkendaraan dikenakan Rp.10.000,- (maklum tarif orang bule), berapa yang harus di bayar AS kalau kendaraan & tank harus parkir selama sebulan??

( 4 ) Sepanjang jalan ke lokasi base camp pasukan AS harus menghadapi para Mr.Cepek yang berlagak memperbaiki jalan sambil memungut biaya bagi kendaraan yang melewati jalan tersebut. Dan jika kendaran tempur dan tank harus membelok atau melewati pertigaan mereka harus menyiapkan recehan untuk para Mr. Cepe.

( 5 ) Suatu kerepotan besar bagi rombongan pasukan jika harus berkonvoi, karena konvoi yang berjalan lambat pasti akan di hampiri para pengamen, pengemis dan anak-anak jalanan, ini berarti harus mengeluarkan recehan lagi.

( 6 ) Belum lagi jika di jalan bertemu polisi yang sedang bokek, udah pasti kena semprit kerena konvoi tanpa izin. Bayangkan berapa uang damai yang harus dikeluarkan.

( 7 ) Di base camp militer , tentara AS sudah pasti nggak bisa tidur, karena nyamuknya masya Allah, gede-gede kayak vampire. Malam hari di hutan yang sepi mereka akan di kunjungi para wanita yang tertawa dan menangis. Harusnya mereka senang karena bisa berkencan dengan wanita ini tapi kesenangan tersebut akan sirna begitu melihat para wanita ini punya bolong besar di punggungnya.

( 8 ) Pagi harinya mereka tidak bisa mandi karena di sungai banyak di lalui “Rudal Kuning” yang di tembakkan penduduk setempat dari “Flying helicopter” alias wc terapung di atas sungai.

( 9 ) Pasukan AS juga tidak bisa jauh jauh dari pelaratan perangnya, karena di sekitar base camp sudah mengintai pedagang besi loakan yang siap mempereteli peralatan perang canggih yang mereka bawa. Meleng sedikit saja tank canggih mereka bakal siap dikiloin. Belum lagi para curanmor yang siap beraksi dengan kunci T-nya siap merebut jip-jip perang mereka yang kalau di dempul dan cat ulang bisa di jual mahal ke anak-anak orang kaya yang pengen gaya-gayaan.

( 10 ) Dan yang lebih menyedihkan lagi badan pasukan AS akan jamuran karena tidak bisa berganti pakaian. Kalau berani nekat menjemur pakaiannya dan meleng sedikit saja, besok pakaian mereka sudah mejeng di pasar jatinegara di lapak-lapak pakaian bekas.

( 11 ) Peralatan telekomunikasi mereka juga harus di jaga ketat, karena para bandit kapak merah sudah mengincar palatan canggih itu.

( 12 ) Dan mereka juga harus membayar sewa tanah yang digunakan untuk base camp kepada haji Husin, haji mamat, dan engkong jai’ para pemilik tanah. Disamping itu mereka juga harus minta izin kepada RT/ RW dan kelurahan setempat, berapa meja yang harus di lalui dan berapa banyak dana yang harus disiapkan untuk meng-Amplopi pejabat-pejabat ini??

( 13 ) Para komandan di pasukan AS ini juga akan kena tugas tambahan mengawasi para prajuritnya yang banyak menyelinap keluar base camp buat nonton dangdut di RW 06, katanya ada Inul di sana .

( 14 ) Membayangkan ini semua akhinya Rumsfield memutuskan: TIDAK JADI MENYERANG INDONESIA!!!

SUMBER : Radio Republik Indonesia 1 & TVRI program 2

Nasehat Untuk Diri

Sahabatku...

Orang tuamu adalah sumber kebahagiaan abadi bagimu. Mereka mencurahkan perhatian sepenuh hati untuk kehidupan terbaik bagimu. Bahkan ketika mereka tidak sanggup lagi, untaian doa akan meneruskan niat penjagaan mereka atas dirimu.

"Semoga Tuhan atau orang lain selalu menjagamu."

fuadpunggad.
______________________________

Sahabatku,
Ketika engkau risau pada seseorang yang engkau anggap akan membawa kerusakan, jangan engkau melarikan diri atau mengumpulkan masa untuk melukai raga dan jiwanya.

Sudah saatnya engkau menggunakan daya pikirmu untuk menguji integritas diri, tentang seberapa baik posisimu di mata manusia dan Tuhan.

fuadpunggad

_____________________________________________

Melupakan kebaikan orang karena kebencian sesaat
Adalah seperti menyengatkan racun lebah di bibimu.
Lama-kelamaan akan membengkak dan terasa begitu sakit.

Sahabatku,
Siapapun yang engkau anggap jahat perilakunya
Jangan sampai mempengaruhi sikapmu menjadi buruk kepadanya.

Tidak ada kepastian dalam persahabatan dan permusuhan.

by fuadpunggad..

_________________________________________

sahabatku yang sedang menemukan semangat baru.

Setiap orang, di dalam dadanya pasti mempunyai harapan menjadi yang terbaik. Bagi dirinya, serta sesuatu di sekitarnya. Saat harapan itu memuncak, segala aktivitas kerja jadi terasa ringan, seakan tanpa beban. Tetapi, manakala harapan itu surut, maka kita tak ubahnya seperti dewa tidur. Enggan bergerak dan selalu diliputi hawa malas.

Saatnya mulai fokus. Temukan jati dirimu dan orang-orang yang mampu pengaruhi kerjamu untuk lebih giat.
_______________________________________

Engkau yang merasa akan mengalami masa-masa sulit dalam hidup, dengarlah ini.

Jangan engkau larutkan pikiranmu dalam bayang-bayang kesulitan, sebab itu akan berpotensi membuat nyalimu menjadi ciut.
Bersikaplah mesra pada proses belajar, mulai berfokus pada tindakan usaha dan selalu bekerja keras.

Lebih baik berbuat walau sedikit daripada tenggelam dalam angan-angan ingin bertindak banyak.

fuadpunggad

_________________________________________

SMILE ALWAYS

...

Benarkah Aku Belajar Filsafat

Benarkah Aku Belajar Filsafat

oleh funggad

Identik dengan permenungan, kegelisahan, dan mempertanyakan tantang kebenaran. Filsafat. Ya, filsafat yang setahu saya berarti cinta kebijaksanaan. Ia ibarat sebuah bom, yang ketika meledak pastilah akan mengagetkan umat manusia. Menghidupkan manusia dari kematian pikir, dan menggerakkan nalar untuk menelusuri lorong-lorong pengetahuan, demi memperoleh hakikat kebenaran. Sungguh Aku ingin belajar filsafat. Aku ingin memperoleh keberanan yang tersembunyi di balik kabut-kabut kesesatan.

Berfilsafat membutuhkan pengetahuan. Pengetahuan bisa terciptakan dari pengalaman atau usaha mempelajari tentang sesuatu hal. Dari sebuah pengetahuan yang pasti, maka lahirlah ilmu pengetahuan. ilmu pengetahuan merupakan pengetahuan yang diorganisasi melalui disiplin yang ketat dalam metodologi, seringkali perlu diuji dan dieksperimentasi, dicari korelasinya dan kemudian dirumuskan berbagai preposisi, digeneralisir dan lahirlah teori yang disebut ilmu pengetahuan.

Ilmu pengetahuan akan menguji sebuah kebenaran yang beredar luas, kalau kebenaran itu lulus ujian oleh ilmu, maka kebenaran bisa dibilang sesuai dengan kebenaran ilmiyah. Dikatakan kebenaran ilmiyah, ketika sebuah karya itu mampu melewati seleksi ilmiyah. Seleksi itu bisa berupa pembuktian atas kebenaran yang dibawakan, melalui sidang formal atau proses secara kultural.

Ilmu pengetahuan berguna untuk mengatasi berbagai problematika kehidupan, serta untuk memberi jawaban atas kebutuhan manusia. Ilmu pengetahuan juga dapat memberi pencerahan bagi siapapun untuk keluar dari ketidaktahuan atas fakta dan realita yang tersembunyi dari kehidupan.

Karya tulis ilmiah berguna sebagai wahana atau pengambangan tentang sebuah kebenaran. Atau, dapat pula sebagai sumber keberanan yang berwujud karya. Karya ilmiyah bisa berupa literatur atau karya lain yang bisa diperdebatkan atau dikaji ulang untuk kemaslahatan manusia pada zamannya.

Beradsarkan pengtahuan empiris dan logis, saya mengambil benang merah sesuai pembahasan tentang kebenaran. Saya membuktikan, bahwa saya benar telah belajar filsafat.

Tilawat Al Baqoroh 31-33

saya upload di sini biar mudah mencarinya..

“Dan Dia mengajarkan kepada Adam nama-nama (benda-benda) seluruhnya, kemudian mengemukakannya kepada para Malaikat lalu berfirman:”Sebutkanlah kepada-Ku nama benda-benda itu jika memang kamu orang yang benar!”, [31] Mereka menjawab:”Maha Suci Engkau, tidak ada yang kami ketahui selain apa yang telah Engkau ajarkan kepada kami; sesungguhnya Engkaulah Yang Maha Mengetahui lagi Maha Bijaksana. [32] Allah berfirman:”Hai Adam, beritahukan kepada mereka nama-nama benda ini”. Maka setelah diberitahukannya nama-nama benda itu, Allah berfirman:”Bukankah sudah Kukatakan kepadamu, bahwa sesungguhnya Aku mengetahui rahasia langit dan bumi dan mengetahui apa yang kamu lahirkan dan apa yang kamu sembunyikan [33]
l
lansung aja klik link ini, dan donlot..

http://www.4shared.com/mp3/dM2eAcJr/muammae_31.html





tq

the Thought Phenomenology of Edmund Husserl

As a movement and a method, as a "first philosophy," phenomenology owes its life to Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), a German-Czech (Moravian) philosopher who started out as a mathematician in the late nineteenth century and wrote a book on the philosophy of mathematics, Philosophie der Arithmetik (1891; The Philosophy of Arithmetic). His view was that there was a strict empiricism, but on being shown (by the great German logician Gottlob Frege) that such an analysis could not possibly succeed, Husserl shifted his ground and started to defend the idea that the truths of arithmetic had a kind of necessity that could not be accounted for by empiricism. Thus, one of the main themes of his next book, Logische Untersuchungen (1913, 1921; The Logical Investigations), was a protracted argument against "psychologism," the thesis that truth is dependent on the human mind. Rather, Husserl argues that necessary truths are not reducible to our psychology. Phenomenology was Husserl's continuing and continuously revised effort to develop a method for grounding necessary truth.
Given Husserl's beginnings in the rigorous field of mathematics, one must appreciate the temperament that he brought to his new discipline. By the end of the nineteenth century, a new perspectivism (or some would say a relativism) had come into philosophy. Friedrich Nietzsche, in particular, had argued that all knowledge is perspectival and that philosophy could not be reduced to a single perspective, that philosophy might be relative to a people, or to our particular species, or even to individual psychology. Husserl's contemporary Wilhelm Dilthey defended a milder but similar thesis, and the "sociology of knowledge" was just beginning its ascension. Against any such relativism, Husserl insisted on philosophy as a singular, rigorous science, and his phenomenology was to provide the key.
It is often debated whether phenomenology is a philosophy or a method, but it is both. As a "first philosophy," without presuppositions, it lays the basis for all further philosophical and scientific investigations. Husserl defines phenomenology as the scientific study of the essential structures of consciousness. By describing those structures, Husserl promises us, we can find certainty, which philosophy has always sought. To do that, Husserl describes a method—or rather, a series of continuously revised methods—for taking up a peculiarly phenomenological standpoint, "bracketing out" everything that is not essential, thereby understanding the basic rules or constitutive processes through which consciousness does its work of knowing the world.

lebih lanjut: Phenomenology - Edmund Husserl - Consciousness, Philosophy, Objects, and Nature - JRank Articles http://science.jrank.org/pages/10639/Phenomenology-Edmund-Husserl.html#ixzz1tVvQ1L4M

To Get Ahead, Think Ahead

5 steps to help you advance in your career
by Ben Smith
Each week I speak with high-performing individuals who are seeking career advice. These people are almost always ambitious and talented, but they're often doing a disservice to their career by not thinking far enough ahead. They focus on what the next logical step in their career might be, but they don't look any further ahead than that next step.
Focusing only on the next step on the job ladder often results in developing a deep but narrow skill set that's unique to a specific class of jobs. That might be fine if you want to stay within that type of job, but if you're looking to go further, the narrow skill set that you're developing might not be sufficient to take you to your ultimate objective.
The key to getting ahead in your career is to look past your next job. Here's a five-step strategy for thinking ahead that you can use in your own career or to help your employees advance in their careers.
Step 1: Think a Job Ahead
Whenever you find yourself ready to change jobs or advance to the next level in your career, take time to think about what you want the next job after that one to be. I like to call the job two steps ahead of where you are right now "the job that you really want."
The reason to think another step ahead is because your next opportunity must equip you with the skills and experience you need for the subsequent job—the one you really want. Ask yourself "What gaps in my current skills and experience do I need to fill before I can get the job I really want?" Your next job should help you fill those gaps. For example, if you're a frontline manager of administrators, it's unlikely that you'd be able to step directly into the position of director of operations. You need to think about the skills that you're lacking for the director of operations position, then make sure your next job takes you closer to your goal.
Step 2: Find Mentors
Identify people who currently have the job you really want or a comparable one and ask them for a few minutes of career mentoring. Send each person your resume in advance and explain your intentions.
During the meeting, be up-front. Explain that you'd eventually like to have a job similar to the one that your mentor has. Summarize your experience and your current role. Then, ask what would prevent you from getting your mentor's job if you were to interview today to succeed him or her.
After talking with a few people, determine the common themes that arose across those discussions. You should be able to identify a set of skills and achievements that you'll need to qualify for the job you really want. Building on the earlier example, you might find, for instance, that the people who currently hold director of operations and network operations manager positions aren't confident that you have the experience necessary to manage a seven-figure budget, would prefer a candidate who has a stronger business background, and believe that you'll need to show that you've successfully managed people of multiple disciplines rather than just administrators.
By seeking out mentors who hold positions similar to the one you want to eventually have, you'll expand your professional network more than you would have been able to by networking only with your co-workers and current manager. You might very well meet people who know of opportunities that could help you further your career. It's also important to stay in touch with those mentors as you progress in your career. At some point in the future, those people might have a need for someone with your skill set or experience. Making yourself known and leaving a positive impression on the people you meet with can pay huge dividends in the future.
Step 3: Obtain Needed Skills and experience
When you have a clear idea of the types of skills and experience you'll need in order to get the job you really want, map those skills and that experience to a job that will help you obtain them. You might find that there's more than one job between you and the job you really want, but you should be able to plan your ascension strategically.
Continuing with our earlier example of moving from being a frontline manager of administrators to a leadership position in the IT department, you realize that as a front- line manager, you've never been involved in forecasting and managing a budget. Your management experience might also be limited to overseeing a few people who report directly to you as the functional expert in your group. To become qualified for the leadership position you want, you'll need to develop budgeting skills and broaden your management experience.
To gain experience in managing a budget, you might want to pursue a position in which budget management is a core responsibility. Alternatively, you could ask your current manager to give you a role in the budgeting process. To build your business background, you might enroll in a certificate program in finance or organizational management at a local university or community college. To broaden your management experience, you might consider looking for a position that expands your role beyond just the area in which you're recognized as a technical expert. For example, you might go after a job as the manager of a line of business (LOB) application team that includes developers as well as administrators. Such a position gives you a chance to demonstrate that you can be successful in other areas and can adapt to new situations. Put them all together, and these actions constitute your plan of attack for achieving the skills and experience you need.
Step 4: track and Quantify Your Achievements
As you learn new skills and broaden your experience, be results-driven and quantify your accomplishments. As you progress in your career, your accomplishments and results become more important than how you spent your time. For instance, consider the difference in these two resume bullet points:

• Managed budget for LOB application team
• Grew LOB application user base by 50 percent while reducing per-user costs by 16 percent

The first statement simply describes how you spent your time; the second recounts what you actually accomplished. Both points might describe you, but the first is much more effective and impressive than the second.
Step 5: Focus on Your Strengths
Often, I find that otherwise well-qualified individuals disqualify themselves from a job after reading the job description and seeing a requirement or two that they can't fulfill. For example, a job description for the position of director of operations might state that applicants must have an MBA or experience with a specific software package, neither of which you possess. But you shouldn't assume that you'd never be considered a viable candidate for that job. Most job descriptions are boilerplate templates that might—or might not—apply exactly to the job you're interested in. Instead of being discouraged by deficits in your experience, think about the assets that you'll bring to the position: the skills, experience, and accomplishments that uniquely qualify you for the role. Focus on those assets and play them up.
It's Who You Know and What You Know
I constantly see people make huge strides in their careers simply by thinking ahead, identifying the job they really want, and planning their path to that position. Along the way, they might debate the cliche"It isn't what you know, but who you know." As is so often the case, the cliche is wrong: It's both who you know and what you know. Follow this five-step strategy, and you'll come out ahead in both areas. And don't forget, as you take that next step up the career ladder, to advance your thinking and your planning another step into the future.

head thinking

Because it is ego-driven, head thinking can often be delusory. Heart thinking is focused on reality and therefore unlikely to go too wrong 

 

When Carl Jung, the great psychoanalyst, went to Taos Peublo in New Mexico in 1925, he met the chief of the native people, Ochwiay Biano. Biano told Jung that according to his people, the Whites were 'mad'-uneasy, restless, always wanting something.

Jung asked him why he thought they were mad, and the chief replied that it was because they thought with their heads, a sure sign of mental illness among his tribe. Jung asked him how he thought and he pointed to his heart. The response plunged Jung into a deep introspection that enabled him to see his race from outside himself and realise how much of the race's character was within him.

Ever since I read this fascinating excerpt I have been pondering over the difference between heart thinking and head thinking. Most gurus and spiritual teachings exhort us to make this very transition-from head to heart. But what does it actually mean? For most head thinkers this appears to be an inferior state of mind.

They fear that they are being asked to surrender their reason and descend to some level of gibbering infantilism, where they are expected to accept anything told to them without a whimper. Naturally, they clutch at their minds with renewed determination.

However, heart thinking is at a level higher than reason, not lower. And it is not opposed to reason. The difference is that it does not allow reason the star role it plays in head thinking. Heart thinking arrives at conclusions through faculties other than the mind, but it will use the mind to articulate these conclusions, and even validate them. So what are these faculties?

Most of us would call it intuition-a knowing that seems to come from the very depth of our being, from every cell in our body. Unlike the logic-driven processes of the mind, this knowledge seeps into our being and the certainty of knowing is utterly indisputable. The conclusions that the head arrives at can never give us that level of deep-rooted certainty, particularly in matters of ethics, values, decision-making and behavioral choices.

For instance, many of us who penetrate the spiritual dimension of life make dramatic job changes which make no sense from the point of view of the head. I just met a young man who left his lucrative software job in the US to work for a spiritual organization. I know of IIT graduates who have renounced plush mainstream jobs in order to devote themselves to the betterment of villages.

What about people who make decisions to become monks and renunciate against their familial and social pressure? What gives them the courage to throw everything to the wind? It is the courage that comes from following the dictates of heart. So what are the main differences between head and heart thinking?

One of the most fundamental differences, I believe, is that head thinking is fractured and separatist, while heart thinking is holistic. I have been doing some research for the forthcoming LP Plus issue on Gandhi and what is obvious is that Gandhian thinking can only be accessed by those who have moved from the head to the heart.

For head thinkers he comes across as an anti-progressive crank. Heart thinkers, on the other hand, worship him as a fount of wisdom, whose solutions to the country's problems at the social, environmental, economic and political levels were pragmatic, down-to-earth and in the best interests of society and the environment.

The radical difference in the two perceptions arise from the fact that Gandhian thinking is holistic, which means that it emerges from one root and radiates in all directions, somewhat like the spokes of a wheel.

Gandhi's advocacy of khadi, his focus on economic and political self-reliance for the village, his repudiation of western civilization, the political weapons of Satyagraha, his focus on ahimsa, his preference for frugality and simplicity, all have an internal consistency not accessible to those who try and understand it from the head.

Head thinking is fractured. It will look at one aspect of a situation at a time and draw conclusions based on that, while ignoring others. Modern civilization is a perfect example of head thinking, for all its systems are based on separatism.

Modern-day economics is a striking example of the limitations of separatist thinking. Capitalism, for instance, is motivated primarily by the profit factor, which means that many of its decisions can be and are unethical, unprincipled and even inhuman. In this scheme of things, the best way to improve the bottomline is to sack the employee.

But this decision does not take into consideration the psychological and emotional cost to the individual, nor of its larger repercussions on society. It follows that heart thinking is balanced while head thinking is not. Because the former keeps the whole in mind, its approach is measured and pragmatic, unlikely to damage any aspect of life.

Head thinking is given to drama, to extreme measures. Violent revolutions such as those that took place in France and later in Russia were dictated by head thinking and not heart thinking. Because heart thinking is holistic, it is also down-to-earth, here and now. It is not focused on abstract theories and formulas, it looks at each situation as it is and arrives at solutions. It is simple.

Head thinking, on the other hand, gives rise to endless complexities, for it is unable to see things as they are. Hence there will be contingency plans for everything, uniform rules and regulations for all situations no matter how dissimilar (such as, for instance, insisting that your 16-year-old returns home after a party at the same time as she did when she was 12) and extremely complicated procedures.

Try and make sense of any of our modern systems-political, economic or scientific-without being an expert. The mind simply boggles. Why? Because of head thinking. Can you imagine that at one time, life was actually comprehensible to the average man? Today, most us, if not all, find it impossible to understand modern life. This is the unnecessary complexity of head thinking.

At the head level, one arrives at truths through logic and reason, such as understanding that two and two makes four. But the truths of the heart, which are really the truths about life, are resonated to. When you encounter such a truth, your whole being reverberates in response. I remember participating in a psychoanalytical group for a while.

The facilitator was a brilliant man; we particularly admired the facile way he rounded up the discussions by pointing how one subject had led to another, and how it all added up to a particular picture. And yet, I never could figure how he arrived at the conclusions he did. Later, we were taught by a writer.

Everything she said seemed to me wise and true. I could resonate with everything that she said in contrast to the bafflement I felt in the case of our analyst. I then came to realize that the analyst was drawing pretty pictures in his head, without too much concern with whether they correlated to reality. Because it is ego-driven, head thinking can often be delusory.

Heart thinking is focused on reality and therefore unlikely to go too wrong. There are probably far more profound differences between heart and head thinking, for I feel I am still scratching at the surface. If you can think of any, write in. Let's have a dialogue on the matter.
by Suma Varughese

Theory Multiple Intelligences Howard Gardner

The initial listing

Howard Gardner viewed intelligence as 'the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting' (Gardner & Hatch, 1989). He reviewed the literature using eight criteria or 'signs' of an intelligence:

Potential isolation by brain damage.

The existence of idiots savants, prodigies and other exceptional individuals.

An identifiable core operation or set of operations.

A distinctive development history, along with a definable set of 'end-state' performances.

An evolutionary history and evolutionary plausibility.

Support from experimental psychological tasks.

Support from psychometric findings.

Susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system. (Howard Gardner 1983: 62-69)

Candidates for the title 'an intelligence' had to satisfy a range of these criteria and must include, as a prerequisite, the ability to resolve 'genuine problems or difficulties' (ibid.: 60) within certain cultural settings. Making judgements about this was, however, 'reminiscent more of an artistic judgement than of a scientific assessment' (ibid.: 62).

Howard Gardner initially formulated a list of seven intelligences. His listing was provisional. The first two have been typically valued in schools; the next three are usually associated with the arts; and the final two are what Howard Gardner called 'personal intelligences' (Gardner 1999: 41-43).

Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.

Logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. In Howard Gardner's words, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.

Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. According to Howard Gardner musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements. Howard Gardner sees mental and physical activity as related.

Spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.

Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and counsellors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence.

Intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations. In Howard Gardner's view it involves having an effective working model of ourselves, and to be able to use such information to regulate our lives.

In Frames of Mind Howard Gardner treated the personal intelligences 'as a piece'. Because of their close association in most cultures, they are often linked together. However, he still argues that it makes sense to think of two forms of personal intelligence. Gardner claimed that the seven intelligences rarely operate independently. They are used at the same time and tend to complement each other as people develop skills or solve problems.(Howard Gardner)

sini mampir: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm

Ghandi, Gus Dur dan Saya

Ghandi, Gus Dur dan Saya

Oleh F. Hasan

Sejenak dalam duduk sendiri, terbesit dalam nalar saya tentang rahasia hidup. Ketika merenungi ihwal itu, sembari mengotak-atik kembali pertanyaan besar “mengapa saya diciptakan berbeda dengan yang lain?” Pertanyaan ini membawa saya merambat menelusuri lorong-lorong pemikiran yang masih gelap, hingga sampai ujung malam saya baru temukan lentera kecil yang sedikit memberi pencerahan.

Setelah melihat cahaya itu, kata “Agama” mendadak muncul menghadang, saya mulai menilai tentang objektifitas agama dalam menuntun manusia menemani perjalanan singkatnya di dunia. Agama berarti sesuatu yang tidak rusak. Manusia yang di dalam hatinya terdapat agama, ia akan senantiasa dengan jernih memahami teka-teki kehidupan yang telah disusun oleh Tuhan. Pada hakikatnya, ia akan mengerti mengenai penurunannya di belantara dunia ini, yang tidak lain hanyalah sebagai Khalifahyang bertugas sebagai juru selamat, pemberi kesejahteraan, serta memupuk keberlansungan hidup bersama dalam bingkai keharmonisan.

Pesan hidup damai telah dikumandangkan mulai awal kehidupan manusia. Pesan itu akan berkesinambungan hingga saat ditutupnya pergelaran jagat raya ini. Konon, setiap satu abad akan muncul tokoh baru dari golongan kita yang lantang menyuarakan perdamaian dan menentang penindasan atau diskriminasi. Pada 2 Oktober 1869 lahir di India seorang yang masa hidupnya sangat gigih memperjuangkan perdamaian. Dialah Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi atau yang sering kita sebut Mahatma Ghandi. Dari Indonesia, tepatnya di Jombang pada 7 september 1940 lahir kembali seorang tokoh pembela perdamaian, yaitu Abdurrahman Wahid atau Gus Dur. Kedua orang ini memiliki power determinity yang sama untuk mencipta dan melanggengkan perdamaian di muka bumi.

Ghandi hidup berada di tengah-tengah kolonialisme Inggris di India. Pemikiran-pemikiran Gandhi mulai terbuka ketika ia menumpuh studi hukum di Inggris pada tahun 1889. Setelah karir hukum selesai di India, pada tahun 1893 Gandhi bertolak menuju Afrika Selatan. 21 tahun di Afrika Selatan inilah yang menentukan arah hidup Gandhi hingga ia terbunuh di tangan Nathuram Godse seorang ekstrimis Hindu pada 30 Januari 1948.

Di ranah paling ujung selatan Afrika itulah, prinsip-prinsip perjuangan Gandhi terkelompok dalam bentuk Ahimsa; menentang kekerasan, Hartal; pemogokan dan Satyagraha; menolak kerjasama. Setelah kembali ke India pada tahun 1915, satu prinsip lagi muncul yaitu Swadeshi yaitu gerakan untuk menggunakan produk sendiri sebagai respon terhadap upaya Inggris menjadikan India sebagai pasar bagi hasil-hasil industri mereka. Hampir 33 tahun perjuangannya di India Gandhi tidak henti menyuarakan suara penentangan terhadap kolonialisme disertai pesan perdamaian. Ia harus melewati tragedi demi tragedi yang penuh darah dalam penentangan terhadap Inggris.

Buah manis yang dapat dipetik dari perjalanan hidup seorang Mahatma Gandhi ini, adalah keteladanan sebagai mata air inspirasi kehidupan seluruh manusia. Bahwa segala sesuatu bisa diselesaikan dengan tanpa kekerasaan, dengan mengutamakan perdamaian dan kebenaran dalam menjalankan kehidupan ini. Kita hidup dalam bumi yang sama tentunya harus bisa saling menghargai dan tolong menolong. Jika tidak maka kehidupan ini akan dipenuhi dengan kekacauan karena kita saling menyalahkan orang lain. Tentunya bumi ini akan lebih baik jika kita bisa duduk bersama untuk memecahkan sebuah masalah. Tanpa menggunakan kekerasaan, niscaya semua masalah bisa terpecahkan bersama.

Sepaham dengan Ghandi, Gus Dur lebih dikenal sebagai bapak Pluralisme. Ia berjuang membela kaum minoritas dan memenuhi hak-haknya sebagai sesama manusia. Semasa hidup, ia sangat mantap mengamalkan pesan-pesan damai dari agama. Menaburkan benih-benih cinta kasih untuk semua umat manusia. Prinsipnya dalam menghargai kebebasan berpendapat serta menjunjung tinggi perbedaan, banyak membuat orang lain meniru apa yang dilakukan Gus Dur.

Sosok inspiratif ini, mampu menggerakkan manusia mencapai peradaban yang penuh ketenangan, progresif dalam menentang segala bentuk ketidakadilan, serta membuka pintu gerbang  pemikiran manusia untuk terbang melihat luasnya dunia secara utuh. Salah satu peran urgennya adalah menjadi penengah dalam menyelesaikan berbagai problematika Internasional. Dalam kepemimpinannya sebagai presiden ke-4, ia telah berhasil mengayomi dan menaungi masyarakat semua golongan. Ia tidak membeda-bedakan perbedaan suku, ras, agama, kepercayaan, dan status sosial seseorang.

Gus Dur merupakan tokoh kyai sekaligus politisi yang peduli terhadap diskriminasi. Sebagai contoh, ketika banyak orang menghujat dan mengklaim kelompok yang dianggap sesat, beliau justru membelanya atas nama kemanusiaan. Disini bukan berarti beliau setuju dengan aliran yang dianggap sesat itu. Tetapi beliau sangat menghormati keyakinan seseorang sebagai hak asasi mereka. Dalam pemikirannya, Gus Dur mengajari banyak kalangan untuk memahami dan menghayati agama secara dewasa, penuh kearifan, dan kebijaksanaan. Gus Dur sangat bijaksana sekali dalam mentoleransi gerakan yang dianggap sesat. Salah satu ajarannya, bahwasanya kita boleh saja memandang ajaran orang lain itu sesat, tetapi tidak dengan sendirinya kita boleh memusnahkannya.

Sama seperti mereka, sebagai seorang manusia saya tumbuh berkembang dalam ekosistem yang peduli pada perdamaian. Menciptakan suasana tenang dan damai adalah sebuah hasrat dan tujuan bakti hidup yang singkat ini. Prinsip utama yang menjadi pegangan menempuh jalan hidup saya adalah “sebaik-baiknya manusia adalah yang berguna bagi yang lainnya”. Kalimat ini bagi saya adalah mantra yang ampuh untuk bisa hidup bersama manusia dalam buaian penuh cinta dan kasih sayang.

Perjalanan yang cukup panjang di medan perenungan malam ini, merupakan pengalaman berharga dalam menyusuri lika-liku jalan menuju pengetahuan tentang hakikat hidup. Saya banyak menangkap pengetahuan baru tentang bagaimana seharusnya manusia dalam berolah dan gerak di bumi dan langit yang sama. Kita sebagai manusia, pada hakikatnya diciptakan oleh Tuhan dalam perbedaan. Berkenalan dengan Ghandi dan Gus Dur, memberikan spirit baru bagi saya pribadi, untuk berlari lebih cepat menggapai hasrat yang sudah tampak jelas dan nyata. Spirit dari merekalah yang saya pelajari sepenuh hati, untuk pembelajaran dikehidupan sekarang dan yang akan datang.