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Leadership Eureka

Written by: Dr. Martina Violetta Jung

Article Overview: How silent contemplation helps a leader to create groundbreaking renewal.

Leadership Eureka

“Reality is not just the physical world; it’s the relationship of the mind with the physical world that creates the perception of reality. There is no reality without a perception of reality.” (Fred Alan Wolf; quantum physicist and pioneer in the field of consciousness)

Scientists discovered recently that far more good ideas are born in the bath than at work. Archimedes could have told them that some time ago. Archimedes of Syracuse (287 BC – 212 BC) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. He is generally considered to be the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time.

The most widely known anecdote about Archimedes tells of how he invented a method for determining the volume of an object with an irregular shape. A new crown in the shape of a laurel wreath laurel had been made for King Hiero II, and Archimedes was asked to determine whether it was of solid gold, or whether silver had been added by a dishonest goldsmith. Archimedes had to solve the problem without damaging the crown, so he could not melt it down into a regularly shaped body in order to calculate its density. Whilst taking a bath, he noticed that the level of the water in the tub rose as he got in, and realized that this effect could be used to determine the volume of the crown. Archimedes was so excited about his discovery that he jumped out of the bath tub and took to the streets naked, shouting "Eureka!”, the Greek expression for "I have found it!"

Today, we also find inspiration in the unlikeliest places, but not in the office. There, most of us behave rather stupidly. If something does not work, we try harder. Instead, it is vital that we do things differently to break the deadlock. The road to recovery from any setback demands breaking the pattern. Sit down or better, go for a walk, a run or a swim, and examine the pattern that caused the set back. Then, create a new way that gets the job done. Thinking does not work here, I can assure you. It is either in silent contemplation or by creating physical movement and emotions that your creative mind will guide you to Eureka!

One way to get in touch with your creative mind is through contemplation. Here is a method well suited for a frequent flyer, but it works equally well in a train or on a bench in a park. Lets take being on a flight as the example.

Whilst on your flight, close your eyes and imagine for a few minutes that you are getting bigger and bigger, until you fill the whole plane. Then, keep growing bigger until the whole plane is inside of you. Finally, feel that you are extending through the whole sky and that the clouds, the earth, the moon, the stars and the sun are moving inside of you. Feel that you are huge and borderless. Do that for ten minutes. I guarantee that you will relax totally and open up for Eureka moments.

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Article Tags: anecdote, antiquity, archimedes of syracuse, astronomer, bath tub, deadlock, fred alan wolf, goldsmith, greatest of all time, greek expression, greek mathematician, hiero, inventor, irregular shape, laurel wreath, new crown, quantum physicist, setback, solid gold, taking a bath



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