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PRINCIPLES in BUSINESS: the principles that shape exceptional organisations MESSAGE BOARD: Issue 7. June 2008Hello and welcome to the June 2008 Message Board from PiB, the 7th in our series of monthly news and articles on corporate life, leadership and of course, the 3Ps approach. If you missed previous Message Boards, you can retrieve them from the PiB Message Board archive. As usual, my appreciation for your
emailed comments.
Remember, you can phone me personally, anytime - my phone number is at the bottom of this message. IN THIS ISSUENews & Events The Message Board Feature Article: We Are What We Do
Subscriber & Privacy Information NEWS & EVENTSAs you know, we recently added Collected Works to our portfolio of resources - free downloadable articles from selected authors, teachers, international consultants, lifetime-students and practitioners of the 3 Principles approach. Since last month, we have been working hard to expand the collection. To read our latest articles right now, click here THE MESSAGE BOARD FEATURE ARTICLECommonsenseWhat is commonsense? Over the years, I've had reason to ask the individuals and groups that I work with that question. The responses I receive are diverse, though invariably each boils down to 'just knowing the rightness of a decision or a position I take at the time'. This knowing (often referred to as intuition, gut-feel or 'a feeling of rightness') requires no justification, thought-out argument or even a sense of logic - we just know. At times like this, there is a sense of peace and contentment. We are at peace with our decision, and there are no regrets or recriminations... 
The essence or origin of commonsense (or what some call inner wisdom) is often part of these discussions. Is this knowing something learnt, has it to do with personal intelligence, the accumulation of life experience - or is it a moment of fresh insightfulness? Such experiences feel fresh and bring simplicity to what sometimes feels complex. Knowing is more about freshness in the moment, freedom to see what is without any obstruction, and a capacity to have a free and uncluttered mind. From this unrestrained and unconditional mind we see what is required without fear, hesitation or indecision. Clarity and responsiveness exist in the ordinary and trivial (Calvin’s carrying too many plates) and the extraordinary or important moments. I can imagine Calvin being full of opposition, his thoughts filled with "Heck! There's a TV show I want to watch and it starts in a few minutes!" He, like many of us, has fallen into the trap of haste and conflict and is ignoring his commonsense. It's all about our state of mind...It is all about our state of mind. Whether we break the plates because our minds are cluttered, busy, in a tug-of-war with competing thoughts - or whether we are available to our commonsense. Our busy minds prevent us from seeing the obvious and our decisions are shaky. We might subsequently say ‘where was my head when I made that decision?’
Pause, relax, reflect...Self-awareness [or consciousness] allows us to recognise that our minds and feelings are not in service to a commonsense way of life. And in listening to this commonsense we deeply appreciate the power of our thinking to determine how life will unfold. Importantly, our feelings guide us toward this appreciation. They are reflective of a secure or insecure state of mind - telling us that we either have inner presence of mind, or are busy ignoring the little voice of commonsense (the intuitive knowing that this or that is right). Next time you catch yourself speaking too quickly, or apologising for something you knew at the time was off (but ignored), pause; take the moment offered - and allow your commonsense to find that place of calmness within. © David Bodman March 2007. WE ARE WHAT WE DO
Some years ago I walked into the driveway of where I was living at the time and noticed one of the people I was living with working on the fuses in the power box of our house. "What's happening?" I asked him and he replied, "I'm sick and tired of fixing this fuse so I'm going to up the anti." His solution was to triple the thickness of the fuse wire so that it wouldn't keep fusing. I am no electrician, but I suggested that this was not the way to go and urged him to get it checked out by a professional.
This incident is a reminder of how innocently we can ignore the safety devices that are there to warn us of possible danger or indicate that there is something not quite right. SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION & PRIVACYPrivacy 
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