Description

💕 #MAGICademy S3E6, we had the great pleasure of meeting @Kouji Miki, founder of @Zen 2.0 to discover how Zenful meditation helps clear mental clutter to foster deep awareness, creativity, and true innovation by encouraging focused non-judgmental thinking. We'll also dive into how revisiting childhood memories helps uncover our innate passions and talents, guiding us toward a more authentic purpose, or Ikigai.

Story Takeaways

1️⃣ The Zen approach emphasizes complete awareness of one's environment, which allows for both intuitive and analytical insights crucial for idea creation. The non-duality principle of Zen encourages withholding premature judgment, creating a learning space where new ideas can be explored without immediate acceptance or rejection.

2️⃣ In meditation, our minds initially resemble a glass of muddy water, with thoughts and distractions clouding our awareness. As we focus on our breath and remain present, the mental agitation begins to settle, enabling the "mud" of our thoughts to fall away and revealing the clear water of calmness and insight.

3️⃣ Exploring childhood memories has the potential to rediscover our Ikigai by revealing passions, natural talents, and core values that shaped our early experiences. Reflecting on joyful activities and sources of happiness can align our current life with what we love, guiding us toward a more fulfilling and authentic purpose.

4️⃣ Kouji’s MAGIC: Deep dive into people’s minds to find their “hidden treasure”

#Zen, #Innovation, #Mindfulness, #Meditation, #Calmness, #Inclusivity, #ChildlikeWonder, #Curiosity, #Ikigai, #TeamDynamics

🌼 Conversation Outline

00:00 Introduction and Sense of Calmness

01:12 How to manage a busy mind during meditation?

04:50 Finding Innovation Within Searching Inside Yourself

04:57 Spreading the wisdom of Zen to the world

09:16 How does Zen support the process of innovation?

09:43 The ideas are always inside of us

12:19 Data Driven Innovation and True Innovation

13:54 Zen & Ikigai

15:29 The "Outsider" view gives us strength and inclusive perspectives

21:23 Zen meditation promotes deep team connections

23:25 The magic of childlike wonder on innovation

27:44 Kouji's childlike wonder: deep dive into the ocean

☕ Connect with Our Guest Here 

Kouji Miki is a Zen-based coach specializing in mindfulness for executives and CEOs, with a Master's degree in Media and Governance from Keio University. After experiencing personal challenges that led him to Zen meditation, he founded the Zen2.0 conference in 2017, which has become the world's largest international gathering on Zen and mindfulness for over 6 years, attracting mindful speakers and participants globally. Kouji's mission is to integrate traditional Zen philosophies with modern technologies to foster innovation and societal change, and he has authored two books, "Let's Start Micro-Monozukuri" and "True Innovation," focusing on creating innovation through Zen-like dialogue.

https://www.zenschool.jp/global

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikikouj/

📚 Reference: 

Ming, L., & Jang, C. G. (2018, July). The Research of Cultural and Creative Product Design Based on the Zen Buddhism Culture. In 2018 International Seminar on Education Research and Social Science (ISERSS 2018) (pp. 69-72). Atlantis Press.
Castellani, B., & Gerrits, L. (2024). Mindfulness, imagination and creativity. In The Atlas of Social Complexity (pp. 196-206). Edward Elgar Publishing.