A Sense of Something Greater

Zen and the Search for Balance in Silicon Valley

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Sep 25 2018 | Archive Date Sep 25 2018

Talking about this book? Use #AsenseOfSomethingGreater #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

Welcome to Silicon Valley’s search for fulfillment and purpose beyond devices, money, and power. 

With worker stress at an all-time high, particularly in the fast-paced technology industry, it’s no surprise that Google, Salesforce, and Apple have adopted mindfulness and meditation into their workplace culture. Studies show mindfulness practice increases emotional intelligence, reduces stress, and enhances health and overall well-being.
 
A Sense of Something Greater goes deeper than the current mindfulness trend, into the heart of Zen practice. For Les Kaye, Zen is more than awareness––it’s also “the continued determination to be authentic in relationships, to create meaningful, intimate, intentional bonds with people, things, and the environment.” Kaye’s teachings are paired with interviews with current tech employees and Zen practitioners, conducted by journalist Teresa Bouza. A Sense of Something Greater is an essential book for business leaders, mindfulness meditators, and Zen practitioners alike.
Welcome to Silicon Valley’s search for fulfillment and purpose beyond devices, money, and power. 

With worker stress at an all-time high, particularly in the fast-paced technology industry, it’s no...

Advance Praise

A truly surprising, brilliant, and wonderful book. Reading it, you suddenly see that there is something greater that is before us, right here, right now. Les Kaye and co-author Teresa Bouza reveal a different kind of mind (and heart) in the midst of Silicon Valley and of our lives. This marvelous book is not only about the search for balance but for meaning in the midst. 

 

­­– Joan Halifax, Abbot, Upaya Institute and Zen Center

 

 

 

Zen meditation may call forth images of Japanese rock gardens and old monasteries, but Les Kaye places it naturally in the midst of twenty-first-century urban American life. Using interviews with individual practitioners by Teresa Bouza, A Sense of Something Greater vividly illustrates how this simple practice can offer remarkable clarity and ease to those who work in competitive, high-tech, high-stress settings.

–      Kazuaki Tanahashi, Painting Peace at a Time of Global Crisis

–       

 

A warm, remarkably intimate introduction to a spiritual community in the heart of Silicon Valley. Through personal interviews with the community’s members, we meet the real people of the Valley as they struggle to find their bearings in the fast lane of the high tech world. Through the wise counsel of the community’s leader, Les Kaye, we are welcomed into the ancient tradition of Soto Zen, where meditation is our most natural act and spiritual practice is its own reward.

–      Carl W Bielefeld, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University

–       

 

A truly surprising, brilliant, and wonderful book. Reading it, you suddenly see that there is something greater that is before us, right here, right now. Les Kaye and co-author Teresa Bouza reveal...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781946764218
PRICE $19.95 (USD)
PAGES 224

Average rating from 3 members


Featured Reviews

A Sense of Something Greater was a quick, insightful read. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the authors wove the narrative with the interviews. It grounded the theory of Zen with stories of how and why people practice. I especially appreciated the commentary addressing the onslaught of mindfulness in the workplace as a trend. I think the true art of Zen is neither trend nor fad, but success in practice requires a foundation and community. I am currently a contract employee working for an organization based out of New York City. While not Silicon Valley, many of the same issues persist in both my field and location, as well as throughout the world. While I think that the focus is on the Valley, simply because the Kannon Do is located in Mountain View, I hope that readers will read this book and realize that the issues faced by employees in the world of technology are easily translatable across all fields of work and life stresses. I enjoyed this book and would be interested in learning more about the benefits of embracing a Zen practice.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: