Timeless Wisdom for Succeeding in Everyday Life and Work
Joseph Law is the founder and CEO of Living Greatness, a social organization dedicated to making the world a happier and better place by empowering people’s lives through education and charity. Joseph is the author of Living Greatness: A Practical Guide to Living an Enlightened Life. His work has attracted the support of international best-selling authors, leading CEOs, as well as billionaires and celebrities worldwide.
He is also the contributing author to an upcoming book The Golden Thread: The Art of Living Life at the Peak. Besides being an author and social entrepreneur, Joseph is a speaker, poet and philanthropist. He has supported numerous charitable organizations, including World Vision, Fred Hollows Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Salvation Army, and microfinance organizations, to name a few.
Share with us some of your personal story and background
In my twenties, I became the general manager of a subsidiary of an investment company whose sales turnover was over a billion dollars. One day I had a realization, an epiphany – a spiritual awakening. I found myself wondering: Is there more to life than getting an education, progressing in your job, raising a family, paying off your home, retiring, and then dying? These feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction led to a quest for truth. I embarked on a journey of intense inner and outer discovery, through deep meditation, traveling to sacred places in India, learning from many wise teachers, and studying many of the world’s traditions (Eastern and Western) in spirituality and wisdom.
Was there a defining moment that shaped your paths’ destiny?
Many insightful teachers, thinkers, and philosophers have talked about the purpose of life and living a life filled with happiness. However, with the complexities of our modern, everyday lives, we all have bills to pay, a family to raise, health problems to endure, a job we don’t like, and on and on it goes, seemingly without end. Obviously, there needs to be a solution for cultivating peace, love, and joy for the modern age without having to sit in a cave meditating for the rest of their lives.
With this in mind, I asked the universe what I could do in my lifetime to serve others and enrich their lives. Through a sequence of what seemed like coincidental events, I was inspired to write my first book, Living Greatness: A Practical Guide to Living an Enlightened Life. I have had the privilege of interviewing some of the most inspiring people in the world from people like Jack Canfield, the author of the mega world bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul to Howard Cutler, who wrote The Art of Happiness; and Edward de Bono, the world’s leading expert on finding solutions to problems through a creative approach.
Do you believe there is a higher intelligence governing the universe and creation?
Yes. On a macro level, everything in this universe is in its evolutionary journey, be it a rock, plant, animal, human being, planet, or galaxy. There is an element of oneness underlying all forms of matter in nature and in the universe. What we perceive through the senses may not be real. In fact, everything in this universe is made up of the same matter; it is just present in different forms and shapes. The world of matter is made up of subatomic particles. Even though atoms appear as real and solid, with the power of today’s science, we know that even seemingly solid matter is 99% space. Isn’t it an interesting coincidence that one of the central Buddhist scriptures Heart Sutra expresses these words? “Form is emptiness; emptiness is form; form is not other than emptiness; emptiness is not other than form.”
As human beings, we are all evolving in one way or another on our quest to find the true nature of our essence. By aligning ourselves with the force of nature, we are able to experience a life that is joyful, loving, and fulfilling, and that flows with effortless ease.
We are co-creators in this universe, and we have been endowed with the ability to tap into this creative power through our thoughts, our words, and our actions. The seed of all manifestation is a thought, and at its grossest physical level, a thought is an action. It is the equal and opposite forces of action and reaction (as defined by Sir Isaac Newton) that sustain the existence of this material universe. In Sanskrit, the most ancient recorded language of the world, this force is called Karma.
What is the difference between the inner and outer path to enlightenment?
There are many ways to strengthen our connection with the divine as described by saints and sages of different traditions. The Buddha actually talks about the 84,000 ways to enlightenment. Most spiritual seekers focus on the outer path. It is primarily focused on how to find enlightenment by carefully following specific techniques, rules, or a spiritual teacher’s instructions; in doing so, certain results are guaranteed. My observation is that there is no best path to follow. There is no “one size fits all” approach, for every one of us is uniquely different.
The mind will make you think that by following the ultimate guru or learning the most evolutionary technique, you will find salvation. This belief stems from the influence of the dualistic mind, one that tries to blend rational thinking, evaluation, and judgment. Yet, how can the mind go beyond the mind?
The more sincere and mature spiritual seekers realize that in this world of form, there is no absolute truth, but rather, each of us has our own inner truths. These wise seekers are able to see beyond the dualistic mind and transcend the polarity state of consciousness.
The inner path is a dynamic creative process that does not stand still. That which created you in the past may not create you in the next moment. This ever-changing fluidity can only happen as you activate your intuition and higher mind, which requires self-transcendence and the ongoing decision to let go of the ego and illusions, and instead be a great expression of the infinite. The key to attaining wisdom is to realize something called divine dichotomy, which means that two conflicting truths may simultaneously exist in the same place at the same time. Most people are trapped in the dualistic belief of black and white thinking.
What advice can you give to spiritual seekers for succeeding in today’s world?
Take life seriously in that you understand how much life matters, but not so seriously that you sap your life of joy and freedom of spirit. Be in the world, but not of it. As William Shakespeare said so profoundly, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Do not be too emotionally attached to the things of this world, for there is nothing you can take away.
Taoist philosophy proposes that the universe works harmoniously according to its own ways. When someone exerts his will against the world, he disrupts that harmony, but when his will is placed in accordance with nature, all things happen with harmony and effortless ease. Just observe nature: The tree does not try to grow; it simply grows. It is better to be a grass that yields to the forceful wind of the storm than to be a brittle, rigid tree that breaks in the force of that wind because it cannot yield to it.
Be responsible for your actions and you will not have to struggle to manage the results. The ancient Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita, also expressed this in the same way by advising that we should be responsible for our action, without being attached to the fruits of our labor.
