Introducing the subject of haiku on to this blog, I was doing it merely for the amusement. Little did I know. For with my mind turned in that direction, I came across the following on a site called Workplace Spirituality:
A form of Japanese Zen poetry of seventeen syllables set in three lines of five-seven-five syllables, which functions as a powerful catalyst. Catalyst for what you wonder… well, find out what’s stopping you from reaching those profits with passion, which translates into making money and having meaning in what you do.
To gain and keep your competitive edge, Haiku! Don’t brush away or asphyxiate on the word Japanese poetry. It’s a great way to get organizational movement and momentum. My research, with over one hundred people in various managerial capacities[,] has shown that using this concise form of inner exploration leads to startling truths. In the repertoire of responses the following emerged: charting new strategic directions, helping one see life anew, healing those unseen psychological wounds, and giving one the strength to move forward with a spring in one’s step and a sparkle in the eye. Haiku served to illuminate those psychological processes that enable people to function positively, with energy and well-being.
‘Startling truths’ – and very significant benefits, I’d say. This is where to start, according to Edwina Pio, PhD (the author):
When an issue is not moving forward, and there is a deadlock.
When change is being introduced
When a project gets stuck
As a review mechanismIt is best to do this in a group. Try asking people to sit quietly for a few minutes and then focus on one major issue which is of concern to them. This must be expressed through the rigor of just seventeen syllables.
I must confess that, hooked and pulled along until now by the thought of those proffered benefits, I re-acquainted myself right here with the impulse of scepticism. Why don’t the sitting quietly and the focusing bits suffice? Read the rest and judge for yourself the three types of beneficial effect, of which I’ve only room for this one – the ‘Eureka Effect’:
Here, one finds the “ah-aha” experience. Individuals delight in their compositions, and laugh at their results. Sometimes this helps to solve hidden problems, and renew interpersonal relationships. For example:
Just forget the past,
Life is full of choices made…
You know your own heart!
I can see why they laugh at their results. One for Francis Wheen, I reckon; and the fighting fashionable nonsense site. (Via The Occupational Adventure (sm) Blog.)