ValleyZen - At the Intersection of Zen, Modern Life and Technology

Guest Post by Esther Gokhale
Author, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back

Whether in Zazen or Valley Zen, sitting is very much a part of our lives. In Zen sitting, each muscle, bone and ligament has a natural place. The design of the skeleton, the end product of millennia of collaboration between gravity and structure, has a natural balance and harmony. When we restore that balance, the result is stillness and flow. No part of the body is pinched or pulled, no part signals the brain that it needs to shift, toss, turn, tighten or be protected. Structure informs function. Blood, lymph, cerebrospinal fluid and Qi circulate unimpeded. A myriad accumulated injuries and rogue events sort themselves out spontaneously.

If this is not the way you currently sit…

“It’s not brain surgery—It’s economics,” Meg Whitman recalled the take of her brain surgeon husband, Dr. Griffith Harsh, on California’s budget crisis. With a wry sense of humor, and authentic personal stories, Meg shared her impressive vision for a new California at the MEGa Women Bay Area Launch. Pumping up the audience was Statewide Chairwoman Jillian Manus: “there’s so much estrogen in this room, it could blow off the roof.” A diverse audience of female Silicon Valley influencers cheered when Jillian challenged them to go out and make MEGa Women a million strong…

Who are the most influential women in technology for 2009? You had to be with ValleyZen in the Fairmont San Jose last Thursday to be able not only to see but to experience the answer.

Women have gone a long way in tech, and the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology’s Women of Vision’s Award celebration and dinner presented ample evidence of the distances women have traveled. The event was beautifully emceed by CBS News Anchor, Sydnie Kohara with inspirational opening remarks by Telle Whitney, President & CEO of the Institute. The 2009 Women of Vision Awards honored three women who have made significant contributions to technology through outstanding innovation, leadership, and social Impact.

ValleyZen got full access to these inspirational women and the ambitious event. We interviewed the keynote speaker and the award recipients and spoke to numerous other accomplished women in technology, from…

You already know it all about the fabled “Über Entrepreneur” (as he was billed by the Churchill Club yesterday) Elon Musk. How he dropped out of the graduate program in Physics at Stanford after only two days, how he co-founded PayPal and was the largest shareholder when it sold to EBAY in 2002 for 1.5 billion, and all about his latest accomplishments and adventures with Tesla and SpaceX.

At ValleyZen we like to report on what we don’t know about yet, what’s new, what is in the imaginative space. In a Sumi-e painting that’s like the negative space, the space between brush strokes where all possibilities lie. People in Silicon Valley are comfortable with things that haven’t been defined yet and with what is uncertain. That’s exciting.

Yesterday we met with Elon and…

Fast-paced action and friends took center stage at CookFest 2009 hosted by Wellsphere Co-Founder Ron Gutman and Miri Gutman. Digerati descended on the Gutman home to celebrate Wellsphere’s recent acquisition by Virginia-based HealthCentral with a homey homestyle digerati hoedown. The Zen of Process…It wasn’t a slick East coast styled cocktail party and sitdown dinner (although there were many friendly ex-New Yorkers there). Instead the day began with a communal trip to Whole Foods led by Ron and Miri. Next engineers and product designers alike pitched in to chop vegetables and talk about their startups.

Eight hours later…

As world leaders meet at the G20 London Summit this week, ValleyZen reflects on the following. What if you had the responsibility to resolve simultaneous national and international crises that consisted of and were dependent on resolving a number of diverse smaller crises…

We recently met with Charlie Rose, host of the Charlie Rose Show. Rose was this month’s featured guest for Dick Henning’s Celebrity Forum. While swinging through Silicon Valley, Rose also interviewed some Valley luminaries including Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Twitter Co-Founder Evan Williams and Stanford’s President John Hennessy.

BUT— ValleyZen interviewed Charlie Rose!

Don’t miss this exclusive backstage interview where Rose takes time to chat before addressing one of three sold-out crowds at Flint Center…

Drue has recently completed a portrait of Michelle Obama. We look forward to your responses and reactions. Please view her portrait of the First Lady and read the story behind the portrait…

After his presentation today, Tom Siebel fielded audience questions.
A voice began speaking…

“What are you?” Siebel asked.
“A freshman,” the voice said.
“What are you studying?”
“Still figuring that out.”
“Me too,” said Siebel.

Silicon Valley gets Zen.

In the 80s and 90s, Siebel’s expertise in relational database theory helped him make Siebel Systems a global leader in software. Now he is becoming a Zen beginner—moving away from his domain, IT (Information Technology) into a totally new arena (Energy Technology). Even though Siebel has spent the last three years doing research on energy issues, this is uncharted territory for him. He’s taking a radical departure from his “comfort zones” in order to tackle pressing ecological problems. Siebel gave us a sneak preview of…

It is only February but already Queen Jillian Manus and King Alan Salzman have set the bar high for the best parties of 2009 in Silicon Valley. Wait— make that best parties anywhere in the world. Last night guests descended upon a fairytale Happily Never After Valentine’s Ball to raise money and awareness for the Stanford Cancer Center. Digerati, glitterati and literati valet-parked outside the drawbridge and walked the Manus-Salzman castle’s giant lollipop-lined red carpet to trumpeted fanfare. VCs dodged arrows from Robin Hood. Knights in shining armor cleared the way for power women like eBay’s Meg Whitman and SkinnySongs CEO Heidi Roizen. Real and fairytale celebrities intermingled. Flashbulbs for Women’s Wear Daily shot Rapunzel in one frame and Asim Abdullah, owner of haute couture design house Emanual Ungaro and his wife Isha in the next…