How This Book Came About
I started to tell this story during my July 8th, 2007 interview on Portland's KBOO radio, but didn't finish it because we ran out of time! So here's the full story.
In February 1998, the spiritual community of which I was part was hit with an incredible blast of negative energy--a jury had found the organization guilty in a vicious lawsuit that had twisted any little kernels of truth beyond recognition. It was a shock to all of us. In response, all of us knew that the best thing we could do was to put out positive energy in some way.
I thought to publish an article I'd written about a nasty email war that had erupted at Microsoft one day in early 1996, and my part in bringing it to a positive, harmonious resolution. This was perfect since it was the same kind of energy we were facing there in 1998.
Now I'd originally written the article on the subject of "The Power of Thoughts and Words" (see that original article here) and wanted it instead to be on the these of "You can't be out the darkness with a stick."
However, the rewrite was more difficult than I expected, and the article refused to cooperate. After several attempts, I took the question into one of my morning meditations and prayed for clarity on the project. In a wonderful moment of clarity, how I needed to rewrite the piece appeared fully in my mind, and that’s what became Chapter 13.
Then, in the next moment, as I marveled at how an incident I experienced at Microsoft could have such deep spiritual meaning, I suddenly realized that every major circumstance of my entire career also had such significance! It was a thrilling moments, and I realized that I didn't just have an article, I had a whole book!
I then wrote the first draft in the next ten days. Some of the chapters weren't really complete at that time. Chapter 7, for instance, was difficult to write. I knew the story and that it was significant for some reason, but didn't quite understand what it meant in the larger picture.
Over the next months, until going to India for a month in September 1998, I worked on filling out the chapters and bringing it to a readable state. I was happy with that draft at the time and able to let go of the project during the India trip.
After India some other projects came to the fore and Mystic Microsoft needed to sit on the shelf for a while. I was happy with the manuscript, yes, but wasn't quite comfortable putting it out in public yet.
Well, it wasn't until early 2000 that I was able to come back to it again, at which point I wanted to make some significant changes. Most chapters had about 6 more pages of exposition on directly spiritual subjects, but it seemed to heavy or heady. I could really see that the stories would speak for themselves, so I edited most of that material out. (I'm thinking to put it into a companion volume sometime.)
I posted that revised manuscript on a website so I could begin sharing it and seeking a publisher. One publisher was very interested in it for a while but decided to opt out by early 2001. Shortly thereafter a legal team at Microsoft asked for my help in defending against a lawsuit in which the plaintiffs had quoted some of my works on the OLE technology. Since I was slated to be an expert witness, we all figured it would be a good idea if I didn't publish Mystic Microsoft during that time...so back on the shelf it went.
I finished with the lawsuit in August of 2003 and started working with another publisher. We came really close to having a contract, but it fell through. I'm glad for it, because what they wanted was a book on how to use spiritual practices for business success. The story I wanted to tell was how to use business experiences for spiritual success. Very different!
I was a little disappointing, of course, but in the end it gave me the clarity to position the book how it really needs to be. The present Prologue came from that clarity.
My wife and I moved to Portland, Oregon in 2004 and quickly got involved in a number of other projects, so Mystic Microsoft was still pretty much on the shelf, though I had it posted on a website. Finally, when those other projects had run their course and the birth of our first child (October 2006) suddenly gave me quite a bit of time sitting on the sofa and watching a baby sleep, I brought the book to its present state on this web site, as PDFs, and in print.
And there you have it!
Home | Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Epilogue | About the Author | Donations
PDF Downloads: e-Book plus printing/binding filesAuthor's Website: www.kraigbrockschmidt.com
Comments and inquires (including agents and publishers) are welcome. Send email to kraig@mysticmicrosoft.com
or write to Kraig Brockschmidt, 7410 SW Oleson Road PMB 389, Portland, OR 97223-7475
