tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138067676455417641.post6553349357206992094..comments2024-01-30T01:39:56.217-06:00Comments on The Spirit of Institutions: Language for bringing our deepest inspiration to workMichael Bischoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13196064668170667389noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138067676455417641.post-66318076704054383742008-12-26T10:58:00.000-06:002008-12-26T10:58:00.000-06:00Well, Michael, there's no one like a sister to cha...Well, Michael, there's no one like a sister to challenge us! It can be difficult to put spirituality into words but I think you are doing a good job. Reading about Reell and its Mission Statement shows that there can be dignity in the workplace and individuals can be respected for the inherent worth that all of us have as children of God. You are raising our awareness of institutions and people that truly value spirituality in our daily lives. Thank you!Montyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13203506160332678606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138067676455417641.post-13426326252629130162008-12-23T14:09:00.000-06:002008-12-23T14:09:00.000-06:00I agree, Tom, that defining spirituality narrowly ...I agree, Tom, that defining spirituality narrowly within a business or other organization can be dangerous territory. At the same time, I've been looking for for language that points to "to the universal human experience of spirituality." Here are two definitions of spirituality that I've come across recently and appreciated:<BR/>* Sources of creativity (Otto Scharmer)<BR/>* Our eternal yearning to connect with something beyond our egos (Parker Palmer)<BR/><BR/>I want to find ways to balance what is broad and inclusive with what is also meaningful and deep.Michael Bischoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13196064668170667389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138067676455417641.post-57347781447841610662008-12-23T11:13:00.000-06:002008-12-23T11:13:00.000-06:00I find that trying to define spirituality is more ...I find that trying to define spirituality is more complicated than it is worth. It seems to lead inevitably to division and doctrinal differences. Instead, I think pointing to the universal human experience of spirtiuality, and asking people to talk about those experiences in whatever language works for them, is more helpful. <BR/><BR/>So, I get nervous when I hear a business using "God" language. I believe it is way too easy to have one way of understanding that begin to dominate and oppress people, the very way thing that we are trying to avoid. <BR/><BR/>I think that story telling about what people perceive to have been spiritual for them makes the most sense.<BR/><BR/>Tom AllenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138067676455417641.post-33831170484498724102008-11-22T23:08:00.000-06:002008-11-22T23:08:00.000-06:00The idea of mixing playfulness with your (chosen?)...The idea of mixing playfulness with your (chosen?) profession mirrors a story I heard on the radio tonight, about <A HREF="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/319/5865/905b" REL="nofollow">interpreting your PhD thesis through dance</A>. <BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>Liz Opp, <A HREF="http://thegoodraisedup.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">The Good Raised Up</A>Liz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138067676455417641.post-81295080636653010672008-11-16T13:45:00.000-06:002008-11-16T13:45:00.000-06:00In thinking more about Nat's comment, I've been re...In thinking more about Nat's comment, I've been remembering a study that Rabbi Michael Lerner did in the 1980s about work and family life. Here's <A HREF="http://www.wisdompage.com/LernerReview.html" REL="nofollow">a summary</A> of their findings:<BR/><BR/>"Lerner and his colleagues at the Institute for Labor and Mental Health interviewed and worked in therapy groups with thousands of working people. This research revealed that socially meaningless work was a major cause of stress, and that “most people have a real need for meaning and purpose in their lives, a meaning and purpose that could transcend the selfishness and materialism of the competitive marketplace and root them in something with transcendent significance.” Lerner suggests that Abraham Maslow was off the mark in suggesting “that we must first satisfy our material needs and only then address our ‘higher’ needs.” For Lerner, the spiritual is also basic: “Rather than thinking of material needs as the foundation and the spiritual dimension as a kind of accessory, we should understand that spiritual needs are equally real and equally essential to our being.”"Michael Bischoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13196064668170667389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138067676455417641.post-65365892776169259372008-11-16T09:24:00.000-06:002008-11-16T09:24:00.000-06:00Thanks, Nat. Yes, I think that is an important and...Thanks, Nat. Yes, I think that is an important and related broader query. Things like playfulness, friendship, poetry might also be things we exclude from our professional lives. So might cursing, violence, and proselytizing. Looking at the costs and benefits of what we include and exclude in our work lives seems like a good exercise.Michael Bischoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13196064668170667389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138067676455417641.post-83106790449430120182008-11-15T21:43:00.000-06:002008-11-15T21:43:00.000-06:00A bigger query of which this is perhaps a part:"Wh...A bigger query of which this is perhaps a part:<BR/><BR/>"What are we excluding from our professional lives, what is the cost of that exclusion, and how can we include it?"<BR/><BR/>Where your work seems to be finding those who, in the case of spiritual perspectives, are consciously including something that is customarily excluded.natcasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18058664776852941599noreply@blogger.com