Spirituality in Business

(c) 2003 -- C. Dean Pielstick
Adapted from Dr. Pielstick's
Authentic Leading: Where the Blue Sky Hits the Road
Rocky Mountain Press, 2003, ISBN 1-929149-13-1.

The Origination of Spirituality

What is the origin of the concept of spirituality ?[i] The concept goes back to its root word—spirit—from the Jewish  tradition. The Jewish words nephesh (breath) and ruach (wind)[ii] convey the sense of an animating essence. Breath (as in the breath of life) is the animating essence of the human body. When a baby takes its first breath, the spirit of life animates it. When we die, the last breath (spirit) leaves the body. Thus, spirit is sometimes referred to as the breath of God. Similarly, wind animates the trees. When there is no wind, we may say that it is “dead” outside. Nephesh  is internal spirit. Ruach  is external spirit. Yet they are of one essence.

This spiritual essence evolved into the notion of the Holy Spirit, which under Christianity  became viewed as one of three personas expressing the character  of God. St. Paul  was responsible for the first documented use of the word “spiritual” when he referred in First Corinthians to a “spiritual person” as someone “under the influence  of God.”[iii] This concept of “spirituality ” was accepted until the 12^th century, when it began to refer more to the contrast with materiality represented by nonmaterial or transcendent  nature. By the 17^th century the phrase was used to describe the inner life of a Christian , sometimes in a derogatory way. In the 18^th century the term became somewhat elitist, distinguishing the “life of perfection” from the ordinary life of faith. In the last century, the use of the term spread beyond Christianity to other religions, and even beyond those to secular contexts, as in references to school spirit or team  spirit. The broad use of the term in recent decades has made it difficult to define in a meaningful way.

Spirituality  vs. Religion

Spirituality  is personal, and many practices are used to develop and facilitate it. These are often pursued in communal gatherings in churches, temples, synagogues or mosques. For many, spirituality  and religion  are one and the same, or spirituality  is at least conceived as an experience deriving from one’s religious practices. Still, it is helpful to differentiate between the two concepts. Religion is a system of beliefs  regarding a greater reality than we can perceive with our five senses, i.e., “ultimate” reality. Religious beliefs are sets of creeds, rules, dogma, doctrines, principles, teachings and/or philosophies. Most religious beliefs involve faith, a trust  or confidence that exists in the absence of complete proof, which may include insights derived from direct experience. These direct, unmediated or “mystical” experiences can in fact be the source of foundational religious beliefs.[iv]

Often these experiences are at the core of spirituality . Ritual practices, meditation  in particular, can be used to stimulate spiritual experiences. Spirituality  in this sense becomes an understanding or worldview based upon the direct, unmediated or mystical experience of an ultimate transcendent  reality. The key difference between religion  and spirituality  is that religion  incorporates a system of beliefs , but may or may not include personal experience beyond formal religious practices.

The practice  of this system of beliefs  may either facilitate or limit the spiritual experience of the believer. In many cases the system of beliefs is grounded in ancient traditions that are assumed by post-enlightenment society to be myths. Such perceptions greatly reduce interest in traditional religions.[v]

The spiritual worldview may take one of two primary forms. One view is that of transcendence , that there is more than the universe, often conceived as God or “the other.” This is often described as the dualistic (self-other) worldview. It contrasts with the immanent view in which the ultimate  is “with and within,” i.e., that there is ultimately only interrelated, interconnected and interdependent  oneness . This is the nondualistic  worldview. There is also growing support among progressive Christians and others for a “both/and” perspective in which God is both other and within. This is called “panentheism.”[vi]

There are numerous names and other designations used today in reference to the ultimate —God, Allah, Yahweh, Brahman, clear light, supreme being, “the more,” “the all,” “the other” and many other characterizations. Yet many in our secular society actively pursue a personal spiritual journey without being associated with any formal religion . Thus, while one may derive a sense of spirituality  from religious practices, such practice  is not requisite to the spiritual experience.[vii]

Forms of Spirituality

Spiritual experiences may take many different forms, and several models have been developed to represent the categories of these experiences. Some of these include consideration of religious or spiritual practices as well.

One simplified model presents three forms of spirituality : religious, secular and mystical. Religious spirituality  is derived from traditional religious practices and posits a transcendent  and/or immanent God. Secular spirituality  is grounded in humanism or nature-based practices and usually posits no God, though there are exceptions. Mystical spirituality  is grounded primarily in various meditative practices and posits a nondual ultimate reality.[viii]

Ken Wilber , a noted contemporary philosopher, has developed a more detailed model.[ix] My adaptation of his presentation is summarized below. 

Magical—explaining unknown in terms of the magical powers of people or animals

Mythical—understanding and explaining reality with supernatural explanations in the form of stories  of invisible gods and goddesses; sometimes understood as literally true, but more often as metaphorically true

Logical—thinking about and explaining the world through reason and logic; the early scientific or “Newtonian” view of reality as the sum of its parts

Systemical—understanding networks of relationships : interrelatedness , interconnectedness , interdependence , and wholeness ; the current scientific view of reality as a holistic integrated system in which the universe is more than the sum of its parts

Transpersonal—transcendent  insight, absorption, and cosmic communication ; a view of an ineffable other as beyond and/or within empirical reality

Mystical—transcendence  of subject-object (self-other) duality and space-time; a nondual view of the ultimate  nature of reality as absolute unitary being

Wilber  articulated this progression as hierarchical in nature, with higher levels built upon and transcending previous levels. The “logical” and “systemical” categories represent secular experiences in this model. The secular levels are said to transcend the magical and mythical levels of earlier belief systems. The transpersonal and mystical levels then transcend these. The mystical or nondual level represents the highest level of spirituality  in his system. Many traditional religious beliefs  are “mythical” in nature in this model, although individuals within those traditions often transcend that level of consciousness to, in rare cases, even the highest level.

Neurotheology and the Tao of Physics

Newberg  and d’Aquili [x] conducted brain scan research over many years, including meditating Tibetan Buddhist  monks and Franciscan nuns at prayer . This led them to what they described as a unitary continuum of spiritual experiences. The continuum begins with a baseline of everyday experience. Experiences progress through a sense of inspiration to awe and wonder, moments of ecstasy, hyperlucid visions, and ultimately to a nondual unity  in which self, time and space vanish into pure awareness , what they call the state of Absolute Unitary Being (AUB). This corresponds closely to Wilber ’s mystical level. One does not necessarily progress through each of these sequentially. This continuum is one of increasing sense of unity until one reaches the ultimate stage of AUB. Mystics of all traditions have described this ultimate stage as ineffable—beyond words. This research provides convincing scientific evidence for the highest-level spiritual experience of AUB.

When combined with other information about brain function, they described the development and evolution of both spiritual experiences and religious practices and beliefs . While more research is still needed, they conclude that the mystical experience is fundamental to the development of religion .

Furthermore, since everything that we see, hear, smell, taste, touch or think is mediated by the brain, so too is the spiritual experience. This includes the full continuum of unitary experiences from a sense of community  in a church service to the ultimate  spiritual experience of a few individuals.

In addition, they found that while repetitive ritual practices lead toward this ultimate experience, it rarely manifests due to the necessity of very prolonged practice . During such practices, the body often gives out before the brain is able to achieve this ultimate state. Meditation , on the other hand, is far more likely—though still rare—to facilitate achieving this state.

They describe, consistent with the mystical literature, two primary forms of meditation : active and passive. In active meditation  the practitioner uses focused concentration on a specific physical or mental object. This might be a candle, flower, cross, or other sacred image, among many possibilities. Practicing this form of meditation  may result in an experience of unity  with the object. In contrast, passive meditation  involves a diffused concentration, without thoughts—a state of relaxed awareness . Though still rare, this practice  sometimes leads directly to an experience of absolute unitary being.[xi]

The critical question is whether the experience created by the brain is simply that, internal to the brain, or whether it is a function of perception of the true nature of absolute reality. They concluded that there is no way of knowing that at this time, and there may never be, since the brain is always involved in either case.

Nevertheless, through a philosophical analysis of how we understand what is “really real,” they conclude that the experience of absolute unitary being—both in the lab and as described across religious traditions and throughout recorded history—is the most real experience known to human beings. Therefore, they remain open to the possibility that this unitary experience is the nature of absolute reality.

These findings have fascinating parallels with research in theoretical subatomic physics. Fritjof Capra , a theoretical subatomic physicist, is one of a number of scientists who have written about these parallels. In The Tao of Physics  he describes how scientists have come to understand that “the constituents of matter and the basic phenomena involving them are all interconnected, interrelated, and interdependent ; that they cannot be understood as isolated entities, but only as integrated parts of the whole.”[xii] He goes on to cite the noted physicist David Bohm ’s statement that “inseparable quantum interconnectedness  of the whole universe is the fundamental reality, and that relatively independently behaving parts are merely particular and contingent forms with this whole.”[xiii] Bohm  compares reality to a hologram in which “each of its parts, in some sense, contains the whole.”[xiv] Einstein  called our experience of ourselves as separate from the rest of the universe an “optical delusion of our consciousness.”[xv] An electron-pair spin experiment demonstrated that the pair retains their paired-spin at any distance. But most interestingly, if the spin of one is changed, the other will change  instantly across space and time. Even the distinction between matter and empty space was abandoned when it was discovered that “virtual particles can come into being spontaneously out of the void, and vanish again into the void.”[xvi]

These parallels must be considered with a word of caution, however, for they are only parallels. Nevertheless, the language used to describe the nature of the universe among scientists and mystics is strikingly similar.

Selected Spiritual Practices

What practices lead to these spiritual experiences? Meditation  is primary, particularly in its passive form. It is found among all of the mystical teachings in every major religious tradition, albeit outside of the mainstream of those traditions in some cases. It is a major part of Eastern religious traditions, where it is often practiced as a community. In Western traditions it has more commonly been practiced individually. There are also secular meditative practices that are nearly identical to those based in religious traditions, though they don’t use religious icons as in some of those traditions. Individuals interested in learning  to meditate are strongly encouraged to seek a personal guide for this practice , whether religious, secular or mystical. There are also numerous books available to supplement initial personal guidance.

Contemplative prayer [xvii] is similar to meditation  in creating a spiritual experience.[xviii] It may be practiced in an active or passive form. Active contemplative prayer  includes repeating a short saying, scriptural verse, sacred name, and so forth as the focus of attention. One then surrenders to the experience of the presence of God. Passive contemplative prayer  is silent, wordless surrender to God. Thomas Merton  describes it as “unitive knowledge of God…not a knowledge of subject and object, but a far different and transcendent  kind of knowledge in which the created ‘self’…seems to disappear…[and] no longer knows itself apart from God.”[xix] As with meditation , continuous contemplative prayer  can be extended throughout one’s daily activities.

Ritual is also a common practice  among religious traditions, and somewhat less common in secular practices. Any repetitive action, song, saying or prayer  may be part of ritual practice . The greater the significance or meaning  of these, the more effective the ritual will be in creating a spiritual experience. The use of candles, incense and sacred objects may enhance the experience for the practitioner. The practice  of ritual in a group also seems to enhance the experience. Attending religious services are the most common source of community  religious ritual practices. The nature and extent of ritual activities in these services varies from very elaborate and formal practices to simple and informal ones.

Some people find walking, particularly outdoors and in nature, to be an effective spiritual practice . Walking a labyrinth is an increasingly popular alternative as churches and other organizations construct them and make them available to the public.[xx] Sitting quietly in nature is also a common practice .

Reflective thinking , particularly in the form of journaling, is a common practice . Recording one’s spiritual experiences can help amplify the development of those experiences. In the evening, before retiring, is a particularly good time for this.

Islam  calls for prayer  five times each day. One can incorporate that or an alternative practice  into one’s daily activities. It may necessitate closing an office door or finding an empty space. Or you may seek to practice  with others during those times, which is increasingly common, even in the workplace.[xxi]

One-minute moments of meditation  are also possible. Even brief periods can enhance the level of spirituality  in one’s day. The Buddhist  practice  of mindfulness can also be incorporated into daily practice . This involves developing one’s sense of awareness  of every action, word or thought. Mindfulness  takes practice  and improves slowly over a long period of time.

Also recommended is the Jewish  practice  of the Shabboth  or Sabbath , also followed by some Christians. Following the 4^th commandment in the Hebrew Bible, one avoids work or any activity that would cause another to work from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday.[xxii] During Friday evening, a family may enjoy dining together, or one may choose to dine with other similarly minded persons. Scriptures may be read, candles lit, and so forth, according to your particular tradition or preference. The next day may include religious services and/or study of scripture or other spiritual texts, together with other spiritual practices. It is a day of rest—a full day without work: no chores, no shopping, no TV—quite rare in our society.

As an alternative to this, Thich Nhat Hanh  recommends a day of mindfulness .[xxiii] In this case, it is acceptable to do work, but it is always to be done very deliberately and consciously. This is then interspersed with periods of mindful  walking and meditation  throughout the day. In addition, he recommends maintaining silence throughout the day. One can also spend time mindfully sitting, drinking tea, eating, reading scripture, or writing letters to friends. Such a practice  can be a significant addition to one’s spiritual life.

Implications for Business

Having defined spirituality  and described various practices, what are the implications for business? Some research has been done on the effects of spirituality  and related perspectives in businesses. However, the definition varies over a range of issues including a focus on relationships , values , ethics, wholeness , meaning , and religion . Paul Gibbons  conducted overview research on spirituality  at work for his dissertation.[xxiv] He identified the following claims being made for spirituality  at work:

• Spirituality  is related to well-being
• Spirituality  is related to individual motivation
• Spirituality  is linked to task effectiveness
• Spirituality  is a dimension of leadership
• Spirituality  is related to organizational climate
• Spirituality  at work will change  the culture
• Spirituality  at work will positively affect profitability through corporate values
• Spirituality  will positively affect profitability through its effect on well-being
• Spirituality  will positively impact the ability of the organization to acquire resources
• Spirituality  at work will improve ethical conduct of organizations

Gibbons ’ broad conclusions were that (1) we need more study, (2) spirituality  may be of practical value to individuals, particularly those for whom it is meaningful, and (3) spirituality  may be problematic for organizations, especially in the form of ethical and practical difficulties. Among these are differences in values  related to consumerism and materialism (a driving force behind much of our business economics that are often eschewed in spiritual and religious practices) and the potential for management to allow or even advocate spirituality  as a way to exploit workers.

Jerry Biberman  & Michael Whitty  have edited a collection of articles on this theme called Spirit & Work .[xxv] Among numerous examples of spirituality  in the workplace are the following:

• Elmer Burack  describes how H-P, Tom’s of Maine, and Ford  apply values  in human resource management .
• Gerald Cavanagh  names Ford  for community  service ; Boeing  for poetry readings to stimulate creativity; AT&T  for providing training to facilitate self understanding and better listening ; Chase Manhattan Bank , DuPont , AT&T, and Apple Computer  for asking “What is our higher purpose ?”
• Dorothy Marcic  cites a study by Toney & Oster of 200 CEOs in which those using religious principles in daily decision-making  had more successful companies than those that did not.
• Fraya Wagner-Marsh  & James Conley  include Tom’s of Main , Herman Miller , TDIndustries , Lancaster Labs , Wetherill Associates , Toro , Sisters of St. Joseph Health System , Med-Tronic , Townsend and Bottum , Schneider Engineering , and Bank of Montreal  for attempting to instill a spiritual approach in their corporate cultures.
• John Milliman  et al. mention Southwest Airlines ’ efforts to inculcate values , meaning , and making a difference into their corporate culture.
• Several authors cite James Collins  & Jerry Porras ,[xxvi] who conducted research on 18 “visionary ” companies, and learned that they outperformed comparison companies by as much as 16:1. The visionary  companies were characterized by emphasizing non-economic beliefs  and an empowering  culture.

On July 9, 2001, Fortune  published a cover story entitled “Spirituality : God and Business” that described the spiritual revival in the workplace, focusing on work that is more ethical, humane, and fulfilling. The article mentioned prayer  groups, meditation  retreats, being closed on Sundays, and service  to those in need as examples of what companies are now doing related to spirituality  in the workplace. A number of other articles have since been published in a variety of leading business periodicals.

In 2001, the Society for Human Resource Management  published their “Religion  in the Workplace Survey,”[xxvii] finding, among other things:

• More religions among the workforce
• Religious diversity  and/or harassment policies
• Accommodation for holiday decorations
• Allowance for the display of religious materials
• Time off for religious observances
• Increased acceptance of religious diversity

In their study of spirituality  in the workplace cited above, Mitroff  and Denton  found that their respondents:[xxviii]

• Did not have widely varying definitions of spirituality
• Did not want to compartmentalize or fragment their lives
• Differentiated strongly between spirituality  and religion
• Were hungry for models for practicing spirituality  in the workplace without offending coworkers or causing antagonism
• Were often afraid even to use the words “spirituality ” and “soul” in the workplace
• Showed the tendency of Western cultures to identify spirituality  exclusively as an individual phenomenon
• Did not see spirituality  as a “soft phenomenon,” or its softness didn’t matter
• Described peace and fear (settling and unsettling attributes) as two of the most important components of spirituality

In addition, they conclude, “Like it or not, the management  of spirituality  is one of the most fundamental of all management tasks.”[xxix]

Finally, former Stanford professor and popular author Jim Collins  has recently documented a new study of extraordinarily successful business leaders in Good to Great .[xxx] Collins  calls them “Level 5 ” leaders. The key characteristics he found in these individuals were extreme humility  and fierce resolve . As mentioned in Chapter 9, humility  is not a common value in America. However, it is one of the most fundamental values  found in spiritual traditions and among authentic leaders . In addition, Collins  found that Level 5  leaders:

• Have ambition not for themselves, but for their company
• Focus on people first, strategy second
• Confront the facts and have faith that they will prevail
• Follow a simple path—what the company can do best, how its economics work best, and what ignites the passions of its people
• Develop disciplined people, thought, and action so that they don’t need hierarchy, bureaucracy or excessive controls

There is a growing body of evidence that spirituality  is impacting the workplace. Furthermore, there are indications that it may provide a positive influence  on business outcomes.