Networkers' Letter
We have chosen to open the pages of this issue of Meditation Monthly International with the theme Spirituality in Today's Business Environment.
Past eras found spiritual seekers isolated in the protective environments of monasteries and remote villages and caves, removing them from living the typical daily life of difficulties and responsibilities. Today's era, however, is redirecting the past currents of aesthetic living into new environs. The spiritual seeker of today can be found in the business world visibly serving humanity. The loin cloths, turbans and long flowing robes of the past are being replaced with business suits, slacks, and dresses.
Is it possible to live a spiritual life, to be a pure expression of the soul, while at the same time taking responsibility for a family, running a business, holding a position in society, and experiencing financial success?
Three people, who have attained not only recognizable success in business but who are also successfully balancing their business life as a result of their spiritual disciplines, give us some vital and practical examples from their own lives. They share with us how a person can raise his consciousness to the principles of living in today's challenging environment. We hope you enjoy reading their articles.
"Success has two wings. There is spiritual success; there is material success. You are going to find the balance between these two successes. If you become very successful spiritually and not physically or materially, you are out of balance. If you lose yourself within physical success, you are out of balance.... Every success starts from a point of balance."1
Shanti,
Joleen D. Du Bois
joleen@wmea-world.org
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Meditation for Today's Business
Meditation is thinking.
Through meditation, a person strives to see more than surface appearances.
As Patanjali pointed out centuries ago in his Yoga Sutras, the meditator
will search for the quality, purpose, and soul or essence, of an object
or idea. People who do not think only see the form side of life - the surface
of things and not the underlying treasures.
Successful business leaders understand the importance of quality. The Detroit automakers almost annihilated themselves when they let the quality of their products decline. Detroit had to abandon its practice of planned obsolescence and return to the principle of quality to regain it's past success. We must never lose our sight of the star of quality. We can always bring quality to all that we say, all that we create, and all that we think.
If a business leader does not understand the purpose of his product or service, the leader and the business will fail. The people who were able to see the purpose of personal computers-simplicity and efficiency-were true thinkers.
Gradually, the business community is beginning to realize the soul, or essence of business, which is to bring prosperity to all. The true expression of the human soul, and thus of business, is universal prosperity, joy, beauty, goodness and righteousness. Successful businesses in the future will be those that focus on the success of their employees; that guarantee the community benefits from their products, services, and presence; and that function in a way that the environment is never harmed.
One purpose of meditation is ever-progressive alignment-with the Teacher, the Spiritual Group, the Solar Angel, Christ, Buddha, Hierarchy and the Planetary Logos. When alignment is attained with higher levels of existence a lot of "personality noise"-anger, hatred, fear, jealousy, and revenge-is filtered out of life. Life becomes more focussed, more clear. As a business will always reflect the consciousness of the business leader, daily meditation will help the leader to maintain clarity of thought and focus on the essentials of business life. When a laborer is clear and focussed, tasks will be accomplished much more rapidly. Distraction and confusion slow any constructive process.
Nature has a natural rhythm. When a person starts to meditate, he or she begins to function with the flow of life. Life will provide proper timing for actions, and a meditator will feel when the timing for specific actions is appropriate. When the timing is appropriate, life flows smoothly, according to plan. People in business tend to force matters. When things are forced, friction is created, causing disharmony, irritation, problems, difficulties and failure.
The Law of Economy functions in nature, and nature wastes nothing. Wasted energy is the bane of all businesses. It translates as inefficiency, which means lower profits. The goal then is for all employees to have a steady, focussed source of energy.
Meditation provides this energy. Many workers depend on the lift they receive from sugar, caffeine or nicotine to help them through the day. These artificial stimulants are not good for clarity of thought. Meditation provides an abundance of psychic energy for the system. No stimulants are needed for the one who meditates. In fact, those who have meditated for years take care to avoid foods that contain artificial stimulants, as they are aware of the damage that can be inflicted upon their sensitive nature.
Businesses will always need the innovative thinking, clarity, focus and efficiency of effort that meditation can provide.
by Lewis Agrell
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Cooperation and the Bottom Line
Building the right business environment
"Cooperation is ever-progressive inclusiveness in the interest of all parties involved."1 "It is the law of creativity, evolution and achievement."2
A cooperative environment in business is one in which
there is an understanding between the management/ownership and the employees/associates
of the purpose of the business and the needs of the customer. Every decision
made within that business environment encourages growth and forward direction.
In this ideal situation, the management knows that its role is to promote
and encourage an environment in which there is a sense of cooperation and
responsibility. The management knows that the workers of the company are
an essential factor in the success of the business. Every person in the
company is like a flower that wants to bloom to its full potential and
color, and management does all it can to support that unfolding. 
The employees know that they are respected and that they offer real value to the company. They know that their ideas and concerns will be heard and considered by management, so they always strive to bring them forth. They also are confident in their dealings with customers. Employees within a cooperative environment know that the management's interest lies not only in having a good financial return on its investment and in the offering of a superior good or service but in the development of every associate within that company.
Customers know that if they seek to purchase a product or service from a business that operates on the principle of cooperation, they will be entitled to 100% satisfaction. This is because the customer is aware that both management and employees will serve to the best of their abilities and go beyond their own personal interests to serve the customer's needs.
This may be considered an idealistic business environment, but it is not an impossible one to attain. It begins with and flourishes because of the application of the Teaching to all situations. The Teaching is a collection of practical rules based on the Laws of Nature. It is the combination of knowledge, experience, wisdom, revelations, and compassion as taught by the Great Teachers in human history. The Teaching is not a collection of untouchable laws and concepts that cannot be applied to or is separate from our business and professional lives. The Teaching is the undercurrent of what encourages us to grow and surpass ourselves. What an incredible opportunity we have to serve humanity, which can begin at our place of business.
"What are the main, or principal, Teachings of the Ageless
Wisdom?
• To manifest Beauty
• To release Goodness
• To establish Righteousness
• To increase Joy
• To spread Freedom...." 3
Beauty leads us to the vision we have of ourselves, a vision that we are in the process of striving to become. Through beauty we become more beautiful. If we are beautiful, we transmit beauty and inspire others. The way we work to create beauty in our homes, we can create beauty in our business. A beautiful workplace can be instrumental in helping workers to reach their full potential. Whatever it is-a factory, office, construction site, an airfield-beauty can be incorporated as a source of inspiration. There is beauty in cleanliness and a well-organized space. Plants, flowers, and artwork can further enhance the clean palette. Every person who shares the use of a particular space can have input on what inspires them. This is also how cooperation can be introduced.
Practicing goodness tunes each individual with the Heart of Compassion in the universe. Through the use of goodness in business relations, an understanding can be developed between all levels of those within the company. One way is to be kind when making requests from different departments, particularly from higher echelons to lower. Making requests with a demanding attitude does not foster cooperation. Instead, it creates rejection. If relations are practiced in a kind and cooperative way, workers will fulfill requests and share their ideas with management, not because they have to, but because they are inspired to. This will result in the production of a superior product or better service because of the increased quality of work. Honest relationships develop among all an understanding of each person's importance.
Righteousness in the workplace promotes accuracy and justice. If a company wants all of its associates to work in an honest and fair way, the associates must be treated honestly and fairly. This represents the Law of Cause and Effect. If associates know that the company is treating them fairly, they will give accurate information when requested and use the company's resources wisely. One of the ways to create such an atmosphere is for the company to make associates aware of how they fit into the company and to let them know what the vision of the company is. If a person knows the reason for his or her involvement with the company, it encourages them to do the best job possible.
Spreading joy also develops a cooperative atmosphere. The Teaching tells us that those who have joy and those who spread joy are people who direct themselves toward constant improvement. Joy uplifts and inspires people to reach toward higher levels of creativity. A way to promote joy in the workplace is to have people work in groups or in teams to develop ideas, plan strategies, or market products or services. Tremendous joy is felt when people meet goals as a result of team effort. As joy circulates throughout the company, it also charges the products and services with joy. This is a way of truly being of service to the customer. Customers not only receive joy from the employees, but a great product or service that was created in joy. Freedom is so important for all of us, because only when we are free can we break out of our limitations and reach our full potentials. In every company there needs to be rules and regulations, but not to the point where they imprison people by stopping their creativity and growth. Effective rules and regulations are those that create an outline for the associates to fill in. This is accomplished through the meeting of goals and the performing of tasks that are in cooperation with the rules. A company that does not set up barriers that prohibit growth is one where cooperation will develop. Nothing is more stifling than being told how to do a particular task. If a goal is presented with a budget and a time frame for completion, an associate who is given an opportunity to meet that goal, through group effort and creative input, will be the one who will cooperate with future projects and will always promote cooperation as the object of all business activities.
Everyone wants the opportunity to grow because it leads to greater health, happiness, and prosperity. Growth is only possible in a cooperative enviroment. By businesses applying great principles in a practical way, associates can become inspired because they can see that their business life can go in the same direction as their personal and family life. By applying the principles of Beauty, Goodness, Righteousness, Joy, and Freedom to our professional and business lives, we create an opportunity for success in which all will benefit.
by Karin Wendell
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Business
and the Spiritual Path
Bringing Life into balance
For whatever reason,
there are a number of people who cannot seem to justify being materially
and spiritually successful. These same people struggle month after month
to pay their bills while putting tremendous pressure on themselves as well
as their loved ones. They may even turn away from the path of self-discovery
because they can no longer handle the pressure. 
It's important to say that there is not a spiritual life and a material life. In reality, they are one. It is your spiritual right to be materially successful. If our methods in earning money are honest and spurred by right motives, then we are working in harmony with the constructive and positive Forces in the universe. Wonderful people have done magnificent things with their money to help others in need.
The key question is how to balance the spiritual and material path. First, you must think of a goal. For example: I would like to contribute more to my church, my group, or a worthy cause that I support. I would like to be an example to others of someone who is very successful in business and yet practices goodwill and right human relations. Then ask yourself, how much money would this goal require, and what am I willing to do to meet this goal?
Next, you must make a plan to reach your goal. If material needs are causing you tremendous emotional irritation, physical suffering or mental distraction, then you must make it your priority to heal that problem through your thoughts and actions. First, work on your inner self-strive through meditation to have right motives, a clear organized mind, beautiful emotions, and a healthy alert body. Then realize that nature has a treasure house of riches, and you can share in that abundance, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and financially.
Create an intelligent, practical plan that can expand and grow to bring you success. For example, consider your life as it is. If your job does not make you enough money, find other ways that you can make money. Work a second job or create a business that you do part time-but not just any business, something you enjoy. Research the business so that it is practical and makes sense for you to do it. Once you get started, stick to it. It takes time to grow. Don't flutter around from one idea to the next because, without perseverance, it will fail. Learn all you can about the business, and don't be afraid to make it grow. Take it one step at a time. If you are determined and fully committed and focused on your plan, many doors will open for you. That is how the Law of Attraction works: your determination, commitment, and effort create a powerful magnetism in you. This magnetism attracts the people, Forces, and situations that put your plan into action.
The business world is a fantastic arena in which to put into practice your spiritual principles. It is a path of enlightenment in and of itself.
by Michael Beard
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