"The dangerous American myth of corporate spirituality"

[ralis]

"How invocations of "karma" and Zen are being used to justify deeply unequal systems of power"

 

http://www.salon.com/2014/10/26/the_dangerous_american_myth_of_corporate_spirituality/

 

 

 

We might call this a belief in spiritual meritocracy. The implicit idea here is that our professional and financial growth depends on our spiritual merit, not on the presence or absence of social structures and biases. We are told that if we are grateful enough, if we put enough happy energy into the universe, then we will be rewarded with material wealth and earthly pleasures. (Think “The Secret.”) We are told that we actually can have it all: a rich spiritual life, leading to a rich material life.

 

 

Thought this might be apropos for discussion.

Edited December 1, 2014 by ralis

[Marblehead]

Oh, I can't even express how much I don't like this thought.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Marblehead

[ralis]

Oh, I can even express how much I don't like this thought.

 

Which thought?

[Marblehead]

Which thought?

The entire thought - the entire process.

 

To suggest that some are more worthy to be wealthy than are others.

 

Putting people in baskets before they even have a chance to prove themselves.

 

Putting people who meet certain criteria into positions where advancement is a given as long as they do a half-assed decent job.

 

Discrimination to the max no matter what you call it.

[Wells]

The entire thought - the entire process.

 

To suggest that some are more worthy to be wealthy than are others.

 

Putting people in baskets before they even have a chance to prove themselves.

 

Putting people who meet certain criteria into positions where advancement is a given as long as they do a half-assed decent job.

 

Discrimination to the max no matter what you call it.

 

There are those who use karma & new age phrases as an instrument of control & manipulation.

There are those who use karma & new age phrases as an excuse to be controlled & manipulated.

[silent thunder]

yea, I've been around some discussions where this angle is taken and it makes the bile rise in my throat...

 

but then, I guess, sick, abusive folks will use whatever tools available, to express their sick, abusive desires...

[thelerner]

Whenever anything is embraced by the masses it inevitably going to get watered down. That's not necessarily bad if it leads some of those people into deeper study. Face it, people will always come up with self serving assessments of things. Hell, it seems the writer is saying 'When I go to yoga, I’m often surrounded by wealthy white women who can afford expensive classes'; so are they in a class complaining about how wealthy white woman are in the expensive class they're taking?

 

I see some hypocrisy and pettiness in the writing. The author's solution seems more inline with what you'd get in any Church, ie ' I’m suggesting that if we work to complement our gratitude with mercy and compassion for those who are less fortunate'. That's not bad advice, but its not radical.

[ralis]

Whenever anything is embraced by the masses it inevitably going to get watered down. That's not necessarily bad if it leads some of those people into deeper study. Face it, people will always come up with self serving assessments of things. Hell, it seems the writer is saying 'When I go to yoga, I’m often surrounded by wealthy white women who can afford expensive classes'; so are they in a class complaining about how wealthy white woman are in the expensive class they're taking?

 

I see some hypocrisy and pettiness in the writing. The author's solution seems more inline with what you'd get in any Church, ie ' I’m suggesting that if we work to complement our gratitude with mercy and compassion for those who are less fortunate'. That's not bad advice, but its not radical.

 

The first paragraph in the article was actually the main point that needs to be emphasized in that a corporate CEO for Microsoft was telling a women who has been discriminated against in terms of pay and advancement needs to have better karma in order to advance. Karma is just another BS excuse!

[Vmarco]

"How invocations of "karma" and Zen are being used to justify deeply unequal systems of power"

 

http://www.salon.com/2014/10/26/the_dangerous_american_myth_of_corporate_spirituality/

 

 

 

Thought this might be apropos for discussion.

Yes,...lots a discussion here.

 

Meritocracy is a highlight of Theravada Buddhism,..thus we could say,...

Spirituality 1.2 (Theravada/Hinayana),...whereas Spirituality 1.0 = Christianity; Spirituality 2.0 = Mahayana; Spirituality 3.0 = Vajrayana,...while Hua Hu Ching and Kagyu would be Spirituality 4.0

 

Here's a recent companion article to Corporate Spirituality:

http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/money.shtml

[Vmarco]

 

Karma is just another BS excuse!

BS = Belief System

[TzuJanLi]

Corporations, including the US Government Corp., use people's trust in the potential of Spiritual Awareness to create problems so they can make a profit selling cures.. stop buying the problems, and you won't have to by the cure (which is usually another problem)..

[Vmarco]

Oops! Sorry,...didn't realize this was the General Discussion Forum,...my apologies if I offended anyone.

[eye_of_the_storm]

I am not offended

Continue as you are



haha

[eye_of_the_storm]

Crazy world eh?

What will they think of next...

Reminds me of India, a person was hit by a car but nobody went to help because "it was that persons karma to suffer that"

This is one reason I am critical of eastern philosophies

From what I am aware... all large religious organizations are detrimental to the development of humanity...

As a comparison... take the 9 Noble Virtues (based on virtues found in historical Norse paganism, gleaned from various sources including the Poetic Edda (particularly the Hávamál and the Sigrdrífumál),^[2] and as evident in the Icelandic Sagas)

1. Courage
2. Truth
3. Honour
4. Fidelity
5. Discipline
6. Hospitality
7. Self Reliance
8. Industriousness
9. Perseverance
   
   
   Hard to find fault in this...
   
   Yet such is mostly unknown/ unheard of...
   
   People instead go from one system of control to another...
   
   "Western" people... need to find their roots again...
   

Edited December 2, 2014 by eye_of_the_storm

[eye_of_the_storm]

haha... the remaining article seems like an attack on white women...

go figure...

an article about "systemic sexism" attacking white women practicing yoga and meditation...

HAHA...

Edited December 2, 2014 by eye_of_the_storm

[Marblehead]

... take the 9 Noble Virtues

Taoism has only three (the Three Treasures) and most people can't even handle those. Nine of them? No way!!!

And then that other belief system has ten. They out-did the Buddhists. But then, they don't do very well either.

[eye_of_the_storm]

I'll take Courage rather than "life is suffering" anyway

and Honesty over humility etc

[doc benway]

Pretty sad to see spiritual words and concepts hijacked and misused for personal gain.

But then again, that is certainly nothing new.

Folks who are of the mind to do whatever it takes to "get ahead" will do just that.

If they are convinced that practicing compassion and generosity to those less fortunate will help them achieve their goal, that might not be such a bad thing - certainly better than the alternative.

Clearly these folks don't understand karma, nor do they understand the relationship between spirituality and material wealth.

Like all folks in the business world, they latch onto concepts and buzz-words for as long as they help them achieve their goals.

What counts is not what spirituality does for you when you are successful but when you are lost, I hope that their new found "spirituality" is there for them in the end, when all of that material wealth is of no value whatsoever...

[balance.]

Am I the only one here who sees nothing wrong with making use of developing awareness and a clarified (clarifYING! ) mind to gentle certain lessons occuring on this level of reality by calling perfected love and light into things like prosperity and health? Does everyone else just enjoy really difficult lessons? What's wrong with an easier path? Every fractured/tumurous/stagnant relationship I see with mundane (and supra-mundane) things, I forgive and heal it until it's bright and gentle again. This process allows a thing like money to flow into your life. All external things are reflections of your mind. If you perceieve no conflict anywhere, then your practice is strong and complete. As long as you get anxious/fearful and are confronted with unpleasant scenarios, your mind is still healing. Your work and money and other material things are connected with this healing. Why avoid opportunities for healing and release? This doesnt mean you have to go out collecting millions of dollars (unless thats your purpose and it brings you ceasless joy and peace haha)

 

Nothing in the world of form is real, whether that's money or karma or your jobs or "proper" use of Light. There is only Pure Formless Divine Awareness. This does not Judge for judgement is only possible with separation.

 

If you feel guilty making use of "spiritual" means to draw abundance, joy, peace and prosperity towards you, then you are latching hold to the level of form, instead of recognizing all things as inherently formless and perfected and thus absent of your projections and distortions (like it being disrespectful to use Perfected Love to draw material things to you).

 

Having great prosperity or using clarity/awareness to bolster business acumen can either strengthen your Highest Divine Purpose/path or diminish the road towards Purpose. That is where it begins and ends. How does a tool serve the manifestation of Highest Will... not whether or not the highest divine energies associated with a particular practice or phrase are judging your use of said tool.

 

Prosperity is great fun. True abundance would be better. Gotta keep forgiving and letting go for that one.

 

 

all the best.

 

 

 

b

Edited December 3, 2014 by balance.

[ralis]

Nothing in the world of form is real, whether that's money or karma or your jobs or "proper" use of Light. There is only Pure Formless Divine Awareness. This does not Judge for judgement is only possible with separation.

Prosperity is great fun.

 

Tell that to someone who is starving, children that go to bed hungry and the exploited masses that crank out endless shit for consumption.

 

Take the case of Steve Jobs who practiced Zen. Jobs used his vision to exploit Chinese sweat shop laborers to make massive amounts of money for the latest and over hyped technology.

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html?pagewanted=all

 

Quarters for sweat shop laborers. Photo is self explanatory.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285980/Revealed-Inside-Chinese-suicide-sweatshop-workers-toil-34-hour-shifts-make-iPod.html

 

Edited December 3, 2014 by ralis

[balance.]

So, you take chagrin with individuals without perfected character/virtue/love who none-the-less make use of spiritual modalitys/vehicles?

 

Is that all?

[balance.]

And yes, I did say prosperity is great fun. I also said abundance was the greater refinement. That which stems from perfected trust and surrender and is not based upon the quantity/quality of material goods you possess.

Edited December 3, 2014 by balance.

[balance.]

 

Clearly these folks don't understand karma, nor do they understand the relationship between spirituality and material wealth.

 

 

and what is the connection between spirituality and material wealth?

[GrandmasterP]

Excellent topic.

One of the possibly justifiable critiques of Mindfulness is that some companies introduced it not so much for the benefits of the staff but for the company to mould a quiescent workforce.

The theory being that Mindful employees are potentially less likely to challenge company policy.

For example not agitating as much for improved pay or working conditions.

I taught Mindfulness as part of my old job but within a 'Coaching and Mentoring' award route.

That awareness of possibly negative aspects comes up in the Mindfulness literature from time to time.

Edited December 3, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[eye_of_the_storm]

Excellent topic.

One of the possibly justifiable critiques of Mindfulness is that some companies introduced it not so much for the benefits of the staff but for the company to mould a quiescent workforce.

The theory being that Mindful employees are potentially less likely to challenge company policy.

For example not agitating as much for improved pay or working conditions.

I taught Mindfulness as part of my old job but within a 'Coaching and Mentoring' award route.

That awareness of possibly negative aspects comes up in the Mindfulness literature from time to time.

 

This is why I believe the concept of no-self is a state/ imperial psychological operation to make the masses more servile/ controllable/ lifeless... to more easily accept evil/ injustice and do nothing about it

 

and so the psy-op of "life is suffering" became imbedded and self created ... the masses have accepted the program and go about fulfilling it... to the pleasure of their programmers.

 

Robots have no-self/ accept all things... easy to program etc

 

Edited December 4, 2014 by eye_of_the_storm