An innovative look at some of the latest research on the intersection of spirituality and business.

By the early twenty-first century, Americans had embraced a holistic vision of work, that one's job should be imbued with meaning and purpose, that business should serve not only stockholders but also the common good, and that, for many, should attend to the “spiritual” health of individuals and society alike. While many voices celebrate efforts to introduce “spirituality in the workplace” as a recent innovation that holds the potential to positively transform business and the American workplace, James Dennis LoRusso argues that workplace spirituality is in fact more closely aligned with neoliberal ideologies that serve the interests of private wealth and undermine the power of working people. LoRusso traces how this new moral language of business emerged as part of the larger shift away from the post-New Deal welfare state towards today's global market-oriented social order. Building on other studies that emphasize the link between American religious conservatism and the rise of global capitalism, LoRusso shows how progressive “spirituality” remains a vital part of this story as well. Drawing on cultural history as well as case studies from New York City and San Francisco of businesses and leading advocates of workplace spirituality, this book argues that religion reveals much about work, corporate culture, and business in contemporary America.

We, Sharda and Margot, feel very honored to be able to write and edit such a book. Our spiritual journey has led to the passion of bringing together and sharing the thoughts we ourselves have come across in our lives by meeting gurus, swamis, like-minded seekers, managers, teachers, entrepreneurs, academics, students, and by reading books and practicing spiritual techniques. We also have gained much spiritual inspiration from the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother to whom we are grateful. The thoughts presented in this book already exist in the East and West. Integrating them into the way we do business, can help us to regain trust and respect in business even in the current economic crisis. We aim to convince others of our deep belief that spiritual practices and a spiritual orientation help make life more enjoyable and makes us better human beings through helping us to live in line with our karma in every context of life, in our roles as employees, entrepreneurs, managers, leaders, mothers, or fathers, etc.

The remarkable spiritual discoveries of a results-driven CEO, these incredible spiritual lessons were learned in the minefield of making international multi-million dollar deals. Real stories, Real people. Real Honest.

This is a book for people who want to understand how spiritual ideas can help humanize business. Within, Paul Gibbons, a founder of the workplace spirituality movement twenty years ago, suggests that spirituality touches on every aspect of the human experience at work, on every aspect of human capital, and on the purpose of business and the capitalist economic system.In Meaning, Joy, and Purpose he explores how we can recruit spiritual ideas to help humans find greater meaning and purpose in their work and to improve business practices - that is, to make business more human.The first volume covers individual-level topics only: meaning, work, workaholism, vocation and purpose, happiness, mindfulness, altruism, motivation, engagement, and leadership. The second volume (tentatively called Culture, Capitalism, Sustainability) turns first to talent, employer brand, ethics, service, culture, values, and profitability. Then it turns to 21st century capitalism with its great triumphs and some of its limitations, exploring how spirituality might help us create a more human-centered version of capitalism more fit for the 21st century.To that discussion, Gibbons brings two decades of scholarship in philosophy, psychology, and spirituality and four decades in business from the perspective of an investment banker, consultant and adjunct professor of business. I also bring my perspective as (former) CEO of a start-up founded to bring spiritual principles to development of senior business leaders and their teams.Here are the questions Gibbons tackles in Volume I:?What do we mean by "spirituality"? How is it different from religion??What is the relationship between religion and science??Is the world becoming more or less spiritual??What is the historical relationship between spirituality and work? Where does that leave us today??Can we prove workplace spirituality is of value? What is the evidence??What are the benefits of private prayer or meditation at work??What insight does spirituality give us into human motivation??What is the purpose of purpose??How do we create purposeful lives and organizations??What is the link between leadership and spirituality??Can spiritual experiences at work be cultivated??What would a spiritual consulting firm look like?

The book - which was originally published by Kluwer in 2004 - is a collection of scholarly papers focusing on the role of spirituality and ethics in renewing the contemporary management praxis. The basic argument is that a more inclusive, holistic and peaceful approach to management is needed if business and political leaders are to uplift the environmentally degrading and socially disintegrating world of our age. The book uses diverse value-perspectives (Hindu, Catholic, Buddhist, and Humanist) and a variety of disciplines (philosophy, ethics, management studies, psychology, and organizational sciences) to extend traditional reflections on corporate purpose and focuses on a self-referential organizational-existential search for meaning, identity and success.

What a long, strange trip! Magical Blend magazine has been a window into spiritual and creative possibilities for 25 years. Today it sells more than 120,000 copies per issue, is carried in major bookstore chains, and has subscribers in all fifty states and 33 countries. In 25 years it has published an impressive list of authors, artists, and celebrities. (To name just a few: Carlos Santana, Caroline Myss, Spike Lee, Carlos Castaneda, Jean Houston, Deepak Chopra, and Neale Donald Walsch.) But it began as the cooperative project of a small group of visionaries, spiritual pilgrims, poets, artists, and writers. Publisher Michael Peter Langevin was there from the beginning. In fact, the first issues were put together in his apartment in San Francisco’s Haight/Ashbury district. In Spiritual Business, he tells the whole outrageous tale, full of idealism, conflict, perseverance, expensive lessons, ingenuity, blind faith--and sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The founding members who set out to provide an outlet for the creativity they saw all around them were kids, knowing nothing of business and little of self-discipline. For years they fought the odds, each other, and the economic system. Along the way the magazine encountered--and overcame--massive staff changes, debilitating illnesses, and bankruptcy. In the process, their youth became maturity, and visionaries became business professionals. This engaging story of the birth, growth, and maturity of Magical Blend serves as a template for those with a dream. Its history demonstrates that you can fulfill your dreams and achieve your highest vision, even if you have to go into business to do it! This is the story of how the impossible can be achieved.