Work as a Spiritual Practice
Reviews, Comments, and Synopsis

Comments

"This deceptively simple, immensely practical book is as useful as a fine shoe. Like good footwear it is made to be used, built to last, and with the kind of fine style that derives from a perfect matching of form to function. I have become so attached to it, that leaving the house without one or another of Lewis's practice in mind, is like venturing into the wilderness without my boots."

--Peter Coyote, movie actor and author of Sleeping Where I Fall

"This book on utilizing the workplace as a place for spiritual growth comes straight from the workshop of the heart and stirs both our timeless Buddha-mind and postmodern Judeo-Christian soul. I read this fascinating book avidly and with delight."

--Lama Surya Das, author of Awakening the Buddha Within

"This timely book is the one the workaday world has been waiting for. Lewis Richmond is the ideal person to explore the application of Buddhist practices to the workplace. This is an accessible, personal, witty and poetic book that will be helpful, even transformative, for anyone who works for a living."

--Sylvia Boorstein, author of It's Easier Than You Think

Review from Amazon.com

Spirituality at work? Isn't that the oxymoron to end all oxymorons? Not according to Lewis Richmond, a veteran corporate executive and former Zen Buddhist priest who convincingly disputes the phrase's inherent contradictions in Work as a Spiritual Practice. "Even people who are comfortable with the notion of spiritual practice," he concedes, "are skeptical when I say that it can be done not just at home or at a retreat center but in the workplace." Nonetheless, he maintains, "this book is based on the premise that it can be done, and the circumstances and challenges of our work life can be transformed into opportunities for inner growth." After explaining how common mental and emotional experiences can be parceled into four distinct categories (conflict, inspiration, accomplishment, and stagnation), he effectively shows how Buddhist principles might be employed to mitigate related problems and enhance associated opportunities. The bulk of this satisfying book is divided into sections that correspond to these categories, with each exploring appropriate practices followed by real-life examples that illustrate their power and applicability. Recommended.

--Howard Rothman

Book Summary

Lewis Richmond spent fifteen years as a Buddhist priest and meditation teacher, and another fifteen as a corporate executive and software entrepreneur. WORK AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE is a creative and innovative synthesis of these two worlds. It proposes that the workplace can be a place of spiritual opportunity and inner growth, and describes over forty specific practices and techniques, from exercises in breathing and awareness to visualization, non-judgmental listening, generosity, and gratitude, to foster that growth. Dividing workplace experience into four broad categories--Conflict, Stagnation, Inspiration, and Accomplishment--Work As a Spiritual Practice addresses issues of money, power, ambition, and greed, illustrated with numerous real-life stories from people in all walks of life. No matter what your rank and station on the job, Richmond says, you can be in charge of your own state of mind, because you are always "the boss and chief executive of your inner life."