{"id":2021,"date":"2014-03-09T15:45:44","date_gmt":"2014-03-09T22:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/?p=2021"},"modified":"2014-03-10T13:08:54","modified_gmt":"2014-03-10T20:08:54","slug":"the-conversation-about-corporate-mindfulness-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/2014\/03\/the-conversation-about-corporate-mindfulness-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"The Conversation about &#8220;Corporate Mindfulness&#8221; Continues&#8230; [UPDATED]"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><a href=\"https:\/\/31.media.tumblr.com\/4167095892575a3b76f9e0c710b89382\/tumblr_inline_n18fksllTX1rsdva6.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2104\" title=\"wisdom20\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/82\/2014\/03\/wisdom20.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A couple of weeks ago, I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/2014\/02\/wisdom2-0protesters\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">posted<\/a> about how a talk on \u201ccorporate mindfulness\u201d by Google executives was disrupted by protesters at Wisdom 2.0. Since then, there has been quite a bit more discussion about the incident, as well as the possibilities and (more specifically) the problems of corporate mindfulness. Here\u2019s a rundown:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First and foremost, the organizer of the protest has spoken at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tricycle.com\/blog\/why-i-disrupted-wisdom-20-conference\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Tricycle: The <a href='https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/library\/buddhism' target='_blank'>Buddhist<\/a> Review<\/em>\u2018s blog<\/a>: In her bio, Amanda Ream is identified as \u201ca member of Oakland\u2019s East Bay Meditation Center and is in the Dedicated Practitioner\u2019s Program at Spirit Rock. She [also] works as a union organizer in Bernal Heights, San Francisco.\u201d Her post, entitled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tricycle.com\/blog\/why-i-disrupted-wisdom-20-conference\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cWhy I Disrupted the Wisdom 2.0 Conference\u201d<\/a>, points out that \u201cthe tech industry\u2019s great economic boom is driving a housing crisis, with no-fault evictions increasing 175% since last year.\u201d\u00a0\u201cWe disrupted Wisdom 2.0 to make visible the struggle of eviction and gentrification that we and our neighbors are facing,\u201d she says. \u201cThe invitation still stands for the organizers, presenters, and attendees of this conference, as well as our new neighbors who work for the companies that put it on, to recognize our demands and engage with these social issues.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The Buddhist Peace Fellowship\u2019s wonderful, wonderful Director of Media &amp; Action, Katie Loncke, has posted what can only be described as an <em>awesome<\/em> editorial on the matter, entitled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buddhistpeacefellowship.org\/why-google-protesters-were-right-to-disrupt-wisdom-2-0\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cWhy Google Protesters Were Right to Disrupt Wisdom 2.o\u201d<\/a>. Katie touches on a number of important issues with great attention to nuance, but also does not mince words about the particular flavor of contemplation being promoted in the corporate world: \u201cThis is not true mindfulness. It\u2019s selective awareness, optimized for pleasure. In other words, ignorance.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>My pal Justin Whitaker was also very strong in his statements about the event and the participants for a post at his blog American Buddhist Perspective, which he titled\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2014\/02\/mindful-of-your-immorality.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cMindful of Your Immorality?\u201d<\/a>: \u201cIt\u2019s not clear whether anyone on stage that day had any idea about this, but shouldn\u2019t they at least\u00a0<em>want to know<\/em>?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The great Joshua Eaton managed to bring this whole conversation to Salon, with an essential-for-all-sanghas-and-practitioners piece called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/2014\/03\/05\/gentrifying_the_dharma_how_the_1_is_hijacking_mindfulness\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cGentrifying the Dharma: How the 1 Percent is Hijacking Mindfulness\u201d<\/a>. I get a nice mention in the piece, and was honored by that.<\/li>\n<li>Speaking of Salon, <em>Tricycle<\/em>\u2018s Andrew Cooper and critic Curtis White have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/2014\/03\/08\/apple_and_amazons_big_lie_the_rebel_hacker_and_hipster_nerd_is_a_capitalist_stooge\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">an excellent new piece<\/a> up there this weekend about what they perceive as essentially the colonialist appropriation of mindfulness. \u201cCorporate mindfulness takes something that has the capacity to be oppositional, <a href='https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/library\/buddhism' target='_blank'>Buddhism<\/a>, and redefines it,\u201d they write. \u201cMindfulness becomes just another aspect of \u2018workforce preparation.\u2019 Eventually, we forget that it ever had its own meaning.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>UPDATE<\/strong><\/em>: How could I forget? Ron Purser and David Forbes also offer a superb, prophetic set of reflections at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/ron-purser\/google-misses-a-lesson_b_4900285.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Huffington Post<\/a>. \u201cMany in the mindfulness \u2014 and Buddhist \u2014 community have been seduced by what Google and the Wisdom 2.0 crowd is doing. After all, it\u2019s mindfulness, and maybe it will make corporations kinder, gentler capitalist entities,\u201d they write. \u201cBut mindfulness has escaped its moral moorings. Without a principled anchor, mindfulness is a renegade technology on the loose, and the conspicuous absence of an explicit ethical framework in corporate mindfulness programs reflects and mirrors the already fraught relationship these businesses have with regards to social and environmental responsibility.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A couple of weeks ago, I posted about how a talk on \u201ccorporate mindfulness\u201d by Google executives was disrupted by protesters at Wisdom 2.0. Since then, there has been quite a bit more discussion about the incident, as well as the possibilities and (more specifically) the problems of corporate mindfulness. Here\u2019s a rundown: First and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Conversation about &quot;Corporate Mindfulness&quot; Continues... [UPDATED]<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A couple of weeks ago, I posted about how a talk on &quot;corporate mindfulness&quot; by Google executives was disrupted by protesters at Wisdom 2.0. Since then,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/2014\/03\/the-conversation-about-corporate-mindfulness-continues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Conversation about &quot;Corporate Mindfulness&quot; Continues... [UPDATED]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A couple of weeks ago, I posted about how a talk on &quot;corporate mindfulness&quot; by Google executives was disrupted by protesters at Wisdom 2.0. Since then,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/2014\/03\/the-conversation-about-corporate-mindfulness-continues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Off the Cushion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-09T22:45:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-03-10T20:08:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/files\/2014\/03\/wisdom20.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dannyfisher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dannyfisher\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/2014\/03\/the-conversation-about-corporate-mindfulness-continues\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/2014\/03\/the-conversation-about-corporate-mindfulness-continues\/\",\"name\":\"The Conversation about \\\"Corporate Mindfulness\\\" Continues... 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