Faith and Enterprise Podcast: Spiritual Renewal for Your Work Life

Robert Vallerand has written a very interesting book called: The Psychology of Passion: A Dualistic Model. In it, he presents research suggesting that there are two types of passion: harmonious passion and obsessive passion. The distinction between the two has important implications for topics such as burnout, stress, flow, and creativity.

In this episode, we discuss Vallerand's work and consider the important implications for our work life. We also look for possible connections between the two types of passion and our faith and spirituality.

Finding ways to promote spiritual renewal in our work lives is the mission of the Center for Faith and Enterprise. But what does spiritual renewal mean? And how might it effect our work lives?

In this week's episode, we consider the deep human desire for the sacred and how this might play a role in our daily lives, including our work lives. Along the way we talk about how spiritual renewal could affect various aspects of our work lives -- our sense of purpose, compassion, collaborative relationships, resilience, and others.

Most if us are familiar with the expression being in the zone, and in fact most have probably experienced it at some point. Psychologists usually refer to it as being in a state of flow. It is usually thought of as involving a higher level of alertness, concentration, and maybe skill. Most also remember it as a very positive experience.

The state of flow is not often thought of as spiritual but there is a possible relationship that is worth exploring, and in any case the concept has a lot to say about human flourishing and growth.

In this episode we discuss flow and its causes, benefits, and connection with our faith and spirituality. We also discuss how we might experience it more often.

Burnout in our work lives is an important problem -- painful, frustrating, and damaging. It is usually the result of prolonged stress, often caused by a mismatch between the individual and the work or between the individual and the work environment. But there are things that we can do. Some of these involve organizational or work flow change, some involve improving personal resilience, and some involve our faith and spirituality.

Stress can have important negative consequences for both our health and our effectiveness. Few of us are at our best when we are carrying the emotional burden of stress. In this episode we discuss a spiritual practice known as the prayer mantra that might help; the prayer mantra can help us turn towards God, calm down, place our problems into a more realistic perspective, and act with greater strength, insight, and resilience. It can also provide support when we are facing a crisis and there is little or no time to do anything else.

Most of us would probably like to work with a deeper sense of purpose and mission; maybe prayer can help. This episode provides an example from the life of Jesus and begins with a story about a time when he went off and prayed by himself in the early morning hours. You might find it has something important to say about a possible connection between prayer and the sense of purpose or mission we bring to our work. In this context we also discuss receptive prayer as a helpful spiritual practice. The story is from the Biblical book of Mark, Chapter 1 verses 35-39.

Collaboration and collaborative relationships are often the key to success in business and most other professions. These relationships are in turn heavily dependent on the values we bring to our work -- values like honesty, compassion, humility, transparency, patience, and courage. These values are also the ones usually taught by the church and most other religious institutions. In this episode we talk about these values, and why collaboration is so important to the production of value in business, properly understood.

When we have integrity, our words and actions are in alignment with our values and who we are at a deep level. In this episode, we recount the story of Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, and explore what it might be saying about the power of integrity, even in the face of false accusations. This story is from the Biblical book of Genesis, Chapter 39, and takes place after Joseph has been kidnapped by his older brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. It will lead us into a discussion of how integrity might provide a foundation for increased strength and resiliency.