Spiritual CEO

 by Student Madeline Rogers

When I received the email to write a blog post, I thought "What on earth do I have to share?" I was guided to go for a hike in the hills nearby so I could open my mind and heart to divine inspiration. Spending time in nature allows me to ground into present time and expand to receive the guidance that I am seeking. The story I have been guided to share revolves around my work life and the concepts and beliefs I have associated with this part of my life. As a little background, I am a CPA and currently work in the wealth management industry. So I have been around finances and caretaking money for others most of my life.

While on retreat in Sedona this past December I was lamenting that I would like to find a way to be working less in corporate America so I could develop a career that focuses on spirituality, like being a spirit coach or something related. I have often viewed being spiritual separate from my work life. While I am grateful for the success I have had in my work, I often feel like it only focuses on my mind and not so much my spirit. In one of our sessions at the retreat, one of the participants says to me, aren’t you the Spiritual CEO of your company? I said, what?! I had never thought of bringing spirituality into my ego-driven work life! While meditating, later that day I had a vision of what that looked like and was shown that I am like a lollipop lamp light in the dark. While I don’t perceive that I am adding anything at work from a spiritual perspective, I was shown that I am providing a little bit of light.

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

The proverbial light bulb went off in my head and that shift in perspective has been profound. I started to practice “being” the light that I came here to be at work. I stopped “doing” so much at work and allowing others to take over some of my tasks. As a result, I was given a new responsibility to create and manage the career paths of one the teams, in essence to become their coach. So, all that resistance I had to letting my spiritual and work lives blend was keeping me from being who I needed to be.

“We have a tendency to think in terms of doing and not in terms of being. We think that when we’re not doing anything, we’re wasting our time. But that’s not true. Our time is first of all for us to be. To be what? To be alive, to be peaceful, to be joyful, to be loving. And this is what the world needs the most. We all need to train ourselves in our way of being, and that is the ground for all action. Our quality of being determines our quality of doing.” Thich Nhat Hanh

The reality is that I only need to be my light wherever I am and in whatever I am doing. There is no separation when you focus on being rather than doing. In the words of Dean Braxton, isn’t this good news!!

Many blessings,

Madeline