Mindfulness and Meaningful Work: Explorations in Right Livelihood (Paperback)

by Claude Whitmyer (Editor), Ernest Callenbach (Foreword) "I emerged from the shower, greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee..." (more)
Key Phrases: own right livelihood, money complex, laborare est orare, New York, Eightfold Path, West Virginia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Mindfulness and Meaningful Work is a classic, providing a wealth of resources for investigating the challenge of integrating work with spiritual practice. It contains thirty-seven contributions by some of the leading thinkers and activists of our time, helping us to find work that is meaningful, life-affirming, and non-exploitive.

Product Details

• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Parallax Press (September 9, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0938077546
• ISBN-13: 978-0938077541
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #435,818 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes a great gift for Christmas, birthdays or friendship, December 5, 1999

By A Customer

This book inspired me! It presents a wide range of views on the subject of right livelihood, from traditional Buddhist thinking to essays from well-known non-Buddhist writers. I was especialy impressed by the inclusion of essays on Amish economics, Islamic banking, and the scientific study of mindfulness founded by psychologist Ellen Langer at Harvard. In addition, the author's closing essay did a great job of describing the practical steps you need to take to find "right livelihood." And, the book happens to have a beautiful cover, which makes it a pleasure to give as a gift.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right livelhood can be a practical reality. Here's how:, December 11, 1998

By	"claudew37" (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

I'm the author/editor and Ernest Callenbach wrote the Foreword.

In creating this anthology, I set out to explore the integration of mindfulness and ethics in the workplace. In my own opening essay I show how Buddhism and the New Age movement have impacted American culture and stimulated an increasing interest in the meaningfulness of work.

I use the Buddhist 8-fold path, which includes Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Mindfulness, and Right Contemplation to organize essays by some of the leading thinkers and doers of our time, including Thich Nhat Hanh, Joanna Macy, Sam Keen, E.E Schumacher, Gary Snyder, Shakti Gawain, Shunryu Suzuki, Robert Aitken, Tarthang Tulku, Marsha Sinetar, Rick Fields, Ellen Langer, and many others. They share their insights on the practice and value of working and of finding work that is meaningful, life-affirming, and non-exploitative.

In my closing essay, I describe in some detail a practical method for using mindfulness to find meaningful work.

My overall goal was to deepen your understanding of the concept of "right livelihood;" show how to go about overcoming the obstacles in your path so that you can find and maintain meaningful, satisfying work; and provide encouragment to live in a way that increases your inner peace, self-worth, and purpose.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars May help you decide on your life's work, March 21, 2002

By	Shawn Regan (marietta, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Interesting book in the Buddhist document of Right Livelyhood. Not as much a book about Mindfulness as a book about Meaningful Work. Most of the authors say much of the same thing. One author, Sam Keen, I liked a lot. This book might help you decide your priorities when it comes to career. And the advice contained within might help you alter your livelyhood in a way that you are more in tune with ecological concerns