Note: This is part of a series of essays written by associates of The Seton Cove, an interfaith center for spiritual formation and renewal, with a focus on spirituality in the workplace. Inspired by the life and teachings of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, this center provides a welcoming place of solace and hospitality where people of any faith may nourish and foster their spiritual growth and discover a new relationship with themselves, community, God and all creation.

Contributed by Susan Alexander, RN, MAPM, an educator at Seton Cove. She holds a degree in Business Management from Concordia University and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from Seminary of the Southwest. As a registered nurse she has worked in ICU, CCU and surgery.

Reaching Solid Ground

Take a look at the leadership flow chart of most organizations, and youll see what looks suspiciously like a Rube Goldberg machine an unwieldy complex of little squares of responsibility. Its a good visual metaphor for seeing the difficulty of achieving a sense of standing on solid ground with and within an organization. There is a lot of work to be done; there are a lot of people to trust in order to do it; and the tangle of potential pathways for communication (and miscommunication) can seem more like an obstacle course.

Intuitively we each know that if we are to feel secure, alone or inside a large organization, we have to dig down to the bedrock at our own centers to find the truest answer to who we are. A simple exercise to begin this process is to complete the sentence I am. over and over, truthfully and fearlessly, until you cant come up with any more answers. I amI amI am What youll find is that even within yourself, there is complexity and unwieldiness. If youve been honest in the exercise, then accept all your answers, because theyre all true. Be on solid ground with your whole self, warts and all. Be able to say, This good stuff is me AND this embarrassing stuff is me, too. Work on the parts you dont like, but be the first to acknowledge those parts if they surface so that no one can rock the boat of your identity, your most authentic 'I am.'

With that level of self knowledge and acceptance you pave the way for becoming a more mindful person, that is, someone who, as Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness, pays attention on purpose in the present moment non-judgmentally to the unfolding of events. Hopefully we all know at least one person who does just that. And dont we feel good in the presence of that person? Dont we feel heard and understood? Dont we feel on solid ground? Our own authentic sense of self can grow in the same way into mindfulness. We mature from a solid center of personal identity to solidly grounded mindfulness within a group. Bring that person to the table. Be that person in the organization.

Seton Cove is celebrating its 15th Anniversary in 2010 with the theme of Becoming a Peacemaker from the Inside Out. Our theme reminds me that each of us has 'inside' work to do as a pre-requisite to becoming a valuable participant and contributor to any 'outside' and shared effort. Perhaps an ongoing theme for ones work life might be Becoming a Better Team Member from the Inside Out.

Just imagine if everyone you work with in your little square of responsibility on the flow chart were more authentic as an individual and more mindful of others on the team. If that were sincerely the case, the level of competence and judgment would rise, the sense of mutual responsibility would rise, and respectful truth-telling would be a given. That work environment would be one of trust and safety. That would be a team working together on solid ground. Plug that team into the flow chart, and some of the craziness vanishes.

The nemesis to centered and mindful work is the demand of the work itself. By the end of the same day in which you do the 'I am' exercise, you may have completely forgotten about the exercise. Budgets have to be balanced; work has to be prioritized; equipment has to be maintained; and on and on. Who 'I am' falls off the plate unless you make it a point to center down on a daily basis. Only when we are intentional about regular quiet time can we remind ourselves of who we are and why we do what we do remind ourselves of our priorities and purpose. The less unwieldy we can keep our inner selves, the less unwieldy our long list of tasks and obligations will seem. An ongoing sense of solidness takes daily attention.

How Good To Center Down

Theologian Howard Thurman said it so well in his meditation, How Good To Center Down:

something deep within hungers and thirsts for the still
moment and the resting lull.
we seek, ere the quiet passes, a fresh sense
of order in our living;
A direction, a strong sure purpose that will structure our
confusion and bring meaning in our chaos.
We look at ourselves in this waiting momentthe kinds of people we are.
what are we doing with our lives?
what are the motives that order our days?
what is the end of our doings?
...As we listen, floating up through all the jangling echoes
of our turbulence, there is a sound of another kind
A deeper note which only the stillness of the heart makes clear....
Our questions are answered,
Our spirits refreshed, and we move back
into the traffic of our daily round
With the peace of the Eternal in our step.

To center down, we have to dig down to our own bedrock, and get down to the silence that is always there waiting for us always waiting. You are invited to step onto the solid ground of your own inner being and to work alongside your fellow workers who are seeking to do the same in their own lives. By working together on solid ground the quality and effectiveness of the work we do together soars.

Seton Cove Spirituality Center

The Seton Cove offers a variety of programs designed to provide participants opportunities to explore, develop, and continue their spiritual paths. These programs are open to people from all faiths and spiritual practices and are delivered through luncheons, evening classes, workshops, and multi-day retreats. Find them online at www.setoncove.net.