Creating Harmony in a High-Tech Society

by Alan L. Pritz

Peter Vaill coined a term, “permanent white water”, to illustrate the face of modern society, and in particular, the workplace. The phrase evokes images of dynamic, turbulent activity evident in the unsettling pace of most people’s lives. From the demands of parenting and elder care to concerns about balancing domestic and career activities, permanent white water is not simply about jobs and technology, but reflects the state of human attitudes, issues, and global events woven into the tapestry of an increasingly high-tech world.

Times are changing. We live in an age of unprecedented electronic sophistication, one that has shifted from a production-oriented society to a knowledge-based one. People must manage uncanny amounts of data, stay abreast of evolving techno-gadgetry, and theoretically maintain a healthy lifestyle; all when a large part of their daily duties keeps them spinning like a top. Furthermore, employees increasingly face a muted engagement with the real world. In fact, one of the permutations of modern enterprise is that many workplaces no longer require on-site personnel for tasks. Instead, cyber teams can link electronically to manage job concerns.

One danger here is isolation and potential alienation; from nature, people, and perhaps most importantly, our essential nature. By becoming too engrossed in machines and the controlled realities they create, we risk overlooking our spirit which is unquestionably the most vital element in our lives. This issue isn’t lost on technology pundits. As Steven L. Tellen, author of Intranet Organization: Strategies for Managing Change, wrote, “The toughest issues are not the technology but the people issues.” People in this revved-up era need to learn how to embrace the flux of evolving technology with the continuity of perspective and moral values that keep job and life in appropriate focus. It requires wisdom to recognize these things and skill to address them.

So, what to do about it? The best management strategy is simple yet ancient, to cultivate balance. Balance can mean different things but it uniformly relates to a place of center. Center refers to a harmonious inter-relation and operation of parts leading to maximum capability and/or greatest benefit. Anything that takes one from their center leaves them out of balance. Chronic stress is a classic display of imbalance, one that can eventually lead to serious disease. This applies to businesses too. Organizations out of balance eventually find themselves wasting time with endless production and people “fires”.

As a specialist society many of us have focused jobs. Balance in this instance takes the form of becoming effective, broad-based learners. Like athletic cross training, it enhances all-around capability by training in seemingly non-related activities. A commitment to learning expands abilities in unpredictable yet beneficial ways thereby boosting specific and general outcomes. For example, since high-tech jobs emphasize left-hemisphere, problem solving skills, a balancing act might be training to develop the artistic, intuitive, right-hemisphere components of mind. Understanding this concept explains why some businesses take employees off-site on trips to engage them in ways not related to office work but with transferable benefit.

This leads to the heart of the matter. What can individuals and businesses do to balance their accelerated agendas? High-tech volatile activity needs grounding in the immediate, the tangible, and the enduring. Cultivating balance here requires introducing complexity and external drive to simplicity and inner reflection. In short, people and business need spiritual fine-tuning to keep on target. How can this be accomplished?

Spiritual Retreats: Individual as well as Corporate.

Exploring ones spiritual nature in part involves examining purpose as well as process. Yet, it requires time to do so plus the means of integrating what’s been learned into daily activity. Many persons’ lives are so filled with responsibility that having the opportunity to examine issues is an effort, if not luxury. That is why the ability to retreat from work and family, if only for part of a day, serves as a means for renewal and balance unsurpassed by anything else. Everyone, particularly those in the busy work world need a retreat, a “dynamo of silence” to focus exclusively on being recharged by the Infinite.

How To Proceed?

Individually

First and foremost I recommend learning to meditate. Make it a regular part of the day. A family friend underwent heart surgery plus a couple strokes before bowing to the need for lifestyle change. He took up meditating and bracketed each day with practice. He realized increased creativity, energy, and elevated mood such that he regretted not starting meditation earlier in life. This kind of daily retreat is very easy to do but requires a place and time without threat of interruption.

A more formal retreat involves a spiritual get-away. This can be done in seclusion or with a group. Regardless of choice, a good portion of time should be spent meditating. Why? Because just as we passively derive rest from sleep, so do we draw renewal from conscious contact with our spiritual Source.

Corporate

Businesses would find great value in hosting spiritual retreats for individual/team renewal plus facilitation of business issues. It could take group engagement to new levels, boost problem solving, and generate innovative strategic planning. Such activity should be lead by persons who have both inner experience and facilitation skills.

Note: Spiritual retreat is not religious activity. The latter could be a troublesome legal issue.

Conclusion

Spiritual realities do not lack practical application. To overlook cultivating our core is to by-pass our source of greatest balance and potential. Whether maintaining harmony in a white-water world, deepening engagement with what we do, or nurturing inner growth, time spent in spiritual renewal is perhaps the most valuable way to spend time daily.