The approaches shared by the presenters and participants were self-exploratory and deeply reflective, aimed at inviting dialogue. The foundational approach reflected on our innate differences as revealed by the Myers-Briggs type indicator, giving rise to the awareness that our perspectives on life are largely influenced by our individual mindsets. Based on his previous work, Ian used the metaphor of Tribes referred to in the Myers-Briggs typology. In essence, he presented the idea that we are psychologically different but that we do not appreciate these inherent differences. Therefore we often lapse into considering “others” in negative terms instead of welcoming their diverse perspectives.For over thirty years I taught MBA students at a Jesuit university in Northeastern Pennsylvania in the USA. I primarily taught two courses – 1) Organizational Behavior and 2) Power and Politics in the Organization (a course that I created). I had students from a variety of countries and religious backgrounds – including Muslim students from Saudi Arabia, Chinese students, and students from Thailand. In each of my classes I told my students about my own religious background (which is Jewish), and shared with them my spiritual practices and beliefs.
I had my first of several transpersonal experiences when I was in my late 20s. While at Step Falls in Maine I experienced a feeling of oneness with all things and a great joy and feeling of wholeness that lasted for several days. A few years later I learned transcendental meditation, and shortly after beginning to meditate I began having headaches that I later learned came from my experiencing “the Kundalini”, or energy rising from my core up through all of my chakras to the crown chakra.
In the years since, I have been to many spiritual retreats and experienced and practiced a variety of meditative and spiritual techniques – all of which I described to my MBA students after I had experienced them.
In my teaching, I emphasized what I consider to be the similarities across all religious traditions – what they had in common with each other. I explained how meditation is used both within each religion and also separately outside of a specific religious tradition. I explained how each religion had a similar word for “spirit”. I also used or adapted several spiritual practices as teaching techniques in my classes.
For example, I would like to describe a Kabbalistic method of interpreting a text that I adapted for use in case analysis. I had learned that in Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) there are four ways of interpreting a text. The Hebrew names for each of these are:
- Pshat – literal
- Remez – Historical
- Drash – Metaphorical and
- Sod – Secret or self-sameness.
The initial letters of each of these spell Pardes (which means “garden” in Hebrew) and in English become “Paradise”.
Using the example of Noah’s ark, we could interpret the story literally (pshat), look for historical evidence of the ark’s existence (remez), interpret the story metaphorically (drash), or ask what the story means personally on a deeper soul level (sod). The way I adapted this for case analysis was to ask the students to interpret a case on similar levels – the literal facts of the case (pshat), the history that led up to the events of the case (remez), the general metaphorical interpretations that could be made from the case (drash), and what the case meant to them personally (sod).
I taught meditation to each of my Organization Behavior classes during the week when we would be studying stress management. While meditating was voluntary, I never had a student who did not practice it. After I retired and another professor took over my classes, the professor began having the students meditate at the beginning of every class – a practice that he still uses, including with on-line courses.
In my experience, MBA students – regardless of their religious beliefs, nationality, or cultural background – were quite open to experiencing meditation and to hearing me discuss spiritual topics and my own spiritual experiences in class. The key to their openness is the way in which the material is brought up for discussion. While I described my experiences to them, I did not ask them to share their own experiences or practices with the class. I did require weekly writing assignments in which they had to apply the class topics and concepts to themselves. While the assignments did not have to involve spirituality or spiritual topics, in many cases the students would mention or apply spiritual topics or techniques, especially meditation, to themselves in these papers.
Students need to see how the material is related to their own work and life experiences. It is also important for the professor to not proselytize or try to force her or his beliefs on students. I found that it is better for me to describe my own experiences with students than to preach my beliefs. Rather than trying to “sell” spirituality to the students as somehow being instrumental for them, I rather shared my own stories and experiences, and described how they had been helpful or useful for me.
Student reactions throughout the years were generally very positive, with a number of students saying how useful the discussions, written self- reflections, and especially meditation were for them. It is particularly gratifying for me when I hear from students years after taking the class about how they remember the class and how useful it was for them in their lives.
9. Dr. Jerry Biberman is Professor Emeritus of Management at the University of Scranton, a Jesuit University in Scranton, PA. He was a founder and first chair of the Management, Spirituality and Religion (MSR) interest group of the Academy of Management, and served as founding co-editor of the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion. In 2016 he received the MSR interest group’s Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves as Chair of the MSR Flamekeepers committee. Jerry lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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