Consciously seeking happiness in the workplace

On Sunday evening, a small group of Penn students in a dimly-lit room in Houston Hall were lead in meditation by Michael Carroll, a trained Buddhist teacher and an associate of Awake at Work consulting firm.

The event, titled “The Mindful Leader with Michael Carroll,” was sponsored by the Consciousness Club.

The Club was “founded on the premise that the world and its problems are a projection of our own minds,” explained Co-Facilitator and Engineering sophomore Justin Broglie. The Club aims to help humanity experience an inner transformation because “if the individual changes, so does the world,” Broglie explained.

Carroll, who was chosen to speak because of his background in Tibetan Buddhism and his 25 years of business experience, addressed a variety of issues that dealt with spiritual awakening in everyday life and the ability to become an enlightened human being.

He has also authored two books — Awake at Work and The Mindful Leader — which address how Buddhist teachings can be applied to work and how to become “an authentic leader.”

The event combined an informal discussion about how it may be possible to live in the present situation, a lecture by Carroll as how to achieve happiness in the workplace and a short meditation session followed by feedback from the participants.

When speaking about business, Carroll asked the audience to fill in the blank: “At work I want to be … ”

Students responded with a variety of answers, such as “peaceful,” “happy,” “passionate” and “fulfilled.”

However, Carroll said what people actually want in their careers is to feel “confident,” and the best way to achieve this is to learn how to stop worrying about getting to a different place and instead to learn to be in the moment.

This, he believes, is best achieved through “just sitting here,” which is so difficult for human beings to do that we need to use the method of meditation.

Engineering sophomore and audience member Alex Marple, said he left feeling grounded and relaxed.

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