Workplace

The audaciously titled First International Symposium on Spirituality and Business will be held next month in Boston, with the aim of attracting the emerging community "engaged in transforming commerce and the global economy and creating a lively and vibrant workplace that uplifts the human spirit." It is hardly the first conference on the subject, although it is the first to be sponsored by a theological school (Andover Newton).

Gov. Pete Wilson lent a sympathetic ear Saturday to bar owners angered by a month-old ban on smoking in their establishments, but he stopped short of favoring a bid to repeal the prohibition. Wilson, whose administration has prided itself on making California more business friendly, suggested that he supports establishing refuges for bar smokers.

For most of his life, wearing his yarmulke has not been an issue. Every morning at 7, Baruch Cohen attends temple down the street from his home. Whenever he appears in court or meets with a client, a black yarmulke is atop his head. For Cohen, wearing the Jewish skullcap is as natural as wearing a shirt. The yarmulke, he said, is a constant reminder that "there's a God above."

Michael P. Smith, 48 Retail manager As a professional auto parts retail manager and practicing Buddhist for 28 years, I've had my share of challenges in balancing my career with my spiritual pursuits. What helped me was the realization that difficulties only arise when daily life and religious practice are viewed as two different things. I've found that I'm at my best, both as a manager and as a Buddhist, when I practice my religion at work and apply my work skills in my practice of faith.

Ronald Fowler, 32 SoCal Gas facilities clerk Several of us get together twice a week to share experiences and encouragement as we encounter the woes of everyday living. We all have different backgrounds, different job functions, different employers and go to different churches, but the one thing we all have in common is the love we have for God and each other. On Thursdays we meet for formal Bible study with a teacher who follows an organized lesson plan.

Robert Matt, 40 Owner, Robert Matt Hair Salon Being in the moment--while at work or at play, while alone or with others--is the guiding principle of my life. Being in the moment with my clients allows me to connect with them more thoroughly and to bring out the beauty that is in them more effectively. It also allows me to be energized by their visits instead of being drained by the hectic, one-client-after-another schedule of my busy salon.

Inside the glass-paneled conference room of investment banking firm Sutro & Co. in Woodland Hills, a lunchtime discussion naturally has turned to things financial. The "Lunch and Learn" Torah class, under the direction of a local cantor, is discussing asset management strategies found in Leviticus. The third book of the Bible instructs the faithful not to "reap to the very corners of your field . . . nor shall you gather every grape in your vineyard" so that something is left for the poor.

Twenty years ago, Pat Sullivan worked as a temp secretary in a conservative Washington commercial real estate firm. She was surprised at the reaction of the other employees when they saw her reading Fritjof Capra's "The Tao of Physics" at her desk at lunchtime. "Everyone would come and talk to me," said Sullivan, now principal of the Oakland-based Visionary Resources consulting firm.