Practice of Mindfulness

Recently, I attended a conference called Mindfulness and Well-being at Work sponsored by The Greater Good Science Center in Berkeley, California. This extraordinary organization is doing research into the nature of compassion, the science of happiness, the practice of gratitude, the fostering of kindness, and so much more. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are many companies that have embraced this well-researched and scientifically validated practice of mindfulness, which has sprouted a new market of consulting services teaching how to implement these techniques in the workplace. This February (2016), I’ll be attending a conference quoted by Wired as “Where the technology and contemplative communities … hash out the best ways to incorporate these tools into our lives” and appropriately called Wisdom 2.0. These are but a few examples of how the business community is coming together to be a force for good and for social change. In light of the current misery and suffering in the world, the lack of trust in corporate America – especially in the financial sector – and the influence of money over politics, we see that commerce is becoming a bright light in shifting the business emphasis from solely creating profits to creating purposeful, meaningful, and hopeful livelihoods.

For our team here at Dharma, this is like choiring to the preacher, if I got that saying right. Dharma was founded on these principles and practices, which are not only transformational for our staff and families, but this model of integrity and ethical approach has been a magnet in attracting new businesses that need payment processing services. There are so many industries that suffer from a history of tainted practices and bad reputations, not the least of which is our own merchant services industry, so seeing the shift to this conscious paradigm is extremely encouraging and uplifting. We applaud all companies that have considered and implemented this new principle-based ethos and encourage all of our stakeholders to actively seek out and patronize companies that are committed to doing good in the world.

Please note: while Dharma was a Registered B Corp at the time of this posting, it no longer is.