Mashing up the world's traditions and philosophies with everyday work may seem to be an unholy blending of the sacred and the profane, but better to get some practical use out of spiritual precepts than to squander them arguing how many angels are dancing with pinheads (noting our current political debate season).

I blogged about discovering Rosa Say’s "Managing with Aloha", that applied traditional Hawaiian spiritual principles to business, including those of aloha (unconditional love), ho'ohana (worthwhile work), ho'omau (perseverance and persistence), and one of my favorites, ho'okipa (hospitality). We've had clients that swear by the Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", updating a 2500-year-old practical philosophy as a basis for business strategy (“If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.”) I once worked for a CEO, who himself kept a copy of "Jesus, CEO" on his desk ("Jesus knew his mission statement, and he did not deviate from it.") There are nearly a million search results for “The Tao of ...”, although without consulting my spiritual guide, I don’t know how many of them really count as well-applied Taoism (“The Tao of Programming flows far away and returns on the wind of morning.”)

Yesterday I picked up a copy of “Little India” magazine to read over lunch at Vik’s Chaat Corner, and enjoyed an article by advertising copywriter Priyanka Garg about harnessing the forces of her Indian spirituality in her craft. From namrata (humility) and viragya (detachment) to shraddha (faith) and titiksha (endurance), Garg shares the connection – her brand spirituality – between her beliefs and her work.

[Update: Since posting this, there was an article in the New York Times Magazine about the Chinese applying their ancient text to current affairs, both business and political. It starts with an application of The Art of War in a business class: "Sun Tzu said in the first chapter of the book, “An able commander is wise (zhi), trustworthy (xin), humane (ren), courageous (yong) and believes in strict discipline (yan). The students thought that a chief executive today should possess the same strengths in order to lead. But how did the five attributes apply to business?"]