McMindfulness with Ron Purser

Rising Laterally

Ron Purser is the Lam-Larsen Distinguished Research Professor (2021-2023) in the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University. His essays and cultural criticism have appeared in the Huffington Post, The Guardian, Salon, Alternet, Tikkun, Pando Daily, Refinery 29, Tricycle and many more. He is the author of eight books, including “McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality”.
We explore the genesis of the mindfulness movement in the West, it’s commodification by spiritual entrepreneurs, and how it’s become a tool to pacify employees rather than awaken them to their own human needs.
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0:00 Intro
2:27 The central premise of “McMindfulness”
4:04 “McMindfulness” is not simply a critique of mindfulness
5:39 Ron’s experience as a Buddhist practitioner
7:00 The rise of mindfulness as a commodity in the West
9:32 The hype and exaggerated claims of the mindfulness movement
10:44 The “scientization” of mindfulness
14:22 When the spiritual entrepreneurs took hold of mindfulness
17:12 Mindfulness in the corporate workplace
22:44 Amazon’s working wellness program, “AmaZen”
24:45 Is there a better way to improve employee wellness?
32:22 The effect of mindfulness on service work and “emotional labor”
34:08 Is stress a result of individual problems or structural problems?
37:15 What are the second order effects of our culture of posturing?
40:46 Ron’s story of attending a corporate mindfulness workshop
43:41 What are the emotional holes we are trying to fill with mindfulness?
47:54 What is a deepity?
50:29 What is iatrogenesis?
52:53 Is Ron optimistic about the future?
58:16 Mindfulness is disproportionately practiced and promoted by elites
1:02:47 Mindfulness and the military
1:07:27 “One Final Question”
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Book Recommendation!
“McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality”
Ron's Website
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