Chris Mills is a practitioner and instructor of Heartfulness Meditation, which he has been practicing for nearly three decades. Chris has traveled throughout North American and Europe facilitating meditation workshops to enhance innovation, creativity, and conscious living. Chris also consults with businesses on development of relaxation and meditation programs as part of their overall health and wellness initiatives. Chris is a Director of Marketing at Anthem.


thumbnail_Chris-Mills-web.jpg

Chris-Mills-web.jpg

Chris Mills

<h4>
    In this interview, CHRIS MILLS shares with us his ideas on bringing
    heart back into corporate culture.
  </h4>
  <hr class="vertical-space1" />
  <hr />
  <h5 style="text-align: center">
    I don’t approach work, family life and spiritual life<br />
    as being separate and different from each other.<br />
    It’s all part of the same stream.<br />
    My meditation and spiritual life interact closely<br />
    with my relationships at work and at home.<br />
    For me, it’s not ‘material’ or ‘spiritual’<br />
    – it’s really just who I am.
  </h5>
  <hr />
  <h4>
    <img
      alt="ChrisMillsHR"
      width="250"
      height="314"
      class="lazyload img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Chris_Mills_HR_img_36d3cf1d3d.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T11:14:14.159Z"
    /><span style="color: #dea431"
      >Q: Tell us about your everyday working,&nbsp;family life. How do you
      spend your time?</span
    >
  </h4>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    CM: I am married with two growing children and three poodles that bark a
    lot. And I’m the marketing director for a large healthcare company, so
    that means I spend a lot of my time shuffling between work and raising
    my kids. I am also a teacher and facilitator for Heartfulness
    meditation, which I have been practicing for over 20 years. And if
    there’s free time, I like to walk on the beach and spend time in nature
    whenever I can. I also like to read a lot about spirituality and
    metaphysics – it’s certainly an interesting time to be alive from this
    perspective.
  </p>
  <h4 style="text-align: left">
    <span style="color: #dea431"
      >Q: You mentioned meditation. Why do you meditate?</span
    >
  </h4>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    CM: The main reason I meditate is because it makes me feel centered,
    calm and balanced. There is a peace that comes with meditation that
    cannot easily be explained, but it certainly can be felt. When I started
    practicing meditation back in the ’90s, within a few weeks I began to
    foster a feeling inside that was ‘more-ish’ – I simply wanted more and
    more of that feeling. Back then I also developed this single idea that
    has never left me: meditation is one of the primary keys to figuring out
    life. I believe this concept more now than even back then.
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    With meditation, complexities began to drop off – for instance anger has
    reduced and I think I’m easier to live with. Meditation has calmed me
    down and at the same time it’s made it easier for me to get things done.
    All of this&nbsp;has given me more confidence in dealing with life.
  </p>
  <hr />
  <h5 style="text-align: center">
    Meditation directly affects the number one issue for the corporate
    employee,<br />
    and that is the cumulative negative effects<br />
    from constant pressure to perform in what can be<br />
    a very difficult work environment – stress.
  </h5>
  <hr />
  <h4>
    <span style="color: #dea431"
      >Q: For you, is there a duality in having an&nbsp;everyday working
      life and pursuing self development&nbsp;through meditation? How
      do&nbsp;they go together?&nbsp;</span
    >
  </h4>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    CM: There is part of me that would love to run off to a mountaintop and
    just meditate while over-looking the earth. But we have responsibilities
    down here at the bottom of the hill. So I don’t approach work, family
    life and spiritual life as being separate and different from each other.
    It’s all part of the same stream. My meditation and spiritual life
    interact closely with my relationships at work and at home. For me, it’s
    not ‘material’ or ‘spiritual’ – it’s really just who I am. And I think
    that is reflected in my approach to work. Did you see the original
    <em>Karate Kid</em> movie? There was a scene when Mr Miyagi had the
    Karate Kid complete simple tasks – ‘wax on’ and ‘wax off’ – until the
    boy perfected these very simple movements with poise, love, respect and
    skill. That is how I try to approach whatever responsibility I have. It
    may be a presentation to senior executives, building a quarterly budget,
    or just washing the dishes. Wax on. Wax off. Meditation has made me a
    bit more ‘Zen’ in my approach to life. I experience the beauty and
    harmony in relationships and task at work and at home – even if it does
    not seem perfect on the outside.
  </p>
  <h4 style="text-align: left">
    <span style="color: #dea431"
      >Q: What are some of the greatest challenges for the corporate world
      in the 21st century?</span
    >
  </h4>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    CM: For the past year we have been working with corporations on
    corporate meditation and relaxation programs. These programs have been
    very well received by both management and employees. The reason they
    have been well received is because meditation directly affects the
    number one issue for the corporate employee, and that is the cumulative
    negative effects from constant pressure to perform in what can be a very
    difficult work environment – stress. Most employees are faced with
    nearly overwhelming challenges. For instance, you take a vacation to
    relax and you come back to hundreds of emails. And there are constant
    pressures from competitors, cost-cutting&nbsp;measures and ongoing
    changes that keep people unsettled. As employees, we are expected to
    thrive in this culture. I think stress may be the greatest challenge for
    the corporate employee in the 21st century. But there is one simple
    practice that can directly reduce stress, and that is meditation. The
    science is out on that.
  </p>
  <hr />
  <h5 style="text-align: center">
    I think it is by cultivating love – and by becoming love.<br />
    And we learn to do that by connecting with our heart.<br />
    And we connect with our heart by meditating on the heart.<br />
    Let’s put some love and heart back into work.<br />
    That will change the work environment.<br />
    It will change our relationships.
  </h5>
  <hr />
  <h4></h4>
  <h4>
    <span style="color: #dea431"
      >Q: The corporate world has a pretty bad reputation for being a place
      of aggressive competition and heartless self-promotion. How do you see
      putting heart back into the environment, given that people spend so
      much of their lives at work?</span
    >
  </h4>
  <p>
    CM: I immediately think of a quote from <em>The Prophet</em> by Kahlil
    Gibran: “Work is love made physical.” And how do you work with love,
    particularly in a corporate culture? I think it is by cultivating love –
    and by becoming love. And we learn to do that by connecting with our
    heart. And we connect with our heart by meditating on the heart. Let’s
    put some love and heart back into work. That will change the work
    environment. It will change our relationships. It will change how we
    answer the phone… how we check our emails…how we interact with people,
    and it will change how we interact with our own selves. Wax on. Wax off.
  </p>
  <hr class="vertical-space1" />
  <hr />
  <h4 style="text-align: center">
    Interviewed&nbsp;by&nbsp;ELIZABETH DENLEY
  </h4>
  <hr />