WriteMind Institute Celebrates New Beginnings

The WriteMind Institute for Corporate Contemplation, an affiliate of Smart Choice®, opened its doors to the public on March 30, at its new location in downtown Asheville, N.C. The beautiful three story building, built in 1915, houses a spacious contemplation room downstairs, an open meeting area plus kitchen and living quarters on the main floor, and work space and guest rooms on the third floor. WriteMind offers a variety of programs and services to facilitate leadership journeys, empower authentic speech, and establish the workplace as a refuge. By using alternative learning methods such as cooking, hiking and painting, the Institute works to develop clients both leadership and personal capabilities. Although WriteMind never stopped serving its current clients, the event symbolized a re-opening to the general public in downtown Asheville, offering memberships for $60 a month to use the haven of solitude and ample meeting space. To kick off the week-long opening, WriteMind founder Jonathon Flaum wanted to offer the community a chance to unplug from the daily stresses of life and work, by offering a week of free meditation, work time, and hosted lunch discussions. Jonathon wanted to highlight people’s ability to pursue personal growth in the workplace. Over the course of the week, dozens of people participated in each day’s events, including the round-table lunches, with the daily discussion centered on the question “What does it mean to respect the human experience in a profit-based business?” In the spirit of true servant-leadership (another founding tenant of the Institute), Jonathon and Operations Manager Erin Rafalowski prepared lunch for all of their guests. WriteMind will continue to hold lunch discussions like these, twice-daily meditation times, and other evening events twice a month, as an on-going practice in the community. “We want to bring silence to the workday. We want to interrupt the pattern of busyness, so people can focus on what’s truly important. People have to find pockets of steadiness in a world of anxiety. This institute serves as a place for solitude, but with others,” Jonathon said. “This space has created the opportunity for people from different organizations to come together and think and talk about their business practices,” added Erin. Jonathon also added that he’s excited about being able to offer businesses and people a place to reflect, and enjoy a break. “When we talk about work, it goes beyond what our job is,” he said. “Maybe our work is forgiveness. Maybe our work is compassion. Maybe our work is dealing with our loss or our anger or being afraid of our own success. What I say is, do not run away from your work. Make your work a time to practice. Here at WriteMind, the bottom line is creating a safe place for people to put in their best effort.” For more information on WriteMind Institute please click here.

The Smart Choice® Agents Program is a wholly-owned program of Worldwide Insurance Network, Inc. (WIN), headquartered in High Point, North Carolina. There are almost 2,900 agents in 31 states in the program. Other divisions of WIN are the Smart Choice® Franchise Corporation, parent of Smart Choice® Insurance Centers, and the WriteMind Institute for Corporate Contemplation.

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