MINDFULNESS WORKS

Mindfulness & Meditation Training

Mindfulness an antidote to work ADD

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Article on how mindfulness in the workplace improves people’s focus, capacity for rapport and connection by Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence.  Includes some links to mindfulness techniques.

 

 

“Some consultants tell me that the number one problem in the workplace today is attention. People are distracted. They’re in a state of what’s called “continuous partial attention” where even at meetings, your body is there but your mind is somewhere else. You have countless gadgets constantly sending you information: texts, phone calls, emails, and reminders. All buzzing and dinging for your attention.

People not being fully present is a big problem because the most effective interactions occur when two people are mutually present to each other. That’s when rapport happens. That’s when chemistry happens. That’s when you’re going to have the most powerful communication and mutual understanding. If your attention is over there, it means you’re not over here with the person you’re with.” Read full article.

Mindfulness helps small business owners find the ‘off’ switch.

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Dr Craig Hassed Photo: Brendan Read

Love this quote from article in the Sydney Morning Herald in Nov 2011:

“To enjoy our life we have to pay attention to it…We need to foster sustainable performance to use our energy, time and resources in a more mindful and focused way rather than wasting them in stress. We need to be more self-determined in getting on with what we need to get on with at the right time. Mindfulness helps us enjoy our life more, to find more meaning in our life and to help protect us from stress, anxiety and depression,” Dr Hassed says.

One of the most difficult things for a small business owner is to stop thinking about the business, but this kind of stress causes wear and tear on the body and mind, and reduces effectiveness in work and in life. The good news is that training in mindfulness can help you find the ‘off’ switch.

Speaking at the Mind & Its Potential conference earlier this month, Monash University’s Craig Hassed says we can not stop our minds, but mindfulness teaches us to have the skill of whether or not we will engage with our thoughts.

“You can switch off a machine, you can switch off an email, you can leave the office and go on a holiday – but it’s really about whether the mind has left work and switched off. Very often we’re preoccupied. It’s really not where we physically are, it’s where we mentally are that matters,” says Dr Hassed, an award-winning medical researcher from Monash’s department of general practice, and author of The Essence of Health: The Seven Pillars of Wellbeing.

Read more:

Mindfulness Meditation Improves Focus at Work

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Mindfulness meditation helps improve focus at work, reduces stress and increases concentration new study finds. Who would’ve guessed?  Reported in USA Today by Darren Calabrese .

Entrepreneur Wendy Woods, meditating next to her BlackBerry, says it helps her be more creative.
“Entrepreneur Wendy Woods, meditating next to her BlackBerry, says it helps her be more creative.”

“All sorts of gizmos and gadgets can help you be more productive at work, and theories abound on how you should structure your days to get more done.  But a new study finds that becoming more focused, productive and less stressed at work may involve nothing more than learning to meditate.  David Levy, a computer scientist and professor with the Information School at the University of Washington, found that those who had meditation training were able to stay on task longer and were less distracted. Levy and his co-authors discovered that meditation also improved test subjects’ memory while easing their stress.”  Read full article

Silicon Valley Wises Up

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Silicon Valley Wises Up

This is brilliant and inspiring!  Two high profile business oriented events focusing on mindfulness, meditation, compassion and spirituality in business are making waves in the States.

One of my passions and areas of interest is the cross over between spirituality and business. Too often these are (artificially) seen as two separate and distinct realms.  Now the illusory divide is collapsing, which is great to see.

The Wisdom 2.0 are Being Human conferences are mixing business and ancient holistic wisdom including meditation and mindfulness. They are attracting major players in the Tech industry including Google, Twitter and Cisco and are highly popular and expected to sell out.

Talks include “Ancient Wisdom and Modern Life” given by eBay Inc. founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar, and “Wisdom-based Practice and Leadership” with Cisco Chief Technology Officer.  Awakened teacher and author  Eckhart Tolle is a key note speaker at Wisdom 2.0.

What was once considered fringey is rapidly becoming mainstream. The innovative early adopters are well and truly embracing these new approaches to business.  So much so that I found out about these events in article in the Wall Street Journal!

Expect what is happening over there to reach our shores too.  Read a short article about what is happening here.

 

Stanford University Happiness Course Uses Meditation

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Read a San Francisco Chronicle article on a highly popular Stanford University course on happiness.

The course was set up in response to 4 student suicides at the university in 2006.  The course includes discussing research on what leads to happiness and what does not.

Their definition of happiness…?

Fred Luskin, instructor of the Stanford happiness class, said that the simplest definition of happiness is “wanting what you have.” Conversely, the simplest definition of stress is “wanting something to be different.”

The course includes also involve trialling practical strategies to increase happiness sand personal well being such as keeping a daily gratitude journal.  The course also includes a basic meditation practice.  It is proving extremely popular with Autumn class already being full.

From the article:

One important message the instructors hope to convey is that racking up accomplishments won’t necessarily lead to fulfillment.

“Achieving the most for yourself doesn’t lead to the kind of happiness you think it will,” Luskin told a student who questioned how she could reconcile her desire for a balanced life with the expectations that, at Stanford, you need to be “the best.”

He added that people who are in the best position for happiness are the ones who have strong relationships, and “interconnected webs” of people on whom they can depend for fun and support.