From the beginning of time mindfulness and meditation have been very misunderstood practices in The Western Hemisphere.
The reason it is misunderstood is that you cannot really understand it.
You have to experience it from doing it (or at least experience the benefit of it) in the same way that humans don’t need to understand air to breathe it, or a fish doesn’t have to understand water to swim in it.
Many people in The West think that meditation is just a load of ‘timewasters’ spending all day Navel-Gazing! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omphaloskepsis now there’s a word worth Googling)
Nothing could be further from the truth, as mindfulness can bring huge benefit to any workplace.
Mindfulness is just another word for being aware of what we are doing at this present moment. A great way to start any day is to get into the habit of practicing meditation for about twenty minutes.
If done on a regular basis it will bring enormous benefit to anyone’s life. As The Buddha says ‘don’t believe me try it for yourselves’.
The Catch 22 situation is that you won’t do it if you can’t see the benefit of it, but then again you won’t reap the benefit of it unless you do it! (In doing we learn!)
The obvious objection here would be that ‘I can understand doing meditation at home but how can I do it at work as my boss would have a seizure if he saw me taking twenty minutes off on a regular basis to ‘do my meditation’.
The answer lies in the fact that there are many ways to practice mindfulness and using ‘The Breath ‘is just one of them. Other ways are to practice paying attention to what we see, hear, taste, touch and smell. In other words ‘Coming to our senses’.
A very useful tip here is to light a scented candle at work or better still to use essential oils. Not only do they leave a refreshing relaxing aroma in the work place (be careful to choose the appropriate oil or everyone will end up asleep!), but it also creates a pleasant atmosphere for potential customers.
Smell is a great way to practice mindfulness as when you smell something you can only truly smell it ‘Now’.
In other words we practice paying attention to it. Being properly aware is the same thing as being present which in turn is the same thing as paying attention.
Another great word for this is we are practicing being ‘Focused’. The more you practice ‘Being Focused’ the better at ‘Being Focused’ you become just in the same way you practice tennis, golf , piano etc.
Now tell me what potential employer wouldn’t want an alert, aware, attentive, present, focused workforce?
The atmosphere is pleasant and there is more co-operation, more compassion and understanding, reduced stress and has an overall effect of being more productive.
I think I have just described the potential for a ‘Nirvana’ type situation at work but believe me mindfulness has the potential to deliver all of the above.
This is why I believe mindfulness should be incorporated or at least encouraged in all school places and work places throughout the country.
It is a more productive way of living and can enhance all of our lives and make the world a much better and nicer place to live in.
Enjoy the Winter Solstice today ( December 21st) and next week I will be writing about Mindfulness in sport and every day life.
P.S May I take this opportunity to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful, Happy, Healthy and Stress-Free New Year ….. Roger
• Roger Harty is a life coach and can be contacted on 087-6128336, on twitter at @Innerjoyz1 or by email rogharty@gmail.com
