In his excellent course The Science of Mindfulness, Professor Ron Siegel from the Harvard Medical School lays out the modern scientific evidence for the benefits of meditation practice–one of the pathways toward mindfulness.
It is becoming clearer through cutting edge research that mindfulness (or the awareness of present experience) which has been practiced for over 2,500 years is a reliable pathway to increased wisdom, compassion, and courage–qualities possessed by great leaders and organizations.
Here are 5 reasons to consider developing some form of meditation practice:
- It supports open-mindedness by helping us to take our thoughts more lightly (note to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump).
- It helps us become less distracted by the hyper-activity of modern life.
- It provides insight into the emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of our world.
- It helps us to treat everything that comes up in our experience as an opportunity for learning and growth.
- It breaks down the barriers to creating relationships necessary to accomplishing our shared vision.
Right about now your busy/active/critical mind may be saying: “Great! One more damn thing to do.” Yes, and no. There are formal and informal modes of meditation which can lead to more mindfulness. On the informal front, I often advise clients with whom I work to take one deep and complete breath before responding to someone who has just triggered an emotion like anger or frustration. I’m also fond of Brene Brown’s suggestion that when we are overcome by a flood of emotion, it is perfectly acceptable to say (paraphrase): “I’m sorry, I’m going to need to reschedule this meeting.” Of course, to take these actions, we need to be aware that we’re experiencing a strong emotion that may influence what next comes out of our mouth. And raising that awareness is where formal meditation practice becomes helpful.
According to Dr. Siegel, science is now showing that learning mindfulness is a dose related activity (kind of like learning a musical instrument). When we do a little bit of practice, we develop a little bit of mindfulness. When we do more, we develop more mindfulness. The most basic formal meditation practice involves developing the habit of setting aside time each day to pause, sit, breathe and be aware of our minds. The is the basic technique that traces its origin to the earliest teachings in the Buddhist tradition.
Right now, what I find helpful is setting aside 15 minutes each morning (after the Langiulli ladies have departed for school, and before I begin my work day) to sit in a comfortable chair and breathe. A few folks from my leadership tribe accompany me by video from around the world each day, so that we support each other in practicing together. I’ve found that having some structure (like same time, same location, and a supportive community) goes a long way to keeping me on the path.
If you already meditate, please comment here as to how you see it impacting your leadership. If you do not currently practice, I encourage you to give it a shot. Feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss.