I have for a number of years been interested in aspects of Zen practice and meditation. Recently I have realised that the aspect that interested me most related to the concept, as I now understand it is called, of mindfulness. This is describes by the author and Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, in his book The Miracle of Mindfulness as ‘keeping one’s consciousness alive to the present reality‘.
In practice (and mindfulness is a practice or way) this means really being engaged in what you are doing and removing or getting past some of the filters we put around our lives, which then shape our perception of what is happening. There is a Zen saying which sums up this way of living:
‘When you are walking, walk. And when sitting, sit. But don’t wobble’
However I was still struggling to get a real grip of how to develop this approach to life. I then came across this book :
This is a well structured approach, setting out various meditations and other practices over an eight week period. In addition it gives a good context for the practice, is based on clinical work in the area of depression across a number of institutions, and has an underpinning academic rigour. It is also easy to read and understand. Check out the web site for more details and some exercises: www.franticworld.com
There appears to be a growing interest in the this way of dealing with the world. I think there is a real benefit to leaders and other in an ever increasingly complex business world, both at personal and organisational levels.
I will be returning to the theme and its link to personal and leadership performance . Please let me know if you have any good references, recommendation or web sites in this area worth looking into, as I am interested in the idea of putting together a paper on this.