Mar 12 2010
Do you have time to worry?
I once saw a fascinating exchange, where an Indian woman who was a meditation guru - shared a stage with a number of senior business people.
After being taken through a guided meditation the discussion then turned to how this stillness could be applied at work. One of the men said that he would love to experience the peace he just got from the meditation on a regular basis, but he was just too busy.
Business is for lazy people
In a very quiet gentle voice the Indian woman said “Busyness is for lazy people”. It took a while for what she said to sink in and their seemed to be silence for a full 20 seconds. She then sweetly probed “Do you have time to worry?”.
We all seem to have plenty of time to worry, but often neglect sufficient time to nurture our body, mind, and spirit. I know that just before I had my breakdown in 2000, I was stressed and anxious but still continued to work ridiculous hours in a very unproductive manner.
Mindfulness, Flow, Power of Now, In the zone, In my element
There has been a lot of talk recently about the concept of mindfulness – to be fully engaged in what you are doing and not worrying about the future or regretful of the past – Eckhart Tolle calls it the Power of Now, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls it Flow, some sports people refer to it as being in the zone. It’s kind of ironical that it is being hailed as something new, as the message originally came from the Buddha over 2000 years ago.
Whilst most people can understand the concept of mindfulness, actually living it is a whole different matter. It is so easy to get distracted by interruptions, and lose the ability to focus on the moment.
Stillness Buddy
I would like to share a resource I use that is tremendously beneficial – particularly if you spend a lot of time on a computer during the day. It is a software tool called Stillness Buddy. Once it is downloaded you have the opportunity to choose settings for a stillness break and a mindfulness break. I chose to have a 20 second break stillness break every 30 minutes and a 2 minute mindfulness break every hour. When those breaks come up a beautiful picture appears on the screen, some sounds from nature, and some guidelines on what to do for the next 20 seconds (or 2 minutes).
When the break is finished the screen disappears. I find that even when I am engrossed in something there is a huge benefit in pulling back and gaining some perspective. Sometimes it comes at an inconvenient time and you have option of closing the window immediately.
There is a free 14 day trial of the software at: www.stillnessbuddy.com If you chose to purchase it, a licence is approximately AU$40.
If you do decide to trial it, please let us know your experience on the blog.
Do you have habits at work to help you be more centred? I would love you to reply to the blog and to share it with our tribe. How do you switch off in the middle of chaos? Share what works for you.
Kind Regards
Graeme
