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

Tags: anxiety, mindfulness, perspective, stress, worry

What is spirituality?

I believe spirituality is identifying the things that are truly important to you and giving them the priority they deserve.

How to overcome depression?

Some time back I was asked to speak regarding spiritual solutions to depression. Now I know more than most that the word depression covers a myriad of conditions and I hesitate to talk about simple cures. For those that know me I believe there are 6 strategies you need to focus on when trying to manage/ overcome depression: exercise, support from family and friends, psychological counselling, fulfilling work, relaxation/meditation, and medication.

What underpins all these things?

In my own recovery, I found that when I was severely depressed, I was best to focus on exercise and contact with family and friends. As I started to improve, I embraced meditation and this really helped with being centred and seeing things with new clarity. I came to realise that when I looked back to my past, much of my self esteem was tied up with external achievements. When things were going well I was fine and when they weren’t I crumbled. I now believe that striving to be of service to others is the key to my mental health. I’m not saying that this is the case for everyone but I have certainly found it to be true for me.

Who am I?

I have spoken on several occasions with Charlie Hogg, The Director of the Brahma Kumaris in Australia. Over the years Charlie has helped thousands of people learn how to meditate. He says that 80% of the people who come to learn are struggling with depression and/or an anxiety disorder. Many have been trying to find happiness and peace through achievements and material possessions and have found that to be a losing battle. They think of themselves as their gender, occupation, marital status, income level etc. When these don’t measure up with their expectations of the perfect life they feel disillusioned.

Source of Happiness

Charlie has no income, and no traditional material possessions, yet he is one of the happiest and most positive people I know. He truly feels fulfilled when he is serving others. When I was interviewed recently by Richard Fiedler on the Conversation Hour, he made the comment that the happiest people he has interviewed (and his has spoken to an incredible cross section) are those that are dedicated to helping others.

This is no quick fix

What I am describing above is no quick fix, but I believe that finding our what is truly important to you and then spending a lot of your time addressing this purpose in central to sustainable happiness and fulfillment. An important part of this is understanding your strengths and finding out what special skills or qualities you have that you like to use. Martin Seligman did some great work in this area in his book Authentic Happiness - see http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx . At this website you will find some tools to help you understand your strenghts

Brinkmanship

I believe that depression, like any adversity has the potential to be transformed into a gift. If through your pain you are able to come out the other side with new priorities in life and a new mission then I believe you can consider yourself blessed. Don’t get me wrong. I know that depression can be a living hell but like every crisis it can EVENTUALLY be turned into an opportunity. I believe that depression has such a high recurrence rate because people that don’t come to terms with what is important to them and change their lifestyle accordingly have to eventually revisit it.

For an excellent artictle on this subject from the Mayo Clinic please see: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/mental-behavioral-health/bipolar-disorder/living-with-bipolar-disorder/spirituality-stress-relief?msc=A62687 

If you have a view on this topic, please respond to this post.

KInd Regards

Graeme

Tags: anxiety, back from the brink, depression, depression treatments, graeme cowan, spiritual solutions

The nature of today’s lifestyle is pretty hectic. For those of us that work, being available at all times is often the norm. In this time of relentless deadlines and constant interuptions we rarely have time to reflect on what is really important.

Some time ago I came across www.peacepulse.org

When you open this website to your browser, every hour a little bell sounds and beautiful pciture appears on your computer screen. You then have 1 minute to switch off before another bell sounds. I have been using this for the last couple of years and have been amazed at some of the insights and answers that have come during this quiet time.

Try giving yourself 8 minutes during the day to provide some clarity and replenish your spirit.

www.peacepulse.org

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: clarity, depression, meditation, relaxation

I have personally experienced the benefits of depression in keeping depression at bay. People often ask me what type of meditaion I follow. I follow a method advocated by the Brahma Kumaris but I always say to people that they should try different approaches till they find one that works for them. The important thing is to find a way of experiencing peace and it doesn’t matter how you do it.

Not as effective when in deep depression

I found that meditation didn’t work for me when I was severely depressed but when I started to recover I found it a great way of preventing relapse. Research also shows that it is not as effective when people are really depressed.

Meditations clinically proven to reduce the chance of relapse.

In a study by John Teasdale et al in the UK he evaluated patients who had experienced 5 or more episodes of depression in their life. One half just received normal counselling whilst the other half went through a Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). MBCT incorporates Buddhist style mindfulness meditation along with exercises to help them understand how thinking patterns influence their feelings. MBCT patients were found to have a relapse rate of 36% compared to the control group of 78%.

Personal Experience

I find the practice of meditation give me clarity and perspective. People often say they don’t have time to meditate but I find that I am incredibly productive after it. I think it makes you more effective by helping to ascertain what is really important.

If you have tried meditation to help treat your anxiety or depression please make a comment.

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: , anxiety. overcoming depression, depression, meditation