Meditation

"The best time to meditate is on the plane."

says Wilhelm, age 66, who likes to close his eyes and breathe deeply as soon as the jet engines begin to roar.

"I often have to fly to Europe. If I land at 8 am, meditation gives me the opportunity to get a deep rest and focus before my board meeting by 10 ". As a member of the board of directors of Goldman Sachs [1]investment bank, Wilhelm George is known for proclaiming the "mantra" of profitability. In her free time, however, she sings another type of mantra when she is sitting in a jet leather chair.

 

What meditation gives

 

The president of Tupperware's board, Rysio Goings, meditates every day to get attention again. As he told the Financial Times, he tries to meditate for at least 20 minutes each afternoon. "This is a practice for me that not only" burns stress ", but gives a fresh look to understand what is really going on and what is really important," he says.

Rajmund Dalio also assigns meditation the key to his success. As the founder of Bridgewater Associates says: "Meditation gives me orientation and creativity. She also gave me peace and health … she gave me openness of mind. " "Meditation, more than anything in my life, was the greatest ingredient in the success I have achieved." Dalio is the founder and former president (currently "mentor") of Bridgewater Associates, a fund that has earned more money for its investors ($ 50 billion) than any hedge fund ever.

Such approaches to business are known, but only crises force companies to search for non-standard solutions. The generation fascinated with battles, hippies and eastern mysticism produced many business leaders, including George and Stefan Jobs himself.

The founder of Apple, which manufactures some of the most coveted items in the world, was a Zen Buddhist and spoke openly about how the meditation time in India shaped his view of the world and ultimately the appearance of Apple's products.

"If you just sit and watch, you'll see what your mind is restless,"

 – Jobs was telling his biographer Walter Isaacson.

"If you try to calm him down, it just makes it worse, but in time it gets calm, and when it happens, there's more room to hear more subtle things – then your intuition starts to bloom and you start to see things more clearly and you're more present. Your mind only slows down, and you see a huge space at the moment. You see a lot more than you could see earlier. This is a discipline that needs to be practiced. "

meditation and Steven jobs
tea, Zen meditation, Stefan Jobs

Meditation and stress

 

General Mills, a company behind well-known Cheerios breakfast cereals, based in the green area of ​​Minneapolis. Sidewalks connect a network of modernist buildings, protecting workers against the southern heat and humidity in the summer and cold and high snowdrifts in the winter.

Inside the halls, around 3,000 people work on the whole project – from product development and marketing to litigation, regulations, and mergers and acquisitions. An ordinary employee is a reflection of Central America – mainly white, carelessly dressed, with a polite disposition.

There are signs, however, that in a significant way, General Mills has a distinctly unique corporate culture. Open the right door on Tuesday morning, and you'll find a few dozen team leaders and directors meditating in silence together on pillows, preparing their minds for the next week of work. Come to the conference room in the afternoon and witness how 50 older employees from the entire organization stand on one leg in the tree position while practicing yoga. Keep in mind that in every building on the General Mills campus there is a meditation room, equipped with several cushions for concentration practice, yoga mats, where, day after day, employees can bend down to catch a few minutes of peace between meetings. .

Meditation in companies should be more than an expression of good will of managers or personal interests.

In the US alone, corporations lose an estimated $ 300 billion annually in reduced productivity, absenteeism, health care and related stress-related costs, according to a study by the American Institute of Stress. Stress related problems account for over 60 percent of all doctor visits.

"Stress is huge now; as it will be manifested, you can not see it yet, but I'm sure there will be plenty of burnout soon "

says Herbert Benson, professor of medicine at the Harvard School of Medicine. "There is no doubt that it's time for this type of solution."

 

The advantages of Eastern tradition have been recognized by Google – a well-known leading internet company. The owner of the world's most popular search engine regularly sits in meditation, also in company offices in London, Pittsburgh, Mountain View, Sydney and New York. In addition, in October 2007. the company started "searching inside yourself" and a course of mindfulness meditation. The program was presented to over 1,000 employees. It was initiated by Chade-Meng Tan, one of the first Google employees. Tan turned to the above-mentioned General Mills for inspiration and is currently introducing these trainings to other technology companies in Silicon Valley. Puritan-Bennett, who produces ventilators and other medical equipment, began a pilot program in 1993, which compared 38 people who were meditating for 38 who did not. At the end of three months, it turned out that those who said they were meditating, had more energy, were able to cope better with stress, had fewer health problems and had lower cholesterol levels, says Dr. Mary Martha Stevens, health manager and wellness program in the company. Their colleagues said that the meditators were easier people to get along with.

Green Roasters Mountain Coffee (a coffee maker that maintains high ethical and environmental standards), has a dedicated meditation room where employees can receive instructions for meditation. In addition, it offers long-lasting meditation retreats for employees and their families. "If you have a meditation practice, you can be much more effective in meeting," says company founder Bob Stiller. "Meditation helps you develop your skills to better focus and complete tasks." According to Investors.com, Green Mountain (GMCR) has a significant growth rate. The shares in the company have overtaken others in this industry.

 

Where do the effects of meditation come from?

 

We commonly consider ourselves as very hardworking, but in fact the effects that translate into profit are not many. Once again Pareto's law works – what we do and what really is worth is 20% of all classes, while 80% of the time is wasted on irrelevant things. Where do big money come from? Of doing things faster than before, in larger quantities. It seems logical, therefore, that one should give up 80% because they will not bring profit anyway, and for those moments that give benefits, one should take care of the rare beautiful flowers in the middle of the garden.

Meditation teaches us how to resist the temptations of following unproductive whims.

Naturally, it's a great thing to create a clean, neat environment around you, where all the tools are organized and all the documents in the files, but sometimes you have to refer to the old good art of self-control. Eg. when the employee makes a mistake and you want to draw attention to him, even if you realize that it would be better – for him and the team – to ask a few questions, discussing the whole problem rationally and without nerves. Or when you want to throw something out of yourself during the meeting, although you know that it would be better to keep silent and listen further. Or when you want to buy or sell stocks based on emotions, when fundamental analysis and your own calculations suggest something different. Or, finally, when you want to check your email every three minutes, instead of focusing on the current task.

Technological progress, on the one hand, gave unusual opportunities to improve work, on the other hand, it gave an enormous amount of diffusers.

So the daily practice of meditation will gradually strengthen your "muscle" of strong will.

Although temptations will not disappear, you'll be better prepared to face them. You will also get practice in recognizing that the temptation does not give you such happiness as a well-done task. You will start making decisions yourself. Does this mean that one should never succumb to temptations? Of course not. Temptations carry important information. If you're hungry, it might be a good tip that you should eat something. It can also be a signal that you are bored, or you can not cope with a more difficult task. Thanks to meditation, you gain strength to oppose temptation and make informed choices – what you want to do and what you do not do.

 

How to meditate

 

If you are a beginner, stick to the simplest rules:

"The eyes are open to be vigilant; Slightly squinted and looking down, so as not to be distracted by the views. The spine is straight, so that the experiences are clear and the consciousness centered. The chin is slightly lowered to stop the movement of thoughts and all sensations for maintaining peace. Chest pushed forward and slightly open mouth allow for easy breathing. Hands are folded in the lap to balance and focus. At the beginning or when sitting longer, resting in such an attitude can be uncomfortable. Then do not stop, but try to persevere without moving in one place. This is needed to gain focus and master the senses.

The body is like a wild horse, which must be caught behind the reins to ride it. When the body is already calm, then the soul also calms down "
(Sitting posture, Rainbow Pearl).

 

As noted by Dalio (the director of the investment fund mentioned at the beginning), the key issue for beginners is the challenge to maintain regular meditation during the first six months. Those who try must realize that 20 minutes spent in meditation in the morning and in the evening is an investment that pays off in many ways – it will affect health, improve relationships with clients / boss, increase happiness.

 

Techniques of Meditation

 

Here is a mini guide to the types of meditation that has been accepted to distinguish:

 

Meditation and Buddhist teachings

 

With regard to the soul – to work on his own interior – he explains the importance of peace and vigilance. These two ways of raising the soul to the heights are called in the Pali language samatha and vipassana [2]in Sanskrit: śamatha, vipaśyana; in Tibetan: zhi gnas, pron. Sr.-tib. śine, lhag mthong, pron. Sr.-tib. hlakthong.

The peace and mindfulness recommended by the Buddha are not some kind of rest or concentration in the world, but they have their own special meaning, different from what the currents of the world represent. The ultimate goal of Buddha's teaching is to achieve holiness. Holiness in this shot is eternal happiness – not instant gratification, fleeting delight, temporary convenience, relaxation in the spa & wellness 🙂

 

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Przypisy

Przypisy
1 investment bank
2 in Sanskrit: śamatha, vipaśyana; in Tibetan: zhi gnas, pron. Sr.-tib. śine, lhag mthong, pron. Sr.-tib. hlakthong

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