Much of the running theme amongst all of this is that a simpler, less stressful life is really available to all of us, here and NOW.

The irony is that mindfulness doesn’t take a lot of education or time, as Adrian Rides, founder of the Now Project,  casually pointed out to us recently as we commenced our six-week mindfulness meditation course – what it does take though, is practice. Practice to change the steady habits of the mind –  to be more present, not in the past or the future but truly in the moment.

This idea of the West taking an Eastern tradition and transforming it into a global revolution is nothing new. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the world-renowned expert in mindfulness, was one of the first with his Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course (MBSR) at the MIT. The fact that he has achieved so much with the incorporation of mindfulness into a therapeutic setting speaks volumes for the practice itself. It shows that the methods of mindfulness work. 

That’s all well and good you may say, but how does this really fit in with mindfulness in the corporate place? That’s an interesting one. Sure, we can all learn the practices and methods of mindfulness – there are plenty. However, the actual origins of mindfulness lie somewhere less apparent – compassion. Compassion for the suffering of others, and having virtuous qualities that express a heartfelt loving kindness for our own wellbeing and that of others.

Can one then truly be a mindfulness practitioner and take office in senior management? In one of my former posts, I argued that high performers are already masters in the practice of mindfulness. Qualities such as self-discipline, concentration, patience, endurance, pure willpower and a sense of duty are necessary in the field of leadership in order to steer an organisation to achieve its goals.

This involves the ability to master one’s own thoughts, emotions and physical sensations and perceive them as events that exist in our experience of consciousness – and the letting go and dissolution of such events, rather than allowing the mind to be dominated by them. This is more than likely to result in the attainment of success in the workplace.

Yet in the context of the corporate world, whose primary purpose is the benefit of shareholders, mindfulness in the workplace can be an inherent contradiction. When the survival of the institution is at stake, difficult decisions are often made – for those making such decisions, how do we measure the qualities that it takes when it comes to making them?

Do hearts “tremble” when making those decisions knowing that lives will be immensely affected? Do we hear heartfelt sorrow and regret for difficult decisions made, that has the effect of sometimes fundamentally changing the course of one’s career forever? Sometimes, but not always. The modern corporation is simply not made out for this outpour of emotion.