Why Corporate Meditation Programs?
Tom Von Deck, corporate meditation trainer, Ultimate Stress Blog Founder and author of Oceanic Mind
The benefits of corporate meditation plus tips on creating a more productive workplace
Stress management is a term which has gone increasingly viral in the corporate world in the last decade or so, and for good reason.
The American Institute of Stress estimated a $300 Billion dollar annual price tag on workplace stress in the USA alone. Of course, this price tag only accounts for MEASURABLE results of stress such as absenteeism, poor communication, hasty decisions and subsequent expensive goofs, employee turnover, insurance claims, lack of absorption in work tasks and more.
I have a sense that the real price tag is much higher.
I mentioned on Anmol Mehta's Mastery of Meditation and Yoga blog that stress inhibits creativity and intuition, both of which lead to business productivity. For example, Sally Smith spends 15 minutes nightly in formal meditation. She eats well and slips healthy meditative habits into the downtimes of her day. One day, out of the silence, comes the 50 gazillion dollar idea that places the company at the top of the Fortune 500.
Meditation is the art of being present with experience as it arises into consciousness. Behind the experience of emotions, body sensations, perceptions and thoughts is a place of deep inner stillness and peace. By being present with the "movement" of emotions, thoughts, etc, you are tapping into this place of peace - the place where all Eureka-style intuitions come from. Without meditation, Sally's mind may have been too restless to allow such an insight to come through.
The lack of that 50 gazillion dollar idea would have gone unnoticed by AIS researchers.
So, what's $300 Billion + $50 Gazillion?
A Google employee who became wealthy on Google money now volunteers his time teaching Google employees meditation and other self development tools in a program called "Search Inside Yourself". Other corporations who either have meditation programs in place or encourage employee meditation are IBM, Monsanto, Dunkin' Brands and Yahoo. Lots of small real estate and IT firms also embrace meditation programs for employees. Meditation is not just corporate.
We know that meditation reduces individual and corporate stress. Why else is meditation valuable in a corporate setting?
Meditation is not only the process of training the mind to be present with experience, but it is also the art of falling in love. This is the concentration element of meditation. You fall in love with a compatible object of focus. This can be a visualization of a childhood nature spot such as a waterfall. It can be a visualized meeting with Jesus or Krishna - or something verbal and secular like repeating the words "peaceful calm". The breath is a good kinesthetic object of focus. The key is to find something you can fall in love with.
Longterm meditation practitioners know and science has recently confirmed that the concentration in meditation wires your brain to become more absorbed in whatever it is that you're doing. This can be exercise, listening to someone speak or a work task.
Participants of corporate meditation programs widely report that meditation allows them to become much more absorbed in work functions while making less mistakes. Many also report that meditation makes it easier to give quality instructions and to follow instructions.
Corporate workplace politics is another arena which can become alleviated by meditation. Meditation increases the capacity for joy and feelings of wellbeing and extinguishes jealousy, crankiness, The Mondays and many aches and pains by plucking such things out by the root.
The ego does not like to feel unpleasant experience, including unconscious thoughts about ourselves that we do not wish to face. It suppresses the breath so that we can avoid facing all the ugly stuff that we need to face most. Meditation trains the mind to face ALL EXPERIENCE and increases the amount of experience the mind can consciously take in and integrate. In the longterm, contentment gradually arises along with a diminished desire to unconsciously control others. This means less resentment.
The equanimity resulting from meditation also leads to "bulletproofing" the mind. Meditate regularly for a few months or a few years and see how office politics effect you. Compared to the time before you began a meditation practice, petty quarrels do not cause you to react in ways that kill your productivity.
When you react to office politics with equanimity, it creates a chain reaction which contributes to peace within others, including those who are the source of office politics.
Stress is contagious and so is peace. Peace = Productivity.
Please also note that Peace is NOT equal to Passivity. That's a distinction for another article.
Meditation benefits all aspects of life within individuals and corporate environments. Therefore, I could write enclycopedic volumes on this, but I won't. Let's move on.
There are certain things to look for in a corporate meditation program. One is versatility.
As previously mentioned, the optimum object of focus for an individual depends on compatibility. Not every man should marry Madonna. Madonna is compatible with a very small subset of men. It is the same with meditation techniques. In corporate environments, employees must learn how to find a compatible meditation technique.
Surveys show that many people give up meditation within a few months. Most of these folks cite a lack of time. A solid corporate meditation program must address this.
Meditation is your natural state of mind when you are not resisting experience. There is always time to contribute to this state of mind. I usually recommend integration strategies for this purpose.
Muslims pray 5 times per day. Buddhists watch the stream of thought throughout the day without clinging to the thoughts or judging them. Christians may periodically take a few moments out of the day for prayer and perhaps scripture. These are integration strategies.
Everyone has "elevator time" - the 20 or so seconds that you are in an elevator waiting to reach your desired floor. Take that prayer break or try some yoga stretches which generate feeling in the body and contribute to peace. Try conscious diaphragmatic breathing and really check in with yourself. Do whatever you are compatible with that contributes even just a little bit to peace.
Integration strategies create a behind-the-scenes momentum of peace. Do these mini-meditations behind the scenes if you are in a corporate setting. Disappear into the bathroom if you have to. Little acts add up, even if you are not aware of immediate results. It may take a couple weeks, but the peace will creep up on you until meditation becomes much easier and much more natural.
Your productivity in all areas of life will soar if you use your elevator time wisely and take 30 second meditation and/or prayer breaks, whether at home or in a corporate environment.
Learn some office meditation techniques that you can practice in corporate environments at:
Office Meditation - 12 Meditation Techniques for the Office
The same surveys also show that many give up meditation citing "lack of self discipline" as the reason. A solid corporate meditation program should also address this.
If you find all the meditative activities that you are personally compatible with, you will be doing what you love doing anyway. Self discipline won't be an issue any more. The momentum from your integration strategy will also alleviate all self discipline issues.
Another top reason that people don't continue a solid meditation practice is the fact that, when you are meditating, you are facing your dark side. Sometimes meditation is blissful. Sometimes it is painful. It's hard to face your demons and heal them. Develop a solid integration strategy and a good warm up routine and your ability to face your demons gracefully will greatly increase. A solid corporate meditation program needs to train employees to overcome this hurdle.
Corporate environments are not usually set up to accomodate for meditation breaks, random outbreaks of stretching and the like. Some workplaces do, but this is not the norm - yet. I'll fix that. Don't worry.
Some corporate environments have "serenity rooms" for quiet contemplation. This is counter-intuitive for some, but it makes a lot of sense in terms of productivity. If you keep driving your car without stopping at a gas station, you'll run out of gas. It may cost you a lot more in repairs and towing if you don't stop and fuel up. This is the same situation with corporate meditation. If you are a manager, encourage those meditation breaks. Put up encouraging signs if that helps.
It is good to encourage corporate meditation because it's good for the employees. In return, the employees will reward you with better quality work and less burnout and resentment.
Tom Von Deck is an internationally available corporate meditation trainer, stress management speaker and author of Oceanic Mind - The Deeper Meditation Training Course and The Deeper Meditation Audio Course. The 400 minute long audio course is available as a corporate wellness gift package in bulk. It is also free with an onsite meditation seminar. All corporate meditation programs are compatible with your workplace schedule. Tom is also the founder of The Ultimate Stress Blog.
Visit his websites at
(corporate meditation programs)
and
Oceanic Mind - The Deeper Meditation Training Course
(book, audio)
More of Tom's articles on meditation:
Office Meditation: 12 Meditation Techniques for the Office
How to REALLY Go With the Flow
How to Meditate Deeply When You're Really Going Nuts
Meditation: 99 Cent Kindle Books
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Categories: Column: Tom Von Deck - Meditation, Meditation/Yoga/Relaxation Techniques, Relationships Institutional, Workplace Stress Management
