Spiritualiteit en meditasie in die besigheidswêreld

In die invloedryke Financial Times verskyn die onderstaande berig oor hoe meditasie en spiritualiteit al hoe meer aandag in die groot besigheidswêreld geniet.

Dit is opvallend hoedat die artikel fokus op die invloed van Oosterse meditasietegnieke op hierdie tendens.

Ek sou graag hieroor wou nadink vanuit 'n Christelike konteks. Ek kan my indink dat meditasie-tegnieke, ook wanneer dit nie regtig 'n godsdienstige karakter het nie (soos in die gevalle wat in die artikel genoem word), kan help om 'n mens rustig, kalm en vervuld te kan leef. Daardeur word 'n mens bedag om jou lewe in die rykste sin van die woord te leef.

Maar die Christelike geloof kan ook ver buite die kerk om, vir mense 'n sinvolle, ryk bestaan laat lei.

Dit besef ek onlangs terdeë: 

Die week kry ek in 'n moeilike situasie te doen met 'n mediese spesialis wat met my praat oor 'n belangrike besluit wat geneem moet word.

Dit is die derde keer dat ek met hom te doen het in 'n kwessie van twee dae. Elke keer weer is ek verwonderd oor sy kalmte. Maar hy is duidelik ook iemand wat 'n oor het vir ander. Hy luister, reageer versigtig, bly rustig en wek op die manier by 'n mens vertroue.

Terwyl ons praat oor die belangrike besluit wat geneem moet word, vra hy skielik uit die bloute vir my of ek gebid het oor die saak.

Dit is 'n terloopse vraag wat ek nie as opdringerig ervaar nie. 

Sedertdien bly dit by my: hierdie hoogs professionele en bekwame man wat soveel vertroue inboesem, is 'n gelowige mens wat op die regte tyd rustig en vrymoedig met sy pasiënte oor gebed kan praat. 

Spiritualiteit staan geskryf oor sy lewe.

En 'n mens kan sien: dit maak 'n verskil - ook aan die lewens van mense met wie hy te doen kry. 

Hier is die skakel na die artikel in die FT en onderaan is enkele paragrawe daaruit oorgeneem. 

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d9cb7940-ebea-11e1-985a-00144feab49a.html#ixzz24yGyZStN

The mind business

By David Gelles

Though the combination of mysticism and capitalism may seem incongruous, this interplay has found fertile ground at some of the best-known companies in the US and Europe. It is a mash-up of ancient insights and modern-day management theory, and it is happening at Target, Google and First Direct, among others. Today, in organisations large and small, eastern wisdom is changing western business.

These influences have been at work for decades. A generation exposed to “Beat” culture, hippies and eastern mysticism produced a flock of business leaders, including George and one Steve Jobs. Apple’s founder and former chief executive was a Zen Buddhist and spoke openly about how his time meditating in India shaped his world view and, ultimately, Apple’s product design.

25% of large US companies have now launched ‘stress-reduction’ initiatives

“If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is,” Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson. “If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there’s room to hear more subtle things – that’s when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before. It’s a discipline; you have to practise it.”

There are no reliable statistics on how many companies offer meditation in the workplace, but a quarter of large US employers have launched “stress reduction” initiatives, according to the HR and outsourcing consultancy Aon Hewitt, and that number is growing steadily.

Indeed, Silicon Valley is a hotbed for mindfulness at work. An annual conference called Wisdom 2.0 draws together thousands of spiritually minded technologists from, among others, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, who trade tips on how to stay calm in the digital age.

Aetna, one of the largest healthcare benefits companies in the US, began rolling out mindfulness and yoga programmes to its employees in 2010. The initiative was dreamed up by Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini, himself a meditator. After attracting 3,500 employees, Aetna this year began offering workplace meditation and yoga as a service it sells to customers. “Every morning I get up and I do my asana, pranayama, meditation and Vedic chanting before work,” Bertolini told Yoga Journal. “That’s my wellness programme. It’s helped me be more centred, more present.”

89% of General Mills senior executives said they had become better listeners as a result of ‘mindfulness’ training

Mindfulness can sound deceptively easy. Practitioners sit in a comfortable position, close their eyes and simply notice the physical sensations in their body and the swirling thoughts in their brain. Using moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness, the aim is to observe these sensations without reacting to them. By doing so, meditators gradually recognise the fleeting nature of sensations, including pain, anger and frustration. In time, this allows practitioners to quiet the mind. If it all works as intended, this results in individuals who are less agitated, more focused and easier to work with.

This may sound like New Age mumbo-jumbo, but a growing body of academic research provides a scientific explanation. Meditation is shown to reduce levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress. When cortisol levels drop, the mind grows calmer and gains the stability to become more focused. “Mindfulness is an idea whose time has come,” says Google’s Tan. “For a long time practitioners knew, but the science wasn’t there. Now the science has caught up.”

That the practice delivers consistent results has led to its popularity not only with spiritual seekers, but also with psychoanalysts, health and now business professionals. At General Mills, several hundred executives have taken part in the programme, which has gained national renown and is being exported to other multinational companies. But to understand how a company with $17bn in revenues underwent a spiritual revolution involves examining the personal transformation experienced by one General Mills employee – who in turn became the company’s de facto guru.

Other companies have found that such programmes can generate both health benefits and cost savings. Aetna, partnering with Duke University School of Medicine, found that one hour of yoga a week decreased stress levels in employees by a third, reducing healthcare costs by an average of $2,000 a year.

Mike Martiny, General Mills’ chief information officer, began practising with Marturano in 2007 on the recommendation of a team member. He continues to this day, sitting for 30 minutes to an hour, three to four times a week. Martiny says his meditation has enabled him to focus his attention more effectively. “The premise is to be open to what is happening right now,” he says. “There isn’t such a thing as multitasking. What people call multitasking is really shifting attention back and forth between activities very fast.” By choosing what to focus his attention on, and devoting himself to it fully, Martiny’s work has improved. Mindfulness practice has also helped Martiny become more present when spending time with his wife and four teenage children. “If I’m at family event and I’m looking at my phone, I might as well not be there,” he says. “It’s more honest to not be there.”