FYI – Companies That Meditate

I live in the Midwest.  We are not exactly known for blazing trails and setting trends.  However, some surprisingly conservative local companies are starting to take a look at a leading edge practice, formerly reserved for hippies, gurus, and a handful of super cool West Coast businesses.

Meditation might seem like the new kid on the block in corporate wellness, but many big US companies have been offering the practice to employees for years, and with some impressive results. 

No Surprises Here

Okay, so you’re not exactly shocked to hear Apple, Google and Facebook employees meditate.  I know, right?  Of course companies that provide playgrounds, shuttle service and sleep pods for their workers are going to encourage new age-y stuff like meditation and mindfulness training.  But what other heavy hitters have embraced the silence?

9 Big Companies That Encourage Meditation and Mindfulness

General Mills

Intel

Form Motor Company

Prentice Hall Publishing

Nike

Target

Proctor & Gamble

Aetna

JP Morgan

Fluff and Nonsense or Serious Brain Training?

“All that woo-woo mystical stuff is so retrograde. This is training the brain.”  - Kenneth Folk, meditation teacher, San Francisco.

With over 1,000 scientific papers in recent years to back up the benefits of meditation, mainstream researchers are singing its praises for stress relief and better mental clarity, and serious US companies are getting on board. 

Om My Goodness, Wall Street is Meditating

Think only wacky, hipster companies like Google are meditating?  Think again.

A recent article on CNN Money reports Wall Street companies are implementing meditation to reduce workplace stress and keep employees happy and productive.  It seems meditation has emerged from the shadowy corners of the new age movement, and stepped smack dab in the middle of the mainstream. 

“Meditation, contemplation -- it’s not just for monks and hermits. They’re really for people to improve all our lives and business,"  Daniel Loeb said recently in an American Enterprise Institute panel discussion.  Loeb is the billionaire founder of activist hedge-fund firm Third Point LLC, and a meditator.

Other noted, high-profile meditators include: Ray Dalio, billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, and Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corp.  Without a whole lot of analysis, one can glean a common thread amongst these folks - success.  

The corporate landscape is changing.  According to Harvard Business School, "The two most effective business tools for twenty-first century executives are meditation and intuition."  Innovative companies - the trendsetters and industry leaders - already know this, and they're creating cultures that reflect it.  

In business, the new in-thing is a quiet mind.

Learn to Shut Down Before You Crash

You're working along, hunched over your computer.  You're busy, too busy.  Stupid moving-target deadlines, ridiculous workload, and a couple of co-workers you could do without.  You open a new tab and, ugh!  Website won't load. 

"No!  No no no!  I do not have time for this!"  Click, click.  Esc. Esc.  Ctrl+Alt+Delete.  Nothing.  Frozen.  "Oh no, no way.  How many tabs do I have open?!  How many documents?!  Holy schniekies, dozens!  Have I saved my work?!  C'mon stupid computer!  C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

There's only one thing to do.

Shut it down.

Same goes for you.  Your system, like a computer, can only take so much.  The headaches, clinched jaws, sore shoulders and anxiety in your chest - all signs you need to shut down. If you keep pushing, you're going to crash.

Learn to meditate.  A few minutes of uninterrupted silence each day can help you shut down, reboot, and power back up at full functioning capacity. 

How to Change Your Negative, Frustrating, Suffocating Work Environment

In keeping with my intention to write short articles you will actually read, I’m going to cut to the chase, get to the point.  Brass  tacks, baby.  It’s very simple and here it is:

 

 

 

Change you and everything changes.

How does this work?  Empowerment. Begin by taking responsibility for every thought, word and action.   Decide you’re not going to be any level of a victim.  Stop blaming anyone for anything.  Stop listing all the reasons you’re unhappy.  Stop telling your story.  Stop gossiping.  Stop complaining.  Go to the inner – your inner – where intuition and inspiration reside.  Try learning to meditate, get some counseling, or practice mindfulness.  These steps will change your perspective – and that changes everything. 
 

When you change you, everything will change.  You will realize you are not a victim of circumstances, but a powerful creator of circumstances.  Your work environment will improve to suit you, or you will find a new work environment.

Change you and everything changes.