SUPERMARKT presents a Mindfulness and Meditation Workshop on Monday 14 April, in collaboration with The Peace Revolution.
Life is increasingly busy. We go to sleep thinking about plans for the next day, while having lunch with a friend we’re texting someone else, as we exercise we prepare the argument we are going to make during our next team meeting. We might call this efficiency, but the downside is that the ‘now’ – the present moment – dissolves, and we function most of the time on auto-pilot without acknowledging our thoughts and feelings, and without enjoying the experiences of the present.
The pressure to succeed, the desire to be the best, the constant yearning for love, happiness and acceptance; we’ve all been confronted with and still we strive to achieve them though in reality it might be the quest for the impossible. The practice of mindfulness and meditation helps us become the best version of our selves, acknowledge and indulge in the most of the present moment.
Mindfulness, as defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, means “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” Welcoming mindfulness and meditation in your life implies boosting your happiness by practicing acceptance and letting go of negative emotions. By practicing acceptance of your experience during meditation, it becomes easier to accept whatever comes your way throughout the day.
Research has shown that mindfulness reduces stress, increases attention, creativity and productivity, develops self-awareness, improves sleep and lowers blood pressure. In daily life, this translates into being able to master your emotions even in the most challenging situations. In both professional and personal contexts, mindfulness helps you improve your leadership skills, build self-confidence and master the discussion by putting pertinent arguments on the table, in a positive and constructive way. Through the regular practice of mindfulness and meditation, inner joy builds in time on equanimity, defined as the evenness of mind especially under stress or when dealing with a difficult situation. What this means is that you will be able to feel joy without relying on external factors or empirical senses to produce pleasure or validation of the ego.
On a professional level, it means that you no longer perceive power, wealth and success as mandatory. Being set free of the desire to succeed does not mean that you are less focused or not as much eager to perform at your best. It just means that your intrinsic motivation prevails and helps you carry out your work of the desire to achieve great things and attain outstanding results not out of the need of external validation from your boss. A professional that performs exceptionally and doesn’t feel the need to compete and harm others on his way to success greatly inspires the ones around him.
Cultivating mindfulness makes one become more compassionate. At this point the focus shifts quickly from “me” to “we”. Being able to see the greater picture and integrate your work and your contribution in it without ego makes you a better and more compassionate leader. You become interested not only in the best outcome for you, but also in the impact that you have on the world and how it could contribute to the well-being of others. In summary, practicing mindfulness and meditation increases your intuition and reinforces your connection with your true potential. By gaining this clarity of thought, defining your life goals and the way to achieve them become much easier. Plus, you are happier along the way.
With this information to mindfulness, you are invited to a special workshop at SUPERMARKT on 14 April at 18:00, organised in collaboration with Peace Revolution. A Buddhist monk will lead the workshop and you will gain insight into how to enhance your creativity and productivity, work better, be more focused and develop better relationships on a personal and professional level. You will also have the opportunity to find out more about the scholarships Peace Revolution offers for two weeks mindfulness and meditation retreats in Thailand, Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Join the Mindfulness and Meditation Workshop at SUPERMARKT on Monday 14 April at 6pm. The number of places is limited, so please register your attendance on Eventbrite at http://bit.ly/1gukl53.