"[rather than a stress ball, meditation is] more like the Large Hadron Collider in that its a real tool for making some fundamental discoveries about the nature of the mind," Harris said. "And one of these discoveries is that the sense of self that we all carry around from day to day is an illusion. And cutting through that illusion I think is actually more important than stress reduction or any of the other conventional benefits that are accurately ascribed to mindfulness."
HOW THIS APPLIES TO BUSINESS
Even if this fundamental realization that the self as one usually understands it is simply an illusion - this profound awakening experience - would not be useful if it didnt have practical business applications. This may sound like a cold statement, but it is one of the benefits of looking at mindfulness as secular that we can ask ourselves, "Is this process and how it affects our bodies and minds ultimately going to help us on our journey through life, or will this experience be too much for us? Should we shelve it for another time when we dont have as much to worry about in this very secular word of ours?"
The answer, it can be seen through experience, is that there are huge benefits to undergoing a mindfulness practice. Even if someone doesnt "awaken" or "achieve enlightenment" the benefits are real and scientifically proven. A person who practices mindfulness is more aware than other people, and he or she can use this awareness to understand people better. Awareness is fundamentally a people skill, and no matter what technologies stand behind a hiring firm in the twenty-first century (there ought to be many, because we live in the age of complex networks that only a computer can fully compass) - we must finally rely upon the human experience of one person speaking with another in order to make the final call for the hire. This is the same as to say that no matter how much technology we have, at the end of the day, we still need to speak with other people. And these so-called "soft skills" are what make some businesses succeed while others fail.
WHAT MINDFULNESS DOES TO THE BODY
According to Peter Malinowski, a scientist whose research is compiled at the National Center for Biotechnology, mindfulness causes changes in the centers of the brain controlling attention and cognitive abilities. They also affect the parts that express discernment and behavior control. Using a technique that actually boosts these skills, managers and those in the business of doing interviews can actually enhance things they would normally rely upon to help them understand people.
Vague feelings about a potential hire that would otherwise lurk unexpressed in someones unconscious mind will become conscious and driven to the forefront when someone meditates enough. It is a way of slowly boosting ones ability to see through the multilayered and complex world of the mind and allow things to come to the surface and be examined. This of course includes impressions and subtle character traits that might otherwise be unseen - or seen but not fully noticed. Other times, someone might look inward and find that they have an interior bias that is built from perhaps fear or simply not knowing a lot about a certain group of people. This potentially dangerous bias (from a legal standpoint) can be addressed only when it becomes conscious. Some thoughts like this are too embarrassing for people to think about, and so they never rise to the level of consciousness. But meditation and awareness are like giant arrows that point directly to thoughts as they arise - they make even the most subtle, non-verbal idea, or even a feeling that has no idea behind it, become obvious and large in the mind.
This is most helpful for the business professional.
Reference: paganism-new-age.blogspot.com
