My lodgings backed against the grand mosque at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia. The calls to prayer that rang through campus began and ended my days there, and punctuated them every few hours.
I was in the Middle East to provide workshops on social savvy for scientists. I was thrilled to be working with accomplished individuals from all over the globe, and knew my expertise would be welcomed. It might even be my contribution to modern science, since, heaven knows, I have no rightful place in a laboratory!
Yet the call to prayer stopped me in my tracks, and was the most compelling contribution the university made to me.
There I was, processing what I was going to say to my audiences, fussing over my materials, making a myriad mental notes to take it all in. Hearing the call reminded me to stop, get unplugged and connect with a silent teacher who would bring out the best I had to give.
Albert Einstein said: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
When we forget that gift, we cannot expect the way we treat others – or ourselves – to be as constructive as it should be.
We shoulder unreasonable deadlines, put in 14-hour days, and routinely skip lunch. We can’t sleep. Our necks hurt, our eyes hurt, our hands hurt, our shoulders hurt. We run out of physical, intellectual and emotional energy. As glorious as our technology is, it has become a leash that makes it impossible to separate what we do from who we are.
Yet it need not be so.
Meditation is like flossing our teeth. We all know it’s good for us and should be done daily. Usually, though, we tell ourselves we just do not have time.
And what, if anything, does meditation have to do with interpersonal skills and manners, much less business success?
The goal is to live in the moment, which is the only reality we know. That means clearing our heads of the noise, confusion and clutter that sends us back to our past or into the fantasy that is the future.
Athletes call it visualisation, which is a positive mental rehearsal of what they are about to do.
Whatever you wish to call it, meditation has as much to do with effective human performance as Shakespeare has to do with literature.
In his classic book, The Relaxation Response, Dr Herbert Benson proved meditation lowered blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels. Recent studies also found meditation relieved insomnia.
In his Harvard Business Review article, “You’re Working Too Hard”, Benson argues that by getting our minds off whatever problems we are trying to solve, we reboot our brains and ultimately arrive at longer-lasting solutions more easily.
That really is as simple as breathing. Take deep, relaxing breaths: inhale deeply through your nose, letting your abdomen expand like a balloon, allowing more space in your chest for inspired air; as you exhale slowly through your nose or mouth, let your abdomen deflate. You don’t have to exaggerate the inhalation or the exhalation; your body knows what to do.
Your mind will not stay blank. Rather than fighting thoughts, do not follow them. Let thoughts come and go, and keep returning to your breath. The goal here is to connect with your intuition, the sacred gift, as Einstein calls it, and not tether yourself to the rational mind, the faithful servant.
Resetting ourselves in a positive position merely requires closing our eyes, shutting out external stimuli and breathing. Meditation evokes a relaxed focus, not necessarily spiritually induced.
Meditation is merely the practice of being quiet, turning your attention inward and focusing your mind. Once we connect with our intuitive mind, we are able to put our thoughts to work making better choices that result in more effective behaviour.
So, you might wonder: what is our time investment here? It only takes a moment.
When I was in Saudi Arabia, one very accomplished scientist, overloaded by professional and family demands, allowed me to test the argument.
We set our smartphone timers for a minute. We closed our eyes and did some belly breathing. When the alarm rang, she was refreshed and better equipped to handle the immediate challenges ahead.
Can there be a greater return on investment for a single moment spent getting our brain rebooted?
Perhaps marshalling our personal technology is not quite the same as heeding the haunting call to prayer. Yet, for me at least, pausing thus is just as profound.
Try it.
Reuters
* Mitchell has written several books, most recently The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Modern Manners Fast-Track and Woofs to the Wise. She is the founder of executive training consultancy The Mitchell Organization (www.themitchellorganization.com).