Minfulness

What is mindfulness? The technical term in the words of Buddha for mindfulness is ‘Sati’. The Buddha in the ‘Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṃ’ defines ‘Sati’ as being in the present moment in terms of kāyā (body), vedanā (feelings), citta (mind), and dhamma (thoughts).

(Note- it is difficult to find English equivalent words to explain the Pāli word).

We live in the age of multitasking. I interviewed 500 corporate executives to understand their take on mindfulness, and some insights.

• More than 90% said, that they talk on the phone while they eat (many a time they don’t even remember what they eat. Irony, the money that they earn is mainly for food, the rest of the things then follow).

• More than 70% said that they are on Bluetooth and complete office tasks while driving/ traveling.

• More than 95% said that if they are doing nothing/idle (not watching TV, taking, working, social media) they are wasting their valuable time. Doing something is productive and not doing something is not productive-this excludes sleep time.

• More than 80% were proud that they can easily multitask (the majority women).

• 90% felt that mindfulness is needed but an overrated concept. Practically it does not work.

• 85% felt that ‘it is almost impossible to still the mind’ and be in the present moment.

The irony is we do believe in concentration/ focus but find it difficult to still the mind (the key to concentration). So is mindfulness the need? Yes. So what are the benefits? It improves sales, more constructive ideas are generated, Improved decision-making and risk-taking ability, increased productivity and effectiveness, and increase in the time value of money.

Be mindful.

With gratitude

Dr. Sonali Wagle