What could be more important than cultivating the minds of those human resources in your place of work? We put great emphasis in our society on what food we choose to put in our bodies and how much. There is much debate on how much exercise we should take for optimal fitness, to maintain youth, live longer. But how do we feed our minds? Our minds – which affect everything we think, feel, and therefore choose to do.

Look around at your colleagues, bosses and subordinates. How many of you are living your lives on autopilot? Surprised (relieved) that its February already, when it feels like Christmas has just passed? Or simply staggered that another deadline has arrived and where did the week go?

How many of us daydream, fantasize or worry our way through the day and then at the end of it wonder what we actually did?

If you can identify with any of this, then this is a sign that you are missing something. Yes, and that something missing is your life!

Mindfulness helps us to train our mind to notice when we become distracted and to re-focus on what is important at that time, whether it is a conversation with your boss, husband or child, a tricky report, or the pleasure of a meal. Mindfulness helps us to redirect attention back to the present moment so that we learn to live our lives more fully.

Mindfulness cannot be learnt from a book – in just the same way that you cannot get fit by watching fitness DVDs. Practice takes practice, and although you may never reach perfection (or nirvana) a certain amount of experimentation with the approaches that are introduced through mindfulness training, will help you feel more awake and open to the real opportunities in front of you.

Mindfulness helps us to redirect attention back to the present moment so that we learn to live our lives more fully.

All of us working within any organisation impinge on the other. Disgruntled, stressed, demotivated colleagues have a negative ripple effect, which can drag institutions down. The same spiral effect is true of happy motivated focused and compassionate colleagues. Work ceases to become so much of an effort despite the paradox of often working harder – but with increased flow and better relationships. Regardless of someone’s position in the hierarchy, if everyone is valued as an integral component of the work ethic, they will try harder, be more loyal, and be more likely to reach their potential – creating a successful environment whatever your business.

Even self employed or lone workers would benefit from mindfulness techniques to tap into the wealth of potential, to access inner resources, when there is often little feedback except for the infernal inner chatter – often non constructive and critical – of the ruminative mind.

Stress research has shown that one of the most severe causes of stress based illness, is to be at or near the bottom of the hierarchical rung, undervalued, and with no power to make changes within their sphere of work. Mindfulness in the workplace co-creates a culture of compassionate unity, which empowers people to respond skillfully to situations rather than to react habitually and often inappropriately. It helps people to wake up to their one life, and live fully in the moment.

Karen has had experience of working within a number of organisations, and has therefore observed the destructive force of stress in the workplace, particularly in organisations undergoing structural change, as has been the case recently in the recession, causing cutbacks and redundancies. Herself a casualty of redundancy, she witnessed and experienced at first hand the sometimes calamitous effects of badly managed change.

Change is a fact of life and one which can be managed skillfully. Adopting a mindful ethos holistically can mitigate how an organisation may respond to the challenges of change, and therefore steer successfully through the practical and emotional decision making minefield.

Karen will tailor bespoke mindfulness training whatever the size of your organisation. Working in groups without hierarchy is the optimum way to bring colleagues together to face common challenges and work together as a team.

Please contact Karen for a consultation on how she might best help your organisation.