This document discusses mindfulness and its benefits. It summarizes that mindfulness reduces rumination and stress, improves cognitive flexibility and creativity, and aids workplace effectiveness through increased emotional intelligence and productivity. Companies provide mindfulness training to employees to improve leadership and lower healthcare costs. Mindfulness involves being aware of the present moment in a non-judgmental way and responding to experiences with self-compassion. Practicing mindfulness can help people perform well under stress and pressure without negative emotions.

1. Mindfulness
- Effectiveness, Leadership, Happiness -
w/ allen weiss

2. Mindfulness Works
 Reduced rumination
 Stress reduction
 Less emotional reactivity
 Boosts to working memory
 Aids creativity
 More cognitive flexibility
http://www.mindfulexperience.org
http://biomind.usc.edu/
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/
http://www.wisebrain.org

3. Why Companies Provide
Mindfulness Training
• Improves workplace effectiveness, leadership,
and happiness through:
– More emotional intelligence
– Increased clarity of thinking
– More productive collaborations
– Lower health care costs

4. Documented by an
Explosion in Medical Research
Black, D.S. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions: An antidote to suffering in the context of
substance use, misuse, and addiction. Substance Use & Misuse, 49(5):487.

5. And It’s Very Popular Right Now

6. What If You Could…?
• Work in a crazy environment,
with deadlines looming…
• And have the motivation to
work towards goals and
achieve higher performance…
• But without stress, self-
judgment and anxiety?
• You can – with mindfulness!

7. What is Mindfulness?
Awake – knowing what is happening right
now

8. Are You Awake?
• Probably not! Mostly in the past or future
– Rehashing and rehearsing stories

9. What’s So Great About “Now”?

10. What is Mindfulness?
Awake – knowing what is happening right
now
Open – receptive and non-judgmental to your
experience
You heard it correctly…

11. Mindfulness Creates New Habits
• To balance out our human tendency to always
instantaneously react
• So you habitually “respond” instead of “react”
when necessary

12. What is Mindfulness?
Awake – knowing what is happening right
now
Open – allowing what is happening right now
to be – “letting be”
Kind – responding with self-compassion with
whatever arises

13. Let’s Practice Being Mindful

14. What is Mindfulness Again?
Awake – knowing what is happening right
now
Open – receptive and non-judgmental to your
experience
Kind – responding with self-compassion with
whatever arises

15. 3 Common Questions
 Do I need to be mindful 24x7?
– No, unless you are a monk
 Will mindfulness make me be a “doormat”
– No, with mindfulness you will make more skillful
decisions
 I’ve been practicing for 2 weeks now, and
things haven’t gotten better…what gives?
– Be patient – the way to practice is without
expectations

16. Mindfulness of Emotions
Why did she say that?
I’m a horrible person!
This is the story of my
life!

18. Mindfulness of Thinking
 We regard our thoughts as important!!!
– They take over our attention
– We believe they define who we are
– We get hooked into the content of our thoughts
• the stories they tell us
• the meaning they weave out of our experiences
Thought

19. Thoughts and Thinking
 In meditation, most thoughts
arise and pass away
- Like clouds in the sky
 When you find yourself jumping
on a “thought train”
- Turn your attention towards the
“process” -> thinking

21. Cultivating Kindness
with Purposeful Thoughts
• May I be free from [fear and anxiety]
• May I be deeply peaceful
• May I live my life with a sense of ease
• May I accept myself completely, just the way I
am

22. Thank you
e: allen@insightla.org