I share David Brendel’s concern about businesses jumping on the mindfulness bandwagon blindly. I’m more concerned about who companies hire to teach mindfulness; their credentials and their ability to adapt mindfulness practices to the workplace.
Here’s the article I’m referencing.
“Brendel’s biggest concern with mindfulness is that it can lead to avoidance in thinking through overwhelming situations and having difficult conversations. Instead of pushing through internal barriers to change thoughts and behavioral patterns, people accept them.”
This statement reflects a misunderstanding of the teaching. Acceptance means that in a moment, in a situation, we can accept what’s happening. Rather than resist or deny what’s happening, right here, right now, we can acknowledge what’s true.
This means we notice our feelings. We may feel anger, disappointment, sadness, or fear.
We notice our thoughts in a neutral way, just watching them pass through our minds like leaves floating down a stream. We can remind ourselves, they are only thoughts. They may or may not be the truth. We don’t have to believe everything we think.
We can observe what’s happening in our bodies. We may notice tightness in our muscles, a lump in our throats, or that we’re holding our breath. We’re observing all of this in a few moments.
You may be thinking, “why should I accept what’s happening when it seems wrong?”
We practice acceptance in the moment because if we resist it or fight it we are most likely going to cause ourselves more pain and problems.
Acceptance doesn’t mean we have to accept the unacceptable. It isn’t passive. It’s actually quite powerful. Being with ‘what is’, whether we like it or not, gives us space to solve the problem.
When we respond rather than react to a situation we become more able to see clearly. We give ourselves some time to think about what we’re going to say or consider the possible solutions.
When the time is right, either in a few minutes, days, weeks, or months, we trust we will know how to solve the problem. We create space for that “aha” moment to emerge.
