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IOL Jobs / Advice & News / Realise Your Potential /
Be mindful of what's going on 
Donna Rachelson
10 February 2010 at 06h00
Mindfulness is a concept that involves living in the moment and paying full attention to your life.
Dina Oelofsen, lecturer in Mindfulness at the University of Stellenbosch says "If you are truly mindful, you see what is going on right now. Your eyes don't deceive you. Your thoughts do not fool you with clever rationalisations and you hear not only what people say, but what people mean.
"You listen to understand, not to confirm what you think is right. In short, you connect with here and now. "
What we really need now is mindful leaders. These are people who face reality without wavering. This takes courage and a whole lot of discipline.
Mindful leaders look deeply into the current state of themselves, their organisations, their people or their environment. They see the impact they are having on lives and life.
Oelofsen asks why so few people saw the growing black hole beneath the world economy before is started to gobble up households, banks and businesses?
She believes leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, analysts and average people were not paying attention to the signs. Most people did not see what was right in front of them because our minds are cunning.
It twists and turns facts. It does this for one main purpose: to make us feel safe and powerful.
Mindful leaders have the courage to see "what is" and to take accountability for the part they play in it. Before they can do this, however, they need the courage to admit that the mind is not dependable and objective as they thought it was.
To see through the layers of illusions what the mind creates is easier said than done says Oelofsen. To be able to do this, requires commitment to change one's thinking patterns and attitudes.
The challenge is embracing a new way of doing things. The good news is that the practices that will enable you to change this are truly simple. They do, however, need to be practiced with rigor, determination and daily discipline.
The simplicity of mindfulness practice is that you practice to notice that you breathe. Notice what you do and say. Notice what is happening around you, that you are here, now.
As your capacity to be present grows, your capacity to connect with reality develops.
Research has shown that mindfulness is one the most potent stress dissolving approaches. Additional benefits include: more peace and calm, greater effectiveness, access to more of one's resources and increased clarity.
Donna Rachelson is from the PQ Institute they will be hosting various sessions on "The Mindful Leader" by Dina Oelofsen in February. The sessions will create a new space for leaders to face their most critical challenges in a way that provides them with new sources of power and possibility.
To register for the Mindful Leader breakfast on February 17 or the Mindful Leader workshop February 18, contact vanessa@pqinstitute.co.za
Dina Oelofsen, lecturer in Mindfulness at the University of Stellenbosch says "If you are truly mindful, you see what is going on right now. Your eyes don't deceive you. Your thoughts do not fool you with clever rationalisations and you hear not only what people say, but what people mean.
"You listen to understand, not to confirm what you think is right. In short, you connect with here and now. "
What we really need now is mindful leaders. These are people who face reality without wavering. This takes courage and a whole lot of discipline.
Mindful leaders look deeply into the current state of themselves, their organisations, their people or their environment. They see the impact they are having on lives and life.
Oelofsen asks why so few people saw the growing black hole beneath the world economy before is started to gobble up households, banks and businesses?
She believes leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, analysts and average people were not paying attention to the signs. Most people did not see what was right in front of them because our minds are cunning.
It twists and turns facts. It does this for one main purpose: to make us feel safe and powerful.
Mindful leaders have the courage to see "what is" and to take accountability for the part they play in it. Before they can do this, however, they need the courage to admit that the mind is not dependable and objective as they thought it was.
To see through the layers of illusions what the mind creates is easier said than done says Oelofsen. To be able to do this, requires commitment to change one's thinking patterns and attitudes.
The challenge is embracing a new way of doing things. The good news is that the practices that will enable you to change this are truly simple. They do, however, need to be practiced with rigor, determination and daily discipline.
The simplicity of mindfulness practice is that you practice to notice that you breathe. Notice what you do and say. Notice what is happening around you, that you are here, now.
As your capacity to be present grows, your capacity to connect with reality develops.
Research has shown that mindfulness is one the most potent stress dissolving approaches. Additional benefits include: more peace and calm, greater effectiveness, access to more of one's resources and increased clarity.
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