Imagine that you and your home, faith community and workplace are filled with efficiency, respect, and kindness. Imagine that there's enough silence so you can literally hear yourself think, and that when do you speak, others listen. When they speak, you listen.
Imagine that instead of insults or putdowns, there's lots of respectful humor. When you need to do something together, there is a minimum of ego, but a maximum amount of thoughtfulness and wisdom.
For people who practice mindfulness meditation, all these satisfying benefits are becoming the norm, not just for themselves, but in all their interactions with others. Some of the most dedicated practitioners of mindfulness are lawyers, judges and law professors who took up the practice of mindfulness because their jobs are so stressful.
Oakland attorney Doug Chermak has been practicing mindfulness meditation for about ten years, including while he was in law school. He now serves as the program director of the Law Program of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, http://www.contemplativemind.org/ one of many groups that promote mindfulness practices for people of any faith, any profession.
A really crucial benefit of mindfulness practice, Chermak says, is how mindfulness helps deal with stress. " I am as susceptible to stress and various external pressures as anyone is," he says, but "mindfulness helps me cultivate a space between stimulus and response. In that space I can see more options, including options that are more compassionate and effective."
Last summer Chermak was the coordinator of the first ever Mindful Lawyers Conference, http://www.mindfullawyerconference.org/ which was co-sponsored by several law schools and held at the University of California's Boalt School of Law. From beginning to end, the conference exhibited the ideals as imagined above: kindness, respect, listening, lots of laughter and more.
Though mindfulness is a Buddhist term, variations are in every religion, such as the various contemplative prayer practices of Christianity or the meditative practices so common in Hinduism. Also, people of all faiths practice mindfulness because it can be practiced in harmony with any faith.
The practice of mindfulness can be a powerful antidote to our noisy society. "Most of us move through life mindlessly, which is like living on an out of control treadmill," says Chermak. "If you just pay attention to simple things like the feel of a doorknob when you enter in a room, you are immediately more mindful."
If you're not familiar with mindfulness, begin experiencing it by stopping to reflect and be conscious of your breath and thoughts. Have compassion for yourself, especially when you have thoughts you'd normally brand as negative.
Keep breathing and noticing until your mind is clearer, and you feel most truly yourself, yet most connected to others. As you practice breathing and paying attention, your mind will let go of obsessive thoughts and racing mind chatter, so your mind begins to relax and open to new possibilities.
If you'd like to deepen your practice, here are some tips and resources:
1. Enjoy the various guided meditations at the resources section of the Mindful Lawyers Conference website. http://www.mindfullawyerconference.org/resources.htm#guided Adapt them as necessary for your life and work.
2. Chermak suggests starting with a commitment to pay attention to your breath for 5 minutes a day. It's not easy, he says; it takes practice.
3. In addition to practicing mindfulness alone, find a group for support and to practice mindful interactions. Chermak notes, "we are extraordinarily blessed with a plethora of such groups in the Bay Area."
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