Be mindful at the edge

Mindfulness is a balance both internal and external. In our connected society today we are experiencing a massive amount of potential connection through the internet and unless we have the internal connection to support us we are like a tree with no roots that topples over in the storm. Growing inner connection is becoming a core trait in our society.

On May 21 2011 Jan Stewart and I organised Mindful - a one day event to explore mindfulness and the edge in the present day. It was a significant day that helped each participant discover new perspectives in a shared environment. We started with typical broadcast style talking and listening in a well lit space, and then progressed over the day through group discussions and then towards a pretty extreme form of openspace unconference in the dark labyrinth of an historic building.

Our definition of mindfulness was to be completely positive and in the present. There are obviously many stories around this topic and in the last few generations much of the detail has been complicated. We intended to transmit a simple message that wouldn't overwhelm, because this doesn't necessarily need to be complicated.

Before the full day happened we ran a series of smaller group events to try some ideas and develop the atmosphere for the day. We found that silent or guided sitting still meditation is not relevant to many people today, that so many younger people feel they need to grow their inner connection to survive in the world, that letting go is an individual practice that each of must eventually do independently and in our own way, and that there is a vibrant living aspect of all this that hasn't been captured in books or blogs but is available when people come together.

During the day a key element was to explore your own edge, whatever that is. This will be different for everyone as we are all developing along our own lines, yet it is important to have a collective element to that activity and not be purely trying to grow in isolation.

There were many diverse disciplines involved. The mindset we looked for is called many things in different industries. In business you might call it leadership, in sport peak performance, in meditation bursting into another dimension. These many words are describing a similar space that is at the edge of each line of development.

The challenge is to find your focus and then flow in that. 10,000 hours don't happen overnight. What you find when you reach the edge is that it keeps moving. Pete Williams described this well and on the day shared his experience of that happening in his own life.

Build your team and work with them to pull each other forward. When Jan and I were considering which set of speakers would be most relevant for the morning sessions we ended up having a few drinks with a retired Australian special forces soldier. He shared that the most powerful practice from his industry that he feels is completely missing from business is that after each mission his team would sit down and debrief and reflect on every piece of the mission. This might take a few hours so you would do it over a drink, and in the process you would figure out what you could have done better, unearth any subconscious issues a member may have that they are unaware of, and feed all of that feedback into the preparation for the next mission. When a soldier is not at war they are training - how often do you train vs perform in your industry?

Know what grounds you as you push your limits. Your family and close friends, a place perhaps like walking along a beach, an item like a compass to keep you pointed in the right direction. Whatever grounds you must be kept close. A strong tie that has integrity in the classic sense of the word. Going to your edge you will let go of many things, but don't let go of that which grounds you most or you will float away lost.

We grow our reach into the world and then through our experiences grow our inner roots to support us. When we have stronger roots we are then able to reach a little further, and this cycle repeats.

Be mindful of your growth and reflection cycles when you do things in the world.

This note was originally written in a cafe.