Syst Pract Action Res (2010) 23:115125 DOI 10.

1007/s11213-009-9151-y ORIGINAL PAPER

The Practice of Mindfulness for Managers in the Marketplace

Published online: 2 September 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009

Abstract This paper explores the practice of mindfulness, both formal and informal, in the context of the systems sciences. The systems sciences have given great importance to scientic research, almost to the exclusion of intuitive/spiritual search. However, with the recent worldwide interest in intuitive/spiritual search in general, and mindfulness and mindfulness meditation in particular, the doors have opened for a more balanced combination of these two enterprises. This balanced approach will not only help us to know how and why things happen the way they do, but will also tell us something about how to manage our own selves, particularly in difcult times. Mindfulness, which is the opposite of mindlessness, is our capacity for awareness and for self-knowing. It can be further rened through the practice of mindfulness meditation. The practice of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation has rapidly spread around the world and in the mainstream of Western culture in the past thirty years, thanks in part to an increasing number of scientic and medical studies, proving its abundant benecial effects. Keywords Consciousness Management Meditation Mindfulness Perception Systemic thinking

Introduction One of the virtues of systemic thinking (coupled with its practice) lies in its ability to bridge many diverse disciplines. For instance, attempts have been made to connect intuitive/spiritual search with rational/scientic research to understand ourselves and the world we live in. These two human enterprises, the spiritual and the scientic, have existed forever and will continue to do so. Both proceed from the recognition of mystery, but from different angles. Scientic research tries to know the unknown, but this unknown (or mystery) is knowable. Spiritual search strives to cultivate a relationship with the
C. J. Khisty (&) Department of Civil Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Alumni Memorial Hall 211, 3201 South Dearborn Street, Chicago 606163793, IL, USA e-mail: [email protected]

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Unknown (or Mystery) but this Mystery is Unknowable. In essence, they both deal with mystery and the unknown (Ravindra 2008). Systems thinkers have dealt with this paradox of the knowable and the unknowable for some time now. However, partly because of the brilliance of our scientic and technological triumphs, we have dissociated ourselves from the spiritual world, sought outside for answers that can only be found within, denied the subjective and the sacred, and overlooked the latent capacities of mind. However, there exists within us, unexplored creative capacities, depths of psyche, and states of consciousness, undreamed of by most people (Walsh and Frances 1993). Fortunately, with the establishment of special interest groups in many of the systems science societies, an increasing number of systems thinkers are investigating new paradigms that recognize, what we may call, the inner technologies, for cultivating the untapped potential of the human mind. It is this potential of unifying the inner and outer technologies that Max Plank was referring to when he said: Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature because, in the nal analysis, we ourselves are part of nature, and, therefore, part of the mystery that we are trying to solve. (Weber 1986, p.8). One of the most basic forms of an inner technology which is gaining increasing acceptance in various professional elds in the West, particularly in management, is the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness, which is the opposite of mindlessness or forgetfulness, can be cultivated, with some effort to form a universal grammar of human psychology (Kabat-Zinn 1997). Mindfulness is the practice of constantly making an effort during ones daily activities to come back to, and be fully aware of, the present moment. This is what is termed as informal mindfulness practice. Informal mindfulness often leads to formal practice, generally known as mindfulness meditation, involving specic techniques to hold ones focus in the present moment over extended periods of time (Kabat-Zinn 1993). For the last two decades or more, millions of Americans have tried one form or another of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation. It has inltrated Western culture and many have incorporated it as part of their busy lives. Meditation is now a standard tool used in medicine, psychology, education, and self-development. In some respects, every method of meditation is like all others, like some others, and like no other. At its most universal level, all meditation systems are variations of a single process for transforming consciousness, says Daniel Goleman (1988, p. 102). My objective here is to explore the practice of mindfulness, both formal and informal. Since many papers on the theory and philosophy of mindfulness have already been written by systems scientists (see, for example, Fielden 2005; Csikszentmihalyi 1979; Langer 2000; Goodenough and Woodruff 2001; Senge et al. 2004; Midgley and Shen 2007), I will devote this paper especially to the practice of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation, a topic which has not been extended the importance it deserves.

Background The importance that spirituality has been given by systems scientists in the last decade suggests that something essential was not being addressed adequately in our society in the past. At this juncture in our history with our economy in shambles, facing its most severe test in nearly a century, millions of jobless workers, CEOs in handcuffs, morally bankrupt managers, environmental debacles by the scores, almost everybody in the world has been adversely affected. The combination of scientic research and spiritual search, not only

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helps us to know how and why things happen the way they do but also tells us something about our own selves. Not too long ago, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen Master and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, conducted a 10-day retreat specially tailored for law-enforcement ofcers, prison ofcials, and managers of every stripe. In the course of his talks he repeatedly pointed out that people responsible for managing others would be better off if they learned how to manage their own lives. To reinforce his message, Hanh told the story about a man and his horse. The rider is galloping at neck-break speed to keep an appointment. One of his friends, standing on the sidewalk shouts, Where are you going in such a hurry? and the rider yells, I dont really know, just ask the horse! This is also our story. We are all riding horses, we are in a hurry, we dont know where we are going, and we cannot stop. Hahn (1998) advises us that we have to learn the art of stoppingstopping our thinking, our habit energies, our forgetfulness, and the strong emotions that rule us. Most of us are at war with ourselves, and we could easily start a war with others. One of the values extremely rare in the West is the quality of stillness, says Jon KabatZinn, the Director of the Stress Reduction Center in Worcester. He points out that most of us are constantly engaged in doing and running on automatic pilot with little awareness of what we are doing. It doesnt require much effort to notice that very often we dont even know whos doing the doing. We are driven by the mind, by thought, by expectations, by fear, by greed, by wanting to get somewhere else. Naturally, if you want to be some place else, then you are never actually where you are, nor are you capable of dealing with the pressures and difculties that arise if your mind is inattentive and is not here (Salzberg and Kabat-Zinn 1997).

Mind, Consciousness, and Perception Before getting into the meat of this paper, I would like to introduce the reader to some of the subtleties of the mind and topics associated with it. The human mind is the realm of all our mental events. It can be dened as an entity that has the nature of experiencing things, such as joy, sorrow, suffering, emotion, and imagination. As such, the mind is the most important factor in determining the quality of our lives. Although we may talk of a world out there, in reality, the only world we can perceive and experience is in our own mind. But what is this thing we call mind that animates the body? We know that we must have a mind for we perceive a distinct difference between our present state and that of a corpse, which is simply matter, devoid of consciousness or mind. Is this mind our thoughts? But what happens if we stop thinkingdoes our mind disappear? What happens to all our feelings, emotions, desires, and aspirations? Where do they come from, how do they arise and where do they go? These are fascinating questions we ask from time to time. Unfortunately scientic research has not been able to answer many of these questions (Cianciossi 2003). However, the great wisdom traditions while emphasizing the practice of introspection, of looking deeply within, provide clues to some of these questions. This approach has led to deep insights into the real nature of mind. If we appreciate that the mind is the source of all that we create, then, we will recognize the importance of mindfulness. It is possible that through the practice of mindfulness we can empower ourselves by developing the mental qualities that allow us to shape our own destinies. The working of the mind is tricky. If we watch, just for a few moments, the antics of our own monkey mind, we will be astonished that our untrained mind resembles the monkey

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in the zoo, jumping around from swing to swing. Now, the practice of mindfulness meditation allows our monkey mind to slow down (Howard 2005). Another distinctive feature of mind is that it has the capacity to observe itself. Through the introspective properties of mind we can observe, for example, what specic thoughts are in our mind at a given moment, what kinds of intentions we have, and so on (Dalai Lama et al. 1991) Luhmann refers to this quality of mind as second-order cybernetics, aligning himself with the term observing systems in its double sense, which indicates that a system that observes can, at the same time, be observed (Moeller 2006). Mindfulness is a way of becoming the observer, the Witness of our own mind. This is also called observing the mind-stream. As observers, we generally observe in very limited ways, not even noticing something we are looking for that might be right under our nose and in front of our eyes. For instance, when I see a friend coming toward me, I am not really seeing my friend but instead I am seeing my thoughts and memories about him. But there are moments in everybodys life of pure perceiving that arise particularly in meditation practice, when perceiving unies the apparent subject and the apparent objectwhen subject and object dissolve into awareness (Kabat-Zinn 2005). To emphasize this point, Krishnamurti (1969) tells us about artists in the East who sit for hours in front of their subjects before picking up their paint-brush. For instance, its recorded that an artist who intended to paint a particular tree, sat in front of it for hours, till he totally identied himself with this tree or was one with the tree. This indicates that the observer and the observed were one; and in that state alone could the artist really draw the tree. Martin Buber writes about the fundamental attitude of relationships with the Other as an I/Thou or an I/It, depending on if the subject and object are one or separate, respectively (Buber 1970). Along with our minds and our perceptions, we also need to understand the nature of consciousness. We come across consciousness in our day-to-day lives and use it in everyday speech to describe being awake, aware, or responsive to the environment. An individuals consciousness is an enfoldment of many thoughts and perspectives over time, creating implicate patterns or relationships, according to David Bohm (1995). We also use the term self-awareness in relation to our thoughts, sensations, perceptions, moods and emotions. Can consciousness be directly observed? Does it need an objectsomething to be conscious of? Unfortunately, science, with its characteristic third-person, objective method of analysis has made strikingly little headway in this understanding. Science, depending heavily on knowledge derived through strictly empirical methods, cannot capture many aspects of reality as well as some of the key elements of consciousness. Much of the understanding of consciousness that we know today has been achieved through rst-person experiments done over many centuries and the results have been conrmed by thousands of people (including great meditators), as described by the great wisdom traditions of the East (Dalai Lama 2005). First-person descriptions provide a rich and essential source of insight into our conscious mental life. These descriptions of joy, pain, vision, memory, imagination etc., have a subjective side. In contrast, third-person descriptions concern the descriptive experiences associated with the study of other natural phenomena (Varela and Shear 1999).

The Practice of Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation Although there are many ways of practicing mindfulness and mindfulness meditation, I will describe two that can be easily learned. The rst is through informal mindfulness,

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briey mentioned in the introduction, and the second is through formal mindfulness or mindfulness meditation. Informal Mindfulness Mindfulness means to be truly present in the moment. For example, when you eat, you know that you are eating. For most of us, when we eat, we dont really know that we are eating, because our mind is elsewhere. In essence, mindfulness means to be fully present with whatever we are doing, says Hanh (2002). This is the reason why many of the worlds great wisdom traditions lay so much emphasis on practicing mindfulness, paying attention to the present moment, on being here and now. In fact, now is the point of intersection of time and eternity. Wittgenstein says, If we take eternity to mean not innite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present (Wittgenstein 1922, Proposition: 6.4311). In practice, one quickly realizes the difculty of staying in the present, the eternal now, in the face of the strong momentum of time and our lifestyle (Ravindra 2002). Mindfulness enables us to focus wholeheartedly and be present with whatever we are doing or experiencing moment by moment. It is the key to quality relationships, quality communications, intuition, creativity, and wisdom (Levy 1995) In recent years many American and European managers have shown increasing interest in integrating spirituality and management in their day- to-day work. Such integration provides them a source of enduring meaning in turbulent times. It is said that its possible to practice mindfulness right through the day, just by reminding ourselves whenever we can to be in the present moment. Although this may appear simple, in actuality the practice of mindfulness is anything but easy; it needs regular practice and plenty of patience. As mentioned before, we tend to live a good portion of our lives on automatic pilot, caught up in our own thoughts and feelings, our moods and our reactions to things, with little attention devoted to them. The quality of our attention is a key to the quality of our performance as well as a major factor in determining the quality of presence that we bring to our work. Mindfulness, a fundamental skill, provides a powerful alternative to the all too common practice of mindlessness that leads to so many problems and missed opportunities in our lives. It enables us to focus wholeheartedly and be present with whatever we are doing or experiencing moment by moment. Although mindfulness means to establish ourselves in the present moment, it does not mean that we cant think of the past and plan for the future. If we are really grounded in the present moment, and the future becomes the object of our mindfulness, we can look deeply at the future to see what we can do in the present moment for such a future to become possible. The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. When we bring past events to the present moment and make them the object of our mindfulness, it teaches us a lot. Probably, when we were part of those past events, we could not see them as clearly as we do now. With the practice of mindfulness, we develop new eyes (Hahn 2002). Formal Mindfulness Meditation Formal mindfulness meditation practice usually involves specic techniques to help keep ones focus on the present moment over an extended period of time. In many ways, all what has been noted under informal mindfulness applies equally to mindfulness

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meditation. It is an inner journey of introspection and training that involves both systematic mental exercises and a general meditative approach to ordinary life. There are two fundamental qualities that we need to cultivate in order to progress along this path: (a) calming concentration, and (b) insight or penetrative seeing. Calming Concentration (Shamatha in Sanskrit): In the ordinary course of events the mind has a tendency to be constantly distracted, rst to one thing, and then on to the next, always rushing ahead of the present moment, anticipating, evaluating.. The antidote to this is calming the mind through concentration by xing ones attention on a single object. This exercise aims at creating a mind that is stilled, calm and one-pointed. A principal technique for achieving this one-pointedness is through mindful breathing, in which one progressively concentrates on the sensation of the breath entering and leaving the body. When such concentration deepens and the minds turbulence dissipates the mind resembles a lakes surface on a windless day. A practitioner might have to work at this exercise in 1530-min sittings (and even longer, when the practitioner gets familiar with the technique), for many weeks and perhaps months, before attempting the second step, described below, of insight or penetrative seeing. Insight Meditation or Penetrative Seeing (Vipassana in Sanskrit): It is one thing to have a mind that is calm and controlled and able to focus without being distracted, which is the aim of calming concentration. But for the practitioner who seeks to advance beyond that, the answer is to gain deep insight and penetrative seeing into the nature of reality. The practice of insight begins at the point when calming concentration and mindfulness continues without lag for longer and longer periods of time, from a few minutes to longer periods, depending on the perseverance of the meditator. This point marks the beginning of a chain of insightthe mind observing and knowing itself, or second-order observing as described before (Goleman 1988). In Insight Meditation or Penetrative Seeing the emphasis is on discerning investigation and analysis while holding one-pointedness. A meditator may choose among many topics to focus on. One of them is the transient nature of our existence or impermanence. Impermanence is a worthy object of meditation, because even though we may understand it intellectually, we are not aware of its importance in our daily lives. Along with the phenomenon of impermanence, an understanding of emptiness (the idea that a permanent entity does not exist in any single phenomenon or being) is useful. Emptiness allows us to see the world as a realm of innite possibilities instead of a static system. Just like a piece of household furniture consists of wooden parts, and its wood is originally from a tree, and the tree depends on air, water, and soil, so is the world, lled with a wondrous interdependence that extends to our own mind and awareness. A combination of analysis and concentration on this topic brings the insight of life, and with it an appreciation of the preciousness of every moment of our existence (Dalai Lama 2005).

Practicing Sitting Meditation In the formal practice of sitting meditation, meditators sit quietly for periods of fteen to thirty minutes or longer. To derive the best results, it is important to practice sitting in a dignied position, in which ones head, neck, and back remain erect but not tense. Some choose to sit on straight-back chairs rather than cross-legged on the oor on cushions. In either case, the posture should reect an inner attitude of wakefulness and awareness (Kabat-Zinn 1993). Most practitioners choose to concentrate on the breaththe in-breath and out-breath. The great advantage of choosing ones breath as the object of concentration

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is that breathing is an instinctive and effortless activity, something that comes naturally as long as we live (Dalai Lama 2005). Follow your breath when you are inhaling and when you are exhaling, allowing everything else to fade into the background, as you continuously follow your breath mentally. When the mind drifts away to something else, gently bring the attention back to the breath. Continue training the mind in this way with patient and vigilant effort for the duration of the meditation period. In the early stages of your practice, you will nd that when you try to remain attentive to the breath, the mind will still be quite busy, thinking about one thing or another. However, you can sharpen your awareness if you continue to practice on a regular basis and make an effort to thin out the jungle of thoughts. The quality of meditation deepens as the internal chatter subsides and the awareness of breathing becomes increasingly clear to the mind. Eventually the mind embraces the breath as its sole object of attention. It is content and happy to experience each breath, savoring every peaceful moment as a timeless now. (Cianciossi 2003).

Benets of Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation Theres a popular poster I saw last month at the airport that said You cannot stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. In a subtle way this poster captures the essence of mindfulness and meditation practice by showing how we can derive the benets of meditation in our daily life. Meditation does not focus on holding our mind absolutely still, but it trains us to be present in each moment with awareness and a clear perception. Even when our day-to day life is not going smooth it can show us to live with as little attachment to the ups and downs of life. Meditation reduces tension, heals the body, and calms the mind. It teaches us to be where we are at the moment (Korrneld 2004). Over time, diligently practicing the deceptively simple yet daunting exercise of meditating and quietly tracking the minds movements reveals: First, that our desires and emotions tend to melt away like a mirage after they are appraised a couple of times; second, that our desires and emotions which initially appear to have validity are not only impermanent but are also interconnected and empty; and third, that the unity of what we call subject and object which arise simultaneously in each instant of perception are ontologically entwined, inseparable, and non-dualistic, the one incapable of existing without the other. Put in another way, the subject does not exist independent of an object (Johnson 2003). People who practice formal and informal mindfulness meditation regularly benet physically and mentally even after six to eight weeks. Most experience improvements in health-related attitudes and behaviors, and in the way they view themselves and the world. They report feeling more condent, assertive, and motivated to take better care of themselves and more condent of their ability to respond effectively in stressful circumstances. They also feel a greater sense of control over their lives, an increased willingness to look at stressful events as challenges rather than as threats, and a greater sense of meaning in life. Follow up studies indicate that a majority keep up their mindfulness practice in one way or another for years, and report continued benets. Many people often ask if there is a chance of failure or disappointment in taking up the practice of mindfulness. When you think about it, there is no way to fail, because you are not trying to get anywhere in the rst place. As long you are willing to breathe rightly as prescribed, you are practicing mindfulness. If you stay with it, you will no doubt notice that both the body and mind change for the better. In time, both mindfulness and concentration

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deepen, and with this deepening comes greater insight and sustained awareness (Kabat-Zinn 1993).

Reection on Mindfulness and Systemic Practice According to Ravindra (2002), all scientic inquiry assumes that the objects under investigation are essentially dead, that is, they have no interiority, no consciousness, and no intention of their own. As such, objects can be completely described in terms of external forces to which they react. Even modern psychology, as it has become progressively more scientic, eliminates any consideration of interiority, treating human beings like machines reacting to external stimuli. Also, systems theory, which claims to be holistic and nondual is really not so, at least not in the full sense, according to (Wilbur 1998). And, this observation is evidently true, considering the fact that very little attention was given in the past to spiritual systems or their attributes (Howard 2005). However, in recent years a change is sweeping over systems theorists, and some attempts are being made to address issues connected with spirituality and the inner technologies. In a cogent paper, written for the Handbook of Action Research (2001), Flood reinforces the need for systems thinkers to recognize the inner technologies. Flood writes that the vastness of interrelationships and emergence found in systems is beyond our ability to fully comprehend, according to complexity theory. Once this fact is realized, the spiritual dimension embracing the entire human experience is appreciated. Seeking absolute mastery over our lives, as science and technology purport to do, misses the point of wholeness and robs us of our human spirit. Flood writes, So, there is a need in every day living and at work to maintain a balance between mystery and mastery. It is through systemic thinking that we know of the unknowable. It is with action research that we learn and act meaningfully within the unknowable. Where these two arcs converge, we witness the incredible genesis of a conceptual universe that opens up otherwise unimaginable ways in which people may live their lives in a more meaningful and fullling manner. (Flood 2001). Earlier references to the inner technologies were made by Flood (1999a, b) in his book, Rethinking the Fifth Discipline: Learning Within the Unknowable (1999), as well as in his paper: Knowing of the Unknowable. Fitzgerald (1999) also addresses the topics of systems thinking, systems theory, organizational change, and chaos. He emphasizes the need for managers to comprehend the systems exteriority, its subtle interiority, and most importantly, the crucial relationship between them. Many managers who begin practicing mindfulness and mindfulness meditation often ask the question: Why bother taking up the practice of meditation when, even in its simplicity, its so challenging? This is a difcult question to answer, because whatever reason, objective, or purpose we come up with will be wrong by denition. In fact, doing it without any objectives in mind is the very best denition of meditation (Hagen 2007). Surprisingly, Checklands description of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), as compared with Hard Systems Methodology (HSM), presents an uncanny parallel to the practice of meditation (Checkland 1981). He says that in the case of HSM, an observer perceives a problem with a system which he can engineer by setting objectives to achieve his goal, whereas in the case of SSM, an observer perceives complexity and confusion in a problematic situation, but he can organize an exploration of this situation, as a learning system to improve the situation. There is no need to set up objectives (1999). In essence, in both SSM and in meditation, any reason for setting objectives (in advance) for achieving anything, is the wrong way to go.

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The Mindful Society and Systemic Thinking Fortunately, mindfulness practice is making inroads in many areas of Western culture, as a non-sectarian method of enhancing the lives of people, particularly in the managerial sectors of health and healing, care-giving, law-enforcement and prison, education, and organizational leadership (Miller 2008). For instance, in the last 25 years the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Heath Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts, Medical School, led by Kabat-Zinn, has developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) method. MBSR has been at the forefront in giving shape to courses that have taught thousands of people formal and informal meditation practice. This work has beneted hundreds of organizations consisting of mostly managerial personal. At the University of Wisconsin, the Mind and Life Institute, has since 1987 brought together world-renowned scientists, hosting several conferences across the world with the Dalai Lama, discussing the mysteries of consciousness. Perhaps the universitys best work has been done by Richard Davidson, who has shown that meditators can regulate their cerebral activity to attain more focus and composure, results which have proven of much value to management science, among other disciplines. Similarly, a number of care-giving organizations are nding that mindfulness practice helps their own workers renew their physical and mental energies. Instead of getting wrapped up in the intensity of their work and in all the tasks they must perform, mindfulness allows caregivers to identify their own needs in stressful situations. This is critical because it is impossible for caregivers and managers to look after others when they cant look after themselves. Mindfulness helps them stay in the present moment. How does mindfulness help us and our organizations perform better? With organizations facing global economic meltdown and a future that is increasingly uncertain and interdependent, CEOs and their managers face challenges that require them to use all their capabilities to remain calm under adverse circumstances. Yet, very few leaders have learned to cultivate the minds ability to be present, to be focused, to be less reactive, and to listen deeply. Fortunately, in recent years, as many as eighty vice presidents and directors of large corporations, such as General Mills, have participated in mindfulness programs ranging from a day to seven weeks, resulting in benets beyond their wildest dreams. Peter Senge and his colleagues at the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL), say that as long as our thinking is governed by industrial, machine age concepts, such as control, predictability, standardization, and faster is better, we will continue to create disharmony in the larger world. However, once organizations become aware of themselves as living systems, they can become a place for presencing of the whole. It is then that we will begin to appreciate presence as deep listening, of being open, beyond our preconceptions and historical ways of making sense. Senge reports that he and his colleagues realized, after interviewing scores of people, including systems thinkers, that the idea of presence, of being fully conscious and aware of the present moment (or mindfulness), is a practice that has been around for thousands of years, particularly in the East, and that this key idea of mindfulness could be applied with much success to organizations. They also realized that awareness and mindfulness is another dimension of reality that exists, that is substantial and enduring, and that can be accessed and put to good use (Senge et al. 2004).

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Concluding Remarks Our views of who we are, of our relationship to the world and to each other, have all been affected in far-reaching ways with the spectacular triumphs of science and technology. The result, however, has been a truncated vision of ourselves and of our world, because the subtler dimensions of life and its meaning have been viewed reductionistically, as mere epiphenomena of biological existence. As Huston Smith (1992) puts it, higher values such as spirituality, lifes meaning, purposes, and qualities, slip through science like the sea slips through the nets of shermen. In other words, science and technology have fostered worldviews that have disenchanted and diminished our views of the world, humankind, the mind, and spiritual experiences. Yet, since the past three decades or so, we have witnessed a partial turnaround where some connections between science and mysticism have been observed. This recognition is vital to the spiritual enterprise as well as to systems theory and practice (particularly if systems theory claims to be truly holistic). Science (including systems theory) doesnt need mysticism and mysticism doesnt need science; but human beings need both, and so does systems theory. Mystical experience is necessary to understand the deepest nature of life, and science is essential for humans to operate in the modern world. What we need, therefore, is not a synthesis but a dynamic interplay between mystical intuition and scientic rationality (Capra 1993). There is no question that living in todays world is complex, stressful, and confusing for almost everybody. But it is still a remarkable time in which to be alive and human. It also grants us an opportunity to engage in new methods to understand and manage ourselves (Anderson 2003). One method that has gained worldwide acceptance is the practice of mindfulness, both formal and informal. Paying attention to the present moment, on being here and now, is the guts of mindfulness. Millions of people who practice mindfulness on a regular basis, claim that they are able to see and observe the world more clearly, instead of being lost in the wanderings of their minds. We need a watchman named mindfulnessthe guard who is always on the lookout for when we get carried away by mindlessness. Like many mindbody techniques, mindfulness has been explored scientically, and the results are astounding (Dalai Lama 2005. The practice of formal and informal mindfulness can improve a range of physical and mental symptomsreduce pain, depression, anxiety; enhance feelings of trust and connectedness; and help motivate people to take better care of their health and wellbeing (Goldstein 2007). Managing ourselves through mindfulness, in essence, urges us to look at the world with new eyes and, on this note, I will let Plotinus, the Alexandrian philosopher of the third century of our era, have the nal word here. We must close our eyes And invoke a new manner of seeing A wakefulness that is the birthright of us all, Though few put it to use. (OBrien 1964)

References
Anderson W (2003) The next enlightenment. St. Martins Press, New York Bohm D (1995) Wholeness and the implicate order. Routledge, London Buber M (1970) I and Thou. Trans. Kaufmann, Scribner, New York

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