Meditation Belongs to Us All

In this fast-paced, information-drenched world, our minds are often pulled in countless directions at once. This sense of constant activity and movement can make us feel unbalanced, disconnected from our work, our teams, our creativity and, fundamentally, from our own selves. As modern professionals, we all know the pivotal role that mindfulness and meditation can play in supporting our wellbeing and productivity. However, a pervasive myth continues to hinder many from trying these life-enhancing practices. I like to challenge the misconception that meditation is strictly an “Eastern” invention, an alien concept incongruous with Western lifestyles and working cultures. From the Abrahamic traditions to indigenous societies, the roots of meditation are in fact sprawling and diverse.

First, consider the three major religions outside the “Eastern” sphere— Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Within each, we find traditions of contemplative reflection that satisfy most definitions of meditation. The Islamic practice of dhikr involves repetition of divine names to align the mind toward a singular focus. Isaac, one of Judaism’s patriarchs, meditates in Genesis 24:63 to connect with the divine. Christianity too has a long history of contemplative traditions, a notable one being the practices performed by Teresa of ávila, a revered Catholic mystic.

At this juncture, you may wonder why meditation isn't practised more if its roots span cultures and religions. One reason could be its perceived inauthenticity. To many in the Western world, meditation feels foreign, even faddishly “other.” Thus, reiterating that meditation has roots within Western society places it squarely within the realms of the familiar and the authentic, rendering it more accessible.

Delving further back in time, we find numerous indigenous cultures worldwide utilising various forms of meditation. Anthropologist Erika Bourguignon discovered that of the 488 cultures she surveyed, "90 per centare reported to have one or more institutionalised, culturally patterned forms of altered states of consciousness.” Often, these practices facilitated relaxation, reflection, and a hypnotic immersion in the present moment. Indeed, the “liminal zone” in indigenous cultures – a strange in-between state embedded n many kinds of rites of passage and initiation – is typically a reflective and tranquil moment. Anthropologist Victor Turner, who studied the Ndembu people in modern day Zambia in great depth, calls this “the realm of primitive hypothesis, where there is a certain freedom to juggle with the factors of existence.” It is a space where initiates “are [startled] into thinking about objects, persons, relationships, and features of their environment they have hitherto taken for granted.” If that isn’t meditation, I don’t know what is.

The modern workplace demands innovation, productivity, and interpersonal harmony. These, in turn, require mental clarity, emotional balance, and self-awareness – phenomena fostered by meditation. As such, we should consider embracing meditation not as a trendy import but as an innate part of our heritage as human beings.

In a world where people are constantly looking for new strategies to gain that competitive edge, enhance creativity or better manage teams, this ancient mode of being we already own offers a surprising cache of advantages. Understanding that the seeds of meditation are rooted in our shared human history, and not just ensconced in Eastern traditions, makes it an even more relevant, legitimate and powerful tool in our contemporary professional arsenal.

Never forget that meditation belongs to all of us. It’s ours, and it’s yours.