Mechanisms of action of mindfulness as a prerequisite for mindful leadership

Abstract

The focus of any mindfulness practice is not the rational, cognitive grasp of the subject matter, but the experience through continuous meditative practice. The psychologist and neuroscientist Ulrich Ott describes five dimensions for this: The purely physical, material level (1) refers to the correct body position and the associated stable posture. The so-called vital level (2) makes breathing conscious and influences the biological regulatory processes. When breathing in, the heartbeat speeds up and when breathing out, it slows down. The emotional level (3) focuses on bodily sensations and the associated feelings, which are accepted and not evaluated. The mental level (4) focuses on the distanced and neutral perception of the restless mind and wants to bring it to rest. Finally, on the level of non-duality (5) the actual change of perspective takes place. The ego standing in the center is dissolved by the transcendence of subject and object. The ego we are familiar with in the form we have known it until now as the center of our experience and action temporarily ceases to exist.