On another day, after nearly a year of pretrial motion practice and discovery in a “bet-the-company” case, my trial judge took the bench and announced that he was prepared to proceed with opening statements and the trial, and that he wished both sides to know that he had read 53 percent of our respective submissions and was prepared to proceed.

Thankfully, neither of the incidents described above occurred. But they could have. An often-cited Harvard University study from 2010 confirms that most of us are “off task,” i.e., not focused on what we are doing or supposed to be doing in the present moment about 46.7 percent of the time. This data is very impactful to me.

Perhaps one of the most valuable benefits from the study and practice of mindfulness that I have enjoyed is developing a greater awareness of when I am off task. I have found it immensely useful — and sometimes absolutely frightening — to be aware of when I am regretting the past or worrying about the future. Only with the enhanced awareness of when I am not in the present can I make an effort to return to the present — the only place I can make a difference and the place that contains all the data — free for the observation of it — that allows me to be more knowledgeable and powerful in advancing my mission. To be sure, while the mission may be my professional life and client service, it is equally as effective in my personal life and in my personal relationships. How many of our friends, family members, spouses, and partners wouldn’t appreciate our being more present and observant in our interactions and conversations with them.

For the “tough guy” and “tough gal” lawyers reading this who may reject the notion of studying and practicing mindfulness for fear that it is inconsistent with the “tough” image, try this: Many people, myself included, believe that knowledge is power. Knowledge is derived from data. I know that I am better at observing and collecting data when I am focused on the present. I believe that we lawyers can perform better in all of our endeavors — both personal and professional — if we collect and process data with a greater sense of awareness, and I

I was on a gurney in the hospital having been prepared for a major surgery. The surgeon, whom I had met only briefly before the procedure, greeted me and told me that I should feel completely comfortable because she was 53 percent present and feeling ready to perform my surgery.

The Return on Investment from My Study and Practice of Mindfulnessby Paul Steven Singerman

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believe that the study and practice of mindfulness allows me to do that. I would want my surgeon or the judge presiding over my client’s bet-the-company case to be completely present and focused on my cause, getting 100 percent of the available data — not 53 percent.

For those who remain skeptical about the performance-enhancing benefits of the study and practice of mindfulness, take just a few minutes to investigate the number of Fortune 100 companies in multiple sectors, including Aetna and Nike, which offer mindfulness training. Various branches of the U.S. military offer mindfulness training as well. So, too, does the Seattle Seahawks; NFL players are rarely accused of being “soft.” These companies and organizations are not offering mindfulness training to be nice; they are doing it to enhance the performance of their employees, soldiers, and players. They are doing it to enhance the return they are making on their investment of financial or human resources in their respective organizations.

In my few years of studying and practicing mindfulness, I have averted innumerable problems in my personal and professional life by increasing my awareness of data in the form of my own personal thoughts and feelings in the moment, data regarding my counter-party(ies) in an interaction, and data regarding the environment in which I find myself.

The study and practice of mindfulness has changed my life profoundly and for the better. I am grateful to my friends, former federal district court Judge Alan Gold and Professor Scott Rogers, for introducing me to the study and practice of mindfulness and to other thinkers and writers on mindfulness.

If I have succeeded in piquing your interest — even a little — then please invest the time to read this extraordinary edition of The Florida Bar Journal. I promise the return on that investment will be high. Then keep reading and start your own mindfulness practice. It will take work, and it truly will enhance your personal and professional performance.

To be sure, I have a very long way to go. The study and practice of mindfulness has made it easier for me to be aware of that, too.

Paul Steven Singerman is a partner in the Miami office of Berger Singerman LLP.

The Return on Investment from My Study and Practice of Mindfulness(continued)

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The Mindful Lawyer: Mindfulness Meditation andLaw PracticeThe Vermont Bar Journal - Summer 2007

Reprinted with permission of the author.

by J. Patton Hyman, Esq.

What is an article on meditation doing in a bar journal? Whyare mainstream firms and law schools offering classes inmeditation? What is meditation anyway, and what could itpossibly have to do with practicing law? This article will offeranswers to these questions—and if you wonder whether

meditation might enhance your legal practice, read on.

We will first look at the “remedial” aspect of meditation, the aspect mostfamiliar to the public at large: meditation as stress-buster or as a way ofmanaging the pressures of life. But beyond the salutary effect of “fixingwhat ails us,” meditation offers other benefits. We will explore howbecoming familiar with one’s mental patterns undermines ingrained habitsand strengthens our awareness. We will learn how recognizing our ownpatterns can help us deal with others and examine how the abilitiescultivated by meditation can benefit us—and our clients—in real-lifesituations.

Stress in Law Practice

It is common knowledge within the bar: the practice of law is stressful.Anecdotal evidence of this has been confirmed by empirical studies in whichdepression, substance abuse, domestic difficulties, and other stress-relatedsyndromes are shown to be significantly more common among lawyers thanin the population at large.1 We lawyers also know—although we may notexpress it as frequently— that the practice of law can be rewarding as well,professionally and personally. But the pervasiveness of stress in law practiceis probably underestimated, especially when it is associated only with“negative” situations. Losing a client is obviously stressful, but getting anew one introduces its own constellation of pressures: Will I please theclient? Do I have the staff to handle the volume of work? Will staff balk atthe increased workload? Will the client complain about our billings? Will wewin the case? These are all connected with issues of professional success,and living up to success is also stressful.

Outside the specific details and issues of law practice itself, employeerelations within law firms are often contentious, as may be the periodicnegotiations with our partners over the division of firm income, not tomention balancing the demands of a personal life with those of ourprofession. In short, we will never be free of stress; the question is how wemanage to live with it.

Responding to the pressures and opportunities of practice, for some timeprofessional organizations such as the Vermont Bar Association have offeredcounseling programs for attorneys. A more recent development inaddressing these issues is the use of mindfulness meditation, which, inaddition to being introduced to lawyers and law students,2 has also beenapplied in a variety of other activities, from medicine to golf to the GreenBerets.3

What is Meditation and Does It Matter?

Meditation has a fairly recent history in the Americas and Europe. What are

its nature and purpose? “Meditation” itself is a word with many meanings.In conventional usage it simply means contemplating a particular topic,considering it thoroughly. But meditation, as introduced into Westernsocieties during the past several decades, refers to a practice of mindtraining that is new to contemporary secular culture.

Although religious contemplatives, often in monastic settings, have longpracticed meditation,4 mindfulness meditation is essentially a non-religious(or religion-neutral) practice, in that it is a way of cultivating innate humanqualities. And even when we limit its meaning to mind training, the termstill covers a lot of different approaches, somewhat like the many differentkinds of “contracts” or “pleadings.”5

Mindfulness meditation has been described as “a friendly gesture towardourselves in which we take time simply to be.”6 It is a way of learning howto be present as a person, finding a ground of “being” from which “doing”may arise more clearly and effectively. The point is not to cultivate aparticular state of mind believed to be desirable, such as happiness orcontentment, although they may be byproducts; rather, the mindfulnesspractitioner simply sits with whatever arises in his or her mind. (Asmindfulness is most often practiced seated, it is often referred to as “sittingmeditation” or simply as “sitting.”)

By sitting in this way and observing mental events arising—whether asthoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, sense perceptions, or daydreams—the mindfulness practitioner becomes familiar with the contents of mind andtheir patterns.7 Deliberately boycotting the impulse to evaluate, change, orreject these contents, the practitioner learns to see them merely asphenomena that arise, dwell, and then pass away, much like scenerypassing by.

Observing these mental contents, meditators frequently report a repetitivequality to their thoughts, sometimes called habitual patterns, like a tapeloop or broken record; they also notice the inconsistent, helter-skeltercharacter of the mental contents, often described as discursiveness.Somewhat to their surprise, meditators at times find themselves indifferentto what was previously compelling, while on other occasions being agitatedby a thought that was previously reassuring. Noticing all this more clearlyusing mindfulness practice, we can begin to become familiar with the lay ofour mental and emotional landscape.

Meditation and Stress

Mindfulness provides a perspective that undermines the tendency to identifywith the contents of mind, to see the contents as oneself or an integral partof oneself. Such identification is a source of much of what we experience asstress, anxiety, fear, or other irritating or painful states.

Let’s pause here to consider why identifying with one’s thoughts might bestress-generating. In the simplest terms, seeing thoughts as a part of“myself” creates, almost as a reflex, a need to defend or justify the thought.After all, if the thought is “me” (or a valued part of “me”) and the thought isflawed, conflicted, or incoherent, then … well, you can see where the logicleads. In addition, constantly having to defend, justify, rationalize, orotherwise make sense of these mental contents requires continual effort,which is stressful.

But don’t take my word for it. Having made this assertion about identifyingwith thoughts, I would add that the traditional attitude to working with allsuch statements is inquisitiveness. In other words, such assertions areviewed, not as truths to be accepted and believed, but as hypotheses to betested empirically against one’s experience. And that is where mindfulnessmeditation comes in.

In sitting we see not only the thoughts, feelings, and other experiences thatarise, but also their implications: how one thought or feeling tends to leadto another, and how some thoughts lead to bodily tension and discomfort.Seeing that process motivates us to let go of the sense of identification andrelax with our experience (also known as our life). This perspective allowsus to shift from identifying with the content of our mental patterns toidentifying with awareness itself, although not in the sense of believing “Iam my awareness”—which could set up the same success/failure dynamic—but more like knowing when we have made it home.

This perspective inevitably begins to carry over into everyday life. After all,the mind we become familiar with while sitting is the same mind we livewith in our law practice, family situations, civic and charitable activities, andlife in general. There, as in formal meditation, thoughts and emotionsappear, remain for a while, and then dissolve (even if we try valiantly tohold on to them!). It becomes clear that mindfulness is not an otherworldlyattempt to escape from the vicissitudes of life but is directly relevant toworking with the events that occur there.

It’s not that mindfulness is a panacea, that once we’ve done it, all of thechallenges of life resolve into a blissful state; rather, it is analogous toworking out at the gym. Nobody goes to the gym believing that one sessionon the exercise machines will convert one’s physique into magazine-qualityform. We get in shape through diligent application, and this is no less truewith mindfulness meditation.

Beyond Stress Management

So far this article has described the remedial effects of meditation: theclearing or ameliorating of stress and other obstacles to effective andsatisfying functioning. But an even more significant consequence of sittingstill with oneself is recognizing a simple sense of presence, of just beinghere with whatever is going on (or not going on). In fact, this state is sosimple, so subtle, that we may not ever have noticed it, or may havesensed it only rarely. But in contrast to our jumble of thoughts andemotions, simple presence is consistent and reliable.

Mindfulness practitioners are advised to look at that presence, to notice itand see how it is always there, beneath all the mental activities with whichwe identify. By cutting through or letting go of our thoughts, opinions, andemotional baggage, we cultivate the ability to relax into that presence.

Two caveats. One is that meditation does not cause this sense of presence;instead, it is part of our equipment as human beings, innate rather thanacquired, and meditation is simply a tool for uncovering it. The other wasraised earlier: such statements as these are hypotheses for exploration, notarticles of belief.

Just as seeing the fickleness of our mind is useful in everyday life, presenceis also relevant to our life and our professional activities. Bringing presenceto our activities, we can see situations and people more clearly, without thedistortions and preconceptions of our habitual mental contents. We hearmore accurately what people say to us, pick up subtle clues, space out less,and notice more, all while remaining present with the task at hand. Suchclarity enhances our effectiveness as lawyers because we are seeing moreand ignoring— consciously or unconsciously—less.

Other People

So far this article has addressed how mindfulness meditation cultivatesawareness of one’s inner experience. But an obvious fact about law practiceis that it involves interaction with others. (Even Snoopy, in his attorneymanifestation, occasionally had to take calls from clients, although hedefinitely preferred the company of his law books.) Whether they areclients, opposing counsel, judges, office staff, court reporters, court clerks,

legal beat reporters, employees, or colleagues, the lawyer is constantlyrelating with other people.

Although dealing with others can be thought of as an outer experience,even there our inner experience is critical. We may have difficulty containingour irritation with a particular individual who “pushes our buttons.” Oneperson may arouse our suspicion, while another elicits our credulity. In suchcases, the habitual tendency of mind is to construct a story line about theother individual (“She enjoys trying to make it difficult for me” or “He’strying to make me look bad” or “He’s such a jerk”) and our relationship withthat person.

Normally, as we go about our business, our mind maintains a continuouscommentary about whatever we encounter, its implications for our cases orcareers, its significance for our personal happiness, a virtual soundtrack forour life. Writing this article I remembered a conversation I had whilepracticing law in Atlanta. Stan, a lawyer from another firm, having heardthat I was a meditator, asked about meditation as we waited in a conferenceroom. I mentioned learning to notice this “soundtrack” of thoughts. Thenext day Stan phoned to say that driving home from my office had been athoroughly frightening experience: he hadn’t realized how little he wasactually present, how unaware he was of his surroundings while navigatingrush hour traffic.

One congenial byproduct of sitting alone in meditation is the way it beginsto inform the parts of our life involving others. We recognize mental chatterfor what it is and let go of it. Letting go automatically brings us back to thesimple presence we have been cultivating in mindfulness practice, allowingour intelligence to function in our dealings with others, but without thedistortions of habitual mental patterns.

Another is that as we practice mindfulness and see how our own mindworks, we begin to perceive other people differently. Because ofexperiencing our own minds, when we observe others— their speediness,distractedness, and tense demeanor—we can see that they are subject tothe same kind of habitual patterns we are, even though the content isdifferent. We see the abrasive person in the office or across the bargainingtable, the person who won’t look us in the eye, the habitual schmoozer, in anew light. Realizing that on this basic level we are all quite alike, we mayeven feel natural sympathy for our adversaries. In this sense, compassion isa natural outgrowth of mindfulness.

Applying Mindfulness in Law Practice

As lawyers we take on many roles: advocate, negotiator, counselor,employer, public servant, legal analyst, transaction structurer, and others.Mindfulness meditation, while sharpening our intelligence and instincts andbroadening our perspective, does not prescribe particular behavior in anygiven role or function. Mindful lawyering is rather a matter of wakingourselves up to the situations we encounter.

A few examples illustrate the application of mindfulness to law practice. Thisis not an exhaustive examination, and the examples come mostly from theareas with which I am familiar, namely, transactional and estate planningpractices. But even if your practice is oriented differently from mine, theseexamples may spark some insights about how mindfulness might apply toyour situation.

Legal AnalysisLegal analysis is common to all kinds of practice. When drafting a contractor a brief, we have to know not only the legal rules but also their subtletiesand lacunae. But a lawyer who is uncomfortable (or worse) with theabsence of clear legal rules may “find” clarity (perhaps as a result of wishfulthinking or an excess of speediness) where there is none. Or the lawyer,attempting to ingratiate himself with a client or acting in haste, may lead

the client to believe that the case is stronger than the law supports.8

In retrospect these are somewhat obvious errors in judgment or analyticalability, and the reader may be thinking, “You don’t have to be a meditatorto avoid such pitfalls.” And that is true. But the mindfulness practitioner hasthe advantage of tools that may not be available to the untrained person. Inparticular, practitioners of mindfulness often develop a knack or feel fornoticing when mental patterns have taken on a momentum of their own.When that happens, the lawyer has received a clue to pause, slow down,and take another look.

Mental momentum may result from pride (the notion that a good lawyer isgoing to know the answer), fear (that the client won’t respect—or pay—youif you have to go to the books—again!), or some other impulse. Butwhatever the motivation, the meditation practitioner has enhanced thepotential for cutting that speed and doing better analysis.

Factfinder The lawyer is sometimes required to be a factfinder, because devising alegal strategy depends on having a clear knowledge of what the facts are,or can be proved to be. The mindfulness practitioner, knowing how to seethrough his or her own habitual patterns, hopes and fears—and thedistortions they introduce—has a more sophisticated view of how to relatewith information provided by a client or others.

A client can be confused and distort the “story” in a way that seems to beadvantageous. If a client is mistaken or even dishonest, the attorney whobrings a clear, empirical attitude to investigating the facts has a betterchance of not being misled, intentionally or negligently. (I understand thatthere may be situations in which a lawyer does not want to know the facts,but that is a different issue.) A lawyer with less mental static is also morelikely to develop a sensitive “humbug detector.”9

Unconscious preconceptions about our role as lawyers can also undermineour effectiveness. A sense of guilt or hesitation about being intimidating canlead the lawyer to fail to dig deeply enough into the client’s story,potentially missing a key point in the client’s case; likewise, an overlyaggressive stance can squelch the disclosure of facts. The task for themindful attorney is to drop the limiting roles that arise from a preconception(or identity) of either being the “tough-minded lawyer” or having a more“therapeutic” or “caring” relationship to the client. Mindfulness practice doesnot dictate the lawyer’s behavior but helps clarify the pushes and pulls ofthe situation by heightening the lawyer’s awareness. It is more of an artthan a science.

Counselor Helping clients make decisions is one of the most challenging and rewardingfunctions of the lawyer. Sometimes the course to be taken by the client isunclear, and a judgment call is required. At other times, the relative meritsof alternative approaches need to be sorted out and understood, so that theclient may make an informed choice.

Counseling usually occurs in a situation of uncertainty (otherwise it wouldhardly be needed), and uncertainty makes most people uneasy. Uneasinessor anxiety about a situation can unleash a storm of habitual mental patterns(sometimes called panic), but the mindfulness practitioner has, at least, thetools to see—and then cut through—those thoughts and emotions, andsimply be present. In this situation, presence is synonymous withdetachment, disinterestedness.

It is one of the apparent contradictions facing lawyers that we are bound torepresent our client zealously and at the same time bring professionaldetachment to any situation. As we most often get caught, or “attached,” byour habitual thought patterns, cultivating the ability to let go of them

creates a basis for a “de-tached” view of the client’s situation. This alsocreates the psychological space that allows the insights of one’s life andprofessional experience to inform the advice.

For a lawyer buffeted by habitual and discursive thoughts, the task will bemore difficult. As one lawyer/meditator told me:

One area in which I have noticed a change is in my capacity tolisten to clients and hear their needs with less interference from“my stuff.” This plays out in two ways. First, mindfulnessmeditation practice provides me with a means of staying“present” and focused with a client when my mind mightotherwise wander … Second, my practice makes me more awareof my habitual responses to fear, insecurity, anger, pride, andother feelings that inevitably arise in different client situations.The more I practice mindfulness meditation, the more often thereis a conscious moment between a feeling (e.g., subtle fear, anger,or eagerness to please) and my reaction to that feeling (e.g.,defensiveness or undue deference). That moment is anopportunity for me to choose how to react rather than reactingunconsciously and realizing five minutes later (or days later) thatmy advice and actions were skewed by, for example, anger atopposing counsel or my fear of disappointing a client.10

Negotiator A valuable negotiating skill that mindfulness practice facilitates is avoidingunnecessary resistance. Because the practitioner knows how he or she hasresponded to stimuli (such as aggressive statements by opposing counsel)by becoming rigid and inflexible, the mindful lawyer has a better sense ofhow not to produce that reaction in the opposite counsel or client. Whenthis competency is particularly refined, it can be successfully deployed, evenin situations where stakes are high and emotions intense.

By contrast, a negotiator adopting a hyper-aggressive, bullying approach,may sometimes carry the day, but will frequently find that stylecounterproductive. It is also a high-maintenance strategy that oftenproduces as much stress in the perpetrator as in the recipient.

The effective negotiator, not trapped in habitual thought patterns, is moreopen to possible solutions and is therefore more creative than one who hasa fixed strategy. Seeing the potential to accommodate both sides can be thedifference between being a “deal breaker” and a “deal maker.” Allowingspace in one’s state of mind produces an opening for insights that couldnever have shown themselves in a mind constantly awash in a flood ofthoughts. As a lawyer who practices in New York told me,

The legal profession generally promotes the idea of “winning at allcosts,” and of course vigorous representation of a client is how weearn our living. On the other hand, my meditation practice hasallowed me to expand my horizons beyond the narrow desires ofmy client, and I am able to better see what would satisfy theother party as well. With that insight, I’m often able torecommend to my client a way of solving a problem which allowsboth parties to leave the table with satisfaction. This is ultimatelya much less costly and more efficient way to solve problems thanwinner-takes-all litigation.11

Advocate The advocate—one who speaks on behalf of a client’s interests in a court,agency, or other public setting—also benefits from learning how to ride hisor her state of mind. Simply standing up to make an argument can breednervousness, anxiety, or fear, not unlike the musical or theatricalperformer’s stage fright. Because these states are so uncomfortable, wehave a tendency to generate all kinds of thoughts (the habitual patterns

spoken of earlier) to mask or pad the experience. (Again, don’t take myword for it.)

The ability to think on one’s feet requires equanimity and flexibility of mind;however, when challenged, this can be difficult. Some advocates, requiredto respond precisely and simply on the spot—but pinned down by a barrageof thinking—may fall back on “canned” arguments, which are often obviousand unconvincing. Others may just “freeze.”

Whatever one’s typical response, the advocate who can recognize the fear/reaction dynamic and, in particular, learns effective strategies for workingwith fear, brings a powerful tool for effective law practice. Mindfulnessteaches a specific approach to working with nervousness and fear,recognizing them before the “story” or other habitual response kicks in. Thepractitioner can also learn how not to shy away from the fear, but rather toappreciate the experience, turning it into a source of energy and alertnessinstead of an obstacle.

Dynamic Equanimity

In every situation, the conscientious lawyer strives for a high level ofeffectiveness. Some lawyers seem to have a natural genius for this, as did asenior partner who (whether he knew it or not) was my unofficial mentor inmy Atlanta firm. He was cultured and sophisticated, soft spoken, andpossessed of a whip-like business mind that could always recognize whatwas significant. He never talked about himself, always more interested inwhat he could learn about others, and was generous, cheerful, andcharming. And I am confident that he never meditated a day in his life. Yet,in retrospect, I see that many of the qualities that I so admired in thisgentleman are the qualities that mindfulness cultivates.

Cultivating detachment from one’s habitual mental “weather” not only helpsto deal with stress, but also to maintain a balanced disposition ortemperament. Not being undermined by buffeting thoughts and emotionalpatterns produces a more confident legal practitioner.

The ancient teachings about meditation speak of equanimity as a by-product of meditation. Although equanimity may seem more like a quality ofa monk or hermit than people engaged in busy daily lives, by engaging inmindfulness meditation the lawyer can bring equanimity into the challengesof legal practice. With detachment from mental patterning, the lawyer canride the energies of a situation, whether in negotiating a settlement, dealingwith the pressure of deadlines, or responding to the arguments ofadversaries.

Learning to Practice Mindfulness

Although practicing mindfulness is a method of learning to disengage fromour personal preconceptions, opinions, and habits, it is also a completelypersonal experience. As a result, it is beneficial to learn it from someonewho has a thorough background in the practice and is experienced talkingabout it with others. Learning mindfulness from a book, while better thannot learning it at all, is a limited approach.

We often hear propositions and points of view praised as “scientific” or“objective” and others disparaged as “anecdotal” or “subjective.” Whilescientific studies12 of the brain activity of meditators may encourage us toexplore mindfulness practice, it is ultimately our own subjective experience—at times perhaps supported by outside feedback—that is the ultimate testof its value. If mindfulness meditation enhances our ability to live andengage in law practice fully and effectively, please our clients, and enjoy amore cheerful relationship to the situations and people around us, that isthe test of its ultimate worth in cultivating effective—and rewarding—lawyering.

J. Patton Hyman is an attorney and development director of Tail of theTiger, Inc., an educational nonprofit presenting programs and retreatsapplying mindfulness meditation in connection with business, theprofessions, and the arts, in Barnet, Vermont.

1 Leonard L. Riskin has collected in impressive body of research in Leonard L. Riskin, TheContemplative Lawyer: On the Potential Contributions of Mindfulness Meditation to LawStudents, Lawyers, and their Clients, 7 Harv. Negot. L. Rev. 1, 8-17 (2002) and works citedtherein.

2 Id. at 3.

3 Id. at 3 – 7. See also, Joseph Parent, Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game (2002) andRichard Strozzi Heckler, In Search of the Warrior Spirit: Teaching Awareness Disciplines to theGreen Berets (1990).

4 See the Wikipedia entry for “Meditation,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation, whichdescribes numerous varieties of meditation, many associated with a particular religion andhaving a variety of objectives and techniques.

5 Riskin, supra note 1, at nn. 107-111 and works cited therein. See also B. Alan Wallace, TheAttention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (2006), John Kabat-Zinn, FullCatastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness(1990), and Mathieu Ricard, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill(2003).

6 Michael Carroll, Awake at Work 221 (2004) (emphasis added).

7 One of the Tibetan words for meditation is “gom,” which means “to become familiar with.”Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind into an Ally 40 (2003).

8 A classic example of the mechanism of cause and effect known in Eastern religions askarma. See Sakyong Mipham, Ruling Your World: Ancient Strategies for Modern Life 32(2005).

9 The more familiar contemporary term has been translated into the Victorian argot, as this isa family magazine.

10 E-mail message from Andrew Garth, Esq. (April 6, 2007) (on file with author).

11 E-mail message from Robert Chender, Esq. (April 7, 2007) (on file with author).

12 For a description of some of these studies, see Ricard, supra note 5, ch. 16.

For information about the Advisory Committee on the Judicial FamilyNetwork, please contact Judicial Services Program Manager Dean Hogan,Supreme Court of Ohio, 614.387.9467.

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As trusted advisors, lawyers are looked to for their ex-pertise and guidance. A key component of the skill set necessary for effective

lawyering is listening. Notwithstanding the importance of effective and ef!cient listening, it is rarely taught in law school. And, in practice, bad listening habits and practices are often modeled by senior law-yers. In a fast-paced, distracting (technol-ogy oppressed?), emotionally charged, and stressful profession, listening can be compromised. And because listening is largely an internal process, we may not even realize that we have become dis-tracted, or otherwise that our listening has become impaired. Listening is regarded as so consequential to the smooth "ow of commerce, relationships, and well-being that in recent months national periodicals such as the New York Times, Forbes, and the Wall Street Journal have written about and offered tips on effective listening.

Yet, even when one “knows” what to do to be a more effective listener, it can be challenging to do so in the middle of a heated conversation or when one is distracted. In many cases a prerequisite to “active,” “engaged,” and “effective” listening is a quality of self-awareness and resilience that allows one to remain present. As a growing number of lawyers are realizing, mindfulness practices can help to tone down some of the internal impediments to maintaining active and engaged listening.

We spoke with Paul Steven Singer-man—who has been discussing “mindful listening” with lawyers, judges, and law students for almost a decade—to more fully "esh out how mindful listening can

play a meaningful role in the life of a law-yer. Paul is co-chair of Berger Singerman LLP and is nationally recognized for his work in large and complex restructuring, insolvency, distressed business mergers and acquisitions, troubled loan work-outs, and bankruptcy-related litigation. Paul launched the !rm’s !rst mindfulness program more than six years ago with the goal of providing colleagues with a space and opportunity to learn how to enhance their data-gathering skills through height-ened self-awareness and to enhance their personal and professional performance and relationships. Paul frequently speaks and writes about mindfulness matters for lawyers and judges.GPSolo: Thank you, Paul, for taking the time to explore mindful listening with the readers of GPSolo. You have been sharing mindfulness with lawyers and judges for many years and were one of the !rst to discuss the importance of mindful listening. Of all the subjects you could focus on, why listening?

Singerman: I’ve been zeroing in on mind-ful listening in my professional life for three principal reasons. The !rst is that I believe that lawyers, speaking very generally, are poor listeners. Second, I believe that lawyers are under a dreadful misapprehension that they appear to be smarter when they are talking instead

of listening. And third, I believe that the legal profession has championed the no-tion that early interruption means that the interrupting lawyer is really smart and has already seized the point that her or his counterparty is attempting to make. I am convinced that these are unfortunate notions and habits that are counter-productive to the goals lawyers wish to achieve and, secondarily, not good manners.

GPSolo: What are the costs of being a poor listener?

Singerman: First, and I think most fun-damentally, when one is not engaged in mindful, active listening and certainly when one interrupts a counterparty, much of the data that the counterparty was willing to offer for the asking is potentially forever lost, or at least will take longer to obtain. If I’m interrupting my counterparty and the counterparty was comfortable sharing what really mattered, their comfort may be com-promised. Also, in an oral communica-tion, there are nuances. There are seeds planted to invite follow-up questions, little teasers in which the speaker is tak-ing a risk to see if the speaker’s counter-party—the putative listener—will pick up a subtlety and ask the next question. If the speaker is uncertain about whether a particular point is worthwhile to share,

MINDFULNESS IN ACTION

Being more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the midst of conversation can enrich the experience for everyone.

GPSOLO | May/June 201940

is appropriate to share, is safe to share, and the listener misses it, again we don’t know what data we could have obtained. And I don’t mean in this data-gathering model to suggest anything that’s gaming the system. To the contrary; I think that it’s actually contributing to a way of in-teracting and behaving with one another that, in all likelihood, would solve a lot of problems and be immensely more ef-!cient in communicating and exchang-ing data.

GPSolo: Thus far we have discussed the bene!ts of mindful listening. You also share with lawyers how mindful listen-ing can be its own mindfulness practice.

Singerman: Yes. A good example can be drawn from a basic mindfulness prac-tice where one establishes the breath as the object of attention. In this prac-tice, when attention wanders from the breath, and the mindful practitioner re-alizes this, she returns attention to the object. This can be helpful for steadying the mind, improving focus and con-centration, and regulating emotional reactivity. The key is noticing—the awareness of one’s mind wandering. With mindful listening, the object of one’s attention is the speaker and what she or he is saying. So that is the object of attention, and the mindful piece is the awareness brought to the experience of listening. Then, when the listener real-izes “Oh, I’m thinking about something else,” she becomes aware that the mind has dashed off and brings her attention back to listening. So, too, when the lis-tener begins to feel the pangs of agi-tation—for example, mounting anger or frustration, and with it the impulse to interrupt, talk louder, or end the conversation—she becomes aware of

the agitation, and, rather than act out on these impulses, she observes them. Many new to mindfulness find this to be counterintuitive, and, indeed, it takes practice. So it is helpful to practice traditional mindfulness exercises such as focusing attention on the breath to develop these skills in a less-provocative environment. And it can be very useful to practice “mindful listening” in the midst of conversation. In this way, it is both a means to an end (more effective

communication and outcomes) and an end unto itself (becoming more mind-fully aware).

GPSolo: Do you have a suggestion or instructions for a “mindful listening” exercise?

Singerman: Yes, an interesting exercise called “Do Not Interrupt” invites you to see if you can go for a chosen period of time without interrupting anyone. Let me begin by saying it’s not about get-ting it perfect, which is why it’s called a practice. I would start one’s journey with what may be an achievable goal. For example, “I’m going to endeavor not to interrupt during a conference call that I have scheduled this afternoon.” One call. See how it goes. I believe that the goal of not interrupting during a single communication, or a series of communi-cations, is going prove to be immensely harder than one !rst thinks. For most of us, interrupting is so chronic as to be unconscious, unre"ected upon, so natural. So target a conversation, target a conference call, target one meeting. In time, you may go a whole day. The key, however, is not merely to not interrupt, but to gather data during the moments of wanting to interrupt. In these moments, you can inquire how it feels to be aware

of the urge to interrupt, noting things you want to say, and even develop the ability to sit tight during such times and see what happens next. I submit to you that the discipline of the resistance to in-terrupting and working through it is no different from any other discipline and exercise. It takes a while to develop any skill, whether it’s driving a car, or riding a horse, or working out in the gym. And sometimes it’s not linear; it’s a process, and there is in my estimation a high like-lihood that consistently focusing on this awareness will result in the distraction of the resistance waning, and the bene!ts of not interrupting and gathering more and richer data will be profound.

GPSolo: In an article you wrote for the Florida Bar Journal on mindfulness, you referred to mindfulness practice as a form of data gathering—something you have already alluded to—and to the three buckets of data being (1) one’s self, (2) one’s counterparty, and (3) the environment. How does this connect to mindful listening?

Singerman: The !rst bucket, one’s self, is for me the foundation of every other mind-fulness practice. I know that sounds like a grand statement, but I think that’s right. My ability to mindfully gather data from my counterparties, which is the second bucket, or from the environment, the third bucket, is enhanced or impaired by the level of my own self-awareness. The less self-aware I am of my thoughts, my feelings, my body sensations in the mo-ment, the less accurate, rich, and robust will be my perception of the data being offered by my counterparty or the envi-ronment. Self-awareness is a !lter. The more self-aware I am, the purer the data is that I take in, and the more clearly I can perceive it. In contrast, the less self-aware I am, the more contaminated, the more imperfect, the less complete the data I take in. And the decisions I make are directly dependent on the data I gather. Through the “Do Not Interrupt” practice, you become aware, very quickly, of a lot of data about the !rst bucket—yourself—and by becoming more skillful at being aware, observing, and, ultimately being less reactive, greater self-awareness arises and with it greater capacity to listen more

Data can be lost

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engaged in mindful,

active listening.

PUBLISHED IN GPSOLO, VOLUME 36, NUMBER 3, MAY/JUNE 2019 © 2019 BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS INFORMATION OR ANY PORTION THEREOF MAY NOT BE COPIED OR DISSEMINATED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS OR STORED IN AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE OR RETRIEVAL SYSTEM WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION.

PUBLISHED IN GPSOLO, VOLUME 36, NUMBER 3, MAY/JUNE 2019 © 2019 BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS INFORMATION OR ANY PORTION THEREOF MAY NOT BE COPIED OR DISSEMINATED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS OR STORED IN AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE OR RETRIEVAL SYSTEM WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION.

GPSOLO | ambar.org/gpsolomag 41

deeply to another and establish in their estimation that you are, indeed, listening such that they feel heard. That can be a game changer.

GPSolo: Some believe that practicing mindfulness is about clearing the mind of all thoughts or to not feel unpleasant emotions.

Singerman: I certainly do not believe that an end product of the study and practice of mindfulness is to forever dispatch un-wanted thoughts, feelings, or sensations in the moment. I would submit to you that that’s impossible. I think that the goal is to have the awareness, be it of a thought, a feeling, a sensation that may be impacting the way I am receiving data. Frequently, it is an agitating experience that prompts me to react by interrupting or to begin formulating my next ques-tion—in which my listening has dropped signi!cantly—and the great bene!t in that moment is that I do not interrupt. One of the disciplinary tools that I use, which I don’t think is terribly common among lawyers in the business setting, is sharing with my counterparty some of these thoughts, feelings, and emo-tions—to explicitly put them out there in an effort to help dispatch them, to acknowledge them and come back to the subject of discussion. That said, I think it takes a good deal of authentic-ity and a willingness (and courage) to be vulnerable to do so—but it can make all the difference. In all likelihood your counterparty is having a similar experi-ence. But it calls for awareness of one’s experience to develop the skills to effec-tively communicate amid such challeng-ing moments, to even take a considered step in this direction, and mindfulness practices help develop this capacity. It should be no surprise that this is useful in one’s personal life as well.

GPSolo: How long did it take for you to detect any bene!ts or changes after you began to practice mindfulness—and mindful listening?

Singerman: I noticed profound changes nearly immediately. Now what does that mean? Does that mean I was instanta-neously a better listener? No. I think the most profound realization was how dreadful my listening practices had been

before, how much I interrupted uncon-sciously, unmindfully, and with it a sense of regret for what I had missed along the way. I think this is an ongoing journey for me. I hope that I can continue to make net progress. It’s not always linear. I have interactions with others in which I kick myself when I re"ect on having been a sub-optimal listener. Did I miss X, Y, or Z? How can I have participated in that conversation and feel uncertainty now about a point that is as potentially important as this one? It’s a journey. It’s a process.

GPSolo: A little earlier when offering the “Do Not Interrupt” practice, you said it was not about being perfect. Lawyers do tend toward perfectionism.

Singerman: Seeking perfection may be one of the biggest distractions of all. In my life and in our law !rm we’ve identified a core value of continuous improvement. I’m much more comfort-able talking about a goal of continuous improvement than I am of perfection because I’m not sure I understand the connection between perfection and the human condition generally. And way beyond the scope of mindful listening, but I think squarely within the scope of enhancing our performance in all we do, I think that there is a role for being kind to ourselves and forgiving ourselves when we miss the mark. And I believe this notion of perfection, this theory of something called perfection, can be a cruel taskmaster.

GPSolo: Recently you’ve begun to discuss how mindfulness practice can help to “control the future.” Might you elaborate, as this sounds a bit too good to be true.

Singerman: Yes, I know it sounds grand, but in this thinking I am doing about this subject I can see direct and profound bene!ts. It goes like this: If, as a result of mindful listening, I am better able to understand my counterparty’s point and I haven’t interrupted and missed crucial data by not being fully engaged in receiv-ing the data and getting it wrong, I for-bear from next comments or actions that could take my life and the subject matter of the discussion in an unnecessary, inef-!cient, or even injurious direction. In this way, I’ve controlled the future by

not having to spend time later !xing the problem that might have been avoided in the !rst instance.

GPSolo: Any closing comments?Singerman: I !nd that I fare better in my personal and professional life when I am mindfully listening and gathering data about myself and others. I’m re-minded of when we shared with our children how beneficial it can be to refrain from making major decisions when you’re tired, dirty, or hungry. Now, how do I connect those dots? With awareness. The awareness of fa-tigue or being tired, the awareness of being hungry or out of sorts, or being dirty and uncomfortable, is closely con-nected to an awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. And so in my personal life, a decision to defer ex-ecuting because of an awareness of some thought, feeling, or sensation that may impair judgment is huge. Secondarily, in my dealing with friends, my wife, our daughters, I am aware, for a very long time regrettably, before I began my study and practice of mindfulness, that I wasn’t being respectful, I wasn’t being present and doing all I could to give my counterparties, my family, my friends, my colleagues at work, the at-tention that they deserved by being less than a mindful listener, by thinking I could multi-task, by not turning around and listening to them, by not sometimes saying, “I want to give you my full at-tention, but I can’t do that right now. This is important for me. Can we talk at a different time?” And I think that it’s improved the communication "ow with my family members, friends, and colleagues, and they’ve appreciated the respect even when the request is to speak at a different time. To adopt in practice and study the discipline of mindful listening doesn’t mean that every counterparty controls the calen-dar and agenda of the listener’s day. It doesn’t mean that I have to accept the schedule of my counterparty and drop everything to focus on the counterparty at that moment. And one of the tools of mindful listening can be a clear commu-nication about when one is not capable of showing up to mindfully listen. Q

PUBLISHED IN GPSOLO, VOLUME 36, NUMBER 3, MAY/JUNE 2019 © 2019 BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS INFORMATION OR ANY PORTION THEREOF MAY NOT BE COPIED OR DISSEMINATED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS OR STORED IN AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE OR RETRIEVAL SYSTEM WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION.

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ACG PERSPECTIVES | 35

ARE YOU LISTENING?You’re probably a pretty good listener. One way to assess this is to re!ect on how o"en you interrupt a patient a"er you have asked, “Tell me what brings you in today?” To be better than average, research on physician communication skills suggests you’d want to let more than 11 seconds pass before interrupting. But if you are genuinely interested in listening to your patient, gathering information, wanting the patient to feel heard, and understanding better why you interrupt in the #rst place, "mindful listening" may be just what the patient ordered.

$is article explores mindful listening, an accessible mindfulness practice that may meaningfully improve your quality of life, personally and professionally. Given the robust treatment of mindfulness in popular culture, you’ve most likely heard of mindfulness and of the psychological, cognitive and physical bene#ts associated with engaging in mindfulness practices. You may even have attended a presentation or been guided in a short mindfulness exercise to help manage stress, reduce burnout or be more at ease amid moments of uncertainty. Here, we o%er guidance on how to incorporate a practical mindfulness practice into your day. We decided to address mindful listening because it is a useful tool to improve listening and to help deepen the physician-patient relationship, and it serves as an important mindfulness practice unto itself.

MINDFUL LISTENING$e practice of mindful listening invites you to direct your attention inward to the thoughts, feelings and body sensations that arise when you are engaged in conversation, and to become more skillful at attending to them, rather than impulsively reacting by, for example, interrupting. Beneath the surface, our thoughts readily move into past and future—even while talking with someone—and such mental time travel can adversely in!uence our beliefs, mood and levels of stress, o"en without our realizing it. !

MINDFULNESS

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MEDICINE:The Healing Capacity of Genuine ListeningScott L. Rogers, JD, MA, University of Miami School of Law and Arvey I. Rogers, MD, MACG

36 | GI.ORG/ACGMAGAZINE

// ACG PERSPECTIVES

sitting for !ve to 30 minutes, resting attention on the breath, and when mind wandering is detected, returning attention to the breath. We strongly advocate this practice, which in many ways is a form of mindful listening. For if you pay close attention, you will “listen” to yourself and, as you do, you will be less likely to interrupt what may be the most interesting and important thing you have to say.

When listening, attention is usually directed outward. Whether we are aware of it or not, our inner experience o"en in#uences our decision-making and conduct, yet we tend not to notice these vital signals or know what to do with them. For example, a patient begins to share his or her fears about a procedure, and we interrupt to reassure them that things will be okay. If we paid closer attention, we might notice the arising of feeling anxious, body sensations of tension in the chest, and thoughts like “they need” to have the procedure or “I don’t have time for this.” But interrupting, no matter how well intended, tends not to be the most e$ective response. It’s simply the response that is triggered most immediately—and o"en without our being aware—as a way to quell the agitation we are feeling, be it frustration, anger, worry or even boredom. It is a superpower to be able to truly listen, especially when feeling stressed or when the emotional content of an issue is intense, and still be able to maintain a steady state. Notably, there are certain times when interrupting is appropriate, and it is helpful to be able to discern the di$erence. Mindful listening facilitates this discernment and establishes a foundation for doing so in a more e$ective, more empathic, less reactive way.

“DO NOT INTERRUPT”%e following mindful listening exercise can improve your listening skills and, if you pay attention while practicing it, deepen your understanding of mindfulness and help you live a more mindful life. %e instruction is to go an entire day without interrupting anyone, be it a colleague, family member or patient. While you likely will !nd it extremely challenging, it is the very moments of challenge from which you can learn the most. When you catch yourself about to interrupt, turn your attention inward and, rather than interrupt, “observe” your thoughts, feelings and body sensations. %is can feel uncomfortable, and you may !nd it helpful to steady yourself with a few slower, deeper breaths. It is likely that, at !rst, you will not be able to go a whole day. But as you develop your ability to catch yourself about to interrupt and, informed by that moment of awareness, observe the agitation that is crying out for you to interrupt, you will become better equipped to sustain your attention and engagement, and genuinely listen. Importantly, try not to “white knuckle” it, meaning that the instruction is not to clench your teeth and !ght the urge to interrupt until you detect an opening to jump in. Rather, it is an open invitation to practice patience, to genuinely listen, to gather more data, and to demonstrate a show of respect for another human being, as well as yourself. As Sir William Osler reminds us, “Just listen to your patient; she is telling you the diagnosis.”

ARE YOU STILL LISTENING?As mindfulness carves a deeper niche into medicine, more will be learned about its bene!ts and the various ways it can be practiced. We believe that mindful listening is a powerful mindfulness practice, o"en confused with the admonition to “listen” and “pay attention,” skills that are assumed but rarely taught. We hope you !nd the “Do Not Interrupt” practice helpful for becoming a more e$ective listener, while at the same time o$ering you insight into why you may interrupt in the !rst place. Many articles on mindfulness address the importance of establishing a daily mindfulness practice, which can consist of

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Photo Top: Scott Rogers and his father, ACG Past President Dr. Arvey Rogers. Photo courtesy of Dr. Rogers.

RESOURCES

" Epstein RM., “Mindful practice.” JAMA. 1999;282(9):833-839.

" Jaret, P., “The medicine of the moment,” Mindful (March 19, 2018). See mindful.org/the-medicine-of-the-moment.

" Joshi, N., Doctor, shut up and listen, New York Times (Jan. 24, 2015). See nytimes.com/2015/01/05/opinion/doctor-shut-up-and-listen.html.

" Krasner, M., et. al., “Association of an educational program in mindful communication with burnout, empathy, and attitudes among primary care physicians,” JAMA. 2009;302(12):1284-1293.

" Mind Tools, “Developing awareness to listen fully.” See mindtools.com/pages/article/mindful-listening.htm.

" Phillips KA, Ospina NS. “Physicians interrupting patients,” JAMA. 2017;318(1):93–94. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.6493. See jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2635621.

" Rogers, A., “The listening art,” The Pharios (Summer 2016).

" Rogers, S., “Attending: A physician’s introduction to mindfulness “(Mindful Living Press CD: 2009).

" Rogers, S., “The Elements of mindfulness,” (2018). " Singerman, P., “The return on investment from

my study and practice of mindfulness,” 90(4) Fla. B. J. 26 (2016)

" Yee, B., “How long you can talk before your doctor interrupts you?” Forbes (July 22, 2018). See forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2018/07/22/how-long-you-can-talk-before-your-doctor-interrupts-you/#3f4a32f31443.

" Apps: Insight Timer, Head Space, 10% Happier, Calm, Waking Up.

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Copyright 2007. Scott L. Rogers. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted from "Mindfulness, Balance & The Lawyer's Brain" For permission to use, contact Scott Rogers at srogers@law.miami.edu.

Copyright 2007. Scott Rogers. All rights reserved.

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A Simple Mindful GratitudeExerciseScience suggests that expressing true gratitude boosts your healthand spreads happiness. Here are a few simple exercises to help youbuild your capacity for gratitude.

BY STEPHANIE DOMET | NOVEMBER 13, 2018 | MEDITATION

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We say “thanks” a dozen or more times a day: when someone holds a door open,bags our groceries, puts a report on our desk. It’s a reflex, an almost knee-jerkreaction to simple daily transactions. We mutter it, often without reallyacknowledging the person we’re thanking.

Yet as easy as it is to engage in the quotidian “thanks—no problem” exchange inour daily routines, we’re often left, in moments of larger generosity, feelingunworthy or embarrassed by what’s being o!ered. If you’ve ever thwarted afriend’s attempt to treat you to dinner or received a gift that you insisted was“too much,” you may be struck by that thankfulness gap.

If you’ve ever thwarted a friend’s attempt to treatyou to dinner or received a gift that you insisted

was “too much,” you may be struck by thatthankfulness gap.

So, if “thank you” is too easy to say in some instances, and out of our reach inothers, how can we go beyond a muttered “thanks” to one that’s trulyunderpinned with gratitude? And why would we want to?

3 Reasons to Practice Gratitude

1) It’s Good for YouTurns out, there’s a great deal to be gained from truly feeling grateful. Researchhas linked gratitude with a wide range of benefits, including strengthening yourimmune system and improving sleep patterns, feeling optimistic andexperiencing more joy and pleasure, being more helpful and generous, andfeeling less lonely and isolated.

It even helps to mitigate depression. Researchers at Indiana University recruited300 people (mostly college students) receiving mental health counseling, andrandomized them into three groups. In addition to the counseling sessions, onegroup was asked to write a letter of gratitude each week for three weeks. Thesecond group journaled their thoughts and feelings about negative experiences.The third group only received counseling but did no writing. Four and 12 weekslater, the gratitude-letter group “reported significantly better mental health”than either the journalers or those who received counseling alone. Other studieshave found that counting blessings and gratitude writing reduces the risk ofdepression.

2) It’s Good for Your RelationshipsThink back to that impulse to rebu! a gift or gesture for being “too much.” Whatwould happen if you didn’t get involved in that narrative, and just allowed

yourself to let that gift, that kind gesture, really sink in? To just feel…grateful?And if that still feels di"cult, consider this: There’s scientific evidence thatfeeling and expressing gratitude in relationships of all kinds strengthens them.Researchers from both the University of North Carolina and University ofCalifornia found that gratitude acts as a “booster shot” for romanticrelationships. And a review of close to 100 studies by researchers at theUniversity of Nottingham determined that those who feel and express gratitudetend to be pro-social—kind, helpful, and giving.

3) It’s Good for HumanityIt’s relatively easy to feel gratitude for help o!ered when we’re in need—astranger who stops when you have a flat tire, the neighbor who watches yourkids when you have to run out, the friend who makes you soup when you’re sick.And starting to dig into what motivates that stranger, that neighbor, that friendcan help us see the larger picture, and how we are interconnected. It may beharder to parse the motivation behind our smaller interactions. The last timeyou held the door for a stranger, you no doubt did so because that’s just whatpeople do. Still, can you see how even that tiny gesture ripples outward intosomething much bigger than any one of us alone?

The last time you held the door for a stranger, youno doubt did so because that’s just what peopledo. Still, can you see how even that tiny gestureripples outward into something much bigger thanany one of us alone?

A Simple Mindful Gratitude ExerciseBuilding your capacity for gratitude isn’t di"cult. It just takes practice.

The more you can bring your attention to that which you feel grateful for, the

more you’ll notice to feel grateful for! Those researchers at Indiana Universitydid a further study. Using an fMRI scanner, they compared brain activity in thegratitude letter-writers with those who didn’t write a letter. The letter-writersshowed greater neural sensitivity in the medial prefrontal cortex, a brain areaassociated with learning and decision-making—and the e!ect persisted threemonths later. “Simply expressing gratitude may have lasting e!ects on thebrain,” they concluded, noting that practicing gratitude can lead to greatersensitivity to the experience of gratitude in the future. And that bodes well foreveryone.

1. Start by observing. Notice the thank yous you say. Just how habitual aresponse is it? Is it a hasty aside, an afterthought? How are you feelingwhen you express thanks in small transactions? Stressed, uptight, a littleabsent-minded? Do a quick scan of your body—are you already physicallymoving on to your next interaction?

2. Pick one interaction a day. When your instinct to say “thanks” arises, stopfor a moment and take note. Can you name what you feel grateful for, evenbeyond the gesture that’s been extended? Then say thank you.

How Gratitude Changes You andYour Brain

New research is starting to explore how gratitude works toimprove our mental health. Read More

JOEL WONG AND JOSHUA BROWN | JUNE 28, 2017

MINDFULNESS RESEARCH

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I want . . . Grateful for . . .

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A growing body of research supports the value of cultivating a sense of gratitude.

A popular method involves keeping a “Gratitude Journal” where once each day you write down things for which you are grateful.

The below exercise is a more engaged practice, that you may find of benefit. Thoughts of “wanting” can set in motion agitated states that interfere with productivity, connection, and wellbeing. The instruction is simple—when you become aware that you want something to be different than it is and it is creating a feeling of unease, reflect on something for which you are grateful.

An example might me that you want a colleague who is making things difficult to stop bothering you. With an awareness of this want (enter mindfulness) you might cultivate a sense of gratitude that you have an intellect that allows you to be discerning in this matter, or the very job out of which this want arises. Or your attention may turn to feelings of gratitude for a family member or friend.

Importantly, you are not necessarily letting go of the want (though it may dissipate or change) but enlarging your perspective to see more clearly what is at play, moment by moment.

Gratitude Practice

Copyright 2015. Scott L. Rogers. All Rights Reserved.

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