A New Mindfulness Economic Paradigm: A Synthesis of the call for "A Mindful Nation" by Congressman Tim Ryan and the UN call for “Gross Global Happiness” as a measure of Sustainable Development.
Mindful Nation
"A quiet revolution is happening in America." So says Tim Ryan, Ohio Congressman and author of A Mindful Nation, which documents the spread of mindfulness meditation across the US, and argues for its widespread adoption as a way to favourably affect the country's healthcare system, economy, schools and military.
Just published, the book is significant not so much for what's being said – to quote the great Meditation Master of the 20th Century Osho "Meditation means: alertness, awareness, mindfulness. So whatever you are doing, just do it consciously, don’t do it mechanically" and the evidence for the benefits of mindfulness has been piling up in scientific journals over recent years and – but for who's saying it and how: an elected politician in Washington passionately advocating meditation as a way to face some of the most serious issues facing his country. Ryan himself jokes of hearing about a conversation that took place at a recent mindfulness conference as he walked by: "That's the congressman who's written a book about meditation," remarked one bystander. "Oh, really?" said another. "Will he still be a congressman after the book comes out?"
Ryan may not have to worry. The practices he recommends are drawn from Buddhism, but commonly taught as secular disciplines, and (unless I missed it) the B-word isn't mentioned once in A Mindful Nation. Ryan is a Catholic, and positions his plea squarely in the context of Western, rather than Eastern, tradition – his book is subtitled "How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance and Recapture the American Spirit".
He aligns mindfulness with no-nonsense values such as "self-reliance, stick-to-itiveness, perseverance and getting the job done", as well as the softer sounding "connection, kindness, caring and compassion". The book draws on plentiful neuroscientific and clinical data supporting his claims, as well as interviews with scientists who have tested mindfulness on hospital patients, schoolchildren and even the armed forces.
UN
On 19 July last year, 68 countries joined the Kingdom of Bhutan in co-sponsoring a resolution titled "Happiness: Towards a holistic approach to development,” which was adopted by consensus by the 193-member UN General Assembly.
In follow up to the resolution, the Royal Government of Bhutan convened a High Level Meeting on Happiness and Wellbeing: Defining a New Economic Paradigm on 2nd April 2012 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The meeting initiated next steps towards realizing the vision of a new wellbeing and sustainability based economic paradigm that effectively integrates economic, social, and environmental objectives.
The New Bretton Woods
The new system will require new measures of progress and new national accounts that value our wealth properly and comprehensively (including natural capital and its depletion and degradation), and that account for the full benefits and costs of economic activity. And ― just as Bretton Woods 1944 established the World Bank and IMF to manage the old growth-based economic paradigm ― so the new Bretton Woods will require us to re-design and refashion these global institutions to manage and regulate the new system and ensure proper implementation. See the Input for the Draft Outcome Document for Rio+20 by the Royal Government of Bhutan.
The Solution
Bhutan is leading the wake-up call. Prime Minister Thinley states, "I see this as the reflection of a world finally coming to terms with the truth that it needs a shared, human vision in place of the mindless pursuit of limitless growth in a finite world." It is encouraging that other governments are taking notice too.
The British Government is placing "strong emphasis" on the impact of policies on mental health, which costs Britain a huge amount to treat and hurts industry efficiency. The government wants to inject wellbeing cost-benefit assessments into all new policies, said Lord O'Donnell, who represented the British Government at the UN Happiness and Wellbeing meeting.
Enrico Giovannini, representing Italy said "Big corporations are starting to talk about corporate social responsibility, saying that money is not the only parameter we should use to assess how satisfied workers are - there is also a sense of community, future employability, education."
Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and co-editor of the World Happiness Report for the UN points out, "Happiness is not just a state of mind, not a trait but a skill and art of living. It can be taught, learned, and transmitted." He further explains, "Sustainable Development is the term given to the combination of human well-being, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. We can say that the quest for happiness is intimately linked to the quest for sustainable development . . ."
So, What Can One Person Do?
All this world happiness and mindfulness discussion may sound far away from day to day life, but world happiness and environmental change starts one person at a time. Here are some easy ways to begin. Some of these will be familiar. It's putting them into action that makes all the difference.
1. Personal: Focus on your personal happiness and connecting with nature and develop practices that bring that into your life and home. A few aspects to start with are:
• Get enough sleep
• Do some physical exercise
• Practice an attitude of gratitude,
• Make an effort to develop mindfulness and speak with kindness
• If something doesn't turn out ask, "What can I learn from this?"
• Get to know your strengths and what you are passionate about
• Try to leave an area better than the way you found it.
• Spend some time in nature, it will calm you and remind you of what's important.
2. Education: Bring the Science of Happiness and Social and Emotional Learning to your schools. It is not enough to learn math, science and history. Learning resilience, self -awareness, self-mastery and taking responsibility for one's impact on people and the environment are at least equally important to successfully navigate the ups and downs that life presents.
3. Engage: Do something that resonates with you to make the world a better place. This could be anything from smiling at a stranger, to volunteering in an animal shelter, mentoring someone, or doing one small thing to help the environment. You have more power than you may realize.
A happy world does begin with a happy you. Emotions are contagious, when you are happy, and care about the environment (in both your emotional and your carbon footprint) you spread that positivity to the people around you. Your example of living fully gives others permission to do the same. Happy people create happy communities who are dedicated to everyone thriving. These communities can then institute more caring policies that influence the wellbeing of a town, a state, a country . . . From one to many, conscious happiness can take hold, and it is a game changer for this generation and for those to come.
Love and Om
Yoga Bowers
www.wellbeing-meditation-directory.co.uk
