Stillness. Peace. Namaste. These three little words can have a big impact on your well-being if you’re up for giving a healthy dose of meditation a try. Just ask Bronwyn Morgan, serial entrepreneur, former corporate honcho, and newfound meditation coach at Bliss In Me. Morgan’s latest venture hopes to specifically target entrepreneurs looking to find composure and mindfulness amongst the hustle of running a business. Whether you’re zealous about this zen movement or furrowing your brow at what a chakra even is, 18 million people in the US swear by sitting still, even while the rest of the world keeps working.
Hypepotamus recently caught up with the meditation mogul to discuss how the practice helps her find inner peace and the benefits entrepreneurs can have by embracing the ‘Om.’What is your background as an entrepreneur?
I decided to start my entrepreneurial path in 2004 after leaving corporate. I’ve experienced a great deal operating my new ventures with exposure to B2B, B2C, tech, and public sector endeavors. Each of these experiences carried their own successes, lessons, and challenges. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart or for someone who expects overnight success, if anything, it’s probably only for those who have a little bit of rebel in them. I’ve found that entrepreneurs are driven and push hard and usually for very long stretches. They are risking a great deal to pursue what they believe will make a difference. Often it’s a lonely road and one that only other entrepreneurs understand.
How has meditation transformed your life?
I started meditating regularly in 1993 and have never regretted adopting this practice. Life is such a precious gift that’s meant to live right now but so often we live with our minds in the past or in angst or hope for the future and miss the now. Meditation has offered me the opportunity to find a place to center in the midst of the everyday hustle and grind. This is not a magic pill that stops you from thinking but instead a place to be amazingly present and authentic. I’ve had the opportunity to share my meditation training with others in classes that I’ve taught to many here locally and abroad. Seeing someone not take their own thoughts so seriously and to find a center of peace is a great experience. When we can operate without fear at the center of our actions we create more awareness for everyone around us.
How has mindfulness helped you as an entrepreneur?
Mindfulness is a tool that keeps me going, entrepreneurship causes you to dig deep into everything that you are to realize your dreams. Mindfulness practice is about an ongoing commitment to still the mind and the body. Being aware doesn’t prevent challenges or ensure success, what it does it keep you even and clear thinking through difficult choices and unknown territory.
In what ways have you seen meditation help other successful people?
So many high profile people have adopted their own meditation practice; Sting, Oprah, Russell Simmons, Paul McCartney to name a few. I’ve watched people become more thoughtful, patient, giving, and kind as a result of settling the mind and observing it’s nonstop stream of thought – most of which is not useful. They identify less with ego and more with a unifying desire to be in the now with everyone and everything.
What are five ways that everyday people, especially business people, can get started with meditation?
Start right where you are by creating a few minutes throughout the day to calm the mind while focusing on the breath. Doing just this simple practice will regulate more stillness in the body and has been shown to have positive health results. For those who want to cultivate a deeper practice, I suggest finding a teaching and practice that suits them. There are many types of meditation from mindfulness to zen to transcendental; everyone must find a practice that supports them and helps them release more and become more open. If you can’t find a teacher near you, a yoga studio might be the best place to start, the asanas and meditation at the end of most yoga classes can be so helpful. While meditation and yoga are different practices, yoga allows one to be present with the body and the mind.
Do you have any other tips or recommendations on how to find zen?
Zen is actually hard to define in words, we do what we can with the language we have, but this is about connecting through meditation inward to one’s heart and one’s true nature. It’s about a commitment to getting to the real person versus the person we “think” we are or that we define ourselves by. It’s about freeing ourselves from a limited mind to one that allows us to see the flow of the universe and how we are connected to it.
Interested in meditation? Check out Bronwyn’s classes here and follow the practice on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.