Meditation for all – Google’s secret to global success

Search engine giant Google is well known for giving its employees the best possible working environment.

From slides instead of stairs to rooftop terraces and games rooms, the Google offices are quite possibly the world’s most advanced in terms of creativity.

In another drive to boost productivity and get the most from its workers, Google has launched a new initiative: Search Inside Yourself.

Search Inside Yourself is a programme designed to help people manage their emotions and increase their wellbeing. This takes place in classes which involve meditation and mindfulness. Mindfulness Lunches take place twice a month, which involve eating in complete silence except for the ringing of bells which call to prayer. The office even has its own labyrinth where people can enjoy walking meditations.

Bill Duane of Google said that he turned to Eastern practises because: “My typical coping strategy – the bourbon and cheeseburger method – wasn’t working.”

Interestingly it’s not just Google embracing these ancient spiritual traditions – Silicone Valley neighbours Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have also made these key features of the day-to-day running of their businesses.

These pioneering Internet companies are taking millennia-old traditions and transforming them to fit the data-driven, goal-orientated culture of business. While critics might dismiss this as another new-age fad typical of this part of California, the truth is these are the companies billions of us come into contact with every day, these are the companies reshaping the world as we know it – and they’re working.

Here we have an example of meditation being used as a tool to improve productivity and boost well-being in an otherwise chaotic corporate world.

A number of alternative therapies harness the power of meditation and mindfulness for healing purposes, Yoga Therapy being a good example. Find out more by following the link.

View and comment on the original Wired article.