I took away great value from my short stay at Kripalu a couple of weeks ago, especially in the area of accepting what presently is in my life. In a 1-hour session on mindfulness with Randal Williams, I heard much to reinforce and to help deepen practices I’ve been using.

Before the recession hit, my business life was full of activities, all heading in the direction of my passion, but at such a frenetic pace I never had time to be still and evaluate what I was doing. There was so much going on that sticky issues would easily get bypassed because something new and exciting was coming to replace it.

Yes, I’ve always had my Mastermind Group to run things by, and I speak regularly to an action partner. But now there are longer gaps, quieter times and bigger questions that time has allowed to surface. Are you finding yourself with open spaces of time to mull your direction and wonder what’s next?

In Randal’s handout, he noted that ‘What helps to lift us out of our suffering is our infinite capacity to become the transcendent witness: I can see myself having this experience. This witness ability is strengthened through meditation.’

Separating myself out from the businesswoman who is experiencing pain or suffering because an outcome wasn’t just so is essential to my peace of mind and my success.When I have a phone conversation that has my heart racing I practice what I’ve been taught. Here’s an example of the self-talk conversation:

“I’m noticing that my heart is racing. I just got off of a disappointing call that wasn’t quite what I expected. Look at this. My breath is really fast and shallow now. I’m feeling constriction in my chest. And, I’m sitting here on this glorious fall day, seeing the sun shine and being aware of these sensations. Now, what was I so scared about?”

Notice the beginnings of detachment already happening? The more we can practice this mindfulness in our businesses, the happier, more serene and ultimately more successful we’ll become.