The potential of mindfulness and other contemplative practices in engaging with communities

Background/Question/Methods

True engagement with communities on sustainability issues requires not only the technical knowledge that ecologists offer, but also the ability to interact effectively. While there are now many courses and books that offer tools focused on helping scientists improve their communication skills, a fundamental piece of the communication puzzle is often left out: the ability to listen deeply. Listening is particularly important in the context of community engagement where relationships are central and it is vital that solutions be co-developed, offering a higher chance for success over the long-term. Contemplative practices including meditation and intentional creative, movement-based, and relational practices have the potential to enhance both individual and broader community engagement capacity. People engage in contemplative practices for many reasons, including gaining self awareness or sense of connection to others, or simply relieving stress. Cultivating the ability to listen and deepen the relationship to oneself and others are important components of many of these practices. Case studies applying contemplative practice – in particular the practice of mindfulness meditation, which is focused on developing self-awareness in the present moment and without judgment – in a variety of fields, including medicine, higher education, and law will be explored.

Results/Conclusions

Contemplative practice has been qualitatively found to be particularly useful for helping individuals learn to cope with stress and conflict. On a quantitative level, neuroscience research has begun to show positive impacts of meditation on the actual functioning of the brain. Taken beyond the individual though, the impacts of contemplative practice become difficult to measure. However, examples from the fields of community law and legal mediation point to evidence that contemplative practices can indeed enhance community engagement efforts. The main challenges to applying contemplative practice in working with communities are to broaden the benefits of individual practice to the community level and to identify which methods are most useful in community engagement.