Malcolm Dunn:
Hi, it’s Malcolm Dunn here. I’m the Dean of LeadWell Global and as you’re aware, we’ve been having an information series for people in terms of the opportunity that’s currently being provided by the environment around us. One of the key things that we’ve been trying to work on is what we’ve called quantum thinking. And that is really taking a different perspective to come and think about our presenting problems because then we can see different solutions and different opportunities there. It’s seldom the extrapolation of current thinking that’s going to come up with novel solutions. But a key part of being able to think differently is what I call the quantum mindfulness, is how is it that we do that? So it’s not just a cognitive experience, it’s something deeper than that and broader than that. So what we’d like to do today is to present you with a taster of a quantum mindfulness experience and we’ve got our resident guru Raamon who’s going to take us through that experience and this is a taster and in future we’ll be able to run some full sessions for you. Raamon tell us a little bit about your background and also your perspective on this quantum thinking, critical thinking as something that’s really important for making good decisions in today’s world?
Raamon Newman:
Sure. Thank you very much, Malcolm. A joy to kind of connect with everybody here and share this quantum idea of thinking which is going to become very, very important in leadership, right now and then going forward as things get, very transformed and changed at an accelerating rate. So how I got into this field of kind of supporting leaders at this level is first of all, I had to go through my own lack of quantum thinking in order to realize the value of it. So I grew up in New Zealand, had a typical New Zealand lifestyle upbringing, played a lot of sport running and rugby and cricket and all that and did quite well, especially in running and rugby, won national Rachael provincial titles and then endeavouring to qualify for the world junior championships. When I was 19, I ended up burning out and missing qualifying by a couple of seconds and got very sick.
Raamon Newman:
A lot of respiratory problems. Digestive problems kept me up most nights for over six months and basically left me in a depressed state because that was my sole purpose in life to become a professional athlete. And I had an Olympic gold medal winning coach who actually said, look, if you keep your training up, there’s no reason why you can’t go to the Olympics. So I was very inspired by that. But the burning out aspect of it made me realize that I was missing something because I was so addicted to the training and the action and the performing. But somehow I hadn’t developed this inner content of myself to be able to protect myself and not burn out. So that led me on a quest to find the deepest self knowledge about how I can still achieve and accomplish and protect myself and protect my achievement and become what I call a more awake and enlightened leader and performer.
Raamon Newman:
So that led me to the United States. I went to a university there where part of the curriculum was actually developing the coherence of the brain so that you could assimilate knowledge more easily. You could perceive things more clearly, and I learned transcendental meditation before I went to this university and that was part of the curriculum. It wasn’t mandatory, but it was encouraged that if you really want to absorb knowledge, then you have to develop the container of your brain that’s going to hold that knowledge. So I was there for a few years. I was just working on staff, taking continuing education programs, and then I realized I wanted a deeper experience of this. So at the age of 25 I ended up becoming a full time meditating monk and that entailed basically meditating, eyes closed in silence, eight hours a day, seven days a week.
Raamon Newman:
That was my office hours. And so I was going to do that for one year and that one year was so fulfilling and so profound that I rolled into two years and that role in three years and four years. And that ended up being 10 years I spent in that environment because I was very enamored by this experience of the quantum mind, of this field of consciousness, beyond the conscious mind, beyond the subconscious that really gives us those most coherent thoughts, that most quantum powerful thoughts that impact ourselves and our environment in the best way possible. So after 10 years of that, I realized, wow, I’ve done this inner development, inside of myself now I want to see how valuable it is in the world in terms of how I can serve the world with this new perspective of my mind and in my thinking and in consciousness.
Raamon Newman:
And so I decided that I wanted a very black and white transition. So I went to New York city, which is obviously one of the biggest, most dynamic cities in the world. And I did an acting program there for a couple of years. And those years happened to be 2007, 2008 right at the time where there was a lot of global financial crisis going on. And I got to the point where I realized, hang on, how come these very experienced seasoned executives of very top companies, how come they’re not seeing this? How come they’re having to go through this great failure? How come they’re not making those decisions that actually protects achievement and progress instead of just achieving it and then crashing? And so that’s when I realized, this inner development was what was necessary to support the outer development. So I teamed up with my business partner who was also a full time meditating monk.
Raamon Newman:
He was actually 15 years. He spent six years in Himalayas and we basically said, this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to support leaders to help them develop themselves on the inside so that they can protect themselves and their achievement. And so we’ve been doing that for the last 12 years and we’ve worked with leaders at multimillion, multibillion dollar companies and we’ve had some great successes with leaders. Bouncing back from great kind of misfortunes, we’ve also had great success with helping leaders build on their great success. Example is one leader we helped take his company from, helped him take his company from 1.3 billion to 7.6 billion in the space of seven years. And it was something he said he couldn’t have done that kind of growth with a company without the type of support that he was getting from myself and my business partner to this point.
Malcolm Dunn:
So Raamon, if we look at that person now as an individual and for them to have that that kind of body wisdom or the way of seeing the world rather than the reactive mindset of there’s a crisis. So that’s them as a person. But what we’re talking about, and you’re talking about is this is something beyond that, is their influence as a leader to shape the environment around them and to shift from it being adversity or a victim mentality to how do we be proactive and turn this into a positive direction? Is that what you’re saying? So we can set the self to be able to see that external world through this process.
Raamon Newman:
Yeah, exactly. I mean, if you’re not getting the outcome on the outside, then something has to change on the inside and a lot of the time sometimes we can be taking the actions and then we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this. But then on the inside there’s a self talk that goes on and says, Oh, this is going to really work out. Are we supposed to be doing this? Am I really cut out for this. And that really kind of undermines your actions. So it’s not just about massive action, it’s about more spontaneous, right action that’s in tune with what’s required. And that ‘s really that basis for that comes from developing this inner coherence of the brain and what the founders that these world class athletes and business leaders and musicians, when they’re performing at their best, they have a unique style of brain functioning.
Raamon Newman:
They call it global alpha coherence. They able to see this bigger picture. They’re able to see the finer details. So, for example, with out top client, he saw an opportunity to double the size of his company through a reverse merger acquisition. But he was blocked by his environment. And this is a common thing with leaders. They have a vision that somehow they’re not getting the support they want for it, even though they know it’s the right vision. And so what that comes down to is there’s a lack of strength of thought power, right? There’s not enough energy or clarity or creativity behind that vision to really make the environment supportive or pick up on it or get it. And so he came back to us after his major shareholders said, no, we don’t want to do this. He said, what do I do? I don’t know.
Raamon Newman:
I’ve tried to intellectually debate them into realizing this is the best thing we have to do, but they’re not getting it. And so we said, well, you can continue to do that and maybe they’ll get it or we can just work on you owning this reality more fully, more clearly inside of yourself and removing any doubts or kind of disbelief that you have. That may be on a subtle level that you haven’t really purified. That’s kind of getting in the way. And so we did that for three, four weeks and then we said, okay, it feels like you really own this vision now go and speak to them now. And he did. And they go, okay, now we get it. Let’s do it.
Malcolm Dunn:
Yeah, so Raamon having coached executives for many years, I see what I call the horizontal splitting. So there’s this projected person that they need to be the executive and the leader, but it takes a lot of willpower and that’s exhausting and it’s anxiety provoking. But if we can get this coherence as you call it and really have that kind of, the deep integration with self, then you get into that first order of flow that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talked about can become effortless because this is just you but the work to get there. And I guess a little bit, we’re going to ask you to take us through a bit of an example of that, but this isn’t that you’ve got to go off into a monastery for 10 years or 10 months. So it’s an everyday practice that you going to bring to us of 20 minutes a day or 20 minutes twice a day can just help create not only the brain architecture of the neuroplasticity, but a way of being that you take into your everyday world of that authenticity, the alignment and the coherent, is that really what the practice is going to help us develop?
Raamon Newman:
Yeah, absolutely. Because just to be a leader, you have to have a high degree of coherence just to be in that position. So the question now is if you want to do something greater for yourself, for the company for your team, then you have to kind of first of all, protect the coherence you have and not get it diminished by the stress and the responsibility. And you also hopefully have to enhance it because at the end of the day, the most coherent thinking always prevails. So if we’re in a meeting with a group of people, usually as the person with the most coherent thinking and mind that projects, the most powerful ideas, the most coherent way that wins everybody else over to their way of thinking. When there’s a lot of incoherence there and you’re trying to project a good idea then it gets convoluted. So it’s the strength of coherence of the leader that protects the idea, that ensures that the idea gets full support and doesn’t get corrupted or diminished by incoherent thinking or doubts.
Malcolm Dunn:
So bringing their best self everywhere because it is just you. Rather than saying, okay, I have to win this debate in the meeting and how to use my intellect to win it, but the rest of me is thinking about something else that is in a different space without presence. Ok maybe what we could do Raamon is to, if you would be kind enough to just take us through this. This is one thing to understand, to hear what you say. And that’s compelling but what we call the immersion experience of learning is to say, well, let’s have a bit of drop into it and then, come out of that and say, okay, well what’s the mind that is now available and accessible to think about ourselves as well? And so would you like to take us through a session please and I just want to say for the audience, we’ve got some other people, also on the session. So this is something that can be done on a group basis. It doesn’t have to be one to one as well. So Raamon over to you.
Raamon Newman:
Okay, fantastic. So the basic premise here is that we want to increase the power of observing. Yourobserving power to see things more clearly, both outside yourself and inside yourself. Now in order for that to happen, the mind has to be in its natural state. Now the mind’s natural state, and this may be a bit of a disbelief to yourself, is to be settled. The mind naturally enjoys its happiest when it’s settled, and we all know this from experience. When we feel settled, we feel happy. Nothing’s feels like it’s a problem. When we’re unsettled, everything seems like it’s agitating and aggravating, right? So the mind by its nature, like gravity wants to go to its most settled state. So what we’re going to do here is we’re going to set up a situation to allow our mind to do that. Now, this is not a mindfulness meditation where you’re trying to be mindful of this or that.
Raamon Newman:
What’s going on inside of yourself or outside of yourself. This is going beyond thinking. We’re not trying to manage thinking, or be mindful of thinking. We’re trying to get to the source of thinking. We’re trying to get to the silence and the inherent coherence that we are, right, that nature is and that we’re a part of. So that’s the basic premise. Now as the mind settles down, it becomes more orderly. It becomes more coherent. There’s more integrated brain functioning. This is what the research shows. So we’re going to lead into this with some breathing. So we’re going to settle the breath down and then we’re going to do this simple, effortless mantra based meditation technique using a sound mantra that has no inherent meaning. You may attach a meaning to it, but I don’t want you to attach a meaning to it. I want you to attach, um, be the attached to the sound value of it, right?
Raamon Newman:
Cause this sound value is going to allow your mind to just come back to simplicity, right? So basically, first of all, we’re going to do the breathing technique. And in English it’s called alternate nose breathing. But in Sanskrit it’s called Pranayama, right? So Prana is the life breath and life force. And so we’re going to balance that. We’re going to allow the breath to become more balanced, the brain to become more settled. And then we’re going to drop in and do this meditation. Now the meditation we’re going to use the mantra. So Man means mind. Tra means vehicle. We’re going to use this mind vehicle, this sound, and we’re using it for its sound value, not its meaning value and its sound value. We’re going to use as a generic mantra and we’re going to use AM. Okay? Like I am, but I just want you to really focus on the sound value of am , okay?
Raamon Newman:
And so it’s a generic thing. If you learn a TM, transcendental meditation, which I highly recommend, they give you a specific sound that’s more tailored to you and where you’re at. And then that sound actually allows you to go deeper. But this is going to give you a taste. So the way we’re gonna use this sound is we’re going to sit quietly, well, first of all, quietly and comfortably, and then we’re going to close the eyes for 30 seconds, okay? Just keep the eyes closed for 30 seconds. Now why this is important is because it gives your mind a chance to kind of go from being focused outward, which was what we’ve been to being focused inward, right? We’re just allowing that transition to happen, right? So it’s like we were pulling down the blinds. Okay. And then once after 30 seconds or so, we’re going to start effortlessly.
Raamon Newman:
Like any other thought that you would normally think, weire going to effortlessly think the sound AM, okay, and we’re going to allow this sound. We’renot going to hold onto it. We’re not going to try and say it. We just going to say it. Think it gently and quietly mentally and just allow it to do what it wants to do. And it might change. It might get quieter, it might get louder. We just got to keep our attention on it. Now you’re going to notice there’s two sides to this meditation. There’s an inward stroke so that the mantra is helping you go on the inward stroke more quietly, right? So you’re just repeating AM, AM, AM, AM mentally, just generally and you don’t have to rush it or anything. You just repeat it slowly and effortlessly and you’ll notice thoughts will come and thoughts will be there.
Raamon Newman:
And sometimes you’ll notice you go off on thoughts and you’re not even thinking that mantra any more. Now, the thing to recognize about these thoughts is that they’re release of stresses or impressions on your mind, on your nervous system, right? And that’s the outward stroke of this meditation. It’s allowing you to let go of things because meditation is really purification, right? It’s an opportunity to purify the noise and the incoherence and get back to the coherence. And so that outward stroke is to release something to let go of something. And as soon as you recognize, Oh, I’m off thinking on these thoughts, ah, let’s think that mantra again and go on the inward stroke. Let’s think AM again, right? And you focus on AM AM AM. And you’ll find the mind will want to settle down again. Now as the mind settles down, the body also settles down and gives the body an opportunity to release things, right?
Raamon Newman:
Let go of stresses and incoherences. And that’s a good thing, right? So never, never, ever, ever grumble against thoughts that are coming up in this process of meditation, right? When you realize you have any thoughts, Oh, I’m having thoughts, I released some stress. Okay, let’s think the Mantra again, right? And there’s that inward and outward stroke of meditation, and that is purifying your mind, it’s allowing more of this coherence to naturally be there at the end. You’re only Meditating, not because of the experience you’re meditating because of how you want to feel afterwards. And taking action we’re pulling back the arrow and the bow so that when we fire the arrow, the bow, sorry, the arrow from the bow, then it’s got maximum energy and coherence behind it to hit the target. So that’s basically it. Malcolm, is there any questions?
Raamon Newman:
So that’s basically it. Um, Malcolm, is there any questions based on what I’ve just said, do you think?
Malcolm Dunn:
No. I think the purposefulness of it is to have an impact on yourself in the world and if we have that in mind, that this isn’t just a spiritual journey, it can be, but it’s for us to do good things out there in the marketplace and the ripple effect through organizations through a community. So that kind of the higher order purpose, the greater good from that, but it’s also around economic wellbeing. So it’s not that that’s divorced from it, that money’s bad. So the commercial, good decision taking is really important and if you’re in an anxious state, it’s probably this likely you’ll take good longterm decisions. So really happy to step into that with the breathing and the mantra vehicle. And I would encourage people to take a chance to just dip in, this doesn’t hurt and it can be really useful and in my personal experience, having done a couple of sessions with you was while the clarity and the stillness equanimity afterwards I was far more energized and able to see other perspective and see the world. So it had a really good impact even just to in a short period of time. So over to you Raamon.
Raamon Newman:
Well said. So it’s just a small amount of quality time investing in yourself, literally attention to yourself and making that silence and coherence the basis of action. We’re meditating to get that silence and coherence as a basis for action. This is not for reclusion or any spiritual experience, but because we’re leaders in the world, we take action based on this, in a more coherent way. And we’re protecting our nervous system and our mind and our immune system in the process. So let’s begin with the breathing. So the breathing, basically we’re going to take our thumb and we’re going to take our ring finger. Now the thumb is going to be used on the right hand and the thumb is going to be (first of all we’re going to start with the ring finger. And we’re going to close the left nostril with that ring finger and we’ve got to breathe out the right nostril. And ideally we close the eyes The attention is on the breath, so we breathe out the right nostril, then we breathe in the right nostril and then we close the right nostril with the thumb and we breathe out the left nostril. We then breathe in the left nostril as fully as you can using the belly to diaphragm breathing so that you’re using more of your lung capacity and then breathe out the right nostril, letting the stomach sink in again
Raamon Newman:
In the right nostril, out the left, in the left, out the right. So we want to go as full and as long as possible. We can start out fast if you want to go fast, but then just slow it down and make it quieter and quieter and quieter because the breath will naturally want to do that. So just want to become more and more gentle and gentle and quieter and quieter. And you’re just putting your attention on the breath going in one nostril, closing the nostril going out the other nostril and vice versa. So we’re going to do that for say five minutes. And then we’re going to start the meditation after that , because that’s provided a kind of a settling platform to go into the mind becoming settled. And then I’ll just give instructions at that point. Okay. So let’s begin.
Raamon Newman:
okay,
Raamon Newman:
close the left nostril. Breathe out the right nostril. Keep the eyes closed on the breath.
Raamon Newman:
[breathing] [breathing] [breathing] [breathing]
Raamon Newman:
Okay. So now we’ll begin the meditation process. So the idea is we’re going to allow the mind to transcend the surface level and go to the deeper levels. And in that process, there may be the mind coming out on thoughts and they’re not to be grumbled against any way. You just come back to the sound of AM, so just sit with the eyes closed for half a minute and then effortlessly start thinking the mantra sound AM and go from there. We’ll be meditating for 15 minutes.
Raamon Newman:
[inaudible] okay, stop thinking the mantra. Keep your eyes closed just for a couple of minutes and allow your mind to slowly come back to the surface. Okay? Keeping the eyes closed. We’re just going to do a help you love quotient affirmation and it’s going to go like this. And the reason why we’re doing this, because when our mind settled, then we’ve got more access to our feeling level and our heart level. And ultimately all business decisions or good decisions are made from that very fine feeling level. So the affirmation goes like this. You’re going to repeat three times mentally, quietly to yourself and look at this as your highest self talking to your inner self. Or some people call it the inner child. So you’re going to say I love you. So the I the higher self is loving the inner self, the inner child, you. So I love you. Just repeat that once and have a gap of about 10 seconds and just feel what comes up in that and then repeat it again and then another gap of 10 seconds and then repeat it again. And after you’ve done that three times you want to say the affirmation I love, accept and trust you and I always will, no matter what. So again this I love, trust and accept you and I always will no matter what.
Raamon Newman:
And so you can ask yourself that a couple of times and just feel what comes up from there. And then finally you’re going to, your higher self is going to ask your inner self, your inner child, is there anything, or what do you require from me right now? What do you require from me right now? And see what gets revealed to you. Maybe a word or something comes to you, an image and just acknowledge that and then we’ll complete. That will complete the exercise and you can open your eyes. So take a couple minutes and do that.
Raamon Newman:
[meditating] [meditating] [meditating] So how was that? Malcolm, you want to share your experience on this one?
Malcolm Dunn:
Okay, Raamon, really happy to do that. So Raamon, thank you for that. And really what comes for me is back to that settled equanimity of being able to have that inner self experience of the world, not separate from it, but from a way of saying, okay this is me in that world. And the big drive that came up for me was to be authentic. So not that splitting between this is what I am, but by the way, I do some stupid stuff cause that’s in the name of social, political correctness and how do we create deeper integration there. So that was what, what the I and the me were looking for there as well. So what, what I’d like to do is to just bring it back to the purpose of this quantum thinking, quantum mind for quantum leader to have a outside in perspective. So the outside can start with you going in. It can start with your world, and then me and the world, but going in. But really this.
