The sorrows of duty, like the heat of the sun, have scorched your heart. But let stillness fall on you with its sweet and cooling showers, and you will find happiness. ~ Ashtavakra Gita
Brain Science Shows Why It's a Great Idea for Police Officers to Meditate
I didn't need a neuroscientist to tell me I was suffering from the effects of chronic stress. I knew that. I lived it. Every. Single. Day. But I needed a few of them to prove to me that meditation could help me do something about it.
Here's what the research says about mindfulness meditation:
Increases resiliency
Decreases emotional reactivity
Increases self-regulatory abilities
Enhances attention & focus
Increases alertness
Reduces stress
Alleviates anxiety & depression
Improves sleep patterns
Increases orderliness of brain functioning
How You Can Protect and Serve Law Enforcement
You probably want your police officers to be safer, healthier and happier. Here's what I want:
I want to train police officers in mindfulness meditation and train police leaders and decision-makers the value of mindfulness and resiliency training in the field of law enforcement. In retrospect, I realize how much this could have helped me during my own law enforcement career. I want to help others integrate mindfulness meditation into their lives so they can have richer, deeper, safer, and more meaningful personal and professional lives. I want them to know they don't have to choose between who they are and what they do for a living; that they can be better at both through the practice of mindfulness meditation.
A great way to serve your police officers is to offer professional instruction in mindfulness meditation. Using the Simple, Easy, Every Day (SEED) Meditation® method techniques, I have developed a mindfulness and resiliency training course specifically for police officers. It is practical, non-religious, and can be learned in a few short hours. One cop to another, these are truly the only tools needed to begin incorporating life-changing mindfulness and meditation practices into your daily life.
Just to Clarify... Meditation is a collection of techniques that, when practiced over time, settle the nervous system and train the brain to be more focused and engaged. A regular mindfulness meditation practice will create real and lasting changes to the physical structures of the brain, enabling officers to become more resilient, less emotionally reactive and better able to handle stressful situations.
While there are mindfulness techniques and peace-finder practices for use in stressful situations, meditation is NOT an isolated tool for officers to use on-duty. What I mean is, they DO NOT pull up to a call and close their eyes and focus on their breathing. Nor do they ever pull over, close their eyes and meditate inside their patrol car. That would be a HUGE officer safety issue.