S2: EP-77 When Corporate Meets Mindfulness with Rafael Puebla

On this episode join Mary and her special guest, Rafael Puebla. Rafael combines 25 years of international corporate experience and mindfulness practice. He has held leadership positions at Fortune 100 companies such as Mastercard and American Express, and he is a Certified Mindfulness-based Emotional Intelligence Teacher from the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute and a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator by the International Mindfulness Teacher Association. He used to be what is called a “closet meditator” keeping his mindfulness practice completely separated from his corporate life, until he realized that the benefits of mindfulness should be shared at work, that’s why he created a mindfulness meditation practice at Mastercard (Latin America and Caribbean Regional Headquarters). Seeing first hand the positive impacts that mindfulness brought to the employees who joined the program, he felt inspired to fully dedicate his career to spread the practice of mindfulness at work. Listen as Mary and Rafael talk about how mindfulness can be a powerful tool in the workplace.

Stress is widely present in corporate America. The tool of mental training aka mindfulness, can help manage that stress. Stress, anxiety, and fear can all be managed through this practice. When cooperations embrace this it can be a game changer for the workplace. Adapting the language around mindfulness, but keeping the integrity of the practice, can help cooperations and businesses understand the benefits of mediation and other mindfulness practices in the workplace. 

Once people are on board, creating a common language within the team is key. Having the entire team on the same page is a way to create a common intention and to cut down on misunderstandings. Mindful listening and having an understanding of what everyone on the team might be dealing with outside of work is also important for creating a collective experience in the work place. This helps to create psychological safety within an organization. This is powerful in and out of the workplace. Across the board, increasing your awareness, flows into every relationship in your life.  

It is also so important to be able to practice “The Sacred Pause”. To pause before reacting and responding to others or self. In order to break patterns of overthinking and over feeling. Noticing your thoughts as just thoughts and not facts, can dramatically change the outcome in any situations. The same with emotions. We can observe and notice our emotions, without allowing them to control the outcome of a situation. Everything is rooted in our capacity to just observe. You are not your thoughts or emotions.