Padmasree Warrior, chief technology and strategy officer of Cisco Systems oversaw 22,000 employees, and she said that taking time to meditate and unplug helped her to manage it all.
Tony Schwartz, Founder & CEO, The Energy Project says that meditating has freed him from migraines and helped him develop patience, and he also advocates mindfulness as a way to improve work performance.
Bill Ford, Executive Chairman, Ford Motor Company is a big proponent of meditation in the business world and that during difficult times at the company, he set an intention every morning to go through his day with compassion which he learned through a loving-kindness meditation.
Oprah Winfrey, Chairwoman & CEO, Harpo Productions, Inc. sits in stillness for 20 minutes, twice a day. She said, “Knowing for sure that even in the daily craziness that bombards us from every direction, there is — still — the constancy of stillness. Only from that space can you create your best work and your best life.”
Larry Brilliant, CEO of the Skoll Global Threats Fund and former director of Google.org in his address at the Harvard School of Public Health, emphasized the importance of peace of mind, wishing the graduates lives full of equanimity — a state of mental calm and composure.
Russell Simmons Hip-hop mogul said “You don’t have to believe in meditation for it to work. You just have to take the time to do it. My advice? Meditate.”
Arianna Huffington founder of the Huffington Post has spoken out on the benefits of mindfulness not just for individual health, but also for corporate bottom lines. “Stress-reduction and mindfulness don’t just make us happier and healthier, they’re a proven competitive advantage for any business that wants one.”
Other Famous Meditators Are the intelligent because they meditate or do they meditate because they are intelligent? Albert Einstein (Scientist), Mick Jagger (Singer), David Lynch (Filmmaker) Bruce Lee (Martial Artist), Jennifer Lopez (Singer, Actress), Clint Eastwood (Actor, Director), Rob Cohen (Director), Harrison Ford (Actor), George Lucas (Producer), Alice Walker (Author), Roberto Baggio (Soccer Pro), Jerry Seinfeld (Comedian), Phil Jackson (NBA Coach), Melissa Mathison (Screenwriter), Leonard Cohen (Singer, Songwriter, Poet), Orlando Bloom (Actor), Herbie Hancock (Musician), Steven Seagal (Actor), Belinda Carlisle (Singer), Frank Herbert (Author), William Ford Jr. (Ford Motor Company), Sting (Singer, Musician), Allen Ginsberg (Poet, Author), Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon Beatles (Singers/Musicians), K.D. Lang (Singer), Andy Kaufman (Actor), Cher (Singer, Actress), Mark Wahlberg (Actor/Singer), Sheryl Crow (Singer, Songwriter), Kate Bosworth (Actress), Russell Simmons (Record Label Owner), Richard Gere (Actor), Tiger Woods (Golf Pro), Julia Roberts (Actress), Gwyneth Paltrow (Actress), Tina Turner (Singer), Goldie Hawn (Actress), Oliver Stone (Movie Producer), Elle MacPherson (Supermodel), Emma Watson (actress), Deepak Chopra (Author), Wayne Dyer (Author), Jeff Bridges (actor), David Lynch (filmmaker), Orlando Bloom (actor), Paul Roos (AFL player, coach, commentator), Rupert Murdoch (media owner), Ellen DeGeneres (TV host), Ben Harper (singer/songwriter), Hugh Jackman (actor), Deborah Lee Furness (actor) Brett Kirk (former Sydney Swan), Naomi Watts (actress), Judith Lucy (comedian)
Why would you want to meditate?
Research shows that Meditation works
Ability to adapt and remain youthful
Meditation leads to something called neuroplasticity, which is defined as the brain’s ability to change, structurally and functionally, on the basis of environmental input. A 2005 study showed people who meditated a mere 40 minutes a day showed that they had thicker cortical walls than non-meditators. Meaning their brains age at a slower rate and have better decision-making, attention and memory functioning.
Longevity
Research in 2008 by the University of California, Davis has shown that meditation can help you live longer by increasing the enzyme telomerase that helps build longer and stronger telomeres (the protective caps of chromosomes).
Rejuvinating
Meditation can be better than sleeping. In a 2006 study students were asked to either sleep, meditate or watch TV. They were then tested on their alertness. The meditators did better than the nappers and TV watchers by 10%.
Lower Blood Pressure
In 2008 Dr. Randy Zusman, a doctor at the Massachusetts General Hospital, asked patients suffering from high blood pressure to try a meditation-based relaxation program for three months. 40 of the 60 patients showed significant drops in blood pressure levels and were able to reduce their medication.
Pain Relief
In 2013 Wake Forest Baptist University found that meditation could reduce pain intensity by 40 percent and pain unpleasantness by 57 percent. Morphine and other pain-relieving drugs typically show a pain reduction of only 25%.
