Davos: Jayanti Kirpalani, European director of Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, organised meditation sessions for the delegates during the World Economic Forum in Davos. Leading the session, she talks throughout, telling the participants to focus on the idea of a light bulb in our minds and let everything else fade away. It was not easy for the delegates to concentrate. Jayanti said it take a while for them to concentratte. “Like most things the more you do it, the easier it gets,” she says. She suggests trying it out later in the day, silently chanting a single word 100 times in our head.
"It will set your compass" for the day, making you calmer, nicer and more open to others, she claims. While the benefits sound tempting, it's simply something I won't remember to do or have time for, I think. Yet 73-year-old Mr Goings - who has been practising transcendental meditation for over 40 years - says he doesn't have time not to do it. "It helps me focus and work out what matters. It's like making some kind of thing on your computer clear out the trash," he says.
There's plenty of research which suggests he's right. Studies have claimed meditation can help protect the brain from ageing, relieve anxiety and depression as well as help improve concentration.
Its these kind of benefits which are leading to the increasing popularity of meditation or similar types of practices.
Davos regulars Marc Benioff, the chairman and chief executive of cloud computing firm Salesforce and Ray Dalio, the founder of hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, also regularly meditate. Both have said it has helped drive their success. In fact, Benioff is so convinced of meditation's effectiveness that he's installed so called "mindfulness zones" at all the firm's offices.
