Category Archives: Culture & Society

Mindfulness meditation applies the art of self meditation by extending the control one learns from meditation to continue in practice even when one is not in meditation but working professionally, in this case as a mediator of disputes. Usually, meditation is suggested as a way of solving conflict between members of families who are at an impasse and whose situation has progressed into the criminal justice system or into the civil justice system. The mediator practicing mindfulness meditation is really keeping a controlling eye on his own reactions to comments made by the two or more disputing parties and interrupts only when he has satisfied himself that he is not reacting because of some personal emotion towards what was said or towards the situation but only when his interference is deemed necessary because of matters of law or explosive disputants.
Not having preconceived notions about the matters that he will have to mediate upon, a practitioner of mindfulness meditation can offer a non biased, law and family oriented decision or suggestion that disputants can accept or move on to other legal forums like going to court. Mindfulness meditation is a lot like Rogerian counseling techniques where the counselor is presumably alert, listening, but not making any vocal comments or preventing the client from venting, talking at length and hopefully reaching some personal understanding of the issues involved that are creating the crisis that has been brought to the attention of a legal mediator.
Legal mediation offers a solution that the disputants can accept or reject. The successful mediator who is mindful of his own reactions both intellectually and emotionally is better able to refrain from being a participant by taking sides and can evaluate the situation on a non personally affected judgemental manner. Mediation led by someone who meditates and brings the skills learned into the mediating arena can be a more humane and just way of settling disputes.