Dane Jacka

Author: Dane Jacka, Founder & Managing Director, Pause

The evolution of secular mindfulness as a practice is at an interesting phase. While it has most clearly developed from religious and spiritual traditions, it is now finding its way as a secular, universally accessible practice. While the work of secular mindfulness practitioners is to leave behind unnecessary faith-based elements, I am concerned that we may also lose some beneficial elements bought by those spiritual traditions such as having practice orientation grounded in ethics and service or the idea that mindfulness can be a life-path not merely a life-hack. Additionally, mindfulness can be narrowed to be considered an individual pursuit (of peace or happiness) whereas I see benefit in the widening of awareness to consider mindfulness as a collective practice with a community focus.

In the same vein, spiritual traditions often have encouraged people to develop meditation skills in arduous retreat-type conditions. While I have attended many of these, and gained enormous benefits from them, I notice that they are exclusive; in that many people are unable to participate in them due to disability, family responsibilities, chronic pain, financial constraints or other reasons. I am interested in how we support people to develop mindfulness practice in their day-to-day life in a way that is meaningful, supportive and integrated in the realities of relating and responsibilities.

I had the good fortune to be introduced to mindfulness as a teenager. This initial practice of mindfulness with breath became a foundational practice for the previous 25+ years of my life and has provided enormous benefit in stress reduction and insight. Over the years I have attended retreats and studied with meditation teachers from various religious and spiritual traditions and, while they have all been beneficial in some way, I continue to be more interested in exploring secular mindfulness practice that is free from dogma and belief, with a focus on direct experiencing.

Commencing teaching in 2010 in a community group on the east coast of Australia, I developed a love for introducing people to these powerful mindfulness  techniques and this led me to complete the two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program delivered by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.

While I continue to teach in the community, my current focus is on offering corporate mindfulness workshops and programs in Australia through the vehicle of Pause(www.pausemindfulness.org). Pause is leading a mindful transformation at work, empowering people to reclaim their focus, calm, insight and presence and supporting organizations to deliver wellbeing, performance, impact and high engagement. We do this by combining ancient wisdom and practical science with heart to build, what I believe is, the foundation of well-being and leadership excellence: mindfulness!

I have a particular love for 1:1 mindfulness coaching, workplace mindfulness and developing mindful leaders.

I’ve noticed a real acceleration in awareness about mindfulness and its benefits and the many ways that it may be practiced. Like many countries, it was the impact of Covid-19 that appears to have turned a spotlight on mental health and wellbeing in a new way, and people are increasingly prioritizing activities that support their health.

Additionally, organizations are taking their responsibility to support their employees more seriously and are looking to invest in workplace wellbeing programs that have substance. As the scientific evidence for the workplace benefits of mindfulness is now significant, it is hard to ignore. However, I haven’t seen a widespread investment in workplace mindfulness in Australia so far. A few organizations are investing in mindfulness, while others are still attempting to determine the most effective workplace wellbeing programs. Some organizations make the mistake of thinking that merely offering access to an app is going to be enough for people to develop a mindfulness practice, yet this doesn’t appear to be the case.

I would love to see mindful leadership be given far greater emphasis in Australia. There is nothing else that I’ve found other than mindfulness that supports the skills required to lead in this modern environment.  When we look at the challenges facing modern leaders with the demands posed by complexity, ambiguity and rapid change  coupled with the need to manage the nervous system, listen with compassion and communicate with clarity, I can see that the development of focus, awareness, compassion and creativity are paramount. These are some development areas in which mindfulness training can excel.