Why are all these lawyers meditating? And in the boardroom of a large firm! Here are just a few reasons

Earlier this month, a group of lawyers gathered in the boardroom of Holme, Roberts & Owen and founded the Colorado Contemplative Lawyers Society. The group included not only lawyers from HRO but also from the Attorney General's Office and Davis, Graham & Stubbs, as well as a number of solo and small-firm practitioners. At one point in the meeting, we were led by one of the partners from HRO in a meditation.

These lawyers talked about the benefits to their health resulting from meditation (and other contemplative practices). They also talked about how it lowered their stress levels and improved their ability to represent their clients. In fact, many of the benefits I described in "Move From Being a Mindless Lawyer To a Mindful Lawyer" (The Complete Lawyer) were mentioned.

Because I see the high value of mindfulness and meditation in lawyers' lives, I do my part to expand within the profession awareness of these practices. For example, I maintain a list of resources focused on mindfulness in the law at http://www.contemplativelawyers.com, founded the above-mentioned group, and will be giving programs teaching attorneys how to use mindfulness to both better their personal lives and sharpen their professional skills . I hope some of you will be in attendance at the lawyer retreat September 13 and 14 in Santa Fe; I am very excited that I'll be leading it with lawyer Scott Rogers of the Institute for Mindfulness Studies.

Interested in learning more? Watch here at idealawg as I continue to post about mindfulness—both the art and neuroscience of the practice. And today let me point you to some resources. Here you will find an interview of Jon Kabat-Zinn, both a leading mindfulness guru and molecular biologist. In the interview, he discusses the science of mindfulness. Also at that page are links to several other talks by Dr. Kabat-Zinn. Enjoy.

Note (added April 22, 2009): Click for many downloadable audio files to assist you in meditation courtesy of University of CA San Diego. (MBSR stands for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.)