Canada's "Conservative" government pays for more New Age meditation for its employees

The reader may be excused for thinking this is a reprint of my post from August 10, 2010. This is happening in a different federal department, but under the same government. As reported by Don Butler of the Ottawa Citizen on March 17, 2011:

OTTAWA — Stressed-out employees at Justice Canada in Ottawa will soon be able to seek relief in a taxpayer-funded program that uses the Buddhist concept of mindfulness to help them cope with personal and workplace pressures.

The department invited bids this week for two nine-week "mindfulness-based stress reduction" sessions designed to help up to 40 public servants "learn to relate more consciously and compassionately to the challenges of work and personal life."

According to Justice Canada’s request for proposals, the program will help employees "deal more effectively with difficult thought and emotions that can keep you feeling stuck in everyday life.

"The practice of mindfulness can support you to work with and understand the nature of your thought and perceptions so that you can take control and responsibility for your health and well-being," the document says.

The maximum budget for each of the two sessions is $11,000 plus GST. The request for proposals gives the department the option of adding four more sessions later this year, which would increase the cost by up to $44,000.

Asked why the program was necessary, a departmental spokesman replied by e-mail that the need for effective tools to manage stress and promote mental health in the workplace is "widely recognized. The beneficial effects of this program are well documented."

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) was founded in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a medical professor at the University of Massachusetts. According to the website mindfulnet.org, 18,000 people have since completed MBSR programs.

It’s now used in hospitals, schools, courtrooms, prisons and boardrooms around the world. Corporate disciples include Apple, Yahoo!, Google, Starbucks and Procter&Gamble.

Mindfulness, which has its origins in ancient meditation practices, "helps you choose to become more aware of your thoughts and mental processes," says mindfulnet.org, "allowing you to choose how you respond to them, rather than responding on autopilot."

In the workplace, the website says it can help reduce tensions, improve communications, defuse conflict and promote more creative thinking. Participants are taught a number of meditation techniques designed to reduce "brain chatter" and respond more appropriately to thoughts and feelings.

Most MBSR training includes a "body scan exercise, two sitting meditations, walking meditation, gentle stretching and body awareness exercises," the website says.