ABSTRACT
The ability of a facilitator to stay focused on the present experience with nonjudgmental attentiveness can help to foster the calm, relaxed, creative environment needed for planning change. This is often called mindfulness—a mental state characterized by focused attention and awareness of the present moment, and nonjudgmental acknowledgment and acceptance of feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. Mindfulness can result in increased awareness of emotional and behavior patterns among participants, and the ability to reduce or creatively use conflict to plan a more effective change. It can also lead to an increased sense of well-being, and resilience for facilitators. Finally, clearing space is good practice for the observation you will do during the meeting.
This chapter covers a definition of “mindfulness” for facilitators and a step-by-step description you can follow to prepare to facilitate more mindfully.
