Whether we are working with individuals or organisations, many of the most powerful tools we use have a link to an indigenous state called Dadirri.
Dadirri encompasses many things that science is now telling us are beneficial to us not only as individuals, but that also support us in our relationships.
Dadirri has been said to be the place where healing begins.
Miriam-Rose Ungenmerr-Baumann, of the Ngangikurungkurr people from Daly River in the Northern Territory says:
“Dadirri is inner deep listening and quiet still awareness.
Dadirri recognises the deep spring that is inside us. It is something like what you call contemplation.
The contemplative way of Dadirri spreads over our whole life.
It renews us and brings us peace. It makes us feel whole again.
In our Aboriginal way we learnt to listen from our earliest times. We could not live good and useful lives unless we listened”.
4 key aspects of Dadirri are:
Mindfulness
Energetic Presence
Deep Listening
Quiet Awareness
So how does Dadirri help in the boardroom?
Well, have you ever felt the magic of being deeply seen and heard? I mean when someone really listens to you, offering their complete presence to what you are saying and what is going on for you.
It’s not often that we get this opportunity. Modern day life leads to crazy busy days, filled with to-do lists and meetings. It’s unfortunately true that our attention span is decreasing, and so the opportunities for deep listening and quiet awareness are fewer and farther between – and so the opportunities for us to feel seen and heard are few.
But in those magic moments that it has happened, did you feel more or less likely to trust that person?
The truth is that deep listening, energetic presence, mindfulness and awareness create trust and collaboration, wellbeing and healing. All well documented outcomes that are the future of not only our businesses, but the world.
How can it not help us in our business relationships and decision-making, as well as in our personal lives?
We have the mistaken belief that we don’t have time to listen, to become present. But science is proving beyond reasonable doubt that the benefits of doing so far outweigh the 5 minutes it may take to get grounded.
In fact, without taking the 5 minutes, we expose our physiology to the damages of increased stress and poor lifestyle choices that we know are factors in the quality of our lives now, and in the future.
It’s powerful that modern science is proving the worth of ancient indigenous wisdom. When we can learn to listen to this wisdom, and learn from the people who understand and embody this wisdom, we can change the business world, our personal world and the wider world for the better.