Prompted by an enlightening lesson from Professor De Pisapia and some readings, including the book “Meditation as Medicine” by Goleman and Davidson, I share here some insights that have become part of my daily reflections.

In recent months, I have become increasingly fascinated with the theme of awareness. It’s not exactly a new topic, but there are many innovations in research. Studies have begun to move into new areas, with increasingly sophisticated tools and also (eureka!) a renewed curiosity towards all those cognitive processes and experiences of consciousness that take place beyond the so-called ordinary mind.

In addition to dream elements and altered states due to trauma or psychedelic substances, researchers are beginning to observe what happens in the mind when we are doing nothing, how thoughts wander (mind wandering), changes in states of meditation, and other phenomena that were excluded from scientific research until a few years ago, for various reasons.

A hand comes from the neurosciences, which are currently the driving force pushing the field towards new perspectives.

What does all this have to do with marketing?

Short answer: a lot, a great deal.

Understanding how our brain works, becoming aware of our emotions, of the processes active at the unconscious level when we relate to others, of the synergies between various functions, of the way of reworking concepts, of mnemonic and decision-making processes is very important for those who must coordinate with work teams every day and find valid solutions to the thousand problems that can arise.

Let’s start with a common situation: what happens in our brain when we feel under pressure or threatened?

An Ancestor in the Meeting Room

In those moments, our higher intellectual abilities are put on standby to recover energy useful for defending or fleeing. The same mechanisms used to survive attacks by wild beasts and snakes can prove inappropriate in work contexts.

When we feel in danger, the limbic system comes into play. The amygdalae take command over the prefrontal cortex, the “seat” of higher cognitive abilities, leading to high neurophysiological activation. We sweat, our heart rate and blood pressure increase, our muscles tense: we are ready for battle at the expense of our reasoning faculties.

We can easily imagine how productive a work meeting experienced in this way will be.

Bad news also regarding what happens when these behaviors are repeated over time. As in the case of multitasking, neuroplasticity can play to our disadvantage. These mechanisms, in fact, strengthen with habit, becoming increasingly automatic. The consolidated pattern does not allow us to choose from time to time whether and how to react.

The good news is that we can also reverse the course in this case, with reflection and practice that lead to an awareness of these processes.

Thinking and awareness

In addition to theoretical study, direct experience is equally important. There are specific techniques that help us to familiarize ourselves with our mental patterns, starting from mindfulness to Vipassana meditation. There are hundreds of validated approaches for which a positive association has been found with the development of prosociality, deep understanding of others, self-esteem, and adaptive processes to face stressful events (coping and resilience).

The advice is to include moments in your daily routine to increase these fundamental abilities to work effectively, calmly, and creatively. In addition to improving learning and collaboration processes, the interest should generally be placed on understanding more about ourselves. Consistency is important because without it, results, although positive, are unstable and regression to dysfunctional behaviors is just around the corner.

Seeking the Human Among the Machines

In a moment when technologies are advancing in fields until a few days ago occupied only by human intellect, we are urged to become increasingly interested in that “human spark,” as Harari calls it, that distinguishes us as Homo sapiens, focusing on developing what no machine, for now at least, seems to have acquired, integrating a vision that contemplates ideas, body, emotions, and self-awareness.

Experimenting with new habits and abandoning automatic responses will produce changes in the quality of our actions to the benefit of ourselves, our collaborators, and our clients.