As a wealthy industrialist, S.N. Goenka remembers the nights he tossed and turned in bed, his mind doing somersaults.

His stomach was in knots when he lost contracts to competitors; his mind spun wildly when he was successful.

It’s hard to imagine the peaceful Goenka, now 78, sprinting on the never-ending treadmill many business people climb onto every day.

Former businessman S.N. Goenka is now a lay teacher of the Vipassana technique.

Today, he is the foremost lay teacher of an increasingly popular, non-sectarian form of meditation called Vipassana (vee-pah’-sa-na). He will appear in Calgary and Edmonton in early July as part of a 31/2-month North American tour.

In recent years, Goenka has addressed the United Nations, Harvard Business School and the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Earlier this spring, he took his message to New York City’s Spirit of Business conference.

“He’s a very big player on the world stage,” says Calgary’s Marie DeRoy, who teaches Vipassana. “Not to hear him would be a missed opportunity to get a lot of information.”

Vipassana is taught in 70 centres around the world, and more than 100,000 people annually sit through courses. Introductory courses, funded by donations, are taught in 10-day sessions to people from every walk of life.

The meditation technique has been taught to about 10,000 prisoners in India and is making inroads in U.S., British and New Zealand reform facilities.

Increasingly, business leaders are hearing the message.

“In a sense, we are all prisoners of the mind, whether we are behind bars or walking freely in the streets,” says DeRoy.

In a speech at Harvard, Goenka described his own experiences to corporate leaders and academics. A successful businessman in Burma (Myanmar), he detailed the “agitation” he endured in his business life.

The ups and downs of success and failure kept him off balance. If he lost out on a business deal, he would become upset, even angry.

On these occasions, he would burn inside, become tense, stressed, his heart rate increasing. It was a natural human reaction – but potentially damaging to himself and anyone around him.

Vipassana changed matters and gave him an “equanimity” that allowed him to accept life’s highs and lows. “Life becomes wonderful when you are happy in every situation,” he said.

DeRoy explains that Vipassana helps people understand how the mind and body react to emotional situations. For example, in situations where a person is angry, the body’s behaviour (tensing, burning, knots in the stomach) can be controlled if the individual understands the elements at play.

“It’s hard work, but people leave the workshops amazed. Vipassana is not magical or mythical. It’s almost a scientific process where you work with the mind in relationship to the body’s sensations. It’s incredibly powerful.”

DeRoy explains that as these negative influencesare understood and removed from the mind, people begin to accept constantly changing conditions with a new perspective.

“I have my storms. But I deal with them differently. I don’t act out on those things. I wait, maybe meditate. I’m not harming others, not taking it out on family and co-workers.”

In countless testimonials, business leaders who have adopted the 2,500-year-old Buddhist meditation technique say it’s a practice that takes hard work, but the reward is substantial.

It helps you respond to life’s inevitable stresses “in a balanced way, without allowing events to whipsaw you,” a Texas lawyer told Fortune magazine in a story published last summer.

As people clean the slate and eliminate many of the negatives that reside in the subconscious mind, devotees say they are restored to a more natural, compassionate state of mind.

DeRoy believes that as more business leaders practise Vipassana, their office cultures, too, will change. “If you have leaders who accept their own reactions, there will be fewer people throwing (emotional) stuff around. It tends to filter through an organization, gently, quietly and very subtly.”

Practical benefits include increased concentration and mental clarity, greater energy and efficiency, a heightened ethical foundation and a reduction in cravings, confusion and ill will.

During the Calgary and Edmonton visits, DeRoy says people attending the free sessions will be inspired by Goenka, whose wit and charm have helped further Vipassana since 1969.

He’ll explain how the meditation works, she says. He’ll talk about the treadmills that we endure.

“He was part of that circle at one time, always wanting something, needing something more. He’ll tell how meditating will help you have a better life for yourself, and how you will want a better life for others.”

And he’ll likely mention how much better he sleeps at night.

ALBERTA EVENTS

* Calgary, June 17: Garry Theatre, award-winning video on meditation in India’s prisons entitled Doing Time, Doing Vipassana, 7:30 p.m.

* Calgary, July 3: Goenka public talk at Metropolitan Centre (333 4th Ave. S.W.) at 7:30 p.m.

* Edmonton, July 4: Goenka visit to Edmonton City Hall at 7:30 p.m.

* Edmonton, July 5: Goenka speech with business people at the Canadian Centre for Social Entrepreneurship (11211 Saskatchewan Drive) on the University of Alberta campus at 10:30 a.m. Call Sheila at 780-492-0187 to register. (No tickets are required; donations accepted.