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Awareness and Connection

MINDFULNESS

Developing Awareness and Building Authentic Human Connection

A Lighthouse Talk with Lulu Cao · introduced by Shailendra Aswal

In our daily interactions at work, in conversations, and even with ourselves, we spend most of our time in thinking mode. Planning, analysing, solving. It is a necessary mode. But when we are too much in our heads, we miss what is actually happening in front of us.

Genuine connection does not come from saying the right things. It comes from being present enough to notice what is actually there. Awareness is not a technique. It is a quality of attention that changes the texture of every exchange.

In this Lighthouse Talk, Lulu Cao explores how awareness develops, why it matters for the quality of our relationships and conversations, and how a practical framework called SEEDS offers a simple, repeatable way to cultivate it in ordinary daily life.

This is a 40-minute talk. Come with curiosity.

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Approach: Grounded in the SEEDS framework, an evidence-based approach to everyday mindfulness, delivered in partnership with Mindful Circle

Format: 40-minute live Lighthouse Talk with Q&A

Focus Area: Mindfulness and Presence

Experience Level: No prior mindfulness experience needed

Delivery: Online, via Zoom

Host: Shailendra Aswal, Chief Navigator, My Life Kompass

Presenter: Lulu Cao, Navigator Partner — Oxford-trained mindfulness facilitator, MBCT

This session is: A conceptual and lightly experiential introduction to awareness and its role in authentic connection

This session is not: A complete mindfulness course or a substitute for the Mindful Foundations workshop

What follows: For those who want to go deeper, this talk is the front door to the Mindful Foundations workshop, where these ideas become a sustained personal practice

By the end of this session, you will:

Recognise the pattern. Understand why the thinking mode that serves us so well in work and planning is also the mode that most often pulls us away from genuine presence with other people.

Understand two modes of mind. See the difference between thinking mode and awareness mode, not as opposites, but as two capacities you already have and can learn to move between more deliberately.

Taste what awareness feels like. Experience a moment of genuine presence through a short guided pause drawn from the SEEDS framework, brief enough to taste the quality of settled attention without simulating the full workshop.

Discover the SEEDS framework. Understand how SEEDS structures the practice of awareness across five simple principles, and how those principles map onto real moments in an ordinary day.

Know what comes next. Leave with a clear and honest picture of what the Mindful Foundations workshop covers, how it is structured, and whether it is the right next step for you.

Developing awareness is not about becoming someone different. It is about seeing more clearly, responding more wisely, and meeting others with sincerity and presence.

I have tried mindfulness before and it did not work for me. Is this still relevant?

Very likely yes. Most people who feel mindfulness did not work for them were practising a version that emphasised stillness or emptying the mind. The SEEDS approach is built around ordinary life, not formal sitting. This talk may change how you think about what mindfulness actually is.

Is this a taster of the workshop?

It is a preview, not a taster. A taster gives you a small piece of the same experience. This talk gives you the conceptual and emotional context to understand what the workshop is for and whether it is the right next step. The practice work happens in the workshop itself.

Do I need to attend this talk before joining the workshop?

INo. The workshop stands on its own. But if you are curious about the SEEDS approach and want to understand it before committing, this is the right starting point

How long is the webinar?

40 minutes, including Q&A. It is deliberately contained. If it leaves you wanting more, that is exactly the point.

How does this connect to the Mindful Foundations workshop?

This talk is the front door. The workshop is the room. Attending this talk is not a requirement for the workshop, but it gives you a clear, honest picture of what the workshop involves before you commit.

Lulu CAO

Founder of WeConcorida and Oxford-Trained Mindfulness Teacher

Lulu holds a Master’s in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy from the University of Oxford and serves as an advisor for The Mindful Circle in Singapore (Oxford Mindfulness Foundation Partner). She is a global certified ontological coach, an executive coach, and a certified consultant of The Leadership Circle.

Previously, Lulu built extensive experience as a senior HR leader at globally recognized organizations such as General Motors, Ipsos, and Fidelity Investments. She specialized in change management, leadership effectiveness, talent management, and strategic workforce planning, serving as a key member of steering committees alongside country managers and CFOs.

She designed and implemented leadership and talent programs across Asia Pacific and integrated mindfulness and coaching practices into organizational culture—helping teams enhance focus, resilience, and well-being while driving individual growth and company-wide transformation