This is warrior training. The Bulls and the Lakers know that simple exercises can increase attentional agility. Mindfulness is about becoming aware of how we direct our attention. It improves attention, decision-making, happiness, and relationships. Our breath links our mind, our brain, and our body – and paying attention to our breath helps cultivate mindfulness. By intentionally practicing mindfulness we ultimately change the architecture of our brain through neuroplasticity.
We have information overload and continuous partial attention. Howard Rheingold believes that mindfulness is the most important practice for anyone trying to swim through the infostream. It is the power tool that all the other literacies depend upon. Attention to intention is how the mind shapes the brain. We used to manage our time. Now we need to learn how to manage our attention. We can notice when our attention wanders and gently bring it back – like training a puppy.
Just as the slow food movement preserves traditional cuisine and local produce as an antidote to the fast food movement, slow education is a response to content-heavy curriculum and standardised testing. Slow learning encourages close looking. Pico Iyer claims that in an age of speed, nothing is more invigorating than going slow, and in an age of distraction, nothing is more luxurious than paying attention.
How are you directing your attention?
And how are you helping your students direct their attention?
(Images: Paul Vera-Broadbent; blog.eataly.com; Colfe’s History Department)
This was very eye opening. How do we teach and encourage our students to learn? I have personally been in classrooms where there is low lighting and they have the stereo going. I, myself, could hardly see who the students were, ,much less see to do work.
I definitely see the importance of mindfulness and managing my time after reading this article. The world today is moving at a fast pace and can be overwhelming at times. I think by understanding that we should slow down to really be able to give our full undivided attention to something will only help us be better at whatever it is we are trying to do.
There are so many distractions today, whether it be TV, Internet, phone, or all three. We are a generation of multitaskers, when I do finally find time and the world is quiet even for a second, I feel like I need to do something immediately. This is in part due to my Myers-Briggs type ENFP, but it also has to do with the high demands of the world. Slowing down and eliminating just a few of the multiple task can relieve some of the stress, and enrich learning.