There’s an interesting ‘movement’ afoot in our schools here in the UK – a ‘movement’ which I broadly welcome. In collaboration with psychologists from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, a school in Kent has recently taken part in a trial which gives pupils weekly courses in ‘mindfulness’. Mindfulness, with origins in Eastern spiritual traditions such as Buddhism, now has a growing body of research supporting its use to improve psychological well-being. Indeed, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has even recommended that lessons in mindfulness are offered on the NHS to patients suffering from depression.
In collaboration with the Oxford Mindfulness Centre and the Well-Being Institute at Cambridge, several schools are taking part in the roll-out of the pilot programme. A key outcome of the course is to teach skills of attention and concentration – skills which, if learned at a young age, can stay with people throughout their lives and help with the management of pressure.
Other elements of the course content wouldn’t be out of place on a staff development programme and, as per previous posts, there is a certainly an established need for building resilience in many organisations. Other aspects of the course cover recognising when we are ruminating on issues, slowing down and savouring activities, recognising unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, plus encouraging self-reflection and self-knowledge.
It will be interesting to see how well the trial is evaluated and if it’s positive this is something I hope will be rolled out more widely. It’s not the kind of approach we’re used to hearing about in the education system – but it’s refreshing to hear that schools are open to these new ways of thinking.
See the following links for more information:
Cambridge Wellbeing Institute: http://www.cambridgewellbeing.org/action_children.html
Oxford Mindfulness Centre: http://www.oxfordmindfulness.org
This is a very positive initiative. Any way of introducing reflection , calmness, and self awareness is to be welcomed. Teachers will benefit as much as the pupils.
Mindfulness is a very clever way of making acceptable what to many people is unacceptable – Eastern practice. I have practised meditation for many years, and would be lost without it.
I am an atheist, so have no religious axe to grind,
but whenever I have suggested to distressed Christian friends that they might benefit from the practice, every single one has recoiled as though I had asked them to take up devil worship!
Mindfulness, with a bit of luck, can get around that resistance. And the sooner it is introduced in schools, the sooner we might see emerging a more peaceful and thoughtful generation .
The problem I wrestle with is that to sit mindfully one must have ‘no gaining idea’ (more prosaically – meditation must be pointless). An analogy with Christian prayer may be that to approach God with a shopping list is to miss the point.
I imagine it is very difficult to ‘sell’ this to a modern educational community which is so results/goals driven. To tell a bunch of students they should do this because it will make them more relaxed, cool and attractive is not only wrong because it might not do that it also wrong because it prevents them from effectively developing their ability to be mindful i.e. having an open hearted acceptance of their current experience.
I am very keen to see a widespread adoption of mindfulness based approaches to improving peoples well being but I am also concerned that this is difficult to get started outside an ethical context of it just being a ‘good’ thing makes life ‘better’.
First of all, I do think that the initiative is a good idea. If you are going to promote it to administrators then the use of psychological studies from prominent institutions is the way to go.
As far as people’s hang-ups go, I would not worry about it too much. If you can convince a single person of the benefit of a practice or discipline, then the idea has spread.
As Schopenhauer said, “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
I have three questions for you. Who are you? What is your expertise? What do you have to offer?
It’s essential to define your purpose clearly. Otherwise you won’t where you are going. You won’t have passion for your life. You will have little chance of success.
There’s a myth that passion can only be spontaneous. You either love your work or you don’t. You either enjoy exercising or hate it. Passion can’t be forced or created. I disagree.
The benefit to creating passion is that you end up loving the things you have to do. Exercising, learning, studying, working can become a passion.
Be careful not to fall prey to focusing too much on what you want, the mind creates reasons why you can’t have it. You to dwell on your weaknesses. You can avoid this by consciously focusing on gratitude. Be mindful of the things you are grateful for. Revisit your past successes, celebrate your unique skills and foster loving relationships. Build positive momentum and take that next step towards success.
When we think positively about ourselves, we often project that feeling on to others. Rather than insults and gossip, we get in the habit of praising and complimenting other people. We become well liked and build self confidence. When we look for the best in others, we bring out the best in ourselves.
We must be mindful not to get caught up in our own desires. Concentrate on the contribution you’re making to the world and don’t worry about your own flaws. The more you contribute to others without expectation of reward, the more personal success and recognition will flow toward you.
Think big in order to get the motivation. See yourself at the finish line and basking in the glory of crossing it. The bigger you think, the more excited you’ll be to get started.
Act small to get out of your head and start doing little things to get one step closer to reaching your dreams. Focus on those small things that will take you a few steps closer to your destination.
You are needed. Others need your cleverness and insight. They need your help to solve problems.
Start today because after all is said and done, most often much is said and little is done.
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