Mind Full or Mindful?
With many schools starting their academic year this week or next, I thought this would be a great opportunity to check in and talk about mind full vs mindful. This was inspired by the many articles discussing how schools at all levels are handling the usage of smartphones in the classroom and on their campuses.
Earlier this year, a boarding school in the Berkshires announced they would be banning smartphones on campus for the upcoming school year. In addition to students, this included all faculty too. There was a lot of backlash from parents (and staff) when the announcement was made. Ultimately, the administration had noticed a decrease in creative projects being started, fewer students attending events on campus and a drop of physical “hangout” sessions during downtime. While smartphones have been critical to providing opportunities to stay in touch with friends and family, there are other avenues that are just as effective. Students and faculty will still have access to use laptops and tablets and can use cell phones that have capability to take pictures and maybe connect to the internet. But by eliminating the distraction of games, apps and many other preoccupations on smartphones, it allows for greater freedom to be more mindful.
Last weekend I went for one of the most grueling hikes I have ever completed. On day one, I climbed Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Adams, two of the three tallest peaks in the northeast. The trails are short, steep and hit alpine zone almost immediately. All of this, coupled with carrying a 30 pound pack on my back, challenged my ability to stay in the present moment with each and every step. Random thoughts filtered in such as: ”Is this a good spot to rest?”, “What is my current elevation?”, “My sugar level feels like it’s getting low”. When this happened, I would come back to the present moment and repeat the phrase, “Just get to the next cairn.” This allowed me to shift from mind full to mindful. If those thoughts kept being intrusive, it was a sign I needed to address whatever was concerning and then continue on.
Mind full can leave us feeling unproductive, messy or overwhelmed. It often puts us into the future frame of mind. Some are praised or feel pride for having a full plate and “handling it well.” But is one really productive in this frame of mind? Maybe. Maybe not. There are consequences while in this constant state of stress such as aches and pains, exhaustion and trouble sleeping, stomach or digestive problems and increased blood pressure, just to name a few.
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.
This is a quality we all possess. Some of us just need a little nudge accessing this. There are numerous ways to practice mindfulness. Five examples include:
create a gratitude list
walking meditation
paying attention to sounds
breathing exercises
body scans
The number of benefits to mindfulness is countless. To name a few: stress reduction, more cognitive flexibility, intuition and fear modulation, increased immune system and decreases emotional reactivity.
This is a great time of year to reevaluate how we spend our time and where we place our attention. The choice is yours. Mind full or Mindful?
be well-
