In a world whizzing by at warp speed, books like Malcolm Gladwell's Blink are instant best-sellers, sites like Twitter and Instagram are always buzzing, and Netflix binge watching is all the rage. We call it multitasking as we engage with the latest technology to read or watch gossip on the web, text a friend on our phones, make status updates on our online social networks, etc. – all while we’re supposed to be focused on doing real work for school or jobs. And despite the constant communication, we don’t necessarily relate to each other in a thoughtful way; some say we have lost the ability to have a meaningful conversation.
Emerging equally strong is a countertrend that replaces coarseness with compassion and distraction with attention. It’s called mindfulness – characterized by awareness of the present moment and concentration on a focal activity such as breathing. Although it’s rooted in 2,500-year-old Buddhist teachings, mindfulness has no religious undertones in its current incarnation. Formally practiced through meditation, it’s sweeping through fields from psychology to business to the military to education.
Media coverage has been pervasive. The Huffington Post maintains an entire section on Mindfulness Research. Recent New York Times articles describe how it’s used to treat soldiers with PTSD, how it helps people boost their GRE scores, and how it increases one's morality. Indeed, instilling values of empathy and discipline is what we want and need in our schools and society at large.
Emotional Intelligence author Daniel Goleman takes mindfulness to the next level when discussing its future at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts. He posits that the “antidote” to a decaying planet will likely come from the mindfulness community, and cites “new tools” that can help bring about such positive change. For example, the 10-year-old industrial ecology field, he says, combines the expertise of designers, chemists, and environmental scientists to analyze all aspects of a product’s life cycle. Now, a product is really a process filled with social, environmental, health, and other impacts that can be measured. In one case, Goleman mentions that the toxicity levels of various shampoos are found on Skin Deep.
Here, he says, mindfulness can play a crucial role as we pause and examine detailed data about a product’s negative impacts and those of competitors before making a purchase. Studying this information, we’re no longer buying goods on impulse. When enough of us take the time to consider a company’s supply chain and decide to buy or not buy products based on their impacts, it creates a “strong business case for doing the right thing,” Goleman says. The message is clear: employing mindfulness has the potential to make us better stewards of the planet – and help us heal ourselves.
Changing habits begins with teaching and learning. As mindfulness has moved into the education sector, independent schools have been leading the way. And NAIS’s forthcoming 2013-2014 Trendbook is right there to capture this with relevant research and original reporting in the field. In a chapter titled “School Climate Outlook,” my colleague and I examine how mindfulness is being used as an intervention to cope with stress. Stay tuned for studies on its benefits and ways teachers and schools are integrating the ancient practice into 21st century classrooms.
The views expressed here reflect those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of NAIS. Please contact the author at [email protected] with comments and suggestions for future blog posts.