1. Mindfulness

2. Our mind works in different ways..
Paying attention / Mindfulness
Not paying attention / Default Mode

3. Paying attention or default?

4. Paying attention or default?
Do you have those friends that ask you what you did on the weekend and than 5 minutes later ask the eaxct same question? Or you ask you parents what is for dinner and than can remember asking the question but can’t remember the answer.
Reading a page of the book 5 times over

5. Mindfulness
Intentionally paying attention to each moment with an attitude of openness and acceptance

6. The Default Brain When not paying attention to something
Mind wandering
Mental chatter
Worry (future) and dwelling (past)
Autopilot

7. The Default Brain
A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.
The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive “achievement” that comes at an emotional cost.
Killingsworth & Gilbert (2010). Science.
Day dreaming is part of the human condition.

8. The Default Brain Associated with Stress (Brewer et al., 2011)
Anxiety (Zhao et al., 2007)
Depression (Greicius et al., 2007)
Poor relationships
Learning difficulties
Attention difficulties
Associated with a whole lot of mental health conditions

12. Mindfulness
Good news... We can train our brain to pay more attention

13. Paying attention to each moment
Mindfulness
Paying attention to each moment

14. One minute looking at this.

16. Sometimes it is harder than others to pay attention..

17. Intentionally paying attention to each moment
Mindfulness
Intentionally paying attention to each moment

18. Mindfulness
Intentionally paying attention to each moment with an attitude of openness and acceptance
The openess and acceptance is an important part of mindfulness. When we get too upset at ourselves for worrying about the future or not being able to concentrate in class, it actually makes it harder for us to concentrate.

19. MINDFUL LEARNING

20. Mindful Learning Mindfulness increases Working memory
Executive functioning
Communication
Empathy
Zeidan et al. (2010)
Activates regions involved in short-term memory
Klingberg, Forssberg & Westerberg (2002)
Learning how to pay attention to the present moment

21. Mindfulness and Learning
Multitasking
Procrastinating
Hands up if you think you can pay attention to two things at once?

22. The Illusion Of Multitasking
Try it!
A, B, C, D, E…

23. The Illusion Of Multitasking
1, 2, 3, 4, 5…

24. The Illusion Of Multitasking
A1, B2, C3, D4, E5…

25. The Illusion Of Multitasking
Complex multitasking Homework + Instagram Youtube Texting = ?

26. Procrastination..

27. Procrastination Is A Habit!
Procrastinators are made, not born. It is a learned response, a habit that gets developed over time (and, like all habits, can be changed – with effort). This is a good thing! It means that you can un-learn it (by first learning about how exactly you procrastinate, and then developing a different habit).

29. Mindfulness & Relationships
Turn to person next to you
Partner A – tell Partner B about your plans for the weekend
Partner B – play on your iPad while listening to Partner A
Swap

30. Mindfulness & Communication
Better listening and understanding of others Stronger friendships and relationships Higher empathy Stronger connection
Ever had a parent, teacher or friend look like they are listening but you know they really are not?

31. Mindfulness

32. Our mind works in different ways..
Paying attention / Mindfulness
Improved concentration
Better learning
Less worrying about the past and future
Better relationships
Default Mode/Not paying attention
Hard to concentrate
Miss out on life
Increased stress
Less productive
Accidents

33. Questions?