Category Archives: Mindful

Podcast of the week: Sam Harris @ Impact Theory

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Wow. Just wow. Wellbeing is a skill. How Brazilian Jujitsu and mindfulness are alike. There is so much going on in this episode of Impact theory, that I know I will listen to it several times. After founding Quest Nutrition, TOM BILYEU turned his attention to pulling “people out of the Matrix, at scale, by giving them an empowering mindset.” He does this by interviewing really interest people who offer some insight on breaking free of the matrix. Enter Sam Harris.

Sam Harris not just ridiculously intelligent, but thoughtful as well. He thinks deeply about how the world works. Perhaps it was the two years of silent meditation or his own daily practice or his writing or his psychedelic drug use or the fact that he earned a PhD in Neuroscience after studying philosophy, but he speaks with alacrity. He deliberates carefully about how to explain that. Sam is well known in meditation community for wis approach to spiritual well being without the religious dogma.Try Sam Harris’ Meditation App “Waking Up” FREE for a month! Just use code “IMPACT2019” at checkout: http://bit.ly/2xgfsPy He has his own fantastic podcast, Making Sense. He is author of seven books, five of which have been New York Times Bestsellers. I loved Waking Up and it is probably time to read it again.

On this episode of Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, Sam Harris talks about what to do if you suffer from anxiety, feel lost or hopeless, or just want to connect more effectively with real life. Listen here.

Tom’s podcast, Impact Theory, is well worth subscribing to as it hits 300 episodes of impactful discourse.

How to boost creativity

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“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live!” Henry David Thoreau penned in his journal. “Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” Thoreau was onto something when it comes to building your strengths of creativity. I always wondered why Gallup never included creativity as one of their Talents in the Strengthsfinder assessment. 

 

Apparently it is as simple as walking according to a Stanford study highlighted in a story featuring Steve Job’s famous practice of taking people for walking. Where you walked did not matter: “The act of walking itself, and not the environment, was the main factor,” according to the study. This study follows on an excellent article in the New Yorker on how Walking Makes You Think. Walking has many other benefits as outlined by the arthritis foundation:

1. Walking improves circulation.

2. Walking shores up your bones. 

3. Walking leads to a longer life. 

4. Walking lightens mood. 

5. Walking can lead to weight loss. 

6. Walking strengthens muscles. 

7. Walking improves sleep. 

8. Walking supports your joints. 

9. Walking improves your breath. 

10. Walking slows mental decline.

11. Walking lowers Alzheimer’s risk. 

 

12. Walking helps you do more, longer. 

 

Mindfulness for anxiety

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The growing body of evidence supporting mindfulness/meditation as an effective intverention in helping with anxiety is undoubtable. Research from Oxford shows significant improvements: reductions of 58% in anxiety (GAD-7), 40% in stress (PSS) and 57% in depression(PHQ-9). Take a look at this great set of guided meditations: The use of these exercises is discussed in both of our books: Mindful Way Through Anxiety and Worry Less, Live More 


Click to play, right-click to download 

  1. Mindfulness of Breath
  2. Mindfulness of Sounds
  3. Mindfulness of Physical Sensations
  4. Mindfulness of Emotions
  5. Mindfulness of Emotions and Physical Sensations
  6. Mindfulness of Clouds and Sky
  7. Mountain Meditation
  8. Inviting a Difficulty in and Working it Through the Body
  9. Your Personal Experience with Self-Compassion
  10. Mindful Observation of Self-Critical Thoughts
  11. Mindfulness-based Progressive Muscle Relaxation
    1. Instructions
    2. 16 muscle group exercise
    3. 7 muscle group exercise
    4. 4 muscle group exercise

On gratitude

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Gratitude is one of the 24 character strengths. It has its own holida in the US and Canada. It has a host of positive health benefits. 

Consider Louie Schwartzberg gorgeous 6 minute film on gratitude.

Here are some nice guided meditations and exercises to focus you on gratitude:

What’s the best mindful app?

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With over 700 Apps in the sore it can be difficult to decide which one to choose. You could end up buying a fine timer, but it will not teach mindfulness. About a year ago, researchers published a study evaluating apps using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) targeting
  • functionality,
  • look,
  • information quality,
  • engagement, and
  • subjective quality.
The top free ones?
Below is the list of the ones that fair best in the vaulation. 

Book Review: Grit

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Angela Lee Duckworth has released her long awaited book that follows up from her stunnng Ted Talk:

 

Angela has spent all of her academic career investigating what she believes is one of the defining characteristic of successful people.

The book opens with the drop outs of westpoint, which she spoke on her Ted talk. She expands on her research there and follows up with Spelling Bees. While familiar grounds, she goes in much deeper with a meander through human achievement research with the likes of Galton, Ericsson, Csikszentmihalyi, Willingham, Cox, and several others. Her pulling together, in one volume, proves the most useful part of the book. While her own anecdotes provide some insight, but lack weight. Her own research is only in its infancy. So the details she provides gives useful backdrop for the coversation, except the conversation is one sided. She really does not address can one have too much grit? The answer is Yes!

Having just completed the book, I have aimed to pull together the best strategies for building your grit (not all of which Angela discusses):

On Angela’s website she is asked about parenting and teaching for Grit and replies:

The entire book is about teaching grit. Before I became a psychologist, I was a classroom teacher. It was as a teacher that I discovered how important psychology was to a child’s achievement. It’s not an exaggeration to say that every chapter in this book has special relevance to teachers. Chapters Two and Three might be especially useful when explaining the importance of effort (versus talent) to students. Chapters Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine on interest, practice, purpose, and hope are where I define the four psychological assets that lead to grit. In Chapter Nine, I talk about parenting for grit—but the same dynamics play out in the classroom. In Chapter Ten, I explain why Harvard and other colleges are eager to see students cultivate their grit in extracurricular activities. Finally, a teacher who wants the classroom culture to support grit will find Chapter Twelve full of examples of how to do that.

 That is one significant problem with the book. Her research reveals little about how to cultivate grit in real, normal circumstances. Million dollar organizations like West Point and Seahawks are not the real world. Paul Tough did a far better job outlining and illustrating a plan in How Children Succeed. 

Ethan Ris takes her task in an important Op-Ed for the Washington Post:

There’s more to the story, however. In a recent peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Educational Controversy, I examined the history of the discourse surrounding this special trait. It far predates Duckworth’s research, of course. My investigation led me to two conclusions. The first is that the widespread assumption that grit is a salient concept for low-income students is a stark misconception. The second is that while grit theory offers little of value to those disadvantaged students, it can certainly harm them, by romanticizing hardship.

Still, this is an important book. Already number 13 on Amazon (Behind Dr Seuss, a Deit cookbook, a pre-teen story about Greek Gods, Harry Potter, Alexander Hamilton, Bill Clinton, and two adult colouring books–so clearly not as important as all those escapes from our Gritty world, but still important), this book will be a big seller this year.





 

Book Review: Grit

Posted on by

Angela Lee Duckworth has released her long awaited book that follows up from her stunnng Ted Talk:

 

Angela has spent all of her academic career investigating what she believes is one of the defining characteristic of successful people. Having just completed the book, I have aimed to pull together the best strategies for building your grit (not not all Angela discusses):

The book opens with the drop outs of westpoint, which she spoke on her Ted talk. She expands on her research there and follows up with Spelling Bees. While familiar grounds, she goes in much deeper with a meander through human achievement research with the likes of Galton, Ericsson, Csikszentmihalyi, 




 

Mindfulness strategies by personality type

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According to personality theory, when an individual becomes stressed, they will find themselves in the grip of their shadow side of their persoanlity type, sort of a distorted view of the polar opposite of one’s normal personality. While much research ahs shown the benefits of mindfulness in handling stress. Now a couple of writers are advocating specific mindful practices to specific personality types to combat stress. 

The ideas below come directly from Gabriel Taylor and ring true to my thinking on both meditation and personality types. Read the whole Article. Basically, for each type she suggests one or more of the following practices:

  • Mindfulness meditation
  • Spiritual meditation
  • Zazen meditation
  • Mantra meditation
  • Movement meditation

Mindfulness meditation: This is the most commonly known meditation. By being present, allow whatever thoughts occur to rise then detach. Be aware of your breath patterns, deep breaths mean you’re slowing down and relaxing, shallow breaths means you’re tensing up. This quieting of the mind by letting thoughts come and go and being more of an observer will naturally allow the meditator to let go of any invading thoughts, the goals is not to empty the mind but to notice and let go. This is ideal for ISTJ, ISFJ, ISFP and INFJ.

Where to start?

Spiritual meditation: This is a good solution for those that are facing a problem and need a higher power for guidance to work through it. You can practice this anywhere quiet, just sit still, form your problem into a query and listen for your higher powers guidance. This meditation would be good for the types ESTP, ENTJ, ESFP and ESFJ.

Where to start?

Zazen meditation: This meditation is more traditional and takes disciple to practice due to long periods of stillness in one position. Its focus is on holding position, focusing on breath and being discipled to stay present with a clear mind for long periods of time. It is perfect for those that are unafraid of self-study and reflection. Types such as INTP, INFP, ISTPand ENFJ may find the challenge appealing.

Mantra meditation: Is simply repeating a word or words while meditating. You can look to tradition and use Om or bring your own like love or joy. Chanting helps keep the meditator focused and cuts down on distraction for deeper meditation practice. Types INTJ, ISTPand ISFP would benefit most from this style.

Where to start?

Movement meditation: For those that find it difficult to sit still and do nothing or be silent. To gain the multiple benefits of meditation, one doesn’t have to sit and be still. You can still clear your mind, slow your thoughts and let go of stress by slowing down your movements, and listening to relaxing music. Yoga, Qi gong, walking, are movement meditations. For example, in yoga, you can chose to meditate on one thing while you are going through the poses, like peace of mind. You can also take a nature walk, and mindfully let go of any stress-full thoughts. Some will even practice this while doing chores, it’s just a matter of being present. ENTJ, ESTJ, ENTP and ENFP personalities will find this exercise may suit them best.

Where to start?

Yoga

Qi Gong —video instructions

Walking Meditation guide here and another more philosophical one here. 

Here is some more detailed options

For the Data Lovers

To see the full set of data, please click here