Just Breathe - Exams

A parent from one of my lacrosse players shared this video with me a few years ago when I was at Episcopal Academy. That was a special season and team - we meditated daily before every practice and every game.

When I share this video in class, the wisdom of these children can be cynically scoffed at - comments like "They didn't come up with that..." or "No way that was something a kid knew..." "Who wrote those lines for them?"

I witnessed one class recently laugh and make fun of the kid's teeth "He'll need braces" and "He has anger issues" but I say nothing. The reaction to this video is telling of the mindset and reflects even a not so latent anger at anything that suggests meditation and mindfulness. The loudest critics... I am mindful not to make assumptions. But I record observations.

Hearts and minds are not opened easily - and the myth of multitasking is not received warmly.
Our lives - and our brains - are fried with stimulus and anxiety - FOF and FOMO preying on all of us.


Understand how (parental) stress affects developing brain from early childhood to adolescence.

From Raising of America:

The Amygdala-Prefrontal Cortex Connection is Crucial from California Newsreel on Vimeo.

Neil deGrasse Tyson: How do you use your INTERSTITIAL time?

Check out Neil deGrasse Tyson's Amazon page - how many books has he written?
Where does he find the time?

Read his Wikipedia page.

See his website.

Check out his Twitter.Harvard Business Review - Life's Work: An  Interview

From the HBR article:

How do you balance your TV work with your day job, your academic work, and your family life?

Balance might be overrated. If your life is perfectly balanced—everything going smoothly—is it as dynamic as it could be? When life is out of balance, usually something is changing, and that’s not always a bad thing. It gives you a new perspective. New projects always send things out of balance. I embrace disruptions to circumstances I’ve grown complacent about.

Practically, though, how do you manage your time?

It’s a bit of the squeaky wheel philosophy. Some e-mails don’t get tended to for weeks. I also use all the interstitial time available. While I’m waiting for the subway, I’m doing e-mail. With a little more time, I’m composing book chapters or op-eds. How much of your life can you recover by using those slots? When you stitch them together, it’s a lot.

You have more than 4 million Twitter followers. Why does that medium appeal, and what makes you so successful at it?

I got an account, like other early adopters, back in ’09. I started tweeting what everybody else was: “Crossing the street now.” “A little bit cold today.” Why am I doing this? I’m wasting my time. Then I had an epiphany. I was in the Las Vegas airport a couple of months after I published The Pluto Files, and I did the vain thing that authors typically do: go to the bookstore to see if your book is on display. I said, “Excuse me, ma’am, where’s the science section?” She said, “Oh, we don’t have a science section.” I thought, “Of course—you wouldn’t want any rational thinking going on before you gamble.” And I said to myself, “That’s a tweet.” From then on, I’ve been tweeting random thoughts that come to me because of the lens I carry as a scientist and an educator. You are seeing how I think about the world (I call it my brain droppings), and, if you don’t hang around other scientists, that might be intriguing—to be a little closer to the operations of nature and the universe.

Why do you think so many people find inspiration in him?

See his show STARTALK.
Follow on SoundCloud.




Subscribe on YouTube:

If interested, I'm on @CNN’s GPS here with @FareedZakaria talking about a "Space Force" [Video: 5m 30s].https://t.co/96gDx6nU7h

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) June 27, 2018

Tim Ferriss on Why Meditate: Do you want to be successful?

On CNBC: 

Tim Ferriss: 3 things you should do every day if you want to be successful

by Catherine Clifford

 10:10 AM ET Mon, 9 Jan 2017

In his Nov. 23, 2017 Business Insider article, Richard Feloni writes:

"After interviewing 140 people at the top of their fields, Tim Ferriss realized almost all of them share the same habit"

• For his new book "Tribe of Mentors," bestselling author and star podcast host Tim Ferriss sent 11 questions to 140 people at the top of their fields.
• He found that regardless of industry, the vast majority of respondents had a mindfulness or meditation practice.
• He meditates every morning for 20 minutes and has found it's improved his emotional control.

From his podcast - episodes on meditation:

“The goal of meditation is to uncover a form of wellbeing that is inherent to the nature of our minds.” 
                                                                                 — Sam Harris

Mindfulness - a Superpower?

On March 28, 2018 in Scientific American, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen "talks to award-winning journalist and news anchor Dan Harris to bust the myths that stop you from meditating" in her article: "Busting the Myths of Meditation with Dan Harris"

Check out the following:

App: Calm.org

App: Headspace

App and Podcast: Dan Harris's 10% Happier

Listen to Dan Harris deconstruct the three myths about meditation.

"You're not special." - Dan Harris

My favorite podcast: Tara Brach Guided Meditations

Book: Mindfulness for Student Athletes; A workbook to help teens reduce stress and enhance performance 

November is National Novel Writing Month: NaNoWriMo

My goal is 30,000 words. (30 days/1000 words a day)

This is OPTIONAL; however, if you have an itch to write a story - and create a disciplined writing habit - NaNoWriMo may be for you.

Give this classroom code to anyone wishing to join this classroom.

FAQ and HELP



Social Media:

Twitter

As for writing alone vs with others, it’s hard to know until you’ve tried it! I expected to prefer to write alone but I was REALLY surprised at how effective write-ins are for me, and I know I’m not alone.

— NaNoWriMo (@NaNoWriMo) November 1, 2018

Wikiwrimo has more information about word sprints here: http://t.co/yq550Nzf4n

— NaNoWordSprints (@NaNoWordSprints) November 16, 2014

YouTube


Follow on Instagram 
"challenge to stir up inspiration, help you find fellow writers, and get prepared for noveling season"

#InstaWrimo




 

Attention Must Be Paid: Heed Tristan Harris on the Attention Economy

Screenshot from
  2014 TED Talk by Tristan Harris

Take out your phone.

Go to "Settings" > "Battery" > Wait for it....Scroll down: 

How much time were you...

Screen On?

Screen Off?

In the last 24 hours? 

See the PERCENTAGE of what APP you use most.

Click "SHOW ACTIVITY"

Note the hours and minutes of by APP.

How much time SCREEN TIME in the Last 10 Days?

Note the...

Average Screen On

Average Screen Off

For your top three APPS - note the total time in the last 10 days.

Note that it DOES not give you the TOTAL TIME in the LAST 10 DAYS.

Do this math. (10 x Average Screen On) + (10 x Average Screen Off) = 

Now multiply that (total time number x 36.5) x 4 years of high school (1460 days, 35,040 hours) = 

Now divide those hours by 24 to see how many days in highs school you will spend on your phone. 

What if you diverted half that time to writing a novel or a screenplay or an App or talking with friends and family?

(Keep in mind these hours - do not include other screens - watching movies, games, YouTube, shows, etc. on other devices.)

TED Talks that'll inspire you to unplug: "At the beck and call of your technology's beeps and buzzes? Let these talks inspire you to step back from your screen and engage with the immediate world around you."

Tristan Harris - Design Thinker - is a must watch.

Understand how you're giving your attention away for free - but at a terrible cost to your future and more importantly your present happiness and relationships.

Visit his movement for Time Well Spent at HumaneTech.com

The Attention Economy requires your eyeballs. 

Technology is not neutral. Sensationalize - viral videos.