We sit in front of the television night after night. We google, goggle, and surf day after day. Why? I can recall countless people, including myself saying, "I just need to chill out, unwind, relax. . .be mindless." Mindlessness is what? . . .Is it that place where we don't have to think? Where the worries of the day disappear? Where our brains can relax away from the hectic world? I truly believe that I have confused Mindlessness and Mindfullness for a good stretch of my life. While watching television, and surfing the net can be a mindless persuit, what our body and minds (ours and our childrens') truly need to be happy and relaxed is Mindfullness. That is the message I take from Goldie Hawn's book, 10 Mindful Minutes.
It is an easy read. Delightful really. Hawn intersperses some excellent information, in easily understood language, about how the brain works in respect to stress and emotions, with lovely anectdotes depicting Mindful moments from her own life and family. She not only teaches the reader how to be more mindful in ourselves, she also teaches us how to promote mindfulness and resilience in our children. She illustrates through clear writing and fun and simple games. She reminds us many times that deep, slow mindful breathing for 5 minutes twice a day, can help us relax our "guard dog" (amygdala) part of the brain and open new paths to learning for our "wise old owl" (prefrontal cortex), and build happiness and resilience. Just 5 minutes, twice a day, to bring us out of "reacting" to life and into being, seeing, and connecting.
I love the emphasis on connecting with nature and happiness. If you have read Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, or Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. think of 10 Mindful Minutes as the instruction manual, but more fun. I daresay I will need to get my own copy of this one. I don't want to be a library book hog! (
It is an easy read. Delightful really. Hawn intersperses some excellent information, in easily understood language, about how the brain works in respect to stress and emotions, with lovely anectdotes depicting Mindful moments from her own life and family. She not only teaches the reader how to be more mindful in ourselves, she also teaches us how to promote mindfulness and resilience in our children. She illustrates through clear writing and fun and simple games. She reminds us many times that deep, slow mindful breathing for 5 minutes twice a day, can help us relax our "guard dog" (amygdala) part of the brain and open new paths to learning for our "wise old owl" (prefrontal cortex), and build happiness and resilience. Just 5 minutes, twice a day, to bring us out of "reacting" to life and into being, seeing, and connecting.
I love the emphasis on connecting with nature and happiness. If you have read Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, or Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. think of 10 Mindful Minutes as the instruction manual, but more fun. I daresay I will need to get my own copy of this one. I don't want to be a library book hog! (
Amy - This is really inspiring! Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really should look into the other two book suggestions.
ReplyDeleteAmy, This is really wonderful. Thank you for sharing. Last Child in the Woods: is a great book. I will be checking out the Goldie Hawn book as soon as I can.
ReplyDelete