Living With Live Wires

What would happen if teachers were aware of the scientific finding that how a person reflects internally will shape how one treats both onesself and others? If teachers became aware that attuning to the self- – being mindful – can alter the brain’s ability to create flexibility and self-observation, empathy, and morality, wouldn’t it be worth the time to teach such reflective skills first to teachers and then, in age-appropriate ways, to the students themselves?
Reflection is the skill that embeds self-knowing and empathy in the curriculum.

I wanted to introduce you to a landmark book by Dr. Daniel Siegel, who has done extensive research on the science of the brain and how greater awareness of ourselves and our relationships actually affects the functioning of our brain. It is a book for anyone wanting to develop reflective skills and includes a special section for parents, teachers and counselors. This book is an excellent resource for personal growth and professional applications.

He draws our attention to examine whether we are living mindlessly or mindfully. He states:

For some people, this “living on automatic” is a routine way of life. If our attention is on something other than what we are doing for most of our lives we can come to feel empty and numb. As automatic thinking dominates our subjective sense of the world, life becomes repetitive and dull….we come to feel dead inside.

Living on automatic also places us at risk of mindlessly reacting to situations without reflecting on various options of response. The result can often be knee-jerk reactions that in turn initiate similar mindless reflexes in others. A cascade of reinforcing mindlessness can create a world of thoughtless interactions, cruelty, and destruction.

Being mindful opens the doors not only to being aware of the moment in a fuller way, but by bringing the individual closer to a deep sense of his or her own inner world, it offers the opportunity to enhance compassion and empathy. Mindfulness is not “self-indulgent,” it is actually a set of skills that enhances the capacity for caring relationships with others.

We engage with ourselves and with others, making a more authentic connection, with more reflection and consideration. Life becomes more enriched as we are aware of the extraordinary experience of being, of being alive, of living in this moment.

Mindfulness, and the development of keener observation are the most important skills you must acquire if you are going to embark on a path of greater creativity.