photo credit:  Pixabay

I attended a Brain Conference yesterday that had all sorts of amazing information I’m excited to share in little bits with you.  One of the sessions was about Mindfulness.  We’ve probably all heard of mindfulness, it has become quite a popular thing to talk about, and everyone from coaches to medical professionals to neuroscientists are advocating it as a way to be healthier and more effective. 

If you want a very brief, entertaining, and simple explanation of mindfulness, check out this 2.5 minute hilariously animated video, Mindfulness Is a Superpower, narrated by Dan Harris (animated by Katy Davis).  One of the really great benefits of it for everyone (kids, parents, people who work with the public, humans in general) is that it allows us to put some space between stimulus and response.   So, if something makes you angry or upset or anxious, mindfulness practice gives you some skills to not just react immediately, but rather check in with your body and mind and take a moment before deciding how to respond.

I’m not an expert in this, by any means, but I’m pretty interested in the idea of finding more tools to help me live the way I want to live, with more intention.  I’m looking into delving into a few tools, including:
Mindful.org, which includes several guided meditations and articles
Stop, Breathe, & Think, a free app designed for kids, but relevant for adults, too
University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Healthy Minds has a lot of information about how mindfulness affects the brain, and how it can be applied to every day life.

Also, check out this webinar our colleague Colleen Allen from Luck did for SirsiDynix earlier this month about offering mindfulness practice at the library!