Mindfulness is a simple (but difficult) practice of paying deliberate, non-judgmental attention to whatever is unfolding in the present moment. We can choose anything to pay attention to: in this session we will pay attention to the breath, to eating and, if there is time, to walking.
The learning objective for this session, is for the pupils to have some strategies available to them to pause before decision making. This is crucial in the process of acquiring moral skill, because in order to exercise judgement, we first have to pause before we gather information. It is summed up in the expression .b, (dot be, stop and breathe).
- Play this introduction to Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe, the founder of the Headspace app.
- Ask pupils what their reaction to this video is.
- Monkey mind. Mindfulness depends on the mind. The human mind is a magnificent instrument, but it is not always good at doing what is needed for mindfulness: in short, being still and paying attention without making any judgments. The mind spends a lot of its time jumping from past to present: thinking about things that we have done, or that others have done, or thinking about what we have got to do. Some people call this ‘monkey mind’: the mind is like a monkey that jumps around all over the place and occasionally throws something unpleasant at us (e.g. something to worry about or being excessively judgemental).
- Before doing any mindfulness, it can be helpful to think of 2 different modes of mind: doing/planning and sensing. The ‘doing’ mind makes things happen whereas the ‘sensing’ mind allows what is there to be there without passing judgment.
- Activity: ask students to sit still and in silence for one minute and notice all the different thoughts that pass through their minds during that time. Give them a piece of paper and they should put a mark on the paper (circle, dot, dash, whatever) every time a new thought comes in. Ask them to also notice what type of thoughts they have (e.g. planning, reminiscing, ruminating, predicting) and notice how much is ‘doing’ and how much is ‘sensing’. Don’t ask them to share this (that’s intrusive!), just notice.
- Mindfulness of the breath. The purpose of the exercise is to pay attention to each moment of breathing and to take time. Ask students to sit in a ‘dignified’ manner (straight back, hands in lap) and to bring their attention to their breathing and just notice the movement of the breath in and out of the body. They might like to focus on the part of the body where the breath is most vivid to them, perhaps the nostrils or the chest. If they find that their mind wanders, distracted by thoughts or senses, they should notice that the mind has wandered and bring it gently back to awareness of the breath. Take 5 – 10 minutes over this.
Alternatively, you could play students this guided mindfulness of the breath. Before playing, mention that there is a particular style to the speech on guided meditations which some of them may find unusual. This is a useful reminder of how judgmental we can be: suggest that instead of focusing on the style, that they should concentrate on following the guidance.
- Discuss the experience with the students: what was good, were there any immediate benefits, what could they use day to day?
- Mindful eating. The purpose of the exercise is to pay attention to each moment of eating and to take time. Distribute jelly babies to students. Ask them to hold the jelly baby in the palm of their hand and explore the different sense information coming in. Notice the colour of the jelly baby. Notice how it contrasts with the colour of your skin. Notice the weight of the jelly baby in your hand. How does it feel against your skin? Roll it between your thumb and forefinger and notice its shape, weight and contours. Examine the lines, contours and shapes on the surface of the jelly baby. Notice how there is light and shadow. Now bring the jelly baby to your nose. Does it smell of anything? Now take a small bite. Take your time to notice every aspect of the taste in your mouth. Notice where the taste comes from. Notice other sensations in your mouth, from your gums and inside your cheeks. Take another small bite and do the same. Notice any sensations present as you consume the jelly baby.
- Discuss the experience with the students: what was good, were there any immediate benefits, what could they use day to day?
- One-minute mindfulness. Ask students to sit as they were for mindfulness of breathing and to again become aware of the breath. Time a minute and ask students in that time to count the number of breaths that they take (breathe in, breathe out, count 1; breathe in, breathe out, count 2 and so on). It doesn’t matter how many breaths they take, but they will now know how many breaths to take for one minute of mindfulness. They can use it as a nice punctuation point between the many different activities they engage in during the day, to ensure they are present for each.
- Mindful walking (if you have time). The purpose of the exercise is to pay attention to each moment of walking and to take time. Take the students outside (or if wet into The Theatre if free, use the stage, or Old Gym/Old Hall). Ask them to pay the kind of attention they just paid to breathing, to walking. Notice every aspect of each step they take, from the moment their foot leaves the ground to when it reconnects. What are the muscles, bones, joints doing? What sensations can they feel? What sensations of touch and pressure are present from moment to moment? How do those sensations change?
- Discuss the experience with the students: what was good, were there any immediate benefits, what could they use day to day?