Mindful Living: Pathways to Living Well Honors Explorations 2016

Transcription

1 Mindful Living: Pathways to Living Well Honors Explorations 2016 Picture found at Welcome to Mindful Living: Pathways to Living Well! GOAL: To familiarize students with concepts of mindfulness exercises that will enhance their own attempts to live mindfully, and to have an understanding of how mindfulness can enhance one s quality of life. What does it mean to be mindful? What do we want our minds to be full of? What is meditation really like, and why are mindfulness meditation and similar practices touted as helpful for stress reduction, treatment of depression, satisfying interpersonal relationships, professional success, and physical health? Is there really scientific evidence that these practices change your brain for the better? What s the big deal? Can exercises that seem to focus on paying attention to how you breathe really be the key to authentic happiness in our harried, app-driven lives? Meeting Time/Location: Fridays from 2-3:50pm, State Farm Hall of Business Room 412 Professor: Dr. Salvatore Catanzaro Office Address: 401H Hovey Hall Office Phone: (309) catanzar@ilstu.edu Office Hours: Fridays, 1 to 2 The focus of this Honors Exploration experience is to consider these related questions, and to begin to develop some answers. Together, we will explore the following: Conceptual approaches to mindfulness;

2 Experience of different mindfulness practices; Benefits and limitations of mindfulness; and How to live mindfully while actively participating in our contemporary, hyper-connected, information rich, industrialized society. Students will choose readings, mindfulness exercises, and mini-research projects to explore and share with the rest of the group. Our meetings will include sampling of mindfulness practice techniques and exercises, small and large group discussions, video and mini-lectures on selected topics, and student presentations of initial discoveries they ve made in their explorations. Class meetings will be held biweekly to allow students time to complete readings, explore exercises, reflect on their explorations, and prepare their presentations. Students will be expected to: Attend every class meeting; *Participate in discussions; Read/view materials to prepare for class discussions; Explore methods for mindfulness exercises; and Make a brief presentation on a mindfulness-related topic of their own choosing. The experience of mindfulness and the insights that come with exploring mindfulness can be intensely personal. We will all commit to compassionate respect for each other s privacy and to honor each other s personal boundaries. *There is no grading in this learning experience, and no students will be required to participate in any specific exercises or to share any specific personal information. Students should be aware that this Honors Exploration is designed to be most valuable when students are fully engaged participants who are willing to share with their classmates and contribute to a supportive, collaborative learning environment. Individuals who anticipate that practicing mindfulness meditation exercises will be personally challenging in a way that will diminish the quality of their learning experience should consider choosing a different Honors Exploration experience. fboulder.com/2015/02 /13/finding-peacemindfulness/ What you can expect from the instructor: Guidance regarding useful readings, videos, and exercises; Advice on mini-research projects and presentations; Facilitation of constructive discussions; and Constructive feedback on projects/presentations

3 CLASS SCHEDULE January 29 th Introductions, expectations, and resources Initial exploration of mindfulness exercises Identify a topic and a preferred date (3/18 or 4/1) for your presentation and it to me by noon, February 10 Begin reading any book on mindfulness or meditation of your choice (see Resources ) February 12 th Conceptions of mindfulness and related topics More exploration of mindfulness exercises Planning the presentation schedule Start developing your presentation Continue reading your book, and read at least one article of your choosing that describes scientific research on, or an application of mindfulness meditation. February 26 th Scientific research on and applications of mindfulness Continuing exploration of mindfulness exercises Continue working on your presentation (and complete it if you are presenting on March 18). Continue reading as your interests dictate. March 18 th Student Projects/Presentations Continuing exploration of mindfulness exercises Continue working on your presentation if relevant. Continue reading as your interests dictate. April 1 st Student Projects /Presentations Continuing exploration of mindfulness exercises Final Reflections and Wrap Up: Connect your learning and experience in this class to the Dimensions of Honors Learning: ng/seminars/mindset/5over6expectations_ct.pdf

4 These are not exhaustive lists. RESOURCES Suggested Books Anything by Jon Kabat-Zinn, especially: Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life (10 th anniversary edition). New York: Hyperion. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Coming to our senses. London: Piatkus. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2009). Full catastrophe living (15th anniversary edition). New York: Delta/Bantam Dell. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Mindfulness for beginners. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. Anything by Pema Chödron, especially: Chödron, P. (2013). How to meditate. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. Anything by Ellen Langer, especially: Langer, E. J. (1997). The power of mindful learning. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. Langer, E. J. (2013). Mindfulness (25 th anniversary edition). Boston: Da Capo Press. Also: Goldstein, J. (2011). Mindfulness: A practical guide to awakening. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. Gunaratana, B. H. (2011). Mindfulness in plain English. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Hanson, R. (2009). Buddha s brain: The practical neuroscience of happiness, love, and wisdom. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Suggested Websites These websites offer articles, blogs and other resources for mindful living; some offer streaming of meditation exercises. No endorsement of commercial goods and services is implied. greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition You can also explore the many guided meditations and presentations on mindfulness (and related topics) that are posted on YouTube and TED.

5 Suggested Academic and Scientific Journals A number of journals in a variety of subdisciplines of psychology, health, and medicine are publishing research on aspects of mindfulness and its application. Rather than list them all, here are two relatively new psychological journals that tend to feature research on mindfulness more than most. Mindfulness The Journal of Happiness Studies Skimming the recent contents of these journals might be a way to discover a topic that grabs. Alternatively, you can discover other journals as you explore topics you have already identified. A FEW WORDS ABOUT PRESENTATIONS In developing your presentations, I invite you to be curious, explore a topic that excites you, and find creative ways to share your excitement about the topic with your fellow explorers. You may choose to give a lecture, lead a demonstration or activity, facilitate a discussion, give a performance, or share in any other way that interests you, fits your topic, and you think will benefit your fellow explorers. Finally, keep in mind that your presentation/activity must be no longer than 7 minutes. You might consider the following questions as you plan your presentation: 1. What questions do you want to help your audience answer? Or, What do you hope to help your audience learn? 2. What format is most appropriate in light of your learning goals? 3. What resources (books, websites, etc.) might you suggest to others who also become excited by your topic? 4. How does the exploring you are doing for your presentation connect to the Dimensions of Honors Learning (5 over 6)? 5. How do you want your audience to interact with you: discussion, activity, question-and-answer, other? EXPECTATIONS Because there are no grades, I expect you to be self-motivated to learn and share with your fellow explorers. Thus, I expect you to contribute to class discussions, to make an engaging presentation, and to listen respectfully to others during class. You can expect me to structure the experience to help you learn; to provide you with guidance and feedback as needed; to share my expertise, experience, and opinions; and to facilitate discussions so everyone gets a chance to contribute meaningfully. Additional expectations: I encourage you to communicate with me via . Please include Mindfulness HE in your subject heading. This will help me respond in a timely fashion. I expect you to communicate professionally: Please send only grammatically correct and spell-checked s.

6 Attendance: I do not require attendance. Nonetheless, this Honors Exploration is a non-credit opportunity for you to learn for the fun of it, so I do expect attendance, unless you have a good excuse (serious or contagious illness, family emergency, etc.). If you must miss a class, please contact me as soon as possible via or leave me a message at Two absences will mean that this Honors Exploration will not count toward your Honors Program. Cell phones: I plan to keep my cell phone turned off or on airplane mode during class. I ask that you do the same. This is particularly important given the topic we are exploring. Please see me if this is a problem on any particular day; exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.