Integral Life

What is the Integral Movement?

Edutopia.org Selection of Videos

Edutopia on Arts Integration:
Mixing Art + Politics -- Integrated Studies in High School


Edutopia on Project Based Learning


Edutopia on Social Emotional Learning:

Spirit Science

A fun and engaging animated program available online is The Spirit Science, and here's the full 2012 series via YouTube:

"Planting Seeds: The Power of Mindfulness Film Trailer"

For more Mindfulness campaigns on IndieGoGo click here

Mindfulness & Meditation, Techniques & Channels

I do not pretend to be an authority on the subjects at hand but here's what I've gathered thus far.

Meditation can take place in a variety of ways. It's worth noting, however, that meditation is less an activity one does and more an experience one may have by being in or setting up conducive circumstances for it to happen. I.e. it is a state of being rather than a action, per se. With that said, there are particular actions and techniques one can enlist to create a space for meditation to take place. Hence, icons or symbols of meditation often include a figure sitting with eyes softly closed, perhaps with particular mudras (hand postures), and so forth. Some techniques for concentration meditations include yantras (usually a 3D figure, symbol, object, et cetera and sometimes 2D representations of such items).

An example of a focused meditation could be done with a resource such as Arunachala-live.com

In addition to the visual channel, there are auditory and kinesthetic channels of meditation/intuition as well. While these various modes of entering meditation may overlap in ways, there tends to be some distinction within the experiences depending on which is emphasized and/or the contents of one's intention during such a 'pursuit.'

Transcendental Meditation is a prominent form that is less structured or concentrated and rather a way of becoming the witness of all arising thoughts, feelings.

Here are some resources I found very helpful in discovering the meaning of meditation:

8 Basic Kinds of Meditation c/o IAM-U.org (this site has much to offer in addition to this link)
5 Styles of Meditation c/o FitSugar.com
And, Ken Wilber (co-creator and promoter of Integral Life) on 3 Types of Meditation:

And, lastly, Plotinus One is a blog with interesting prompts and thought provoking (as well as thought eliminating techniques) posts. The author of this blog has provided inspiration and many pieces of content herein.

Ethereal Education @ http://u.arizona.edu/~tjvi

I went ahead with the initial name that had come to me for this project and jumped on a wave of inspired action. Design enriched with a Janet Tifft Fine Art background on rich, though softened, emerald and ocher.

u.arizona.edu/~tjvi

It's not perfect, but there is a point when I have to release my inner perfectionist and simply trust the process. Just enjoying the stepping stones and excited to see what's next.

MindfulEducation.org

Excerpts from http://www.mindfuleducation.org/

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is paying attention here and now with kindness and curiosity. Mindfulness reconnects students to their five senses, bringing them into a moment to moment awareness of themselves and their surroundings. Research shows that mindfulness increases attention skills, reduces test anxiety, and improves emotional regulation.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is paying attention here and now with kindness and curiosity. See the research page for information on the benefits of mindfulness.

Examples of mindfulness practice include:

-Becoming aware of the breath;

-Feeling the various physical sensations of an emotion;

-Noticing thoughts as they pass through the mind;

-Paying attention to all the sounds in the room;

-Noticing what happens in the body when there is stress;

-Watching the thoughts that arise when there is boredom;

-Feeling the stomach rise and fall with each breath

Mindfulness practice is widely used in business, healthcare, and education to improve attention and well being.

Mindfulness practice does not depend on or interfere with any religion, cultural context  or belief system. Mindfulness can be completely secular. Fortune 500 companies provide mindfulness instruction to their employees to reduce on-the-job stress, hundreds of hospitals refer patients to courses in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to develop skills to cope with physical and emotional pain, and dozens of schools (private and public) across the country are using mindfulness practices to help their students succeed.[1,2,3]

Mindfulness practice can save time in school

Mindfulness practices help students focus and pay attention. A few minutes of mindfulness practice can improve the learning environment. Many teachers report that on the days when students practice mindfulness, the students are calmer and the class accomplishes more than on days when mindfulness is not practiced.[4]

1 - Ryan, Oliver. "How to Succeed in Business - Mediate" CNN Money. July 20, 2007

2 - Elias, Marilyn. USA Today, 6/8/09 Mindfulness Meditation Being Used in Hospitals, Schools

3 - See the Association for Mindfulness in Education Mindful Education Map

4 - See testimonials on the Association for Mindfulness in Education Mindful Education Map

"The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. . . An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence"

William James, 1890

Mind Full, or Mindful? {image}

Mindful Schools

It is ever so encouraging to be finding an abundance of very promising research on mindfulness and resources being developed on the subject of integrating mindfulness into K12 education.

There is a part of me that becomes almost overwhelmed by the large volumes of information I'm finding, though only briefly. I am mostly very excited for the future of education with increasing evidence of integral education advocates. Integral Institute and affiliated characters, namely Ken Wilber, having really developed the concept and understanding of what an integral approach looks like.    For the purposes of this project, the focus is more specifically on integrating mindfulness into K12 curricula. One of the first segments of the web-resource in the making will be research findings, a collection of mostly current examples of mindfulness in K12 classrooms or other spaces relevant to the project.

Point of Departure 1: Mindful Schools
http://www.mindfulschools.org/resources/sample-lesson/

"It is often said that mindfulness is simple, but not easy. This is because while the principles, instructions, and techniques in mindfulness are very universal and accessible, employing them regularly, spontaneously, or continuously of your own volition can be very challenging. In the same way, teaching mindfulness might seem simple, but it’s actually not easy to do effectively. This is because in order to be effective in teaching mindfulness, one must first embody and demonstrate mindfulness with their behavior."

For this reason precisely, it has been imperative for me to integrate mindfulness in my life as thoroughly as I can. In the last few months, since decided to do this project, I've been all over the map with mindfulness. It's been a bit turbulent - to say the least. I feel like this is a huge part of why this project has been very compelling and of great importance to my education. 

As the Hindu proverb goes "To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach."

I'm somewhere between... And, aiming for mastery while humbled by the truth of the first statement in the quote above. There is a certain paradox to the simplicity of mindfulness.

Subtle Shift

As I've begun verbalizing my ideas, hopes, and plans for this project to friends and family there has been nearly unanimous attention given to the name "Ethereal Education." It seems to have a reception of being too ...well I guess ethereal! Too vague, out there. Perhaps the alliteration makes it almost cheesy even. I don't think so, but, clearly it deserves thinking about. After all the name of this endeavor will essentially be people's first impression of the project and thus a potentially make or break component.

A Subtle Shift

The whole point of using the word ethereal is that it has a certain vagueness, a mystical quality that makes it difficult to precisely pin down and define. Yet, of course, it has an array of definitions pointing to its meaning - and (a sample of which) as follows:

As I attempted to conjure up something (perhaps) more pleasing for an audience beyond myself the next thought was involving the notion of subtlety. This whole Mindfulness business is all about the subtleties, attuning our attention to include the 'subtle body' - as it's sometimes called.

By now I'm thinking that Subtle Shift could be a good domain name, then I realize - why am I so interested in making it an alliteration? I suppose it's just a matter of finding it more catchy. It does not need to be, but why not? 

The real issue I'm up against has little to do with the name, but rather, who is my intended audience? What am I trying to achieve? What do I aim to communicate? How can I achieve my aims and gain reception?

Some tentative answers to these questions: 

Ultimately the purpose of this project caters to K12 students, but, via teachers. So the audience in mind is those teaching little ones, youth, adolescents, teens, and so forth. Students of all different stages of life, backgrounds, and contexts. For the sake of a 1 unit Independent Study, however, my goals will likely have to shrink initially. As such, I'll just say for now that my intended audience will be teachers and mentors of middle school students ~ this is strategic and I'll explain further in later posts, but basically, I'd love to support the efforts of Project SOAR if possible.

My hope is to achieve a better understanding of mindfulness myself and to pay it forward in whatever ways available. The goal in mind specifically is creating a web based resource for teachers (and myself) to build better lesson plans that incorporate mindfulness exercises.

I aim to communicate prompts for powerful experiences that can potentially uplift and empower the lives of many precious individuals, as I've seen happen in myself and peers participating in such practice.

How to achieve this and gain reception? The only answer I have ample faith in is - by following my heart and trusting the work that is not of me to flow through me!

May there be light upon this endeavor!

With much love and endless gratitude.

Amen.