Mindfulness

This morning I went to a talk by my sons' house master on Mindfulness. He has been instrumental in bringing it into schools in the UK as part of the curriculum, and next week he has yet another all party parliamentary session to discuss the development of this in the UK education system. He has developed the .b program which is being used in schools throughout the country who have already started teaching this concept.

What is mindfulness? It is moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, characterized mainly by "acceptance" - attention to thoughts and feelings without judging whether they are right or wrong. Mindfulness focuses the human brain on what is being sensed at each moment, instead of on its normal rumination on the past or on the future.It is more than just meditation, and can be a very effective tool in coping with stress, pain, depression, and PTSD.

Of course the government are very interested in this as necessary tool for the future. In the USA it is already being used in many large corporations (though he fears not properly...) and the UK is currently the world leader in introducing this into schools.

My friend Rhona came with me to the talk and this was a 'quick snap' on our way out as I knew I would not have much time for photos today.