There’s a difference between a stressful work environment and a toxic one says Michael Carroll, author of Fearless at Work. Here’s his step-by-step guide to transforming a toxic workplace… (Lion’s Roar, “3 tips for surviving a toxic workplace,” 14 Sept 2015)
This short article gives some tips for creating some space around a bad encounter, but what to do when the shouting is over and our angry co-working has retreated to another part of campus? Continue reading
Curious about meditation? Having trouble getting past some of the roadblocks that your imagination has set up? Here is a simple way to bring your thoughts back to earth, get some straight facts, and get started: listen to two meditation experts speak with NPR’s Here and Now’s Robin Young.
Andy Puddicombe is the developer of the Headspace meditation app. Here and Now interviewed him on Wed (21 Oct 2015) on Technology Stressing You Out? There’s an App for That.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the developer and moving force behind Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a medically proven therapy for alleviating stress and pain. Here & Now interviewed him today (22 Oct 2015) on The Science of Mindfulness and Meditation.
There is an ever-expanding scientific literature on the impact of meditation, especially mindfulness meditation, on health care professionals and their patients. This work is now spilling over into the academic arena. The August 2015 issue of the Mindfulness Research Monthly newsletter describes a recent study this way:
The high emotional demands of public school teaching can contribute to impaired teacher morale, professional burnout, and the fact that 40-50 of teachers quit teaching within their first five years on the job. …
With the temperature crawling towards 100 (it’s still June !!!), let’s enjoy a moment with fellow meditator Wally. Like others, he may discover unexpected benefits.
My taxes are due in a couple of weeks. I think I have a few more days to turn in my 2014 medical receipts for reimbursement. Half the yard is covered by moss and weeds, the rest by grass that grows 3 inches every night. Dishes to wash, thesis drafts to read, lectures to write, assignments to grade – who has time for meditation?
Continue reading
Spring Break has finally arrived. Indeed, several colleagues have told me, “it’s one week late.” Apparently, a lot of us teach, work, and live, in ways that are stretched so tight that a small schedule change can barely be tolerated. Somehow we hang on.
So here’s some good news: a new book called, “Mindfulness for Teachers” by Patricia A. Jennings (W.W. Norton & Co.). Although the cover shows smiling schoolchildren, and not college students, I suspect mindfulness practices can benefit teachers at all levels. Here’s the blurb describing the book:
Can a smartphone (or tablet, or laptop) be conducive to the cultivation of mindful awareness? It just might if it happens to equipped with a meditation app. The NY Times Personal Tech file published reviews of four iOS and Android meditation apps, Calm, Headspace, Happier, and Digipill that claim to help users calm down, cultivate awareness, get better sleep, and so on.
NOTE: Some of these apps are free and some are not. I have not tried any of them and I am not endorsing any of them. If you decide to try one, let me know what your experience is like.
Update (Mar 30, 2015): Robin passed along info about another app: Simply Being – Guided Meditation for Relaxation and Presence (available for iPhone and iPad).
