Color Your World with Mindfulness

What is your relationship with color? 

Do you think about the colors that you see daily? Have you ever considered what it would be like to not see color? 

For some color blindness is real and frustrating. They now make special glasses to help people with color blindness experience all of the colors the majority of us take for granted. Look up some videos on YouTube and take a minute to watch reactions to seeing all of the colors for the first time. In fact, as a good way to kick off this mindfulness let's watch together.

Gift of Color 

April 17th episode of The Happiness Lab (if you've been reading these blogs over the years then you know this is a favorite podcast and I reference it from time to time) was called; Sight and Sound: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses. This episode's guest was author and podcaster Gretchen Rubin. She has recently written a book about mindfully getting in touch with our senses. Her book, Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World, came about after she was told she was at high risk of losing her sight. Gretchen began exploring her senses and what they mean to her every day life. We can do the same.

Listening to the podcast I loved how she talked about color and forming a new relationship with color. Gretchen shared that she began by picking one specific and unique color. She then set out to find it and collect it. Gretchen picked the color Scarlet. She shared that she goes to thrift stores and seeks out anything in this color and has built a unique collection of scarlet items. She loves taking time to look at the collect, it reminds her to take time to enjoy what this color brings to her life.

Gretchen also spoke on involving others in this new mindfulness of color. I love the ideas she shared and I think we can take time to create a class mindfulness related to color.

The idea is to pick one specific unique color. Not just red, but scarlet. Not simply blue, but sapphire. Don't seek our green, look for emerald. Instead of focusing on yellow, seek out daffodil. Pick one color and look for it. Make it a color of the day. Ask students to (silently) focus in the halls and seek to find this color. Have them make mental notes and report back to you once in class. Encourage students to find the color during recess and come tell you what they find. Make a list and review it at the end of the day. 

Gretchen and the host of the podcast Dr. Laurie Santos also talked about, finding the perfect color. You can pick a color, like orange and try to find everything orange. Then rate the oranges. Students can share why they like one shade better than another. 

Color mindfulness helps us pay attention. It encourages us to slow down and appreciate what we see. 

Color mindfulness can be a great way to redirect a class who begins to go off task. You can observe the class and if you notice too much going on tell the class it's a color break. Encourage them to take slow deep breaths and look around the room for color of the day and after a minute ask them to report back to you what they find. I would even challenge you as the adult to intentionally add something new in that color to the classroom. Surprise your students with something new and colorful! 

Take a color walk if your class is struggling with sitting still. Again, give them a color to focus on silently as they calmly walk and breathe. When you return to class review what the students have found.

Our lives are filled with color. Music artists names songs after colors:

Yellow...Mellow Yellow...Purple Rain...Purple Haze...Red...Red Red Wine...Lady in Red...Little Red Corvette...Brown Eyed Girl...Behind These Hazel Eyes...Paint it Black...Orange Crush...Touch of Grey...Pink...Behind Blue Eyes...Blue Velvet 

Color is a big part of our lives. We learn to stop at a red light. We know green means go. If we are angry it is said we see red. You can be green with envy. Go ghost white when sacred. When we are sad, we are feeling blue. If you are cowardly you are, yellow bellied. 

In the spring so much is coming back to life in vibrant and colorful ways. Utilize this season to take some time to experience color mindfulness.

Pick a color today and try it out! Notice something new. Experience beauty. Be in awe. Have fun!

The Mindful Way to Test

 April showers (of rain and snow) bring....testing season.

Testing often brings on anxiety, stress, and frustration. This can hinder a students' ability to do their best. 

We can help with mindfulness.

Here is a video sharing the benefits of a mindfulness practice before a test is taken. If you take time to watch the video you will learn that students can increase test scores if they are taught to practice mindful breathing before and during the testing. Have you ever considered playing Inner Explorer before starting a test? Did you know if you navigate to the Counselor Series you will find a couple of testing mindfulness? Try one! 

I have spent time this week exploring various Inner Explorer lessons at various levels. I encourage you to move up or down based on how you feel your students will receive and process the material. A middle school class who has been practicing regularly is not too young to try a high school mindfulness. A upper elementary class who daily engages in mindfulness could try a middle school mindfulness and be successful. 

In my exploration I listened to some good meditations on; testing taking mindfulness, growth mindset, handling big emotions, and even some from the new safety series.

Inner Explorer has recently launched a new Safety series. This one is great for after a drill, an unexpected stressful event, or maybe even a challenging test. Help your students decompress and shake it off. Imagine after taking a high stakes test you are gifted with a mindfulness that acknowledges that you just went through something stressful. 

We could all benefit from someone addressing reality and not brushing over it. This is mindfulness. It's saying "It is cold outside. I can handle the cold." and after you handle the cold saying "I made it!" Mindfulness isn't tricking your mind to think something else. It is acknowledging and accepting reality to help us build strength and perseverance. 

Let's take some time to acknowledge and accept that testing is anxiety inducing and not tell our students to brush it off or maybe even to suck it up (I hope we aren't saying this...but you may be tempted to at times).

In a 2016 paper,  Test anxiety and a high-stakes standardized reading comprehension test: A behavioral genetics perspective, we look at the stark reality that 10-40% of our students experience test anxiety. The large gap is based on gender, race, and socio-economic status.  If you think about the diversity of our students you will see we have students on the low end and students on the high end of anxiety.

We can combat this anxiety by equipping our students with a growth mindset and a mindful calm and readiness to succeed. 

It may also help your students to ask them to take time to examine their sleep and electronic habits. 

Our students for their ages should be going to bed between 7:00pm-9:00pm. The time increases with ago and can change based on wake up time. Come to my office and look at the sleep schedules I have posted.

For the best sleep possible our students should also stop looking at/watching a screen at least an hour before bed. 

Mindful testing cannot be done by chance. Mindful testing is a choice. It is a conscious action you need to choose for your students. You need to work hard to create the environment you desire to ensure that your students achieve at their fullest potential. 

 

Helping our Flowers Thrive

If your students are not blooming, don't fix them, fix your environment.

We can help our students grow and thrive if we take some time to attend to the surroundings. We can take an Orchid Child and work toward giving them the skills of a Dandelion Child. We can at the very least try to get them to become a Tulip Child.

Pediatrician Thomas Boyce and Psychologist Bruce J Ellis started research into why some children thrive and some wither, even in the same environment. More recent studies have expanded this research and found that with compassion a child showing genes and traits of an orchid child can be helped to become a tulip child.

The flower theory is simply this: a dandelion grows anywhere, an orchid needs specific conditions to bloom, and a tulip needs tending to but can withstand cold temps and still grow. This means that a dandelion child is one who can grow even in an environment with trauma, chaos, and few needs met. In contrast an orchid child will not do well in that same environment. An orchid needs a calm, peaceful, and supportive environment. Then we have our tulip child, one who may have started out an orchid and with support has learned to be more like a dandelion.

Findings show that about 29% of people are dandelions, 31% are orchids, and 40% are tulips.

Research also finds that the first determinate of our flower type is genes. While there are many different genes in play, one important one looked at is the dopamine gene, of which we have two types. One type is known as the, risky type. The risky type dopamine gene is associated with ADHD, lower ability to handle stress, addiction, and aggression. You are more likely to be an orchid with this dopamine gene. But you do not have to remain an orchid.

One study tracked babies over 3,6, and 12 months. In this study it was discovered that by 12 months, if a baby with the risky dopamine gene had a highly warm mother who was sensitive to their needs the baby could shift to be more like the dandelion babies. These babies would be consider either dandelions or tulips.

We have a school full of orchids, dandelions, and tulips. We can look at some of our orchids and help change the environment and provide them with tools needs to become a tulip. We aren't changing the students, we are changing ourselves and the environment. In the baby study the researchers noted that it was the mothers affection that helped the babies change and thrive. How we interact with our students matters. The environment we create matters.

One of the easiest tools to use to help change us and the environment is mindfulness. 

Mindfulness doesn't change the flower. Mindfulness changes the environment. You create a calm, safe, and present space for students to thrive, grow, and bloom. With our help, over time, our orchid children may change to tulips. 

To go with our flower theme, here is a quick flower mindfulness. 

Does the classroom environment support or hinder the growth of your students? Are you helping your students with the risky dopamine gene to thrive? What about your environment may need to change to promote growth?

As we continue our April-May mindfulness challenge I encourage you to consider your classroom environment. Perhaps 5-10 minute of mindfulness a day could change the environment and help your students thrive and bloom. Inner Explorer is an easy way to cultivate a positive environment. 

Compassion: I Care About You (this isn't about me)

 In our last post I shared about Daily Jay on the Calm App. Today I want to draw from Jay Shetty's wisdom again. If you have the app you can search for Daily Jay Compassion and you will find the March 21 Daily Jay.

This mindful meditation is a great way to kick off our month of Compassion.

Understanding compassion can help us truly cultivate compassion and practice it in our daily lives.

Compassion IS NOT the same as empathy. We need to understand the differences and why more often than not we should engage in compassion and not empathy. 

Do not get me wrong, we should not lack empathy. In psychology the lack of empathy is often seen as an indicator of a sociopathic condition. Empathy can help us build relationships and understand each other better. Utilizing empathy with others can show them that we care enough to feel with them. But feelings with others can sometimes cause more problems and we need to take a step back and create space and utilize compassion.

While empathy is, I feel with you; compassion is I feel for you and your feelings. 

German psychologist Tania Singer has engaged in extensive research on compassion and how it helps us grow our brains, heal our bodies, and create social awareness and connection. Tania talks about Brain-Body-Heart and how they are all connected.

Psychology profession Paul Bloom believes so strongly in compassion he wrote a book called Against Empathy. Paul sites compelling research by Tania Singer and others to back his idea.

Research participants in a study on compassion verses empathy were given an fMRI while being asked to engage in Compassion Mindfulness and Empathy Mindfulness. The results showed that empathy was exhausting, unpleasant, difficult and made people more likely to withdraw from helping others. On the other hand, compassion was found to be exhilarating, energizing, and created a positive experience and participants were more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors. Compassion helps us want to help others.

Another professor of psychology, David DeSteno has done research on mindful meditation and how it increases compassion.

There is a current cultural movement known as "Me Too". While it has brought things to light and created support for some, it has also created a lack of compassion for someone else's story. Research is showing that "Me Too" can hinder understanding of what others are going through. When we shift to empathy we get too close and do not listen as well. We engage in telling people our stories in response to their stories. 

A good way to engage in compassion is practicing mindful listening. To more accurately understand someone else's experiences we should not "walk a mile in someone else's shoes" but rather practice HEAR mindfulness.

H: Halt what you are doing and give your full attention

E: Enjoy a deep breath and take in what is being shared

A: Ask yourself if you understand what they are saying and ask for clarification if you do not

R: Reflect black what you heard to let them know you were listening

When I work on active listening skills with students I remind them, we listen to understand not respond.

Compassion isn't a response it is an action. I will show you I care by doing for you as I walk with you. 

As we teach compassion this month, let us practice it too.