All language subtitles for The.MindFulness.Movie.2013.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

We're doing a documentary
on mindfulness.

Downloaded from
YTS.MX

You guys know anything
about mindfulness?

No?

We're doing a documentary
on mindfulness--

Sorry, we're really
late for class.

Oh, go ahead.
Go ahead.

Do you know what mindfulness is?
Do you practice?

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

-No.
-Not at all?

No.
I'm sorry.

Do you guys know anything
about mindfulness?

Uh, no.

Do you guys know anything
about mindfulness?

Do you practice?
No?

-No, sorry.
-That's a lot of nos.

Do you guys anything about that?

-Ah, I don't--
-Never heard of it?

OK.

So do you anything
about mindfulness?

What is mindfulness?

Have you guys ever
heard of mindfulness?

We're doing a documentary.

You ever practice mindfulness?

We're doing a documentary
on mindfulness.

Hi, we're doing a
documentary on mindfulness.

Do you know--

On what?

On mindfulness.

Mindfulness?

Yeah, it's called "The
Mindfulness Movie."

[BABY LAUGHING]

RICK HANSON (VOICEOVER):
A baby that's

born, as it were,
would not be presumed

to be mindful necessarily.

Because mindfulness
involves this

sustained deliberate quality.

PAUL HARRISON (VOICEOVER):
Most of the time, most of us

are just not there.

We're mindless.

Their mind wanders
47% of the time.

And when it does wander 47%
of the time-- We're not there.

We don't know that
we're not there,

because when you're not there,
you're not there to notice.

911 OPERATOR (VOICEOVER): 911.

What's your emergency?

JON KABAT-ZINN: The world
is starving for something.

And it's not starving
for another issue

of "Time Magazine" or
"Sports Illustrated."

But it is definitely
starving for something.

And it's not just the world.

We are starving for something.

PAUL HARRISON: When
I was about 20,

while I was sitting on my
desk, working on some problem,

I experienced what I call
a shift in perspective.

What had seemed so elusive was
really right there front of me.

And at that moment,
I realized that what

I needed to do in
order to see it was

simply to shift my perspective.

It changed my whole life.

Because for once,
I finally got it.

I mean, I really got it.

And I understood
myself and I started

to understand others better.

Hi.

I'm Paul Harrison, an
architect and an author.

And one of the most common
questions I get asked

is why is an architect making
a movie about mindfulness.

Well, that's why I want to
share this story with you.

You see, I was a typical post
hippie generation teenager

from the early '70s with all
that reckless and mindless

behavior that made us
think we were really cool.

And we loved to
challenge all the rules

to the point of ending up with
some very serious consequences.

WOMAN (ON RADIO): Suspect down.

Request EMT immediately.

I realized once I
left high school that

was no path I wanted to stay
on and I was looking for a much

better way to deal
with stress, and family

issues, college, making money.

And that led me to begin
practicing mindfulness.

And then about a
year and a half ago,

I set out on an
incredible journey

to find the core teachings of
what mindfulness really is.

You see, when I started, I
took the street wise approach.

I didn't want to
subscribe any one camp,

but rather find what that core
essence of mindfulness is.

I met with experts
like Ellen Langer

at Harvard, who many of called
the mother of mindfulness.

I also met with Congressman
Tim Ryan, Guy Claxton

from England, Jeffrey Schwartz,
psychiatrist, and even world

renowned authors
like Dan Millman

from the "Peaceful Warrior."

And so my mission,
my passion, is

to share my journey
so you can start

learning about mindfulness.

And even more important,
to learn about yourself.

ELLEN LANGER (VOICEOVER):
So all certainty creates

an illusion of stability.

So certainty promotes
mindlessness.

Mindlessness usually
comes about by default.

And it's not
motivated, it just it

never occurred to you that this
thing could be other things.

Mindless mode is, I think, the
mode we're on 90% of the time.

Most of the time, we eat
and read the corn flakes box,

or we eat and talk, or eat
and dream, or most of us

eat and read.

Or we eat and watch TV.
-You get in the car.

You start the car.

Pull it out of the driveway.

You drive somewhere
for 10 or 15 minutes.

You arrive and you can't
remember how you got there.

You can take a cigarette out of
the pack, put it in your mouth,

take out the lighter, light
it, and be completely unaware.

And you're going how-- and you
don't remember any of that.

Because you were
daydreaming the entire time.

And even when we're
not in that mode

because we're thinking
about something,

we're mindless about almost
everything else we're doing.

We aren't really aware
of 'em because we're

so busy onto the next thing,
anticipating the next thing.

And--

Mindfulness teachers
describe the distracted mind

as monkey mind, a monkey
that just jumps around

from one thing to the other.

We'll do something
to distract ourselves.

Because most of
us the get bored.

We get preoccupied.

We're on the computer
when we're at work.

We're just so distracted.

We'll put the radio on,
we'll put the TV on.

But I'm not watching it.

It doesn't matter
what channel it's on.

It's almost like
we're robots and we're

listening to this command.

And the robot can
only respond and react.

ROBINA COURTIN (VOICEOVER):
Mindfulness, for me,

is just a technique of
identifying what's there

and distinguishing between
the neurosis and the virtues,

or the good qualities.

The most common definition
is paying attention

to present moment experience.

Mindfulness is your
natural state of being.

It's the awakening
of possibility

and the possibility
of awakening.

But also, it's about just
noticing what is happening

every moment of the day.

Mindfulness is one thing.

It's paying attention.

To the actions
that you are taking.

It's a sustained
quality of being present.

It's like being in the zone
and you can actually train

your mind to be in the zone.

I call it a basic mind hygiene.

A clear minded
observational perspective.

The experience of mindfulness--

Is turning into
reality as it is,

as it unfolds simply right now.

Which is just really the
full experience of life.

Without getting lost in
thought and becoming forgetful.

Thoughts are
representations of reality.

Mindfulness is the
actual experience.

Is the ability to
go to color white.

So mindfulness is paying
attention to the moment

with an open and a willingness
to let go of old patterns

and live in the present.

Did you get it?

[PHONE RINGING]

Hello?

Hang on.
What?

Did you get it?

Uh.

Were you even watching?

Watching what?

The experts
explaining mindfulness.

Oh, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.

I was watching.
-Mm.

Mhm.

What did it say?

Well, it-- it was
something about mindfulness.

So what does that mean?

Uh, I don't have a clue.

It's because you
weren't paying attention.

Uh.

Yeah, no, I did.

I was listening to it.

Yeah, but you weren't
paying attention

and that's the problem.

Wait.
Wait.

There's a problem?

Yeah, there's a problem.

You don't pay attention.

I don't even know what
you mean because I could

easily do two things at a time.

Yeah, you were texting
and hearing voices,

but you weren't listening.

What's the difference?

The difference is you
were hearing voices,

but you weren't
actually listening.

It's mindless.

All right, so tell me what
they said, if you're so smart.

It's that mindfulness
means paying

attention to what is actually
happening right now, not later.

This is what you
need to work on.

So you just want
me to be more aware,

like to hear what's happened
and to pay attention

to what's happening right now.

Yes.

That's it.

[SIGH]

That's a start.

JUN PO DENNIS KELLY (VOICEOVER):
Go deep enough into witnessing

and observe the function of ego.

And you'll discover that
it's just continually

running reactive loops."

PAUL HARRISON: We
don't experience

reality as it really as.

We perceive it through a filter
that allows us to see only what

we've been conditioned to see.

That's because we've become
trapped in the neurobiology

of our own brain.

Just like every tree has
a unique set of branches,

every brain has a unique pattern
of neurons and connections

that are both genetic
and learned over time.

So each and every one of
us is wired differently.

And it's the neural
architecture of our brains

that tells us who we
are and how we're going

to act and react in the world.

Every thought we
have is the result

of a network of hundreds
of billions of brain cells

called neurons.

Unlike other cells in our body,
neurons don't touch each other,

but are separated by microscopic
spaces called synapses.

Neurons communicate
across these synapses

through chemical transfers that
blast from one cell to the next

with a zap of electricity.

Messages zip around our brain
like a supersonic pinball

machine.

Each neuron sends and
receives information

to 50,000 other neurons
in a rapid fire production

that all adds up to
100 billion neurons

times 50,000 connections.

In fact, there are
more connections

between neurons in a single
human brain than there

are stars in our galaxy.

The result is a
complex neural forest

of networks that
form our personality,

our identity, and our habits.

Hardly ever do we find
trees that grow alike

and we don't find
brains that grow alike.

We are all unique.

While these trillions
of neuron networks

often work in concert to create
brainstorms of creativity

and new ideas, their
primary purpose

is to keep each and every
one of us alive and safe

by recognizing patterns as
they access a constantly

changing environment.

But sometimes, things get stuck.

Who, of us, doesn't have some
form of addictive behavior

or another?

Maybe for a-- for
personal comfort,

or because of a desire,
or whatever is behind it,

and changing them is very
difficult for a lot of people

and they struggle with that.

And so a lot of them are stuck
in old routines, old patterns.

Eventually, we becomes
stuck in these patterns

and live our lives
on auto pilot.

Essentially, becoming
more and more mindless

as we continue to view
the world through filters

instead of seeing things
as they really are.

As we grow older, our
actions and reactions become

conditioned by our hopes,
our tensions, anxieties,

motivations, loves,
hates, desires,

fears, or frustrations.

Thus, we analyze
before we experience.

And we filter before we see.

Explaining that in brain terms
is not hard to understand.

I've done it in a lot of my
writing, which is we have

habits centers in our brain.

These habit centers
in our brain,

roughly, are shared
with reptiles.

And they are very unconscious.

So you literally do get into
behavioral loops that are your

doing without you aware of it.

Our perception operates
increasingly like a defense

mechanism, trapping us in
patterns of behavior that

have less to do
with present reality

and more to do with past
experience or expectations.

But if we start changing
that neural architecture

through intentionally paying
attention to what's here

in a particular
way, then we start

training that
healthy reactivity,

that more adaptive reactivity.

That can help us with
stress, anxiety, depression,

trauma, and even addiction.

As long as we continue to
perceive reality as we've been

conditioned to
perceive it, we're

destined to live a life
in endless reactive

loops of conditioned responses.

Mindfulness changes your
relationship with that habit

center so that it's not
in control in anything

like the same degree.

By noticing the
looping that happens

in any particular moment,
that reactive looping,

that's sending us into
these states of suffering.

But if you practice
mindfulness once or twice

daily, you'll be able to
change your brain physiology

and you'll be able to
change your nervous system.

Even eight minutes
or more a day

can grow measurable
neural structure.

So anything in the brain that
is changing and being retained

is through some kind
of neuroplasticity.

And again, it's not
rewiring major pathways.

It's changing the
subtle connectivity

of the pathways that exist.

So neuroplasticity
changes the brain

from being more centered in
primary emotion, the kind

of emotion that we share
with all the other mammals

to the executive
centers of the brain.

We do form new neurons,
new connections.

So when you practice
mindfulness,

then we develop new circuits.

Neurons that fire
together are wired together

throughout the entire
nervous system.

They do so preferentially
for what's in the field

of focused attention.

The brain is more plastic, even
in adults, than people realize.

I mean there is a lot
of room for change

in those habit loops.

And it doesn't-- it
does not take that long.

So little mindfulness
practices sustained over time

can add up to big
changes for the better

over the course of your life.

The brain is plastic.

And what it has
learned, it can unlearn.

So becoming mindful means
untraining our brains,

emptying them of
preconceived patterns.

This easily accessible ability
releases us from constraints

and quickly changes
mindless behavior

in to mindful behavior.

But what's more important
is that mindfulness

actually evolves the brain.

It actually advances
the evolutionary process

of our brain to a state
where we act in a wiser more

compassionate mode,
to not only ourselves,

but to others in our
global environment.

So I think if we
leave around 5:00 PM,

we should be there around 9-ish.

Yeah.

That sounds good.

Are you excited?

Yeah.

What about you?

Of course.

I've been waiting
to go for so long.

Are you going to bring anything?

Um, like what?

Like a surprise.

A surprise?

[PHONE RINGING]

I think it would be
nice to get a surprise.

Well, like, if I told
you it was a surprise,

then it wouldn't,
like, be a surprise.

I know, but I was
just give you a

heads up that maybe it would be
nice to get a surprise is all.

All right.

Well--

Why do you keep
checking your phone?

I don't keep checking my phone.

Sure, you do.

I pay attention to
everything you do

and you keep checking it.

It's a bad habit and
it's completely mindless.

Oh, yeah?
Well, so what-- what if it is?

What if it's a bad habit?

Because I need
your full attention.

And look, now you're
getting defensive about it.

It's your reactive loops like
swinging all out of control.

You don't even realize it.

Reactive what?

Reactive loops.

It's when you react to the
same thing over and over again.

Do you realize you're doing it?

Well, yeah, now I do.

Thanks for you
pointing that out.

I realize it.
Yeah.

You're welcome.

Now recent research
in cognitive science

has confirmed that performance
increases when we think less.

If a tennis player were to
think of a where a ball might be

instead of seeing where
that ball actually is,

it would be too late
and he'd miss it.

Mindfulness enables
us to respond quickly

and effortlessly to attain peak
performance in any situation.

Trying is a really interesting
phenomenon because to try to do

something is to not do it.

We're trying to do things,
rather than just doing things.

If I said to somebody could
I have a glass of water

and they said I'll try to
get you a glass of water,

that wouldn't make much sense.

What does trying look like?

And it looks like this.
-Try not.

There is no trying.

Just do or do not.

Which is actually very trying.

To be-- to be in that
state of kind of having

to look like you're trying.

And accept whatever
you do is fine for now.

We'll get better over time.

So don't try to do anything.

A very good example I think
is from the film "Matrix."

There is this moment
when Morpheus and Neo

having a kung fu sparring.

And Morpheus says don't
try to hit me and hit me.

That's exactly-- you know,
we're trying to do things,

rather than just doing things.

And mindfulness teaches
us how to do things

without trying to do things.

When you prepare
for an interview

and you go into the interview
and then they ask you questions

that you haven't
prepared for, and you're

sort of thrown because
you're there ready

made with your answers.

And you don't do a
very good job of it.

And then when you come
out of the interview

and you're walking
down the stairs

and you have what the
French [SPEAKING FRENCH].

It's like, oh, yeah, I
should have said that.

I should have-- oh, that's
what I should have done.

It's like then you-- then you
get your intelligence back.

Before the interview,
before you were wise,

and afterwards you are wise, but
in between, you are otherwise.

And otherwise means
it's like you're trying.

You're trying to
find something clever

which you bring to the
situation and want to use.

But I think we're
able to achieve

with the mindfulness training
is the best of both worlds.

The alertness of the
central nervous system

without the anxiety
and the calm relaxation

and pleasantness of the
parasympathetic system

without the drowsiness.

So there was an
interesting study

where they were in the scanner,
during the same experiment,

and they were presented
with the digits

on the screen between 1 and 9.

And they had to judge whether
the digit was odd or even.

So as you can imagine,
it's a simple task.

You don't need to
think about it much.

But they noticed
in the data here,

you can see the
brain is on fire.

The prefrontal
cortex is engaged.

A lot of visual
cortex is engaged.

Motor cortex is engaged.

I called it ego effort.

This person has a
very strong sense of I

really need to do this task.

I'm really going to go for it.

I'm going to do it well.

Behaviorally, they're
performing on the same level.

It's a simple task, what we
call on the ceiling level,

so both performing well.

But what happening with the
experienced meditator, only

absolutely essential bits of
the brain for the performance

of this task.

So one is expending
a lot of energy

to do the same task, whereas the
other one, just, you can say,

in the state of flow.

Yeah, I don't get it.

Like, I try stuff all the time.

You don't get it?

No.

I don't get it.

OK.

Try to take this pen from me.

OK.

See, you weren't
paying attention.

What?

So--

Try to take the pen from me.

OK.

See, you're not
paying attention.

-Well--
-I said try to take the pen.

I didn't say take the pen.

Well, what do you mean?

Well, trying is not doing.

Hold the pen.
-OK.

See?

I'm trying to take
the pen, but I'm

not actually taking the pen.

Remember?

Mindfulness teaches
you to do, not try.

Yeah.
I mean, maybe.

Maybe you'll
remember the next time

you try to meet me on time.
-Yeah, maybe.

The essence of mindfulness
is to observe what's there

and what we bring
that observation to,

with the quality of being
aware of our own awareness.

Which is sort of the opposite
of being absent-minded.

It's like dedicating
your awareness

to the present moment.

You're either mindful
in your whole body

and in your interactions or
you're sleep and unconscious.

And there's nothing like
a close relationship

to show you, to mirror, what
your unconscious patterns are.

So first step is to
just be with what's

there, which means that all
that's there is mindfulness.

We're just aware of it.

We're paying attention, being
present, rather than being

distracted by so many thoughts.

If you want to
summarize it, mindfulness

allows you to be
authentically present

without the interference
of preoccupations

about the past or the future.

So baby that's
born, as it were,

would not be presumed to
be mindful necessarily.

Because mindfulness involves
this sustained deliberate

quality of recollectiveness.

It's the capacity of
human beings to be aware.

And our human
awareness can be focused

in something we call attention.

So being able to be
attentive to what we're

doing, which is the
essence of mindfulness,

is incredibly helpful.

We just are operating in an
incomplete field of awareness.

And I'm not sure the field of
awareness can ever be complete,

but it can be much faster.

And it makes you
mindful of these very

fundamental physical processes.

And it makes you feel more
grounded in your own body.

So when you
practice mindfulness,

you're not only becoming
more aware of things

that before you
weren't aware of,

but you're developing
these skills that can allow

you to sense the inner world.

Awareness is change.

It is the action of change.

And we need to awaken the
mind, expand out sense of self

to really alert our attention,
to expand our awareness.

And you can use mindfulness
as a process to do it.

So once you're aware of
that, you can change it.

Until you're aware of
it, you can't change it.

Cultivate some mindfulness.

Be present.

Practice being in
your body, practice

tasting your food in a
way that is fascinated

and absorbed and nonjudgmental.

So mindfulness is about
noticing what you're feeling,

paying attention,
and not judging it.

By non-judgemental
the explanation is--

Don't edit.

I mean, it's got-- you've
got to let it come in.

So it's an awareness without
the discriminating mind,

without a mind
that is saying this

is better than that, comparing
without the comparing mind.

So it's good to notice
when our mind is wandering

and be able to take note
of it without judgment,

and be curious about
what's on the mind,

and gently bring it back.

So pay attention with a
curious, receptive perspective,

allowing you to see new aspects
and angles in everyday events.

Close your eyes.

Mm, why?

Because I want
to test something.

OK.

You feel anything?

I don't know.

What am I supposed to feel?

Oh, great.

Learning what I already knew.

Oh, really?

What's-- what's that?

That you're completely unaware
of everything around you.

Woo, what makes you so special?

I'm aware.

Oh, really?

Big deal.
-Yeah, really.

Why don't you test me?
Go ahead.

-All right, I will test you.
-OK.

All right.

What am I doing?

Waving your hands
in front of my face.

Yeah, because you're
obviously cheating.

I'm not.
I'm not cheating.

Yeah, you're looking.

No, I'm not.

Do something else.

Four fingers in
front of my face.

All right.

Mm, three fingers.

Oh, come on, make it harder.

Your hands are above my head.
-What?

How are you doing that?

Because I'm completely aware.

Don't you want to be aware?

Yeah, sure.

OK, so then start paying
attention to the little things

around you by being mindful.

I mean, I'll try.

-No, there's no try, remember?
-Oh, yeah, right.

I forgot about that.

So.

JEFFREY M. SCHWARTZ (VOICEOVER):
You are not your brain

means you are not your thought.

What happens during
mindfulness practice

is that people are
less likely to be,

as it were, constantly
stressed, rushed off their feet.

But also, they're
less likely to respond

to their own negative thinking.

But the first step
is to stop and be

aware of your emotional state.

And recognizing that
you have thought,

but you aren't your
thoughts, that you don't have

to identify with the
voice that's producing

thoughts in your mind.

That thought that's coming
in, I mean, that is not you.

That's a production of your
habits, of your experience,

but it's a commentary
on your experience.

It isn't your experience.

It's like mistaking
the menu for the meal

that you're going to eat.

So your emotional
states are recognized

as being emotional
states, not who you are.

And they're always passing,
they're always in flux.

It's happy, and sad,
and angry, and fearful.

Mindful awareness is like
this vast sky, where problems

and concerns and issues are
like these little passing

clouds or thoughts that
just pass through your mind.

Look at that thought.

Oh, you mean my thought?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's from last night.

I know.

Yeah, that's actually--
I was mad last night,

so that's like one
angry little thought.

Yeah, I know.

But don't judge it.
Just look at it.

But why?

Because when you
judge your thoughts,

then you're engaging in it,
and then it just upsets you.

Yeah, I actually
got pretty upset,

like watching my thoughts.

Well, don't be upset, OK?

Let me explain this to you.

Like, if my hand
is the thought, OK?

Mhm.

The space in between
is the awareness.

Don't focus on my hand,
focus on the awareness.

You see?

When you're mindful of
it, then you feel better.

Wow, that's actually
pretty awesome.

Yeah.

You know, like when
you're mindless,

then your brain
doesn't understand it.

But if you're mindful,
your brain gets it.

You just need to
change your brain.

Well, what's wrong
with the one I have?

Where do I start?

Well, yeah, that's real funny.

Well, at least you're
starting to get it.

Yeah, I mean, I am.

So mindfulness can get you
out of these reactive loops

and change the
structure of your brain.

FRED ALAN WOLF (VOICEOVER):
"Remember what you did bad

or did on mindfully and
try to bring mindfulness

into it the next time a
similar action in your life

takes place.

It's really hard to
say all of a sudden,

I'm not going to be
fearful or anxious

or depressed or whatever today.

You can't just tell yourself
and it goes away, right?

We wouldn't need
shrinks and mindfulness

and all these other things
if that's the way it worked.

So--

You can choose to get in
touch with this idea of choice,

what I call a choice point.

You can choose what
you want to do with it.

How do you want
to relate to life?

You're not-- you
don't need to be

enslaved by the automatic
reactions that are there.

Consciousness tries to get
control of it, but it's hard.

And basically what we have to do
is we observe ourselves acting

in a certain way,
and then we try

to put in checks and balances
in our brains that let us cope

with those reactions
when they are occurring,

rather than preventing them from
occurring in the first place.

That's the hard part,
preventing them from occurring.

You are choosing to shift
your center of identification

from the stream to the watcher.

And mindfulness can give you
better control over your--

not only your cortex, but
your ability of your cortex

to control the other
parts of your brain.

Why would one choose
self-limitation when you

can be more free, more open?

Wait a minute.

What are you doing?

Well, I'm calling you out.

Calling me out?

Yeah, I'm sick of you thinking
you're so much better than me.

Mindfulness this isn't
about being better.

Oh, there you go again with
that little mindfulness talk.

All right, if this
is how you want it,

then I'm going to show you.

Yeah, I'm calling you out.

It didn't have to be
this way, you know.

If you stopped thinking
you were better than me,

I wouldn't even have to do this.

Don't you get it?

You have them both,
mindful and mindless.

It's part of the same coin.

I'm saying you've got
both side of the coin.

What's all this coin talk?

I'm saying you get to choose
which one you use-- be mindful

or being mindless.

You have both parts to you.

But I thought I always
had to be mindful.

MINDFUL: Not at all.

Look, every day, when
you're doing your routine,

you're using the mindless side
because you're used to it.

It's a routine, so you just
go through the motions.

But what happens is,
over time, you tend

to do that for your whole life.

So you need to be mindful
of other parts of your life,

so that you're not
mindless all the time.

So does this mean I
can't call you out?

No.

But if you really want to,
we'll do it this one time

and it can be our
mindless moment together.

All right.
Are you ready?

Are you ready?

Yeah, I'm ready.

All right, bring it.

Ow.

Man, I'm hit, and you-- you
didn't even draw your gun.

You didn't even get hit.

You're not even
paying attention.

See?

When you're mindful, you'll
start realizing these things.

So start practicing.

I'll practice just for you.

ELLEN LANGER (VOICEOVER):
Mindfulness, as I study it,

it's the very simple process
of noticing new things.

And as you notice new things,
several things happen.

The first is that you come
to see you didn't know it

as well as you thought you did.

It's like pulling back the
curtain on the "Wizard of Oz,"

and we see what's really.

And this act of noticing is
the essence of engagement.

It just opens
you up to becoming

aware of things that
were there before

but were not in awareness.

It doesn't matter
what you notice.

The things you notice can be
silly, but just the noticing

breaks down the
boundary between you

and that which is being noticed.

So now, everything that's old
becomes new again, in some

sense, and becomes
naturally interesting.

And life becomes
a bit less serious

and we become-- we take
ourselves less seriously.

So you're more energetic when
you're doing this, not less so.

The neurons are firing.

And in the earliest work we
did, when we taught people

to be mindful in
nursing homes, we

found that they lived longer.

So really, our only choice
is are we paying attention

or are we not.

And in even at that,
some people will pay

attention better than others.

What do you think?

About what?

Look.

Well, I'm looking.

I'm looking.
What?

Are you blind?

No.

Look at it.

What am I supposed to see?

My new hair.

Oh, yeah.

Duh.

That's new hair.

You're just being mindless
again, not noticing new things.

Oh, you know what?
Well, whoop-dee-doo, OK?

So I don't notice things.

Well, you need to be more
mindful so you can notice

new things and pay
attention, therefore,

paying better attention to me.

OK, OK, yeah, I got it.

Do you get it?

Yes, I got it.

OK.

We're beginning to drill down
through mindfulness practice

into the core question
of psychology,

like who the hell are we
in the first place, what

does it-- what is the self?

That's what the study of
psychology is all about.

The term ego gets a bad rep,
but it was meant neutral.

By Freud, for example, he drew
on the original Latin and Greek

roots to use the
word ego meaning Ich,

or I. It simply is a
self-identification.

It's ego, whether it's a hyper
inflated-- the best person--

best speaker in the world,
or I'm the worst in the world

and people aren't
going to like me.

Both of those are ego driven.

When someone says
you have a huge ego,

that's not normally
considered a compliment.

An individual person's
identity, that's not a problem.

Egotism, concern about
one's self and concern

about how the outcome
of your performance

is going to reflect on your
feelings about yourself

and what other people
will think of you,

all of that complication,
that is what gets in the way.

But I think we
have the possibility

to evolve culturally
to understand

the neurobiology
of a separate cell

and how it is in
fact a delusion.

So the conscious
self is not in charge.

It's here to learn.

That's the function
of the ego, to learn

what we need for this lifetime.

So much in modern culture
promotes competition

and a sense of self as separate.

These are culturally
learned delusions.

And sadly, they're
not only making

people have
meaningless lives and

unhealthy physiological states,
but it's destroying our planet.

Mindfulness is an invitation to
actually experience in reality

how interconnected we are.

And I'm going to get joy
from your accomplishments.

I mean, that's the kind of
world we need to push for.

To give you an example, people
that are in institutions where

they're chronically depressed,
if you listen to them as they

talk, every third word is
I. I'm not feeling this,

I'm feeling-- I'm
feeling terrible.

I-- I did-- I'm guilty,
I'm bad, I did this,

I did that, I, I, I, I, I, I,
I. I is like the color white.

It has no color.

You color it red, blue, green
with a feeling that represents

the personality that you feel
is the correct personality

for that action.

And you may have gotten
this from observing

your parents or other
parental figures

or friends or whatever who
adapt similar types of colorings

to their I word
when they're having

a certain emotional
response to a situation.

Mindfulness is the ability
to go to color white.

Um, I think I, like,
want you to teach me how

to become, like, more mindful.

Oh, great.

Yeah, because,
like, the other day,

I just had, like,
this little incident,

where I wasn't mindful.

What happened?

Well, it's kind
of a long story,

but basically, like, I was
just on my phone, like texting,

and I was just
crossing the street.

And the next thing I knew,
like, this big bus showed

up and almost ran me over.

-Really?
-Yeah.

-Uh, yeah.
-Almost died.

You're gonna get
yourself killed, dude.

I know.

That's why-- that's why I turned
to you to become more mindful.

OK.

Well, I think you're
already being more mindful.

This is a step in
the right direction.

Right.
I see it.

Yeah.
Let me show you.

This is-- this is you
with mindlessness, OK?

This is your space,
the awareness,

this tiny little space.
-OK.

This is your awareness
with mindfulness.

-Right.
-OK?

Mindlessness.

Mindfulness.
-Mhm.

Mindlessness.

Mindfulness.

You see how you have
more awareness to learn

about your surroundings.

You end up seeing a bus.

Otherwise--

[TIRES SCREECHING]

Mindlessness.
-Wow.

That bus would
have ran you over.

-Oh, yeah.
-OK?

You get it?
Got it?

Good?
-Yes, I get it, got it, good.

Get it, got it, good.
-All right.

PAUL HARRISON
(VOICEOVER): Mark Twain

once said I've had many troubles
in my life, most of which

never happened.

Stress makes all kinds of
physical ailments worse.

Because a lot about what is
distressing about physical

illness, whether you're
talking about pain

or whether you're talking about
any kind of debilitating state,

fatigue, what makes it
worse is how we process

it centrally in our brain.

So I feel myself
getting anxious.

One of those unconscious
systems has been triggered.

So you now say, OK, I can't
stop it, so what can I do.

I can breathe.

Take in the air.

That trick kicks on the
parasympathetic nervous system,

which counteracts the
sympathetic, which is the fight

flight system, and kind of slows
everything down a little bit.

And so when we change
the system that's here,

the stress cycle between
our thoughts that come up,

so our thoughts-- an event
happens and we immediately

perceive something as scary or
we need to do something about,

something that's urgent
or it's important,

our brain creates a snap
judgment of it being good,

bad, right, wrong,
fair, or unfair,

and goes into a reactive mode.

As the great stress
researcher Hans Selye put it,

"It's not stress that kills us,
it's our reaction to stress."

Stress is a function
not of events,

but the view you
take of the event.

If you open up that
view in multiple ways,

it becomes less stressful.

What we can help is how
we respond to stress.

That's why breathing
works so well.

Because it-- it reduces
the stress in the brain.

It reduces the drive from
the sympathetic system

that makes you-- that's
releasing adrenaline.

When you get a
call from somebody

and you're really stressed out
and you just take the call,

you're like, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, OK, OK, OK,

you know.

All right, I'll call
you back, you know.

But if you're calm and
you're not stressed out,

you take the call and
you take your time.

And you recognize that
this is important to you

or to the other person.

With the less
time for reflection

that we have nowadays
with so much attention

to technology filling
the spaces of our day,

we don't really have a lot
of time for reflection.

Can you give yourself
three minutes?

Do you care enough
about yourself

to give yourself three minutes,
maybe minute in the morning,

then in the afternoon, minute
in the evening to just sit

and be present with your breath.

If we believe we can do
it, we're going to be more

motivated to actually do it.

If we don't believe
we can do something,

we're not going
to actually do it.

The things we
can't do right now,

we can learn to do tomorrow.

When we realize that
there's no outcome

we must have, that all of
this leads us just to be more

at peace, easier, less
reason for us to need to hit

somebody else over the head.

And mindfulness actually
reduces the risk of depression

by half in people who are the
most current depressed people,

with three or more episodes,
that many other treatments have

failed to treat.

We also know that it's as
good as antidepressants

in doing that.

Now, one thing that we
didn't know eight years ago

is is that repeatable.

And we found it is
repeatable, both in our lab

and in labs around the world,
in lots of different countries,

have found the same result.

The simple shift of perspective
can change your relationship

to the problem when you
take a second look at it

with a mindful manner.

Oh, man, what's
happening to me?

You're out of focus.

What the heck?

Well, maybe if you were
a little more mindful,

these things wouldn't happen.

Uh, what should I do?

Try some finger tracing.

What the-- what the
heck's finger tracing?

OK, watch me.
Watch me, OK?

MINDLESS: OK.

Now you're going
to take your finger

and very slowly go like this
and see each nook and cranny.

OK.

Focus very slowly.

So you mean like this?

No, no, no, no, that's
too fast and mindless.

You're not going
to focus like that.

OK, very slowly.

Watch it.

Oh, so you mean slow like this.

Wow.

Yes.

Exactly.

I really like this.

Like, I'm getting into
the groove of it, like--

Keep focusing, not bad.

I can feel a difference.

Yeah, see, it's not so hard.

Yeah, this is like--
this is very nice.

I'm just going to go home and
just get busy finger tracing.

Mindfulness enables you
to get value for money

out of your food, right?

You taste it.

You're more present.

Oh, mindless eating brought me
into mindful eating, actually.

I had a-- I never met a box
of cookies I didn't like.

Instead of eating
absent-mindedly,

you know, going to a
restaurant, spend 25 pounds

for a filet steak, de-da, de-da,
de-da, and then not noticing

yourself eating
it because you're

busy having an
earnest conversation

with your friend about your
relationship with your mother.

It's like you just
wasted 25 quid.

And mindful eating
actually helps people

broaden their view of food.

So when I crunch into
an apple and somebody

says why are you making
that loud crunching noise,

it's bothering me, I think
of my grandmother being

unable to crunch an apple.

And I say, wow, I'm just
enjoying every bite.

Usually, whenever I
eat, whether it's just

noticing the food, smelling
the food, tasting the food,

maybe slowing down a little
bit as I'm eating the food,

what I find is if my
hunger is really high,

if my hunger is in the
7 to 10 range, which

is the extreme hunger, and I've
waited and haven't attended

to my earlier hunger
signals, then I am prone,

like everybody is, I
think, to mindless eating.

If we all used our brains in
more energy efficient ways,

you don't eat as much.

And you feel much
more energized when

you don't spend all this
metabolic energy on ego

related process, on chatter.

So at a very basic level,
mindfulness enables you

to kind of, you know,
you taste your experience

more vividly or more richly.

-What?
-How's your food?

It's good.

-Hm, you sure?
-Yeah.

It's all right.

You're not even tasting it.

I like it a lot.

I tasted it.
-No.

Stop what you're doing and pay
attention to eating your food.

Well--

MINDFUL: Take this out.

OK.
Ow.

And pay attention to
what you're eating.

MINDLESS: OK.

-Chew it slowly.
-I see.

Really taste it.

Like this?

MINDFUL: Slowly eat it.

Really take it in.

Mm.

MINDFUL: OK?

Yeah.

Taste it, take it in,
and smell it, you know?

Really taste it.

I got to get another
grape to smell it.

Well, get in there.

Really get into your food.

I mean, I smell it.
Smells like

OK, just take up one bite.

So juicy in the middle.

Do you see the difference
when you're mindful?

Mm.

When you're mindful and
you're in the moment?

Oh, yeah.

-How much better it is.
-Yeah.

And I think it's like
really delicious.

MINDFUL: Right, well,
because it's more delicious,

because you're being mindful.

That's good stuff.

Mindfulness has not only become
increasingly popular practice

in schools around the
world, but the US military

has begun to incorporate
it into their centers

in an effort to help
veterans and active duty

soldiers overcome
some of the issues

that they deal with, such as
post-traumatic stress disorder,

or PTSD.

I recently met with Dr. Jackie
Maury, senior scientist project

director at USC Institute
for Creative Technologies,

and Dr. Valerie Rice,
the chief of the Army

Research Laboratory
Field Element

at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

This is the largest army medical
training facility in the world.

Let's stay take a look at
how this all came about.

It was about the same time
that the troops were returning

from the conflicts overseas
and we were beginning

to realize there
were some pretty

big issues with PTSD or other
psychological health issues.

I was in combat arms.

I was doing the Vietnam era.

And they taught you
how to be aggressive.

You are scanning all
the time and you never

let anybody know what's
going on with you because you

lose your essence of surprise.

I mean, if you hurt, so what?

Mission is first.

You don't want people
to think you're weak,

especially if you're a leader.

A chain is only as strong
as the weakest link.

And you didn't want
to be that link.

Because if you was that
link, you was finished.

If you were in battle, you've
already got enough enemies.

I mean, then having your own
emotions to be another one?

It's just-- it's tougher.

You just want to do
what you're told to do

and you don't want to
reach out and ask for help.

To go-- to go to
behavioral health

was-- uh, you're not a man.

You ain't no soldier type thing.

Any activity with
mental health was

subject to medical discharge
or disciplinary discharge.

You just didn't.

That simple.

So that prevented
a lot of soldiers,

especially young soldiers,
from going, getting treatment.

You just don't bother to tell
people because even not being

able to keep your personal
life in control-- in control

is perceived as weakness.

As time went by and I
got involved with the VA,

I found out that
it was acceptable,

but I did it after I
got out of the service

because it just was not
acceptable at that point

in time.

There's still stigma.

But there's still stigma to go
into behavioral health center.

And so for those individuals who
simply wouldn't go because it

is behavioral health, then
we can offer something

like this that's over
a virtual world, where

they can be, if they
choose to be, anonymous.

PAUL HARRISON (VOICEOVER):
Dr. Steven Hickman and Alan

Goldstein both teach mindfulness
in the form of life mindfulness

based stress reduction
through the virtual world

of Second Life to veterans.

So we were approached,
really out of the blue,

by the folks at ICT
saying we're looking

for experts in mindfulness
based stress reduction.

We got the idea to use
a virtual world as sort

of a place of
relaxation for veterans

and we found
experts who are very

interested in working with us.

And they told us this
amazing project that they've

been working for quite
some time in providing

virtual reality and
virtual world training

in various military settings.

And we had done a small
village-- and a rocky village

as a proof of
concept for something

else in the virtual world.

And I took one of those veterans
over to see this village.

He didn't last 10
seconds in the desert.

He teleported out.

He said I can't handle this.

It's too real.

So that was the impetus for
doing something that looks

like a hunting
lodge, a ski lodge,

something that's very
mountainous and green with lots

of water.

And we factor that into
the design of the world

that we made for them.

Well, when we first
started this study

and we had the
computers issued to us,

it was amazing, and
cool, and exciting.

And you know, you pick
your own animated body

and you've got to
learn how to fly

and they teach us how to walk.

And that was all
really very exciting.

And you can choose
different worlds

to go to, and listen, and
see, and just interact

online in an amazing way.

So we're looking
at whether or not

teaching mindfulness improves
those areas, both for veterans

and for active duty.

And you might
need just something

as simple as learning
mindfulness strategies

and techniques.

If we can intervene with some
of this and make a palatable

activity, something
that is a tool rather

than something mysterious--

Which, again,
makes the whole idea

of being an avatar
kind of attractive,

plus you can look however
you feel like looking,

if you want to take time.

For us, it was this whole
novel idea of something

that we've been teaching
them really involves face

to face contact in our
minds, and this idea

of doing this in a virtual
world where all of us

is represented by
an avatar provides

this great opportunity.

So that we're not actually
physically there in that world.

There's this being
that we get to create.

We can dress the way we want,
we can shape the way we want.

And people who have
perhaps anxiety about being

in a social setting
can still sort of

be in a virtual
social setting where

they're still in the
safety of their own home.

We would navigate our
avatar online figures

to the designated
location in a pavilion.

Our voices would come through
the headsets and the headphones

and we would just interact
online in a group forum.

And what's great
about it, for veterans,

is even if they're
in rural areas,

they can come together here.

They don't have to be
able to go to a center.

People can be physically
anywhere in the world,

but can still appear in
Second Life in our classroom.

I think some people were
afraid they might even cry

and they didn't want to
cry in front of the group.

But when you're online,
you can cry all you want.

Participating online,
that was very--

I found it very,
very good because we

everybody interacted
with one another.

And we did share a lot of
information about each other.

Some of my best moments that
I've learned how to relax

is because of this course.

But that class taught
me that I do matter

and I have to get
myself in order,

to not only help me,
but help my-- my folks,

my friend, my family members.

That does apply to
all walks of life.

You know, it's not just
from military stressors.

It's common everyday things
that people are going through.

No matter what your scenario,
if you want to feel better,

do better, then don't let
your life pass you by.

Be a part of your life.

Slow things down, pay
attention to what's going on.

The program, it
just actually makes

you aware of your surroundings.

I'm enjoying life a lot more,
the simple things in life,

like, you know, my
chihuahua sleeping

on my foot, whereas,
before, I might not

have realized how she
felt or how comforting

that was for her to be there.

Now I can kind of be a
little bit more mindful

of the pleasure that she
obtains from me and the pleasure

that I obtain from
just being around her.

I really sit back
now just take my time.

Sit outside, drink some
tea, listen to the wind blow

through the trees,
listen to the birds,

count the cars, how many
color cars or whatever,

like I used to do
when I was a kid.

And I just feel great.

If I'm more relaxed, and if
I'm OK, then people around me

are probably going to
be more relaxed and OK.

Instead of just immediately
getting upset when something

irritates you, you
might think, OK, well,

maybe this person does have
something going on, whereas,

before, you wouldn't--
you would just get mad

and call that individual
a name or, you know,

just swear or something.

And some of those
habits are bad.

Losing your temper in traffic,
getting yourself riled up.

He run on my bumper, horsed
around in front of me,

and turned right in front of
me again, and turned right

there, right in front of me.

I mean, you know, he could
have waited two seconds.

If I hadn't have
been, you know, going

through this
mindfulness class, I'm

not going to tell you what I
would have done because I don't

want to incriminate myself.

So it's really just
becoming in touch with myself

and realizing who I am.

And as a result
of that, be calmer,

feel better, have
less pain, have

less anxiety, less depression.

Mindfulness it just makes me
think of how everything is,

how everything actually is.

For example, we do-- we had
to do a eating exercise.

And being in the
military, we usually

eat-- you know, eat
quick because we always

have something else to do.

I wolf my food down
because of habit.

Military, you know.

I had never really
taken time to what

I call savor the food that
I really-- that I eat,

that I consume.

And that's still, right
now, a struggle for me,

to sit and enjoy a meal.

Doing this mindful
exercise I got to be

able to actually taste it.

I found out that all my
taste buds do work, you know.

And food is delicious
if you take to eat it.

And slow down and
actually taste what you eat

is a challenge to me.

But now I take time to connect
with myself and my thoughts

and just to be OK with me.

So that's what
mindfulness is to me.

For me, it's slow motion.

It is my choice to slow
things down, to take a breath,

to snap it all back
into perspective.

It makes me-- or, well,
or it invites me to slow

down, Concentrate on self.

I've learned
structural activity,

which was important to have.

I never considered
walking meditation.

For example, I was walking--
when outside of this building,

and I just was
free, feeling like I

was, you know, just free.

I didn't have any problems.

And the thing that makes this
different from regular walking

is that your focus
is desperately

on the slowest motion of
steps that you can take.

You just walk.

And, you know, you pay
attention to where you're going,

but you tune everything out.

It's almost like slow
motion, which, to me, is most

of what mindfulness
represents, putting

everything in slow motion.

And you can really,
really relax.

It does take
every bit of focus,

so you're not thinking
about the past,

you're not thinking
about the future.

You're just thinking, wow, this
is a neat experience, to walk.

It's not easy being
a teenager these days.

The constant pressure of
fitting in, growing up, going

through puberty, and keeping
up with the world that moves

faster than ever before
can adversely affect

the mind of the adolescent.

The Mindfulness
in Schools Project

was created when some
teaching colleagues

and I shared an
ambition to bring

together two things that were
really close to our hearts.

One was mindfulness
practice, which we've

been doing for many
years, and the other was

the art of classroom teaching.

And we ended up
writing a nine week

classroom introduction
to mindfulness,

which we called Dot B.

And Dot B was really our
answer to the challenge

we set ourselves, which was
to write a mindfulness course

which was engaging,
fun, memorable,

and also of practical
use on the roller coaster

that is adolescence.

We will spend a lot of time
cramming kids' brains with all

the facts that they
need for their history,

or their geography, or their
languages, or their sciences,

but we never really turn the
lens inwards on their minds.

And the great thing
about mindfulness

is that it gives you a tool to
deploy when you find yourself

in a stressful situation.

And you know, OK,
if I just pause,

if I notice how my breathing
is, I don't necessarily

try to control it, I just notice
where it is, it switches me out

of the thinking mode, the
ruminative, cognitive, mode,

and into the sensing mode.

And what a lot of research
is telling us at the moment,

and what I know from my own
experience and from the kids

that I taught, is that our kids
are pretty tough on themselves

now.

I think it's the stress,
and anxiety, and all

of these things,
and achievement,

the achievement ethic that
we have in the culture.

All of these things actually
put tremendous pressure on kids

now.

In fact, in today's world,
teens are more under pressure

and experiencing higher levels
of stress than ever before.

And increasing
demand in technology,

academic preparation, and
life transitions all result

in physical and
emotional stressors,

such as bad temper,
anxiety, depression,

and attention-deficit disorder.

And I wanted to
find out more, so I

went to the University
of California San Diego,

the center of
mindfulness, and spoke

with director Steve
Hickman, and course

instructor, Lorraine Hobbs.

We were running
groups, mindfulness

based stress reduction groups,
for adults for several years.

And then as we talked to people,
other people who had taken

the mindfulness based
stress reduction course

and had seen what it
had done for them,

they were sort of
thinking, wow, you know,

my teenager could really benefit
from this, all the stress

of teen life these days.

Almost my entire life,
and as far as I remember,

I've been dealing with
depression, anger,

and a good deal of anxiety.

Not being able to handle
my emotions well enough.

I had a short fuse.

Um, and I have ADHD.

I was struggling
with my depression.

I would fight with my
parents a lot and, like,

I would take it out on them.

It got to the point where
I started lashing out

at my parents, so
my mom came to me,

like, OK, we need
to find something

to control your temper and to
control your ADHD way more.

And she found this mindfulness
thing and I was like, fine,

I'll try it.

I'd seen the website for
the mindfulness center

and kind of saw that
there was a teen group.

So I came home one day and
told my husband about it

and I said I'm just going
to tell her she's going.

I wasn't really sure,
like-- was it meditation?

Was it like a group,
therapy group?

I wasn't sure.

And then I came and I kind
of got a gist of what it was.

I hadn't got the practice down,
but was less resistant to go.

So after maybe two
months, I liked it a lot.

I've tried other stuff.

I've tried to the
count to 10 strategy.

That doesn't really work.

After the first
day, I kind of just

realized there's
no turning back.

I can't go back because
where am I going to go.

There is no-- so I was
like I better do it right.

After the first couple
times, I really look forward

to coming here and doing it.

First few times, I was
like this makes sense to me.

I can actually-- I
can actually do it.

This is the first thing I've
ever done that was really

all about the mind,
which, I think,

helps get to the
root of the problems.

They started teaching little
intricate things they have,

the finger tracings, 7/11, self
check-in, all these different

have been perfected.

Mindfulness, um, teaches for
you to be mindful of yourself,

to be one with yourself.

Mindfulness is
being not mindless.

You take a moment and
you just take a breath.

And that calms me down
a lot, especially when

you're really anxious or mad.

That one helps me.

It's like if you have
an uncomfortable feeling

of sadness or anger, you're not
using those tools to exactly

run away from it, but to
instead examine it in a way

that you're able to let it
go, but at the same time

dissect it and, like, understand
the feeling it in a more, like,

objective way, without getting
attached to it as well.

Bring yourself in and really--

[SIGH]

You know?

Mindfulness has really helped
me not to control my thoughts

because you're never really
going to be able to control

your thoughts 100%.

Your mind will always
wonder to things.

But it's about, like,
redirecting your thoughts

and reining in your thoughts
and being able to bring them

to something more positive.

I think it's, like, for me,
like, it's not about forgetting

your emotions or,
like, what's happening,

it's more just, like,
detaching yourself

from the-- like, your
emotion, but at the same time,

observing it and accepting it.

If my problem was
this cushion, like,

I'd-- sit on your problem.

Learn to be with your problem.

The life of a teenager
now is probably

far more stressful even
then when I went through it.

And, you know, why not
give your teen the tools

to learn how to manage their
own stress, like we're all,

you know, as adults,
trying to learn them?

I have the tools now to
understand what I'm feeling.

And because I'm really shy feel,
so like, when I go and, like,

try to performance
in front of people,

I get really, really nervous.

So I have used mindfulness for
that because it calms me down

and I feel more
comfortable then.

[SINGING]

I try and hide
all of my anxiety

and depression and
stuff, but with my mom,

she sees everything.

And so she's-- she
says she's really

noticed a huge difference in
my attention and my moods.

So I guess that's proof of
the effectiveness of it.

I learned not to, like,
judge myself as much

and think about the present.

Because when I think about
the past or the future, like,

that's what causes
me a lot of anxiety.

I've got like a
mile long fuse now.

It's-- it's ridiculous.

It's really healthy.

If you're making eggs,
you're mindfully making eggs.

It's an experience
now, not just a task.

I used to wake up like three,
four times in the night.

And now, I only wake
up, like, twice.

But it actually really helped
me and my stress levels.

I've noticed a huge
amount of change.

My mood swings aren't
nearly as violent.

My stress is completely down.

I think I'm more
confident, more alive.

I was in a very
sorry state before I

discovered the practice, before
I discovered mindfulness.

You see, I'm bipolar, type two.

And as the diagnose--
well, tells you,

I feel extremely deep
and powerful emotions

at almost any time,
switching very rapidly.

And for awhile, I felt as if I
was a victim of these feelings,

like they were something
that I couldn't control,

like they were a
monster inside me.

But then, a year ago, I started
going to the mindfulness group.

And the changes that have
happened since then, I

can't believe how
different things are

now, much better my life is.

I think the ambition of the
Mindfulness in Schools Project

is partly just to
raise awareness

of what mindfulness is and
give all kids a taste of it.

You know, we're not
trying to convert everyone

into deep mindfulness
practitioners.

We're just trying to make
them aware of what it

is because it's common sense.

This, to me, seems to be
the most fundamental thing

that we should teach our kids.

There's nothing else to
be taught if you haven't

learned how to pay attention.

So when you teach mindfulness
at home to your kids,

you're actually giving them
this incredible source of

social and emotional learning.

You're giving them a
source of resilience.

So those kids actually
have a different feel

than kids who have a mind, of
course, but don't see the mind.

You've got to
train the teachers.

If the teachers
aren't being mindful,

how are the kids ever
going to be mindful.

But I don't think
we should be thinking

that every kid in
the school is going

to want to get up in the
morning and practice mindfulness

for half an hour.

I think it is realistic
for every kid in school

to be aware of mindfulness,
to know what it is,

to have enjoyed
learning about it,

to have valued the experience,
so that's some of them,

yes, do go on to become
mindfulness teachers.

In a sense, we human
beings on our own.

It may be time for us to
grow up and-- or grow down

and become planetary adults.

And that would
mean, in some sense,

a deep experiential grounding
in interconnectedness.

And if that's so, then
maybe we have a certain kind

of responsibility
if we are ever going

to grow into being
a planetary adult

to actually inhabit the present
moment or rediscover it.

Inhabit the present
moment or rediscover it.

Inhabit the present
moment or rediscover it.

-Hey.
-Hi.

Notice anything different?

I sure do.

Un-huh.

Tell me.

-You got a new shirt.
-Yeah.

You became mindful.

I did.

I became mindful.

Aren't you proud of me?

Extremely.

Wonderfulness, ridiculousness,
with a little sprinkle

of mindfulness.

You really learned
a lot with this.

Yeah, I mean, I guess
it's not a big deal if you

pay attention like you learn.

Yeah, I knew you had it in you.

Now we can be mindful together.

Yeah, I think
that'd be awesome.

Yeah, it wasn't so hard, right?

No, it wasn't hard.

It was easy.

-High five it.
-Thanks.

Woo.

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