3 States of Mind
What are the Three States of Mind that we all experience?
Emotion mind, Wise mind, and Reasonable/Rule Mind
What do the three bell chimes mean when we begin a mindfulness activity?
2. Get in a mindfulness position
3. Wait for instructions
Name one of steps in the GIVE skill.
be Gentle
act Interested
Validate
Easy going
True or False. Judgments are opinions we have about the world or others, and therefore are not facts.
True!
How can mindfulness be helpful?
Mindfulness can be helpful for several reasons. When we practice mindfulness, we will start to notice when our emotions are building and can stop ourselves from reacting to a situation. Mindfulness can help us feel happier and enjoy the present moment. Mindfulness can also help improve our attention and focus and do better in school.
In what State of Mind do we make our best decisions? Why?
Wise Mind. When we're in wise mind, we make decisions based on how we are feeling and we consider the consequences of our actions.
True of False: Mindfulness is about putting all of your attention and energy into the present moment. It means you notice when your mind is distracted and bring your attention back to what you are doing.
True!
What is a value? Why are they important? Name some of the personal values of your team members.
Values are what we find important in life. They help us make decisions in life.
What is helpful about making judgments?
What is unhelpful about making judgments?
Judgments sometimes allow us to think quickly and keep ourselves safe (example: if the milk smells off, I might tell myself the milk is bad.)
Judgments can sometimes be unhelpful, because they can cause us to make assumptions that might put us into emotion mind (example: the teacher didn't call on me because she doesn't like me) or make it difficult to solve problems.
Where did Ms. Meghan grow up?
Michigan
While at lunch, a classmate starts saying mean things about your family. The comments really make you feel angry. You tell yourself "it's not a big deal" and stay quiet because you don't want to make a scene or get in trouble.
What state of mind are you in, and why?
Reasonable/rule mind. You're pushing away you feelings and only focused on rules, consequences of your actions.
What are the two parts of mindfulness?
Open Mind and Focused Mind
What is validation?
Validation is communicating to another person that it is okay to feel the way they feel and it makes sense they are feeling that way. Validation is NOT telling people everything will be okay.
How do judgments get in the way of mindfulness?
When we make judgments, it pulls us out of the present moment! When we make judgments, we get sucked into our thoughts, and might actually miss what is happening in front of us.
Judgments are also a fast track to emotion and rule mind, and pull us away from our wise mind.
Name one way you could practice mindfulness.
You can do anything mindfully! To practice mindfulness, you only need to focus your attention on what you're doing, notice when your mind wanders away (which it will!), and bring your attention back to what you were doing.
Name an emotion mind urge that might happen when you are sad.
Withdrawing from others, crying uncontrollably, pushing people away, refusing to talk to others, staying in bed all day
How would you define mindfulness?
Mindfulness is
•Living life with your eyes wide open
•Taking hold of your mind
•Putting all of your attention and energy into what you are doing right NOW!
You tell your best friend that you're angry because your mom took your phone away for the entire week. It's so unfair, because you have no way of talking to your friends after school.
Your friend tells you not to worry, the week will go by fast and you'll eventually get the phone back. Is this an example of validation or invalidation?
Invalidation! Validation means sitting with someone in their feelings and letting them know it is okay to feel that way.
Identify two ways to practice being nonjudgmental.
1) in order to be nonjudgmental, we first have to notice that we are having a judgment! The first step is to notice our thoughts and acknowledge that it is a judgment or opinion, and not necessarily a fact.
2) Once we acknowledge it is a judgment, we can try to describe the thought factually. This might look like describing what we are experience or what we observe.
Give an example of an emotion mind response?
Responses will involve not thinking about facts or consequences, and will be driven by your emotions.
During lunch, one of your classmates starts to taunt you and make inappropriate statements about one of your family members. You start to feel immense anger and rage.
1) What would be an EMOTION MIND response in this moment?
2) What would be a RULE MIND response in this moment?
3) What would be a WISE MIND response in this moment?
1) Emotion Mind- Scream, punch them in the face, throw your lunch at them, make inappropriate statements about their family.
2) Rule Mind- That kid is more popular than me. I'm not allowed to get mad at them (thinking about social "rules" and etiquette in school). I better just act normal and not say anything. I shouldn't be upset if I want them to like me.
3) Wise Mind - I'm really angry and sad about these comments and I have every right to be! I also know that if I scream or punch them, it will end up being worse for me. I'm going to tell them to stop, and if they don't, I will either choose to ignore them and hang out with my friends or tell a teacher.
How can you use mindfulness when you are trying to find a joyful moment or do an enjoyable activity?
Mindfulness helps bring your attention to what you are doing in the present moment. It can be difficult to enjoy an activity when you have a lot of stress or are distracted by other things. When we use mindfulness, we can truly be in the joyful moment without distraction. We are free of distractions and judgments so we can find our joy! This joy (sonic rings) helps improve our mood for when we have to deal with stressors or tough moments in our life.
How could you VALIDATE your friend's feelings?
Validation is when you communicate to someone that it make sense they are feeling a certain way. Responses should send the message that it makes sense that they feel sad because they tried so hard.
Reassurance is NOT validation. Responses like "you're not stupid," "don't worry about it" are actually INVALIDATING.
What are three nonjudgmental statements you could make about Donald Trump?
Being nonjudgmental means describing things factually, without making assumptions or sharing our opinions.
We could say Donald Trump is a man, he is a former president, he is running for president, he lives in Florida, he is from New York.
Your mom comes home from work and realizes that you haven't put any of your clothing away. You had a lot of homework today, and haven't had time yet to do your chores. Mom becomes angry, and yells "You never do what I ask because you're always on your phone!"
What judgment is your mom making? How could your mom be nonjudgmental?
Mom is assuming that she knows why you didn't put your clothing away. To be nonjudgmental, mom could notice she is making the assumption, and instead focus on the facts: The clothing was not put away but she does not know why. Then mom could ask you what got in the way.