Search Results for: negative thoughts

Overcoming a Toxic Work Environment through Action Learning

Dr. Rod Waddington, PhD, recently published an article about his doctoral research which incorporated action learning as a central intervention.  His article, Improving the work climate in a TVET [Technical & Vocational Education} college through changing conversations, tracks his intervention as Human Resource Development (HRD) Manager in a college in South Africa that had five … Continue reading “Overcoming a Toxic Work Environment through Action Learning”

Mindfulness and Action Learning: Building Self-Awareness

So far in this blog, I have explored how agency contributes to mental health and how both action learning and mindfulness build agency –  managerial agency and employee agency. In this post, I want to explore one of the elements that action learning and mindfulness have in common – self-awareness.  To the extent that action … Continue reading “Mindfulness and Action Learning: Building Self-Awareness”

Be Bold, Be Creative

In recent blog posts, I have identified how mindfulness opens the way to creative ideas through: avoiding negative thoughts and stories; and opening up to the mind’s spaciousness through stillness and silence. However, it is one thing to generate creative ideas; it is another to act on them.   Being creative requires boldness.  The very definition of … Continue reading “Be Bold, Be Creative”

Opening to Creativity through Mindfulness

Professor Amanda Sinclair, in her book Leading Mindfully, devotes a chapter to the theme, Opening to Creativity.   She argues that one of the ways that mindfulness releases creativity is through “turning down” the self-judging function of our brain which invariable acts to thwart creative activity.  This negative self-assessment is a major blockage to creativity. Amanda … Continue reading “Opening to Creativity through Mindfulness”

Mindfulness and Yoga for Addiction Release

In a discussion of the interaction between mind, body and spirit, Surbhi Khanna & Jeffrey Greeson acknowledge the complementarity of yoga and meditation – both require paying attention to experiences and related emotions as they happen. They suggest that the “loss-addiction cycle” arises from a number of sources: Addictions are born as a result of ‘mindless’ … Continue reading “Mindfulness and Yoga for Addiction Release”

Mindfulness and Meditation for Elite Athletes

Patrick Chan used mindfulness to excel at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.  His first round performance for the team figure skating event was badly hampered by nerves and he did not score well.  However by talking to himself, confronting the expectations of his team and his own debilitating emotions, he was able to achieve the … Continue reading “Mindfulness and Meditation for Elite Athletes”

Mindfulness for Childbirth

In the previous post, I discussed mindfulness for postpartum depression and shared the story of Kristi Pahr and a range of relevant mindfulness resources.  In this post, I want to focus on the research that has been conducted on the use of mindfulness in preparation for childbirth. Research in the area of mindfulness for mothers … Continue reading “Mindfulness for Childbirth”

Mindfulness and Postpartum Depression

Kristi Pahr, freelance writer and mother, discussed how mindfulness helped her to deal with postpartum depression (PPD).  One of her problems, experienced by many mothers, was that she did not recognise her systems as PPD but put them down to hormonal change.  Unfortunately, PPD can get a hold of you very quickly and its effects … Continue reading “Mindfulness and Postpartum Depression”

Mindfulness for Loneliness

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, suggests that there are 7 types of loneliness, each potentially serving as a constraint to happiness.   She stresses the importance of strong relationships to ameliorate the damaging mental and physical effects of loneliness, which is a growing problem in today’s society.  While we have never been so connected … Continue reading “Mindfulness for Loneliness”

Savoring Your Child’s Development

It comes naturally to savor the early development of our children, particularly the milestone moments.  We can very easily experience gratitude, appreciation and delight with the first words spoken, the first time they crawled, or their first steps taken. The intervening turbulent teens can dampen our enthusiasm and sense of gratitude and blind us to … Continue reading “Savoring Your Child’s Development”