Mindfulness is becoming popular in the context of stress management and developing focus and inner calm. The greatest potential for transformation that mindfulness offers lies in its ability to wake us up from living on autopilot. This webinar offered by the Smith College Executive Education for Women focuses on the role mindfulness can play in bringing more awareness, intentionality, and control so we can make more skillful decisions.
You can view a recording of the webinar here: https://smith.adobeconnect.com/p4g9ns9c17o/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal
2. O V E R V I E W
• What
• definition of autopilot
• checklist
• autopilot’s influence on behavior
• Why
• nature of mind on autopilot
• How
• mindfulness as an antidote to autopilot
• triangle of awareness
• experience mindfulness
• neuroscience of mindfulness
• inquiry based framework & strategies
3. — S O C R A T E S
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
4. A R E Y O U M U L T I T A S K I N G N O W ?
A U T O P I L O T C H E C K I N
5. W H A T I S
A U T O P I L O T
‘ A U T O M A T I C I T Y ’ I S
E V I D E N C E D B Y T H E
B E H A V I O R D I S P L A Y I N G
S O M E O R A L L O F T H E
F O L L O W I N G F E A T U R E S :
1 . L A C K O F A W A R E N E S S
2 . U N I N T E N T I O N A L I T Y
3 . U N C O N T R O L L A B I L I T Y
4 . E F F O R T L E S S
( B A R G H , 1 9 9 4 )
6. A U T O P I L O T ’ S I N F L U E N C E O N B E H A V I O R
T R I G G E R
U N C O N S C I O U S
P A T T E R N S
A U T 0
- S E N S I N G
- F E E L I N G
- T H I N K I N G
- R E L A T I N G
- D O I N G
B E H A V I O R S
8. W H A T
P E R C E N T A G E
O F T H E T I M E
Y O U R M I N D
W A N D E R S A W A Y
F R O M T A S K A T
H A N D ?
9. 4 7 %
O F T H E T I M E *
*Killingsworth & Gilbert in
Science November 2010
10. M I N D
W A N D E R I N G I N
A R E L A X E D
S T A T E
S U P P O R T S
C R E A T I V I T Y
11. W H A T
P E R C E N T A G E
O F Y O U R D A I L Y
D E C I S I O N S A R E
M A D E
C O N S C I O U S L Y ?
12. 5 %9 5 % O F T H E
D E C I S I O N S A R E
M A D E
U N C O N S C I O U S L Y
*
*Bargh and Chartrand in
American Psychologist 1999
13. A U T O M A T I C I T Y I S
U S E F U L B E C A U S E
W E H A V E L I M I T E D
C O G N I T I V E
R E S O U R C E S
*Bargh and Chartrand in
American Psychologist 1999
14. Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that
space is our power to choose our response. In our
response lies our growth and our freedom.
~Viktor E. Frankl
Read more at
S T I M U L U S /
T R I G G E R
B R A I N
P R E P A R E S
T O A C T
A W A R E N E S S
O F I N T E N T I O N
T O A C T
R E S P O N S E
/ B E H A V I O R
0 ms 350 ms 550 ms
Libet 1999
15. Automaticity is needed for survival
Read more atT I G E R
B R A I N
P R E P A R E S
T O A C T
F I G H T O R
F L I G H T
16. W H A T I S T H E
Q U A L I T Y O F
Y O U R
D E C I S I O N S ?
• 5 0 % W A N D E R I N G M I N D
(Even when you need to be
focused)
• 9 5 % U N C O N S C I O U S M I N D
(Even when the unconscious
mind doesn't serve you)
• R E A C T I V E B E H A V I O R S
(Even when there is no tiger)
17. H O W
A W A R E N E S S , I N T E N T I O N A L I T Y & C O N T R O L
18. — W I L L I A M J A M E S
“The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a
wandering attention, over and over again, is the
very root of judgment, character, and will. No one is
compos sui (master of himself) if he have it not.”
19. “ M I N D F U L N E S S I S
T H E A W A R E N E S S
T H A T A R I S E S
F R O M
P A Y I N G
A T T E N T I O N
O N P U R P O S E ,
I N T H E P R E S E N T
M O M E N T ,
N O N -
J U D G M E N T A L L Y ”
~ D R . J O N K A B A T - Z I N N
20. T R I A N G L E O F
A W A R E N E S S
A T T E N T I O N
T H O U G H T S
B O D Y
S E N S A T I O N S
E M O T I O N S
Intentional & Moment to Moment
21. E X P E R I E N C E
M I N D F U L N E S S
D I S C O V E R T H E S T A T E A N D Q U A L I T Y O F Y O U R M I N D
22. N E U R O S C I E N C E O F M I N D F U L N E S S *
Attention
Attentional Control
Reflect &
Reframe
Emotion Regulation
Awareness
Self-awareness
Associated
brain areas
Anterior
cingulate cortex
Prefrontal
Cortex,
Amygdala
Insula, Medial
Prefrontal
cortex
Time Short Term Intermediate Long Term
effort
Effort To Pay
Attention
Effort To Reduce
Reactivity
Effortless
Being
Mindfulness Meditation
Meta-Awareness Intentionality Control
*Holzel et al 2011, Tang et al 2015
23. F R O M A U T O P I L O T T O M I N D F U L
A U T O P I L O T M I N D F U L
Lack of awareness
Unintentionality
Uncontrollability
Effortless
Meta-Awareness
Intentionality
Control/Choice
Effortless
24. M I N D F U L N E S S : I N Q U I R Y - B A S E D F R A M E W O R K
T R I G G E R
U N C O N S C I O U S
P A T T E R N S
A U T 0
- S E N S I N G
- F E E L I N G
- T H I N K I N G
- R E L A T I N G
- D O I N G
B E H A V I O R S
T R I A N G L E
O F A W A R E N E S S
A T T E N T I O N , R E F L E C T &
R E F R A M E , A W A R E N E S S
25. M I N D F U L N E S S - B A S E D S T R A T E G I E S
A T T E N T I O N
R E F L E C T &
R E F R A M E
A W A R E N E S S
What do you notice?
Can you sustain
your attention?
Can you suspend
arising distractions
and come back to
the object of
attention?
What is the quality of
attention? Is it gentle and
curious?
What are your patterns?
What are your
assumptions?
What are other
perspectives?
What if you stayed
with the experience
without trying to
change it?
Can you see the
bigger picture with
more clarity?
A P P L I E D T O A U T O - S E N S I N G , F E E L I N G , T H I N K I N G , R E L A T I N G , A N D D O I N G
26. S T R E N G T H E N I N G
T H E M I N D F U L N E S S
M U S C L E
“Only through mindfulness
training can we possibly
hope that our awareness will
be strong enough and
reliable enough to assist us
in responding in a balanced
& imaginative manner when
we are stressed.”
~ Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn
27. T Y P E S O F
M I N D F U L N E S S
P R A C T I C E S
• Awareness of Breath
• Body Scan
• Open Awareness
• Mindful Walking
• Mindful Listening
• Loving Kindness
• Mindful Movement (Yoga,
Tai chi)
28. M F A C T O R P R O G R A M S
• Search Inside Yourself
(Mindfulness-Based
Emotional Intelligence)
• Mindfulness-Based
Stress Reduction
(Health & Well Being)
• Custom Programs
comprising
mindfulness-based
strategies and
organizational learning
Self-Awareness
Self-Regulation
Motivation - Purpose, Envisioning
& Resilience
Empathy
Compassionate Leadership
Mindfulness & Autopilot Nature
Perceptions
Wholesome Habits
Managing Stress
Problem Solving
Mindful Communications
For Example:
Introduction to Mindfulness
Mindful Communication
Resilience Training
Mindful Leadership
29. C O N T A C T I N F O R M A T I O N
Email: Shalini@MFactor.org
Website: mfactor.org
Mindfulness Community: http://mindfuluniverse.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/shalinibahl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shalinibahl
Slide Share: http://www.slideshare.net/ShaliniBahl
Notas del editor
5 – Ashli 10
5
thank you for inviting me and it is energizing to see the great inerest in this topic.
How many of you already have a mindfulness practice?
When we think of mindfulness what comes to mind?
Mostly we associate mindfulness with inner calm, focus, stress management and that is all valid
But the most transformative aspect of mindfulness is it develops the capacity to wake up to the present moment and our habitual patterns that don’t serve us
Whether as a parent or spouse or at work, mindfulness is the process of reminding us to be present, to be open and curiosu in this moment to fully wake up to the opportunities this moment provides.
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What is autopilot, why do we go on autopilot and most importantly how can mindfulness be an antidote to autopilot
What I would like to focus on is your personal experience with mindfulenss so you can see first hand the nature of your mind and also see the possibility of gaining self mastery
Starting with a deep breath and inviting curiosity and wonderment as we go on this journey together
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Research shows that 90% of people participating in virtual meetings are “multitasking”: doing at least one other thing that is not related to the meeting.
For example, you could be checking emails or drinking a beverage etc
There is no judgment here, but since multitasking is one fo the things we mostly do on autopilot, I thought we would start with a quick check in and use this webinar as an experiment to explore our tendency or impulse to multitask during the webinar.
And of course if you need to to multitask that is ok, just doing it as a conscious choice instead of automaticity.
SHARE THE PERCENTAGE FROM THE POLL
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Autopilot also known as automaticity or unconscious mind basically has been defined in psychology to include the following 4 characteristics – no flexibility or choice
Conscious mind on the other hand would be mental acts of which we are aware, that we intend (i.e., that we start by an act of will), that require effort, and that we can control (i.e., we can stop them and go on to something else if we choose; Logan & Cowan, 1984).
InIn college student as well as community samples, about 45% of the behaviors participants listed in their diaries tended to be repeated in the same physical location almost every day.
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As soon as you come in contact with a familiar situation or environment it will trigger the habitual patterns that will lead to the same behaviors
For example, lets say you have weekly meetings with your team, its the same people meeting the same room, it is very likely that you will evoke the same unconscious patterns related to sensing, feeling, thoughts, relating and doing.
Taking each of the ways in which we work on autopilot, lets explore what might happen
You see some people who you tend to disagree with in the meeting, immediately you will see them through that lens not noticing how they might be in a different frame of mind today, those people may evoke the same feelings in you even before they have said anything, giving rise to thought patterns from the past, and you might not end up listening to what they have to say today because your lens of seeing feeling and thinking has already determined what they are going to say, plus you are preparing to put your argument forth so you are not really listening and you might also be doing other things that you do when you are stressed like drinking coffee etc without really wanting it.
All this leads to behaviors that are less than optimal
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By decision I mean all the big and small choices you are making from getting up in the morning to making your coffee to saying hi to your colleague or not saying hi and the bigger decisions
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Many of you may know the viktor frankl quote – between the stimulus and response there is space…freedom
This saying was substantiated by experiments done by Libet in 1999 which showed that as soon as there was a trigger, your brain prepares to act immediately and your conscious brain becomes aware of that only later and within a few miliseconds after that you act.
The space between your brain preparing to act and your action is quite small and if your conscious awareness doesn’t come in soon enough you will act or react
1
And we need that ability to react for reasons of survival
When we lived in the jungles and saw a tiger we had an inbuilt mechanism in our brain that scanned the environment for threat and as soon as we saw the threat we would go into the fight or flight mode.
In todays world the tiger can be a threat to your job, your social status or ego, but the brain still reacts as if it is a tiger
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Taking a pause to breathe and as William James Often referred to as the father of american psychology reminds us to gather our wandering attention and bring it back to this moment, this webinar
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1 mt experiment with an attentional training exercise called the Awareness of Breath, paying attention to the sensations of breathing with the attitude of self compassion and curiosity
2 mts AOB
5 debriefing
Did you notice your wandering mind? Did you have any control over when and where your mind wandered to?
Notice reactivity to this exercise or the wandering mind - A wandering mind is normal, what is important is noticing that and coming back and coming back with the attitude of self compassion
What was the attitude with which you approached this exercise – were you gentle and curious?
Did you notice the sensations of breathing as opposed to thinking about breathing?
What is the quality of awareness now?
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Through mindfulness you are practicing attention, ability to reflect and reframe, and a meta awareness which developing 3 things attentional control, emotion regulation, and self awareness
Different parts fo the brain associated with each of these activities and outcomes
With respect to time it can be said that we can develop or learn to pay attention in the short term but the practice of reflecting and reframing and the outcome of emotion regulation requires more practice and the meta awareness takes even longer
Initially it takes effort to pay attention and reduce reactivity but over time it becomes effortless and who we are, which is what makes the changes sustainable
In essence we are developing meta awareness, intentionality and control
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By bringing attention to the TOA – thoughts, emotions and body sensations, with the attitude of curiosity and non judgment, we are learning to experience each moment with more awareness
Taking the previous example of the meeting, next time you go to a meeting if you invite your attention to the TOA to notice what is arising for you – maybe a familiar sensation in the body, a feeling or thought patterns, you can be present to the people through a broader lens of curiosity that is not attached to old patterns, which may allow you to listen to more than what is being said, maybe you notice people’s motivations, their body language or that they are having a particularly bad day and that additional information can guide you to make more skillful choices guiding behaviors that are kind and aligned with the goals of the meeting.