The concept of mindfulness can be confusing. How is mindfulness helpful? Does it increase creativity? The answers to these questions are not as straightforward as one may think. Mindfulness involves a shift in how you look at life, yourself, and your surroundings.
Mindfulness is a training that has been practised traditionally by Zen Buddhists. However, the word mindfulness has come to mean something else and is used in many ways by numerous people worldwide. One of these modern-day uses is how mindfulness can promote creativity, critical thinking, and other relevant features in students.
Benefits of Mindfulness
There are many positive benefits of mindfulness for educators and students alike. Perhaps most importantly, it helps to implement creativity in online classrooms and students become more aware of themselves, others, and the world around them. It allows them to figure out their learning processes and experiences and combat a lifetime of bad habits.
Teaching students to engage with the world around them mindfully will allow them to truly develop the skills needed to transform the higher education experience. Here are some of the benefits of mindfulness: –
Improving Attention Span
Mindfulness is the ability to stay focused on the present moment, regardless of distractions. It’s used in mindfulness meditation and other practices and can help improve the attention span.
When you practice mindfulness, you can focus on what is happening in the present moment without getting caught up in thoughts about past or future events. Focus on the here and now instead of worrying about what may come next.
The key to improving your attention span is to be mindful of your surroundings. When you’re mindful of the surroundings, you can’t help but pay attention to what’s all around because it’s much more interesting than worrying about the past or future.
Practicing mindfulness helps people get into a better frame of mind so they can think more clearly and logically. It also helps them stay calm when stressful situations arise, which improves their ability to make good decisions.
Embracing The Present Moment
Mindfulness is a process of paying attention to the present moment. It helps you to be aware of your thoughts, feelings, and physical experiences.
Mindfulness can help you focus on what’s happening in the present moment and remove distractions from your mind. You will become more aware of how you think, feel and act. This awareness can improve creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Practicing mindfulness helps students embrace the present moment by focusing on what is happening here and now. This practice allows them to slow down, observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment or criticism, and gain insight into their mindsets. When students focus on what is happening now, they are more likely to notice things that may have gone unnoticed otherwise.
Promotes Creativity
Mindfulness is a practice that has been promoted and researched by schools, educators, and psychologists to promote creativity among students. Mindfulness can be defined as the awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. It is an active process of paying attention to the present moment without judging or analyzing the experience. Mindfulness helps people become more aware of the present moment, learning to be more in tune with their bodies and surroundings.
Mindfulness has been shown to encourage creativity in children because it allows them to focus on what they are doing instead of worrying about whether they are doing it right. Research shows that mindfulness can also help students with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) focus on what they are doing without distractions, such as technology or other people around them interfering with their work.
Enhances Critical Thinking
Mindfulness is a state of being in which you are fully aware of your environment and the present moment. It is one of the most effective ways to promote creativity and critical thinking. Mindfulness has improved the way students process information, making them more able to think abstractly and creatively.
Mindfulness training can improve students’ focus, attention, and memory retention by helping them stay in the moment. In addition to enhancing their ability to focus on a single task, mindfulness training can also help students learn how to listen more effectively by focusing on their thoughts rather than what others say.
Cognitive Flexibility
Mindfulness promotes cognitive flexibility, which is adapting to changing circumstances. You can think clearly and make decisions based on facts rather than emotions. Mindfulness can help students be more creative because they tend to be less reactive in their thinking process, which allows them to think more objectively about things and come up with new ideas.
The ability to think logically without being judgmental or holding on to outdated beliefs is also essential for creativity and critical thinking skills. Mindfulness allows students to see things from multiple perspectives and understand how others perceive the same situation differently. By learning how others perceive situations, students can develop deeper connections with other people and learn how to communicate more effectively with others.
Final Thoughts
Incorporating mindfulness into a classroom isn’t something that should be taken lightly. Many professionals are uncomfortable with the idea of “New Age” self-awareness approaches being introduced in online schools, and most students won’t take to a practice they don’t understand. However, mindfulness should be viewed as a valuable tool, supporting students to develop critical and creative thinking and helping them to change their behaviours and patterns of thinking through self-awareness. As teachers, they are promoting this can have an incredibly positive impact on the learning experience for our students.
