A Minute (or ten) A Day
I. Situation
I chose to watch the TED talk titled “All it takes is 10 mindful minutes” by Andy Puddicombe. Puddicombe spoke about having a healthier mind, learning to be mindful of the present moment, and being able to control your thoughts through meditation. He mentioned how our minds are our most valuable and most precious resource through which we experience every moment of our life. We rely upon our minds to be happy, be emotionally stable, be kind, be thoughtful, and be considerate with our relationships with others. We utilize it to perform at our very best. However, as he said, we hardly take any time-out to look after it.
More than being “an aspirin for the mind” it was mentioned how meditation can be preventative in nature. It is a positive, practical, achievable, scientifically proven technique that allows our mind to be healthier, more mindful, and less distracted. But before anything else, we must know how to do it, because there is a framework to adhere to. Once we learn to do so, meditation offers the opportunity, the potential, to step back and to get a different perspective. As Andy Puddicombe said, we can’t change every little thing that happens to us in life, but we can change the way that we experience it.
II. Explanation
The video resonated a lot to me, not because I believed it but because I DIDN’T. I never believed in meditation and its alleged therapeutic effects, but the TED talk made me question if I’ve been too quick to judge. The way he explained how we are often anxious about being anxious and how we never really take the time to make sure our minds are at peak health particularly stuck to me because these are things that I can relate to. Furthermore, I never really knew that meditation has been scientifically proven to be effective. With that being said, I am now contemplating on trying meditation for myself because I am pretty convinced that it will be beneficial to me.
III. Evaluation
The video was an eye-opener, informative, and even persuasive. If anyone needed convincing to try meditation, then this video is the way to go. Andy Puddicombe offers explanations that are easy to understand and delivers them in an entertaining way, so the listeners can easily follow his train of thought. I can’t really point out any negative parts about the talk, but if I had to mention one, it would be the fact that he didn’t really mention the “proper” way of meditating. Instead, he just mentioned vague and ambiguous points to remember when carrying it out.
IV. Analysis
Being a woman of science, I didn’t really have high hopes for the video when I learned that its contents are about practicing the art of meditation. I was skeptical at best because I expected the stereotypical “being one with your mind and soul” declarations and how practicing proper breathing is the key to a stress-free life. However, I was surprised to hear him pull out scientific data and anecdotes that I can relate to. When he mentioned how we miss out on the things that are most important to us and how most people just accept this and brush it off as “that’s just how life is,” I felt guilty because I am part of the people that he mentioned.
V. Conclusion
As an individual, more than learning about the specifics of meditation, I also realized that I can sometimes judge things too quickly before giving them a chance. I shoot things down without adequate knowledge about the topic, including my previous attitude towards meditation and many other things. At this point, with the information given to me, I now know that not trying meditation would just be nonsensical and absurd. This just further reinforces my tendency to not believe anything unless backed up by reliable data.
VI. Action
As an OT student, I now know that I should be more open to forms of therapy that deviate from the traditional because it can be beneficial to my future clients. I shouldn’t limit myself to what I’ve always known, because humans find new ways to improve the way of life every day. Nonetheless, I will continue to value proven data and seek it before I believe anything. I believe that this isn’t something that needs to be changed about me, because this is a trait that all future healthcare professionals should have.
