Lesson 2 – Taming the Animal Mind

MINDFULNESS IN SCHOOLS PROJECT
TEACHERS’ NOTES
LESSON TWO:
Taming The Animal
Mind
Cultivating Curiosity and Kindness
© Mindfulness in Schools Project 2014
Lesson 2 – Taming the Animal Mind
Objectives
•
To explore that the mind has a life of its own – we often can’t control it
•
To nurture an attitude of curiosity, kindness, acceptance and openness that helps
us to deal more skilfully with these fluctuating mind-states
•
To teach that by ‘anchoring’ our attention in the lower half of the body we can
begin to turn towards calm even when our minds are stormy
Lesson Flow
Our minds are like
animals – they
seem to have a life
of their own
Which animals is the mind like?
A good opportunity for pairwork and class discussion.
It’s helpful to
practice being with
the mind as DA is
with animals:
curious, patient,
kind
Show the clip. Think of the
gorillas as being like our mind,
and Attenborough being like us
observing it.
Let’s bring these
qualities to a
FOFBOC
Slide quickly into the FOFBOC:
• Feet
• Weight of body on chair
• Sensations of breathing
Using language of exploration,
curiosity, patience, acceptance.
Calm the mind by
anchoring it in the
body
Explaining the ‘why?’ of
FOFBOC.
Home Practice
The FOFBOC sound file
Resources
Film clip
Access to sound file (CD’s / emailed links)
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
2
Last week we looked at how our attention works. On the one hand
we can direct it to ‘attend to’ the sensations in our body, but on the
other hand it wanders and is difficult to train. It takes firm, kind,
patient repetition to train this puppy mind of ours.
Before we begin, I’d like to hear how your home practices went…
Review breath counting – what they noticed, how it went.
Review experiment with searchlight of attention – what they
noticed, how it went.
Did anyone remember and practice any of the mindfulness
exercises at other times in the day / week?
Pick up and highlight any feedback that mentions feeling more calm
as a result of doing the practices.
Let’s begin by seeing how many breaths you’re doing in one
minute right now. Without changing your posture or even moving
at all, direct your attention to your breathing and after three, start
counting. One – two – three…
Once they have done this , take them through Susan KaiserGreenland’s ‘My Mind Feels, My Body Feels’ exercise. Going around
the room one by one, each person (including you!) says ‘My find
feels…, my body feels…’.
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
3
(Following on from my mind feels my body feels) Wow! Isn’t it remarkable
how many different states of mind and body there are in only one classroom.
In a single hour we will experience many different ones etc.
Sometimes you might feel really surprised [Click].
Sometimes really happy or a bit thoughtful or reflective [Click].
Other times really angry [Click].
Others overwhelmed or sad [Click].
And sometimes just plain exhausted [Click].
It could be big life events that shift your mood or often quite small things that
set the mind off in one direction or another.
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
4
One thing for sure is that our minds are not easily controllable
[Click] “Our minds seem to have wild and uncontrollable lives of
their own”
[Click] “For this reason, the mind has often been compared to
certain animals”
[Click] “Which ones?”
This is a good opportunity for pair-work and discussion. There is no
practice coming up so it doesn’t matter if the group gets more lively
and loose. Whilst pupils discuss, this also provides an opportunity to
check that the video clip is cued up.
Hear their suggestions and why they make them.
If they’re comfortable with the idea of comparing the mind to
different animals, you might ask them which animal their mind is
like right now.
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
5
SLIDES 3 – 5 [Pictures of animals.]
Move through the pictures of chimpanzee, elephant and hippo
considering in what ways the mind might be compared to these
animals, and what moods they might represent…
Hear their suggestions of how the mind can be like a chimpanzee.
You might prompt:
Cheeky. Won’t listen. It’ll do it’s own thing.
‘Monkey mind’ is a term often used to describe the restlessness of
the mind, jumping around from idea to idea, from worry to anxiety,
to joy to excitement, back to worry and anxiety like a monkey
swinging from tree to tree. With mindfulness we can learn to bring
the monkey out of the trees, to sit quietly on the jungle floor for a bit.
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
6
How is this like the mind?
Suggestions:
Unstoppable, powerful, noisy, wilful, difficult to train.
But also when trained, very strong, great stamina,
helpful – and the largest and most noble of creatures.
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
7
In what ways can the mind be like this hippo?
Suggestions:
Lazy, sluggish, sleepy, difficult to budge…
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
8
Hands up who knows who David Attenborough is?
[Hear their answers.]
David Attenborough is someone who’s used to being with
animals in very skilful ways, and maybe we can learn something
from his example about how to be with our animal minds.
In the film clip that I’m about to show you, think of the gorillas
as being like the mind: sometimes scary and powerful,
sometimes really cute and cuddly. Sometimes it seems to be
quite relaxed, other times angry and aggressive.
Think of Attenborough as watching the mind. He is the
observer. Afterwards I’m going to ask you how he is with the
animals. What is his attitude towards them? How does he
observe, because this is the attitude I’m going to encourage you
to take towards your own mind.
Watch the David Attenborough film clip of him with the gorillas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN4nzQO0B1E
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
9
Before click…
So, how is he with the animals?
Hear their suggestions [maybe calm, careful, respectful, attentive,
trusting, courageous, curious, appreciative, kind, playful].
Then run through the clicks and really emphasise these points.
What we’re learning is to pay attention to what is happening within
us in the same way that we might pay attention to animals that we’re
observing. If the mind is restless like a monkey, let’s give it space to be
restless and attend to it with respect, patience and curiosity. If it’s
sluggish like a sloth, let’s be patiently curious about that. If it’s wild
and raging like an elephant, let’s recognise that and give it respectful
space in which it can calm down.
Notice that ALLOWING whatever we’re experiencing and however our
minds are behaving – giving them space to be as they are - is key and
helps to calm our minds.
[Note that the idea of “David Attenborough mode” originally came
from Professor Mark Williams. Prof. Williams also used the example
that even when watching a lion tearing apart a gazelle, Attenborough
doesn’t try to get involved or interfere in any way. He still watches with
the same attentive, calm, patient curiosity. Consider the implications of
this in terms of how we might deal with very negative mind-states.]
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
10
So now let’s practice ‘being’ in this mode with whatever is
happening in our minds and bodies right now.
It’s called ‘FOFBOC’ which stands for ‘Feet on Floor; Bum on Chair’.
When you get stressed, you can feel how energy tends to rise in
your body and you become “up tight”. You’re thinking [and perhaps
speaking] fast, and your breathing becomes shallow and gasped.
One of the best ways to calm and slow yourself down is to take
your attention into the lower half of the body, starting with the
very lowest part: your feet as they touch the ground.
[Note that the below is an example of FOFBOC instructions, but we
suggest you guide this with your own experience of guiding a seated
body scan. With time, and with a good group, you might do a longer
practice than this. Whilst doing the practice yourself, keep your eyes
open so that you can monitor the class too.]
As you sit here, begin by bringing your attention into your feet.
Really tuning into the sensations of your feet as they touch the
floor… noticing what that feels like… which parts of the soles of your
feet are in contact with the floor and which are not… exploring and
investigating these sensations as if you were Attenborough
observing them with the same patient, kind curiosity.
Now including all the sensations of your feet, noticing what it’s like
to be wearing socks and shoes [if they are!].
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
11
Feeling now the weight and the texture of your legs… the lower
halves…and the upper halves… really letting yourself explore what
legs feel like from the inside…
And now letting your awareness expand also to include all the
sensations of sitting… tuning in to what it feels like to be in contact
with the chair… again, what does sitting feel like from the inside?
And now expanding your awareness to include all the sensations of
the lower half of the body… it’s almost as if you’re listening to the
lower half of your body…receiving all its textures as they change
moment by moment…
Feet on floor, bum on chair… anchoring your awareness in the lower
half of your body…
And then including the sensations of breathing in your awareness.
Letting yourself be refreshed and nourished by your in-breathing, and
allowing yourself really to relax as you breathe out.
Feet On Floor, Bum On Chair, breathing. This is a FOFBOC.
Finally, notice how doing this exercise has affected your mind-state…
What do you notice?
And then, when you’re ready, gently allowing your eyes to open.
Hear from them:
What did you notice during that practice?
What did you feel?
What effect did doing it have on your mind and on your body?
Notice that FOFBOC/ ANCHORING is an exercise that we can do at any
time, with our eyes open or closed. With practice, we can also get
used to doing it quickly as a way of grounding and anchoring
ourselves in the middle of any situation, even very difficult ones.
We can practice anchoring ourselves in the lower halves of our bodies
even when we are walking around.
This is a very practical tool that can REALLY help!
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
12
What was the point in that exercise though? Why are we learning to pay
attention to our feet on the floor and our bum on the chair, and how can this
help us be calmer?
[Click to picture.]
We all feel angry or upset sometimes. If we fight our minds by telling
ourselves that we shouldn’t be feeling what we’re feeling, or by getting angry
with ourselves or by trying not to feel, or getting frustrated about feeling
stressed, we just make matters worse.
[Click to text.]
If we can accept whatever we’re feeling, ALLOWING IT and GIVING IT SPACE
rather than fighting it, this will help us to turn towards calm and a lessening
of the difficulty.
When we relax with whatever we’re experiencing, and give it space, our
minds and bodies grow more calm, we become less stressed, and we’re more
able to deal with whatever is going on.
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
13
Looking at it another way, when the mind is stormy, allow the
storm to pass.
[Click]
In addition, use your body as an anchor by dropping your
attention into the lower half of the body. Feel your feet on the
floor and ground yourself in the present moment of what is
actually happening.
[Click]
This anchoring calms us down. It…
•
slows our heart-rate
•
steadies our breathing
•
calms our thinking
When we feel less stressed, we feel more confident and more
able to cope with whatever is happening.
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
14
In summary…
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
15
The more you practice this, the easier and more powerfully helpful
it becomes.
We’ve created a sound file for you to guide you through a FOFBOC,
and we’d like you to practice this for a short while each day.
Read through the instructions in the student booklet with them.
They can download the file from the website, or you may choose to
email it to them, or give it out in CD format.
http://mindfulnessinschools.org/what-is-b/sound-files/
It’s 10 minutes long.
Check they understand the home practice and how to get access
to the sound files.
© Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2014
16