Brainbox Blog

 

Scientist Susan Greenfield has been speaking in the press for some time now on her fears that these smart technologies are actively ‘rewiring’ our brains, causing us to lose the ability to focus on one activity at a time and fooling us into thinking that we can multi-task, when we are really just switching between a variety of jobs and not giving any of them our full attention. I was initially sceptical of this viewpoint but, having read more work recently about neuroscience, I was fascinated by what has been called ‘neuroplasticity’, and how the brain can be actively altered through repeated patterns of thought or activity; after all, isn’t this what I am using when I work on reframing techniques with my clients and developing a more positive mindset? When I was a teenager, concentrating for several hours on homework or sitting three-hour long A-Level exams was not a problem, and I was proud of how self-disciplined and productive I could be. But that was in the 1980s, when mobile phones didn’t exist and, if you had a home PC, you weren’t connected to the Internet. Now I’m lucky if I can resist the urge to check my phone for messages or Facebook updates during an hour-long television programme, and I’m starting to resent my somewhat Pavlovian response to technological triggers.

 

So, I was delighted a couple of weeks ago to come across Andy Puddicombe’s excellent Get Some Headspace when doing some Saturday afternoon bookshop browsing. While I have read several books on mindfulness and meditation in the last year, this guide really hit the spot, showing how we can all find a quiet inner space, no matter the time or place, and I thought that this could be a great antidote to the kind of ‘monkey mind’ I seem to be cultivating thanks to my smart phone, jumping from one thing to another with little focus. Given that I have also started to notice an unpleasant fluttering sensation in my chest when I feel stressed and that I managed to blow a blood vessel in my eye last week, I figured it was time to get some focus and find my quiet inner space, away from the constant chirp of my phone (it’s just let me know I have received a text!) and from the general demands of my working day.

 

Mindfulness (if you prefer that to using the term ‘meditation’, which can be a little too spiritual for some) requires you to be fully present in the current moment, not thinking about past or present, and being aware of what you are doing in that particular time. This can be done in the classic seated meditation position, or more actively when walking, doing the washing up, eating a meal, painting the garden fence or whatever. I realised on reading further that there are very few points in my day when I am not trying to do several things at once, or am working without looking ahead to what is coming up later. The only times when I am really and completely in the moment are when I am coaching, lecturing or doing martial arts, all of which require a level of focus and concentration I would like to be able to draw on more regularly. Puddicombe is very realistic about introducing people to mindfulness, setting the challenge of practising for a mere ten minutes a day. My attempts at meditation before have been mixed as, like most people, I find it hard to stem the flow of my thoughts without starting to follow one of them. Puddicombe uses useful metaphors such as sitting at the side of a busy road and watching the traffic go by, immersing yourself in a blue sky or gently reining in a wild stallion and bringing it to a calm state, to help settle the mind. Focusing on the breath is also key, and this works almost like a metronome, using rhythm to calm and relax you.

 

I have been getting my ten minutes in either at the start of the day - this means setting the alarm a bit earlier but it’s worth it to head off to work feeling distinctly more Zen – or when I come home, drawing a line under the working hours before I start to cook and relax for the evening. The results, even after just over a week, have been noticeable. I am waking up without that fluttering feeling and am walking to work without experiencing ‘pavement rage’ at other pedestrians (usually plugged into their earphones and not mindful at all of their surroundings – one of my biggest bugbears). I am noticing more of what is going on around me when I am out and about - the Christmas lights going up, a beautiful carpet of red-gold autumn leaves, the quality of the light as the sun goes down over the city in the late afternoon. I am also being more productive at work, making myself complete one task before moving on to another, and generally feeling more organised.

 

Coming back to neuroplasticity, there are increasing studies that now show how regular mindfulness/meditation practice can change brain function, and mindfulness is now being regularly ‘prescribed’ by GPs in the UK as a tool for tackling stress and depression. Combined with regular exercise, mindfulness can be an excellent tool for developing a calmer and positive outlook on life. Mindfulness practice can help everyone to find a quiet space in their day, to become more grounded and maybe even more inclined to switch off the technology for a while and enjoy the silence.

 

 

Andy Puddicombe, Get Some Headspace: 10 Minutes Can Make All the Difference (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2011)

 

Dr Jonty Heaversedge and Ed Halliwell, The Mindful Manifesto (London: Hay House Publishing, 2010)

 

Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1999)