paying attention...
...in class is just another chance to be mindful. in recent times, i have tended to multitask in almost all of my classes; in fact, if i could multitask, i would. not something to be proud of, because today i realized what i've been missing. giving one's 100% to a lecture is a rewarding experience in several ways. not only did i 1. understand everything that was talked about, 2. not look at the time or wait for lecture to be over, but 3. i found myself so keenly understanding the lecture topics that on several occasions i found i was considering solutions/ideas that were to be presented in subsequent slides, sometimes completely unrelated to anything that had so far been discussed. immodest as this may sound :), that is not my intention. i merely wish to emphasize the power of focused thought. and who knows, perhaps these thoughts in my mind were generated from the channel that had been so focused-ly set up between the professor and me, as i listened with sincerity to his every word.
3 comments:
Mindfulness really does enhance the quality of the present experience. For me as a student, I found that minimizing the distractions that prompted me to want to multi-task (e.g., not bringing a laptop to class) helped. Taking notes by hand, asking questions, doing whatever we can in any situation to stay engaged with the experience, really, as you said, can make the experience much more rewarding.
PS: I also think that our examples become really powerful in contexts like a classroom setting. When we see other students checking their emails, doing crosswords, etc. we are perhaps less likely to feel engaged, compelled by the experience of that classroom community. But we must remember that each one of us constructs that experience, and we have choice as to how we want to be engaged, and that, in turn, can influence others in their level of participation and engagement. What we choose to say and how we choose to say it can make a difference, too.
the no-laptop rule is valuable, but today i was thinking that's more of a denial rule, no? i should try to keep my laptop open and try only to use it for class purposes.
another thing is that i tried this morning to use my incoming email as a mindfulness reminder. that helps positively too. know what i mean?
and class is starting now, so i will focus :).
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