The Mindful Researcher

In doing research, the quality of our attention matters. It affects our ability to focus, our level of productivity and how we experience the process of working. When we’re busy or under pressure, it’s easy for our attention to scatter. Our self-awareness decreases and we find ourselves slipping into familiar habits of thought and behaviour. Like any skill, attention requires practice. And in education, the type of attention best suited to learning involves not just concentration, but awareness. When focus is combined with awareness, we’re in a much better position to respond to challenges. And we’re more likely to have an experience that is genuinely open, curious, engaged and at ease. The Mindful Researcher   is a unique four-part workshop series that offers practical strategies for how to train your attention, develop good working habits and find balance in a competitive, high-pressure working environment.   Specifically, it focuses on the role that awareness

A few weeks ago I completed a new mindfulness course. For a while now, I’ve been interested in broadening my practice and learning about other styles and approaches to meditation. At the recommendation of a friend I decided to enrol in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) . MBSR is quite a well-known secular mindfulness program available in major cities all over the world. It was started in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a molecular biologist, doctor and now prominent author and teacher of mindfulness meditation, at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. The course was originally designed as a stress reduction and relaxation program for people suffering from a variety of physical and mental health issues. Its success is evident in the program’s longevity and geographical spread. From week one, I found the MBSR program very engaging. It shook up my ideas about what meditation is, and how and why we practice. Spread over eight 2.5 hour classes