Mindfulness Resources

Articles & Videos about Mindfulness & Performance

DEFINING TERMS

  1. Performance vs Productivity (simply put productivity is quantity of work while performance is quality.)
    1. https://thesocialpundit.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/productivity-vs-performance/
    2. http://www.workdynamics.co.za/news/dont-confuse-performance-with-productivity
  2. Performance
    1. https://blog.todoist.com/2016/05/31/measure-improve-employee-productivity/
  3. Mindfulness (What is it?)
    1. What is Mindfulness? (video, 5:17min) Mindfulness expert Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines “What is mindfulness?” and discusses the hard work and rewards of practicing mindfulness. Jan 3, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmEo6RI4Wvs
    2. Mindfulness (good, historical description of modern western mindfulness) http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/article/1256544/mindfulness-meditation-adapted-city-life
    3. Why Mindfulness Is a Superpower: An Animation, Dan Harris, TV Anchor and author describes how practicing mindfulness is one of the single most powerful things you can do for your wellbeing.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6T02g5hnT4
    4. What Do We Have All Wrong About Meditation?  (video, 4:10), Happify video featuring Dan Harris, dispelling 3 myths: meditation is only for weird people, it’s too hard and I don’t have time to do it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtsdz_jhB7c
    5. What is Mindfulness? (article) – Dr. Danny Penman’s description of mindfulness (how, observing without criticizing, secular, can sit in chairs or practice anywhere, doesn’t take a lot of time, not complicated,  increases clarity vs dulling your edge).   http://franticworld.com/what-is-mindfulness/
    6. 60 Minutes Special on Mindfulness with Anderson Cooper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNwLcwCdVNA
    7. 3 Misconceptions About Meditation (article) – Susan Piver, bestselling author and meditation teacher, explains what meditation is by debunking 3 very common meditation myths (stops thinking, makes you peaceful, form of self-help). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-piver/meditation-practice-3-mis_b_594914.htm 
    8. The Emerging Science of Consciousness, Part 4: Becoming Conscious: The Science of Mindfulness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TeWvf-nfpA 
    9. State and Trait Mindfulness (article) – By  Peter Malinowski. Research on the importance of state mindfulness, “the immediate experience of being mindful”, and dispositional or trait mindfulness, “something more lasting, of generally being more mindful in their lives.” From Meditation Research, Psychological Science of Meditation, June 26, 2015.      http://meditation-research.org.uk/2015/06/from-state-to-trait-mindfulness/
  4. Kindness & Compassion
    1. The Three Components of Self-Compassion (video, 6:18min) Dr Kristin Neff, leading compassion researcher, defines self-compassion. She describes the importance of acknowledging a problem first and giving ourselves care and compassion before going into fixing mode.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11U0h0DPu7k

TYPES of Meditation

  1. Overview of 23 Types (Though the details laid out in this  article aren’t all that clear to me, it makes some generalizations that I find helpful. It can provide a good starting point for understanding some of the big differences between some of the different types of meditation.) http://liveanddare.com/types-of-meditation/

 

COMPANIES that use mindfulness:

  1. http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/10-big-companies-that-promote-employee-meditation/

 

SCIENCE OF Mindfulness:

  1. Mindfulness (General Overviews)
    1. The Emerging Science of Consciousness, Part 4: Becoming Conscious: The Science of Mindfulness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TeWvf-nfpA
    2. Brief Summary of Mindfulness Research Greg Flaxman and Lisa Flook, Ph.D. (Date?) http://marc.ucla.edu/workfiles/pdfs/MARC-mindfulness-research-summary.pdf
  2. Mindfulness & Performance Overviews
    1. Contemplating Mindfulness at Work: An Integrative Review (article): Darren J. Good, et al.  look at research to date on using mindfulness in the workplace. (2015)  http://static1.squarespace.com/static/55ee3fc2e4b02f474ccc69e0/t/5731b5632fe131e30c46374e/1462875497465/Journal+of+Management-2015-Good-0149206315617003.pdf
    2. Dan Harris: Hack Your Brain’s Default Mode with Meditation (video, 3:43min) Dan Harris, News Correspondent, explains the neuroscience behind meditation, but reminds us that the ancient practice isn’t magic and likely won’t send one floating into the cosmic ooze. He predicts that the exercise will soon become regularly scheduled maintenance, as commonplace as brushing your teeth or eating your veggies. Harris, an ABC News correspondent, was turned on to mediation after a live, on-air panic attack. His latest book is 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story, Aug 19, 2014  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAcTIrA2Qhk
  3. Studies on Short-term Meditators and Executive Attention (Performance Indicator)

    1. Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training Study of term meditators improving in executive attention.  http://jtoomim.org/brain-training/Zeidan2010_Mindfulness_Meditation.pdf

    2. Same study reported by news magazine (easier to read): https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100414184220.htm
    3. Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation
      Another short term study yielding positive results.  http://www.pnas.org/content/104/43/17152.long#ref-11 
  4. Focus & Attention (Performance Indicators)
    1. Measuring Mindfulness (video, 6min), Dr Judson Brewer, neuroscientist, shares his research on what objects of focus create a state of mindfulness and which do not.  Describes mindfulness is a flow state, “Flow is a mental state when a person is fully immersed in the present in a feeling of energized focus.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp9JD4APjSs&list=PLbiVpU59JkValOIEIo2Y65mBopHCjKvBo&index=3
    2. Wandering Mind, Not a Happy Mind (article), Steve Bradt, Harvard Gazette, The mind wanders 47% of the time and this typically makes us unhappy. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/wandering-mind-not-a-happy-mind/
    3. Meditation and Attentional Blink (capacity to focus/pay attention) (article) http://brainimaging.waisman.wisc.edu/~slagter/Slagter%202007%20mental%20training%20affects%20distribution%20of%20limited%20brain%20resources.pdf
    4. Same study as 1, with different information offered. (article) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17488185?dopt=Abstract
    5. The commodification of our attention (article) (our attention as a resource; companies using more and more public space to place advertisements so that we have to pay attention to them and have less and less uncluttered space); New York Times article by MATTHEW B. CRAWFORD Mar 7, 2015 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/opinion/sunday/the-cost-of-paying-attention.html?_r=0
  5. The Brain
    1. Mind the Bump – Mindfulness and how the brain works (video, 3:50min) Smiling Mind’s description of how the brain works (neuroplasticity – the more we worry the better we become at worrying and if we practice being calm, clear and focused we can strengthen these networks too; frontal lobes – when strengthened can manage strong emotions and respond with flexibility; amygdala – monitors stress and anxiety and releases stress hormones; and how mindfulness helps us regulate all of these things, literally changing the structure of the brain. Published on Feb 2, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNCB1MZDgQA
    2. After watching this, your brain will not be the same (video, 14:24min) Dr Lara Boyd’s TEDxVancouver presentation on her research into neuroplasticity: how our daily behaviors shape our brain, why practice is important and that we all learn differently. This presentation helps us understand how practicing meditation literally shapes our brain – like all of the activities that we do – and why regular practice is important in maintaining the physical structures and mental benefits. This is one of the clearest descriptions of neuroplasticity I’ve ever seen.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNHBMFCzznE
    3. Why the brain needs to rest, relax, sleep (& meditate) (article) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime/
    4. Mindfulness changes the structure of the brain (several studies, articles)
      1. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0064574
      2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277777439_Mindfulness_Meditation_Training_Alters_Stress-Related_Amygdala_Resting_State_Functional_Connectivity_A_Randomized_Controlled_Trial
      3. https://scholar.harvard.edu/sara_lazar/publications
    5. How Does Meditation Change the Brain? – Instant Egghead #54 (video, 2:23) Ferris Jabr, editor for Scientific American, describes how mindfulness makes connections in brain more robust allowing more synchronized communication between the different parts of the brain. Studies show in expert meditators have a more wrinkly cortex, the outer layer, responsible for  it increases the part of the brain responsible sophisticated mental abilities like abstract thought and introspection. Also increases volume and density of hippocampus, crucial for memory. Areas responsible for sustaining attention that usually shrink with age do not decrease in meditators. Improves attention and working memory (store & manipulate information in one’s mind).   can sharpen attention, strengthen memory and improve other mental abilities. Scientific American editor Ferris Jabr examines the changes in brain structure behind some of these benefits. Published on Oct 31, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0DMYs4b2Yw
    6. How Meditation Can Reshape Our Brains (video, 8:24min): Dr. Sara Lazar at TEDxCambridge 2011 (great video by scientist presenting her work, shy presenter, great content) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rRzTtP7Tc
    7. Mindful Meditation and the Brain (video, 6min) Dr. Shauna Spairo, PhD (Greater Good Science Center) Psychologist, researcher, and mindfulness teacher Shauna Shapiro talks about the encouraging research behind meditation and its potential to change the structure of our brains and our level of happiness. (Happiness set points, changing cortical thickness via neuroplasticity, what we practice becomes stronger.) (Meditation makes us happier by changing the interior experience, we rebuild habits that are kinder, less critical.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AqgMo1P05E&list=PLfjLuTKS8Rm0mIwFkRVjtADRIhasWlHFH
  6. Decision Fatigue
    1. Willpower and Decision Fatigue James Clear’s article on how we have a limited amount of will power available in a day, as well as decision making capacity and how both of those two thing affect our ability to be effective and make good decisions. http://jamesclear.com/willpower-decision-fatigue
  7. Habit Creation (Scientific Studies)
    1. How to Build a New Habit: This is Your Strategy Guide (article) Author James Clear’s well researched  guide on habit formation with his favorite studies cited. His website is well worth reading for those interested in the current science and ideas behind habit formation.  http://www.jamesclear.com/habit-guide
    2. Science backed ways to make habits stick (article) A few more ideas behind habit formation and a few different studies cited. http://99u.com/articles/17123/5-scientific-ways-to-build-habits-that-stick
    3. Good Habits (article) Very similar article with a few different studies cited. http://www.sparringmind.com/good-habits/ 

 

STRESS (Eustress, Acute & Chronic Stress)

  1. How to make stress your friend (video, 14:28), Kelly McGonigal, Psychologist, Presents research that says how we think about stress changes how it effects our bodies. When asked about how to deal with stressful choices, go after what it is that creates meaning in your life and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend#
  2. Visual infographic illustrating the main idea from the talk above (How to make stress your friend (video, 14:28), Kelly McGonigal) that if you think about stress in a positive way, you change it’s effect on you.
  3. Can Stress Can be Good for You? by Jane Weaver for NBC News http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15818153/ns/health-mental_health/t/can-stress-actually-be-good-you#.WS-lU1J7FE4 
  4. Stress Can be Good For You (unfortunately uses several animal tests to make points about humans) Inc.com by Jessica Stillman https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/actually-stress-can-be-good-for-you.html
  5.  Managing Stress of An Exciting Life (How much stress is too much? Lists indicators of too much stress) VeryWell.com by Elizabeth Scott, MS in Counseling https://www.verywell.com/how-much-stress-3144560 
  6. What Kind of Stress Is Good for You? By Elizabeth Scott, MS in Counseling https://www.verywell.com/what-kind-of-stress-is-good-for-you-3145055 
  7. Good Stress, Bad Stress (Lists for how you can tell when you have too much stress) ULifeLine  http://www.ulifeline.org/articles/450-good-stress-bad-stress

 

MINDFULNESS & SLEEP 

  1. Meditation As Medicine: Reduce Pain, Blood Pressure & Improve Sleep (article)  James Colquhoun, Documentarian June 6, 2017, Research on mindfulness and sleep.  http://www.foodmatters.com/article/meditation-as-medicine

 

HOW TO PRACTICE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

  1. How to Practice Mindfulness
    1. Meditation 101: A Beginner’s Guide Animation (video, 2:01min) Happify animation featuring Dan Harris, news correspondent with a clear explanation of how to do practice mindfulness meditation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqoxYKtEWEc
    2. Dan Harris Meditation Summary (video 3:35m), Dan Harris’s ABC News Nightline report on meditation, why he started, the benefits and how to do it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni2Mxk0YAY0
    3. Here’s How You Can Meditate Anytime, Anywhere (video & article) – Mingyur Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist monk on a very simple explanation of how to practice mindfulness. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-tibetan-buddhist-masters-simple-guide-to-meditation_us_57850a79e4b07c356cfe8158 
  2. Working with the Mind during Mindfulness Practice
    1. The normal mind (non-meditators)
      1. Wandering Mind, Not a Happy Mind (article), Steve Bradt, Harvard Gazette, The mind wanders 47% of the time and this typically makes us unhappy. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/wandering-mind-not-a-happy-mind/
    2. How to work with thoughts (& Emotions, Physical Sensations)
      1. Mindfulness Dissolves Thoughts — Attention Is What’s Left Over, with Jon Kabat-Zinn (video, 5:28), Jon Kakat-Zin, the creator of modern mindfulness practice, on how to work with thoughts. That you don’t need to do anything with them other than watch them. This awareness makes them disappear like soap bubbles. Great video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvLRheIPY90
      2. Understanding Meditation | Changing perspective (video, 1:36min), Andy Puddicomb for Headspace; How to work with thoughts: Watching thoughts go by like watching passing cars / traffic    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xAeJKgupPI
      3. Don’t Try to be Mindful (video, 11:29min), Daron Larson addresses a common misunderstanding about mindfulness practice, that if our meditation is not peaceful and free of thoughts, then we must be doing something wrong (Getting Comfortable with the discomfort). Also, that repeatedly being aware of little things in any moment will create awareness overtime (We’re interrupting the narrative, the litany of thoughts that we get lost in and thus stop noticing what’s happening in the present.) – Thanks to Dave Potter of Palouse Mindfulness Online MBSR Course for highlighting this video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze6t3 or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_27l2hMYvE&index=2&list=PLbiVpU59JkVbNfFyAG4SrC8NGnC0-D4jg
      4. Why Meditate? How not trying to change creates change! (article) Nancy Colier, LCSW, Rev., describes how to work with the mind, and explains why you don’t have to stop thinking in order to practice meditation. Posted in Psychology Today, 2013. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inviting-monkey-tea/201301/why-meditate
      5. All it takes is 10 mindful minutes. (video, 9min, transcript available) – Andy Puddicomb, former Buddhist monk, co-founded Headspace, a project to make meditation more accessible to more people in their everyday lives. Great description of how to work with the mind during mindfulness: don’t need to stop thoughts, instead have a balanced, focused concentration. [If you prefer, the transcript is available on the same page. Click Play and then on “Transcript” at the base of the video, to the right of the title.] http://www.ted.com/talks/andy_puddicombe_all_it_takes_is_10_mindful_minutes
      6. 3 Misconceptions About Meditation (article) – Susan Piver, bestselling author and meditation teacher, debunks 3 big meditation myths (stopping thinking, makes you peaceful, self-help). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-piver/meditation-practice-3-mis_b_594914.html
      7. Why We Find it Hard To Meditate (article):  Ed & Deb Shapiro,, Addresing common meditaiton road blocks (too busy, can’t sit still,  keep thinking, too many distractions/noisy, not seeing benefits, not doing it right/not good at meditating, this is weird/New Age hype) https://palousemindfulness.com/docs/why-we-find-it-hard.pdf
    3. Being Kind to the Mind (This is a way to understand how to notice thoughts versus getting lost in them.)
      1. Preventing Discouragement (video) – Gen Kelsang Rabten (British) Buddhist monk on how to work with the mind during meditation practice. Brilliant. I really appreciate the clarity of this offering. He teaches in Hong Kong at the Kadmapa Centre in Causeway Bay.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbpu2VEu-RE
      2. The Power of Mindfulness: What You Practice Grows Stronger (video, 13:45 min), Shauna Shapiro, PhD. on how mindfulness changes our brain and our experience, plus the importance of paying attention to our inner experience with kindness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeblJdB2-Vo
      3. Turning Toward Difficulty (video, 10:15) Vidyamala Burch, Thank you Palouse Mindfulness for hosting this shortened video about how turning towards our thoughts and feelings with kindness helps us care for ourselves vs be reactive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aAATYSvNjc&list=PLbiVpU59JkVbc7uBsZRy1TEAfl3puCRFP&index=1
      4. The Three Components of Self-Compassion (video, 6:18) Dr. Kristin Neff, leading researcher on compassion explains the 3 parts of self-compassion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11U0h0DPu7k

 

HABIT Formation

  1. See Science, Habit Creation section for more resources
  2. See Science, The Brain section
  3. Creating Time to Practice
    1. How to gain control of your free time (video): Laura Vanderkam, Filmed October 2016 at TEDWomen 2016 https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_vanderkam_how_to_gain_control_of_your_free_time#t-693643

 

PLACES TO PRACTICE MINDFULNESS IN HONG KONG

  1. Integrated Medicine Institute (IMI) http://www.imi.com.hk Monday Evenings in Central, 6:15-7:15pm, by Donation
  2. Balance Health http://www.balancehealth.com.hk Tuesday Lunch  in Central, 1-2pm, $300
  3. Kadamapa Meditation Centre http://www.meditation.hk OR http://www.localiiz.com/kadampa-meditation-centre-54#.WRrNKFJ7FE5
  4. Kwan Um School of Zen
  5. Plum Village, once a month on HK Island on Fridays, Half day retreats on Lantau on Sundays

 

MINDFULNESS APPS

  1. Calm.com https://www.calm.com
  2. Headspace.com https://www.headspace.com
  3. Stop, Breathe & Think https://www.stopbreathethink.com
  4. Simply Being (app)
  5. Meditation Studio (app)

MEDITATION TOOLS

  1. Muse Meditation band: http://www.choosemuse.com/

 

DAILY DISTRACTIONS

  1. Smartphones
    1. Class App: Can Smartphones Make Students Pay Attention? (Using Apps in classrooms to teach kids) in ReadWrite by Loren Orsini May 2013 https://readwrite.com/2013/05/16/class-app-can-smartphones-make-students-pay-attention/
    2. Smart Phones are distracting even when we aren’t looking at them (includes data from scientific studies) Quartz by Max Neilson in 2015 https://qz.com/450463/study-smartphones-are-distracting-us-even-when-we-arent-looking-at-them/
    3. The Age of Distraction: Getting Students to Put Away Their Phones and Focus on Learning (refers to sci studies on how we’re not good at cross context focusing = we’re distracted when we’re doing several things that are not all in the same context like facebook + listening to a math lesson) in Faculty Focus by Maryellen Weimer, PhD Jan 2014 https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/the-age-of-distraction-getting-students-to-put-away-their-phones-and-focus-on-learning/
    4. We’re creating a culture of distraction (We are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction where we are increasingly disconnected from the people and events around us and increasingly unable to engage in long-form thinking. People now feel anxious when their brains are unstimulated.  We are losing some very important things by doing this. We threaten the key ingredients behind creativity and insight by filling up all our “gap” time with stimulation. And we inhibit real human connection when we prioritize our phones over our the people right in front of us.  What can we do about it? Is this path inevitable or can balance be restored?) by Joe Kruss, Partner at Google Ventures  in May 2012 http://joekraus.com/were-creating-a-culture-of-distraction

 

EXISTING CORPORATE PROGRAMS

  1. Meditation Programs
    1. http://www.meditationprograms.com
    2. http://www.innerworkcompany.com/meditation.html
    3. MindWork offers a full range of mindfulness courses, workshops, taster sessions, and individual coaching, all tailored to meet your organisation’s particular needs. http://www.mindwork.co
  2. Stress Management
    1. Self-study program for women! (Women could be an interesting niche?) http://www.stress-management-4-women.com/corporate-stress-management.html
    2. Stress Resiliency and Leadership (program outline) http://www.clarityseminars.com/stress_course_outline.html  http://www.clarityseminars.com/stress_training_cost.html (program cost)
  3. Wellness Programs
    1. General terms, ideas and articles http://wellnessproposals.com
  4. Programs that exist in HK!
    1. https://potentialproject.com

 

MINDFULNESS and FLOW STATES

  1. Flow, the secret to happiness (video, 18:51min) Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, psychologist and the creator or the term “flow state” on flow. One of his subjects described flow as  “I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching… [my body] in a state of awe and wonderment.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has contributed pioneering work to our understanding of happiness, creativity, human fulfillment and the notion of “flow” — a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play and work. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. A leading researcher in positive psychology, he has devoted his life to studying what makes people truly happy: “When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.” He is the architect of the notion of “flow” — the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake. [ecstacy, Gk, to stand to the side of something.]    https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow#t-323800
  2. When Mindfulness Trumps Flow (article), Dr Ryan M Niemiec, psychologist, asks “Which do you choose when these two positive processes collide?”  Posted Jun 11, 2013 in Psychology Today Magazine, One view of the difference between flow and mindfulness. https://www.google.com.hk/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-matters-most/201306/when-mindfulness-trumps-flow%3Famp
  3. Measuring Mindfulness (video, 6min), Dr Judson Brewer, neuroscientist, shares his research on what objects of focus create a state of mindfulness and which do not.  Describes mindfulness is a flow state, “Flow is a mental state when a person is fully immersed in the present in a feeling of energized focus.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp9JD4APjSs&list=PLbiVpU59JkValOIEIo2Y65mBopHCjKvBo&index=3
  4. A simple way to break a bad habit. Dr. Judson Brewer (video, 9:28min) Describes how being curious about thoughts and feelings can help us deal with them in a better way: less reactive. He supports with his research that mindfulness helps smokers quit 2x more effectively as the gold standard.
  5. You’re Already Awesome. Just Get Out of Your Own Way! (video, 10:20min), Judson Brewer MD, Ph.D. Presentation about how we can watch thoughts and emotions even as strong as addiction. He seems to encourage the use of measuring equipment to help train ourselves.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE1j5Om7g0U