Stop. Breathe. Pay attention. “Our mental health and well-being are profoundly affected by where and how we place our attention”. In this enlightening talk, Richard guides through a short mindfulness meditation, and shares his experience of teaching mindfulness in schools. He reveals some of the amazing benefits being mindful can bring to the classroom and inspires the audience with simple ways to bring more awareness to how we respond to our everyday experiences.

Richard Burnett is co-founder of the Mindfulness in Schools Project. With Chris Cullen and Chris O’Neill, Richard wrote the highly-acclaimed 9 week mindfulness course, .b (pronounced dot-b), designed to engage adolescents in the classroom. He is a teacher and Housemaster at Tonbridge School, the first school in the UK to put mindfulness on the curriculum, an event covered by press, TV and radio in early 2010. Since then, thousands of young people have been taught .b in a wide range of educational contexts, from independent girls’ schools like St Pauls to Young People’s Support Services for those excluded from school. .b is now being taught in the UK, USA, Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, Holland and Thailand. For more information on the Mindfulness in Schools Project go to www.mindfulnessinschools.org

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
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“Why is it that some people are more vulnerable to life’s slings and arrows and others more resilient?” In this eye-opening talk, Richard Davidson discusses how mindfulness can improve well-being and outlines strategies to boost four components of a healthy mind: awareness, connection, insight, and purpose.

Richard Davidson is researching how mindfulness changes the emotional life of our brains and what we know about people’s brains of individuals showing more resilience than others. Davidson is Wiliam James and Vilas professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds. His research is focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing, including meditation and related contemplative practices. #Neuroscience #Wellbeing #MentalHealth Richard Davidson is Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry and Founder & Director of the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison.Davidson’s research is focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing including meditation and related contemplative practices. He has published more than 400 articles and is the co-author of “The Emotional Life of Your Brain” and “Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body”, both published by Penguin. Davidson has been recognized for his research through various awards, such as a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Award and an Established Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders (NARSAD). Davidson received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Psychology and has been teaching psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1984. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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Dr Neil Bailey, Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre, describes how mindfulness changes our brain to prevent mental illness. Vote on Neil’s video for the 2015 Thinkable Award: http://thinkable.org/submission/2037
See more below or visit:
http://www.maprc.org.au/neil-bailey

Mindfulness is an effective and side effect free method to treat and prevent mental illness, and improve mental health. Our research will test the changes in brain activity that take place as a result of mindfulness, helping us further understand how mindfulness can be used to improve our lives. Eventually, we hope to establish mindfulness practice as part of the core curriculum in high schools, so that every teenager benefits from a reduced risk of mental illness.

Scientists think the benefits provided by mindfulness come from an improved ability to direct our attention, so we can focus on the moment, rather than being distracted by worries about the future or regrets about the past. This improved attention is almost certainly the result of neuroplastic change. However, no one has systematically examined the effect of these changes on brain activity during the direction of attention. The current research project will examine changes in neural inhibition (the brain’s ability to quiet non-relevant regions) as a result of mindfulness practice. Understanding these changes will help us understand how mindfulness works to improve attention.

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