When a child is hurt and has a Band-Aid, do you apply your healing intention towards the Band-Aid or the cut below? Sounds like an obvious question, right? Certainly the Band-Aid is not in any pain; it is just a protective device we use to ensure that nothing more sinister contacts the open wound. As […]
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This Breathing Technique Can Effect Behavioral Changes
Habits and beliefs are merely patterns. These patterns become ingrained in our subconscious mind before the age of seven. So much about the things that we do, what we think, and how we behave are driven by these patterns. Mindfulness is a tool that helps bring our own awareness to how we are being in […]
How to Be a Light of Compassion
Did you know that the human body is electro-magnetic? Every cell in our body has an electrical current running through it. We have an electrical field that surrounds us which is created by our body. As our mind focuses, bringing our attention to this energy field, we strengthen that field.Today, imagine yourself surrounded by an […]
When Poor Behavior is a Sign of Skill – Not Defiance
I have been following the work of Dr. Ross Greene for several years. The quote above has always stood out to me because it has been my guiding belief over the past three decades of working with youth – especially when I am with children whose behavior can be challenging. Oftentimes, the guiding belief is, […]
Healing Heart: A Practice of Self-Compassion
We don’t often talk about “the heart” in classrooms; the mind has traditionally been the focus. Exciting research on the power of the heart has been revealing its role in learning, decision-making, higher thinking, and communication. Perhaps guiding our attention toward this often neglected organ can bring a new layer of intelligence to our human […]
The Two Most Powerful Words: I Am
The two most powerful words you can say to yourself (or think about yourself) are, “I AM.” Science suggests that when those two words are followed by positive adjectives such as happy, proud, grateful, encouraged, etc. the body immediately responds by secreting chemicals like dopamine and serotonin to further support those words in becoming true. […]
How To Airdrop Without Your Phone
Our nervous system is constantly in communication with the nervous systems of the people around us. This is an innate ability that does not involve our conscious minds. We subtly share information about how we are feeling and what we are thinking. That information is transmitted to others similarly to how your phone transmits information […]
The Upstairs and Downstairs Brains: What They Are and How to Control Them
Many teachers welcome students through the door and get straight to the work at hand. While positioned as an immediate, “do now” action, this type of quiet, seated work allows both the students and teacher to await the arrival of the rest of the class. This is often thought to “get the thinking juices flowing,” […]