1504-04-Focus.ppt

Get Real! The world according to the media Media bias magnifying glass rather than looking glass accentuating the negative under-representing the positive Who is really detached? Focusing on the 90% full part of the glass Focus creates reality Appreciating Appreciation Creating a growth spiral Genuine appreciation! There is always something to appreciate Ap-pre’ci-ate v., 1. Valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us, affirming past and present strengths and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems. 2. To increase in value, e.g., the economy has appreciated in value. “What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it. Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life.” Oprah Winfrey Correcting the False Schema: News Correcting the False Schema: Art Jan Vermeer Correcting the False Schema: Art Ludwig van Beethoven Correcting the False Schema: Art Correcting the False Schema: Art David Knowles Sandra J. Shaw Correcting the False Schema: Studies Adaptation We are change detectors Change detection helpful in case of danger Adaptation helps to overcome difficulties Taking things for granted Eating the cake and leaving it whole? Must something external and extraordinary happen before we learn to appreciate the ordinary? Learning to be Grateful “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” “Gratitude produced the most purely joyful moments that have been known to man.” G. K. Chesterton “Why not start by surveying a typical day? What is it you tend to tackle with spontaneous mindfulness, so that wit