Embrace the Ethos

What’s up, NIP?

            I hope your summer months are off to a good start and that you’re getting some time to spend with family and friends. Many of you probably just did, in fact, last week. When I was poolside grilling burgers on Independence Day, I really reflected on what it means to be an American. Not out of patriotic pride or anything, more along the lines of putting my life into perspective and what I’ve manage to change for the better over these last few years. As my nieces swam in the pool and I listened to the sizzle of the grill, a thought kept coming to me—how much have these changes in my life been brought about by our cultural context? A few letters ago, I mentioned a neuroscience book I had read titled The Brain That Changes Itself; one of the appendices in the back of the book was about “the culturally modified brain.” If—as current neuroscience suggests—we are what we think and constantly devote our attentions toward, then perhaps part of my personal transformation has been influenced by the American ethos. And the more I wrestled with this notion as the day wore on, the more I became convinced that the initial step to real success in our lives is to embrace our ethos.

            The American ethos is not easy to define. There are so many varying underlying beliefs to our culture and society that it’s difficult to single out any crucial aspect. We’ve always been a culture defined to some degree by our individualism, but equally tempered by our ideal of the public/body politic /national community. Undergirding both of these aspects, however, is the notion that any person can make something of him/herself in this country. That as Americans we can always reinvent ourselves if and when necessary. That we can become who we want to be. Our ethos encourages all of us to dream and to pursue those dreams with fervor. But often something happens to many of us along the way—we stumble, we lose hope, we give up the dream...and it is precisely in these moments that we must urge ourselves to press onward. What many people often lose sight of is that part of this same ethos is our resilience, our instilled ability to pick ourselves back up and begin again.

            If you want to be resilient, NIP, regardless of what your individual dream may be, it takes three Cs: courage, conviction, and commitment. Courage is the first step because without it we can never get back up when we’ve fallen down. Courage is the ability to scream YES to life when it wants to kick you in the teeth and growl NO while we’re down. Every single second is a chance to say yes, to begin again, to reinvent ourselves, to become a better person, but it takes courage to do so. Once we’re standing tall and ready to face life, the second component is conviction. Not just any conviction, though; the conviction is the same for each and every one of us—that we are worthy. We must believe in ourselves first and foremost, because if we don’t believe in ourselves others will not believe in us. We must also see ourselves in a positive light, deserving of whatever rewards we receive for our efforts. To doubt our own capacity for change is a fundamental error that many of us make from time to time, so to counteract that doubt we must ardently believe in ourselves and our dreams. The third step is without question the most difficult: commitment. Commitment is necessary because if we don’t pursue our dream whole-heartedly nothing will ever change for the better. The first two steps are mental in some sense because those battles are fought and won in the mind; commitment is transforming those thoughts into action. Only with action does our external world change, whether it’s trying to lose weight, changing careers, or whatever other dream you are trying to pursue. But if we are committed to our dreams with a sense of purpose and are always trying to move forward, we find our resiliency only grows stronger over time.

            In today’s political debates one of the phrases that the pundits like to harp on is “American exceptionalism.” I personally don’t think that Americans or America is exceptional across the board. There are many facets of our culture that greatly disturb me. But if there were one aspect that I think we are exceptional and does shine through, it’s our ability to become who we want to be as people. The freedoms we have can be exercised in a way that really does foster “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” To me, though, the key word in that whole phrase is “pursuit” (notice it doesn’t say guarantee). The pursuit is all there is. The struggle is all there is. Life is not meant to be easy, which is precisely why it’s so rewarding when we strive to do our best in all endeavors. Success—like happiness—isn’t guaranteed. But if we try our best to integrate the three Cs of courage, conviction, and commitment into our daily living, our individual resiliency builds; minor setbacks become that much easier to take in stride, and in time might not even be noticed at all…

Throw your arms open wide and embrace our ethos, NIP.

- Ryan

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Coming Home

Nobody in Particular,

            I recently returned from the AP Reading in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I spent just over a week networking with fellow AP teachers and college professors from all over the nation. It was a worthwhile activity professionally speaking, but it was difficult to leave my wife behind and to miss this year’s graduation ceremony. And while I did learn a great deal about my AP course in particular and the city of Cincinnati in general, I was glad to come home. In fact, I think just about everyone feels this way, regardless of whether your time away is due to work or vacation. And no matter how much we may enjoy these journeys—even the best of vacations—we reach a point when we start to miss home and hear its siren song beckoning us back. There is something magical in that moment we reach home, too. As if anything that wasn’t right beforehand is suddenly corrected the second we cross the threshold. In that moment we’re immediately flooded with feelings of joyous relief and become grounded, like we’ve reached the shore for which we’ve searched for so long. Quite simply, coming home after a prolonged absence is one of the best feelings/moments in life.

            During my trip, I had the chance to read two excellent non-fiction books: Why Nations Fail and A Mindful Nation. And while I would love to tell you about the former (just read it!), the latter of the two tomes is the one that connects with today’s letter. A Mindful Nation is written by Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio’s 17^th district. He’s been a member of the House of Representatives for nearly a decade and he’s one of the few politicians lately who’s had anything to say worth listening to. About 4 years ago, Congressman Ryan was invited to attend a retreat by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a doctor and professor at the UMASS Medical School; JKZ is also the founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, also at UMASS’ med school. People from all over the country and from all walks of life were drawn to the retreat, which was effectively a conference on developing a routine “mindfulness” practice. Congressman Ryan left the retreat a week later a changed man and has been on a mission ever since to try and bring mindfulness mainstream.

            The three areas in which Congressman Ryan illustrates mindfulness practices and techniques would be most beneficial are education, health, and military. Before he gets into these specific areas, however, Congressman Ryan shares his own story and explains much of the vanguard research being done in the fields of neurology, psychology, cognitive science and how effective mindfulness can be to: reduce overall stress, improve /focus attention and working memory (science is discovering how these two are interrelated), improve memory recall, control emotional reactions, become more compassionate and happier over the long term, and just better well-being in general. After these chapters, he delineates how these practices could be used in education, healthcare, and for our military. While they were all fascinating in their own right (and had a great deal of potential crossover), I was most absorbed in the education chapter as this is precisely what drew me into my own meditation practice about three years ago. My final paper in a graduate class in the fall of 2009 was about how we could use meditative techniques to help students who have trouble with concentration. I shared this paper with my administration but it went no further; so, little by little, I’ve been trying to teach some of these ideas to my students. At the beginning of every class this past year, for instance, we’d begin by having about 1 minute of silence during which we all breathed deeply (essentially the same thing as “centering” at the beginning of a yoga class) and then the students immediately got busy on the bellwork assignment on the board. At the end of the year on my course evaluation, I’d say about 85% of the students said one of their favorite things about my class was “breathing,” that one minute when they could close their eyes, take a few deep breaths, and feel safe—several even said it was the best part of their day.

            So remember all that business about coming home? It’s a wonderful feeling, right? Well, NIP, what would you say if I told you that you could experience that feeling—or at least the closest approximation—any given day, in as few as 20 minutes, no less? This is what a “mindfulness” practice can do for each and every single one of us. I know there are still people out there who shy away from “meditation” because for them it conjures up visions of esoteric monks sitting in a cave in silence. This could be why there has been such a shift away from the word meditation toward the word mindfulness. Whatever one chooses to call it, the truth is the practice is much simpler than our misconceptions imply. Just a week or so ago I read an article in which a Zen roshi was trying to explain how to meditate. Zen is known to be gruff and no frills, and his explain was spot on in this regard. He said it takes 3 steps: Sit down. Shut up. Pay attention. That’s effectively all mindfulness is—paying attention. Whether you’re paying attention to your breath, to the sensations in the body, to the food you’re eating in that moment, to the steps you’re taking as you go for a walk…if you bring your entire mind to focus on that one, single thing, you’re practicing mindfulness. You don’t have to recite mantras, you don’t have to sit in complicated positions (I often sit in a regular chair for seated, or lie down on my yoga mat in savasana), you don’t really have to do anything other than just be. You might think, you might be tempted to look around (assuming you don’t have your eyes closed), and that’s okay. Just acknowledge your attention has gone adrift and simply guide it back to your intended focal point.

            I want to start a mindfulness revolution, NIP. I want to help Congressman Ryan bring this pragmatic, beneficial practice to the masses. Hopefully in the near future I’ll be able to pitch my idea to school officials or write a grant to see if we can start a pilot program in our district. I’m bursting with ideas and excitement, but I need people like you too, NIP. If you don’t have a mindfulness practice, please consider going to a class at your local Y, yoga studio, or any other place that offers lessons. In truth, you don’t need any of those places, though. You could simply read about it online or in some of my other letters and try it. Most of the recent research suggests that within 8 weeks of practicing for as little as 20 minutes per day people have noticeable reductions in stress levels and increased focus and working memory capacities. Our hectic, technological age is what’s doing this to us, mainly because we weren’t meant to handle so much information at one time. Giving our brains a break each day is not simply beneficial, but I believe will become critical with the passing of time. I’ve been practicing for nearly 3 years, and only in the last year or so have I bumped it up to twice a day (time permitting) and the results have been amazing. I feel like a different person…and so will you.

Begin a mindfulness practice today, NIP!

- Ryan

P.S. – In the interest of saving you some time, I’ve typed up a simple mindfulness practice based on breathing (for the most part, this is what I do every time) that was included in the back of Congressman Ryan’s A Mindful Nation:

- Settle into a steady and comfortable sitting posture (in a chair, on a cushion on the floor, etc). The back is relatively straight (not rigid), allowing breathing to be open and easy. Hands can be place on the thighs or resting loosely together on the lap. Head and neck are balanced. You may either close your eyes or just lower them with a soft gaze.

- Bring your awareness to the sensation of your body touching the chair or cushion, your feet touching the floor, the feeling of the air in the room.

- Gently bring awareness to the breath as it moves in and out.

- Notice where the breath is most vivid for you. This may be at the nostrils or at the chest as it rises and falls, or maybe right at the belly.

- You may become aware of the brief pause between the in-breath and the out-breath.

- Notice the rhythm of your breathing, and be aware of the sensations of the air coming into and filling your body, and then releasing itself and leaving your body.

- Stay present with the experience of breathing. Just allow yourself to breathe in a natural and comfortable way, riding the waves of the in-breath and out-breath.

- If your attention has wandered off the breath (and it will), gently escort it back to awareness of breathing. Allow thoughts or emotions to arise without pushing them away or holding on to them. Simply observe them with a very light and gentle curiosity. No need to get carried away by them, or to judge or interpret them.

- That’s it!   

Eyes on the Horizon

DHS Seniors/NIP,

            If you had seen me aimlessly ambling along a sidewalk 15 years ago, I guarantee you wouldn’t have looked me in the eye. What you probably would have seen was me shoe-gazing while walking. My weight issues in my early 20s certainly saddled me with an amazing lack of self-confidence; I had no luck in life or love, or at least that’s what I told myself at the time. If you witnessed that same scene now, you’d see me marching forward, eyes on the horizon. I wouldn’t say that I’m totally confident in my abilities, but I’m certainly no longer afraid to look the world/life squarely in the eye. Though some of this change is due to better physical health and overall weight loss, much of this personal transformation has been mental. In the previous letter I mentioned sankalpas, which are brief statements of intent similar to an affirmation. One of the three that I repeat to myself every morning is “I am a confident and courageous person.” I’ve been telling myself this for more than a year at this point and—whether it’s due to the neuroplasticity of the brain or otherwise—I’m really starting to believe it. I feel more confident and courageous in all of my choices, and this has led to me looking at my life and how it impacts others in a completely new way. Each day is a chance for us to believe in ourselves a little more, to raise our gaze to meet the horizon and all that it brings us.

            There are two ways we must keep our eyes on the horizon, literally and metaphorically. The literal sense is important because it helps us not walk into walls or other people, but it also shows others that you are not afraid, that you believe in yourself and your potential. Moreover, it’s a great way to meet new people. Even when I’m walking around campus I find myself seeking eye contact rather than trying to avoid it as was my previous wont. I try to smile and say hello to whomever I pass; sometimes I get weird looks from students who don’t know me, but I especially try to reach out to those kids who seem like the old me, walking with head hung low. The other reason it’s crucial to always look to our horizons is that it’s precisely how we see the most in terms of scale, which brings me to the metaphoric meaning of always bringing our bearing to the vanishing point on the horizon.

            In the fall semester of this school year, I took my 7^th period Philosophy Honors class outside to have class beneath the live oak near the northeast corner of the DHS campus. There’s a ringed bench that easily accommodates an entire class, and it wasn’t the first time we had been out there to enjoy the weather and discuss life’s largest ideas. But this day was different. We went outside with the express purpose of staring at the horizon across the road and out into the large, lush green fields that extend to a faraway woodline. It was a Friday, a day that is typically earmarked each week for discussion about that week’s material. If I’m not mistaken, it was around the time we had been discussing British Empiricists such as Locke, Berkley, and Hume. These skeptics argued that a thing can only be comprehended (and by extension, exists) when it’s experienced through the physical senses. In the midst of our discussion, I somehow tangentially related this (shocking, I know) to a type of meditation I like to do when out in nature. It’s fairly simple to do because all that’s required is to stare at the center of your horizon. At first you have to pick something to stare at in the middle and focus on it with intent. Then, over the next few minutes, allow the gaze to soften as if relinquishing the central focus. What happens next is amazing. The only way I can describe it in words is “an expansion of the peripheral vision.” Once we let go of the focal point, it’s as if both eyes are staring straight ahead with equal focus on disparate parts of the horizon. This type of focus allows us to not only see what’s in front of us, but what’s on the sides to a greater degree too. The hardest part, however, is not letting the eyes be drawn to one particular thing in view. If you get it right, it’s amazing. It seems as if birds that fly across your vision only momentarily exist within your consciousness. The same can be said for passing cars, falling leaves, or anything else. After a few minutes of sitting on the bench, many of them were able to see what I was describing, but were flummoxed by the fact that they were so easily distracted thereby losing the effect. With practice, though, it gets easier.

            This is what we must do every day of our lives, NIP. We must not only keep our eyes on the horizon literally, but metaphorically as well. Sometimes we can be too focused on an outcome, a goal, or even a dream. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being focused, but being overly so can be detrimental in the sense that we may miss other opportunities. This would be equivalent to staring only at the center of the horizon, rather than relaxing our eyes and taking in the vista in its entirety. I cannot imagine how many opportunities I’ve missed out on in my youth because I was blinded by a preconceived notion of what I wanted or who I should be. In either case I was forcing life’s hand rather than graciously recognizing the hidden opportunities all around me. By metaphorically keeping our eyes on the horizon, we can focus on the present moment and yet still see the possibility of the immediate future. We can shape our personal destinies through the choices we consciously make, mainly because we’re aware of all that lay before us and we are open to it.

            Today was the DHS graduation and I couldn’t be there. Though I wish I could have been there to celebrate and share their special moment, one of my choices precluded this outcome. I’m not worried, though, because I know that they will be walking tall across that stage, eyes on the horizon. It may seem like a great leap forward in life, but to tell the truth any day that we want to change our lives for the better is always a great leap forward. So whether you’re 18 or 80, know you’re capable of incredible things, NIP. It’s as simple as reorienting ourselves toward our horizon, gazing into the distance and taking life head on. I spent so many years being shy and introverted that I’m only just now learning what it’s like to leave the safety of my old shell. And you know what? It’s wonderful. There’s a whole lot of life right in front of you, all you have to do is open your eyes and take it all in.

Keep your eyes on the horizon, DHS Seniors/NIP.

- Ryan

P.S. – If you have the chance, try the meditative technique I described earlier in the letter. More than half of my philosophy class was able to do it after only several minutes. I particularly enjoy doing it at the beach, a large field with a copse of trees at the far side, or looking off deep into the woods. I love being out in nature, so if you do too I think you’ll love it.

Mind Over Matters

What’s happening, NIP?

            I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. And that’s exactly where it needs to be. After finishing my most recent foray into neuroscience—The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D.—I’m convinced that we all have an almost limitless untapped potential within our minds. The revelations contained within the tome astonished me as I turned from page to page, reflecting on the changes in my own personality over the last few years. It was thrilling, as if I were putting together the pieces of a puzzle and watching the broader picture of my life emerge from the jagged details of seemingly disparate parts. Much of the book challenges the older, conventional view of the brain known as “localizationalism,” which is the idea that specific parts of the brain control certain functions and that these regions of the brain are hardwired to only operate said functions (e.g. hearing, vision, etc). This notion has increasingly been challenged in the last decade due to the discovery of neuroplasticity, which effectively has shown that the brain is much more malleable and “plastic” than scientists had ever previously imagined. As it turns out, advances in brain scanning and mapping technologies have allowed us insight into the workings of our miraculous minds.

            While this isn’t the first book that I’ve read that tackled the topic of neuroplasticity, it was perhaps the most in-depth. The Brain That Changes Itself is rife with success stories of stroke patients who had debilitating injuries and managed to rewire the brain to make up for lost brain maps (the neuronal pathways that are built into the system for routine bodily functions), thereby returning the person’s life to some sense of normality. In one such story, for instance, a neurologist worked with his father who had had a stroke and could no longer walk or use his dominant hand. Though much of the older gentleman’s brain had been damaged by the stroke, over the course of 18 months of grueling physical work (such as trying to re-teach himself to move by first pulling himself along a wall with his good arm) he was able to re-map the brain allowing other areas not normally associated with physical movement to take over those tasks. While he never completely returned to his earlier state, he did manage to walk again with the aid of a cane and regained the use of his dominant hand (something localizationalist neurologists deemed impossible in their prognoses). Stroke patients are only one example, however, as the book also covers people with congenital birth defects (one woman was born with only her right hemisphere) and the importance of continued learning in order to keep the brain growing.

            Perhaps what’s most interesting about neuroplasticity, though, is that we have influence over it. The human brain—much like any other part of the body—can be developed through exercise. The more we practice a particular skill, the stronger it becomes; inside the brain, the synaptic neural networks that are responsible for that skill/task essentially grow “thicker,” allowing the connection to be made easier. But it’s not simply physical skills or activities that can be strengthened; it can be our attitudes and dispositions as well. Reading through this material made me realize how much we truly are what we think. It also explains how I’ve managed to change my own mental patterns and overall personality during the last three years. If you’ve been reading the letters for some time (or simply know me personally), you know that just a few years ago I was a tremendous cynic who had a sarcastic quip to make to anyone for just about any reason. This isn’t to say that I’m perfect or that I’m no longer capable of making such comments, but they are certainly few and far between compared to the older me (as ridiculous as that idea may sound). Now I focus on positivity and possibility, but this is precisely because I’ve been cultivating this attitude consciously for almost three years. If anything, the changes I’ve managed to foster in myself should encourage anyone who wants to change for the better. We all have an incredible untapped potential due to neuroplasticity, but we must harness it in order to make the best of ourselves and our lives.

            One of the best ways we can make the most of our minds / mental potential is through meditation. Many of the books I’ve read on the human brain over the last few years typically touch on this topic as it’s often mentioned as one of the best ways to harness the power of the mind. Many of the myriad benefits of a meditation practice emerge in as little as several weeks (studies also show that as few as 20 minutes per day can work wonders); some of the more common effects are improved ability to focus/pay attention, better memory retention/recall, better emotional reaction/control, general stress relief, and improved sense of well-being to cite only a few. I’m convinced after reading Dr. Doidge’s book that a great deal of the personal progress I’ve made in the last few years is directly correlated to the plasticity of the mind. Between focusing every day on “the five qualities” (love, compassion, gratitude, generosity, and patience) at the beginning and end of my meditation practice in addition to the repetition of my “sankalpas” (statements of intent) before beginning my morning yoga sadhana, I have managed to fundamentally alter the way I perceive myself and the world. And if I can completely turn around the way I think, you can too, NIP.

            As contemporary science continues to discover more about the mind and its untapped potential, I’m sure we will see a corollary uptick in the interest in / recommendation of meditative practices. The more we improve and strengthen our mental faculties, the easier it is for each of us to put our mind over matters, whether they are dealing with daily stress, emotional reactions, and/or other difficult situations that life can throw at us. Considering how our inner mental state is often reflected in our outer persona, it is important for each of us to take advantage of our neuroplasticity and shape our worldview as we see fit. It won’t happen overnight and will take constant effort, but over time it gets easier and easier. If you’re interested in beginning a meditation practice, NIP, I would suggest you read this short, simple article. It’s really as easy as focusing on your breath and learning to be compassionate toward yourself. The more we reinforce the thought patterns that we know will benefit us, the more we see the results show up in our daily lives. Before long, you’ll be wondering what other aspects of your life you can improve through rewiring the brain with its amazing ability.

Make the most of your mind and its potential, NIP.

- Ryan