As we have been learning this term, the Power of Quiet Reflection enables us the freedom to create space, to respond instead of react, and reflect on the best direction going forward.  

“We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” – John Dewey

Gratitude journaling is found to improve wellbeing while reducing stress and anxiety. So is expressive writing about our emotional states. Reflection is valuable but can also be challenging. One way to make this easier is to build a ritual around ‘reflecting mindfully’. 

Michael Norton, the author of The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions, shares that rituals “are the emotional catalysts that enhance an ordinary day or make special occasions memorable. They help us get over, get through, and get better at the challenges life presents.”

Here are some steps to pause mindfully in order to facilitate deep reflection ritual:

1. Schedule a meeting with yourself – Time-block your calendar and decide the agenda ahead of time. Choosing a topic, question or theme to reflect on ahead of time will free up your headspace to focus on the reflection itself. 
2. Pick a supportive location – choosing an environment to reflect in can make it more conducive or challenging. Find a quiet or semi-quiet space where you can be free of distractions will set you up to engage in the act of reflection easily.
3. Start by stopping – centering yourself using a brief mindfulness based practice can bring you back to the present moment, leaving you in a focused state to reflect and journal. 

The key to creating a journaling ritual is to customize and experiment with these different elements until they work for you. 

 Looking for a gratitude journal? Stop by at the SWC Office in Berry 179 and pick one up!
Check out these reflective journaling prompts to get started today!

“Inspiring Intention” asks us to set clear intentions and lead an intentional life. This week we focus on finding and accessing clarity, which serves as a strong foundation for us to live a purpose fueled life. Oftentimes we are caught in a cycle of deliberating and ruminating a path or deciding a means; “should I do X or Y?” It’s akin to choosing a means of transportation before deciding our location or purpose of travel. Should I take the coach or drive to NYC? Getting clarity on the outcomes and purpose of our visit, makes the choice of how to get there effortless. Here is a 3 step process you can follow so you can enjoy the journey instead of being caught up in decision paralysis: 

1. Centering ourselves – Before we chart our journey and travel path, being grounded is essential. This can be as simple as taking three gentle deep breaths, finding a quiet and distraction free environment, and/or engaging in a mindfulness-meditation practice. 

2. Mark the destination – Where do you want to go? What is the outcome you are working towards? A centered state of being allows us to identify and set a destination. Working on an assignment is different from writing a 500 word first draft. Once we get specific and know our destination, we can start to find paths that can get us there. 

3. Connect with your purpose – Why are you taking this journey? Remembering and articulating (and perhaps even writing down) why we are working towards a particular outcome can help us prioritize and make better decisions. Oftentimes current tasks and projects are part of a larger overarching goal. Consider asking yourself: How are my current priorities aligned with my long term goals and aspirations? For example, reminding yourself that mastering a certain topic or concept is essential to a stronger graduate school application can make finding time to study easier. 

Identifying if we’re going to JFK to catch a flight instead of Brooklyn to spend a weekend with friends can make it easier to choose a mode of transportation. Centering ourselves, identifying our destination and connecting with our purpose is a process to get more clarity and live more intentionally. 

Mindfulness and the RAIN practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) can play a significant role in fostering brave connections by promoting self-awareness, empathy, and a willingness to engage with vulnerability. Here are four actionable steps you can take to integrate mindfulness and the RAIN practice into your journey of building brave connections:

1. Embrace Mindful Self-Reflection: Start by setting aside a few minutes each day for mindful self-reflection. This practice helps you become more aware of your emotions, reactions, and biases. By understanding your own inner world, you lay the foundation for building genuine connections with others.

2. Apply the RAIN Meditation Practice to Tough Interactions. When facing challenging interactions, use the RAIN practice to navigate through them:
   1. Recognize: Take a moment to acknowledge your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.
   2. Allow: Give yourself permission to experience these emotions without judgment or suppression.
   3. Investigate: Dig deeper into the underlying emotions and triggers, gaining insight into your responses.
   4. Nurture: Offer yourself compassion, recognizing that vulnerability is part of being human.

3. Practice Empathetic Listening with Mindful Presence: In your conversations, practice empathetic listening through mindfulness. Be fully present as the speaker shares, focusing on their words, emotions, and body language. By doing so, you create a safe environment where others can express themselves authentically.

4. Embrace Mindful Bravery Beyond Comfort Zones: Utilize mindfulness to navigate unfamiliar territory. Notice any resistance or fear that arises when connecting with individuals different from you. Through mindfulness, acknowledge these feelings and choose to step into discomfort with an open mind, nurturing brave connections.

Integrating mindfulness and the RAIN practice into your daily life helps to equip you with emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and empathy. These qualities can support you to establish authentic connections that are grounded in understanding and authenticity.

Building Brave Spaces is the work of everyone. Whether you’re the captain of your sports team, leading your greek community, or coordinating a group assignment. 

Our nervous system instinctively seeks safety and comfort. When it senses danger, the amygdala triggers a response that affects our reasoning. For instance, a fellow classmate fearing their idea might be dismissed may choose not to speak up. Yet, by gradually building resilience to fear and discomfort, the nervous system and body-mind adjusts, and speaking up becomes more natural.

Prioritizing acts of courage and bravery lays the groundwork for psychological safety. In educational settings, these acts might involve sharing personal stories, initiating challenging conversations, or supporting learning for others. These actions strengthen our emotional and psychological fortitude, creating an environment where courage fosters true safety.

Steps to Establishing a Brave Space & Environment:

1. Acknowledge Diverse Perspectives: Understand that each individual brings unique experiences and viewpoints. Recognize and accept these differences, acknowledging the necessity to overcome biases.

2. Set Clear Expectations: Before conversations begin, establish expectations and ground rules. Allow marginalized voices and those with less power to speak first, and ensure equal opportunities for everyone to contribute.

3. Foster Personal Connections: Develop genuine interest in others and connect with them on a personal level. As a student leader, finding time to meet individually and build personal connections can ultimately encourage open communication.

4. Cultivate Empathy: Radical acceptance and attentive listening are crucial components to cultivating empathy. Address issues with a problem-solving mindset and ensure meetings or group interactions uplift participants and make them feel empowered.

Building Brave Spaces isn’t easy, whether it involves sharing experiences or confronting biases. However, as members of the Dartmouth Community, when we commit to diversity and inclusion efforts, courage becomes second nature. With persistent efforts, a space emerges where every voice is valued and appreciated.

Article adapted from: https://www.dalecarnegie.com/blog/create-a-brave-dei-spaces-in-workplace/ 

For more on Braves Spaces see: 

• Arao, & Clemens, K. (2013). 135From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces: A New Way to Frame Dialogue Around Diversity and Social Justice. In The Art of Effective Facilitation (1st ed., pp. 135–150). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003447580-11
• Speaking up on campus doesn’t mean shouting down others – by  Sian Beilock and Phil Hanlon

Written by Sid Babla

Welcome back to the Summer of Reflection with the Student Wellness Center! As Summer term comes to an end and we enter finals season, this week we look at our Intellectual Root of Wellness. This is an openness to new ideas, thinking critically, focusing effectively, and seeking out new challenges. It is being creative, curious, and engaging in ongoing learning inside and outside the classroom.

Here are a few possible ways we can begin to nourish our intellectual root as students:

1. Center Yourself – Being open to novel ideas and concepts that provide us with a new understanding requires focus and attention. This can be done by cultivating Mindful presence: the practice of being fully engaged in the present moment with a non-judgmental and accepting attitude. When our minds stop ruminating, we create space to focus on what truly matters. From this stems a clarity that reveals what action is needed for us to meet the present moment. 

2. Simplify to uncover the next action step – completing an assignment, learning a new skill or language, and working through a challenging problem set oftentimes have multiple sub-tasks and sequential steps. This can more often than not make our ‘to-do’ list seem overwhelming. Author Greg McKeown recommends identifying the first obvious action and committing to 10 minutes of focused action called ‘microbursts’. This overcomes procrastination and we start making immediate progress. For example:

Project	First Obvious Action	Microburst
Complete assignment	Open a blank document	Draft an outline for the paper
Finish class reading	Open course curriculum	Identify and search for reading material. Download book/mark it for quick access
Complete group presentation	Open email client	Write and send an email with a When2Meet link to group participants

3. Schedule it and Get to (Deep Work) – Every time we context switch, it takes about 23 minutes to regain the focus that we lost. Each time, it also requires more cognitive energy to reach the same level of focus. It’s no wonder that we find ourselves (cognitively) fatigued by 2pm on most days, unable to concentrate on challenging tasks. NY Times bestselling author and Montgomery Fellow for Summer 2023, Cal Newport ‘04 talks about the importance of deep work to overcome context switches by ‘time blocking’: scheduling an extended block of time to work on a singular, complex task without checking email or social media. (e.g. working to finish a first draft of a paper). 

This 3 step framework of centering yourself, identifying actions to build momentum, and scheduling time blocks is designed to help you go from zero to one in nourishing your intellectual root. Having a system to manage our attention and focus nurtures and grows our curiosity. The more intentional we are with how we use our attention, the more fulfilling our intellectual pursuits become. Over time, this sustains and grows our sense of wellbeing.

Sid Babla, Wellbeing Program Coordinator, Student Wellness Center