Genius Hour Blog Post 2

This week I spent my time organizing my plan of action for my Genius Hour project and implementing my plan of action for the first few days. The first thing I did was to download the Headspace app because this is probably the most popular guided meditation app right now. In addition, I did use Headspace for a short time about a year ago and I did find I enjoyed. For that reason, I thought it would be best to start my meditation Genius Hour project with something I am comfortable with and have had positive experiences using. I also researched the MindUP program from the Goldie Hawn Foundation because it was recommended to me by my course instructor. The program had some interesting information on mindfulness, social-emotional learning, and positive psychology. It also provided example videos of the lessons included in the MindUP program which provided examples of how mindfulness, etc. could be incorporated into the classroom. This is certainly a good resource and one that I will keep in mind as a teacher candidate; however, it did not provide any information of meditation specifically, so for the rest of my Genius Hour project I will look elsewhere for information on meditation.

sepyle86. Mindful Meditator. creativecommons.org. Accessed September 23, 2019. https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/d51dfeb3-1e3d-4b0d-b703-40d4d508b856

This week during my research, I learned some basic background information on meditation that helped me conceptualized its intended purpose and role. Meditation is often associated with reducing stress, increasing peace and well-being so I was happy to see that my Genius Hour question fits exactly into that definition. I am confident that this project will benefit me greatly. I also learned that you can try to meditate for specific purposes, for example, there is mindful meditation, meditation to help you fall asleep, meditation for productivity and many more! I also learned that there are meditation centres where people can go to take classes on meditation. While this is an intriguing prospect, I think I will only meditate at home for my Genius Hour.

The biggest trouble I had this week was remembering to meditate before bed, which led me to meditate at different times and locations each day. As I want to have a consistent time and place to meditate, I think I will set up a reminder on my phone that will notify me at the same time each day. Setting up the reminder and finding more meditation resources like other apps or videos is what I would like to do before my next blog post. I think a question I might have is "how do I know if my meditation is successful?" and I think the answer to that would just to self-reflect and evaluate how I fell, although I could research testimonials from others who started meditating. I feel good after meditating so from here I will strive to continue and see if the positive feelings last for an extended time frame! I am excited to continue with Genius Hour as I hope it makes a lasting positive influence on me!

Thanks for reading!