This Is The Hour: A Call for Reflection and Introspection in the Field of Mindfulness

• Published in: Mindfulness 2016-04, Vol.7 (2), p.293-295
• Main Author: Hickman, Steven D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Collaboration; Editorial; Mindfulness; Pediatrics; Professional ethics; Professionals; Psychology; Public Health; Social Sciences; Teaching
• ISSN: 1868-8527; 1868-8535
• DOI: 10.1007/s12671-015-0445-0

[...]it is a slippery slope when noticing difference leads to subtle or not-so-subtle exclusion, or even aggression. Let us say you are serving on a submission review committee for a mindfulness conference (as I have done on a few occasions), and although it is an anonymous submission, you recognize the work of a colleague in reading the abstract. [...]this should be done from a platform of clear seeing and careful consideration of the facts of the situation and not based on hearsay, fleeting impressions, or “stories” of things about which we hold little actual data. If we cannot lead by example and embody what we teach, how can we ever hope to influence the people we teach, the teachers we train, the cultures we inhabit, or the world we hope to improve? I was recently inspired by a quote that was attributed to a native American (Hopi) elder that I feel speaks eloquently to each of us doing the work of teaching mindfulness to others.