critical thinking
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle
mindfulness |
“Mindfulness is awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment, non-judgmentally.” -Jon Kabat Zinn, Mindfulness Teacher |
Inhale Openness and Exhale Rigidity
- Breathing exercise:
- Mindfulness allows for self-awareness, self-awareness reveals our biases
- Once we're aware of our biases, we can start to have more productive conversation and better connection to one another
- Inhale curiosity exhale bias, inhale vulnerability exhale certainty, inhale joy for one another sharing space today, exhale any stress you may be experiencing
perception |
"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." - Henri Bergson, French Philosopher and Educator |
Decision making / evaluation |
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." - Derek Bok |
In the face of authority |
"Christianity has done its utmost to close the circle and declared even doubt to be sin. One is supposed to be cast into belief without reason, by a miracle, and from then on to swim in it as in the brightest and least ambiguous of elements: .... What is wanted are blindness and intoxication and an eternal song over the waves in which reason has drowned.” |
cognitive dissonance |
If we’re willing to be disturbed, we can try to let go of our judgments and confess that we don’t understand what we’re seeing. -Wheatley and Frieze |
Values ≠ Behavior
- We strive for harmony
- Cognitive dissonance caused internal strife, and this mismatch causes has two solutions:
- Change behavior or change values OR
- Protect ego with four typical strategies: modify, trivialize, add, deny
- Modify: lie about the story a little ("Well, I don’t do it too often...")
- Trivialize: making less important ("The system is broken, not me...")
- Add: add a behavior that negates or dilutes your behavior ("My actions are actually congruent with my values...")
- Deny: Deny there is a mismatch ("I feel good about my behavior...")
Moment of Reflection
- Question: Explore a region in your life in which you (or someone you know) have experienced cognitive dissonance. When faced with discomfort around this issue, did you modify, trivialize, add, or deny? How can we feel called to change our behavior or values in service of freeing our minds, and arriving more fully in our communities as agents of change?
odis system |
Confusing moments are wonderful opportunities to observe our minds more closely. -Wheatley and Frieze |
Thinking Critically in Conflict Resolution
- Mindful interaction
- Tool for enacting mindfulness when faced with someone else’s values that are striking or uncomfortable
- Stella Ting-Toomey, Professor of Human Communication Studies at California state Fullerton developed the ODIS system
- Observe
- Describe
- Interpret
- Suspend
- Example: "The Great Toilet Paper Debate"!
- Observe: "That person is trying a method of cleaning themselves in service of our effort to minimize waste."
- Describe: "They used a ___."
- Interpret: "Did it work? Are they getting on with their day happily? Would I feel comfortable doing that?"
- Suspend: "These actions hold no moral or ethical weight."
- Observe: "That person is trying a method of cleaning themselves in service of our effort to minimize waste."