“You learn something every day if you pay attention” (Ray Leblond)
Some say the most important lessons in life are actually really simple ideas, and I believe this is just one example of that. Paying attention to what we’re doing may, indeed, seem unimportant to most people. However, the moment you experience its outcome in your life, something in you changes and you come to realize your attention is anything but unimportant or trivial.
My first attention training or mindfulness-based experience was at age 18. In my vocational orientation course I was recommended some books, one of which was “Del sufrimiento a la Paz” (From suffering to Peace) by Ignacio Larrañaga. It offered a series of attention training (or mindfulness practices) that led to more inner peace and considerable stress reduction. Not only did I feel joyful and more relaxed but I also felt more openness, creativity and a much wider headspace, which meant better memory and learning capacity in general.
Countless research projects worldwide show that mindfulness practice brings multiple benefits to all areas in life: relationships, career and studies. What’s most important, training your attention muscle allows you to be connected to your core being and to enjoy each and every moment.
As I mentioned above, attending is key to learning. In fact, it’s practically impossible to learn anything if we’re not attending to it. I have found that what some students with learning difficulties have in common is their lack of attention to themselves when they’re speaking, listening or writing in a foreign language.
For the reasons explained above, I’d like to help students train and strengthen their attention muscle to learn English more effectively. Starting this month, I’ll be offering a course where I focus on being mindful when we speak and listen to each other in English. You can find more information below. Hope you can join us!
Escrito por Lic. Amalia Gaviña