Teach Middle East Magazine Sep-Dec 2019 Issue 1 Volume 7 | Page 52

Personal Development HOW CAN TEACHERS PREPARE THEIR MINDS FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR? BY: LISA FÁTIMAH Mind Ready. In Motion. From Ocean To Ocean. I want you to do something right now. Please write one (1) sentence that conveys how you are feeling at this very moment. Take a moment to close your eyes. Listen to the wind inside of you. When you are ready, speak and write the words that describe this very moment. Please tell the truth. Use whatever adjectives come to mind. Share with yourself. Now, clench your fists very tight. Tighter. Slowly inhale and release. As you release, visualize how you would like to feel throughout the school year – throughout your life. Remember, I said, “feel,” not “do” or “accomplish,” feel. Lately, feelings have gotten a bad rap. Feelings are viewed as inconsequential, rhetorical, mindfulness mantras with little value beyond social media click- bait. However, without being in touch with our feelings (the conduit for our thoughts), we become robotic, and at times, toxic. Be aware of the things, thoughts, people and ideas that give and take away your oxygen - your energy. “EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK IS CREATING OUR FUTURE,” said Louis L. Hay. This you can do and will do either consciously or unconsciously. Let’s choose to think positive thoughts and create dynamic futures. BEFORE the mountains of paper work, rules, syllabi, textbooks, lesson plans, supply purchases, schedules and location changes inundate your life, DECIDE how you want to feel during any unforeseen personal or professional crisis. Affirm: “I will lead. I shall succeed.” We awaken our platinum powers by acting as if we have already achieved what we desire. One way for you to do this is to create your own algorithms that will help you to anticipate challenges and chaos and address the unknown. This is not selfish, this is self-preservation. We know that outcomes cannot be fully predicted, nor can we determine the behavior of others. What we can do is to have solution systems in place, for ourselves. Computational neuroscientist Dr. Frances Chance, principal member of the technical staff in the Data-Driven and Neural Computing department at Sandia National Laboratories, is currently examining ways in which dragon flies can help improve missile defense systems. Based in California and New Mexico, USA, Chance’s research explores the accuracy of dragonflies to catch their prey. In an interview with Tech Xplore, Chance states, "I try to predict how neurons are wired in the brain and understand what kinds of computations those neurons are doing, based on what we know about the behavior of the animal or what we know about the neural responses.” As dragonflies reportedly catch 95% of their prey, being able to anticipate how their behaviour, the neurons in their brains are wired, may help Chance to apply this same knowledge to defense systems. Imagine being mind-ready and being able to predict 95% of what could happen at the schoolhouse? How much more prepared, relaxed or ready would you be if you’re able to detect and visualize deflecting difficulties with aplomb. I believe you can, by being mind-ready and flexible. Seasoned and freshman 52 Term 1 Sep - Dec 2019 After the Bell