Mindful Shift: How to Become Less Mindless to Live Better with Ellen J. Langer

Mindfulness is the natural human ability to be completely present, fully aware of our location and actions, and not excessively reactive or overwhelmed by what’s happening around us. 
We all understand mindfulness can result in better mental health, but it can be challenging with the distractions of modern life. The human mind tends to wander and frequently gets lost in thoughts about the past or future, making it hard to stay present.

If you think practising mindfulness must involve being in a meditative state and include an activity such as breathwork, journaling or the raisin exercise (one of the most basic and widely used mindfulness methods which involves focussing your attention on each of your senses as you eat a raisin), today’s prestigious guest disagrees. 

Ellen J. Langer is a distinguished professor of psychology at Harvard University. In 1981, she made history as the first woman to receive tenure in psychology at Harvard. Ellen’s lifetime of expertise and trailblazing research in the field of mindfulness focuses on the psychology of control, decision making, ageing, and mindfulness theory; which has led to numerous academic honours.

Ellen J. Langer is the author of eleven books, including the international bestseller 'Mindfulness', which has been translated into fifteen languages, and 'Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility'. Most recently, she is the author of 'The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health' which delves into the transformative potential of mindfulness for improving health. Dr. Ellen is also the author of more than 200 research articles and her revolutionary experiments in social psychology have earned her inclusion in The New York Times Magazine’s 'Year in Ideas' issue. 

Ellen believes through her findings “we’re typically trying to solve today’s problems with yesterday’s solution” and “most of us are mindless, most of the time”. Meaning the limits we assume are real - are artificial - and that we don't have to accept them at all.

Talking to Gabby Sanderson, host of The Happier Life Project, Ellen shares the results of some of her groundbreaking studies. Demonstrating the power the mind has on the body and how what we believe, can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Especially when it comes to our health and happiness. The renowned ‘mother of mindfulness’ explains why we must pay attention to context and variability, and not necessarily accept ‘the rule’ to anything. She also talks about how we can wake up and overcome mental laziness, therefore not succumbing to outcomes we are led to presume must be the one and only truth. Such as becoming more forgetful as we get older, or being unable to do something because of (insert belief)… As Ellen says in this conversation, “one plus one does not always equal two”. 

So can we really defy the ageing process, or at least slow it down, just by just harnessing the power of belief? Can we think ourself more toned and fit, and even lose weight, by simply believing it?! Ellen's research and studies conclude the answer is yes. If we embrace the idea of mind-body unity, new possibilities for controlling our health become available to us. 

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For more information on Ellen J. Langer and her work: https://www.ellenlanger.me/
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