Goldie Hawn and 10 Mindful Minutes

“To create the leaders of tomorrow we need to nurture the children of today.” 

This is a comment from Goldie Hawn, and it’s a far more thoughtful and intelligent attitude to the purposes of education than “preparing children for adulthood” which is glibly trotted out by many who should know better.

Of course education is about preparing children for adulthood, but too often this phrase loses sight of the fact that children are children. It ignores the need for children to be children and to develop a love of learning in their formative years to “prepare” them for a lifetime of learning.

Goldie Hawn says we need leaders of tomorrow, and our future adults need to be nurtured, not spoon fed, and not simply filled with facts and little else besides.

To this effect she has set up the Hawn Foundation to help children thrive and develop all of their intelligences.

According to the Observer last Sunday, the foundation “specialises in teaching social and emotional skills to enhance children’s academic performance. It uses a programme called MindUP that Goldie Hawn developed with neurologist Judy Willis using forms of meditation and “mindfulness”.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2012/mar/04/observer-profile-goldie-hawn

Her mission now is to concentrate on this philanthropic venture to ensure that children and young people have the opportunity to meditate and develop “mindfulness” in school as well as in their lives out of school.

This approach is complementary to and in line with our 3Di Associates’ model of multiple intelligences which stresses the need to educate and nurture the whole child.

The programme “MindUP” has a focus on physical intelligence as well as the intelligences that the Hawn Foundation already mention – social and emotional intelligence. It is steeped in personal intelligence too and focuses on shared values such as kindness. It demonstrates the clear link between focus and intellectual capacity, and aims to help children learn as well as become calm and considerate human beings.

This is all extremely positive and impressive, which is why 3Di is hoping to develop further links with the Hawn Foundation, and hopefully have an opportunity to greet Goldie Hawn at the book signing event in Piccadilly Waterstones tomorrow.

Her book is entitled “10 Mindful Minutes” and is on sale in the UK this week.

http://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Minutes-Children-Ourselves-Emotional/dp/039953606X

“Goldie Hawn embodies delight and joy, and 10 Mindful Minutes radiates these. Her book can help any adult-parent, grandparent, teacher make double use of their moments with the children they love and have a terrific time while helping shape that child’s brain for a lifetime of resilience and happiness.” – Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence. Across the country, the revolutionary MindUP program, which was developed under the auspices of the Hawn Foundation, established by Goldie Hawn, is teaching children vital social and emotional skills. By understanding how their brains work, children discover where their emotions come from and become more self-aware. They learn to appreciate the sensory aspects of their lives and to value the positive effects of mindfulness, compassion, and kindness. This, in turn, empowers them to manage and reduce their own stress – and helps them be happy. Those who have seen the remarkable effects of this program have been eager to learn how to implement it in their own homes and use its practices for themselves, too. Now, for the first time, its secrets are being shared with all parents and children in 10 Mindful Minutes”

Goldie Hawn was on Radio Four’s “Woman’s Hour” this week, talking eloquently and passionately about her life’s work and her absolute belief in what she is trying to do for children today. She talked of neural training and ways to make us all think positively.

You can listen to her interview here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01cvpz1

Goldie Hawn does not need to work, does not need to spend her time writing such books and collaborating with thoughtful people to develop a curriculum with innovative approaches to developing multiple intelligences. She does it because she believes in these ideas and sees a need for us to provide a better education for children, and because she practices mindfulness and meditation herself and has done so for over forty years. Described as one of the happiest people alive, it’s well worth considering the value of her thoughts and what she now describes as her lifetime’s work.

http://www.thehawnfoundation.org/

.