TED Talks: Goldie Hawn, Daniel Siegel On Mindfulness For Children At TEDMED (VIDEO)

Actress Goldie Hawn spoke at the TEDMED conference about her "very big, very broad dream" of bringing happiness to children. "I thought, let's do something drastic," she said. "Lets hope and pray for all kids to experience happiness."

She turned this big dream into an innovative program called "MindUP" -- a curriculum that goes beyond academics, teaching children how to be in touch with their emotions and manage stress through focused breathing, focused attention, relaxation and awareness.

Saddened by the problems affecting today's youth -- depression, suicide, drop out rates and a growing lack of empathy -- she assembled a team of neuroscientists, doctors, researchers, educators and psychologists to create the program. The children are also taught neuroscience; the idea being that if they know how their minds work, they will be better able to understand and control their behavior.

It's crucial to take the stress away in order to open the mind up for learning, Hawn said. Cortisol (a stress hormone) tests showed that children in the MindUP classrooms were indeed able to manage their stress levels. "Think of the implications it has in the future, for health care," said Hawn.

Hawn was accompanied at TEDMED by researcher Dan Siegal, author of The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. He explained the neurological science behind the MindUP program.

In addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, he said, children also need to learn reflection, relationships and resilience. "Because now what's happening is that we have a damaged brain that's growing. And it's getting more and more handicapped as kids get more focused on the external world, rather than being able to look at the internal world."

Early on in life children have the capability of developing "mind sight," he said, the ability to see their own internal world and the internal world of others around them. This helps foster empathy and caring. "The ability to look at the mind is something we can't ignore anymore."

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Comments

[SirenForSanity]

12:09 AM on 06/25/2010

What a wonderful idea realized, Goldie Hawn. Much respect for this endeavor.

[mary896]

03:46 PM on 06/24/2010

My husband's ultimate dream of a woman, Ms. Goldie. How will I ever live up to you? All I know is that I'll keep on trying because you're a powerhouse with the brains to match. I love you almost as much as my hubby. :) Thank you for your dedication to children and their happiness.

[Macready]

11:40 AM on 06/24/2010

You are amazing Goldie Hawn . . . this sounds great!

[Hugh-Leighton]

07:52 AM on 06/24/2010

The quintessential "Dumb Blond" turns out to be a genius! Who knew! I must admit to falling in love with you on Laugh In and this video just confirms the wisdom of that decision. I would also like to congradulate you on your daughter; I caught her on Inside the Actor's Studio a couple of weeks ago and I saw a lot of you in her, slightly kinked, of course, but that has to be part of the Hawn genome, right? (OK, here comes the Proud Daddy.) My daughter chose a career as a teacher of children with "special needs". In my opinion she could not have chosen a better career, because she understands that the reality of education is that you cannot "teach" anybody anything, but with the right approach you can lock on to a child's intense curiosity and inspire them to learn.

[SeesBeyond]

04:15 PM on 06/27/2010

Agreed. Whooda thunk Goldie Hawn would grow into this? Kudos to her and much success to her endeavor. What she is doing is splendid, and much needed. I hope it catches on and grows into a national movement.

Penny Marshall is another comedienne who also just happens to be a genius. And like Goldie, whooda thunk?

[jeanneyogini]

08:03 PM on 06/22/2010

It's great to see more programs to help kids cope with stress. Mindfulness is in the right direction. I have taught meditation in schools and found that it is important that the technique children practice is easy and effective, as many kids have short attention spans and find it frustrating if asked to control their attention or try to observe their thoughts and behavior. Meditation that allows them to effortlessly settle inward and become absorbed in their own inner peace and happiness is something they are attracted to doing and is a great tool for life. The David Lynch Foundation has funded meditation in schools for over 150,000 at-risk kids. Research shows that having a tool to relieve stress and improve the functioning of the brain enhances learning ability and creativity in students.

[mitchpeter]

04:26 PM on 06/22/2010

Yay Goldie!
The kids have to come first!
www.gaynycdad.com

[Valery Satterwhite]

01:49 PM on 06/22/2010

This is interesting albeit backwards. Do a search on "happy baby", "dancing baby" or "laughing baby" and you see that - for the most part - children are born knowing how to be happy. Then we, as adults, unconsciously conditioned their overall joy right out of them. We are not mindful of our words and our behavior. Children view their experience quite literally. They don't understand context or that Mom or Dad had a bad hair day. Thinking parents are perfect young children think everything that their parents do and say is correct and true.

As a result, the loving joyful happy entry into the world becomes less loving, more stressful and happiness becomes an elusive memory at best.

I agree with Goldie - stress blocks learning. It is the adult influencers who are stressed, blocked in their ability to cope using optimal emotional intelligence. Under stress people resort to unhealthy coping patterns of behavior - witnessed and experienced - by children.

If we want children to be happier it begins with us. THEY can teach us a whole lot about how to tap back into our innate happiness. As Ghandi said, "Be the change you seek."

[Hugh-Leighton]

08:56 AM on 06/24/2010

I was lucky enough to have a very wise Grandfather who once told me that no man reachs full maturity until the day he realises that his inner child must be allowed to come out and play from time to time. That was almost sixty years ago and I have never forgotten his words.

[Deborah Schoeberlein]

12:01 PM on 06/22/2010

Brava Goldie and Bravo Dan - you're fabulous thinkers, dreamers and communicators! Couldn't ask for better messengers about mindfulness!

[Ljilja]

10:54 AM on 06/22/2010

She never changes. She looks as beautiful and young as ever.

http://graciouslivingdaybyday.com/

[wackette]

10:14 AM on 06/22/2010

I agree with Goldie... we need to give the next generation all the tools needed to fix this f*cked-
up world that we've created for them. Thanks, Goldie!

[SoulTherapy]

08:02 AM on 06/22/2010

Awesome idea Goldie - let's hope MindUP gets into all schools! xxx

What is mindfulness? It's being fully present in this moment ... here now. An interesting meditation is to just say "Here Now" whenever you find yourself trying to recreate your past or live in your future. Every time you ruminate about the past or get lost in fantasies about the future, you are not here now, and you lose this precious moment to be alive. "If only" or "I should have" or "What if" distract you from here now.

http://blog.soul-therapy.com/2010/06/you-have-only-moments-to-live.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Soul-Therapy/278635488830

http://www.soul-therapy.com/

[Hugh-Leighton]

08:45 AM on 06/24/2010

I do agree with most of what you have said. What I don't agree with is your inclusion of "What if" as an unnecessary distraction. That is the question that drives all scientific research in whatever field you care to name and, as Mr. Asimov rightly pointed out, it is the question that drives most creativity, even the creativity required to make those changes that lead you to becoming a fuller, more engaged person.

[SeesBeyond]

04:23 PM on 06/27/2010

Yes. The kind of mindfulness SoulTherapy speaks about is very Zen. There are times when it is useful to focus solely on the present, but it's not a very practical thing to build one's life around. And as you remind us of when quoting Asimov, it is the question that drives creativity. Zen has no room for that mindset, and it seems would try very hard to banish the restiveness of the mind that goes along with creativity. Fanned.