Presentation about how mindfulness, specifically creative mindfulness, can increase left brain/right brain communication for more effective leadership.

1. Leadership With Both Sides
of the Brain
Heidi Haden, M.A., LPC

2. About Me
 M.A. in Professional Counseling
 Licensed Professional Counselor
 Certificate of Graduate Studies in Expressive Arts Therapy
 10 years of working in higher education in various capacities
 Administrative Assistant UC Irvine Medical Center, UC San Diego Medical
Center, Arizona State University Provost’s Office
 Counselor, Arizona State University Counseling Services
 Present: Clinical Lead at ASU Counseling Services, Polytechnic

3. Mindfulness Exercise
 Basic Mindfulness Exercise

4. What is Mindfulness?
 Daniel Siegel, psychiatrist and expert on neurobiology, refers to mindfulness as
“brain hygiene,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXxrJEnIboM
 Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor emeritus of medicine and founding director of the
Stress Reduction Clinic, and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health
Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, describes
mindfulness as "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present
moment and non-judgmentally.“
 Ellen Langer describes mindfulness as simply “noticing new things.”
 “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we
created them.” Albert Einstein
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBsDUuXlRYc

5. What exactly are the benefits of practicing
mindfulness?
 improve mental focus and reduce mind wandering
 extend our attention span
 discourage black-and-white thinking
 assist in staying organized, managing time, and setting priorities
 lift us from a constant, low level of panic and guilt
 lower wear and tear on our bodies
 toughen immunity
 improve mood and emotional stability
 build self-monitoring capacity
 offer neuroprotective effects and reduce cognitive decline associated with aging
 Increase impulse control, decrease reactivity
Garms, Erika (2013). Practicing Mindful Leadership. https://ww.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2013/13/Practicing-Mindful-Leadership

6. Right/Left Brain

7. Kaykas-Wolff (2012). Communication Breakdown: Left Brain vs. Right Brain. http://blog.mindjet.com/author/jascha/. Conspire A Mindjet Publication
(http://blog.mindjet.com)

8. How to use both sides if you are Right
brained
 How to use both sides of your brain if you were Right brained
 The following is what you should do in order to use both sides of your brain if you were right
brained:
 Try to get deeper into details I know you may not like this but just try as much as you can to think
of problems or situations in a little more detail rather than just looking at the full picture, try to
gather more information even if you felt that you already know what are you going to do Plan
for your life: Try to make schedules and to follow them. Try to set goals and record your progress.
If you already have goals then try to write them down and if they are long term ones then divide
them into smaller short term ones that are more detailed
 Play complex games Try to find if there is any complex game that interests you, like chess for
example, these types of games stimulate the left brain functions and so allows you to use both
sides of your brain.
 Work with numbers You should feel good while studying accounting or mathematics because
you will be training your left brain and so increasing your ability to use your whole brain, try not to
avoid numbers because they can help you in developing both of your brain hemispheres
Radwan, M. Farouk. “Learn how to use both sides of your brain (the left and right hemisphere).”
http://www.2knowmyself.com/The_brain/learn_how_use_both_sides_of_your_brain_left_right

9. How to use both sides of your brain if
you are left brained
The following is what you should do in order to use both sides of your brain if you were left brained:
 Avoid using logic only: If you were thinking of a problem or if you were about to take a decision then avoid using logic
only, don’t just try to gather information in an overly intensive way but instead gather as much information as you can then
take the decision based on the available information even if they seemed incomplete. In that case your left brain will use
the information while the intuition of your right brain will compensate for the missing information
 Use images and visualization: While studying or reading try to draw images or to visualize the situation. By using both the
visual images and the written text you will be training both sides of your brain to work together
 Listen to music: while reading try to listen to music in order to allow the right brain to get involved
 Try to find any hobby that requires creativity Try to find if you are interested in drawing, painting or writing poems. Whatever
the hobby that requires creativity that you can find can help you train your right brain
 Break the routine: If you were an accountant who always works with numbers each day from 9 to 5 then you may lose all
of your creative abilities. Try to break this routine by doing something random in between, try to go the beach and sit in
front of the sea to think randomly, try to close your eyes then imagine your future or imagine anything that you would like,
just break that routine using any method that you can think of.
Radwan, M. Farouk. “Learn how to use both sides of your brain (the left and right hemisphere).”
http://www.2knowmyself.com/The_brain/learn_how_use_both_sides_of_your_brain_left_right

10. Mindfulness and Creativity
Cultivating mindfulness through creative experiences increases the ability to:
 integrate information
 become aware of inhibiting assumptions/”certainties” we may have of
ourselves and others
 increases brain plasticity
 increases creative problem solving
 Increases sense of play
 Increases tolerance of “not knowing”
 Increases self-compassion
Garms, Erika (2013). Practicing Mindful Leadership. https://ww.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2013/13/Practicing-Mindful-Leadership

11. Creative Mindfulness
 Creative Mindfulness
 Art (painting/drawing/sculpture)
 Music
 Dance/Movement (i.e. hip hop/Hula/Tai Chi, as examples)
 Writing/Poetry
 Photography
 Scrapbooking
 Gardening
 Cooking

12. Your Personal Art/Creativity History
 What was art/creativity in your life, growing up? Was it, for example, drawing
and coloring, crafts, music, dance, writing, museum or gallery trips, learning
handiwork from a relative, or pictures on the living room wall?
 What kind of beliefs did your family have about art/creativity?
 When you were young, did you have a favorite art/creativity activity, such as
coloring, painting by number, dance, music, embroidering, knitting, or building
things?
 Did you ever have a negative experience with art/creativity when you were a
child? Were you told, for example, that you were not artistic, that your older
sibling was the artist in the family, or that your art expressions were not good
enough?
Modified from: Rogers, Natalie (1997). The Creative Connection: Expressive Arts as Healing. Science & Behavior Books .

13. Have a Bilateral Conversation
For this exercise, take a pencil in your right hand (even if you're left-handed)
and write the question: "How's it going?" Then switch to your left hand, and
write whatever pops up. Your nondominant hand's writing will be shaky—
that's okay. The important thing isn't tidiness; it's noticing that your twin
hemispheres have different personalities.

14. Bilateral Conversation (cont’d)
 The right side of the brain, which controls the left hand, will say things you
don't know that you know. It specializes in assessing your physical and
mental feelings, and it often offers solutions. "Take a nap," your right
hemisphere might say, or "Just do what feels right; we'll be fine." You'll find
there's a little Zen master in that left hand of yours (not surprisingly, left-
handed people are disproportionately represented in creative
professions).
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-to-Tap-into-the-Right-Side-
of-Your-Brain-Martha-Beck-Advice#ixzz3cESvT8vt

15. Opportunities to Develop Mindfulness
and Access Creativity
 Nature (writing/sketching/photography on walks)
 Your local community Parks & Recreation Center (classes/workshops)
 Local art centers, art supply/craft stores, and/or galleries
 Community colleges or universities
 Book Clubs
 Videos/blogs

16. References
 Radwan, M. Farouk. “Learn how to use both sides of your brain (the left and right hemisphere).”
http://www.2knowmyself.com/The_brain/learn_how_use_both_sides_of_your_brain_left_right
 Kaykas-Wolff (2012). Communication Breakdown: Left Brain vs. Right Brain.
http://blog.mindjet.com/author/jascha/. Conspire A Mindjet Publication
(http://blog.mindjet.com)
 Garms, Erika (2013). Practicing Mindful Leadership.
https://ww.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2013/13/Practicing-Mindful-Leadership
 Beck, Martha (2009). How to Tap into Right-Brain Thinking. http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-to-
Tap-into-the-Right-Side-of-Your-Brain-Martha-Beck-Advice#ixzz3cESvT8vt
 Rogers, Natalie (1997). The Creative Connection: Expressive Arts as Healing. Science & Behavior
Books .
 Youtube.com. Ellen Langer, Mindfulness and Leadership.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBsDUuXlRYc
 Youtube.com. Daniel Siegel, The Importance of Mindfulness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXxrJEnIboM