Leadership With Both Sides

of the Brain

Heidi Haden, M.A., LPC

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

Mindfulness Exercise

Basic Mindfulness Exercise

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

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

Right/Left Brain

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

(http://blog.mindjet.com)

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

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

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

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

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 .

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.

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

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

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