Phone Camera = Mindfulness Tool

Lindsay Miller  0:22  
Hi, this is Lindsay. And I'm so glad you're here joining me on the podcast where I share tools for using mindfulness in family life to lower stress levels. And where I interview guests to help you understand and reframe some of the common stresses that we face today is one of the days that I'm going to share a tool with you and is this is one that works really, really well for kids, it's a playful way you can use your phone to teach mindfulness. So here's how it works. It's called zooming in and zooming out. 

So the idea is that you help kids start to connect with a really, really focused present moment awareness. And then you also help them connect with a big picture view of what's going on. And as you might have already guessed, you use your phone camera to do this. So when we zoom in on something we really focus on, like exactly what the texture is the shape. So if it's like a bird, and we're on a hike, and we just want to zoom in on this bird on a branch, we're noticing the colors, right the size of the bird, we're noticing if it's making any noise, we're noticing if you know it's moving, or if it's still, and we're just really, really focused on one aspect of what's in front of us. And that can come in handy when we're in a situation where we really need to focus or we need to identify like how we're feeling about something, or what we think or what we're, what we're trying to get accomplished, like homework or a project or chores at home, being able to have that really, really fine tuned focus is important. And then it's also important to be able to zoom out and to see the big picture. So with the bird, we might notice all those really specific things about the bird. And then when we zoom out, we might notice like, oh, there are a few other birds on the branch. Oh, you know, what kind of tree is that bird sitting in? What's the weather around the bird, what time of day is it. And all those things add to like our understanding of the moment, right? It adds to our visual of the bird and our understanding of how the bird is kind of living its best life right there on the branch. And it makes its behavior makes sense. So maybe if it's in the morning, and the bird is kind of just like getting waking up and getting ready for the day might not be as active, but if it's mid day, maybe the birds flying around, and it's really vocal. So all those different aspects of the scene, give us a few clues as to how to understand the situation better. And that applies in Family School and individual settings. In kind of a similar way, when we can zoom out and see the big picture and see the relationships, see any cultural influences or environmental influences that are having an impact that can help us know how to act and it can help us really understand what's going on. So for kids, what this looks like is, you know, if they're doing a project, being able to zoom out and see like all the steps that need to be completed in order for that project to be done on time. So they're not scrambling at the last minute. or zooming out might look like having an argument. And then like kind of zooming out and taking a big picture view of what's going on. So my brother was tired when he hit me, which doesn't make it okay, but helps me understand that he still loves me, even though he wasn't very nice to meet. Or if mom's having kind of a rough day being able to zoom out and say, Oh, look, my mom loves me. But she was just trying to get all of us out the door. And it was really hard for her because she also had some other errands to run and a doctor's appointment of her own. And the car needed gas. And there was just a lot of things that were going on for mom this morning. So that's why she was a little bit short tempered when she was getting us all in the car. So being able to zoom out is a lot of like, offers a lot of empathy for kids so they can connect with other people in a different way when they can see the context of the interaction. And so being able to do both of those things is really, really powerful. And it's the essence of mindfulness really, because what we want to be able to do is be really, really present, while also having that big picture view of the context of that present moment. And so again, it's easier to teach this to kids using the simple thing like a camera because you can ask them to notice what is different about the picture. So Oh, you would just give them your camera and invite them to zoom in on something. So if you're outside, maybe they're zooming in on, you know, the snow that's on the grass, or maybe they're zooming in on the neighbor's, you know, Christmas lights, if those are still up in our neighborhood, we got a few of us with those still up, maybe you're zooming in on, like a bird, again, like on the branch of a tree, maybe you're zooming in on a spring time sprout coming up through the ground, you know, whatever it is, it doesn't matter as much what they're zooming in on, as it does, the fact that they really focus in on one aspect of what's in front of them. And then you ask them really specific questions like, What do you see? What's the, you know, the texture? What are the colors, and really invite them to focus all their attention and energy on that one thing. And then you invite them to zoom out and take a bigger view of that one thing. So when they zoom out, what else do they see? Do they see other sprouts coming up in the garden? Do they see, you know, a few other birds kind of coming around for the bird seed? Do they see a different, you know, several houses on the street? And notice the fun decorations that people have up? And you know, say like, Oh, what, what else? Do you understand about the situation with this bigger view? How, you know, how do you feel about that neighborhood? Seeing that there are so many houses that have fun decorations up? What does that make you think about the neighborhood? Or how do you understand better like what's growing in this garden by seeing the big picture instead of just one thing. So just asking specific questions. And again, the answers aren't as important as the inquiry. So helping them see that like the picture changes, and their understanding changes, when they see the whole thing. And then after, you know, you can repeat that as many times as you'd like. And then afterward, you can apply it to a situation in their own life. So one of the examples that a client of mine gave this week was around the job chart. So sometimes that chore chart can feel a little overwhelming, right? If we're looking at it on Saturday morning, with all the chores on it. And so we need that big picture view to kind of plan our time and know all of what has to get done. But then instead of staying there, we want to zoom in and just focus on one task. So focusing on one part of the job list one chore at a time, can help us get it done without it feeling overwhelming. And then it's a similar situation with homework, if we look at all of the things we have to do for homework, it can feel like a lot. And we can get a little bit overwhelmed at the amount of time it's going to take or the energy. But if we can just zoom in on one task, it can be really easy to take it take care of it and get it done. The same time being able to zoom out and say like, okay, it's gonna take me this long to do my homework is really important for planning. And that's like an executive function skill, where the part of our brain that can kind of plan and make things like a step by step process can really come online when we take that big picture view. So looking at mindfulness in this way, is a really just easy and fun way to help kids connect with what mindfulness is, it's being able to zoom in and be super focused on the present moment, and then zoom out and see all of the things that are impacting that moment. So let me know if you give it a try. Kids are always, you know, interested in using phones. And so this can be a fun way to give the phone and also have like an educational moment around it. I would love to hear more about it. If you experience any insights in your family around mindfulness by train zooming in and zooming out. If you liked this episode, I would also love for you to leave a review. I really appreciate reviews and I read all of them and it helps other people find the podcast and so it's really awesome when people leave five star review. Thanks again for listening. Until next time!

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