When was the last time you were doing 10 minutes of nothing each day? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe asks that question in his 2012 TEDx Talk that’s part of a new TED Radio Hour series at NPR, titled “Slow Down.” Puddicombe purports that our highly distracted and busy minds are no longer able to be present in the current moment. The cure, according to Puddicome? Ten minutes of nothingness a day. It’s a type of meditation in which you step back from your life—the buzz, the pressure—and simply look at what what your mind is preoccupied with and the feelings you are experiencing because of it. Puddicombe suggests that 10 minutes of such meditation will help you be less distracted and, as a result, happier. Is there any truth to this theory? Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson offer 10 (plus) minutes of analysis on Puddicombe’s recommendation. In this ounce of Persuasion fast chat, discussion touches on the definition and suspicion of meditation as a spiritual practice, our need to exercise our brain’s recall functioning, and if doing nothing is truly the equivalent of Christian meditation.
Listen to Persuasion Episode 70:
Links from the show:
TED Radio Hour: When Was the Last Time You Did Absolutely Nothing?
Theme music by Maiden Name.