Tag Archives: Learning

Seeing Through Murky Waters

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Payal Patel

There is a beautiful stream that flows down the street from my home – it enters from one end, flows under the street bridge and emerges on the other side. I love going to stand on the side of the … Continue reading →

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Self-Regulation IV: A Gratitude Meditation & Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Payal Patel

Before I begin I would like to I dedicate this post to Swami Tadatmananda (Swami T hereafter), who taught me about meditation in addition to many other practices. I offer a meditation, below, that is a variation of what he … Continue reading →

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Self Regulation III – Morning Mindfulness: The Mind & The Inextinguishable Flame

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Payal Patel

The candlelight flame is an ancient Indian symbol of undivided attention. It is said that if we leave the mind to its own devices (to entropy!), the flame of attention will scatter into thousands of tiny lights pointing in thousands … Continue reading →

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Fall 2018 Self-Regulation Series: For All Ages!

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Payal Patel

Staying true to my last post on eliminating excess, I took time to cut out extraneous work, unnecessary internet time, and moved as slowly as possible as I transitioned back into the school year (which, as any teacher knows, is … Continue reading →

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A New School Year & Taking Care of Ourselves: Eliminating Excess

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Payal Patel

A new school year is approaching and we are often swamped by a mix of emotions – Overwhelming feelings Nervousness Excitement Feeling upset We feel overwhelmed by a huge list of courses and teachers we know almost nothing about – … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety & Struggle, Focus & Clarity, Metacognition, Preparing the Mind, Self-Regulation | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Cultivating Academic Humility (Part II): Allaying Anxiety

Posted on February 17, 2018 by Payal Patel

Have you ever had the experience where you are so sure of an erroneous understanding that you practically persist and argue to hold on to it in light of counterarguments? Often, in the classroom, I observe students that are so … Continue reading →

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Cultivating Academic Humility (Part I): The Doorway to Curiosity, Innovation, & Passion

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Payal Patel

“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” –Albert Einstein. It is no coincidence that one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century spoke these words. Hearing Einstein’s name often conjures up the … Continue reading →

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On Struggle (Part 3): In Conversation With Struggle

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Payal Patel

In the my last article, On Struggle (Part 2): Embracing the Evolving Mind, I promised to post my meditation on understanding struggle and embracing the evolving mind. Today’s post is primarily a video containing a meditation with the background image … Continue reading →

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On Struggle (Part 2): Embracing the Evolving Mind

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Payal Patel

At the core of productive struggle is a practice in which the mind accommodates new experiences and ideas by first allowing room for the questioning, and if necessary, loss of pre-existing notions. This practice is simply represented in the following … Continue reading →

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On Struggle (Part I): Befriending Struggle

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Payal Patel

Struggle. This one word often invokes frustration, annoyance, and hopelessness among students. But why? I always ask my students: What’s so bad about struggle? Tell me about it! What’s the big deal?  In fact, I just asked these questions to … Continue reading →

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Judging, Labeling, & Mathematics: An Unfortunately Common Practice

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Payal Patel

Every year, I come across students that say one of the following phrases in the beginning of the year and I work hard all year to change the beliefs behind such statements: “I used to be good at math but … Continue reading →

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Waves of the Mind

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Payal Patel

Growing up, my parents told me a lot of stories from ancient Indian epics. There was one piece that always stuck in my mind. It was a repeated phrase which roughly  translates, “In a moment of fury (or any other … Continue reading →

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Stillness

Posted on June 18, 2017 by Payal Patel

Stillness helps create space in our minds to think, and time in our day-to-day lives to regain our clarity, patience, and knack for insight. When we become very still, we are able to listen to each sound, experience each breath, … Continue reading →

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Welcome to Learning In Stillness!

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Payal Patel

Welcome Learning In Stillness Readers! Peace and Love, Payal Patel

Posted in Anxiety, Anxiety & Struggle, Beginner's Mind, Curiosity, Focus & Clarity, Grit, Math Anxiety, Metacognition, Non-Judgement, Observation, Preparing the Mind, Self-Regulation, Test Anxiety | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment