11min 40sec clip - In a world of change, learning how to adapt is the most important skill we can be taught

Unlocking the Power Within: The Art of Freeing Your Mind

Introduction - In today's fast-paced world, where distractions abound and stress levels soar, the concept of freeing your mind has never been more important. We often find ourselves trapped in the never-ending cycle of thoughts, worries, and to-do lists, but there is a way to break free and unleash the immense power of a clear, liberated mind.

Photo by Constant Loubier on Unsplash

Embrace Mindfulness - The journey to freeing your mind begins with mindfulness. This ancient practice encourages you to be present in the moment, to observe your thoughts without judgment. By focusing on your breath, sensations, and surroundings, you can gradually detach from the mental clutter that weighs you down. Mindfulness is not about eliminating thoughts, but rather about understanding and accepting them.

Declutter Your Environment - A cluttered space often reflects a cluttered mind. Clear your physical surroundings of unnecessary chaos. A tidy, organized environment can do wonders for your mental clarity, allowing you to concentrate on what truly matters.

Practice Meditation - Meditation is like a workout for the mind. Just as you exercise your body to stay fit, you can exercise your mind to stay focused and calm. Regular meditation sessions enable you to strengthen your mental muscles, making it easier to let go of distractions and stress.

Set Clear Priorities - To free your mind, it's crucial to establish clear priorities. Determine what truly matters to you, both in the short and long term. This helps you make decisions more effortlessly, leaving less mental clutter and indecision in your wake.

Embrace Creativity - Engaging in creative activities can be a wonderful way to free your mind. Whether it's painting, writing, playing a musical instrument, or even cooking, the act of creation can transport you to a state of flow, where time seems to stand still and your worries melt away.

Disconnect from Technology - In our hyper-connected world, constant notifications, emails, and social media can become overwhelming. Schedule tech-free hours or even days to disconnect and reconnect with the real world. This digital detox can work wonders for your mental health and clarity.

Seek Solitude - Spending time alone can be a powerful way to clear your mind. Solitude provides space for introspection, self-discovery, and the chance to listen to your inner thoughts without external distractions.

Practice Gratitude - Reminding yourself of the things you are grateful for can be a great way to free your mind from negativity and stress. Each day, take a moment to acknowledge the positive aspects of your life, no matter how small they may seem.

Embrace Learning - Learning new things and expanding your knowledge can be invigorating. When you engage in learning, you open your mind to new perspectives and ideas, which can help you break free from mental ruts.

Conclusion - In a world filled with noise, freeing your mind is a precious gift to yourself. By practicing mindfulness, decluttering your environment, meditating, setting clear priorities, embracing creativity, disconnecting from technology, seeking solitude, practicing gratitude, and embracing learning, you can unlock the immense potential of your liberated mind. Take the first step today and watch your life transform as you break free from the shackles of mental clutter and anxiety.

Source:  I asked Chat GPT 3.5 to " write a short article with a catchy headline on the subject of freeing your mind" and the text and post title above is what it ptoduced, to which I made some minor formatting changes and added the picture

Learning about politics - conservative party conference 4/10/23

HS2 Birmingham to Manchester won't be happening surprisingly - although the £ saved will be used for other transport projects announced the UK PM Rishi Sunak at yesterdays conserviative part conference.  

Apparently the London Euston station, which was due to have 11 platforms for high-speed trains will now have six, which presumambly reduces capacity.

And what a train wreck of a PR management announcement that decision has been.  Once the possibility of cancellation had leaked before the conference were they right to keep claiming they hadn't decided?  Or should they have lanced the boil early to get the poision out?  Doubtless, praticioners of the political dark arts will be using this one as a case study for some time.

I imagine the spin doctors over in the opposition party HQs are busy talking through what three to five word slogan they can now best use on their anti tory posters.

"The Tories are going nowhere" perhaps?

My favourite line for a poster would be "You can't trust the Tories"  

with whatever imagery works best.  What comes is the picture of Johnson and Sunak partying at No. 10 compared with the late Queen sitting alone at her husband's funeral.

Or maybe the phrase "Duty or Party"

Reactions to the HS2 decision were:

- Sir John Armitt, (chairs National Infrastructure Commission), 'deeply disappointing';

- Richard Bowker, (ex boss of the Strategic Rail Authority), capacity constraints not solved;

- David Cameron, (ex PM), on the decision, 'the wrong one'.

- Andy Street, (Tory mayor of the West Midlands), 'incredibly disappointed' 

- Andy Burnham, (Mayor of Greater Manchester), 'we haven't got a plan here that works'

Other points the PM made yesterday

- Rwanda deportation flights - will stop the boats (still an assertion with little factual backing so far) & he'll do 'whatever it takes'

- a smoking ban so most most of today's children can never buy cigarettes.  What a great decision.  Meanwhile Smoking lettuce Queen Liz Truss says its 'hideously illiberal'.

- Vaping & children - a promise to crack down on the sale of disposable vapes to children.  Good.

 - Advanced British Standard qualification - combines A and T levels in an international baccalaureate-style qualification in which pupils study at least five subjects including some form of maths and English to age 18.  The PM's press secretary said: 'I believe it will take about 10 years for the advanced British standard to replace A-levels.'

-  Uni, like Essex, isn't the only way - 'So we are stopping universities from enrolling students on courses that do nothing for their life chances. Under us no more rip-off degrees.'

- Sexually-motivated murderers - will never be released from prison, 'we will legislate for sexual and sadistic murders to carry a full-life term with no prospect of release.'

Will office work ever be the same again? - recent BBC commissioned research

Yesterday morning the Radio 4 Today programme reported on some BBC commissioned research on this subject.  You can find out more info here, but some noticebale headlines were as follows:

"70% of those polled predicted that workers would "never return to offices at the same rate".

The majority orf workers prefer to work at home full or part time

50% of senior managers though staying at home adverely affects creativity and collaboration

But only 38% of the general public think the same"

The arguments for and against digitally workng from home versus physically being in the same office seemed to focus on four themes which I've unpacked a little below.

Creativity - not been physically together means less creativity.  

This might be true - but only for the people who are invited into the creative discussion in the first place.  Lets face it, often in an office only certain people are allowed to input to meetings/conversation seeking creative ideas and solutions.  The office admin is almost never invited to contribute to such discussion.  Plus this focus on physical ='s better creativity seems to focus on the assumption below that ...

Relationship & team building  - physically works better than digitally

At first glance this seems obvious - but maybe only if you are over 40.  Watch any bunch of teenagers or twenty year olds out socially and its obvious they are very comfortable interacting with others digitally - and often do so even when with others physically.  Or think about how many people using various "dating" apps to make contact with others and sus them out before investing time in a physical meeting.

Teaching others or learning with others physically - is better than digital learning

We've all being on really appalling physical training sessions where you watch the trainer read out what is on their slides.  Or where you are asked to role play out various situations with an ill thought out brief and dynamic.  Equally during lock down those of us having to using guided learning and assessment digital tools  - for compliance or health and safety training  - has seen how some of those digital tools amply illustrated that it can be too tick boxy in its approach.

Less commuting  - means less knackered people

But only if bosses don't try and claim the saved time back - either by wanting the saved time to spent on longer work hours, or by threatening people with saalry cuts if they don't come in physically using an argument that their living costs are less so they don't need the "London! allowance.  Hidden in all of this of course is the idea of being "present" been better - you have to be in the office to show commitment - even if your productivity is sometimes lower.

So what do you think?

5min 38sec @TEDEd animated clip - How do #birds learn to #sing ? - Partha P. Mitra

Text from youtube "A brown thrasher knows a thousand songs. A wood thrush can sing two pitches at once. A mockingbird can match the sounds around it — including car alarms. These are just a few of the 4,000 species of songbirds. How do these birds learn songs? How do they know to mimic the songs of their own species? Are they born knowing how to sing? Partha P. Mitra illuminates the beautiful world of birdsong. Lesson by Partha P. Mitra, animation by TED-Ed."

The short 8min film Starbucks showed their staff in their 4 hr session on May 29 on racial bias

Found via a boing boing email 

Text from youtube "This short film by Stanley Nelson explores the impact of bias within public accommodations as well as the possibilities for a better future. On May 29, we closed 8,000 Starbucks stores in the United States for four hours—so 175,000 Starbucks partners could come together for a conversation and learning session on racial bias. This was a foundational step in renewing Starbucks as a place where ALL people feel welcome. Starbucks partners shared life experiences, heard from others, listened to experts on bias and racial anxiety, reflecting on the realities of bias in our society and talking about how all of us can work together to create public spaces where everyone feels like they belong."

1min 19sec @wef clip - How #learning a new #language makes you more #tolerant

1min @wef clip - Mixed #reality could revolutionize the way we #learn about the #human #body

10min @TheRSA clip - #Machine, Platform, #Crowd with Erik Brynjolfsson

From the YouTube text ...

"How do we build a future that doesn’t leave humans behind? Erik Brynjolfsson, co-author of Machine, Platform, Crowd argues that ‘deep learning’ technologies can do much more than routine work. So how do we harness technological progress to benefit the many, not just the few? Watch Erik Brynjolfsson, Co-founder and Director of MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy"

2min 24sec clip from @wef - What have we learned from the #Ebola crisis? | Peter Piot

too late to #learn ? late bloomers who suceeded despite their age

by annavital.

look down

found via twentytwo words

what the #internet is doing to your #brain

via laughing squid

10 tips for a new approach to school and education

taken and summarised from Geetha Narayanan (2007): A Dangerous but Powerful Idea on Project Vision in India 

1)  the first component is Community Learning Centres in slums (often not much more than a room) where learning can be integrated into the life and needs of a community and whose key goal is transformation through developing capacity to transform oneself and one’s life;

2) the second component is hubs or Idea-Media Centres for leaning which is specialised and which have facilities and resources that can be shared with many slum communities and which can serve several purposes in different ways - as people use the resources to think, create, design and invent 

3) the 3rd component is having opportunities for people to go on an Expedition - to seek and work through physically challenging and emotionally satisfying challenges away from the slum

4) the 4th component is networking that integrates the Community members with each other and with the outside world

5) with all of these 4 components take an approach where learning is design and project based and where the projects are not fixed but emerge from dialogue and constant negotiation with the community and students

6) also embrace the core value of slowness through 3 layers – 1) looking and listening, 2) exploring and thinking, 3) making and being (the layers are not discrete, linear or sequential)

7) embrace unity and equality within the learning community using large blocks of time and grouping learners in collaborative, vertical hetrogeneous teams

8) have centre facilitators who can help learners frame their learning plan, research the topic and make decisions on which medium can demonstrate and showcase their learning

9) make learning materials using local content that can be re-used and produced within the community at low cost

10) focus learning on transformation of the self and awakening of the mind rather than on the transfer of knowledge and the acquisition of skills

10 guiding principles on designing construction kits

a summary of Mitchel Resnick & Brian Silverman (2005): Some Reflections on Designing Construction Kits for Kids. 

10 guiding principles from 2 decades of experience 

1) Design for designers – so people learn through designing 

2) Low floor and wide ceiling – easy for novices to start, able to support a wide range of explorations 

3) Make powerful ideas salient – not forced – design ways to encounter them as a natural part of design 

4) Support many paths, many styles 

5) Make it as simple as possible and maybe even simpler 

6) Choose black boxes carefully – the choice of the basic building block and what ideas within it remain hidden from view 

7) A little bit of programming goes a long way – enable them to do a lot with some basic elements 

8) Give people what they want – not what they ask for – observe how they interact and get frustrated and infer from their actions what they want 

9) Invent things that you would want to use yourself – we do a better job as designers when we really enjoy using the systems we are building 

10) Iterate, iterate, iterate – then iterate again – tinkering ability and rapid prototyping development is key

how social media can be used for learning

i found (via pmphillips) an article on this subject 


on the 3rd sector website 


in summary what it says is:


- some use the open society institute's karl as its simple & designed for not-for-profit organisations, allows users to upload blogs & create wikipedia-type web pages that users develop over time.
- others use online forums/tools such as yammer, (similar to twitter in that short q&a) housed in an organisation's in-house system, rather than on the web.
- facebook can be used to create online groups where trainees can discuss issues. (but not privately)
- the king's fund charity uses webex software
- vso use the moodle platform.