Day 14 Waking Up, Mindfulness

Today I did Day 14 of the Waking Up course, and some of the positive psychology course. Harris didn’t introduce any new concepts today, just reiterated some of his past ones. He talked about moving towards having many mindful moments throughout the day and about this concept of consciousness. I’m still learning what he means by that, today he mentioned that attention is like having a spotlight in the field of consciousness, which is a pretty good way to put it. I realized that as of today, I have been doing the Waking Up course every day for two weeks. I’ve definitely noticed a difference in my anxiety levels when I start meditating - it seems to just dissolve once I start. My mind is also a lot less busy (noisy). I’ve been trying to have more mindful moments during my day and when I do it really helps me become calm and centered.

I started the positive psychology course today with Barbara Fredrickson through the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, on Coursera. I listened to a video that went along with a script, which then helped me take notes. It was really just an introduction to the course. Fredrickson explained how positive psychology is an area of science that investigates positive things that make our lives better. Today I did lessons on emotions and upward spirals. Throughout the videos I took notes and answered questions, I love how Coursera made it easy to do both those things (and take the class in general). I’m excited to continue both the Waking Up course and the Positive Psychology course. I bet I’ll see some concepts overlap.