by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
KELLY’S CORNER — Students at Opeongo High School received a lesson in Mindfulness during a special day on Tuesday, May 9.
Craig Mackie of Essential Change said he was “humbled and honoured” to share his expertise with the students, who signed up for the one day, which was titled Mindfulness Day.
This day included motivational speakers and mental health workshop including yoga, canine therapy and much more.
Mr. Mackie is a psychotherapist and a trainer in mindfulness protocols, mental health and wellbeing. He mostly works with young people.
He recalled his first job was with teenagers at Pine River Institute, which is located just north of Toronto. They would take young people who were dealing with very serious addictions to Algonquin Park.
“If you’re doing drugs and you’re on the street and you’re a teenager, you probably haven’t been to Algonquin Park,” he said, adding, “It was fun for me, but not so much fun for them. Take these kids and go to Algonquin Park and open them up to the power of the land and the power of themselves.”
If struggling with addiction or mental health, a person forgets they have power, Mr. Mackie said.
“You forget that you have power, that you have choice,” he said.
Speaking to the 80-plus teenagers gathered in the Nishku Room, he said there’s probably people they know who have forgotten they’re loved, which is very sad.
“I’m here to talk to you today to remind you that you have power and that you have the possibility to change, to grow, whether you’re struggling or you’re thriving, it doesn’t matter where you are in your life, to have inner strength you have power,” he said.
Mr. Mackie noted there are four core beliefs he lives by.
The first is that everyone wants to be happy, he said.
“This is one of the teachings we get from religion, from philosophy, from all world beliefs, is that everyone wants to be happy and well,” he said.
The second belief is that everyone suffers, Mr. Mackie said.
Whether you stub your toe and say ouch that hurt or you have a death in the family or you get a bad grade you suffer, he said.
The third belief is there’s a way not to suffer, Mr. Mackie said.
“That way depends on how much we connect with ourselves and our world,” he said.
The fourth belief is the connection, he said.
“Connection is the way to navigate to be happier and to suffer less,” he said.
As an idea, he asked a student what she had for breakfast, and then worked it backwards …where the cereal came from – house, which someone had to build. Before the house it was in the store, which someone had to put on the shelf. Then it was on a truck to be transported to the store…all the way back to the field.
“No matter what we do, every little action, we’re all connected,” Mr. Mackie said, adding, “The simple act of waking up in the morning – who made the clothes they’re wearing?
“All of our stuff comes from somebody else.”
It’s important for people to understand that and not forget it, because then loneliness and sadness sets in, and people forget to reach out, he said.
Mother Teresa said something about the poverty of the West is not financial, it’s not about money, it’s about sadness and social isolation, he said.
It’s important to remember that everyone is connected, which is the antidote to sadness, Mr. Mackie said.
What is mental health, he questioned the students – and no one answered him. He asked the students to point to their mind – some pointed to their hearts, others to the top of their head.
“A lot of stuff happens up here in our brains,” he said.
“Where is your self?” he questioned.
Again, some didn’t know where to point to, while others pointed to their heads or their hearts.
“The mental isn’t just what’s up here, it’s what’s in here,” Mr. Mackie said, pointing to his heart. “When we’re taking care of our mental health, it’s not just what’s happening in our head, but what’s happening in our hearts.”
The two places, heart and mind, have to be connected, he said.
Mindfulness is not just to open heads, but to open hearts, and that’s what the day is all about, Mr. Mackie said.
He then took the students through a practice to check on how their body is doing. He had them sit tall in their chairs, shoulders down and hands relaxed. He then had them breathe in and out and think about their fingers, breathing, toes and by the end of the check, they imagined they had roots coming out of their feet.
Mr. Mackie then asked the students to share what the experience was like. One student felt heavy, like they were being pulled down while another said she felt like she was in touch with her body.
“Our mind goes to where our energy goes and our energy goes to where our focus goes,” he said.
When focusing on worrying about something, whether it be a test or job, he asked the students what they felt … they said stressful, tired, and drained of all positive things, exhausted, negative.
This means, if you are focusing on a worry outside of your body, your energy dissipates, Mr. Mackie said.
He said by worrying on things outside of your body, your energy turns negative. However, worry is part of your life, he noted.
“When we take our awareness, and our energy somewhere else, and visualize roots going down, your energy goes right down to the earth, and it reminds us to relax and slow down,” Mr. Mackie said. “When we slow down, we connect, particularly with the earth, our worries stop.”
Managing stress is a part of mindfulness, he said.
“I’m going to teach you a model that will help you understand stress,” he said.
With the help of four volunteers, Mr. Mackie did another exercise with the students regarding what happens when people become stressed out.
There are three parts of the brain that kick in, he said. The first is the brainstem, which is the oldest part of the brain. It detects threat and not a threat. This is a part of the brain that goes way back to reptiles.
When threatened, a snake hisses and moves it body forward as if attacking; but if it’s not scared, such as it thinks its food, it moves it body forward without the hiss.
The second part of the brain is the Mamillian brain, similar to a cat or dog, noting when happy, a dog will wag its tail and runs in circles, while a threatened dog will growl and bark.
The final part of the brain is the prefontal cortex, which are primates (gorillas), which people evolved from, he added. He noted primates can use tools, are able to communicate and can problem-solve.
However, all parts of the brain are necessary for deciding if something is a threat or not a threat; is liked or not liked; and if something should be done or not done, such as having a mean post removed or not from facebook.
Explaining the experiment, Mr. Mackie said three parts of the brain, when really stressed out, the frontal lobe shuts off first, which is the most skillful part of the brain; the second part is deciding if something is good or bad; and the third part is deciding if you should stay or run, which is the least skillful response.
“If you’re stressed out by a test or an exam, and you are getting so stressed, that these parts of your brain shut off, well guess what, the other things that happen here, is you release all these stress hormones, get really worked up, and build anxiety, and if you have enough anxiety, your whole body shuts down and you have depression.”
It can happen quickly or over time, and while some people can continue on with their lives, depression is very disruptive, Mr. Mackie said.
“Therefore, the whole goal in stress management, and mindfulness, is to keep the three parts of the brain active so a person can be most skillful,” he said, adding, “Mindfulness is about keeping a person’s whole system online so they can respond skillfully.
“It’s being in the present moment to respond skillfully,” he said, noting, a person cannot respond skillfully if they are upset.
To end the opening, Mr. Mackie provided each student with a “spinner” that has 16 qualities on, such as service, courage, honesty, respect, etc. These are qualities that each person has. He suggested each student take the spinner and review the qualities and meditate on one of them and then use that quality in a situation each day.
Mindfulness stuff is about keeping the whole system online, he reiterated, connecting with yourself, putting your energy where you want your mind to go.
The students then attended four of 16 sessions throughout the day, which they had previously signed up for. These included mindfulness in depth; stress management for youth; importance of nutrition; mindful exercise; mindfulness and self-compassion; therapy dog experience; dealing with mental health; and facilitated drumming circule.
Josey Panke, a member of the Den Leaders, spoke about the day’s event. Den Leaders is a peer mentoring group for students at the school, she explained. The Den Leaders must do initiatives, and this was one of them, she said.
By day’s end, the Den Leaders were hopeful “students would learn more about mindfulness and how it can help them in their daily life.”
Carolyn Comerford is the adult co-chair for the Renfrew County Youth Network. The network hosts an annual youth summit called AMPLIFY, which was in October at Wilderness Tours last October.
“The main theme is to motivate, excite and engage youth to move forward with a passion of theirs,” she said.
This year’s theme was positive mental health and outdoors for nature, she said, noting there were 110 students from high schools throughout Renfrew County at the one day event. When students leave AMPLIFY, it’s hopeful they will move forward to make their community, home and school, a better place, Ms. Comerford added.
The events must be youth led, because while adults have great ideas, sometimes they’re not what the youth want and it doesn’t move forward, she said.
The students provide proposals to the Youth Network for an opportunity to receive a $500 grant and OHS was successful, she said
“Our role is to support them, to connect them with resources, with supports, with information,” Ms. Comerford said.
By day’s end, the hope was the students learned how to be well, happy and support themselves, through knowledge and awareness, but the key thing is learned what they are truly interested in and passionate about.
The one day at Wilderness Tours, while it will impact the students, is just the start, Ms. Comerford said. The action projects, are what will help students develop and become leaders, she explained.
“The projects that go on afterwards are what’s helping the youth, or supporting them,” she said.
