A Shared Inkling
Three years ago exactly, I stood at the end of a long line of people waiting to speak to the forceful psychologist and neuroscientist Dr. Amishi Jha. I steeled myself, swallowed my pride, and waited patiently, nervously. Dr. Jha was known for her research on the minimum daily dosage of attention training to achieve the maximum benefit. (About 12 minutes.) Her research documented improvements in domains such as focus, performance, mood quality, and emotional balance. I knew her straightforward communication style and compelling research would appeal to my home community, and I was determined to ask for her help in making Jackson Hole one of the nation’s first mindful communities.
She had held the room of 800 or so neuroscientists, psychologists, academicians, and mindfulness experts in rapt attention. As I drew near, Amishi tried to avoid eye contact with me, exhausted and deserving of a rest. But by then, her sister and I had started chatting, and I know sisters. I confided in Amishi’s, and she corralled Amishi for me as only a sister could do.
Amishi was polite, if nonplussed. She gave me five minutes, and after I’d spoken for three, people began to eavesdrop on our conversation. I had her at “science-based tools,” and I knew it by the look on her face. She escorted me to a different room, where we spent the next hour mapping out how we could work together, and I came away with a new chief science advisor and her promise to headline our first-of-kind neuroscience gathering in Jackson.
Three short years later, Becoming Jackson Whole will soon be celebrating its second birthday. Amishi’s excellent book was just released, and you’ll want to read it. Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day even features some details on Becoming Jackson Whole. (Congratulations, Amishi!)
What began as a shared inkling – that there are more effective and nourishing ways to engage as human beings to solve problems, strengthen connections, and be of use to one another – is now playing out. The shared impacts of living with so much uncertainty – a pandemic, seismic changes in our climate, the mental disequilibrium we’ve all experienced, especially kids – has normalized the approach that to many sounded farfetched just a few years back. In these desperate times, we are forced to strip away false confidence, myths around our sheer independence. We are coming home to the fact that we are all in this lifeboat together, and liking each other matters less than being skillful enough to row in the same direction, away from danger. Amishi and I share commitment to finding answers that are science-based, but we are also stitched together by a reverence for the human capacities we develop through mindfulness. Focus, compassion, resilience. Connection and clarity.
Amishi’s partnership with us included a training for local leaders done by her partner, Scott Rogers, and a research study to measure changes in this group compared to the control. Thanks to her precision – and Scott’s skill teaching mindfulness – our trainees recorded statistically significant improvement in cognitive function, emotional balance, and mood quality. They remembered more; performed better; and reported less conflict, higher levels of satisfaction, and better moods.
We’re more committed than ever to bring these mental fitness tools to anyone in our community who wants them. For a taste, join us on Fridays at 8 AM, for a live, free 10-minute practice, and you’re one workout down for the week. It’s lovely to see the integration of leaders from healthcare and business, nonprofits and civic leaders, first responders and education, all working together to create a mindful, resilient community.
Congratulations, Amishi. Really well done.
Sara