The Perfect Pairing: Mindfulness and Critical Thinking

Marc Pavillion

Mindfulness is a buzz word in business and education alike. So, what's the buzz about? Yes, mindfulness reduces stress but many claim it in itself increases critical thinking abilities. There are few students that substantiate this claim. My son and I suggest that the pairing of mindfulness and critical thinking practices. Mindfulness is the openness and awareness of our thoughts, maintained while refraining from judgement, is the first step towards effective metacognition. We suggest that creating a daily practice of applying the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Model and the mindfulness practice known as open-monitoring meditation will create the synergy for critical, creative, and fairminded thinking. Additionally, we would like to review recent neuroscientific studies on mindfulness and critical, creative thinking.