This week is the second of our Mindful Glitter Globe Activities. It is called the Glitter Globe Mind Scan. The Glitter Globe Mind Scan is tool to use when there are a lot of thoughts going on in your mind, or if you are having a lot of one thought in particular that might be making you upset, worried, or anxious. We suggest you use your Mindful Glitter Globe for this practice, but it can be done with your imagination or a video of a Glitter Globe too.

Teachers: begin with a demonstration using the Mindful Glitter Globe. You can explain that sometimes when we have a lot of thoughts in our head, our minds can look like a shaken up Glitter Globe (Shake up the Glitter Globe here). This is a practice to help us notice what is being shaken up inside our heads and to take a step back to let it all settle down before we make any decisions. It can seem really easy to react to something that is frustrating or overwhelming, but we are learning to use the Glitter Globe in our minds to help us respond. The difference between these words is that you do one with thought (or Mindfulness), and the other without thinking too much about what might happen.

Think about a time that someone upset you. Did you say something mean to that person and felt bad right after? That is an example of reacting. On the other hand, did you take a few moments or breaths to figure out what you wanted to say to someone? That is an example of responding. We can use the Glitter Globe Mind Scan to help us find space to respond to things that make us upset or worried instead of reacting to them.

Lets close our eyes together and practice following our thoughts as they settle down. Remember the Glitter Globe that was shaken up earlier? Imagine that the inside of your mind looks like a shaken up Glitter Globe right now- with your thoughts moving all around. Practice Thought Clouds here and watch your thoughts as they float by, without giving them any names or calling any of them anything (good, bad, happy, sad). Let your thoughts to keep on floating, without trying to figure them out, make them stay, or go away. Imagine your thoughts are the glitter in the Glitter Globe, slowly floating their way down to the bottom. See what it feels like to not have to do anything but notice.

Take a few more moments to practice this. You can always start again from the top, following the Glitter in your mind as it floats its way down.

Try this practice out next time your feel upset or nervous or worried. Instead of putting a label or name on your thoughts, or feeling like you have to do something right away, practice the Glitter Globe Mind Scan and let all of those thoughts float their way down. Then notice how you feel, and hopefully you’ll have a little more space to respond to what is going on around you with Mindfulness.