Selling Silence Mr Selfridge Headspace and mindfulness

With the reintroduction of a 'quiet room' in Selfridges now in the lower ground floor in Oxford Street, this January, perhaps we should honour 'Mile-a-minute Harry" as a early pioneer of the Mindfulness Industry.

In the Selfridges of 2013  you can chill out from the bombardment of messages in a quiet pod there - a sort of hemispherical acoustic absorbent dome where there is a short audio tape from Headspace.

Some interesting facts are in the presentation  given by specialist Andy Puddicome and Headspace Headspace.

Do you have a smart phone ?

 Apparently research has shown that 80% of smart phone owners keep their phone on all the time - including all night.

Most check their phone for messages, emails etc before going to sleep and first thing in the morning.

Additionally 40% will use their smart phone to check work messages etc 'out of hours' and even on holiday.

Our relationship with technology has taken on certain qualities of an addiction.

Many feel quite overwhelmed. There is good reason for this . We have to process 3-4 times the amount of information that the previous generation had to.

Scientists have identified in children that way our brains are developing. The researchers can identify a measurable change in the neural pathways of the current generation.

More on this can be found on this link Selling of Silence

and "Help I'm addicted to facebook and twitter" by Benjamin Cohen

 Here is a  contemporary poem  published around the same time of  early years  of Selfridges - it's an appeal for mindfulness.
 
"Leisure" by William Henry Davies  1871 - 1940 Poet, writer, tramp.
from Songs of Joys and Others 1911

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

 

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.










No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

 

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.



Related links:

No Noise at Selfridges

Headspace  http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/

Benjamin Cohen's excellent article in London Evening Standard  "Help I'm addicted to facebook and twitter"