Ms. Veronika’s Corner

Dear students, welcome to another year of Ms. Veronika’s Corner! Together we will promote the love for reading across the school and discover new horizons in the world of books. Each issue, I will discuss various thought-provoking topics related to reading, from different genres to tips to enhance your reading experience and broaden your literary exposure, as well as give recommendations!

We’re all learning all the time. But much of what we call learning isn’t particularly useful – I just “learned” on Facebook that someone I hardly know baked cupcakes today. Mindful reading or learning cultivates insightful knowing rather than just a brain overloaded with information. Recent neurological research at Harvard shows how this happens, how mindfulness creates space to let new information in and to allow us to see how it relates to what we already know. Reading these days, whether on a screen or on paper, is more often a race to finish the text than a search for meaning. Mindful reading is radically different. It slows down the reader and the reading and changes the experience. It is a process of quiet reflection that requires mindful attentiveness, letting go of distracting thoughts and opinions to be fully in the moment with the text. It moves the reader into a calm awareness, allowing for a more profound experience and understanding. Despite what you might think, it is not the physical book that the reader touches but the image of thought evoked by the text. We often associate reading with a kind of an escape, and thinking of reading as meditation offers a different orientation toward the practice of reading.

Find time that you can focus on your reading, rather than trying to squeeze it into a busy day or get a few pages before bedtime and consider reading that will engage but not deplete you, something that requires a bit of mental energy, but doesn’t end up as another item on your growing to-do list. There’s a whole world of text out there to discover: novels, biographies, histories, collections of essays, science writing or poems.

Consider reading in print. If much of your reading is on a screen – your phone, computer or tablet — then mindful reading from a tangible book could be a nice break.

As you turn the pages, notice the quality of light, the colour and even the smell of the ink on the page, the way that the spine of your book feels against the palms of your hands. You may find yourself more easily bored or sleepy.

Pay attention to language. Look at an individual word; look up unfamiliar words. Maybe you use a pencil to underline language that you notice, or maybe you just make a mental note. Either way, get into the details — the rhythm of a sentence, a detail that conjures a person or place.

Before reading, sit quietly for some minutes. Bring your attention to your breath, letting go of thoughts and sensations, returning to the breath again and again. Then read. Notice if you read with more focus and appreciation. When you finish reading, sit again for some minutes, again bringing your mind to your breath. At the end of your practice, notice what you have learned from the reading.

Finally, don’t over-prepare for your reading. You don’t really need the perfect lounge chair, with light at just the right slant and a cup of tea precisely brewed. Mindful reading can provide an oasis even in turbulent settings.