With Juggling comes…
Focus
Concentration
Understanding
Knowledge
“Focus is to Concentration as Understanding is to Knowledge.” - Sir Drop-A-Lot
Focus refines Concentration; Understanding refines Knowledge.
Begins with knowledge, then understanding, then concentration, and finally Focus.
Juggling helps develop, refine, and reinforce both mental and physical skills along this progressive pathway to any activity.
Let this ensuing experience be the beginning example of how a juggling metaphor can relate to learning.
Let the juggling experience begin a discussion on what a great metaphor juggling is for learning.
Focus and Concentration go together ---Focus is a fine point of concentration
Understanding and Knowledge go together--- Understanding is the fine point of Knowledge
Focus specific point or action: Action Eye hand, automatic flow,
Concentration involvement: Brain gain sports duration, duration
Understanding of the process: Chunking info, scaffolding, progression, learning how to earn
Knowledge of the mind: Meditative, Ambivalence (take a chance, throw and see), watch mind, Conscious process of practice, Relaxed concentration
Juggling helps to gain insights into mental movement (ideomotor) and gain insights into other activities
and sports. It augments, provides a little extra engagement, and reinforces the goals of other activities.
These 4 pillars of juggling seem to intersect with the 4 pillars of Zen Buddhist Mindfulness.
Body: awareness, breath, posture
Feelings: tenseness, good, bad,
Mind: distracted, focused,
Mental: general thoughts, contemplative, reflecting
Where body is to feelings as mind is to mental outlook. All factors interconnected. Relating Juggling to mindfulness: body awareness is refinement of feelings as focus is refinement of concentration. Both striving for acknowledging how the body is feeling, letting go, and striving for active relaxation. The mind refines mental outlook as understanding refines knowledge.
Body awareness refines Feelings; the Mind refines Mental outlook.
When I contrive to categorize benefits of Juggling I look for the nexus of any benefit and these 4 pillars of Juggling: focus, Concentration, Understanding, and Knowledge
Concentration: body awareness , duration, general attentiveness , basic idea of how the ball is thrown using cortex of the brain, so thinking, initiating ideas, what you want to do
Focus: flow, pinpoint accuracy, specific action, watching the balls be thrown, body reacts faster than the brain can think, processing happening intra parietal sulcus of the brain
Knowledge: general idea, general goal, basic thought, having a general idea of how the body works and what has to be done(Beginners brain sorting out steps) very visual
Understanding: specific flow, perception, able to adapt, nuanced, Flow, starting of with a thought but letting body take over (expert brain, flow, reacting as if you are watching) ideomotor
“I like to think that the 100 benefits of Juggling can fit into the nexus, interconnectedness, of the 4 pillars of juggling or Zen Buddhist Mindfulness. “ Sir Drop-A-Lot
1 Focus: specific body awareness, expert movements, ideomotor, Flow, automatic instantaneous movements (Intra Parietal Sulcus) basic throw
2 Concentration: general awareness of body, beginning movements, visual, robotic or thoughtful movements (frontal cortex)duration or continuous throwing
3 Understanding: Flow, adaptive, implementing, self aware, feeling benefits of meditation, figuring, puzzling how those challenges, new tricks, scenarios work
4 Knowledge: Learning, growing, accepting, open, growth mindset, spiritual, meditative, desire for new and challenging tricks, scenarios