CHELMSFORD, MA – What happens when an IIT & MIT-educated writer, technologist and co-founder of two tech startups, wants to spread the word about mindfulness among the younger generation?
He writes a book, which is a contemporary interpretation of effective mindfulness techniques across ages. He then creates mobile applications and games to help understand these techniques and then he launches a non-profit to spread the word around.
Prithvi Raj Banerjee is the author of the book Unbox! The Power of Mindful Thinking, which is available on Amazon, worldwide. A lower cost paperback version of the book is also available in India through Flipkart and Paytm.
“In the modern age of fragmented attention that feeds off fifteen-second news cycles, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter alerts, we are all trying our best to focus our attention. However, most of us cannot because we were never taught how too. We have been asked to pay attention all the time, but very few of us were shown how we could improve ours,” says Banerjee , a resident of Chelmsford, MA.
Unbox!’ is a practical approach that focuses on how to deal with distracting thoughts that fragment our attention. It uses ‘mind-exercises’ to help us improve our attention leading to more efficient and impactful actions. The exercises used in the book are contemporary translations of some the most effective mindfulness techniques across ages.
Banerjee has spent many years experimenting with thoughts and attention. He was lucky enough to be guided by masters from great mindfulness traditions in his effort. He was also guided by a different set of masters at MIT where he specialized in systems thinking – an approach that uses the ‘big picture’ view to solving complex real-world problems.
“So when I put together the big picture in this book, I incorporated learnings from my understanding of the inner-world and the outer-world: drawing inspiration from the spiritual and the scientific, but at the same time having an independent perspective based on my personal experiences,” says Banerjee. “This core wisdom, of course, has been around for ages, but I have tried to put these facts in the context of our current life using new metaphors that you will hopefully relate better to.”
Banerjee and his wife Anisha have launched a non-profit called Mind-Gym Initiative that uses brainwave based mobile games to teach Unbox exercises through a contemporary narrative.
“All proceedings from the book are used to fund the free activities and workshops that we conduct through Mind-gym Initiative. In these events, folks can learn about mindfulness in a fun-filled way. The brainwave based games are especially popular amongst the kids”, says Anisha, who is also an IIT alumni and a technologist.
“The Unbox! mind-exercises are tailored based on individuals thinking profile. We use off-line EEG based biofeedback to help fine-tune skills to engage or disengage with thoughts. This helps in building the ability to resist distracting thoughts and therefore enhances our attention”, says Prithvi Banerjee. “We have been asking our kids to pay attention all the time – It is time we teach them how to do it!”
You can get more information about Unbox! & Mind-Gym Initiative by visiting www.thoughtunboxed.com or reach them via email at info@thoughtunboxed.com.
