“Everyone can experience the feeling of oneness with the universe – where we feel connected to everything and have a peak experience without even having to go into space. It’s not just reserved for astronauts.”
This experience that Dr Mindy Howard refers to is the Overview Effect, and this is what she wants the TEDxYouth@BSN audience to learn about in her talk as she takes the stage on 9 November.
As the Founder and Director of Inner Space Training, a Netherlands-based company that develops and delivers training for commercial astronauts to help them with psychological acclimation to the different flight phases, and as someone who has been on NASA’s Highly Qualified Candidate’s List for their astronaut programme, Mindy is indeed well-equipped to give this talk.
When asked how she came up with her idea worth spreading, Mindy told us while developing her training materials to psychologically prepare her clients for space travel, she realised that similar techniques for calming the mind during stressful conditions can facilitate this peak experience, not only for space, but here on Earth as well.
Mindy truly believes that if we can all achieve the overview effect, the world will be a truly happier place and everyone will have a greater appreciation for this planet.
Understanding the inner self to embrace the outer world – this is indeed a perfect talk for our Big BOLD World, and we feel confident that Mindy will inspire our audience from student to teacher to parent to astronaut.
It’s not too long before we get to hear her idea worth spreading, but in the meantime learn a bit more about Mindy watching her favourite TEDx talk – Brene Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability
