Zenpundit:
As poorly as we sometimes are at paying attention extrospectively - we could benefit far more by greater attention or some old fashioned Zen "mindfulness" being directed inward. Metacognitive regulation requires an introspective monitoring of one's thoughts and ideas, which means active, conscious, effort to pay attention. This requires practice to sustain for any length of time though on the other extreme, master Yogis and Zen monks have exhibited the ability to effect siginificant physiological changes through meditative concentration. Having acquired sufficient attention to engage in metacognition, we can begin to select our cognitive frames and approach problems with greater discrimination and conscious choice, rather than being driven frantically by events, simply reacting.
I should warn you Zenpundit is not the blog you might expect from the name and the quote. At the same time, the quote is not quite atypical.
You should follow that Metacognitive regulation link. I actually eliminated all the other links in the paragraph to make sure you noticed it.
Thank you Earl !
About four or so years ago I decided I had had enough with my students unconsciously parroting and decided to start teaching them to pause and consider not only what they were asserting but why and from where they might have gotten that perspective. It throws some of them at first but not a few started identifying their own worldview and began identifying the worldviews of others ( at least when " the other" source had a strong and consistently articulated perspective. Nuance eludes a lot of them at their age).
Helpful for getting them in the habit of asking questions rather than just trying to give answers and to stop viewing every bit of information from the internet or TV as the absolute truth.