Ei Videos & Talks · Companion quiz

Self-Transformation Through Mindfulness

Dr. David Vago · 15 questions

Watch the video, then explore its subject through concept questions and everyday examples. This companion quiz includes applications and supporting reading; it is not a verbatim transcript test.

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Choose one answer for each question. Select Check my answers to see your score and an explanation for every answer. Your answers are not submitted or saved.

1. What is mindfulness practice intended to strengthen?A. Present-moment awarenessB. Constant distractionC. Perfect control of other peopleD. The absence of all thought

2. You notice your mind has wandered. What is a useful next step?A. Stop practicing permanentlyB. Gently return attention to your chosen focusC. Criticize yourselfD. Force every thought away

3. Which statement treats a thought as a mental event?A. If I think it, it must be trueB. This thought defines my whole identityC. I notice that I am having this thoughtD. Every thought needs immediate action

4. What does self-awareness involve?A. Judging everyone around youB. Never feeling uncertainC. Predicting every outcomeD. Recognizing your own thoughts, feelings, and patterns

5. Which example illustrates responding deliberately?A. Pausing before answering an upsetting messageB. Sending the first angry reply that comes to mindC. Ignoring every feelingD. Demanding that the sender change

6. What is a reasonable expectation of mental training?A. Instant permanent happinessB. Skills may develop through repeated practiceC. Complete immunity to stressD. Guaranteed freedom from illness

7. Which response shows curiosity toward a difficult feeling?A. I must never feel thisB. This feeling proves I am defectiveC. What am I noticing right now?D. Someone else must remove this feeling

8. How can a familiar mental habit be understood?A. As a permanent moral flawB. As proof that change is impossibleC. As something everyone shares equallyD. As a repeated pattern that can be noticed and practiced differently

9. Which is an example of noticing attention itself?A. Recognizing that you have stopped listeningB. Memorizing someone else's opinionsC. Deciding your thoughts are always accurateD. Avoiding all conversation

10. What does regulating a response mean in this example?A. Making another person agreeB. Choosing how to act after noticing irritationC. Preventing all bodily sensationsD. Proving the irritation is wrong

11. Which practice uses an everyday activity as an attention exercise?A. Eating while scrolling without noticing eitherB. Rushing through every mealC. Noticing taste and texture while eatingD. Rating yourself against other diners

12. What is a useful distinction between awareness and judgment?A. Awareness requires calling yourself goodB. Judgment always improves attentionC. Awareness means ignoring mistakesD. Awareness notices experience; judgment evaluates it

13. Which response allows room for another person's experience?A. Listening with curiosity before replyingB. Assuming you already know their feelingsC. Making the conversation only about yourselfD. Dismissing their uncertainty

14. What can you do after noticing an automatic reaction?A. Assume noticing alone solves everythingB. Practice a more deliberate next actionC. Wait until all discomfort disappearsD. Treat the reaction as your entire identity

15. What does a quiz score on this page tell you?A. Your worth as a personB. Whether you have a diagnosisC. How many of these learning questions you answered correctlyD. Whether you will always remain calm

Answer key and explanations

A. Mindfulness develops awareness of present experience.
B. Noticing distraction and returning is part of practice.
C. You can observe a thought before deciding what to do with it.
D. Awareness begins with noticing your experience.
A. A pause gives you room to choose your response.
B. Practice supports learning; it does not guarantee an outcome.
C. Curiosity invites observation rather than condemnation.
D. Recognizing a pattern creates an opportunity to respond differently.
A. You can become aware of where your attention has gone.
B. You can notice irritation and choose your behavior.
C. Ordinary activities can become opportunities for awareness.
D. Observing what happened can come before evaluating or deciding.
A. Attention can extend to how you relate to others.
B. Awareness can guide practice and action.
C. This is a learning check, not a measure of personal worth or health.

Supporting reading

Vago, D. R., & Silbersweig, D. A. (2012). Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): A framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, Article 296. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00296