INTERRUPTER: Stop and Smell the Roses
No, really. 1) Locate a flower in field of vision. 2) Stop.
3) Lean in and sniff. Wow.
Mindful voices
from Your Stories
Monday, June 4 2012
When did you first start practicing mindfulness and why were you motivated to do so? Did you take a class? If so, what sort of a class did you take?
At age 20 I took my first yoga class in which the silence and practice of breath awareness helped me quiet my mind and be present in the moment. In such still mind I was able to be a better listener, more focused and aware of what was going on within and around me. I felt more confident and joyful and was more compassionate and accepting of situations I came across. I felt more energized and noticed I was more able to respond rather than react emotionally to situations.
My motivation for taking this class was the need for silence and to slow down the fast pace of my life as a full-time student, part-time worker and children’s center volunteer living in a big city. This hurried life made me feel drained, tense and ungrounded. I was over-critical and lacked confidence.
Years later I became exposed to the practice of meditation which I did sporadically until it became a daily practice. My two years as a student of the MA in Contemplative Education at Naropa University inspired me greatly to strengthen this practice and eventually make it an essential part of my life. This program made me realize that the practice of stilling the mind and becoming aware of the breath it is essential and can be practiced anywhere, not only on the cushion while I meditate.
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posted by Mindful readers..., 4:49 pm
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from on Mental Health
Wednesday, May 23 2012
While there may be many books out there on parenting, there really isn't any definitive guide because every baby and child is unique and all parents come with unique baggage from childhood and genetics.
Becoming a parent is wonderful for stirring up all of those old memories and connections from our own upbringing. Mix this in with our fractured attention spans and we begin to see why it is becoming increasingly important for us to learn how to attune ourselves to our own thoughts, feelings and emotions so we can have the ability to do that with our children.
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posted by Elisha Goldstein, 10:17 am
from Your Stories
Friday, May 11 2012
When did you first start practicing mindfulness and why were you motivated to do so?
I have always had an interest in meditation and dabbled with it over the years, but without real commitment, understanding or discipline. Then in the summer of 2010 I developed a daily practice of meditation/ relaxation and started reading about mindfulness. For the first time in my life, I felt comfortable in my own skin and felt my relationships (especially with my son) change and my stress levels decrease.
Sadly, shortly after, this my mother became ill and died. I then had a 6 month period off work with severe depression (having suffered, I realized in hindsight, with mild to moderate depression for the last 8 years). I knew mindfulness meditation would be my way out, but for a few months I didn't have the energy, motivation or concentration to do anything about it. Then I read The Mindful Way through Depression by Jon Kabat-Zinn et al which turned me around. I began a daily practice of 10 minutes of sitting meditation, as well as mindful moments through the day and I felt myself start to ease out of the valley very slowly.
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posted by Mindful readers..., 2:24 pm
from on Leadership
Friday, May 4 2012
In preparation for the Institute for Mindful Leadership's recent Mindful Leadership retreat, we send some prework to the participants, inviting them to begin to notice some of the "autopilot" conditioning we all engage in from time to time, especially in parts of the day when we are transitioning from one place to another, like driving from home to work.
Just a few days before the retreat, one participant, Major General Gale Pollock (ret), was on her way to work when she found herself stopping and getting out of her car to join a group of people gathered on the street.
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posted by Janice Marturano, 10:02 am
from Your Stories
Friday, April 27 2012
When did you first start practicing mindfulness and why were you motivated to do so?
I've been practicing off and on for years at the recommendation of a therapist I had as a teenager. Only recently have I started becoming more serious in my practice. I think it's because I've finally grown up enough to see the benefits and appreciate them.
Did you take a class? If so, what sort of class did you take?
No, although I do plan to take an insight meditation class.
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posted by Mindful readers..., 1:19 pm
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How can mindfulness help? Elisha Goldstein, Mindful's mental health blogger, looks beyond teen exam stress.
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Carsten Knox: Stay connected to nature.
Mindful Voices:
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by Mindful Editors
5.22.2013
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by Elisha Goldstein |
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by Mindful readers like you
2.04.2013
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by Gina Biegel
3.20.2013
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by Kelly McGonigal |