Mindful Mondays: Working with difficult emotions
Soften, Sooth, Allow This weekend on my way to fetch eggs from a local family farm, I stumbled upon the ruins of a former mental health hospital. Northern State Mental Hospital was closed in 1976 after reigning since 1912. It left in its wake some successes I’m sure, but it is where many practices and […]
Mindful Monday: Breathing Through the Stress
Some Mondays arrive and we look back on the weekend and see disruption, corruption, and eruption. Not rest. Some Mondays require a reminder to breath intentionally; to remind ourselves that at the edges of what appears broken is a salvage edge that is trying to heal. Here is a simple meditation to quickly allow the […]
Mindful Monday: Tried-and-True Tips for Mindful Walking
February is a breakout time of year. The chilled weather with increased sun and light can encourage us to make our way outside. Jaunts around the block to wake up from our winter idle can be invigorating. Mindful breathes of cool air can support our mental health too! I’ve guided countless walks with small groups […]
Mindful Monday: Cultivating Curiosity
When we practice Mindfulness, we can intentionally cultivate foundational attitudes or postures of being. Today we’ll explore the posture of Curiosity. Celestial Curiosity In August of 2012 our beloved roving robot named Curiosity landed on the planet Mars. For more than 10 years it has been puttering around 3-mile-high Mount Sharp inside Gale Crater. Recently […]
Mindful Monday: Keeping the Spirit of Generosity
It’s easy in the month following the giving holidays to pullback on our giving spirit. Today let’s remember that the spirit of giving is one to harbor all year long. Generosity is a foundational attitude of Mindfulness and practicing it deepens our awareness. The fine human seen in the photo to the right, recently received […]
Mindful Mondays: Noticing Joy
One of the biggest costs of being Mindless, instead of Mindful, is the loss of opportunity. One of those opportunities could be the chance to notice Joy. Joyful moments can look like ecstatic celebration or just the daily mundane pleasures of life that feel deeply contented. They always seem to have a sense of buoyancy. […]
Mindful Mondays: Non-judgment
This month we settle into a new holiday season with fresh opportunities to live more mindfully. SETTLING INTO THE PAUSE – NON-JUDGMENT – NOTICING JOY – REFLECTION When it comes to cultivating Mindfulness, I find that practicing an attitude of non-judgment towards myself and the world around me is both the most difficult but also […]
Mindful Mondays: Finding Uncertainty in a wobbly world
There is something about getting through a winter holiday in this bizarre epoque to reassure us that we do indeed have the resilience to get through it all. I may toss my 2022 calendar onto a bonfire for a ritual burning, while lifting high a strong beverage, and bid the year a solemn Good Riddance! […]
Mindful Monday: A Season of Gratitude and Gratefulness
Practicing gratefulness daily can prime our brains to look for more reasons to be grateful which shifts our outlook, perspective, and mood. McCraty and colleagues (1998), in one of their studies on gratitude and appreciation, found that participants who felt grateful showed a marked reduction in the level of cortisol, a stress hormone. They also […]
Mindful Mondays: 4 x 4 Breathing for Well Being
Today we keep it simple with a breathing technique that is handy whether you require steady thinking, reduction of anxiety or just need to slow yourself down. This effective technique goes by many names: Tactical Breathing, Combat Breathing, Box Breathing, or 4×4 Breathing. It’s simple: Inhale to the count of 4 (fill your belly area) […]
