MeWe Mindfulness

11/10/2018

Psychologist Sarah Pressman and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh believe in the power of a smile... especially when facing difficult thoughts, feelings, urges or pain. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/smiling-facilitates-stress-recovery.html

11/10/2018

After decades of research, behavioral geneticist, Robert Plomin, concludes that we all have genes associated with schizophrenia, autism, alcoholism, etc. “That means that it’s not us versus them. It’s just us.” -Psychology Today (November/December 2018).

11/08/2018

Walking this reservoir is my Go To mindfulness practice 5 to 6 days a week. I love the morning light and the sounds and smells of every season.

07/02/2018

03/11/2018

As winter comes to a close (in some places, but certainly not my mountain town...yet), it helps to remember this mindfulness practice so we can "feel ALIVE" despite the weather.

A mindfulness practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

12/11/2016

09/29/2016

It's been awhile since I've written a post here. I've focused on recovering from a major ankle injury that's allowed me time to contemplate how I want to BE in this world. Stay tuned for things I've learned after significantly investing in my mindfulness practice over the last six months.

05/10/2016

Two paths to enlightenment? The second -- meditation -- is easier? This is what I learned from Dr. Don Glad while in graduate school in the 1970s.

Try the difficult path to enlightenment

03/10/2016

Mindfulness is a way of BEING that invites "what is" to enter into our consciousness... no matter how profound, mundane or disappointing the object of our focus. Yesterday morning, I observed my inner dialogue as I watched it snow in my neighborhood. What do you notice about your reaction?

03/01/2016

01/31/2016

I enjoy what I learn from each season on my morning walks.

01/28/2016

Mindfulness involves what happens inside and not what it looks like outside of us.

01/22/2016

Life is full of splendid surprises... if we take a moment to notice what's around us!

01/16/2016

The sky at sunrise changes second by second, nothing staying stable even as long as 60 seconds. Being aware of the light, I can easily smile to the day.

Photograph courtesy of Jeff Fruth... in Nederland CO. Thank you for capturing what I saw, Jeff.

01/15/2016

WE are all a little prickly to someone, just as someone is bound to be a little prickly to ME. Let's make peace with this reality.

01/08/2016

Want to play the game "I spy..." with me? Check out my blog at http://www.mewemindfulness.com/i-spy

01/07/2016

We add unnecessary stress (and therefore suffering) to our life whenever we yearn for experiences, circumstances or events other than "what is." Recently, I noted growing disappointment that my first visit to Sedona was overcast, rainy and cold... so I used this cue to re-perceive my reality: I had the privilege of viewing and hiking Bell Rock in the mists!

11/01/2015

One is inspired when one becomes aware of possibilities that TRANSCEND the ordinary or mundane. ... Peaks of inspiration predict peaks in creativity and troughs in technical merit.
- Todd Thrash et al., Mediating Between the Muse and the Masses, in the journal Personality Processes and Individual Differences (2010)

10/30/2015

Anxiety, dread, apprehension, worry, and even panic are just mental states like any other. Recognize fear when it arises, observe the feeling of it in your body, watch it try to convince you that you should be alarmed, see it change and move on. Verbally describe to yourself what you're feeling, to increase frontal lobe regulation of the limbic system.
- Rick Hanson, Buddha's Brain (2009), p. 89-90

10/29/2015

There are only a few true necessities in life, but for many of us, it doesn't feel that way. A lifetime of habits, ingrained by repetition, can seemingly make us slaves to a not always beneficial master -- our own brain. Nothing is more confusing or painful than when your brain takes over your thoughts, attacks your self-worth, questions your abilities, overpowers you with cravings, or attempts to dictate your actions.
- Jeffrey Schwartz & Rebecca Gladding, You Are Not Your Brain (2011), p. xi

10/28/2015

Thich Nhat Hanh named Pacem in Terris winner Posted by Catholic Messenger Staff on October 22, 2015 Diocesan News, Top Stories Add comments Oct 222015 Zen Master known for bridging Eastern and Western spirituality By Katie Kiley For The Catholic Messenger Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, renowned fo…

10/28/2015

Perhaps the artist knows instinctively that the map is not the territory and that changing various aspects of the map may lead us to observe different things when we do experience the territory. When we realize that the name of something is not the same as the thing named, we are able to see it more clearly.
- Ellen Langer, On Becoming An Artist (2005), p. 176
- Lobelia in the Snow photograph courtesy of Ralph Hunt

10/27/2015

Unlike other animals, human beings spend a lot of time thinking about what is not going on around them, contemplating events that happened in the past, might happen in the future, or will never happen at all. Although this ability is a remarkable evolutionary achievement that allows people to learn, reason, and plan, it may have an emotional cost: A wandering mind is an unhappy mind.
- Matthew Killingsworth & Daniel Gilbert in Science (Nov 12, 2010)

10/26/2015

Across all of our studies on daily well-being, we found that one of the best predictors of good days versus bad days is the amount of time people spend around friends and family members.
- Tom Rath & Jim Harter, Well Being: The Five Essential Elements (2010), p. 130

10/24/2015

Smiling and laughter - even the insincere "I don't want to pose for this photo" smile - gives rise to a mild feeling of positive well-being. Even more, that little boost jumpstarts a powerful upward spiral of coping, thereby reducing anxiety and distress and bringing you ever-greater happiness and joy.
- Sonia Lyubomirsky, The How of Happiness (2007), p. 254

10/22/2015

Events do not come with evaluations; we impose evaluations on our experiences and, in so doing, create our experience of the event.
- Ellen Langer, On Becoming an Artist (2005), p. 49

10/21/2015

Our prediction was wrong. Although other studies have shown that people who feel loved and cared for will report a better sense of well-being -- they FEEL BETTER -- we did not find that it helped much for living a long life. ... The clearest benefit of social relationships came from helping others.
- Howard Friedman & Leslie Martin, The Longevity Project (2011), p. 164
- Photograph of two extraordinary helpers, my mother (right) and her friend Fay

10/19/2015

When we live in the sweet spot of hope, we are alert to the difference between helpful critiques and challenges (which we can use as tools) and the messages that create doubt and sap our energy. We also know that the better we get at understanding our cues, habits, and thought processes, the more we can energize ourselves and others.
- Shane Lopez, Making Hope Happen (2013), p. 84
- Photo courtesy of Deb D'Andrea