A former client of mine recommended that I read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. He was the Roman emperor from A.D. 161-180 (he being Marcus A., not my client, heh). Aurelius was a Stoic philosopher and considered to be one of Rome’s “good” emperors. Meditations isn’t a cohesive book from start to finish – it reads more …Read More
Mindfulness Part 2: “How Do We Do Mindfulness or Be Mindful?”
Sep 12, 2009
When I dance, I dance; when I sleep, I sleep; yes, and when I walk alone in a beautiful orchard, if my thoughts drift to far-off matters for some part of the time for some other part I lead them back again to the walk, the orchard, to the sweetness of this solitude, to myself. …Read More
An Impoverised Present
Aug 24, 2008
I was listening to a CD of a presentation by noted British philosopher Alan Watts, who passed away in 1973. He lived and traveled extensively in Asia, and was probably best know for interpreting Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Watts spoke of how we often look to the future as offering something better than …Read More
These Are Days
Aug 7, 2008
There’s a song by the group 10,000 Maniacs, who disbanded in the early 90s, entitled “These Are Days.” It’s a beautiful song, as sung by lyricist and frontwoman Natalie Merchant. Probably everyone has heard it at one time or another by now. The sentiment is very strong, and it contains a wonderful mindfulness concept. The …Read More
Mindfulness – For Elite Athletes… & Everyone Else
Jun 7, 2008
The following excerpt is taking from an Associated Press posting on 6/7/08 from website of: http://www.espn.com/: Ivanovic defeats Safina for French Open Title At last, Ana Ivanovic overcame her stage fright. In two previous major finals, Ivanovic was so overwhelmed by the setting, so shaken by the stakes, that her focus fell apart and her …Read More
Self-Liberation Through Mindfulness
May 6, 2008
Now we’ve arrived at potentially the most powerful way to break out of a cycle of negative thoughts and feelings. It is through mindfulness, which is really a way of changing our being more than just our doing or thinking. It is the transformation of consciousness. As a refresher, mindfulness is the term used in …Read More
Igniting Emotions
Apr 10, 2008
Our emotions are typically elicited by our thoughts. Situations, in a sense, are neither bad nor good…they just are. It is our thoughts about the situations that give rise to corresponding feelings. Often these thoughts are “automatic” and just below our conscious awareness. If we learn to become aware of them, we can learn to …Read More
Mindfulness – Learning to Be Still
Apr 5, 2008
In this age of technology we have virtually countless ways to distract ourselves. We have our radios, CD players, iPods, email, talk radio, TV, DVDs, video games, cell phone, text messaging…not to mention our low-tech distractions such as books, crossword puzzles, and so on. Now, these things all of their respective places. I’m well aware …Read More
Practicing Mindfulness Daily
Mar 31, 2008
It’s a given that when we practice something, we get better at it. Our brains are made to adapt to different stimuli. Mindfulness can be practiced in small ways every day such that you will get better at it. If you really wanted to learn a foreign language, you wouldn’t practice one day a week. …Read More
Getting Extra Mileage Out of Walking the Dogs
Mar 28, 2008
Like many others, I need to walk my dogs every day. They look forward to it much more than I do most of the time. Usually when I walk the dogs I’m walking them and thinking what I’m going to be doing when I’m finished. That voice in my head (just to clarify – it is …Read More